1M BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS. _Ch. XIX 



sight, nor so interesting as many others. The corolla is supe- 

 rior, or over the germ, consisting of six petals, usually with 

 a stamen standing between each petal. From the centre of the 

 flower arise two styles, which often remain permanent upon the 

 fruit. 



484. The general figure of the fruit is oblong or oval ; it 

 separates perpendicularly into two seeds, as may be seen in the 

 Fennel or Dill. The figure, margin, and angles of the seeds 

 are considered as affording proper characters of the genera ; as 

 in the Parsnip they are flat, in the Carrot bristly, in the Hem- 

 lock marked with ridges. Among the plants of this family 

 which are used as articles of food, are .the Carrot, Parsnip, 

 Celery, and Parsley ; the aromatics are Dill, Fennel, Sweet 

 Cicely, Caraway, and Coriander; and among the poisonous 

 plants, are the Conium, (Poison Hemlock,) Water-Parsnip, and 

 the Cicuta, (Water-Hemlock.) . 



COMPOUND FLOWERS. 



485. The flowers of this family begin to blossom in the latter 

 part of summer, and are found almost bordering upon the verge 

 of winter. The Dandelion is among the earliest flowers of 

 spring, and one of the latest of autumn. The Daisy, in its na- 

 tive country, is found in almost every spot which exhibits any 

 marks of fertility; but with us is no where found except in 

 gardens. 



486. The Dandelion is not a single flower like a violet ur 

 rose, but a crowded cluster of little flowers. The Sunflower 

 is so large and. conspicuous, as doubtless to have frequently at- 

 tracted your notice. If you examine one carefully, you will find 

 it to be composed of more than a hundred florets or little flow- 

 ers, each as perfect in its kind as a lily, having its corolla, sta- 

 mens, pistils, and seed. 



487. We distinguish the Sunflower into two parts the disk, 

 which is the middle of the flower, and supposed to have a re- 

 semblance to the middle or body of the sun ; the ray is the bor- 

 der of the flower, it contains those florets which spread out from 

 the disk as rays of light diverge from the sun. The florets in 

 this, as in other compound flowers, do not all begin to expand at 

 the same time, they usually begin at the disk, and proceed in- 

 wards towards the centre. 



484. What is observed of the fruit of the umbellate plants 7 



485. What is said of the blossoming of compound flowers 1 



480. How do the dandelion and sunflower differ from the violet and 

 rose ? 

 467. Into what two parts would vou distinguish the sunflower 1 



