BOTANICAL INTRODUCTION. 2C/7 



8th class. Ociandria, or eight stamens, gives us the fuchsia 

 or ladies' ear-drop, heath, and evening primrose. 



9th. class. Enneandria, or nine stamens, the camphor, sassa- 

 fras, and the bay (laurus nobilis), sometimes called pacifera, 

 as sung by the ancient poets. 



10th. Decandria;Or ten stamens; this class includes the pink, 

 the wild indigo, the wild pea, pokeweed, hydrangea, and In- 

 dian redbud. 



11th class. Icosandria ; this class does not depend on the 

 number of the stamens, but upon the manner of insertion upon 

 the calyx; " in this class we find the night-blooming cereus, a 

 species of cactus, having very large flowers, with the calyx 

 yellow, and the petals white; they begin to open soon after the 

 setting of the sun, and close before its rising, never again to 

 blossom. The most beautiful flower among the cactus family 

 is said to be the cactus speciossissimus, v/iih flowers of the 

 color of crimson-velvet, more superb than even the grandiflorus. 

 No class can offer more beautiful specimens than the Icosan- 

 dria, if we look only at the cactus order, destitute in general 

 of leaves, but with the stems often appearing like a series of 

 thick fleshy leaves, one growing from the top of the other, and 

 sometimes composed of a stem resembling flattened leaves, as 

 the prickly-pear." In this class isalso found the hawthorn, the 

 strawberry, and the whole family of roses. 



12th class. Polyandria ; this has stamens separate from the 

 calyx, and attached to the top of the flower-stem, as the mag- 

 nolia, the tulip-tree, the pond-lily, the poppy, and the tea- 

 plant. 



13th class. Didynamia ; this class is distinguished by the 



length and number of the stamens — four in number, two 



longer than the other, the wall-flower, and the foxglove, and 



trumpet-flower. 



14th class. Tetradynamia, possesses six stamens, four short- 



