268 EXPLANATION OF BOTANICAL TERMS. 



stances, which, in some blossoms, close the mouth 

 of the tube ; as in Mouse-ear. [Plate 8.] 



VARIETIES ; plants, of the same species, which differ 

 slightly from each other, as in colour, size, or other 

 unimportant circumstances. The purple, yellow, 

 and white Crocuses, for example, are varieties of 

 the species Ver'nus. When seeds are sown, the 

 plants which they produce are often different va- 

 rieties of the parent species ; but the specific cha- 

 racter remains the same in all. 



VEIL ; a conical covering of the capsule, in several 

 Mosses ; somewhat like an extinguisher. [Plates 

 2. and 21.] 



VIVIP'AROUS ; a term used where seeds, instead of 

 falling to the ground, as is common, germinate or 

 grow, without being separated from the parent plant. 

 Examples may be seen in several of the Grasses. 



W 



WHEEL-SHAPED; a term applied to a blossom of one 



petal, with a flat border, and very short tube ; (like 



a coach wheel :) as in Germander Speedwell. 



[Plate 3.] 

 WINGS ; the side petals, in a butterfly-shaped blossom. 



[Plate 19.] 

 WINGED; applied to seeds: furnished with a thin 



flat membrane on each side ; as in the Maple. 

 WOODY ; like wood, not herbaceous. The principal 



stem of the Wall-flower may serve as an example ; 



it is somewhat Woody. [Plate 16.] 



