CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 13 



pound ; rarely simple, sheathing at the base. Flowers in umbels, white, 

 pink, blue, or yellow, not in general very showy ; the umbel surrounded by 

 an involucre. Properties of the leaves, stems, and roots, frequently poisonous, 

 as in the Hemlock, water Parsnep, &c. ; but sometimes wholesome, as in the 

 Parsley, Carrot, Parsnep, &c. ; the properties of the fruit are usually warm, 

 aromatic, and wholesome; gum is produced by some species. Familiar 

 examples are, the Hemlock, Parsley, Caraway, Celery (the leaves of which 

 are rendered wholesome by blanching), Angelica, Asafoetida, Fennel, ParsrL 

 nep, Cow Parsnep, Carrot, Chervil, and Coriander. Every one is familiar 

 with some plant or other of this order, which may be known from all 

 others by the Umbels alone. 



38. Composites. Flowers compound, that is, numbers set closely together 

 on a plate or disk ; anthers united ; seeds solitary, inferior, and mostly 

 crowned with a pappus or plume. Herbaceous plants, rarely shrubs; natives 

 of most parts of the world. Leaves usually simple, though often much 

 divided, alternate, or opposite, without stipules. Stamens frequently showy, 

 for the most part yellow. Properties various ; in some astringent, in others 

 resinous, mucilaginous, bitter, diuretic, emetic, &c. Familiar examples are, 

 the Dandelion, the Lettuce, the Sow Thistle, the Endive, the Artichoke, 

 the Burdock, the Thistle, the Everlasting, the Aster, the Golden Rod, the 

 Daisy, the Groundsel, the Ragwort, the Marigold, the Chrysanthemum, 

 the Chamomile, Tansy, Southernwood, Milfoil, and the Dahlia. All who 

 have seen the latter flower and the common Daisy, may distinguish the plants 

 of this order at a glance as readily as in the case of Legumin6sae or Umbel- 

 laceae. 



39. Ericaceae. Calyx and corolla four to five cleft ; stamens eight to ten ; 

 the latter inserted under the ovary ; anthers opening by pores ; fruit four or 

 five celled, a many-seeded capsule, or a berry. Shrubs or under shrubs, 

 natives of Europe, North and South America, Asia, and very abundant in 

 Africa, more especially in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 Leaves simple, mostly evergreen, without stipules, riged, entire, whorled or 

 opposite, frequently small and linear. Flowers usually bright coloured and 

 very showy. Properties astringent and diuretic, and in some poisonous. 

 Familiar examples are, the Arbutus, Andromeda, Heath, Kalmia, Rhodo- 

 dendron, and Azalea. A beginner will more readily recognise this order 

 by examining the flowers and fruit, than by the general aspect and habit of 

 the plant. 



40. Other orders belonging to this division, which are easily recognised by 

 those who know the plant after which the order takes its name, are the fol- 

 lowing : Rhamn^ceae, Calycanthaceae, Granat^ceae, Onagraceae (including 

 the CEnotheraand Fuchsias), Philadelphacese, Myrtaceae, Cucurbitaceas, Pas- 

 sifloraceae, Turneriaceae, Cactaceae, Crassulaceae, Grossulaceae, Saxifragaceae, 

 Araliaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Lobeliaceae, Campanulaceae, Gesneriacew, and 

 various others. To recognise these orders it is necessary, in most cases, to 

 see the flowers ; but in the case of the Umbellaceae, as already observed, the 

 order may be recognised by the appearance of the flower-stems ; and in Cac- 

 taceae by the stems, and the entire plant. A number of the orders contain 

 only one or two genera ; and though the list has a formidable appearance 

 on paper, yet in the garden the plants of several of the orders occupy but 

 comparatively a small space. 



