CLASS 9YNGENESIA. 



159 



The largest flowered plants of the Leguminosje, in 

 the United States-, are the Clitorias, of which the 

 vexillum is so large as to cover the wings of the co- 

 rolla. These have a few blue flowers, and ternated 

 leaves ; with narrow, many-seeded pods. 



The genera formerly referred to, the now abolished 

 class, Polyadelphia will be found indiscriminately 

 arrarfged, according to their characters, in Polyan- 

 dria ; such are Hypericum, and a few others. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



THE CLASS SYNGENES1A.* 



The character of this class and its orders have al- 

 ready been explained in the 8th and 9th chapters of 

 this work ; to which I would refer you, on this, as on 

 other occasions, when you entertain any doubts on 

 the arrangement of your plants, and the respective 

 place they may occupy in the present system. The 

 principal character of Syngenesia, as its Greek 

 name implies, is, the union of the anthers ; but as 

 there are examples in the Violet, Balsam, and many 

 of the Cucumber tribe, of a somewhat similar union 

 of anthers, though they do not now form part of this 

 class, nor bear any natural relation with it, another, or 

 second character must be present also in connexion 

 with the ingrafted anthers ; and this is the compound 

 character of the flower, which well entitles it, in the 

 natural method of arrangement, to the name of Com- 

 posite, or CoRYMBiFERiE. A Sunflower or Dan- 

 delion, for example, is not a simple individual, like a 

 Lily or a Pink ; but a crowded cluster, or condensed 

 corymb, made up of a considerable number of florets, 



* From <rwv, together, and yimri;, generation. 



