LESSONS IN BOTANY. 231 



peony, and others. Several of these are cultivated for orna- 

 ment and some are used in medicine, as aconite, goldthread, etc., 

 but no members of this family are of much economic value. 



The Magnolia Family consists of trees and shrubs, with aro- 

 matic, bitter bark, alternate leaves mostly entire, and large, 

 showy, solitary flowers, stamens and pistils numerous on a long 

 receptacle, the pistils imbricated and cohering into a mass form- 

 ing a cone-like fruit. The most important member of this family 

 is the tulip tree or white wood, in some localities called poplar. 

 It is a handsome tree with greenish-yellow flowers and dark green 

 leaves. The leaves are broad, with two short side lobes and a 

 truncate apex. The timber is white, soft and durable. The nu- 

 merous species of magnolia are broad leaved evergreens noted 

 for the beauty of their leaves and flowers, the latter yielding a 

 rich perfume. 



The Water Lily Family consists of numerous aquatic plants 

 having large roundish leaves, which float on the water. The 

 flower is large and showy, varying considerably among the dif- 

 ferent members of the family in color and arrangement of parts. 

 The water-shield, growing in quiet water, has an oval, centrally 

 peltate leaf, and a small purplish flower whose stem is coated 

 with a clear jelly-like substance. 



The Nelumbium has large root-stalks, large leaves, and large 

 pale yellow flowers. The parts of the flower stand on a broad, 

 top-shaped receptacle in which at maturity there are a dozen or 

 more little pits, each containing an acorn-like seed. The seeds 

 and the tuberous root-stalk are edible. The sepals and petals 

 are numerous, passing gradually into each other so that onecan- 

 not tell where the calyx ends and the corolla begins. This plant 

 is sometimes called the lotus. 



The white water lily is a beautiful and highly prized flower 

 with four sepals, but numerous petals, which pass gradually into 

 the numerous stamens, and is given as an illustration of the fact 

 that the stamens are changed leaves. The root-stalks are very 

 large, and the fruit ripens under water. The yellow pond lily is 

 a less showy flower than the others. It has six sepals and nu- 



