1 30 BOTANY FOR BEGIN MERS. L Ch. XXII 



the tuberosum^ so called from its tuberous root ; this is out 

 common Potato; it was at first obtained from Peru, where 'I 

 was called batatas. Of the important use now made of the 

 root, of this vegetable, it is unnecessary to remark ; as an arti- 

 cle of food it is scarcely less valuable than bread itself, and 

 indeed is often Used by poor people as a substitute for this 

 article. 



553. In the large family Luridse, or lurid plants, is the genua 

 Nicotiana, so called from Nicot, who carried it from America 

 to Europe ; one species of this, Tabaccum, is the Tobacco 

 plant. Here also is found the Datura Stramonium, sometimes 

 called thorn apple, a large, nauseous-scented weed, with angu- 

 lar, dentate leaves. The corolla is funnel-form and five-cleft ; 

 the pericarp is ovate and spinose ; at the base is a portion of the 

 calyx which remains permanent, while the other parts are de- 

 ciduous. In the spring of 1835, a young lady of Vernon, in 

 Vermont, while amusing herself with a walk in the fields, saw 

 some of the last year's pericarps of the Stramonium, ard care- 

 lessly ate a small quantity of the seeds. She was soon seized 

 with spasms, and died after a few hours of excruciating agony. 

 Had she understood Botany, she might have known, from the 

 general appearance of the plant, that it was of a poisonous 

 nature. 



554. Amon<r the many plants of the fifth class and first or- 

 der, you will find the mullein, which every child knows by its 

 large woolly leaf, and its high stalk, bearing yellow blossoms 

 in that form which is called a spike. Violets you will find 

 from the earliest days of spring to the verge of winter. In thf 

 fields are white, blue, and yellow violets, and in gardens is 

 the heart's ease, or tri-coloured violet. The grape belongs to 

 this class and order ; the fruit of the plant is probably more fa- 

 miliar to you than the flower, which is small and inconspi 

 cuous. 



555. In some species of the grape, the stamens and pistils 

 are on different flowers ; and for this reason this plant has 

 sometimes been placed in the class Diwcia ; but as other 

 species have five stamens and one pistil in the same flower, 

 it is generally thought best to class the whole under Pen 

 tandna. 



553. What other genus is mentioned as belonging to the family 

 called Luridae 7 ? 



554. What other plants are mentioned as be' onging to this class 

 and order 1 



555. Why is the grape sometimes placed in the class Dioacia 



