136 



CLASS MONANDRIA. 



CLA.SS I. — MONANDRIA. 

 Order Monogynia. 



In the United States we have very few ex- 

 amples of plants of this class ; the Hippuris, 

 an aquatic plant, is sometimes found in 

 stagnant water ; it is the most simple of all 

 perfect* flowers, having neither calyx nor 

 corolla, and but 1 stamen, 1 pistil, and ] 

 seed. The germ, in maturing, hardens into 

 a naked seed without any kind of append- 

 ages. The genus Hippuris contains but one 

 species, the vulgaris. 



Fig. 121, a, represents the Hippuris ;t the 

 stem is erect and simple; the leaves are 

 linear, acute, and arranged in whorls. At 

 b, is the flower of the Hippuris, showing an 

 egg-shaped germ ; a short filament crowned 

 with a large anther composed of two lobes ; 

 the style is long and awl-shaped ; the stigma is acute and inconspi- 

 cuous ; the germ is crowned by a border which resembles the upper 

 part of a calyx. 



The Marsh-samphire, (Salicornia herbacea,) with a bushy stem 

 about a foot high and flowers in a short spike, grows in salt marshea 

 near the sea-coast. It has a saltish taste, and is used for pickling. 

 It has been supposed that this was the plant alluded to by Shakspeare 

 in his description of the cliffs of Dover: 



" How dreadful, 

 And dizzy 'tis to cast one's eyes so low ! 



Halfway down, 

 Hangs one that gathers Samphire : dreadful trade !" 



It is probable, however, that the poet here refers to the Sea-Sam 

 phire, {Crithmum maritimum,) whose habit it is to grow on rocks 

 near the sea ; this, according to English botanists, is still found upop 

 the Dover cliffs, from which those who gather it are let down in 

 baskets. The Salicornia is found in great quantities on the coast? 

 of the Mediterranean, where it is burned, and its ashes used in the 

 manufacture of soda. It is also found at Onondaga Salt Springs, 

 and on the sea-coast in North America. 



Although the plants of this class are so very limited in the northern 

 countries, some of the most valuable vegetable productions of the 

 tropical regions are found here. The Arrow-root,| (Maranta arun- 

 dinacea.) received its name from having been used by the Indians of 

 South America, to extract the venom irom wounds made by their 

 poisoned arrows ; from its roots, a substance is obtained, resembling 

 starch, which is valued as nutritious for the sick. The Curcuma, 

 sometimes called the Indian Crocus, furnishes from its root the tur- 

 meric imported from the East Indies ; it is remarkable for the pecu- 

 liar yellow colour of its bark, and is valuable as a chemical test oi 

 the presence of alkalies. It is an ingredient in the cwrry-powder. 



The ginger, whose root is so extensively used in cooking and in 

 medicine, was first known to the Arabians, and called by them Zin- 

 ziber, which is now generally received as its generic name, though 



* Although so destitute of other organs, it is called perfect, because it has stamens 

 and pistils, 

 t See also Appendix, plate vi. fig. 7. * See Appendix, plate iii. fig. 4. 



How many orders in the class Monandria'?— Describe the Hippuris— Fig. 121— 

 Marsh-Samphire— Arrow-root— Ginger. 



