ORDER PENTAGYNIA. 153 



7. Stem, d, is herbaceous, branched. 



8. Leaves, e, narrow, pinnatifid * 



9. Flowers, terminal, umbelled.t 



In distinguishing the genera of umbelliferous plants, the figure, 

 margin, and angles of the seeds are much regarded. The seeds of" 

 the carrot are bristly, those of the poison hemlock marked with 

 ridges, those of the parsnip flat. 



Order Trigynia. 



This order contains the elder, (Sambucus,) a shrub which orna- 

 ments the fields during the summer, with its clusters of delicate 

 White flowers. From the appearance of the blossom you might 

 suppose it to be umbelUferous ; the stalks do at first radiate from 

 one common centre, but afterward they are unequally sub-divided ; 

 this arrangement of flowers is called a cyme. The dark, rich pur- 

 ple berries of the elder, and the peculiarity of its pithy stem, are 

 among its distinguishing, natural characters. 



The snow-bail. Viburnum, has a natural affinity with the elder: 

 the flowers in its cymes are more thickly clustered together. Both 

 are distinguished by their flat corollas, which resemble a circular 

 piece of paper, with five divisions notched on the border. The only 

 generic difference between the snow-ball and the elder is, that the 

 former has a berry or pericarp, with one seed, the latter with three. 

 The snow-ball which is cultivated in shrubberies is an exotic ; but 

 there is a native species of viburnum, the oxycoccus, Which produces 

 showy flowers early in the spring, and is well worth a place in 

 pleasure-grounds. 



Order Tetragynia. 

 Here we find the grass of Parnassus, (Par-Jiass /a.) This is an 

 interesting flower ; the leaves are white, and beautifully veined with 

 yellow; the stem produces but one flower ; the nectaries are remark- 

 able for their beauty and singular appearance; they are five in 

 number, heart-fontt, and hollow, surrounded with thirteen little 

 threads, each one terminating with a round, glandular substance. 

 The plant is said to be a native of Mount I^rnassus, in Greece, so 

 celebrated in mythology, as the dwelhng of the muses. 



Order Pentagynia. 



In the fifl;h order We find the flax, Limciit, so called from a Celtic 

 Word, lin, a thread. It has a showy, blue flower, with an erect stem ; 

 a field of flax in blossom presents a very beautiful appearance. The 

 ciiltivated species is said to be of Egyptian origin. It is from the 

 fiber or inner bark of the stem of this plant, that all linen goods, 

 and the finest lawn and cambric, are manufactured. We owe to it, 

 in one sense, our literature ; as the paper of which our books are 

 made, is mostly from linen rags. The fibres of the stem are not 

 only thus important to the comfort of man, by contributing to his 

 clothing, and to his intellectual improvement in furnishing a method 

 of disseminating knowledge, but the seeds are highly valuable for 

 their oil, called linseed oil. This is used in medicine. The delight- 

 ful performances of the painter are executed by means of colours 

 prepared with oil, from the seed of the fiax, laid upon the canvass 

 made from the fibres of its stems. 



• The leaves of Umbelliferous plants are mostly compound, and sheathing at the 

 base. 



t The description of this plant is given on the authority of Nuttall, who calls it the 

 American coriander, which he says is found in the neighbourhood of the Red River. 

 The cultivated coriander has a one-leafed involucrum. 



Elder— Snow-ball— Grass of Parnassus— Flax. 



