GENERAL CHARACTERS OF PLANTS 15 



longer than the others ; a superior, four-lol)ed ovary ; and a fruit 

 of four httle nuts ; then we proceed to determine the natural order 

 to which it l)elongs as follows : — 



The netted veins of the leaves, and the arrangement of tlie parts 

 of the flower in whorls of four and five, show us at once that the 

 plant is a dicotyledon. Then, the presence of both calyx and corolla 

 enables us to decide that' the plant belongs to Division I. of the 

 dicotyledons — that it belongs to one of the orders 1 to 59. Noting, 

 now, that the corolla is composed of united jietals, we are enabled 

 to fix its position in the subdivision I.B, among orders 37 to 59. 

 Next, the superior ovary shows that it must be located in the 

 group I.B 2 — orders 44 to 59 ; and as the stamens are attached to 

 the corolla, we see at once- that it is not a member of order 44. 

 Turning now to the Synopsis of the Natural Orders (p. 17), we find 

 that the irregular flowers of this group of orders occur only in 

 51, 52, 53, 54, and 56. Finally, the square stem, opposite leaves, 

 and character of the fruit, show us that the plant must belong to 

 the order Lahiake. 



The student should, as far as possible, deal Mith all flowers in 

 this manner, assigning each one to its projier order ; and, if he 

 preserves his specimens for future observation, the names of the 

 orders should always be attached, and the plants arranged 

 accordingly. 



Again, should the reader meet with a common flower the name 

 of which was previously known, while he is as yet ignorant as to 

 the order to which it Ijelongs ; or, should he find a flower that he 

 can at once identify by means of one of our illustrations ; he should 

 not I'est satisfied on seeing that the name of the order is given beside 

 the name of the plant, but turn to the synopsis, and note the 

 distinguishing characters which determine the natural position of 

 the plant. In this way he will cultivate the habit of careful obser- 

 vation ; will make much more rapid progress in forming an acquaint- 

 ance with plants in general, and will soon become familiar with 

 those natural affinities which mark, more or less distinctly, a 

 cousinship among the flowers. 



To aid the reader in this part of his work we have given the name 

 of the natural order with the name of every plant described ; and, 

 where difficulties are likely to occur in the identification of similar 

 common species of the same genus, though perhaps only one member 

 of the genus has been selected for description, a few notes are often 

 included vnth. the object of assisting in the identification of the 

 others. 



