BOTANY. 



599 



jiinc stamens, and contains but a limited number 

 of plants. It is divided into three orders, comprising, 

 together, ten genera and seventy species, in the 



Eimeandria. 



Monogynia. 



first order, MONOGYNIA, we find the useful and fra- 

 grant cinnamon, and the famous genus laurel, whence 

 so many medicinal oils, and other useful substances are 

 extracted. 



Hexagynia. 



Trigynia. 



In the second order, TRIGYNIA, we find the excel- 

 lent medical and now culinary plant rhubarb, with 

 only one other congener, the Pleea, a rush-looking 

 genus from Carolina. 



The last order is HEXAGYNIA, containing but 

 one genus, of which there are only two species, the 

 flowering rush of Britain and the broad-leaved ditto 

 from Nepal. 



The tenth class is numerically named DECANDUIA, 

 and contains five orders, one hundred and eighty-six 

 genera, and above one thousand six hundred and 

 forty -eig:ht species. This class comprises a great 

 many of our finest flowering shrubs and trees, espe- 

 cially those splendid kinds from North America, 

 commonly called, par excellence, American plants. In 

 the first order MONOGYNIA, we have the Kalmias, 

 Decandria. 



Digynia. 



Monogyuia. 



Ledumf, Rhododendrons, Andromeda*, &<., plants as 

 generally admired as they are universally cultivated : 

 we have also the arbutus, clethra, the fine aromatic 

 scented storax tree, and many other exotics of the 

 greatest beauty. 



In the second order, DIGYNIA, we find the well- 

 known Hydrangea, the extensive genus Saxifrage 

 and the equally extensive family of Dianthus, which 

 in< lude the highly estimable carnation, pink, sweet- 

 william, and other species and varieties of that 

 favourite tribe. 



The third order, TRIGYNIA, contains a great many 

 plants which are allied to the Dianthus family. They 

 are mostly slender annual weeds, though many are 

 pretty and a few ornamental. The catchfiics, stitch- 



worts, and sandworts are all found here, and consti- 

 tute a great majority of the order. 



Decagynia. Pentagynia. Trigynia. 



The fourth order, PENTAGYNIA, contains a good 

 many plants, both native and foreign. The Cotyle- 

 dons and Oxalises of the Cape of Good Hope, and 

 the Sedums of Europe are most numerous. The 

 lychnis and mouse-ear chickweed, together with the 

 common spurrey, are also placed here. 



The fifth order, DECAGYNIA, that is, plants having 

 ten pistils as well as ten stamens, contains only one. 

 genus, and that a foreigner, namely. Phytolacea, of 

 which there are nine or ten species. 



The eleventh class is called DODECANDRIA, there 

 being no plant yet discovered with eleven stamens, 

 and all those of this class have at least twelve. It 

 contains seven orders, forty-nine genera, and four 

 hundred and twenty-four species. The first order, 

 Dodecandria. 



Trigynia. Digynia. Monogynia. 



MONOGYNIA, among many fine tropical plants, includes 

 the celebrated fruit tree, mangosteen, said to be the 

 most delicious and wholesome fruit in the world. 

 The garlic-pear, and the showy British plant which 

 ornaments the banks of our rivers during summer, the 

 Lythium salicaria, are also in this order. 



The second order, DIGYNIA, contains only two 

 genera, of which the British plant agrimony, common 

 on road-sides, is one. 



The third order, TRIGYNIA, contains the genus 

 Reseda, some species of which are used by the dyer 

 for producing a yellow colour : another species is the 

 universal favourite, mignonette, cultivated entirely 

 for its scent. This order also contains the remark- 

 able and extensive family of Euphorbia or spurge, a 

 majority of which are exotics, though there are twelve 

 or thirteen found wild in Britain, of which the caper- 

 spurge and wart-wort are well known. 



Pentagynia. Tetragynia. 



The fourth order, TKTRAGYNIA, contains only one 

 genus, viz. the Cal/igomnn pallasia, a native of the 

 Caspian. 



The fifth order, PENTAGYNIA, contains only three 

 genera, of which the Blackwellias ure the principal. 

 They arc all, except one, tropical shrubs. 



