S72 ICOSANDRIA— POLYGYNIA. Rosa. 



duced into English in the history of the present genus, 

 but not by Mr. Woods, sepals, sepala, for the divisions, 

 whether segments or leaves, of the calyx. Those 

 who are much conversant with the system of Jussieu 

 cannot but perceive the frequent difficulties that arise 

 between him and Linnaeus, in determining whether, in 

 certain genera, the calyx is of one piece or of many, and 

 this question embroils the fundamental characters of 

 some of Jussieu's orders. His distinguished follower 

 Professor DeCandolle has attempted to remove this 

 difficulty, by adopting a common term for the leaves or 

 the segments of a calyx; so that in future botanical 

 language there shall be no distinction between them. 

 But it is surely better to encounter some ambiguities in 

 the study of nature, than to confound things or ideas 

 that are essentially distinct; and it is better that any 

 system, whether natural or artificial, should be honestly 

 acknowledged defective, rather than that clear generic 

 differences should be neglected or invalidated. In Rosa 

 the fruit, or hip, is only in appearance intermediate in 

 nature between its own natural order and the Pomaccce. 

 The calyx is of a single leaf, whose limb has 5 deej) seg- 

 ments, and whose tube becomes, as Mr. Woods properly 

 understands it, the receptacle of the seeds ; but this tube 

 is not itself a germen, like that of the Pomacecv^ though 

 Linneeus so denominated it. The analogy of the whole 

 order o^ Rosacea! shows its real nature. So important a 

 distinction requires to be marked, but the term sepala 

 designedly leaves it ambiguous. This word itself, adopted 

 from Necker, an obscure and paradoxical writer, might 

 long puzzle a student, who would perhaps not conceive 

 the highest veneration for its contriver, on finding sepala 

 a lame anagram of petala. If such be the case, as I 

 have been informed, it renders all further remarks su- 

 perfluous. 

 Mr. Woods I believe first suggested the importance of 

 glandular bristles, setce^ on the stems of Roses, as con- 

 stituting a primary character. This, as far as I have 

 had experience, is perfectly well-founded. The pre- 

 sence of these bristles on the stem or branches consti- 

 tutes the essential mark of my first section. The form 

 of the prickles, aculei^ whether straight and slender, sud- 

 denly originating from a broad depressed base; or 

 hooked, dilated gradually downward, and more or less 



