102 THE MALLOW FAMILY. 



regular, twisted when in bud. Stamens indefinite; united. 

 (Monodelphous. pi. I. and II. 2 m.) often united with the 

 Petals at their bases. Anthers kidney-shaped, 1-celled. 

 Ovary 1. Styles single, or several combined. Stigmas 

 several. Fruit, a Capsule, with many cells and valves, or 

 composed of many carpels, collected into a compact body, 

 or placed in a whorl, round the base of the style. Embryo 

 curved ; with twisted, and double Cotyledons. Herbs, or 

 Shrubs, or Trees. Leaves alternate, with 'stipules. Flowers 

 on stalks, several together on the stem, at distances. They 

 abound in mucilage, especially the seeds. The stems and 

 root form an excellent fibre. 



Though there are but few British Species of this Family ; 

 there are numerous exotics which belong to it. One, of the 

 trees, as useful to us as the Flax, is, "The Cotton Tree," 

 whose fine white fibre, contained in the seed-vessel, is spun 

 into such an innumerable variety of cotton goods. That fine 

 white fibre is of the cellular tissue of the plant ; we can now 

 understand why cotton goods are not so durable as linen, 

 which is made of the woody fibre (vascular tissue) of the 

 plant.] 



3 GENERA. 

 1. Tree Mallow. 4. Mallow. 3. Marsh Mallow. 



[MALLOW. (Malva.) 



Calyx, with a 3-leaved Involucre, (PI. II. m I.) Carpels 

 numerous, circularly arranged, 1 -seeded. Name altered from 

 a Greek word signifying " soft," in allusion to the emollient 

 nature of the species. 



