THE WAYFAEING-TEEE. 



Viivrn'jimi LantaJna L. 



Whilst in tlie majority of our familiar trees whicli 

 have showy blossoms, in Horse-chestnut, Laburnum, 

 Cherries, Apple, Hawthorn, and Rowan for example, 

 the petals are distinct, as is readily seen when 

 they fall one by one, the Order Ga'prifolia'ceoe, 

 the Honeysuckle Family, upon the consideration 

 of which we are now entering, is on the other 

 hand a member of the series known as Sympet'alce 

 or Gamopet'alce, frorn the fact that all the petals, 

 or segments of the coroUa, are united below intO' 

 a longer or shorter tube, so that, as is familiarly 

 the case with Elder-blossom, they all fall off in one 

 piece. 



The Honeysuckle Family is not a large one, though 

 it includes forms which are so dissimilar, at least 

 superficially, that their affinity would hardly be' 

 guessed or appreciated by any but those with a 

 knowledge of botany. 



The Honeysuckle, the Elder, the Snow-berry tree, 

 and the Laurustinus do not, at first sight, seem to 

 have much in common. Most members of the 

 Order are woody plants : their leaves are given off in 

 opposite pairs, those at each successive node of the 

 stem crossing the pair below at right angles, or 

 "decussately," so that all the leaves fall into four 

 vertical rows. The fruit is generally fleshy; and 



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