128 BOTANY. 
of the Philippine Islands, has become a considerable article of commerce, 
under the name of Manilla hemp.—Orchids (Orchidacee) are a large order 
of endogenous plants, generally remarkable for the beauty as well as the 
curious structure of their flowers. 
Exogenous Plants.—We now come to Exogenous plants, but of these the 
orders are so numerous that many which contain valuable species must be 
left unnoticed. A very important order, Conifere [Latin, ‘ cone-bearers’], 
contains pines, firs, larches, cedars, araucarias, junipers, &:. Among the 
Conifere are the tallest trees in the world, such as the great pines of 
California (Wellingtonia gigantea),| which attain a height of 300 feet or 
more, their stems rising erect almost to the very summit, and without a 
branch for almost half their height from the ground. Many of the 
Conifere are very valuable for their timber, which is remarkably resinous. 
From trees of this order we obtain also turpentine, tar, and pitch. 
The Amentacee, from Latin amentum, a catkin, are so called from 
having their flowers in catkins, as willows, poplars, birch, alder, hazels, 
_oaks, beeches, chestnuts, walnuts, &c. It will be seen, from the 
examples named, that among the Amentacee are many noble and 
beautiful trees, and some which are valuable for their fruits. They 
abound chiefly in the temperate parts of the world. Both the Coni- 
fere and Amentacee are destitute of corolla. The order Urticacea, 
from Latin uwrtica, a nettle, contains a great number of species, of 
which the nettle is an example. Many of the species have stinging hairs; 
and some Indian nettles sting with a severity far beyond that of the 
nettles of Britain. Yet the common large nettle of Britain, when gathered 
young and boiled, is perfectly wholesome, and nettle-broth was at one 
time in common use in Scotland. Hemp, which yields one of the most 
valuable of fibres, is nearly allied to the nettles, as is also the hop, of 
which the flowers are used for flavouring beer. 
Closely allied to the Urticacee is the order Moracee, from Latin morum, 
the mulberry, to which the fig and the mulberry belong. The species 
are generally trees, and chiefly abound in warm countries, in which 
many species of fig are found, some of them rapidly covering ruined 
buildings with their branches and foliage. The banyan, already noticed, 
is a species of fig. The fruit of the common fig is very superior to 
that of any other of its genus. The sycamore, sometimes mentioned 
in the Bible, is another species of fig, the fruit of which is a common 
article of food in Egypt and Syria. Some species of this order yield abund- 
antly caoutchoue or india-rubber.—To these orders, that called Ulmacea, 
from Latin ulmus, an elm, is also allied. It consists of trees and 
shrubs, of which the elms are examples. They have rough leaves, and 
are valuable as ornamental and timber trees—The only other order which 
‘ 
1 Named after the late Duke of Wellington, 
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