L1NNJEAN NATURAL SYSTEM. 183 



The whole order is harmless, without any peculiar taste or smell, 

 except in the flowers. The roots are fibrous ; stem herbaceous, 

 scarcely shrubby, jointed; its branches commonly alternate ; leaves 

 simple, more or less of a lanceolate figure, undivided, hardly crenate 

 in any degree, sessile, with no other appearance of a foot-stalk than 

 their elongated narrow base, opposite, obvolute. Flower rarely 

 sessile ; stamens never numerous, but either the same in number as 

 the petals, or twice as many ; pistils from one to five, not more ; 

 fruit a capsule, either of one cell, or of as many us there are styles, 

 the cells usually with many seeds. 



ORDER XXIII. TRIIIILAT^E. 



24. So called to comprehend plants with three-celled 

 and three-grained fruit, all the cells being distinct, and 

 each seed marked with the hilum or scar. The genus 

 melia, however, has five cells. Trichilia, guarea, mal- 

 pighia or Barbadoes cherry, &c. 



The whole order scarcely contains any thing acrid, except tropoz- 

 olium, nor any thing either fragrant or noxious. The leaves of the 

 plants are inclined to be compound, and are both opposite and alter- 

 nate. The calyx is either of four or five leaves, or of one leaf in five 

 deep segments ; petals four or five ; stamens eight or ten. One 

 part of the fructification is often diminished as to number ; for in- 

 stance the petals, and when they become but four, the stamens are 

 only eight. A nectary is always present, hence the corolla is fre- 

 quently irregular. 



ORDER XXIV. CORYDALES. 



25. This order embraces a selection of plants which 

 have irregular flowers somewhat resembling a helmet. 

 Impatiens or balsam, melianthus or honey-flower, fu- 

 inaria or fumitory, and so on. 



There is a certain fragility and delicacy of texture characteristic 

 of the corydales, with a glacuous hue, which points out their affinity : 



