Statistics. 



209 



Statistics of the Vegetable Kingdom, continued. 



and about 35 species, all aquatic. The largest genus is nym- 



phaea by some called castalia comprising some 20 species. 



The Mustard family, Cruciferae, comprises probably about 

 2,000 species, many of which are grown fort ood and ornament. 

 The cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, kohl-rabi, radish, horse- 

 radish, sea-kale, cresses and mustards are the leading edible 

 species, while the stocks, alyssum, wall-flower, honesty or 

 lunaria are among the ornamental species. There are over 175 

 genera in the order. 



The Violet family comprises about 250 species, generally dis- 

 tributed over the world. Of these, about 200 are violets. 

 The order includes 21 genera. Some of the species, outside of 

 viola proper, are shrubs or small trees. 



The Caryophyllaceae or Pink family has about 1,000 species 

 and 35 genera. The ornamental genera are dianthus, including 

 the pinks and carnation, saponaria, silene, lychnis and a few 

 others of less importance. Dianthus, literally "Jove's flower," 

 numbers some 200 species. The corn-cockle and catchflies 

 belong to this family. 



The Mallow family, Malvaceae, has about 60 genera and 700 

 species. The best known genera are althaea, the hollyhock ; 

 malva, the mallows ; hibiscus ; abutilon ; and gossypium, the 

 cotton. 



The Basswoods or Lindens are 8 in number, growing in 

 n .rthern temperate climates. Two are natives of North 

 America. Tiliaceae, the basswood family, comprises 40 genera 

 and about 330 species. 



Some 50 species of maples are known, inhabiting Europe, 

 Asia and America. 9 grow naturally in North America. The 

 Sapindaceae, to which family the maple belongs, is largely 

 tropical. It comprises over 70 genera, and 600 or 700 species, 

 ^sculus, the horse-chestnuts, belong here, and are about 14 

 in number. 



The Leguminosae or Pulse family, is one of the most impor- 

 tant orders of plants. It furnishes many foods, fine woods, 



