109 



CHAPTEE YIII. 



CENOTHEElCE^E HIPPUEIDlCE JE LYTHElCE^] CU- 

 CUEBITlCE^] FOEMS OF FEUITS POETULlCEJE 

 ILLECEBElCE^] CEASSULlCE^E GEOSSULAEI1CE.E 

 SAXIFEAG1CE.E FOEMS OF INFLOEESCENCE. 



" In His Spirit God hath clothed the earth, 

 And speaketh solemnly from tree and flower." 



Beautiful Poetry. 



WE now come to several smaller and less important orders 

 of British plants, each of which, however, has interest of one 

 kind or another. The EVENING PEIMEOSE order succeeds the 

 Rosaceous in the subclass of Calyciflorals ; its grand feature is 

 the number Four. They have four sepals, four petals, and 

 capsules of four valves. 



The Isnardia has four petals (or none), four sepals, and four 

 stamens. 



The Enchanter's Nightshade has half the number two 

 petals, two sepals, two stamens. Our garden Fuchsias belong 

 to this tribe ; their fruit is an oval berry. 



The true Willow-herbs derive their Latin name, Epilobium, 

 from two Greek words signifying upon a pod, because the flowers 

 are placed at the top of a long seed-vessel. The seeds of this 

 family are numerous, and tufted with down. On my first visit 

 in Swaledale I was driving with some friends by the river side. 

 On the opposite bank I saw some tall plants, covered, as I 

 imagined, with delicate white flowers. In eager curiosity I 

 questioned my host, hoping that a new plant was in store for 

 me. I could imagine no white flower of that appearance, and 

 became sanguine that it was something so rare that I had 

 never seen or heard of it. My kind friend, anxious to give me 



