j 94 The Gentian. 



some of the most singular and interesting species of the Ve ge . 

 table Kingdom. They are almost always remarkable for the 

 vivacity of their colors, the singularity of their organization, the 

 grotesque appearance of their tortuous roots and stems, or the 

 delicious perfume of their flowers. They are distributed i a 

 abundance over the whole earth. In tropical countries they 

 often constitute the chief beauty of the forest, many of them 

 being epiphytes ; and hanging from the branches of trees, or 

 springing from prostrate trunks, of dead timber, they adorn the 

 one with bright hues and rich odors, and render the other more 

 beautiful in .death than in the full vigor of existence. To 

 detail the singular traits of these plants, and to explain the 

 peculiarities of their structure, belongs to the notice of the 

 order, which will come in in its proper place. There are 

 several other well known and very beautiful and curious 

 American genera, which we shall hereafter have occasion to 

 mention, and figures of some species of which we shall offer. 



The Ladies' Slipper may be cultivated with ease, by taking 

 up with the roots a portion of the black earth in which it 

 grows, setting the plants out in a moist, shady situation, and 

 giving them plenty of water. They may be increased hy 

 planting the seeds ; and in order to have the seeds fertile, it is 

 a proper precaution, to take some of the pollen from the 

 anthers and apply it to the stigma. 



GENTIANA— THE GENTIAN. 



Natural Order, Gentianacese ; Linnxan System, Pentandria, Monogynia. 

 Generic Distinctions: — Calyx, four or five cleft; corolla, campanulas, 

 tubular at base ; border, four or five cleft; stamens, four or five, included; 

 capsule, two-valved, one-celled, many seeded. 



G. Saponaria. — Leaves, oval, lanceolate, three-nerved, acute ; flowers, in 

 whorled heads, sessile ; corollas, ventricose, clavate, campanulate, closed 

 at top, ten-cleft, the inner segments plicate and fringed.— Plate 28. 



The name of this genus is derived from Gentius, a king of 

 Dlyria, who is said to have discovered its tonic properties. 

 The species are widely distributed over the temperate parts 



