1 70 BOTANY. 



liferae ? The Cruciferse ? Point out the affinities of the 

 lady's-slipper and the lily. 



Compare flower-de-luce, or blue flag, with the follow- 

 ing description : 



Herbs with parallel-veined, equitant, two-ranked leaves 

 and perfect flowers. Tube of the perianth coherent with 

 the three-celled ovary ; limb petal-like and six-parted ; 

 convolute in the bud in two sets. Stamens three, mona- 

 delphous or distinct, with extrorse anthers. Pod three- 

 celled, loculicidal, many-seeded. 



What affinities can you point out between the flower- 

 de-luce and lily? between the lady's-slipper and flower- 

 de-luce ? In what respect are these three plants alike ? 



The genera and species of these orders are described 

 in their proper place in the Flora. 



We think of a SPECIES as made up of individuals that 

 have descended from a common ancestor, or that are so 

 nearly alike that they might have done so, like the indi- 

 vidual plants in a bed of pansies or a field of wheat. All 

 the dandelions scattered everywhere constitute such a spe- 

 cies. They are of common descent, and they produce 

 plants like themselves from their seed. 



A GENUS (the singular of genera) is an assemblage of 

 species that resemble each other much more nearly than 

 they resemble any other plants. All the species of oak 

 form an oak genus ; the species of clover, white, red, etc., 

 a clover genus ; the roses, a rose genus, and so on. 



On Chart V several orders of parallel-leaved plants 

 are given, and their characters are so magnified that they 

 may be easily seen and compared. 



