CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 161 



eludes all compound flowers ; Lahiata;, the labiate flowers ; 

 Umbellifercc, flowers growing in umbels. Sub-orders include 

 genera that stand nearly related. Tribes are genera under sub- 

 orders. The names of orders are adjectives, and in the nomi- 

 native plural, feminine gender, to agree with 7;/a?i^GP, and gener- 

 ally end in ace<x. The sub-orders and tiibes generally end in ce. 



311. Classes are still more general divisions, depending on 

 some very general characteristic. Sub-classes are formed on 

 the same principles as sub-genera. Alliances are still less gen- 

 eral divisions, being groups of nearly allied orders. 



There are but two classes in the following Flora. If the seed 

 has two or more cotyledons, it belongs to the first class, Dico- 

 tyledoncB ; if but one cotyledon, it belongs to the second class, 

 Monocotijledonoe. These two classes include all flowering plants. 

 The flowerless plants are not described. 



312. In describing plants it is important that a regular or- 

 der should be followed. 



In giving the characters of an order or genus, we observe the 

 following order : first the calyx is described ; then the corolla ; 

 next the stamens, including anther, filament, and pollen ; then 

 the disk, if any ; then the ovary, with the pistil and its parts 

 and ovules ; next the fruit and seed. In describing a species, 

 we commence at the root and pass through the stem, branches, 

 leaves, inflorescence, and flowers, and describe them in the 

 order as given for genera. Color of the flower, duration of 

 plant, station, habitat, time of flowering, height, may succeed. 



313. The portion of country especially included in the follow- 

 ing Flora is from lat. 30° to "35° north, long. 80° to 90° west 

 from London, including South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and 

 parts of North Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi. It will an- 

 swer as a text-book equally well for all the Southern States. It 

 includes four great botanical regions : the mountainous region 

 on the north, the coast region on the east, the partially tropical 

 and gulf region on the south, and the upland or plane region of 

 the middle portion. This middle region is very distinctly marked 

 by a peculiar Flora into two regions — the primitive and tertiary. 

 We might point out other sections of the territory included, 

 corresponding with the geological character. 



314. Lindley makes 2^75 orders of flowering plants in the 

 world ; we have 142. He makes 3336 genera ; we have 7o4. 

 He makes 70,073 species; we have 2231. We have a little 

 more than one-half the orders, less than one-fourth the genera, 

 and Jy of the species of all flowering plants. 



According to a table constructed by Ad. de Jussieu (see 

 d'Hist. Naturelles, vol. vi. p. 102), in which the relative number 



