FAMILIAR BOTANY. 



267 



male pistil is ready to receive it. The 

 atoms of the pollen strike root, as it were, 

 upon the stigma; their influence is trans- 

 mitted down the style to the ovary, the seeds 

 swell and perfect themselves, and the pro- 

 cess is completed. Thus it is that we cross 

 the breeds of flowers, vegetables, and fruit, 

 and very often bring about valuable im- 

 provements. To illustrate the twenty-four 

 Linnaean classes, we give the following 

 figures of those parts of flowers which brings 

 each into its respective class : 



The parts of the flowers here represented, 

 only show the peculiar feature which brings 

 each into its proper place. 



The first grand division of the Linnaean 

 system, consists of those plants with con- 

 spicuous flowers, and the organs of fructifi- 

 cation evident. In the first fifteen classes, 

 the stamens are not united, and the flowers 

 are bisexual. .In the 16th, 17th, and 18th 

 classes, the stamens are united by the fila- 

 ments. In the 19th class, the stamens are 

 united by the anthers into a cylinder. In 

 the 20th class, the stamens are attached to, 

 and stand upon the pistil. In the 21st, 22d, 

 and 23d classes, the flowers are of distinct 

 sexes ; and in the 24th, and last class, the 

 only one in the second grand division, the 

 flowers and parts of fructification are not 

 evident. 



Class I — Monandria. — Flowers with one male 

 organ, or stamen; such as red-spurr, arrow-root, 

 eanna, marsh, samphire, &c. 



Class II — Diandkia. — Flowers with two male 

 organs, or stamens ; such as veronica, jasmine, li- 

 lac, rosemary, &c. 



Class III — Triandria. — Flowers with three 

 male organs, or stamens ; such as valerian, gladi- 

 olus, iris, &c. 



Class IV — Tetrandria. — Flowers with four 

 male organs, or stamens; such as dogwood, gali- 

 um, holly, box, &c. 



Class V — Pentandria. — Flowers with five 

 male organs, or stamens ; such as solanum, prim- 



rose, forget-me-not, convolvulus, vine, gooseberry, 

 currant, violet, &c. 



Class VI — Hexandria. — Flowers with six male 

 organs, or stamens; such as narcissus, tulips, 

 snowdrops, hyacinths, berberis, 8ic. 



Class VII — Heptandria. — Flowers with seven 

 male organs, or stamens ; such as the horse chest- 

 nut, &c. 



Class VIII — Octandria. — Flowers with eight 

 male organs, or stamens ; such as heaths, Fuch- 

 sias, nasturtian, Stc. 



Class IX — Enneandria. — Flowers with nine 

 male organs, or stamens; such as laurel, rhu- 

 barb, &c. 



Class X — Decandria. — Flowers with ten male 

 organs, or stamens; such as rhododendron, bap- 

 tisia, hydrangeas, carnations, pinks, &c. 



Class XI — Dodecandria.— Flowers with fweZve 

 to nineteen male organs, or stamens ; such as sem- 

 pervirum, mignonette, &c. 



Class XII — Icosandria. — Flowers with an in- 

 definite number of male organs, or stamens, but 

 usually twenty, inserted in the calyx ; such as the 

 apple, pear, peach, bramble, &c. 



Class XIII .— Polyandria.— Flo .vers with twen- 

 ty or more male organs, or stamens, inserted in 

 the receptacle, (or supporting pa t of the fructifi- 

 cation;) such as the ranunculus, poppy, anemone, 

 columbine, &,c. 



Class XIV — Didynamia. — Flowers with two 

 male organs, or stamens, of one length, and two 

 of another length, that is, two long and two short : 

 such as digitalis, lavender, marjoram, balm, &c. 



Class XV — Tetradynaia. — Flowers with six 

 stamens, or male organs, four of them long, and 

 two short ; such as sea-kale, mustard, cabbage, 

 wall-flower, &c. 



Class XVI — Monadelphia. — ^Flowers with ma- 

 ny stamens, or male organs, united by the fila- 

 ments in one body ; such as malva, laburnum, tiger 

 flower, furze, camellia, hollyhock, 8cc. 



