LETTER XIII. 



THE GENTIAN TRIBE^ — THE OLIVE TRIBE- 

 THE JASMINE TRIBE. 



(Plate XIII.) 



If there is any one tribe of plants in nature, the 

 colours of whose flowers are more intensely vivid, 

 and the foliage neater, and the whole aspect prettier 

 than any other, it is that which comprehends the 

 different species of Centaury, and the beautiful Alpine 

 Gentians with their flowers of azure or yellow, This 

 which is called the Gentian tribe, belongs to the Mono- 

 petalous division of Dicotyledonous plants, among 

 which it is usually known by the leaves, which are 

 opposite each other on the stem, being ribbed (that is, 

 having two, or four, or more strong veins parallel 

 with the midrib), and extremely bitter. The flowers 

 are also constructed upon a peculiar plan. The 

 calyx consists of four or five sepals more or less 

 united, the corolla has the plaited appearance that I 

 mentioned in the Bindweeds, with all its divisions 

 equal to each other ; there are four or five stamens, 

 and a superior ovary, with two many-seeded cells, 

 and a two-lobed stigma. 



All this you will find in the Gentianella (Gentiana 



