y» HOW PLANTS ARE CLASSIFIED, 



Subclass I. Angiosperms (or Angiospermous Plants), wliich have pistils 'of 

 the common sort, in which the seed is formed and contained (16, 219). This takes 

 all of the first class except the Pine family, and one or two small orders little 

 known in this country. These form the 



Subclass II. Gyjinosperms, that is, Gymnospermous or Naked-seeded Plants 

 (218, 250). Here the ovules and seeds are naked, there being no pistil at all, as 

 in the Yew, or only an open scale that answers to it, as in Pines, Cedars, &c. 



312. The first class contains about a hundred common orders or natural fam- 

 ilies ; the second not half so many. 



313. The lower or second series, that of Flowerless or Cryptogamous Plants, 

 divides into three classes, viz. : — 



Class III. AcROGENS, which includes the Fern family, the Horsetail family, 

 and the Club-moss family. 



Class IV. Anophytes, which consists of the orders of Mosses and Livei'worts. 



Class V. Thallofhytes, which includes Lichens, the Algae or Seaweeds, and 

 the Fungi or Mushroom family. 



314. But Flowerless plants, being too difiicult for the beginner, need not be 

 further mentioned here. 



315. The orders or families in the natural system are pretty numerous. They 

 are named, in general, after some well-known genus which may be said to repre- 

 sent the family. Thus the order to which the Rose belongs is called the Rose 

 family ; that to which Crowfoots or Buttercups belong, the Crowfoot family ; that 

 to which Cress and Mustard belong, the Cress family ; the Oak gives its name to 

 the Oak family, the Birch to the Birch family, the Pine to the Pine family, 

 and so on. Their Latin or scientific names are also generally made from the 

 Latin name of a leading or well-known genus. For example, Rosa, the Rose, gives 

 its name to the Rose family, viz. Rosacece, meaning Rosaceous plants ; Ranun- 

 culus, the Crowfoot genus, gives to its family the name of Ranunculacece ; and 

 Papy-ver, the Poppy, gives to its family that of Papaveracece ; Berheris, the Bar- 

 berry, that of Berheridacece ; and so on. 



316. The student's principal difficulty at the beginning will be to find out the 

 order or family to which a plant belongs. This is because the orders are so numer- 

 ous, and commonly not to be certainly distinguished by any one point. But after 

 some practice, the order will be as easy to make out as the class ; and in many 

 cases it will be known at a glance by the strong family likeness to some plant 

 which has been examined before. 



