8o THE STORY OF PLANT LIFE 



Dicotyledons, but owing to their two cotyledons 

 they have been included in the latter. 



The primary root is arrested. The current leaves 

 (which develop before the rounded leaves) are narrow 

 and bladeless, then spear-shaped, then round or 

 shield-shaped, as in Aroids. These are adaptations 

 to an aquatic habitat. 



4. The Poppy Group. 



The order Papaveracese consists of herbaceous 

 plants, whose range is the N. Temperate Zone. 

 There are some 28 genera and over 200 species. 

 Many are annual. They have alternate leaves, and 

 contain (except in Fumaria, Corydalis, Dtcentra, if 

 these be included in the group) a milky or yellow 

 poisonous juice. The hardened juice forms the 

 opium of commerce or morphia. 



The flowers are usually regular, solitary, or in 

 racemes, hermaphrodite, and (except in Californian 

 Poppy) hypogynous. 



The calyx is polysepalous and inferior, and the two 

 sepals are caducous. The corolla is polypetalous and 

 hypogynous. 



The petals are four, crumpled in the bud. The 

 stamens are numerous, with a long anther-stalk. 

 The anthers open at the side by two longitudinal 

 fissures. The pistil is syncarpous, the ovary i- 

 celled or unilocular, divided by many placentary 

 divisions, which nearly reach the centre^ radiating 



