the Natural Botanical Families. ^1 



Sketch of an Arrangement of the Botanical Families in Natural 

 GroupSy Alliances, and Races. 



1. Families having any material similarity of structure are in that respect 

 said to have a Relation, 



2. Related Families lying in the same neighbourhood are said to have 

 an Affinity. 



3. Families which touch or pass into each other are said to be Adjacent, 

 or in Juxtaposition. 



4. The Numerical superiority of related families, which, (with the aid 

 of juxtaposition and progress of structure) determines the place of each 

 family, and distinguishes the relation of Affinity from those of Parallelism 

 and Correspondence [|see 9, 11,] is called Joint-affinity. 



6. A Group is a collection of Families, having an affinity, and is named 

 from some family contained in it : — Ex. The Orchideous Group. 



6. The two great Botanical Divisions arc named The ChcnopodeouS 

 and Thymclaeous Races. 



7. When the first and last families of a Group, or when the initial and 

 terminating parts of a series of Groups or of the two Botanical Races^ 

 correspond and seem to pass into each other, they are called Re-entering 

 Groups, &c., and are said to Circulate : — Ex. The Chenopodeous, Bora-» 

 gineouSj Geraniaceous, Passifloreous, Nymphseaceous Groups. 



8. An Alliance consists of a Circulating Series of Groups, and is named 

 from the denominating family of one of the Groups : — Ex. Gramineoua, 



Orchideous, Boragineous Alliances. — Those set out in the Table are 

 generally to be considered as artificial divisions provisionally adopted. 



9. The Groups and Alliances of the two Races, in the same numerical 

 order from the initial Group, are said to be Parallel. 



10. As certain Acotyledonous, Gymnospermous, Amentaceous, Apo- 

 carpellous, Apetalous, Monopetalous, Gynobasic, Albuminose, Monocoty-* 

 ledonous, and other peculiar Structures, are usually in the same parallel^ 

 and in the same stage of developement, they are likely to be treated of 

 together, and may be named after the compound parallel Families :— • 

 Ex. The Endogenous Families would be The Orchideo-Gramineous Al- 

 liances. 



11. Successions of Groups related to other successions direct or re- 

 verted, in the same or in separate Races, are said to Correspond. 



12. Characters which give the structure of the organs in order, are said 

 to be Descriptive ; Characters (positive or negative) which distinguish 

 one Group, &c. from another, arc said to be Differential. Properties 

 which may in certain cases be substituted for each other in a character, 

 are said to be Equivalents. — Ex. Albumen and a Macropodal Embryo, 

 &c. 



t Indicates that the Family may bo compound, which is not of momeiiC« 

 Trhere the sections pass into each other. 



( ) Indicates that the evidence for the station is more conflicting than 

 usual. 



Suborders are inserted iTi the table, to show the transitions, or to show 

 the conditions which remain unsatisfied. 



