174 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



Touknefort's System is founded chiefly upon 

 the consideration of the various forms of the co- 

 rolla. He is generally blamed for not haying 

 followed the example of Rivinus, and for con- 

 tinuing to separate herbaceous and woody plants. 

 This system is very defective in this respect, as 

 these two modifications of the stem frequently 

 occur in the same genus, and circumstances may 

 sometimes act so directly upon the same species, 

 as to render it at one time woody and at another 

 herbaceous. 



This system consists of twenty-two classes, of 

 which the characters are taken — 1. From the 

 consistence and size of the stem ; 2. From the 

 presence or absence of the corolla ; 3. From the 

 separation of the flowers, or their union within 

 a common involucre, in which latter case they 

 are compound ; 4. From the circumstance of the 

 corolla being entire or divided into separate seg- 

 ments ; 6. From its regularity or irregularity. 



1. With reference to the consistence and du- 

 ration of their stem, Toumefort divides vegeta- 

 bles into herbs and suffruticose plants, shrubs, 

 and trees. The herbs and suffruticose plants to- 

 gether are contained in the first seventeen classes. 

 The last five classes contain the shrubs and 

 trees. 



2. Agreeably to the presence or absence of the 

 cx)roUa, herbs are distinguished into petalous and 

 apetalous. The first fourteen classes of herbs 

 contain all those which are furnished with a 

 coroUa, the other three those which are destitute 

 of one. 



3. The herbs which have a corolla have their 

 flowers separated and distinct, or united to form 

 compound flowers. The first eleven classes con- 

 tain the herbs which have simple flowers, the 

 three next those which presentcompoundflowers. 



4. Of the herbaceous plants with simple 

 flowers, some have a monopetaloiis corolla, while 

 in the others it is polypetalous. In the first 

 four classes Tournefort has brought together the 

 plants which have a monopetalous corolla, and 

 in the next five those with a polypetalous one. 



5. But this monopetalous or polypetalous co- 

 rolla may be regular or irregular, and these cir- 

 cumstances have furnished subdivisions. 



The plants which have a woody stem are con- 

 tained in the last five classes of the system. 

 Toumefort has divided them according to the 

 same principles as in the herbaceous plants. Thus 

 they are apetalous, or furnished with petals; 

 their corolla is monopetalous or polypetalous, 

 regular or iiTCgular. 



It is of importance to remark, that Toumefort 

 gave the name of corolla to the single and co- 

 loured perianths, as in the tulip and lily, which, 

 according to his ideas, have a regular polypeta- 

 lous corolla. 



Such are the principles- by which Toumefort 

 was guided in forming the classes of his system. 



of the characters of which we shall now give a 

 brief view. 



FIRST DIVISION.— HERBS. 



WITH SIMPLE FLOWERS. 



Corolla monopetalous, regular. 



Class I. Campanifobm. — Herbs with a regu- 

 lar monopetalous coroUa, resembling a beU, as in 

 the beUflo wer, convolvulus, the lily of the valley, 

 the heath, &c. 



Class II. Infundibuliform. — Herbs with a 

 regular monopetalous corolla, resembling the 

 form of a funnel, as in the tobacco ; that of an 

 ancient cup, as in the lilac, or that of a wheel, 

 as in borage. 



Corolla monopetalom, irregular. 



Class III. Personate. — CoroUa monopetalous, 

 irregular, resembUng in foi-m a calf's mouth or 

 an antique mask, as in the genus antirrhinum ; 

 or having the limb more or less open, as in the 

 foxglove and figwort. Plants of this class al- 

 ways present a simple ovary in the bottom ot'- 

 their calyx. 



Class IV. Labiate. — Corolla monopetalous, 

 irregular, the limb as if divided into two lips : 

 — plants having an ovary divided into four very 

 distinct lobes, which are considei-ed as naked 

 seeds. Such are the sage, rosemary, betony, 

 thyme. 



Corolla polypetalous, regular. 



Class V. Cruciform. — Corolla polypetalous, 

 regular, composed of four petals, placed cross- 

 wise. The fruit is a sUiqua or a silicula. Of 

 this kind are the wallflower, cabbage, shepherd's- 

 purse. 



Class VI. Rosaceous. — CoroUa polypetalous, 

 regular, composed of from thi-ee to ten petals, 

 arranged in the form of a rose, as in the pear 

 tree, the apple tree, the wild rose, the strawberry, 

 the rasp, the cistus. 



Class VII. Umbelliferous. — Corolla polype- 

 talous, regular, composed of five petals, which 

 are often unequal; the flowers arranged in an 

 umbel. Such are angelica, parsnip, fennel. 



Class VIII. Caeyophyllous. — CoroUa poly- 

 petalous, regular, formed of five petals with long 

 claws, contained in a monopetalous calyx; the 

 limb expanded, as in the pink, soapwort, corn- 

 cockle, and the caryophyllem in general. 



Class IX. Liliaceous. — Flowers with the co- 

 roUa generally polypetalous, composed of six or 

 only three petals, sometimes monopetalous, with 

 six divisions. The fmit is a trilocular capsule 

 or berry, as in the lily, the tuUp, the hyacinth. 



Corolla polypetalous, irregular. 

 Class X. PAPiLioNACEors, or Lequminose. — ■ 



