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BoTANo'oRArHY, /3sTvvj, a plant, and 

 tQcttyYi, description. Description of plants, 

 their habits and geographical distribu- 

 tion. 



BOT'ANT, from Porottr,, a plant. That 

 branch of natural history which relates to 

 the vegetable kingdom. It has been 

 divided into the following heads: 1. Or- 

 ganoyraphy , or the organization of plants ; 

 2. Physiology, or the department which 

 treats of the vital actions of plants; 3. 

 Taxonomy, or the principles of classifica- 

 tion; 4. Terminology, or the terms em- 

 ployed in the science ; 5. Phytography , or 

 the rules to be observed in describing and 

 naming plants; and, 6, the Practice of 

 Sotamj, or, the application of the preced- 

 ing subjects to the art of discriminating 

 species. 



The only two hotanical arrangements 

 now in use are the Linnaean and the 

 Natural. The former is a classification of 

 plants according to their agreement in 

 some single characters; the latter is a 

 scheme for placing next to each other all 

 those plants which have the greatest re- 

 semblance. Por a more full explanation 

 of these two kinds of classification, the 

 reader is referred to the various works 

 that have been published on the subject, 

 as space can only be afforded here for a 

 very general account of these. As the 

 LinntDan system is rapidly falling into 

 disxise, and has been already so often ex- 

 plained, a very brief description of the 

 combination of the stamens and styles 

 may suffice in this place Class I. (sta- 

 men, 1), Monandria ; II. (stamens, 2), 

 Diandria; III. (stamens, 3), Triandria; 

 IV. (stamens, 4), Tetrandria ; V. (stamens, 

 5), Pentandria; VI. (stamens, 6), Hexan- 

 dria ; VII. (stamens, 7), Heptandria ; 

 VIII. (stamens, 8), Octandria; IX. (sta- 

 mens, 9), Enneandria; X. (stamens, 10), 

 Decandria; XI. (stamens, 12 19), Dode- 

 candria; XII. (stamens, 20 on more, in- 

 serted into the calyx), Icosandria; XIII. 

 (stamens, 20 or more, inserted into the 

 receptacle) , Polyandria ; XIV. (stam as, 

 2 long and 2 short), Didynamia; XV. 

 (stamens, 4 long and 2 short), Tetradyna- 

 mia; XVI. (stamens united by their fila- 

 ments into a tube), Monadelphia; XVII. 

 (stamens united by their filaments into 

 two parcels), Diadelphia; XVIII. 'sta- 

 mens united by their filaments into se- 

 veral parcels), Polyadelphia; XIX. (sta- 

 mens united by their anthers into a 

 tube), Syngenesia; XX. (stamens united 

 with the pistil), Gynandria ; XXI. (sta- 

 mens and pistils in separate flowers, but 

 both growing on the same plant), Monce- 

 cia ; XXII. (stamens and pistils not only 

 in separate flowers, but those flowers si- 

 tuated upon two dilferent plants) , Dicecia ; 

 XXIII. (stamens and pistils separate in 



some flowers, united in others, either on 

 the same plant, or two or three different 

 ones), Polygamia; XXIV. (stamens and 

 pistils, either not ascertained, or not to 

 be discovered, with any certainty, inso- 

 much that the plants cannot be referred 

 to any of the foregoing classes), Crypto- 

 gamia. The number of styles, or stigmas 

 if there be no styles, characterises the 

 orders of the first thirteen classes, which 

 are thus named : Monogynia, style 1 ; 

 Digynia, 2; Trigynia, 3; Tetragynia, 4 ; 

 Pentagynia, 5 ; Hexagynia, 6 ; Heptagy- 

 nia, 7; Octogynia, 8; Enneagynia, 9; 

 Decagynia, 10; Dodecagynia, 12; Poly- 

 gynia, more than 12. In the 14th class, 

 Didynamia, the orders depend upon the 

 ovary; in the loth class, Tetradynamia, 

 the orders are characterised by the form 

 of the fruit. The orders of the 16th, 17th, 

 and 18th classes, Monadelphia, Diadel- 

 phia, and Polyadelphia, depend upon the 

 number of stamens, and have the same 

 nomenclature as the first thirteen classes. 

 Syngenesiae arc determined by the ar- 

 rangement of their flowers, and by the 

 sex of their florets. Polygamia has flowers 

 crowded together in heads. Monogamia 

 has the flowers separate, not crowded in 

 heads; and the last class, Cryptogamia, 

 is divided into orders according to the 

 principles of the Natural System, viz. 

 Filices, Musci, Hepatica?, Algae, Fungi. 



The Natural System of botany is based 

 upon that formed by Jussieu out of the 

 views of Ray, Tournefort, and others, in 

 combination with numerous observations 

 of his own, and may be thus classified: 

 Divisions formed by the Org.ins of Fructifi- 

 cation or of Nutrition. I. PHANEROGA- 

 MOUS or VASCULAR. Class 1. Dicotyle- 

 dons or Exogens; 2. Monocotyledons or 

 Endogens. II. CRYPTOOAMOUS or CELLU- 

 LAR. 3. JEtheogamous or Semivascular ; 

 4. Amphigamous or Cellular. Or thus : 

 I. SEXUAL, being furnished with sexual 

 organs, or having vessels and stomates at 

 some period of their existence. Class 1. 

 Dicotyledons or Exogens ; 2. Monocoty- 

 ledons or Endogens ; 3. jEtheogamous or 

 Semivascular. II. "\Vithoutdistinctsexes, 

 or without either vessels or stomates at 

 any age. 4. Amphigamous or Cellular. 



A more recent author has, however, 

 proposnd a material modification, which 

 may be expressed as follows: PLANTS. 

 According to their Fructification. I. Hay- 

 ing flowers and sexes (Phanerogamous), 

 or According to their Vegetation. 1. Their 

 axis increasing symmetrically in density 

 and breadth, as well as length (Pleuro- 

 gens). (a) Minimum of Cotyledons, 2, or 

 (a) Stem in concentric layers (Exogens). 

 Class 1. Dicotyledons, or veins of leaves 

 netted ; Class 2. Gyntnosperms, or veins of 

 leaves netted or forked, (b) Minimum of 

 Cotyledons, 1, or (6) Stem, a confused 





