SYSTEMATICAL BOTANY. 



IV. THE NATURAL SYSTEM OF DE CANDOLLE. 



MANY natural systems have been proposed by different 

 botanists. Ray, Linnaeus, Jussieu, De Candolle, Bartling, 

 Reichenbach, Schultz, Endlicher, myself, and many others, 

 have each had their own system ; and, perhaps, the best cha- 

 racter that can be given of them is, that while they are all far 

 from the truth, each has some merits which the others want. 



The system of De Candolle, however, having been taken 

 as the basis of the most perfect enumeration of plants that has 

 ever been made, has so great a reputation, that for the con- 

 venience of students it most requires explanation. And it 

 seems the more deserving of illustration, because the Univer- 

 sity of London have declared that their examinations shall be 

 conducted with reference to it. 



It will not be necessary to introduce into an illustration of 

 this system every natural order ; for many are imperfectly 

 known, and only interest the botanist when he extends his 

 inquiries into the minutiae of the science. All, however, of 

 importance, will be found in the succeeding pages. 



Plants are either furnished with visible flowers, or they 

 are multiplied in some other way. Hence the two great divi- 

 sions, of FLOWERING (Phanogamous or Phanerogamous), and 

 FLOWERLESS (Cryptogamous) . 



Flowering plants are either EXOGENS (95) or ENDOGENS 

 (95), with which Dicotyledons (573) and Monocotyledons 

 (572) respectively correspond. 4. 



Flowerless plants are either TETHEOGAMOUS (Semivascular), 

 that is, furnished with stomates and vascular tissue ; or they 

 are AMPHIGAMOUS (Cellular), that is, destitute of stomates and 

 entirely cellular. 



Hence arise four CLASSES. 



I. FLOWERING PLANTS. 



Class 1 . Exogens or Dicotyledons. 

 Class 2. Endogens or Monocotyledons. 



