186 WILD FLOWER PRESERVATION 



ago, "Gramen xerampelinum, miliacea, per- 

 tenui ramosaque sparsa panicula" being used 

 to denote a grass known later as Poa bulbosa. 

 Linnaeus, the great Swedish botanist (1707-78) 

 invented the simple plan of giving each plant 

 a name consisting of two words only, the first 

 a substantive, the second an adjective; the first 

 denoting the genus in which it was placed, the 

 second showing the particular species in that 

 genus. In English the specific name comes 

 first and the generic second. Trifolium pra- 

 tense (Red Clover). 



Family. Several or many genera that re- 

 semble each other in marked characteristics 

 are grouped into a Family. 



Example: Labiatae or Lipped Family, in- 

 cluding the Blue Curls, Mints, Skullcaps, 

 Bugles, etc. Umbelliferse or Umbel-bearing 

 Family, including Wild Carrot, Cow Parsnip, 

 Spotted Cowbane, etc. 



Order. A group of related families. Thus 

 the Pulse, Rose and Saxifrage families belong 

 to the Order Resales. 



Unfortunately botanists are not absolutely 

 agreed about the classification of every plant, 



