238 



CLASS POLYANDRIA. 



LECTURE XXXI. 



CLASS XII. POLYANDRIA. 



IN this class we find the stamens 

 separate from the calyx, and attached 

 to the receptacle or top of the flower 

 stem. The number of stamens in this 

 class varies from twenty to some him- 

 dreds. This class does not, like the 

 one we have last examined, contain a 

 great many delicious fruits, but rather 

 abounds in poisonous and active vege- 

 tables. The mode of insertion of the 

 stamens is to be regarded in consider, 

 ing the wholesome qualities of plants ; 

 it is asserted that no plant with the 



stamens on the calyx is poisonous ; we know that very many 



with the stamens upon the receptacle are so. 



In the analysis of the Poppy we have already examined the 



peculiar characteristics of this class. 



Monogynia. 



We find in the first order some flowers of a curious appear- 

 ance, as the Mandrake (Podophyllum) ; the distinction be- 

 tween this and the mandrake of the ancients, was remarked 

 under the class Pentandria. This plant is very common in 

 moist, shady places, where you may often see great quantities 

 of it growing together ; each stem supports a large, white 

 flower and two large, peltate, palmate leaves ; its yellow 

 fruit is eaten by many as a delicacy. 



The Side-saddle flower (Sarracenia), is a very curious and 

 elegant plant it has large leaves proceeding directly from the 

 root. These leaves form a kind of cup, capable of containing 

 a gill or more of water, with which liquid they are usually 

 filled. The stem is of that kind called a scape, growing to 

 the height of one or two feet, bearing a single large purple 

 flower. This plant is found in swamps ; its common name, 

 Side-saddle flower, is given in reference to the form of its 

 leaf. It is sometimes called Adam's cup, in reference also to 

 the shape of the leaf. The name of the genus SARRACENIA, 

 is derived from an imaginary resemblance of the flower, to 

 the head of a Saracen or Turk enveloped in his crimson tur- 

 ban. No foreign plant as an object of curiosity, can exceed 



Class Polyandria Order Monogynia Podophyllura Sarracenia. 



