278 appendix' 



2. Genera. — We liave seen that the Banyan tree (Ficus 

 hengalensis) constitutes a species. If we muster the vegetable 

 kingdom, we can easily find other trees which r.f^semble the 

 Banyan tree in most important points of structure, such as the 

 Peepul tree or the Country Fig tree. Such plants form one 

 genus, viz., the genus "Ficus". 



3. The Scientific Nomenclature of plants is based on this 

 classification into species and genera. Thus the Banyan tree 

 is known as Ficus hengalensis and the Peepul tree as Ficus 

 religiosa, the common first name "Ficus" denoting the genus, 

 and the second "hengalensis" or "religiosa", the species. 



Plants have, of course, popular names also; but as these 

 vary not only in various countries, but even in different parts of 

 the same country, and as different plants are also called by the 

 same name in different parts of a country, such popular names 

 are useless for students of botany. Hence scientific names, 

 derived from Latin and Greek, are applied to plants, by which 

 they are known to all educated people of the world. 



4. Families, Classes, etc. — Several genera which agree in 

 certain marked characters, constitute a family, and several fami- 

 lies still larger divisions. In this manner we have grouped: 



the genera of Gossypium, Hibiscus, Bombax, etc., under the 

 family of Malvaceae; 



the families of Malvaceae, Crucifera?, Leguniinosa? and others 

 under the sub-class of Polypetake ( = plants with separated petals); 



the sub-classes of polypetalous, gamopetalous ( = of united 

 petals) and monochlamydeous plants (= having a single instead 

 of a double floral cover) under the class of Dicotyledons; 



the classes of dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants 

 under the division of Phanerogams ( = " flowering plants"): 



and the two divisions of phanerogamous and cryptogamous 

 ("Howerless") plants under the Vegotabk^ Kingdom. 



