78 



CALYCIFLOR^ 



of the trees belonging to this division, the fruit is, with the 

 exception of the Laurel, harmless, or even a nourishing food. 



Amygdalus communis, the Almond Tree, 

 grows naturally in Barbary and in 

 Asia, from Syria to Afghanistan, and 

 is extensively cultivated in the south 

 of Europe. There are two varieties 

 of the tree, one yielding the sweet, the 

 other the bitter Almond. Jordan Al- 

 monds, which are considered the best, 

 I are brought from Malaga ; bitter Al- 

 <\ monds are imported from Mogadore. 

 The varieties of Amygdalus Persica pro- 

 duce the Peach, Nectarine, and Apricot. 

 Primus domestica and its varieties afford 

 Plums of many kinds. P. Lusitanica 

 is well known by the name of Portugal 

 Amygdalejb Laurel. 



(The Almond Group) r p RUNUS (Plum and Cherry). Nut 



of the drupe smooth, or slightly seamed. 

 (Name from the Greek, proline', a plum. Cerasus, a name some- 

 times given to one division of this genus, is derived from Cerasus, 

 a city of Pontus, whence the Roman general Lucullus introduced 

 a superior kind, B.C. 67.) 



Sub-order II. Spireid^e. Meadow-sweet Group 



This division contains a limited number of herbaceous or shrubby 

 plants, which bear their seeds in dry, erect capsules, opening at the 

 side, termed follicles. Several species of spircea are ornamental 

 shrubs, and are commonly cultivated in gardens. 



2. Spiraea (Meadow-sweet, Dropwort). Calyx 5-cleft ; stamens 

 numerous ; follicles 3-12, bearing few seeds. (Name of Greek 

 origin.) 



Sub-order III. Potentillid^e. The Strawberry Group 



In this division the form of the fruit varies much more than in 

 either of the preceding ; but in every case the calyx is permanent 

 and contains a number of nut-like seeds, with or without tails, 

 placed on a pulpy, spongy, or dry receptacle ; in the Bramble, each 

 seed is enveloped in pulp, the fruit being an assemblage of small 

 drupes ; in Agrimony alone there are but two seeds, which are 

 enclosed in a bristly, hardened calyx. The plants of this division 

 are mostly herbaceous, but some few are shrubs. None of them are 

 injurious : the roots and leaves nf some are astringent or tonic. 



