ORDER DECANDRIA. 249 



united in one set ; where a flower is papilionaceous, it is still 

 kept in this class, although there may be no apparent division 

 in the brotherhood or set. 



2nd. Although the flower be papilionaceous, if it has ten sepa- 

 rate stamens, it is placed in the 10th class ; this is the case with 

 the cassia and wild indigo. This circumstance was remarked 

 under the tenth class. 



The distinction of the filaments into sets is often somewhat 

 difficult to be ascertained ; in the pea, for example, it is neces- 

 sary to take a pin, and separate the filament which is alone, in 

 order to perceive that it is not united to the other nine filaments. 

 When they are separated, it is mostly with nine filaments to- 

 gether, and one which seems disconnected : there are but few 

 examples of stamens being arranged in equal sets of five each. 



The nature of the fruit in the papilionaceous plants is legu- 

 minous, or bearing a pod, like the bean and pea, called a le- 

 gume. 



The orders in this, as in the preceding class, are founded up- 

 on the number of stamens, the class not having appropriated 

 to itself a character drawn from the same circumstance. 



Pent-Octandria. 



We could not expect from the character of the class, "sta- 

 mens united into two sets," to find any plants with but one sta- 

 men ; therefore there is no order until we find some plants 

 which answer the classic character. Those with five or eight 

 stamens are all placed in one order called Pent-octandria (five 

 and eight stamens) ; here we find Corydalis and Fumaria, be- 

 longing to a natural order Corydales, which includes such plants 

 as are -spurred, or are anomalous ; the latter term signifying 

 that their corolla is not such as can be described by any thing 

 else. The Corydalis is an elegant plant with bulbous roots ; 

 the corolla is rather ringent than papilionaceous. In some ca- 

 ses the stamens have very broad bases, and scarcely seem 

 united. 



We find here POLYGALA, one species of which is called 

 Seneca snake-root ; this not only produces a beautiful flower, 

 but is valuable as a medicine. We have many species of this 

 genus, and you will no doubt be able to find specimens of it 

 in the woods and meadows. 



Decandria. 



The Tenth Order is wholly composed of plants with legu- 

 minous pods ; the general character of these plants is a calyx 



Flowers Papilionaceous Fruit leguminous Order Pent-Octandria Natu- 

 ral order Corydales Polygala Order Decandria. 



