80 NATURAL CLASSES. 



trie trees, nearer to the fascicular wood of Palms, 

 and yet different. In Carica it has been called 

 fungose by Jussieu ; it is rather suberose like 

 cork, and cellular like a spunge, without rings. 

 In Opuntia the fleshy articulations change 

 gradualy in a woody mass of fasciculate fibres 

 as in Palms, but softer still, more cellular and 

 never hard nor concentric. 



All the trees with soft wood, often as light as 

 cork, and unfit to burn ! deserve also to be ex- 

 amined again, such as Ficus, Aesculus, Favia, 

 Adansonia, Rhizophora, &c. in order to trace 

 their analogies of evolution and increment in a 

 soft state. Their anatomical structure requires 

 a new examination. They are deemed Dicotyle, 

 as well as Carica and Cactus; but this seminal 

 character is fallacious, and not so important as 

 stated by Jussieu ; since Cycas and Juncus are 

 said to be dicotyle also, and the Coniferes are 

 polycotyle : while Nelumbium is anisocotyle or 

 nearly monocotyle, altho' united with Nymphea- 

 cea or Ranunculacea. Perhaps it is, as well as 

 Nymphea, of the Rhizomian Class ; since their 

 roots are evidently rhizomes, and the structure 

 is hardly concentric. The aquatic ferns and 

 some other aquatic Genera appear to have for 

 seeds mere Embryos or radicles called Somo- 

 rhizes by Nuttal in Ruppia. They are evidently 

 acotyle therefore. Some plants deemed Vascu- 

 lar, hardly show any vessels but cells, Mono- 

 tropa and Orobanche have such annual fleshy 

 stems. These and other anomalous plants will 

 offer a fine scope for observations, dissections, 

 and careful investigations. 



