PRONUNCIATION xv 



• 



Finales, Rosales. This ending is likewise in the feminine plural, and 

 the meaning of the name is "plant families related to the pine family," 

 etc. Orders are further arranged into larger groups, such as Mono- 

 cotyledons, flowering plants with a single seed leaf, scattered bundles 

 in the stem, parallel-veined leaves, and a flower plan of 3, and Di- 

 cotyledons, with two seed leaves, ringed bundles, netted-veined leaves 

 and a flower plan of 5 or 4. These two groups form the Angiospernis, 

 with closed pistils and usually with sepals and petals, which are con- 

 trasted with the Gymnospenns, with open pistils and no sepals or petals. 



PRONUNCIATION. 



The simplest and most usable pronunciation of the names of 

 plants is probably that in which the consonants are pronounced as in 

 English, and the vowels and diphthongs as in Latin. This makes 

 possible a uniform and phonetic pronunciation of botanical names, 

 such as is greatly to be desired. The sounds of the vowels may be in- 

 dicated as follows : a as ah ; e as ay ; i as ee; as oh ; u as 00 ; Greek 

 y much like the German ii. The diphthongs are as follows : ae as 

 aye ; au as ow in how ; oe as oy ; ci as ay ; en as eoo ; ui as ooee. 



VERIFICATION AND DETERMINATION OF SPECIMENS. 



The beginner will necessarily find occasional plants which he is 

 unable to name. Even the student of more experience will now and 

 then find very puzzling forms. In such cases, it is necessary to refer 

 the question to a good herbarium if one is accessible, or to the botanist. 

 The department of botany will be glad to have fresh or dried plants 

 sent to it for verification or determination at any time. This applies 

 to mushrooms and other lower forms as well as to flowering plants. 

 Fresh specimens can be sent readily through the mails by wrapping 

 them in moist paper and placing them in a pasteboard box. The de- 

 partment will also be glad to verify the dried specimens in the herbaria 

 of high schools or of individual students. 



EXPLANATION OF THE CHART. 



The chart on page xvii is designed to show the general lines of 

 descent of flowering plants from the ancestral ferns, and to indicate 

 the relationships of the various orders. It is based primarily upon the 

 development of the flower as a special organ for pollination and seed- 

 production. In consequence, the trees and shrubs appear in it at 

 various places, since the woody habit may develop in almost any order, 

 quite irrespective of its flower structure. Some families consist wholly 



