2 SUPPLEMENT. 
even distinguish certain species, as the white oak, the red oak, or the 
black jack. On the other band, comparatively few of those unlearued 
in botany would know that the oak, the chestnut and the beech are 
members of the same family. 
The aim of the present work is, therefore, to present an account 
of the families of flowering plants, giving a brief popular description 
of the characters of each, an outline of the geographical distribution, 
and a statement of the economic, ornamental or medicinal uses wher- 
ever these are important. As far as possible, some familiar generic 
type will be selected for illustration in each family. 
CHAPTER I. 
General Classification. 
The flowering plants form a subkingdom known to botanists by 
various designations) si The tern mk at present generally accepted in this 
country is ‘Spermatophyta, which is derived from two Greek words 
signifying seed and plants, in allusion to the fact that they bear seed 
rather than spores » Recent histological researches have demonstrated, 
however, that there is a distinct homology between the reproductive 
organs of the lower groups in the vegetable kingdom and those ef the 
flowering plants, so that the word seed as contrasted with spore is a 
term of greater convenience than scientific accuracy. Another name 
for the flowering plants, which will be found in most of the older 
manuals, is Phanerogamia, a word also of Greek construction, signify- 
ing visible reproduction, in allusion to the fact that the latter process 
is ‘effected by distinct floral organs. The modern German systematists 
have adopted a compound term Embryophyta Siphonogama, which sig- 
nifies plants developed from an embryo and accomplishing fertilization 
by means of a pollen tube which sprouts from the pollen grain. For 
detailed explanations of the reproductive process in plants the reader 
is referred to the various standard text books on vegetable morphology 
and physiology; but in order that certain distinctions in classification 
may be more clearly brought out, it is necessary at this point to give 
a few definitions of the essential organs involved. 
Sexual reproduction in plants is effected by the union vf male and 
female elements contained in distinct organs known as sporophylls, 
The male sporophyll bears microsporanges containing numerous mi- 
