8 On the Colour and Smell of Plants. 



were investigated : The Liliaceae, Dec. ; the Hemerocallidea?, 

 Dec. ; the Amaryllidea?, Dec. ; the Scilleos, Reichenb. ; the 

 Irideae, Dec. ; the Smilaceae, Dec. ; and lastly, the Cannae, 

 Dec. On the other hand, among the dicotyledons were more 

 especially the Jasminea?, Dec., the Solanaceae, Dec., and the 

 Gentianea?, together with seventeen others which were not so 

 extensively examined as the three first, viz., the Boragineae, the 

 Heliotropia?, the Lysimachiae, the Primulaceae, the Polemonia?, 

 the Convolvulaceae, the Campanulaceae, the Violariae, the Len- 

 ticularia?, the Sarmentaceae, the Stellatae, the Rosacea?, the 

 Ranunculaceae, the Papaveracea?, the Nympbaeaceae, and the 

 more important genera of the Scrophulariae and Cruciatae. 



The above-mentioned families of the monocotyledons have in 

 general a greater tendency to flowers of the white and yellowish- 

 red series of tints than those of the dicotyledons. Blue flower- 

 ing species are much rarer among the first than the last, whereas 

 the monocotyledons include a much greater number of odorife- 

 rous species. The families of the Lilies, the Hemerocallideae, the 

 Amaryllideae, the Scilleae, and the Irideae, contain on an average 

 14.2 per cent, odoriferous species, whereas the families of dico- 

 tyledons cited above contain only 9.9 per cent. 



Among the already mentioned five families of monocotyledons, 

 the Amaryllideas contain the largest number of white flowering, 

 and at the same time of agreeably scented species. Of 100 

 species there are 88 which are white flowering, whereas the 

 blue flowering species seem to be awanting ; there are 27.8 

 per cent, odoriferous species. The Iridea?, on the contrary, have 

 rarely white flowers, and odoriferous species are seldom met 

 with, there being only about 9 to 10 per cent. There are many 

 blue flowering species (19 percent), and only 11.8 per cent, 

 having white flowers. 



The Hosaceae are, after the Jasmineae, the richest among the 

 previously enumerated families of dicotyledons in white flower- 

 ing and odoriferous plants. There the blue colour is entirely 

 awanting. In 100 species, 36 are white, and 13.1 are odorife- 

 rous. The Campanulaceae, Gentianeae, and Papaveraceae, are 

 the poorest of the dicotyledonous families in white and odorife- 

 rous species. Among the two first there are many white flower- 

 ing species, and among the last many violet-flowering species. 



