176 UNN/EAN NATURAL SYSTEM. 



petals ; most have six stamens, some three, others nine. The 

 gennens are three in some, solitary in others, and the style and 

 stigma are subject to like diversity in different genera. The fruit is 

 in some, as in the phccnix dactylifera or date, a single drupe, in 

 others composed of three ; in some like the cocoa, a nut with a cari- 

 aceous coat. The sc' ds are mostly solitary, but in several instances, 

 two or three in each fruit. 



ORDER 11. PIPERIT/E. 



3. The plants of this division have an aeriil flavour, 

 whence they are commonly named pepper-plants. Piper 

 or pepper, arum, acorus and others. 



They afford no common character to discriminate the order, except 

 possibly the elongated receptacle and sessile anthers, but some 

 u,iifnt iicerr have the same. 



ORDER III. CAI.AMARI*. 



4. This order consists of such plants as are nsually 

 called reeds, and most of which are very closely related 

 to the true grasses or fourth order, and have almost the 

 same kind of leaves. Scirpus or club-rush, &c. 



Their seed is solitary and naked ; stamens three ; style one, not 

 unfrequently three-cleft at the summit ; glume generally one-valved ; 

 stem a culm, mostly triangular, rarely round, often leafless or 

 nearly so. 



ORDER IV. GRAMINA. 



5. This order is constituted by the true grutses, a 

 very peculiar and extensive tribe of plants. 



Their stem is a hollow culm ; inflorescence either a spike or 

 panicle; calyx two-valved ; stamens from one to six ; thegermen 

 is superior, with two styles, sometimes raised rtn a common stalk 

 or elongated base ; seed gem-rally solitary and without a capsule. 



