108 



OEDEE IX. SAEEACENIACEjE. OEDEE XVI. DEOSEEACEiE. 



Oeder IX. — Sarraceniacese. 



Perennial, acaulescent herbs, growing in bogs. Leaves 

 pitcher-shaped, as in fig. 9, Plate XVII. Flowers large, solitary, 

 nodding. Sepals 6, persistent, with 3 bracts at base. Petals 6. 

 Stamens indefinite, hypogynous. Anthers adnate, introrse. 

 Style single. Stigma large, petaloid, persistent, coTering the 5- 

 celled, 5-valved ovary. Placentae central. Seeds numerous, 

 minute. 



A. email and very curious order, confined to the swamps of North America 

 and Guiana, and illustrated by the Sarracenia, our common Pitcher-planL as 

 In flg. 9, Plate XVII. 



Order X. — Papaveraceae. 



Herbs, usually with a milky or colored juice. Leaves alter- 

 nate. Stipules none. Flowers solitary, on long peduncles, white, 

 red, or yellow, hut never blue. Sepals 2, rarely 3, caducous. 

 Petals 4, rarely 6, regular, hypogynous. Stamens 8 — 24, or nu- 

 merous, usually some multiple of 4. Anthers innate. Ovary 

 single, 1-celled, forming a pod, with 2 or 3 parietal placentae, or a 

 capsule with several. Seeds numerous. Embryo minute, at the 

 base of the copious, oily albumen. 



A small but important order, chiefly natives of Europe, and distinguished 

 not less by their narcotic properties, than by their splendid flowera The most 

 Important product is Opium, derived from a species of Papaver {Poppy). 

 Other examples are furnished by the Sanguinaria (Jilood^roof}, and Chelido- 

 nium (.Celandine), 



GROUP III. 

 Order XI. — Fumariace^. 



Smooth herbs, with a watery juice. Stems brittle. Leaves 

 alternate, much divided, destitute of stipules. Flowers irregular. 

 Sepals 2. Petals 4, in pairs, 1 or both of the outer ones spurred 

 or saccate at base ; the 2 inner cohering at apex. Stamens 6, 

 diadelphous, with dilated, and more or less united filaments ; the 

 middle one of each set bearing a 2-celled anther; 2 outer ones 1- 

 celled anthers. Ovary simple, becoming in fruit a 1-celled, 2- 

 valved pod, or an indehiscent, persistent, globular capsule. Seeds 

 with an arih Embryo minute. Albumen fleshy. 



A tribe of curious and often delicately beautiful, but otherwise unimportant 

 plants. The Fumaria (^Fumitory) and Corydalis are examples. 



Order XII. — CrucifeiEe. 



Herbs, rarely suffruticose. Leaves alternate. Stipules none. 

 Flowers usually yellow or white, in racemes, or corymbs, desti- 



PIg.8. 



tute of bracts. Sepals 4, deciduous. Corolla of 4 usually regular, 

 unguiculate petals, spreading in the form of a cross, as in the Wall- 



flower, fig. 18, Plate XXn. Stamens 6, 2 shorter than the othei 

 4. Ovary consisting of 2 carpels united by a membranous parti- 

 tion, usually a 2-oelled pod, called a Silique, as in fig. 14, Plate 

 XXVII. ; or a Silicle, as in fig. 3. Seeds destitute of a,lbumen. 

 Embryo variously folded, with the cotyledons on the radicle. 



A large, important, and very natural order, containing some very beautiful 

 and fragrant flowers, as the Wall-flower, Candy-tuft, and Stock-July-fluwer. 

 The Hesperis, or Socket, flg. 8, is a good example. The plants of tliis 

 order are generally pervaded by an exceedingly acrid, but volatile principle, 

 accompanied by an ethereal oil containing much sulphur, which gives them 

 their well-known stimulant and antiscorbutic properties. This peculiar quality 

 is especially developed in the Sinapis (Mustard), and the Cochlearia (florse- 

 RadisTC). In many of the cultivated species, the acrid principle is so far sub- 

 dued, that they furnish valuable food to man and animals. Such are the Tur- 

 nip, Cabbage, and Eadish. None of the order, even the most acrid, arc 

 poisonous. 



Order XIII. — Capparidacese. 



Herbs; or, in the Tropics, shrubs or trees. Leaves alternate, 

 destitute of true stipules. Flowers solitary, or in racemes. Se- 

 pals 4. Petals 4, cruciform, unguiculate, more or less unequal. 

 Stamens 6 — 12, or numerous, usually some multiple of 4. Ovary 

 composed of 2 united carpels. Styles united into 1. Fruit a 

 1-celled pod, without any partition; or baccate. Seeds usu- 

 ally many, reniform. Embryo curved, with foliaceous coty- 

 ledons. 



An order much resembling CruciferEB, but usually distinguished by the 

 number of its stamens, and always by the structure of its fruit. These plants 

 are chiefly confined to the Tropics, where they are shrubs, or even trees. They 

 are often still more acrid than Cruciferte ; and their roots, bark, and herbage, 

 aro nauseously bitter, and sometimes poisonous. 



Order XIV. — Kesedacese. 



Herbs, with a watery juice. Leaves alternate, without 

 stipules, but often with 2 glands at base. Flowera small, 

 often fragrant, in terminal racemes. Sepals 4 — 7, somewhat 

 united at base, persistent. Petals 2 — 7, iisually unequal and 

 lacerated, with nectariferous claws. Stamens 8 — 40, rarely 3, 

 inserted on the fleshy glandular disk. Ovary 1-celled, 3 — 6 

 lobed at summit, usually many-seeded, with 3 — 6 parietal placen- 

 t£e, usually opening before maturity. Seeds reniform, with no 

 albumen. 



A small order, mostly natives of the Levant. It is well represented in the 

 Mignonette (^Reseda odorata), whose fragrant flower is a universal favorite. 



Order XV. — Violace^. 



Herbs ; in the Tropics sometimes shrubby. Leaves alternate, 

 or radical, petiolate, furnished with stipules. Flowers irregular, 

 solitary. Sepals 6, persistent, slightly united, often auricled at 

 base. Petals 6, usually unequal; the lower one usually large, 

 and furnished with a spur at base. Stamens 5, inserted on the 

 disk. Filaments broad, dilated, elongated beyond the anthers ; 2 

 of them usually furnished with a spur-like process at base. An- 

 thers adnate, introrse, 2-celled, approximate, or united in a ring. 

 Ovary l-eeUed, composed of 3 united carpels, with 3 parietal 

 placenta. Style usually declined, with a cucullate stigma. 

 Fruit a 3-valved, usually many-seeded capsule. Seeds many, 

 with a crustaoeous episperm. 



A beautiful order, of which the well known Yiola ( Violet), is the best ex- 

 ample. Their roots have acrid and emetic properties. Some Brazilian species 

 of lonidium yield much of the Ipecac that is sold, though not the genuine 

 article. 



Order XVI. — Droseracese. 



Herbs, usually covered with glandular hairs. Leaves alter 

 nate, furnished with a fringe of hairs, instead of stipules, at the 

 base of the petiole, and circinate in vernation. Sepals 5, persist- 

 ent, equal. Petals 5, alternate with the sepals, marcescent, con- 

 volute in prefloration, Stamens as many as the petals, and 

 alternate with them, rarely 2 — 5 times as many, distiiict, mprces- 

 cent. Anthers extrorse. Ovary single, consisting ol 9 — -H united 

 carpels. Styles 2 — 5, nearly or quite distinct, 2 — ^hjony parted, 

 sometimes all united into 1. Capsule l-ceUed, 2 — f /alT-eS, with 



