22 ANALYSIS OF THE POPPY. 



esting of the vegetable race, and is often dignified with the title of 

 "queen of flowers." 



You will perceive, on examining the Rose, that its numerous sta- 

 mens are attached to the calyx. A more perfect idea of their situa- 

 tion may be obtained by removing the petals, and cutting the calyx 

 longitudinally. Therefore, because it has more than ten stamens 

 growing upon tl|e calyx, it belongs to the 11th class, Icosandria. 

 The pistils being more than ten, it is of the 13th order, Polygynia. It 

 belongs to the genus Rosa. 



The shape of the calyx is '■urnform ;'' the calyx is ^ inferior ^^ or 

 below the germ ; it is '■Jive cleft,'' or has five divisions around the 

 border ; ' it is fleshy,^ or thick, ' contracted towards the top ;' '■petals 

 5,' (this is always the case with a rose in its natural state, unassisted 

 by cultivation ;) ' seeds numerous, bristly, fixed to the sides of the ca- 

 lyx within? 



There is no seed vessel, or proper pericarp to the rose ; but the 

 calyx swells and becomes a dry, red berry, containing many seeds. 



The genus Rosa contains many species, distinguished one from 

 another, by the different shape of the germ, the smoothness or rough- 

 ness of the stems, the presence or absence of thorns, the shape of the 

 leaves, and the manner in which the flowers grow upon the stalks, 

 whether solitary, crowded together in pairs, or scattered, and whe- 

 ther they are erect, or drooping. 



The Moss rose, (Rosa muscosa,) is distinctly marked by the hairs, 

 resembling moss, which cover the stems of the calyx; these haira 

 are a collection of glands containing a resinous and fragrant fluid. 



The apple blossom appears like a little rose ; its calyx becomes 

 thick and pulpy, and at length constitutes that part which we usually 

 call the fruit, though strictly speaking, the seed only, is the fruit. 

 On examining an apple, you may notice, at the end opposite the stem, 

 the five divisions of the calyx. 



Analysis of the Poppy. 



The Poppy affords a good illustration of the 12th class, Polyan- 

 dria ; here are numerous stamens, always more than ten, sometimes 

 more than a hundred, growing upon the receptacle ; the Poppy has 

 but one pistil, and therefore belongs to the first order, Monogynia ; 

 the genus is Pap aver. The Poppy has a ' calyx of two leaves or se- 

 pals,^ but these fall off as soon as the blossom expands, and are there- 

 fore called '■caducous;'' the corolla (except when double) Hs four 

 petalledj^ it has no style, but the stigma is set upon the germ, and is 

 therefore said to be sessile. 



The germ is large and somewhat oblong, the stigma is flat and 

 radiated. The pericarp is one-celled, or without divisions, it opens 

 at the top, by pores, when the seeds are ripe. The species of Papa- 

 ver which is cultivated in gardens, is the somniferum, which name 

 signifies to produce sleep. It is often called Opium Poppy. 



The analysis of even one or two flowers, cannot fail of suggesting 

 thoughts of the beauty of a system which so curiously identifies the 

 different plants, described by botanists, and points to each individ- 

 ual of the vegetable family the place it must occupy. Even one hour 

 spent by a person in following a plant from class to order, and from 

 order to genus, until its name and specific character were ascer- 

 tained, would be of great value, should this be aU of botany he was 

 ever to learn. 



Why is it in the 11th class?— why the 13th order ?— Generic characters of the Rose 

 —Circumstances which distinguish the different species of the genus Rosa— Apple 

 blossom and fruit— Analysis of the Poppy— The analysis of one or two flowers useful 



