102 Wisconsin Academy of /Sciences^ Aiis, and Letters. 



ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 



BY I. A. LAPHAM, LL. D., 

 Milwaukee. 



Animals in the hands of Cuvier and Agassiz, and minerals 

 by Dana and others, have been well and scientifically arranged 

 into natural divisions with their proper order of succession. 

 But plants, especially in the higher divisions of classes and 

 their subdivisions, still need the attention of a systematist. 



It has been supposed that since De Candolle introduced into 

 botany the idea of Exogens, (outside growers), and Endogens, 

 (inside growers,) the classification of plants was complete. It 

 is proposed to show that this supposition is eiToneous, and has 

 led to incongruous results needing reformation. It may be 

 claimed as true that, so far as regards the description of spe- 

 cies, and their grouping into genera and families, botany is the 

 most advanced and perfect of any of the natural sciences ; but 

 as regards the limitations of classes and orders it is the least 

 advanced. It is only in relation to these larger divisions of 

 the vegetable kingdom that any suggestions will be made in 

 the present paper. 



The most important of all plant-products — important to the 

 very life and continuance of the plant is the seed, the organ in 

 which one individual plant terminates, and another begins. It 

 is the ultimate product, and the one towards the perfection of 

 which all other vegetable organs and processes seem to con- 

 spire. Near the close of the growing season, the whole plant- 

 energy is concentrated upon the seed ; the seed is perfected 

 and the plant dies. 



As the grand divisions of the vegetable kingdom must rest 



