546 



litary, except in Perilla, where there are two, and bearing 

 two acute stigmas. Seeds four, naked, Prasium excepted, 

 whose seeds have a succulent skin, causing them to re- 

 semble berries. A berry, properly speaking, is a seed- 

 vessel ; but in Rosa it is the calyx, in Fragaria the re- 

 ceptacle, and in Prasium the skin of the seeds." 



" Many of this order are humble shrubs, none are trees, 

 most of them are annual or perennial herbs. The stem 

 is generally square. Leaves in every instance opposite, 

 simple, mostly undivided. None of the plants are fur- 

 nished with tendrils, nor of a climbing nature. The scent 

 of nearly all of them is highly fragrant, the odoriferous 

 matter being contained in minute cells, which, when the 

 leaves are held against the light, appear like numerous 

 perforations." 



"The flowers usually stand in whorls, encircling the 

 stem as with a ring. When these whorls approach very 

 closely together, the stems appear spiked, as in Ori 

 ganum." 



" This order is in the highest degree natural ; whence 

 arises great difficulty in determining the genera. Lin- 

 naeus has derived a character from the calyx, according 

 to which the whole order is divided into two sections." 



" The first of these comprehends such as have a five- 

 cleft calyx, that is, where all the teeth of this part are 

 nearly of equal size and shape. The second consists of 

 those with a two-lipped calyx, which is indeed five-cleft, 

 but its two upper segments are, in a manner, united into 

 one, which might almost be termed emarginate only ; 

 while between these two united segments and the remain- 

 ing three, there is so deep a fissure, at each side, that the 

 calyx is nearly divided into two parts, or lobes. Linnaeus 

 has bestowed great attention in searching for the essen- 

 tial characters of genera in this natural order, and has 

 detected several, which are marked in the Systema Vege- 

 tabilium with a sign of exclamation." 



