92 ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES. 



also from the names of men, the number and character of leaves, etc. 



Family resemblances may be in seeds, pericarps, or seed envelops, 

 stamens, and pistils, corollas, calyxes, mode of flowering, or inflores- 

 cence, the situation of the flower, leaves, stem or roots. But it is 

 necessary to observe plants, and the invariable characters of their or- 

 gans closely to give them their place in species and genera. 



The genus geranium furnishes an example of the specific character- 

 istics. In several species of this genus, as in other genera, they are 

 named from some plant, the leaves or other parts of which the geranium 

 resembles. Thus there are the oak-leaved, crow-foot-leaved, acorn- 

 leaved, etc. ; also the lung-stalked, thick-stalked, etc. ; likewise the 

 rose-scented, fish-scented, and musk-scented geraniums. Places also 

 give rise to the names of species. These then, form convenient and 

 invariable peculiarities, which are incorporated with the name of 

 the species. 



Changes produced by varieties mostly affect the size, color, and num- 

 ber of petals ; forms of the leaves, size, color, and taste of the fruit, 

 and the forms or qualities of the roots, while the seed is unchanged, 

 and produces the original kind and not the variety from which it was 

 taken. The varieties of the apple and pear, though they belong to 

 the same genus, are thus numerous in taste, form, and color, but the 

 species is always the same. Seeds from the same apple tree may pro- 

 duce trees with fruit differing from the parent stock and from one 

 another. Those from green and sour fruit may thus produce sweet, 

 large and red fruit, or otherwise, but they never produce pears, or 

 another species, nor does cultivation or other means ever change the 

 species or genera. 



Orders are founded 1st, on the number of pistils, which correspond 

 with the number of the order in each class ; 2d, on the seeds being 

 covered or uncovered in the calyx ; 3d, on the relative length of the 

 pods ; 4th, on a comparison between the disk and ray florets of com- 

 pound flowers ; 5th on the number of stamens ; 6th, (cryptogamous) 

 by natural family characteristics. 



Stamens and Pistils. 



The above cut represents the number of stamens in the 

 first 10 classes, according to the number of the class. 



This cut represents the class Icosandria, (over 10 sta- 

 mens inserted on the calyx.) It may, however, designate 

 more or less than 20 stamens. 



This cut shows the class Polyandria, (over 10 sta- 

 mens inserted on the receptacle.) 



