304 



Class II. CELLULARES, or FLOWERLESS PLANTS. 



Acotyledones, Juss. Gen. 1. (1789).— ExEMBRYONATiE or Arhizje, Rich. Anal, du Fr. (1808). 

 —Cellulares, Dec. Fl. Fr. 1. 68. (1815) ; Lindl. Synops. p. 3. (1829).— Acotyledoneje 

 and Pseudocotyledone.e, Agardh Aph. 72. (1821). — AgaMjE, Cryptogamous or JEtheo- 

 oamous Plants of authors; Ad. Brongniart in Diet. Class. 5. 155. (1824).— Nemea. 

 Fries. Syst. Orb. Veg. 1. 30. (1825.) 



Essential Character. — Substance of the plant composed of cellular tissue chiefly, either 

 in a spheroidal or elongated state; spiral vessels wholly absent ; annular ducts present in 

 some. Cuticle generally destitute of stomata. Stamens and -pistils, and consequently^owers, ab- 

 sent. Reproduction taking place either by sporules, which are enclosed in particular cases, 

 called thecce, or imbedded in the substance of the plant, or else by a mere dissolution of the 

 utricles of cellular tissue ; germination occurring at no fixed point, but upon any part of the 

 surface of the sporules. 



Such are the characters bj which this class of the vegetable kingdom is dis- 

 tinguished from the last ; characters of so marked a kind as to render it impos- 

 sible to refer individuals of one to the other. The universal want of flowers, 

 and of proper stamens and pistils ; the total absence of spiral vessels, the 

 place of which is only occasionally supplied by annular ducts ; and the non- 

 existence of a true trunk (for the stipes of Ferns, composed only of the united 

 bases of the leaves or fronds, is scarcely analogous to the trunk of Vascular 

 piants) ; and, finally, the near approach in the most simple tribes, such as Ar- 

 throdieee and Chaodines, to the nature of infusorial animalcules, are all facts, 

 the accuracy of which is undisputed, and which have no parallel in flowering 

 plants. It is true that stamens and pistils have been described by various authors 

 in many of the tribes of Cellulares; but it is equally certain, that if such organs 

 for propogation ever exist, which is extremely doubtful, they are in a most imper- 

 fect state, and by no means analogous to what we call the stamens and pistils in 

 Vasculares ; and it is even conjectured that the simplest forms of Lichens, Fungi, 

 and Alga, are produced by a kind of equivocal generation, from a common 

 form of matter having no inherent special tendency to control its mode of de- 

 velopement, but appearing as a Lichen, Alga, or Fungus, according to the pe- 

 culiar conditions of soil and atmosphere under which it is called into action. 

 Upon this subject more will be said, in speaking of those orders hereafter. 



Flowerless may be said to approach Flowering plants by Ferns, which have 

 a certain relation to Cycadere, by Lycopodinese, which may be compared in 

 many respects to Coniferse, and by Equisetacere, which have a great external 

 resemblance to Casuarina. 



The subject of Cryptogamic botany is not less obscure than extensive ; it is 

 usually, among botanists, an object of separate attention, especially in the 

 lower tribes ; and I think I shall best consult the interest of readers of this 

 work, by stating the opinions of those who have given the greatest attention to 

 particular tribes, rather than by offering any thing novel myself. I trust, how- 

 ever, I may, without incurring the charge of presumption from those great 

 crjptogamists whose lives have been devoted to the study of the subject, offer 

 here and there a few remarks upon the analogy that exists between the more 

 anomalous forms of Cellulares and those of Flowering Plants : I venture to do 

 this with the more confidence, because the truth of any opinions I may ad- 

 vance will have to be tried by the general laws of vegetable organization, and 

 upon principles which do not depend upon an extensive acquaintance with 

 species. 



