360 MONOECIA. 



than in the Order Monandria. Dracontiiim and Po 

 those of the same natural fomily, having perfect or uni 

 ted flowers, the former with 7 stamens to each, the latter 

 with 4, are undoubtedly to be referred to their cor 

 responding Classes, Heptandna and Tetrandria< 

 Zostera, the only remaining genus of Gynandria 

 Polyandria in Linnaeus, I have long ago ventured to 

 remove to Monandria Monogynia ; see £ngl. Bat. t. 

 467. 



Class 21. Monoecia. Stamens and Pistils in sepa 

 rate flowers, but both growing on the same individual 

 plant. Orders 9 or 10. 



Several reformers of the Linnsean system have also 

 abolished this Class and the two following, by way of 

 rendering that system more simple. Ten years' ad- 

 ditional experience since the preface to the 7th vol- 

 ume of English Botany was written, have but con- 

 firmed my opinion on this subject. If any plants 

 ought to be removed from these Classes, they must 

 be such as have the structure of all the accessory 

 parts of the flower exactly alike, (the essential parts, 

 or stamens and pistils only, differing,) in both barren 

 and fertile flowers ; and especially such as have in 

 one flower perfect organs of one kind, accompanied 

 by rudiments of the other kind, for these rudiments 

 are liable occasionally to become perfect. By this 

 means dioecious species of a genus, as in Lychnis^ 

 Valeriana, Rumex, &c., would no longer be a re- 

 proach or inconvenience to the system. But, on the 

 other hand, some difficulty would occasionally arise 



