CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



The chief genera are Geranium, Pelargonium, 

 and Erodium, respectively crane's-bill, stork's-bill, 

 and heron's-bill, from the fancied resemblance 

 of the ripe seed-vessel to these objects. Many 

 of the species, which are very widely distributed, 

 are natives of Europe ; but the majority of our 

 green-house favourites are from the Cape of Good 

 Hope. The herb Robert (G. Robertianuni) and 

 the meadow crane's-bill (G. pratense) are British 

 plants, as are also Erodium cicutarium and mos- 

 chatum. All the pelargoniums have their flowers 

 in heads or umbels, and the calyx remains till the 

 seeds are ripe. Their leaves vary very much, 

 some being round as the horseshoe geranium 

 and marked with a dark line ; and others are 

 deeply lobed, as some of the scented varieties. 



The GeraniaceE are all innocuous plants, being 

 generally slightly acid, and sometimes astringent. 

 They are all more or less fragrant, secreting oils 

 and resins ; and in some these secretions are so 

 abundant (Monsonia spinosa} that the stems burn 

 like torches, and emit an agreeable odour during 

 combustion. In America, the roots of G. macu- 

 latum are used as a remedy for diarrhoea; the 

 British Erodiums are sometimes employed as 

 aromatic bitters ; from P. odoratissimum a fra- 

 grant oil has been distilled, resembling the attar 

 of roses ; the underground tubercles of P. hirsu- 

 tum are esculent, and prized by the Arabs as food ; 

 the tubers of G. parviflorum are eaten by the 

 natives of Tasmania, where it is called the Native 

 Carrot The pelargoniums, generally called gera- 

 niums, which are seen at horticultural exhibitions 

 are chiefly hybrids and improved varieties of the 

 Cape species of Pelargonium. 



LINAGES. A small order. The flowers are in 

 five parts, like those of the cloveworts ; but the 

 sepals of the calyx are always distinct, and, instead 

 of being arranged in a regular whorl, two are 

 placed a little lower than the others, as in the 

 Cistacece. There are five styles and stigmas ; but 

 the seed-vessel splits into ten valves, each carpel 

 containing two seeds, separated by an obscure 

 partition, which gives the carpels the appearance 

 of being only one-seeded. The seeds are flat and 

 shining, with a large embryo. 



The only genera are Linum, Cliococca, and 

 Radiolaj the former comprehending many species. 

 L. catharticum is the purging-flax of rural prac- 

 tice. But of all plants of the order, the common 

 flax (L. usitatissimum) is the most important and 

 best known. Flax will grow in almost any part 

 of the world ; and though an annual, its stem 

 contains so much woody fibre that it is exceed- 

 ingly tough and durable, yielding by maceration 

 the flax of commerce. The seeds contain a 

 great quantity of oil (linseed-oil}, which is ob- 

 tained from them by pressure, and the refuse 

 forms oil-cake, employed by farmers in feeding 

 cattle. The seeds also abound in mucilagin- 

 ous matter, and are thus made use of medi- 

 cinally, for coughs, &c. ; or, when ground into 

 meal, for poultices. Though lint was at one time 

 pretty extensively grown in Britain, our manu- 

 facturers now derive the greater part of their 

 supplies from the countries adjoining the Baltic, 

 from which, in one year, not less than 70,000 tons 

 of flax, and about 2,000,000 bushels of linseed, 

 have been imported. The Valley of the Nile, 

 anciently celebrated for its fine linen, now yields 

 but an inconsiderable quantity, in consequence 



94 



of the present barbarous condition of the inhab- 

 itants. It is there cultivated during the cold 

 season. Of late years, the fibres of flax, by being 

 steeped in a solution of carbonate of soda, and 

 afterwards dipped in a weak acid solution, are so 

 broken up as to form a substance like cotton, 

 which is manufactured in the same way as that 

 fabric. 



CALYCIFLOR.iE. 



The plants comprised in this sub-class are di- 

 chlamydeous that is, having both calyx and co- 

 rolla as in the preceding ; the petals are usually 

 separate, but sometimes united ; the stamens per- 

 igynous, arising from the calyx, and thus sur- 

 rounding the ovary ; or epigynous, arising, appar- 

 ently, from the upper part of the ovary, which is 

 in this case inferior as regards the parts of the 

 flower. It has been separated into two divisions : 

 the one named Polypetala, from the petals being 

 several and separated ; the other Monopetalce, 

 from their being so united as to appear single ; 

 for example, a wild rose has five distinct petals, 

 separate to the base, whereas a bell-flower (Cam- 

 panula) has all its petals united into one piece. 

 In no case do the stamens arise directly from the 

 thalamus, which is the characteristic of the pre- 

 ceding sub-class. Here the parts of the flower 

 are more or less united to each other. The 

 following are the orders belonging to Calyciflorse : 



POLYPETAL^E. 



Stackhousiaceae Stackhou- 



siads. 



*Celastraceae Spindle-trees. 

 *Staphyleaceae Bladder-nuts. 

 *Rhamnaceae Buckthorns. 



Anacardiaceae Cashews. 



Amyridaceae Myrrh order. 



Connaraceae Connarads. 

 *Leguminosae or Fabaceae Le- 

 guminous Plants. 



Moringaceae Moringas. 

 "Rosaceae Rose order. 



Calycanthacese Calycanths. 

 *Lythraceas Loosestrifes. 



Rhizophoracese Mangroves. 



Vochysiacex Vochysia order. 



Combretaceae Myrobalans. 



Melastomaceae Melastomads. 



Alangiaceae Alangiads. 



Philadelphaceae Syringas. 



Myrtaceae Myrtles. 



Chamaelauciaceae Fringe- 

 myrtles. 



Lecythidaceae Monkey-pots. 



Barringtoniaceae Barringto- 



nias. 



Onagraceae Evening Prim- 

 roses. 



"Halorageaceae Mare's-tails. 



Loasaceae Chili-nettles. 

 *Cucurbitaceae Cucumber or- 

 der. 



Papayaceae Papaw- worts. 



Belvisiaceae Belvisiads. 



Passifloraceae Passion-flowers. 



Turneraceae Turnera order. 

 * Portulacaceae Purslanes. 



Illecebraceas Knotworts. 

 "Crassulaceae Stonecrops. 



Mesembryanthemaceae Fig- 

 marigolds. 



Te tragoniaceae Tetragonias. 



Cactaceae Cactuses. 

 *Grossulariaceae Gooseberry or- 

 der. 



Escalloniaceae Escalloniads. 

 *Saxifragaceae Saxifrages. 



Hydrangeaceae Hydrangeads. 



Cunoniaceae Cunoniads. 



Bruniaceae Bruniads. 



Hamamelidaceae Witch-hazels. 

 *Umbelliferae or Apiaceae Um- 

 bel-bearers. 

 "Araliaceae Ivyworts. 

 *Cornaceae Cornels. 



MONOPETAL.fi. 



^Loranthaceae Mistleto order. Brunoniaceae Brunoniads. 

 * Caprifoliaceae Honeysuckles. Goodeniaceae Goodeniads. 

 *Rubiaceae Cinchona and Bed- Stylidiaceae Styleworts. 



straw order. 

 *Valerianaceae Valerians. 

 *Dipsaceae Teazelworts. 

 Calyceraceae Calycera order. 

 'Compositae or Asteraceae 



Composites. 



*Campanulaceae Bell-flowers. 

 *Lobeliaceae Lobeliads. 



Styracaceae Storax order. 



Columelliaceae Columellia or- 

 der. 

 *Vacciniaceae Cranberries. 



LEGUMINOSJE. This is one of the most exten- 

 sive and best defined orders in the vegetable king- 

 dom. Many of its plants bear butterfly-shaped 

 (papilionaceous) flowers, and all have pod-like 

 seed-vessels ; among which may be mentioned, as 

 familiar examples, the pea, bean, lupine, broom, 

 furze, and laburnum. The following may be stated 



