128 



CLASS MONANDEIA. 



vary in different languages as mncli as other terms. Even in 

 the same country, and often in the same neighborhood, the 

 common names of jjlants are different ; but botanical names 

 are the same in all countries : without this uniformity no per- 

 manent improvement could be made in the science. 



a. Botanical names are cliiefly taken from the Greek and Latin ; these being the 

 common languages of the learned world. All books on botany were for a long 

 time written in Latin ; — the original works of Linnaeus are in that language. 

 Although it is necessary to the interests of science that there should be such a 

 medium by which the learned may communicate, it is also highly important to the 

 general improvement and happiness of mankind, that then* discoveries should be 

 made accessible to all ; — it would be useless to attempt to divest botany of all its 

 technical terms and names borrowed from the dead languages ; in doing this we 

 should destroy the science and introduce confusion in the place of order. But 

 such facilities are now offered that every young person can easily become ac- 

 quainted with the grand outlines of the vegetable world ; — and how much are the 

 beauties of nature enhanced when viewed with the eye of a pliilosopher and the 

 heart of a Christian ! 



Fig. 128. 



CLASS I. MONANDRIA, ONE STAMEN. 



164. Order Mo7iogyma, one pistil. — In the United States we 

 have very few examples of plants of this class ; the Hippuris, 

 an aquatic plant, is sometimes found in 

 stagnant water ; it is the most simjDle of 

 all perfect flowers, having neither calyx 

 nor corolla, and but one stamen, one pis- 

 til, and one seed. The ovary, in maturing, 

 hardens into a naked seed without any 

 kind of appendages. 



Fig. 128, a, represents the Hippuris vulgaris;* the 

 stem is erect and shnple ; leaves, linear, acute, and ar- 

 ranged in whorls. At h is the flower, showing an egg- 

 shaped ovary ; a short filament crowned with a large 

 anther composed of two lobes ; style long, and awl- 

 shaped, with a stigma acute and inconspicuous; the 

 ovary is crowned by a border which resembles the 

 •upper part of a calyx. 



165. The Marsh-samphire (Salicoenia Jierlacea)^^ with a bushy 

 stem about a foot high and flowers in a short spike, grows in 

 salt marshes near the sea-coast. It has a saltish taste, and is 

 used for pickling. It has been supposed by some that this was 

 the plant alluded to by Shakspeare in his description of the 

 cliffs of Dover : 



" How dreadful 

 And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low ! 



Half way down, 

 Hangs one that gathers Samphire : dreadful trade !" 



* Appendix, Plate vi. Fig. 7. 



a. Why are botanical names taken from the Greek and Latin ? — Why cannot all the terms in botany 

 be translated into common language ?— 164. Class Monandria— Describe the Hippuris— Fig. 128.-- 

 165. Marsh-samphire. 



