162 



CLASS POLYANDRIA. 



228. Ovder Polygynia^ many pistils. — ^The rose tribe re- 

 sembles tlie apple tribe in the appearance of the blossom, but 

 the fruit, instead of being a* Fome, consists eitlier of nuts 

 containing one-seeded achcenia., as the rose ; or of berries, as 

 the strawberry. The leaves have two stipules at their base. 

 The rose, unchanged by cultivation has but five petals. We 

 have few indigenous species of this genus ; among these are 

 the small wild-rose, the sweet-brier, and swamp-rose. 



a. Red and white roses are remarkable in English history as emblems of the 

 houses of York &x\d Lancaster ; ■when those families contended for the crown in the 

 reign of Henry the Sixth, the white rose distinguished the partisans of the houss 

 of York, and the red those of Lancaster. Among the nations of tlie East, particu- 

 larly in Persia, the rose flourishes in great beauty and is highly valued. The 

 Persians poetically imagine a pecuhar sympathy between the rose and the nightin- 

 gale. The Blackberry {Rubus) has a flower resembling in general aspect the rose ; 

 there are several species of the Rubus, one which produces the common black- 

 berry, another the red raspberry, another the black raspberry, and another the 

 dewberry. One species, the odoratu.s, produces large and beautiful red flowers, 

 the fruit of which is dry and not edible. The Strawberry belongs to the same 

 natural and artificial order as the Rose. The gathering of strawberries in the 

 fields is among the rural enjoyments of children. The fruit of the strawberry is 

 not properly a berry, but a collection of seeds, or achsenia, imbedded in a fleshy 

 receptacle. Icosandria furnishes us with a variety of fine fruits. A great propor 

 tion of the genera to be found in this class are natives of the United States. 



Fig. 143. 



CLASS XII. POLTANDRIA, MANY STAMENS. 



229. In this class we find the stamens separate from the 

 calyx, and attached to the receptacle or top of the flower- 

 stem, called also the tlialmmts and the torus. The number of 

 stamens varies from twenty to some hundreds. This class does 

 not contain- many delicious fruits, but abounds in poisonous 

 and active vegetables. Few plants with the stamens on the 

 calyx are poisonous ; but many with the stamens upon the 

 receptacle are so. 



230. Order Monogynia.^ one pistil. — We 

 find here the May-apple {Podophylhiiii)., very 

 common in moist, shady places, where great 

 numbers may be seen growing together ; each 

 stem supports a large white flower, and two 

 large, peltate, palmate leaves ; its yellow fruit 

 is eaten by many as a delicacy ; the root is ^ 

 medicinal. The Side-saddle flower {Sarra- 

 cenid) is a curious plant ; distinguished by 

 radical leaves with a hollow urn-shaped peti- 

 ole, at whose apex is articulated the lamina, 

 fitting on like a lid. This cu]3 a})pears to be a 

 secreting organ ; it is called an ascidium (from asMdion.^ a 

 small sack). Such a leaf is said to be calyptro-morplioxis (from 



228. Difference between the rose and apple tribe — a. Rose. — Blackberry — Strawberry, &c.-« 

 229. Class Polvandria.— 230. Podopliyllum— Sarracenia. 



