182 CLASS MONCECIA. 



CLEPi^s) ; this has been placed in the fifth class, on the supposi- 

 ^tion that the stamens do not proceed from the pistil ; but its 

 'masses of pollen (poUinia) render it plainly gynandrous. Order 

 Hexandria^ six stamens^ contains the Virginia snake-root (Aris- 

 TOLOcniA serpentarici)^ a perennial plant with brown fibrous 

 roots ; it is found in shady woods from Xew England to Florida. 

 It is found by chemical analysis to contain " pure camphor, a 

 resin, a bitter extractive, and a strong essential oil." It was 

 used by the Indians as a remedy for the bite of a snake ; from 

 this circumstance is derived its name. This plant, in its medi- 

 cinal properties, differs essentially from the Polygala senega^ or- 

 Seneca snake-root, and the mistaking one for the other might, 

 in critical stages of disease, be attended with fatal conse- 

 quences."^ Order Decandria^ ten stamens. — We here find the 

 wild ginger (Asaiium) ; this is a native plant, so low that its 

 flowers are almost concealed in the ground; the roots are 

 creeping and aromatic. 



272. Although many species of the class Gynandria are in- 

 digenous we cannot readily procure specimens of many of its 

 genera. The lady's-slipper, milk-weed, and dog's-bane, may be 

 obtained, but many of the plants of this family opposing all 

 attempts at cultivation, are to be found only in the depths of the 

 forest, or places little frequented by man ; like the aboriginal 

 inhabitants of America, they seem to prefer their own native 

 wilds to the refinements and luxuries of civilized life. 



LECTUEE XXXYI. 



MONCECIA, ONE HOrSEHOLD. DICECIA, TWO HOUSEHOLDS. 



273. In all the classes hitherto examined, we have found ])^'^' 

 feet flowers. Our present inquiry is to be directed to two 

 classes, in which the flowers are imperfect^ or hoth stamen and 

 pistil are not found in the same individual flower. The stam- 

 inate flowers are barren.^ they bear no fruit; the pistillate flowei'S, 

 after being fertilized by the pollen from the infertile flowers, pro- 

 duce the fruit. 



* A pnysician prescribed for a sick child the Seneca snake-root (Polygala senega) ; an ignorant 

 apothecary sent the Virginia snake-root (Aristolochia scrpcntaria), supposing one kind of snake- 

 root would answer as iccll as another. The physician having, fortunately, remained to inspect the 

 medicine which he had ordered, the mistake was seasonably discovered. This instance shows the im- 

 portance of botanical knowledge, particularly in those who attempt to deal in medicine. Had the 

 mother of the child understood botany, the mistake would have been discovered although the physician 

 had not been present. 



Hexandria— Snake-root— Decandria.— 372. Concluding remarks,— 273. In what respect do the two 

 ui'vi classes differ from the pre^^eding ones 1 • 



