PABTIGULAB TYPBS OF FLOWFBS, CONTiyUSD 209 



240a. A family is a more or less natural assemblage of plants 

 which have a. few bold or general resemblances. Nearly every 

 family grades off into one or more other families, so that it is 

 impossible to define it rigidly. The name of the family is a Latin- 

 ized plural of some representative plant, or of some characteristic 

 feature of the family as a whole. Families which are named from 

 a representative plant are Eosacese, or rose family (from Bosa, the 

 rose); Cucurbitaeese, or gourd family (from Cueurbita, the gourd, 

 pumpkin and squash) ; Solanaoeffi, or night-shade family (fi-om 

 Solanum, the potato and its kin). Families named from some 

 characteristic feature are Compositse (compound or composite flow- 

 ers), Cruoiferse, or mustard family ("cross -bearing," alluding to the 

 four petals, whose limbs are often arranged at right angles to each 

 other) ; Graminae, or grass family ; Coniferse, or cone-bearers. 

 There are somewhat over 200 recognized families of flowering 

 plants. The word order is often used in the same sense, but 

 family is to be preferred. 



Suggestions. — There are monadelphous and diadelphous stamens 

 in other families than the Leguminosa;, but there are no other 

 plants which have typically characteristic papilionaceous flowers. 

 There are some Leguminosse, however, which have regular flowers, 

 but they are placed in the family because of their legumes and 

 certain other features. The pupil should examine any of the mal- 

 low family for monadelphous stamens, — as cotton, abutilons, holly- 

 hocks, hibiscuses, and mallows (the common round-leaved little 

 weed known as "cheeses" is a mallowj; also the passion flowers. 



XXXIX. PARTICULAR TYPES OF FLOWERS, 

 CONTINUED 



241. The flower of the common blue violet is 

 displayed in Fig. 203. In general form it sug- 

 gests a papilionaceous flower. It differs radically, 



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