26 POISONOUS PLANTS 



one would call buttercups, had yet a very close 

 similarity to them in the structure of their flowers 

 — as Anemones, which agree with buttercups in 

 having many stamens and many carpels ; but the 

 corolla is wanting, and the calyx is coloured or 

 white — then this formed a genus side by side with 

 Ranunculus, containing several species also. 



So botanists grouped together a number of 

 genera, all more or less agreeing with buttercups, 

 yet at the same time possessing differences which 

 prevent their being entitled to be called such. 



Collectively, the genera constitute a Family, or 

 as Botanists call it a " Natural Order." 



Botanists next proceed to arrange the families 

 in a certain sequence, in accordance with the 

 various points of structure already explained, as 

 follows : — 



First. — All families with free petals and no 

 lateral expansion of the floral receptacle, or recep- 

 tacular tube. 



Second. — All families with free petals, but pos- 

 sessing a receptacular expansion or tube of some 

 form or other. 



Third. — All families with coherent petals. 



Fourth. — Plants having incomplete flowers, i.e. 

 having, as a rule, no petals at all. 



Then follows a group which is only represented 

 in the British Isles by three trees or shrubs — the 

 Scotch Fir, the common Juniper, and the Yew. 



