ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 93 



in which he must search through upwards of 1000 genera to find the genus of any species he 

 may have_ under examination, I have thought I might render him a more acceptable service 

 by preparing a brief Synopsis of all those appertaining to the Indian Flora, than by any 

 amount of remarks on such of them as may have engaged my particular attention. Sucfi 

 a synopsis, if but moderately well drawn up, should materially lessen his labour, while 

 endeavouring to ascertain the genus of an unknown plant, through the simple operation of 

 concentrating his attention on about one-tenth of the whole number embraced by a general 

 system of Botany, exclusive of the advantage of having only to deal with the most essential 

 points or the character of each genus. 



n r'^^^l''^^S'''^'' ^' ^''""^^ i" ^¥ ^^"o^^"g Synopsis are simply abreviations, of those of 

 DeCandolle s Prodroraus, and therefore can only be viewed as aids to the knowledge of. not 

 as substitutes for the originals the difference between the two being that mine are somewhat 

 differently arranged and include only the essential particulars of his fuller definitions. I was 

 m the hrst instance induced to undertake this abridgment from having myself often felt the 

 want of some work to which I could refer for Indian genera, apart from those of the rest 

 of the world (still a desideratum), whi?e undergoing the irksome labour of studying the 

 characters of numerous foreign ones, where there was no chance of finding what I wanted, 

 and now publish it in the hope of thereby smoothing down, for others, some of the impedi- 

 ments which then beset my own path. If I have succeeded in lightening the labours of 

 those folio wino. m the same track mine is amply rewarded. A compendium of all the Indian 

 species described in that great work would prove a boon indeed to the Indian Botanist, and 

 it is to be hoped that this consideration will induce some one, having leisure for the task 

 to undertake the work, as the materials accumulr'^ ' '* 

 imperfect, are wonderfully complete. 



Various plans for the subdivision and grouping of the species of this great family, to 

 bring them more withm our grasp, have at different times been proposed. Tournefourt divided 

 Compositaemto three Classes, adopting as the basis of his arrangement the form of the 



the 



corolla : Flosculose, Semiflosculose 



The first of these included the modern 



the 



CynarecB, to the second CichoracecB corresponds, and to the last all those with Radiate flowers. 



Jussieu also divides them Into three Classes or Orders : CichoraccB, Cinocephalcc and 

 CorymhifercB. The first is still retained, and also, with some modifications, the second: the 

 third, having capitula, partly flosculose partly ligulate, or altogether flosculose, but with male 



or hermaphrodite flowers in the centre and females '" *^° «:««"^f -^ tr\^n j„n_i_ rn.-i. _v 



floras), has been largely modified by late observers. 



Linnaeus divides his 19th Class, Syngenesia, into five orders. 1st. Polygamia eqaulis, flowers 

 all perfect. _2d. Polygamia superflua, flowers of the disk hermaphrodite, of the ray female. 

 Jd. Polygamia frustrania, flowers of the disk hermaphrodite, of the ray sterile. 4th. Polygamia 

 necessana, flowers of the disk male, of the ray female ; and 5th. Polygamia segregata, the 

 -eneral capitulum made up of a series of minor capitula, each containing from one to several 

 lowers, having the united anthers of the class. 



Cassini divided the Order into 19 Tribes, each mainly resting on some peculiarity of the 

 style and stigma. Lessing adopted the principles of his arrangement to a certain extent, but 

 reduced the number of tribes from 19 to eight, taking the primary characters of his tribes 

 from the style of the stameniferous flowers. 



basis 



hence 



his three primary groups: Tuhulijkrce, LabiatiflorcB and LiguliJlorce, a division, perhaps 

 somewhat artificial, but certainly calculated most materially to lighten the labour of ascer- 



taininnr fVlO noma anA -r^nnn. r^P «n -.-.^.l^n /v-n.-.. ^ fTIL _ A_:U__ -._» JT^tl^. ,^, Jrxt. _ J I 1^« 



peculiarities of the style. 



unknown 



distinguished 



These styloid distinctions are not always, especially in the first division, of easy 

 application in practice, but, notwithstanding the, apparent, narrowness of the foundation, it 

 seems to have afforded room enough for the erection of a large and wonderfully perfect 

 edifice. It is probable it is but another step towards a better by throwing much new 



I'ght on many parts previously most obscure and unintelligible. 



