417 



SUB-CLASS II. CALICIFLOR^E. 



581. It will be remembered that, in this division of the 

 Exogenous Phanerogamia, the sepals of the calyx are always 

 adherent to each other, and that the petals and stamens appear 

 to arise from them, rather than from the disk or receptacle, to 

 which they may really be traced. Taken as a whole, this divi- 

 sion cannot be regarded as containing a number of species, of 

 essential service to Man, equal to that which has been shown to 

 be comprehended within the former one; yet several orders of 

 very great interest and importance are comprehended in it. To 

 these it will be desirable to give our principal attention, passing 

 over a large number of other groups with little or no notice. 



582. The first order which presents itself is that of CELAS- 

 TRINEJE, in which the common Holly is placed by many Botanists. 

 This order is characterised by the possession of four or five sepals, 

 united at the base, and of an equal number of petals alternating 

 with them. The stamens, again, are the same in number, and 

 alternate with the petals; and they are perigynous (.498) in 

 their insertion. The ovarium is superior, and is composed of 

 several adherent carpels ; it is partly enveloped in a large fleshy 

 disk, and usually contains from two to four cells, each of which 

 may include one or several ovules. The style is single, but 

 separates at the top into two or four stigmata. The species of 

 this order are mostly trees or shrubs, the flowers of which are 

 not conspicuous. The section to which the Holly belongs is 

 distinguished by having the petals in some degree adherent to 

 each other ; and hence it has been placed by some Botanists, as 

 a separate order, among the Monopetalae. The common Holly 

 is one of the few British species of this order, which is pretty 

 generally distributed over the surface of the globe. It is a very 

 slow-growing tree, rarely attaining any great size ; its wood is 

 much used by turners (being one of the hardest of the white 

 woods), especially for the manufacture of the toys known as 

 Tunbridge ware. The inner bark abounds in a tenacious sub- 

 stance, which, when separated, is known as bird-lime, from the 



