22 INTRODUCTION. 



with flowers however and carefully examined 

 generically j although it is not always easy to 

 see well the minute floral characters of dry 

 specimens. As to the inside of the seeds, their 

 fallacious anatomical structures never perplex 

 me ', I leave them to Anatomists with the in- 

 side of roots and fibres : microscopical observa- 

 tions are always useless for practical descrip- 

 tive Botany, as all genera and families have 

 outward evident floral forms peculiar to each. 



When plants have not been seen actually 

 alive or dry, I quote as usual the books, au- 

 thors or figures, that have imparted their 

 knowledge; but few such plants will however 

 be mentioned here, this being rather intended 

 as a collection of my own observations : yet in 

 complete monographs or revised Genera it will 

 be needful to compare all the species and facts. 

 It is to be regretted that our botanists too of- 

 ten neglect the labors of their colleagues, by 

 not comparing all previous or proposed spe- 

 cies: whereby they can only give us imperfect 

 monographs. 



Severul authors have mistaken foreign 

 plants of distant regions for our own. Many 

 such are found in Thunberg, Gmelin, Loureiro, 

 &c. that are different species from Japan, 

 Sibiria or Anam. Decandole has recommend- 

 ed to compare again every plant deemed native 

 of several remote regions, and I shall often do 

 it. 



