250 



culable value as aliment for man : such are all the Corn tribe, Plantains, and 

 some Palms, which contain it in their fruit ; the Sago and other Palms, in 

 which it occupies the trunk ; and the eatable Aroideous plants, Orchises, Yams, 

 &c, in which it is found in the root. Sugar, gluten, oil, and aromatic princi- 

 ples, are also frequently met with in Monocotyledons ; but, as Humboldt well 

 remarks, acids, bitters, resins, camphor, tannin, milk, or poisonous matter, are 

 either wholly wanting or very uncommon. The latter chiefly exists in Aroi- 

 dese, some Amaryllidese, and Melanthacere. 



The orders of Monocotyledons are given in the state in which they now 

 exist ; but it must be confessed that the characters and hmits of many of them 

 are far from satisfactory. The whole of those which border upon Asphodeleae 

 require to be reconsidered by some botanist who is in possession of the means 

 of examining them in great detail ; their actual condition is, no doubt, attribu- 

 table to the partial view that has hitherto been taken of them. Some one 

 should do that for Asphodeleag which the late M. Richard so admirably exe- 

 cuted for Alismacese and their affinities. 



Endogenous plants are conveniently divided into those in which the floral 

 envelopes are verticillate (Petaloideai), and those in which the flowers consist 

 of imbricated bracteae (Glumacece). 



TRIBE I. PETALOIDEiE. 



These comprehend all Monocotyledons except Grasses and Sedges. They 

 are known by their flowers being fully and normally developed ; or, if there 

 is no proper floral envelope, by the stamens and pistils being in that case 

 naked, and not covered by imbricated bracteee. Some of them have both the 

 calyx and corolla equally formed, and coloured so as to be undistinguishable, 

 unless by the manner in which those par^ originate: these constitute the 

 Hexapctaloideous form. Others have the calyx and corolla distinct, as in Dico- 

 tyledons, to which, in fact, they nearly approach in Butomese, which have a 

 strong analogy with Nymphceaceee, and in Alismaceae, which cannot be con- 

 sidered widely apart from Ranunculacese : these are named Tripetaloideous. 

 Lastly, there is a group of orders in which the floral envelopes have a manifest 

 tendency to abortion, being always small, and of a herbaceous colour, if pre- 

 sent ; often altogether wanting ; and frequently less than 6, the normal num- 

 ber of Monocotyledons : as many of them are arranged in a spadix, and as 

 most of them have a direct tendency to that kind of inflorescence, the form is 

 called Spadiceous. 



LIST OF THE ORDERS. 



229. Alismaceae. 



230. Butomese. 



231. Hydrocharidea?. 



232. Commelinese. 



233. Xyrideae. 



234. Bromeliacese. 



235. Hypoxidese. 



236. Burmanniae, 



237. Hffimodoracese. 



238. Amaryllideae. 



239. Irideae. 



240. Orchidese. 



241. Scitamineae. 



242. Marantaceae. 



243. Musacese. 



244. Junceae. 



245. Melanthaceae. 



246. Pontedereae. 



247. Asphodeleae. 



248. Gilliesieae. 



249. Smilacere. 



250. Dioscorese. 



251. Liliaceee. 



252. Palmae. 



253. Restiacese. 



254. Pandaneae. 



255. Typhacese. 



256. Aroidete. 



257. Balanophoreae. 



258. Fluviales. 



259. Juncagineae. 



260. Pistiacea;. 



