FIELDBOOK OF ILLINOIS WILD FLOWERS 



and contain a selection of the lesser groups — genera, species and 

 a few varieties or subdivisions of species. 



x'^ll these division-units, or groups, have individual names, 

 and no two family, order or genus names are alike. The technical 

 name is in Latin or Greek, and most groups have a common 

 name in English as well. Thus we have the Rosaceae or Rose 

 family^ containing the genus Crataegus or Hawthorns, of which 

 one species J Crataegus mollis^ will be found on page 149 as the 

 red haw. Genus and species together comprise the scientific 

 nayne of a plant, and this is followed by initials or abbreviations 

 to indicate the person who is the authority responsible for the 

 name. Latin and Greek are used because they are more generally 

 understood and have been adopted for this use in many 

 countries. 



In this book the technical names are, with a few exceptions 

 in the nature of corrections, from Gray's Manual of Botany, 

 seventh edition, and the plants are listed by families in the 

 order of that text. Common names have been chosen from a 

 variety of sources, and in each case are those which seem to 

 enjoy the greatest favor. But the important thing for us is to 

 get acquainted with the wild flowers, make friends of them, and 

 learn to call them by some accepted name. Whether we use 

 Latin or English matters little so long as we understand which 

 plants are meant. 



THE USE OF KEYS 



If our only means of identifying a wild flower were to hunt 

 through descriptions of several hundred species, such as are in 

 this book, the task would be difficult and tedious. If, however, 

 we had a quick way of recognizing the family to which the 

 plant belonged and then were told where in the book the family 

 might be found, locating the plant would not be much trouble. 



To take the short-cut we consult a key. Step by step through 

 a number of plant characteristics, such as "petals 5," "petals 

 4," we will pick our way, selecting those bits of description that 

 fit the plant we have found and rejecting those which do not, 

 until we complete the series and arrive eventually at the family 

 and page on which our specimen is discussed. 



Suppose that about June i we start on a hike and in passing 

 through a rather open, gravelly woods we find a little plant 

 with a cluster of basal leaves that remind us of clover, and a 



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