231 
PART ILI. 
THE ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM; OR THE 
DESCRIPTION, HISTORY, PROPERTIES, AND USES, OF THE HARDY 
TREES AND SHRUBS OF BRITAIN, INDIGENOUS AND FOREIGN. 
Trees and shrubs,in common with all other perfect plants, are arranged by 
botanists in two grand divisions; viz. the Exogenous, or Dicotyledonous, plants, 
the stems of which increase from without ; and the Endogenous, or Monocoty- 
ledonous, plants, the stems of which increase from within. The first class in- 
cludes all the hardy trees and shrubs in Britain, with the exception of shrubs 
of the genera Yicca, Smilax, Rascus,and one or two others ; and this circum- 
stance, as well as the fact, that the trees and shrubs of Britain are comprised 
in a very few orders and tribes, has determined us to neglect the great 
scientific divisions of the natural system, and to.adopt only those of the orders 
and tribes. We proceed, therefore, with the orders of the natural system, 
much in the same series as that in which they are laid down in De Candolle’s 
Prodromus, Don’s Miller’s Dictionary, and in our Hortus Britannicus, giving 
the orders as chapters, and the tribes as sections, and including in our dis- 
tinctive character of each order, the characteristic of the division to which it 
belongs: that is to say, whether to Dichlamydez Thalamifloree, Dichlamydeze 
Calycifloree, Dichlamydez Corollifloree, or Monochlamydez. : 
"CHAP. .1. 
OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER RANUNCULA‘CEX. 
Tue term Ranunculacez is applied to this order, because all the plants con- 
tained in it have, more or less, the character of the genus Raninculus. The 
diagnostic, or distinctive character, of the order is thus given by Dr. Lindley :— 
“ Polypetalous dicotyledons, with hypogynous stamens [that is, stamens under 
the pistil]; anthers bursting by longitudinal slits ; several distinct simple car- 
pella [fruits] ; exstipulate leaves, sheathing at their base; solid albumen; and 
seeds without arillus.” (Introd. to the Nat. Syst., p. 6.) 
The only ligneous plants belonging to this order are, some species of Clématis 
and Atragéne, one of Paonia, and the genus Xanthorhiza. The stems of the 
species alluded to, though they are botanically considered as ligneous, yet have 
very little claim to the appellation in the common sense of the word ; and, 
indeed, with the exception of the stems of Clématis Vitalba, C. Flammula, and 
one or two other species of Clématis and Xanthorhiza, the stems of the plants 
belonging to this order might be almost called subherbaceous. The species 
are chiefly natives of Europe and North America; but some are from India, 
China, and Japan. The Ranunculacez are considered to indicate a cold damp 
climate, and to be acrid, caustic, and poisonous, though the root of the peony 
is said to be antispasmodic. All the plants of the order, with the exception 
perhaps of a few of the species, seem to be extremely tenacious of life. The 
tubers of the common ranunculus and anemone, if kept dry, will vegetate at 
the end of two, and even three, years; and the seeds of most of the species, 
more especially those of the Clematidez, may be kept a number of years 
without impairing their vital powers. The tribes containing ligneous plants 
are two, Clematidez and Peonidcee. The last tribe belongs to a division of 
the order consisting of what are considered as spurious Ranunculacee. It 
