232 



made algae and fungi the starting point in the study of plant 

 forms. 



Robert Brown, called by Humboldt "easily the foremost of 

 botanists," cared less about making collections than about the 

 solution of problems. After travelling in Australia he published 

 researches on cycads and conifers (1827), pointing out the char- 

 acter of gymnospermy, and the fact that the endosperm in these 

 plants is formed before fertilization. They are thus entirely 

 distinct from dicotyledons; a fact strongly confirmed by the 

 antiquity of their fossils. 



About this time numerous systems were proposed. In Bart- 

 ling's Ordines Naturales Plantarum (1830) small groups of families 

 are called classes, and their characters are given. The main 

 groups are: 



Cellular (Fungi, Lichens, Algae, Musci) 



r Cryptogamic 



Vascular i . r Monocotyledons 



I Phanerogamic \ -r-.- , , 



[ Dicotyledons 



The monocotyledonous families are in ten classes, beginning with 

 Gramineae and Cyperaceae. The dicotyledons are in four 

 divisions: first, plants "with embryo in a vitellus," Aristolochia, 

 Piperaceae, Nymphaeaceae, and others. The apetalous plants 

 include Coniferae, with four families, Amentaceae, with five 

 families (Casuarinaceae, Myricaceae, etc.), and ending with 

 5alicaceae as a separate "class." The Monopetalae begin with 

 Aggregatae and Compositae, the Polypetalae with Lorantheae 

 and Umbelliflorae. 



Endlicher's extensive Genera Plantarum (i 836-1 840) also 

 begins with the lower plants, thus: 



Thallophyta (Algae, Lichens, Fungi) 



'Acrobrya (Mosses, Ferns, Cycads) 



Amphibrya (Gramineae to Palmae) 



COR.MOPHYTA 



, Acramphibrya 



Gymnospermae 

 Apetala 

 Gamopetala 

 Dialypetala 



