CLASS DIAITDRIA. 129 



It is probable, however, that the poet here refers to the sea- 

 samphire (CRrniMUM inarithminn)^ found on rocks near the sea ; 

 this, according to English botanists, is still found upon the 

 Dover cliffs, from which those who gather it are let down in 

 baskets. The Salicornia is found in great quantities on the 

 coasts of the Mediterranean, where it is burned, and its ashes 

 used in the manufacture of soda. It is also found at Onondaga 

 (N. Y.) Salt Springs, and on the sea-coast in some parts of 

 North America. Some of the most valuable vegetable produc- 

 tions of the tropical regions are found in this class. The Arrow- 

 root^ (Maranta arimclinacea) received its name from having 

 been used by the Indians of South America to extract the 

 venom from wounds made by their poisoned arrows. The root, 

 which is a tuberous rhizome, furnishes the starch-like, nutritious 

 substance called arrom-root. The Curcuma^ sometimes called 

 the Indian Crocus, furnishes from its root the turmeric imported 

 from the East Indies ; it is remarkable for the peculiar yellow 

 color of its bark, and is valuable as a chemical test of the pres- 

 ence of alkalies : it is an ingredient in the c?^rry-powder. The 

 ginger- plant was first known to the Arabians, and called by 

 them Zinziber, from whence the natural order Zingiber acece^ dis- 

 tinguished by creeping rhizomes, wdth simple sheathing leaves 

 having parallel veins proceeding from the midrib to the mar- 

 gin ; the rhizome of Zingiber officinale furnishes the ginger of 

 commerce. The red valerian (Valeriana rubra) having but 

 one stamen should belong to this class, according to the nor- 

 mal law in this system ; but as other species of this plant have 

 three stamens, this species is carried w^ith the majority into the 

 class Triandria, which is an example of the im23erfection of the 

 Linn?ean system. Some species of the genus Valeriana are 

 found with five stamens. The root of Valeriana officinalis is 

 the medicinal valerian. 



166. Order Digynia^ two pistils. — Contains an American 

 plant, BLiTUM (Fig. 128, c) ; its calyx is deeply three-parted ; it 

 has no corolla ; the ovary resembles a berry ; it has two carpels, 

 and is crowned by two styles. 



CLASS n. DIANDRIA, TWO STAMENS. 



167. Order Monogynia^ one pistil. — This, though more ex 

 tensive than the preceding class, is somewhat limited. The 

 lilac (Syringa) is exceeded in beauty and fragrance by few 

 ornamental shrubs. Corolla salver-ioYin^ or with a tube which 

 spreads out into a flat, four-parted border. We might, at 



• Appendix, Plate iii. Fig. 4. 

 Arrow-rootr— Ginger— Valerian.— 166. Second Onler.— 167. Class Diandxia— Lilac. 



6* 



