DICECIA 



205 



terminal, and scarcely longer than the leaves , eighty foet 

 high. 



Black Larch, Hackmatack, (Pinus pendula,) leaves many, 

 in a bundle, deciduous ; cones oblong, margins of the scales 

 inflected. The renowned Cedar of Lebanon is a species of 

 Larch. 



GENUS CucurUta. Gourd. Name, the Latin word, cucur- 

 bita, which signifies a vessel. This is said to come from the 

 Celtic, cuce, a hollow thing. 



In this well known genus, the staminate flowers have a 

 calyx, which is five-toothed, corolla five-cleft ; filaments 3. 

 Pistillate flowers, calyx five-toothed, corolla five-cleft, pistil 

 three-cleft. The species include the Gourd, Squash, Pump- 

 kin, and Watermelon, the seeds of which are thickened at the 

 margin. 



GENUS Cucumis. Cucumber. The name is derived from 

 the source explained above. The flowers are similar to 

 those of the Gourd kind, but the seeds are sharp edged, and 

 the fruit is quite different. The Muskmelon also belongs 

 here. 



CLASS XXII. DICECIA. Orders 13. 



Flowers containing the stamens on one tree, and those containing 



the pistils on another tree. 



The name of this class is derived 

 from the Greek, dis, twice, and oikos, 

 a house, in reference to the stamens 

 and pistils being on two distinct 

 plants. This class contains a con- 

 siderable number of important genera, 

 the most extensive of which is the 

 Salix, or Willow. The Poplar, Ju- 

 niper, Nutmeg, Yew tree, Hop, 

 Hemp, Date Palm, and Pitcher Plant, 

 are also Dioecious plants. 



The difference between the plants which hear the stamens, 

 and those containing the pistils, is not commonly obvious 

 except by close inspection of the flowers of each. In some 

 instances, however, there is a difference in the size, or shape 



In the gourd family what is the difference between staminate and pis- 

 tillate flowers ? What does the denomination of the class Dioecia signify ? 

 In what respects do the plants of this class differ from those of Monoecia ? 

 In the willow how may the barren aments be distinguished from the fertile 

 ones ? 



18 



Fig. V 



