General Notices, 



367 



On the Relations of Colour and Smell in the more important Families of the 

 Vegetable Kingdom, as extracted from a work entitled " Ueber das Licht 

 Vorzugsweise iiber die Chemischen nnd Physiogischen Wirkungen desselben" by 

 Dr. Landgrebe of Marburg, in Jamesoris Journal for January, 1837. — G. 

 Schiibler and F. J. Kohler have lately published (in an Inaugural Dissertation 

 by the latter, Tubingen, 1831, Bvo) the results of some very interesting 

 investigations on the relations of colour and smell in the more important fami- 

 lies of the vegetable kingdom, and have thrown much light on this hitherto 

 little cultivated field. 



They examined the relations of the flowers of 4200 plants belonging to 27 

 different families, of which latter 20 were dicotyledonous, and 7 monocotyle- 

 donous. In 21 of these families, the whole genera and species are considered, 

 in so far as particular information could be obtained ; and in 6, the more im- 

 portant genera were submitted to a careful examination and calculation. 



Among the Monocotyledons, the following natural families were investi- 

 gated : — the iiiiaceae Dec, the i/emerocallidea; Dec., the Amaryllirfets 

 Dec, the (Scillese Ecichenb., the /ridess Dec, the Smilaceai Dec, and, lastly, 

 the Cannae Dec On the other hand, among the Dicotyledons were ex- 

 amined more especially the Jasmineae Dec, the jSolanaceae Dec, and the 

 Gentwnece, together with 17 others, which were not so extensively examined 

 as the 3 first; viz., the -Boraglneae, the ijTeliotropeEe, the Lysimachese, the 

 Primulaceag, the Poiemoneae, the Convolvulaceae, the Campanulaceae, the 

 Fiolaricse, the Lenticulareae, the Stellatae, the Sosacese, the Sarmentaceae, 

 the i?anunculacea°, the Papaveraceas, the iVymphaeaceae, and the more im- 

 portant genera of the Scrophularese and Cruciatas. 



The above-mentioned families of the Monocotyledons have, in general, a 

 greater tendency to flowers of the white and yellowish red series of tints, than 

 those of the Dicotyledons. Blue-flowering species are much rarer among the 

 first than the last ; whereas the Monocotyledons include a much greater 

 number of odoriferous species. The families of the lilies, the i/emerocallideae, 

 the ArmxyWidece, the 5cilleae, and the /ruleae, contain, on an average, 14*2 per 

 cent odoriferous species; whereas the families of Dicotyledons cited above 

 contain only 9*9 per cent. 



Among the already mentioned 5 families of Monocotyledons, the Ama- 

 ryWidecB contain the largest number of white-flowering, and, at the same time, 

 of agreeably scented, species. Of 100 species, there are 38 which are white- 

 flowering ; whereas the blue-flowering species seem to be wanting : there are 

 27'8 per cent odoriferous species. The /rideae, on the contrary, have rarely 

 white flowers ; and odoriferous species are seldom met with, there being only 

 about 9 to 10 per cent. There are many blue-flowering species (19 per cent), 

 and only 1 1*8 per cent having white flowers. The i^osacea are, after the 

 J^asminese, the richest among the previously enumerated families of Dicotyle- 

 dons in white-flowering and odoriferous plants. There the blue colour is 

 entirely wanting. In 100 species, 36 are white, and 13*1 are odoriferous. 



The Campanulaceae, Gentianetr, and Papaveraceee are the poorest of the dico- 

 tyledonous families in white and odoriferous species. Among the two first, 

 there are many white-flowering species; and, among the last, many violet- 

 coloured flowering species. To confirm this observation, I may state that 

 there are only 4*10 species in 100 having white flowers, and hardly 1*2 in the 

 same number possessing any smell. If we arrange the colour relations in a 

 general table, we have the following results : — 



Colour. 



White 

 Eed - 



Violet 



Blue 



Green 



In 4000 species. 

 ■ - 119.3-3 



- 923 



- 307*5 



- 594-5 



- 153 



Mean in 



1000 species. 



284 



220 



73 



141 



36 



Colour. 



Yellow 

 Orange 

 Brown 

 Black 



In 4000 species. 



- 951-3 



- 50 

 18-5 



8-5 



Mean in 



1000 species. 



226 



12 



4 



2 



