444 



ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NATURAL ORDERS. 



stamens, namely, alternate with the lobes of the corolla. Several 

 are ornamental in cultivation, such as Primroses and Auriculas. 



864. Ord. Plantaginacese {Plantain Family'). Chiefly low herbs, 

 with small spiked flowers on scapes, and ribbed radical leaves. — 

 Calyx four-cleft, persistent. Corolla tubular or urn-shaped, scarious 

 and persistent; the limb four-cleft. Stamens four, rarely two, in- 

 serted on the tube of the corolla alternate with its segments ; the per- 

 sistent filaments long and flaccid. Ovary two-celled : style single. 

 Capsule membranaceous, circumcissile ; the cells one- to several- 

 seeded. Embryo large, straight, in fleshy albumen. — JEx. Plantago, 

 the Plantain, or Ribgrass, is the principal genus of the order. Of no 

 important economical qualities. 



865. Ol'd. Plumbaginaceffi {Leadwort Family). Perennial herbs, 



FIG. 939. Primula Mlstaasinica. 940. The corolla removed ; its tube laid open. 941. The 

 calyx divided vertically, showing the pistil. 942. Vertical section of the ovary and of the free 

 central placenta, covered "with ovules, which nearly fills the cell. 943. Capsule of Primula 

 veris, dehiscent at the summit by numerous teeth. 944. A magnified seed. 945 Section of 

 the same, exhibiting the transverse embryo. * 



FIG. 946. Branch of Anagallls arvensis (Pimpernel), with a capsule showing the line of cir- 

 cumcissilc dehiscence. 947. The capsule (pyxis), with the lid falling away. 



