DICOTYLEDONS DIAG11AM 13. 



CLASS OF DICOTYLEDONS 



OR PLANTS OF WHICH THE SEED HAS TWO COTYLEDONS, 



FAMILY UMBELLIFEK^E 



The family of umbelliferse includes a great number of useful or 

 aromatic plants, such as the parsnip, the anise, the caraway, 

 the chervil, the parsley, celery and carrot ; and other plants 

 which are -poisonous, such as the hemlock, and the hemlock water 

 dropwort. The unibelliferse may easily be known, because all 

 their newel's are arranged so as to form a kind of parasol or 

 umbrella, whence they derive their name; the stalk terminates 

 suddenly, and radiates from this point a number of small stalks 

 often surrounded at the base with a sort of frill of leaves. All 

 these short stalks divide in their turn a little higher up, like the 

 principal stalk ; and there is also a second frill of leaves. Each 

 of these divisions bears a flower. This has a corolla with five 

 petals and five stamens. The corolla and stamens are inserted 

 into the ovary itself, as is the case in many plants. The flower 

 of the umbellifera3 is always small. 



The stalks of the mnbelliferse are often hollow ; and there are 

 no trees in this family. The flowers of the elder seem also to 

 form an umbel ; but it is easy to see that they have not the same 

 characters. 



