VII] POLYSEPALY, ETC. 63 



examine the calyx of the common field Buttercup, Poppy, 

 Wallflower, Stock, Geranium and Wood Sorrel, &c., where 

 the sepals are distinct and separately inserted on the 

 floral axis : such a calyx, of perfectly free sepals, is termed 

 polysepalous. 



In like manner the petals are coherent in Heather, 

 Rhododendron, Campanula, Primrose, Convolvulus, Fox- 

 glove, Deadnettle, &c., and the corolla comes off as one 

 piece, and is termed gamopetalous (Fig. 20) ; whereas 

 the free petals in Buttercups, Wallflower, Poppy, Water- 

 lily, Flax, Geranium, &c., constitute a polypetalous corolla 

 in each case. 



Undoubtedly the words gamo-petalous and poly-peta- 

 lous (and -sepalous) are not free from objection if we 

 demand that classical words adopted for scientific termi- 

 nology should convey in their derived etymological mean- 

 ings the ideas they are employed to name ; but we need 

 not admit this, and may contend that it is sufficient to 

 give the selected word the new meaning it is intended 

 to convey, and simply use it consistently. A great deal 

 of energy seems uselessly expended in inventing new 

 terms on the implied assumption that a Greek or Latin 

 word should carry the translation of the new idea in its 

 etymology, as nearly as possible : obviously it cannot be 

 an exact translation, if only because the Greeks and 

 Romans were not familiar with the new idea, and there- 

 fore had no name for it. The terms Monopetalous, Gamo- 

 petalous, Sympetalous, &c., used in various modern text- 

 books, all mean the same in Botany, though the etymo- 

 logy is very different in each case ; and the same applies 

 to Choripetalous, Dialypetalous, Apopetalous and Eleu- 

 theropetalous, all of which mean the same as Polypetalous 

 in Botany, different as their etymological significations 

 are. It is really of little importance which word is used 



