On the Colour and Smell of Plants. 11 



Having a white colour 6.8 having a disagreeable odour. 



red 12.2 



yellow 23.5 



blue 32.2 



violet 34.2 



green 24.2 



Of coloured flowers altogether, 22.7 



The orange and brown flowering plants seem to possess >a 

 larger number of disagreeable than of agreeable smelling species. 

 Among 4200 species examined, there are two brown plants, 

 which are odoriferous, viz. the Delphinium triste, L., and the 

 brownish-red flowering Scrophularia aquatica, L., and three 

 odoriferous orange and yellowish-red flowers, the Nicotiana glu- 

 tinosa, L., Alestris uvaria, L., and Verbascum versiflorum, 

 Schrd. : the last alone has an agreeable smell ; the others have 

 a disagreeable odour. It is well known, and not on that ac- 

 count the less remarkable, that the great genus Staphelia, which 

 so frequently exhibits flowers of a yellowish-red or yellowish- 

 brown colour, includes so many species having a disagreeable 

 odour, often like that of carrion ; further, that two species dis- 

 tinguished by their peculiarly offensive odour, viz. the Arum 

 divaricatum, W., and the Asarum europaeum, should possess a 

 dark brown passing into violet corolla. 



We perceive, then, from these details, that white flowers are 

 for the most part and especially sweet smelling ; but the family 

 of the Cruciatae is in this respect an exception, for many of the 

 species have non-odoriferous flowers, whereas they possess as a 

 compensation a transient sharpness, as in the genera Cochle- 

 aria, Lepidium, Cardamine, Thlaspi, Sisymbrium, Senebiera, &c. 

 Among the monocotyledons, we observe the same thing in the 

 genus A Ilium. 



After having deduced these results from the species consi- 

 dered collectively, the authors take a general view of the larger 

 genera in regard to the relations of colour and smell, in which 

 they separate the genera of each principal colour into three di- 

 visions, according to the different proportions of white in their 

 flowers; they then enumerate together the whole species of each 

 colour ; and thus calculate the number of odoriferous species 

 which occur, taking the mean of 100 species. 



The genera of each division are again arranged separately, 



