THE AMERICAN BOTaNIST. 7 



The Resales contain many families among which may 

 be mentioned the houseleeks, stone-crops, saxifrages, 

 hydrangeas, goose-berries, witch-hazels, roseworts, sensi- 

 tive plants, sennas and the great pea family. By many 

 this latter familj'-, containing nearly seven thousand 

 species, is thought to be distinct enough to form, with 

 other closely allied forms, a separate order. Following 

 theRosales comes the Geraniales named for the geraniums. 

 In this order is included the oxalises, flaxes, rues, poly- 

 galas, spurges and water starworts, man3^ of which 

 appear at first to have very little in common. The soap' 

 berry (Sapindus) gives the name to the order Sapindales, 

 which is made up of a number of small families like the 

 sumacs, hollies, bitter-sweets, bladder-nuts, maples, horse- 

 chestnuts and jewel-weeds. In the Rhamnales are found 

 the buckthorns {Rhamnus) and the vines {Vitacese), the 

 Malvales include the basswoods and mallows, while the 

 Parietales consist of several small families like the St. 

 John's-wort, rock rose, violet, and passion-flower families. 



TheOpuntiales begin the orders of pol^^petalous plants 

 Mnth inferior ovaries. In this order is found only the 

 various species of cacti. The Thymeleales contain the 

 leather-wood (Dirca) and a few other plants like the 

 buffalo berry of tlie North and West. In theMyrtales are 

 found the loose-strifes, rhexias, evening primroses and 

 water milfoils. The Umbellales is the last and highest of 

 the polypetalous orders. It is made up of the aralias, 

 umbellifers and dogwoods. 



The sympetalous Dicotyledons are separated into two 

 divisions, in one of which the ovary is inferior and in the 

 other superior. In the division with superior ovary the 

 Ericales are most primitive. This contains the old family 

 Ericaceae, the heaths which has recently been split up into 

 the separate families of pyrolas, Indian pipes, blue-berries, 

 clethras, diapensias and the heaths proper. The Primul- 

 ales include the true primrose's and the leadworts. The 

 Ebenales, named for the ebony family, is composed of 

 several unfamiliar groups like the sapodilla and storax 



