1844. 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



501 



closely resembling G. calomelana, but with farina more 

 or less of a yellow colour. G. calomelana is, in fact, a 

 very variable species in respect to the colour of its 

 farina. I have hardly a plant the farina of which is free 

 from a tinge of yellow." — M. J. Berkeley. 



I beyond the other would necessarily assume the appear- white to the dark 



p FAMILIAR 



Morphology. 



BOTANY. 

 No. XVI. 



By soft degrees a mighty change ensues 



" Each of 

 " Each of 



Erratum.— P. 404, line 49 from the bottom, for 

 these carpels is like tliat of the Whitethorn," read 

 these carpels is like that of the Cherry." 



The fruit of a plant is either merely its ripened 

 carpel, or the ripened carpel together with the parts of 

 the flower that surround V. A Peach is the first, an 

 Apple is the second. This being so, and a carpel, toge- 

 ther with the parts of the flower that surround it, having 

 been demonstrated in former articles to be, beyond all 

 possibility of doubt, altered leaves, it follows that the 

 fruit of a plant is also a leaf or leaves. There is no 

 getting away from ths conclusion that is thus arrived at. 



The changes that the carpel undergoes in the course 

 of its change into a fruit are so numerous, that it would 

 be tedious to discuss them in detail. The alterations 

 that result in the formation of a Peach may be taken as 

 an illustration of the process in other cases. 



When the flower of a Peach drops oft*, the carpel loses 

 its style and stigma, which are no longer wanted, and 

 the ovary alone remains to swell and change. It is to 

 be recollected that that ovary consists of the two sides 

 of a leaf turned inwards, and united at the edges ; con- 

 sequently, one side of it answers to one half of a leaf, 

 and the other side to the opposite half. Now, it is not 

 uncommon to find one half of a leaf green and the other 

 ■white, or to have the two halves different in some other 

 respect. In the Peach the carpellary leaf is, in like 

 manner, occasionally found to be smooth on one half, 

 and downy on the other; and then, when such a carpel 

 becomes a ripe fruit, one half is a Nectarine, and the 

 other a Peach. This is not. of uncommon occurrence, 

 and is clearly intelligible upon morphological reasoning, 

 and upon no other. 



Vegetable anatomists also know that the leaf of a 

 Peach-tree, although as thin as a piece of paper, consists 

 in reality of two layers, of which the uppermost is much 

 more compact than the other, in consequence of its com- 

 ponent parts being differently arranged. Now, the inside 

 of a Peach is the upper side of the leaf out of which it is 

 fashioned, and therefore may very well be the hardest, 

 as, in fact, we find it to be : for the stone of the Peach 

 is its inside. 



When the carpel of a Peach swells, its sides thicken, 

 and soon acquire the texture of brittle leather ; by 

 degrees the apparent uniformity of the materials out 

 of which the sides of the Peach are organised cease to 

 present a uniform appearance. The inside (or upper 

 side of the carpellary leaf), becomes paler and firmer ; 

 and thus the stone originates. Those who put green 

 Peaches into pickles know this, for such Peaches are 

 uijflt for the purpose as soon as a pin refuses to pass 

 easily through them. Gardeners know it still better; 

 for the time when the hardening of the inside of the 

 Peach takes effect is the critical period in the life of the 

 young fruit. At that time the colour of all the parts is 

 the same, or nearly so ; it is only by its greater hardness 

 that the future stone is to be known. But by degrees 

 two opposite changes take place in the two layers of the 

 Peaoh ; the outer becomes more and more soft, acquires 

 great succulence, changes colour, and ends in the flesh ; 



mice in the woodcut. If a leaf-bud lengthens a little, 

 this is what happens ; and there is no conceivable reason 

 why a flower-bud, which is the same thing in another 

 form, should not also lengthen in the presence of dis- 

 turbing causes. 



What those canses are I shall leave the Editor of the 

 Gardeners' Chronicle to explain when he shows, as he 

 one day will endeavour to do. how important a connec- 

 tion there is between Morphology and Gardening. — R.E. 



est crimson. From the south 



derable dryness, and ends in the stone. In some Peaches 

 the two layers, one flesh and the other stone, Jreely sepa- 

 rate ; in others they as firmly adhere — as we all know. 



It is thus that a Peach is made out of a leaf in the form 

 of a carpel ; and a similar investigation so' completely 

 explains the formation of all other fruits, that I shall 

 pursue the matter no further. There is, however, a class 

 of facts connected with certain kinds of fruits, so inti- 

 mately connected with this subject, and so conclusively 

 establishing the exactness of the views of morphologists, 

 that they may not be passed by in silence. 



Every year we remark occasional instances of an 

 Apple or a Pear lengthening out, and acquiring the ap- 

 pearance of a Pear within a Pear. Mr. Peter Mackenzie 

 sent us in 1842 a very curious instance of the sort in a 

 Crassane Peaf ; and in the same year Mr. Henderson, 

 of Brompton, forwarded a Chaumontelle equally instruc- 

 tive, a figure of which is here introduced. 



It had lost entirely its usual form, instead of which it 



appeared to be constructed with scales arranged one over 

 the other, in the 



manner of a Pine 

 cone. Nothing can 

 be clearer than that 

 in this case the leaves 

 of the calyx and 

 corolla had in- 

 creased somewhat 

 in number, the centre 

 round which they 

 ^ere first arranged 

 having lengthened 

 out a little. The 

 effect of the length- 

 ening was to sepa- 

 rate the leaves a 

 little, and to raise 



^XninTn* 1 ^ on V b ™ wither; 80 that, when the 

 flesheung process took place, their ends projecting one 



NOTES ON AMERICAN PLANTS. 



Having, during the spring of 1843, joined a party of 

 gentlemen at St. Louis, state of Missouri, who were 

 bound to the Rocky Mountains on a hunting excursion, 

 and as Botanical pursuits were my sole object, I have 

 thought it might gratify some of the readers of the 

 Chronicle to learn a few particulars respecting the locali- 

 ties of the various genera that came under my observa- 

 tion ; at the same time I must remark that this is very 

 deficient as a list of the flora in the regions which 

 we traversed. Our movements were too rapid to afford 

 a fair opportunity for exploring many of the most favour- 

 able localities, and although I daily travelled at least one- 

 third more than the rest of the party, still I was not 

 able to examine the country as I could have wished. 



We left the city of St, Louis on the 2d of May, and 

 proceeded up the Missouri by a steam- boat, a distance 

 of 360 miles. The banks of this noble river were beau- 

 tifully ornamented by the Cercis Canadensis, which 

 displayed its purple flowers in the greatest profusion. 

 Among the herbaceous plants, I observed several species 

 of Viola, the Podophyllum peltatum, two species of 

 Habenaria, some Oxalis,Corydalis, and AnemonePennsyl- 

 vanica; but the spring having been unusually backward, 

 Flora had not then displayed many of her treasures. 

 We reached Westport on the 8th of May. This is the 

 Ultima Thule of civilisation; and, as henceforward we had 

 to travel by land, we had to encamp until the 21st in 

 order to make the necessary arrangements for prosecuting 

 our journey. This delay afforded me a good opportunity 

 of examining the country around. The following 

 embrace such plants as came under my observation, 

 viz., Claytonia virginica, Batschia canescens, B. longi- 

 flora, B. Gonelina, Corydalis cucullaria, Baptisia leuco- 

 phsea, B. leucantha, B. ccerulea, Krigia dandelion, 

 Erythronium albidum, Sisyrinchium mucronatum, with 

 its varieties ; Pastinaca foeniculacea, Cypripedium albidum 

 or candidum, C. parviflorum, C. pubescens, Oxalis 

 violacea, Hypoxis erecta, Astragalus caryocarpus, Cercis 

 Canadensis, Viola cucullata, V. pedats, V. delphiniifolia, 

 and Verbena Aubletia. 



During the first week of our journey, which comprised 

 only a distance of about 100 miles, being from Westport 

 to the Kanzas River, the chief plants were Phalangium 

 esculentum, Ellisia Nyctalea, Psoralea esculenta. 

 The Baptisias leucophsea and leucantha, with Batschia 

 canescens and B. longiflora, were most profusely spread 

 over the rich undulating prairies we traverse^, and gave 

 the whole scenery a gay — nay, even a brilliant appear- 

 ance. The Eryngium aquaticum was the plant that 

 most prevailed, but it was not then in flower. The soil 

 here was very rich,. and the country was particularly well 

 wooded along the margin of the various streams which 

 intersected the prairies, comprising the Ash, several spe- 

 cies of Elm, Hickory, various Oaks, the American Pap- 

 paw, Chesnut, Beech, Birch, and Poplar. From the 

 Kanzas River to the River Platte, which we reached on 

 the 14th of June, the Phlox aristata, Astragalus adsur- 

 gens, Pentstemon grandiflorus, and another species, with 



a " lner becomes more and more hard, acquires consi- the Sida coccinea and Gaura coecinea, displayed their 



rich blossoms in the greatest profusion. The latter 

 plant has a beautiful rosy shade in the morning, scarlet 

 towards noon, and nearly a white in the evening, when it 

 emits a most agreeable odour. This plant and the Gaura 

 coccinea continued to produce their rich blossoms until 

 we reached the Sweet-water of the Platte, a distance of 

 nearly 800 miles. While travelling over this region, I 

 found a beautiful crimson Malva, or Nuttallia. The fol- 

 lowing embrace the principal plants which came under 

 my notice during this part of our journey: — Lathy rus 

 ornatus, Oxytropis Lamberti, Liatris pyenostachya, 

 L. punctata, Salvia azurea, Psoralea esculenta, P. flori- 

 bunda, P. canescens, Cassia chameecrista, Rosa blanda, 

 R. foliolosa, Phalangium esculentum, Monarda oblongata, 

 Coreopsis tripteris, C. palmata, Tradescantia virginica, 

 with varieties from the purest white to the darkest 

 purple; Ziz-a aurea, Pedicularis canadensis, Anemone 

 Pennsylvania, Clematis viorna, Fragaria sp. (?), Sym- 

 phoricarpus vulgaris, Gerardia angustifolia, Seymeria ma- 

 crophylla, Lilium uniflorum, Lythrum virgatum, Phlox 

 divaricata, P. suaveolens, Senecio aureus, Oxybaphus 

 (Calymenia) Nyctaginea, Talinum parviflorum, Malva 

 pedata, M. involucrata, Ceanothus mollissimus, Psoralea 

 argophylla, Petalostemon violaceum, Desmodium acu- 

 minatum, Schrankiauncinata, Darlingtonia brachypoda, 

 Geum virginianum, Potentilla arguta, Polytienia Nut- 

 tallii, CEnothera speciosa, and others. We now com- 

 menced a tedious and uninteresting journey along the 

 plains of the Platte River, and for several days the flora 

 on the plains was very meagre, if I except two species of 

 Mammillaria aud the Opuntia Missourica, O. cylin- 

 drica, with a fine variety of Grasses. On the 21st of 

 June we ascended to the upper prairie, when a gay floral 

 scene was presented to our view. The rich yellow of the 

 Coreopsis tenuifolia predominated, but was enchantingly 

 variegated with the white bloom of the Pentstemon 

 albidus, the scarlet of the Sida coccinea, the various 

 shades of the Tradescantia virginica, and the different 

 species of Astragalus, diverging from the purest 



to the north fork of the Platte, I observed the neat 



Evolvulusargenteus,Lupinuspamilu?,L. sp.(?). Erysimum 

 asperum, Ervum pusillum, Cleome integrifolia. Several 

 plants were found in this region which were entirely new 

 to me, particularly a dwarf shrubby (Enothera, the finely- 

 pencilled rose-coloured flowers of which were verv much 

 admired. I also observed Lathyrus linearis, Ceanothus 

 Americanus, Amorpha fruticosa, Oxytropis Plattensis, 

 CEnothera rhombipetala, Vernonk fasciculata, Aster cor- 

 difolius, A. oblongifolius, A. Nova? Anglise, Duteria 

 coronopifolia, D. pulverulenta, Erigeron bellidiastrum,. 

 E. glabellum, E. stri-^osum. Coreopsis tinctoria, Lobelia 

 spicata, and L. siphilitica. On the 27th of June we made 

 the North Fork of the Platte ; the surface of the ground 

 became more varied ; rocks begun to make their appear- 

 ance, with a range of hills composed of soft marl of an 

 earthy formation, and consequently plants were more 

 abundant. As we descended from the upper plains a 

 variety of species were found, among which may be enu- 

 merated a species of Oxybaphus (?) or Calymenia (?) CEno- 

 thera pinnatifida, O. speciosa, Yucca angustifolia, a most 

 beautiful species of Eriogonum. CEnothera albicaulis, O. 

 trichocalyx, O. biennis, O. Drummondi, O. coronopi- 

 folia, O. csespitosa, O. pinnatifida, with several other un- 

 known species; Potentilla anserina, P. arguta, Thalictrum 

 megacarpura, Argemone Mexicana var. albiflora, Heli- 

 anthus two species ; Nasturtium palustre, and among 

 the hills a beautiful crested Pentstemon. This brings 

 me to Fort Laramie, a trading station of the American 

 Fur Company. From thence to the Sweet-water of the 

 Platte, among other plants may be mentioued a pretty- 

 species of Aster, three species of Calochortus, and Galar- 

 dia bicolor. At a small stream called Bitter Creek, 

 several acres were densely covered with a species of 

 Delphinium of the richest azure blue, and most agreeable 

 odour ; Pachypodium integrifolium, Vesicaria didymo- 

 carpa, Polygala alba, Lintim rigidum. Pelargonium Fre- 

 montium, Rhus triloba, Purslria tridentata, Glycyrrhiza 

 lepidota, Apios tuberosa, Psoralea campestris, P. tenui- 

 folia, P. lanceolata, Petalostemon candidum, P. villosum, 

 P. violaceum. Astragalus gracilis, Phaca longifolia, and 

 several other species ; Kentrophyta montana ; Lupinus, 

 four species ; Cerasus Virginiana, Campanula rotundi- 

 folia, Rubus strigosus, Epilobium coloratura, E. spica- 

 tum, Mentzelia nuda, Ribes cereum, R. lacustre, R. irri- 

 guum, Sedum rhodiola, Siura incisum, Cornus stoloni- 

 fera, Symphoricarpus occidentalis, and Galium boreale. 

 On the 17th of July, while all were occupied in crossing 

 the North Fork of the River Platte, I paid a visit to 

 the highest range of the Black Hill?, a distance of eight 

 or ten miles, and was rewarded by finding several species 

 of Euchroma (Csstellejas), Claytonia virginica, on the 

 margin of a dense mass of snow ; species of Srlene, 

 Cerastium, Viola, Pelargonium, Lupinus, Frasera, Ery- 

 simum, CEnothera, Batschia, Geum, Piuus, Abies, Juni- 

 perus, and the beautiful Lewisiarediviva, with several un- 

 known genera. 



On reaching the beautiful winding stream called the 

 Sweet- water of the Platte, we found we were fast ap- 

 proaching the mountains. While passing through this 

 arid region, days would elapse without our finding a 

 single plant that was worthy of notice. The whole 

 ground was literally covered with different species of 

 Artemisia. In many instances the floral goddess 

 seemed to have deserted us. However, in more favoured 

 spots I was enabled to enumerate the following, viz. : — 

 Brickellia grandiflora, Aster multiflorus, A. falcatus, 

 Erigeron canadense, Gutierrezia euthamiae, Solidago 

 rigida, S. Missouriensis, S. speciosa, S. gigantea, Aplo- 

 pappus spinulosus, Grindelia squarrosa, Franseria dis- 

 color, Helianthus petiolaris, H.Maximiliani, Cosraidium 

 gracile, Bidens connata, Hymenopappus corymbosus, 

 Artemisia Ludoviciana, A. irigida, A. canadensis, A. 

 cana, A. biennis, A. Lewisii, A. rediviva, Stephanomeria 

 runcinata, Gnaphalium uliginosurn, G. palustre, Cacalia 

 tuberosa, Mulgedium pulchellum, Lygodesmia juncea, 

 Glaux maritima, several species of Pentstemon, 

 Teucriura canadense, Lycopus sinuatus, Stacbys aspera, 

 Scutellaria geniculata, Mentha canadensis, Lippia cunei- 

 folia, Onosmodium molle, Myosotis glomerata, Phlor 

 Hoodii, Polemoniura coeruleum var., Calystegia sepium, 

 Gentiana afnnis, G. Fremontii, and two other species ; 

 Frasera speciosa, Asclepias speciosa. and three other 

 species, Kochia dentata, Eurotia lanata, Fremontia 

 vermicularis (I believe theBatis vermicularis of Hooker), 

 Oxybaphus sp. (?), Polygonum persicaria, P. aviculare, 

 P. viviparum, Rumex sp. (?), Shepherdia argentea, S. 

 canadensis, Sisyrinchium anceps, Iris Missouriensis, 

 Allium reticulatum, Smilacina stellata, Zigadenus 

 glaucus, Eriogonum annuum, E. umbellatum, E. Fre- 

 montii, E. ccespitosum, E. ovalifoliura, and three other 

 species ; Gentiana aretophylla, Elreagnus argentea, 

 Polygonum amphibium, Gilia sp. (?) (splendid), Pul- 

 monaria ciliata, Pedicularis surrecta, Castelleja .pallida, 

 C. miniata, and two other species ; Mimulus sp. (?), 

 Orthocarpus luteus, Dodecatheon dentatum, Arctosta- 

 phylos uva ursi, Senecio triangularis, Helianthus uni- 

 florus, Balsamorrhiza sagittata, Iva axillaris, Phaca ter- 

 nata, Aster integrifolius, A. adscendens, A. novi Belgii, 

 A. elegans, Potentilla gracilis, P. fruticosa, P. diversifolia, 

 P. sericea, Sibbaldia procumbens, Thermopsis moatena, 

 Astragalus hypoglottis, Parnassia fimbriafa, Arenaria 

 congesta, Berberis aquifolium, Actaea rubfe. Sec. 



The above names are according to Dr. rr«y, who 

 had the arranging and naming of a colfcetff » of speci- 

 mens collected by Lieut. Fremont, of the V.S. Army, 

 and who had gone over our route, in a great measure, 



during the summer of 1842. 

 London. 



Alexander Gordtn^ 



> 



* 



