BOTANY. 



BOTANIST, a pfrfon who underftands the nature, hif- 

 tory, md diftiii.- ion of vti;cl.ibic5, on iVttlcd arJ certain 

 principles, ai;d can xall every plant by a dilUiid, proper, and 

 iutcll.giblcii.imt. Linnxi liiiidam. liotan. p.l. SceDo- 



150TAN0MANCY, formed of |9-,1a.n, herb, and ^avl-.a, 

 dniiuu'iM, n fp.tics of ancient diviuatiin by means of plants, 

 pmicuhirly fa>ie and fijj-lcavcs. Tlic perfons who rtcinrcd 

 X.O it, wrote their own nair.cs and their qnclbons on lcavc«, 

 vhidi they txpofcdlo the wind j and as many of the Ktter» 

 as remained in their own places, were taken up, and bei;;g 

 joined together, c: ntsined the required anfwer. 



UOTANOIMIILI, among the writers on the fnbjea of 

 vegetables thofe who have treated of them, not ashotanids, 

 on their natural and cftabllHied dilliiiaions, but in regard to 

 diflerent operations, as gardeners, phyficians, &c. 



DOTANV, is that branch of natural hillory which re- 

 lates to wh;it is ufually tailed the vegetable kingdonn, the 

 fccond of tl'.e thrc'e grand atfcmblages into which all ter- 

 icftrial objetts arc di%'ided. Its name, /Sotavn, is the Greek 

 word for grafs, and is derived from the verb ,5oi', or |5<k7:-.i', 

 which fignifies to feed ; bccaufe grafs is the chief food of 

 thofc animals which are moll uftfnl to man. By a procefs 

 not uncommon in language, its meaning has been extended 

 to the whole vegetable creation ; and, by a familiar fiajure 

 of fpeech, it is now employed to denote tlie natural hillory 

 of p!ai:ts. 



Cotnnv, as a fcience, is not confined to liie defeviption and 

 clafrifieation of plants, as ignorance has often been pleafed to 

 reprefirnt it, but comprehtnds many other important particvi- 

 latJ. Its various objefts may be conveniently airangcd under 

 the fuliowing general heads. 



1. The terminology, or defcription and nonicncb.ture of 

 the fevcral parts of a plant which are externally vilible. 



If all natural objeils were funplc in their form, it would 

 not be cafy to di'.linguifli one from another ; nor r.ould it be 

 poffibletoclcfcribctlicm, fo as to give a clear and precife idea of 

 them. Hence a boundlcfs variety, conneiSed witii general 

 rcfemblances, is wifely and benevolently made tlicir univtrlid 

 charadcr. Every plant is compofed of fcveral parts, which 

 diiTer from each other in their outward appearance, and 

 which cannot fail to llrikc the moll carelefs fpt£lator. 

 Many of them alfo are themfclves compound, and are ob- 

 vioully capable of being divided into fnboidinate parts. 



The firll grand divifion, adopted by m.oll botanitls, is into 

 the/'oo/; the /we/)' of the plant; and the fnicli/icirtiDn. The 

 lail, or fomething equivalent to it, is effential to all plants ; 

 the firll is vilible in almoft all ; and the fecond is not wanting 

 in many. 



Tile root is dated by Linnoeus to confift of the railule, 

 and the Jtfcend'in^ cauclex. The radich is that fibrous part 

 which draws nourifliment from the eartii, and in many plants 

 conftitutes the whole of the root. The (hfciiiding caiidtx is 

 properly pait of the Hock, or body of the plant, which ex- 

 tends itfelf below the furface of the ground, as the afcending 

 caudcx rifes above it. That the alceiiding and dcfcendlng 

 caudex have prccifely the fame nature is evident from the 

 well-known fad, tliat if a young tree be infertcd, what was 

 before the root will produce leaves, while the former ftem 

 throws out radicles. 



Roots arc divided, according to the term of their duration, 

 into aiim/al, limnud, and pcremi'ial. The aiwtial and biennial 

 produce flowers and fruiis only once, and then foon die ; the 

 former paffing through all the (lages of vegetable life in one 

 feafon ; the latter throwing out root leaves the firll year, but 

 not completing the fruftilicalion till the next. The/fnvj- 



n/Vroot has within itfelf a principle of contmued life, ar,d 

 givf s bcino- to new rtowers and feeds, year after year, to an 

 n,d.linitc1ength of time. Of the roots that are called 

 perennial, fome are truly, others imperfeftly fueh. In the 

 true perennial root, the dJcendmg caudix and the radicle 

 preferve the fa.-ne individual organization, and increafe ni 

 ii/.e as long as the plant continues to Ilouridi. The imper- 

 fe-aiy perennial, are the bulbous and the tuberous, which 

 pcrifli thcmfelves, after producing the bulbs, the tubers, or 

 the tubercles, wlrch are to be the parents of future plants. 

 Sec Root, Caudex, Bulb, Tubkr, and Tubercle. 



The lody of the plant fprings from the root, and is termi- 

 nated by the frurtification. It is called by I^inr.sus the herb, 

 and, according to him, confills of the Iniiil:, the leaves, the 

 j'ukhra, props or fnpports, and the hylernaada, or buds ; all 

 which will be explained under their refpeflive articles. 



^Wfrull'tjl: alien is a temporary part of the vegetable, de- 

 figned to perpetuate the fpecics, by producing aperfeft feed, 

 in which is contained the rudiment of a plant, fimilar to that 

 br which it was generated. Its effential parts are xVnJlamen 

 and ihc pljiil ; the former correfpor.diii;': with the male, and 

 the latter with the fem.ale, in the animal kingdom. The 

 ftamen confills of the filament and the anther; the piftil of 

 the germ, or feed-bud, th.e llyle, and the ftigma. They 

 are "-enerally protetled by two coverings ; the outward 

 called th.e calyx, and the inward the corolla; but in many 

 kinds of plants, either one or the other, and, in fome, both 

 of them are wanting. The pillil, in the lad llage of its 

 growth, is the parent of the feed, or feeds, which are either 

 naked, or enclofid in ^.per'tcnrp, or feed-vclTel. The reccptacls 

 or bafe on which the frufiification is fituated, is commonly 

 confidered as one of its parts ; and connetled with it there 

 is in many plants a vifibie neitary, or honey-cup. See the 

 articles Fructification, Stamen, Pistillum, Calyx, 

 Corolla, Seed, Pericarp, Receptacle, and Hosey- 

 Cup. 



II. The claffific-ition or arrangement. 

 A knowledge of the different parts of a plar.t muff necef- 

 farily be gained before it can be dcfciibed. But amidll the 

 numerous vegetable prodnftions of even a finglc country, 

 this, of itfelf, would avail but little. To give a peculiar 

 name to every individual, would be a labour which no inven- 

 tion 'or diligence can pciform; and, if accomplilhtd, would 

 produce a burden which no memory can fullain. It is ne- 

 ceflary, therefore, to purfne rcfemblances and differences 

 through a number of gradations, and to found on them 

 primarv and fubordinatc divifions ; either afcending from 

 particulars to generals, or defccnding from geneials to parti- 

 culars. The former is the method in which fcience of every 

 kind is (lowly formed and extended ; the latter, that in which 

 it is moll conveniently taught. The number of ftagcs 

 through which thefe fnbdivifions fliould be carried, is either 

 not pointed out by nature, or enough of nature is not 

 known to fix them with precifion. They differ, therefore, 

 in different fyllema, and, unfortunately, correfponding ones 

 have not aUvavs been called by the fame names. Linnxus 

 has employed four principal divifions, which he has called 

 clajfi-s, orders, genera, and Jpeeies ; occafionally intioducing an 

 intermediate one between the order and the genus, and an- 

 other between the genus a:id the fpecies. 



A/p"eies confills of individuals, refembling each other in 

 the form, pofition, proportion, and general appearance of 

 their fcveral parts, procaced from fimilar individuals, and 

 having a power to produce other individuals of the fame 

 kind ; or, as it is concifely defined by JufTieu, it is a perennial 

 fuccsfiiou of fimilar individuals, deriving their origin from a 



fucceffive 



