BOTANY. 



609 



or stonecrop, together with many other floral beauties, 

 which it is unnecessary to mention. 



The third sub-class of the natural system is Corol- 

 liflorce, including all flowers which have the stamens 

 attached to the corolla ; the 

 petals cohering in the form 

 of a hypogynous (that is, 

 seated below the germeri) 

 corolla, but separated from 

 the calyx. This sub-class 

 contains four hundred and 

 eighty-five genera, and four 

 thousand one hundred and 

 ninety species. Among these 

 the olive, as a useful fruit Corolliflorce. 



tree, and the jasmine for its beauty and fragrance, 

 are well known. The asclepias is also here, and 

 gives a title to one of the orders, and which order 

 comprises many genera remarkable for the curious 

 structure and colours of the flowers, and the uncom- 

 mon rankness of their scent. The humble gentian, 

 and the climbing bignonia and convolvulus, are also 

 here ; so is the order Solanece, which contains the 

 wholesome potato and the poisonous night-shade ; 

 the intoxicating tobacco, and the pungent capsicum. 

 The numerous order Labiates, is in this sub-class, 

 containing so many of our useful aromatic herbs, as 

 thyme, mint, balm, &c. Many floral beauties are 

 also here : the order Primulacece embraces some of 

 the most common, though at the same time most 

 admired ; namely, the primrose, cowslip, auricula, 

 and anagnllis or pimpernell. 



The second subdivision is MONOCHLAMYDE^E, sig- 

 nifying two coats in one, the calyx and corolla being 

 blended together; at least these mem- 

 bers are not distinct. This subdivision 

 contains twenty-seven orders, two 

 hundred and fifty-six genera, and two 

 thousand six hundred and twenty-eight 

 species. Here are associated herbs, 

 shrubs, and trees. Of the first the 

 amaranlhus and begonia are conspicu- 

 ous : among the second the proteas 

 and their alliances, the banksias, Monochlamyde*. 

 dryandras, and telopea stand pre-eminent; and 

 among the trees the cinnamon, nutmeg, bread-fruit, 

 and mulberry, are some of the most remarkable ; and 

 of forest trees, the whole orders Coniferce and Amen- 

 taccce, afford familiar examples. 



The second class of the natural system is MONO- 

 COTYLEDONE^, comprising all plants which rise from 

 the seed, and exhibiting one cotyledon or seed-leaf only. 



MonocotyledonezE. 



This class contains thirty-three orders, six hundred 

 and thirty genera, and four thousand seven hundred 

 and two species of beautiful, and, except the palms, 

 herbaceous plants. Here we have all the bulbous 

 and tuberous-stemmed flowering favourites, as the 

 Orchidece, Irideae, Talipace<E, and AmarylMecE, which 



NAT. HIST. VOL. I. 



include a great majority of our gayest bed, border, 

 and green-house ornamental plants. The pine-apple, 

 the plantain, and the various kinds .of palms, all 

 esteemed as yielding delicious fruit, are also here. 

 Another order, perhaps the most useful of all, is 

 ranked in this class, namely, the grasses, of which 

 there are one hundred and fifty-eight genera found in 

 different parts, but chiefly in the temperate regions 

 of the earth. These furnish universal pasturage and 

 provender for cattle; sugar, bread, and spirituous 

 liquors for the use of man. Lower grades of plants 

 are grouped with the grasses ; as the careces and 

 rushes, and most of the aquatic tribes. 



The second grand division of the system is CEL- 

 LULAEES, signifying plants composed of'cellular tissue, 

 and with but few instances of the existence of spiral 

 vessels in their structure. They are reproduced by 

 minute sporules discharged from their conceptacles, 

 and rise from the earth without cotyledons or seed 

 leaves: hence this division is also called Acotyle- 

 donece. It contains three hundred and seventy-six 

 genera, and two thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine 

 species, and which are divided into two classes. 



The first class is FOLIAGES, containing such plants 

 of the division as exhibit leaf-like expansions. Of 

 this class there are six orders, viz : 



The first order is FILICES, which contains all the 

 different sorts of ferns. Of these there are fifty-three 

 genera, and eight hundred and thirty-seven species, 

 already described. Ferns have a perennial stem 

 entirely under, or creeping on, the surface of the 

 ground. The stems are increased in length and 

 thickness by internal accretion, and by the persisting 

 bases of former leaves. From the point of the stem, 

 and from tubercles on the side, the fronds or leaves 

 are produced, and in a peculiar manner ; instead of 

 simple elongation, the expansion takes place by evo- 

 lution the face of the leaves, and lateral divisions 

 of the leaves, being unrolled from the bases to the 

 points. Some of the ferns have simple leaves, and 

 m many they are compound and much divided. In 

 size these plants vary from a few inches to twenty 

 feet in height. 



The second order is EQUISETACE^E, containing only 

 one genus, and ten species. These are aquatics, and 

 they grow on very damp clayey or loamy soils. Their 

 forms are regularly elegant, though thejr foliage is very 

 attenuated, and growing in whorls from the joints 

 of the stem. The stems of most of the equisetums, or 

 horse-tails, as they are provincially called, are suc- 

 culent, erect, and regularly jointed ; the reproductive 

 organs being borne on a scaly kind of catkin at the 

 apex of the stems. 



The third order is LYCOPODINE^:, or club-moss. 

 Of these there are two genera, and nineteen species, 

 all herbaceous prostrate plants. Their leaves are 

 simple, and lie imbricated over each other from the 

 base upwards. They are usually found in damp woods 

 and bogs, and they shed sporules like ferns. 



The fourth order is MARSILEACE^:, comprising 

 four genera, and one species of each. They are 

 simple leaved or floating plants, found in different 

 parts of Europe. They are of no known use, nor 

 are they met with in botanical collections. 



The fifth order of this class is Musci, or mosses. 

 Of these thirty genera, and three hundred and thirty 

 species are described. They are a humble and com- 

 mon tribe, inhabiting cold damp places, and attaching 

 themselves to rocks, stones, or moist buildings ,- 

 ZZ 



