180 



UISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



19. SYNGUNESIA. 



Thb class is 

 compospd of 

 rompuiutd 

 flowers, consist- 

 iiiif of inmiy little florets 

 mtliin ono fomtnoncalyx, 

 VTion these are hernia- 

 plirwlite, they have five 

 etamens united by their 

 antJierg uito a cylinder, 

 round one pistil. Some of 

 the florets are tubular, 

 others li^-ulate, some her- 

 maplirodite, some female, 

 and others neuter. Our 

 British genera are em- 

 braced by Dr Smith in 

 tlu^e onlera ; viz. 1st. 

 those where the little flo- 

 rets are all hermaphrodite, 

 ex. tlustle J 2d. tJiose 

 where the florets in the 

 disk are liermajilirodite, 

 and those iu the ray, fe- 

 male, ex. mountain daisy ; 

 the 3(1. where the florets 

 in the disk ai-e hermapliro- 

 dite, imd those in the cir- 

 cumference neuter, ex, 

 blue bottle. 



20. GYANDRIA. 

 Tlie plants of 

 thU class bea? 

 flowers, witli 

 etaraons attir-r 

 ted on the style, 

 or upon a receptacle 

 stretched out in fonn of a 

 style, whirli supports both ^^ Ilexandria 

 stamem aud pistild. 



21. MONCECIA. 

 The Moncpci- 

 oua or one- 

 house phuits. 



1 Polygamia iEqualis 



2 Polygamia Superflua 



3 Polygamia Frustran* n <^' 



have their sta- 

 mens iu one 

 flower, and their pistils 

 on a sepamto flower on 

 thesameplant— the orders 

 are from tlio number and 

 connection of the stamens. 

 Besides anumber of herb- 

 aceous plants, some of the 

 most beautiful and useful 

 of our forest trees belontf 

 to this class. * 



22. DIGiClA. 

 Tlio DIoRcious, 

 or two-house 

 plttnts, are male 

 and female, the - 

 rtainens arc found in tho 

 flowers of one plant, and 

 the pistils in the flowers 

 of another— the orders are 

 from the number and con- 

 nection of the stamem. 

 Some soft-wooded, quick 

 (rrowintf plants belong to 

 tics class. M the ^viflovv 

 ftud tlie {Hiplar. 



23. POLYGAMIA. 



The plants of 

 this class have 



this class have >^#? 



hermaplu-odite, M^ ^L 



and male or fe- ^^ "^ 1 . nc i 



male flowerb, or both on ) * Monacia 



the same [)lant. Drllnll, ^ 



in Ills British Floni, has 



arranged and described 



seven genera in tins class. 



24. CRYPTOGAMIA. 



The crypto- n* > -• 



gameousplants *^^jLj^ 



are those vege- ^ /^ 



tables whose ^^ ft^ 



parts of fructi- S^SK. 



tication are so minute that 



they are but imperfectly 



visible to the naked eye. 



Linnreus divided the 



plants of this class into 4 



natural orders, viz.Filices, 



Musci, Algae, and Fungi. 

 1st Order. Filices , _.,, 



Tlie Filices, or Ferns, in I ^ fiUcet 



general push up only ono 



stem, termed a tronil, 



which, in the early stage 



of its grou-th, is roUed up 



in a spiral fonn. They 



bear their fructification in 



a spike, in a racemus, or 



on the under surface of 



the leaf. The Botryclii- 



um is an example of a 



spike, the Osniunda of a 



racemus, and the Polypo- 



dium bears its fructiflca* 



tJon on the under surface 



of tho loaf. The fructifi- 

 cation is arranged in lines 



or dots; and from their 



situation and direction, 



with the presence and 



manner of opening of a 



tliin covering termed the 



Involucre, and from being 



with or without an elastic 



ring, the genera are form- 

 ed and diating lushed. 

 2d Order. iMusci— Tho 



mosses are a beautiful na- 

 tural family of very mi- 

 nute plants, whose female 



piu-ts of fructification are 



covered by a calyptra, 



wWcli adheres to the top 



of the theca, aud in gene- • 



ral opens transversely. 



The mouth of the thecals 



sometimes naked, and 

 sometimes clothed with a 

 single or double fringe, 

 termed a periostoma. Its 

 divisions are named teeth ; 

 and from their number, 

 their being upright or re- 

 flectod,3traightort\visted, 

 triangular, spear, or bris- 

 tle-shaped, blunt or acute, 

 and wliether tlioir seeds 

 are smooth or rough, an- 

 gular or round, the genera 

 are characterized. 



3d Order. ALO.e.— Hie 

 plants in this order luivo 

 their root, stem, and leaf, 

 of one continuous similar 

 piece of matter. They are 

 divided into those which 

 grow on the land and 

 those that ^row in tho 

 water. Then- generic cha- 

 racters are taken from 

 their parts of fiTictifiea- 

 tiou when the&e are any 

 way evident, and from tho 

 general structure of the 

 plant when these organs 

 escape notice. 



4th Order. FuNoi.— The L4 Fungi 

 fungi consists of plants 

 mostly of a spongy or 

 cork-like texture. They 

 are generally of short du- 

 ration, and hear their 

 seeds in gills or tubes, or 

 attached to fibrous or 

 spongy substances. Their 

 generic chiiriicters are 

 taken from the disposition 

 of their seeds, or Croni 

 their external figure oj- 

 apj>earnnce. 



3 Algije 



T 



