CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. | 129 
it seems necessary to notice of the large group of exogenous plants 
destitute of corolla, is that called Prperacee, from Latin piper, pepper, 
to which the true pepper-shrubs belong, although Cayenne pepper and 
Jamaica pepper are the produce of plants of very different orders. 
They are generally small shrubs or herbaceous plants with jointed 
stems. 
The orders of exogenous plants which remain to be noticed have 
generally both calyx and corolla. The order Ranunculacee consists 
chiefly of herbaceous plants, generally with a large number of stamens, 
most abundant in the colder parts of the world and in moist climates. 
To this order belong the ranunculus, anemone, and many other plants 
highly esteemed for the beauty of their flowers, and some which are 
of use in medicine, as aconite and hellebore.—The order Nympheacee, 
from Latin nymphea, the water-lily, consists of the plants commonly 
called water-lilies ; their leaves are large, and float on the water. To this 
order belongs the Victoria regia (fig. 79, page 134), a South American 
plant, remarkable for the great size of its leaves and flowers, and for the 
cultivation of which special hot-houses have been erected in some gardens 
of Britain. The flowers of water-lilies are often both very beautiful and 
very fragrant, as in the case of the common white water-lily of Britain, 
and the blue water-lily or lotus of the Nile. They generally float on the 
water as the leaves do.—Another order closely related to these is Papa- 
veracee, from Latin papaver, the poppy, to which poppies belong. Poppies 
are not only notable for their large showy flowers, but their seeds are 
edible, and yield a useful oil. The unripe capsules also contain the 
substance called opiwm, much used in medicine. 
The order Cruczfere} is a very large one, containing a great number of 
species, mostly herbaceous plants, natives of temperate and cold countries. 
To this order belong the kale—with the cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, 
Brussels sprouts, and kohl rabi, which are mere varieties of the same 
species, variously modified by cultivation—the turnip, rape, radish, sea- 
kale, cress, water-cress, mustard, wall-flower, rocket, stock, honesty, and 
many other plants cultivated for various uses in fields and gardens, or 
esteemed for the beauty of their flowers. A peculiar pungent taste is 
very characteristic of this order; it is almost unperceived in the leaves 
of the cabbage or in the root of the turnip, but gives their most esteemed 
qualities to the root of the radish, the leaves of the cress, and the seed- 
leaves of mustard used as a salad, and is most perfectly developed in the 
seeds of mustard.—The order Violacew contains the beautiful plants called 
violets, some of which are much cultivated in flower-gardens under 
the name of pansies. Some plants of this order are valuable for their 
1*‘Cross-bearing,’ from Latin cruz, erucis, a cross, and fero, to bear, so called from their 
flowers, petals, or other parts being arranged in the form of a cross. 
