310 ilGGREGATE AXD 



branched receptacle, and the \vhole umbel 

 was considered as one aggregate flower. It 

 necessarily followed that a Cyme, see p. 237> 

 must be considered in the same light, nor 

 did the sagacity of Linnaeus overlook the 

 arguments in favour of this hypothesis. Many 

 of the umbelliferous tribe, as HeracJeum, 

 t- 939, CaucaUs, Coriandrum^ (Sec, have their 

 marginal flowers dilated, radiant, and more 

 or less inclined to be imperfect or abortive, 

 thus evincing an analogy with real compound 

 flowers like the Sunflower, which analogy is 

 still more striking between OeiiantJie, t. 36'3, 

 347, 348, and the Marigold, Calendula. So 

 the cymose plants, as Viburnum Opulus^ 

 f. 332, bear dilated and abortive marginal 

 flowers, and Hydrangea hortensis, Sm. Ic. 

 Pict. t. 12, has scarcely any others. Cornus. 

 sanguinea, EngL Bot. t. 249, has a naked 

 cyme, C, Suecica, t. 310, an umbel accom- 

 panied by coloured bracteas, or, as Linnieus 

 judged, a coloured ini'olucvum, proving the 

 close aflinit}^ between these two modes of in- 

 florescence. 



Notwithstanding all this, I presume to dis- 

 sent from the above hypothesis, as oflering 



