NEVIUSIA ALABAMENSIS. THE NEVIUSIA. I 5 



dant — for it is hardly to be supposed the species never had a 

 wider range ; nor is it probable a form so distinct from any of its 

 geographical neighbors is a new creation. 



This distinctness from others is indeed one of the features 

 which give it so much interest. Though in Dr. Nevius' account 

 it is compared with SpircEa, a member of the order Rosacea, Dr. 

 Gray regards it as occupying a median place between this order 

 and that of Saxifragacccs. But, after all, there is not a very 

 o-reat difference between the Roses and the Saxifray^es. One 

 of the chief differences is that in the Rose family the pistils are 

 separate from one another, while in the Saxifrages the lower 

 portions (the ovaries) are at least united. The Roses are also 

 characterized by a large number of stamens as compared with 

 the Saxifrages, and they have stipules, or small leafy processes, 

 at the base of the perfect leaf, which the Saxifrages have not. 



To the general observer a striking peculiarity in the genus 

 will be the calyx, the five leaves of which, or sepals as they are 

 botanically called, are similar in form and character to the normal 

 leaves on other parts of the plant. It is now so thoroughly be- 

 lieved that the sepals, indeed all the parts of a flower, are 

 nothing but leaves changed in character when in a very early 

 stage of development, that it is taught as an undoubted law in 

 botany. If there were yet any permissible doubt of the fact 

 such lessons as this from Neviusia would settle the question. As 

 this is a very characteristic feature of the genus, we have given in 

 Fig. 2 a back view of a flower, so that the calyx leaves may be 

 clearly seen. Another curious feature is the absence of the 

 petals — those organs which give the chief charm to so many 

 members of the Rose family. The beautiful bright-colored petals 

 of flowers in general have been assumed by some to have been 

 created expressly to attract insects, and thereby insure a supposed 

 necessary cross-fertilization. If this were an undoubted law, one 

 might be pardoned for believing that the absence of a corolla in 

 this plant had indirecdy led to its near extinction. 



As a matter of classical purity in orthography, it may be noted 



