rS6 Mr. Woods o» the Briiish Species of Rosa. 



hy its functions, from the five small leaves, to be a germen, till 

 the circumstance which alone distinguishes it — the small orifice 

 through which the stj'les pass — is pointed out to him. Under 

 these circumstances I have ventured to call the part in question 

 a receptacle, understanding by this term the thickened substance 

 occurring between the summit of the peduncle and the leaves of 

 the calyx in the natural order of Rosacea, supporting not only the 

 latter, but also the stamina and petals, and confining it to the 

 period of inflorescence : — the outer covering of the flower I have 

 therefore exclusively called calyx, and its divisions leajits instead 

 of lacinia;. 



The only objection to this arrangement arises from that part of 

 a strawberry and of one or two other genera, M'hich has usually 

 been called receptacle. Considering this term as only applied to 

 the edible part of the strawberry, Gaertner says that the Rose has 

 no receptacle: the difference, however, seems to me only this, 

 that the inner series of vessels in the receptacle is dilated into a 

 spongy body ; in Frag-aria soft and juicy ; in Comarum harsh and 

 dry ; while in Rosa and Potentilla no such expansion takes place. 

 If this be a correct view of the subject, the fruit of the straw- 

 berry ought not to be considered as the true receptacle, but as a 

 spongy body attached to the receptacle and immediately sup- 

 porting the seeds. 



In calling the calyx simple, sub-simple, or compound, I have 

 perhaps taken a Jess excusable liberty with the common language 

 of botany ; — by simple, I mean to express that the leafits are 

 undivided or witliout any offsets. These offsets of a leafit when 

 they occur have the appearance of a proliferous growth, which 

 renders the term offset particularly applicable; and the term 

 would perhaps be better than that of pinna, which I have adopted, 



if 



