"ad THE ROSE FAMILY. 
( Carpels few, on aminute dry receptacle. - POTENTILLA SIBBALDI. 
Carpels numerous, on a small, flat, dry receptacle . é . 7. POTENTILLA. — 
Carpels numerous, on a large, succulent receptacle . ; : 6. FRAGARIA. 
14 Herbs, calyx-tube ‘dry, small, enclosing 1 or 2 carpels. : ed be 
Trees or shrubs, calyx-tube succulent or fleshy, at least when in fruit : 6 
( No petals, calyx. tube smooth : é wi i 
Petals 5, calyx-tube covered with hooked bristles, forming a burr ; 
11, AGRIMONIA. 
Fruit enclosing from 1 to 5 cells, or hard nuts, arranged round the central 4 
16} axis, each with Lor2seeds_ . 17 
Fruit enclosing several hairy, seed- like carpels, irrecularly placed ‘1. ROSA. 
(Cells of the fruit closely connate, of a cartilaginous or leathery texture 13. PYRUS. 
{ Cells of the fruit closely connate, of a hard, ‘bony consistence . 14. CRATM@US. 
” Cells of the fruit forming distinct bony nuts, but adhering to the inside of the 
calyx . ‘ 15. COTONEASTER. | 
Cells bony, somewhat exposed at the top of the fruit, ie separable from / 
each other . : : j : F . 16. MESPILUS.- & 
These Genera are adil distributed into anes ihed considered by 
some botanists as distinct Orders, viz. :— 
1. AMYGDALEH. Calyx deciduous. Carpell, free. Genus :—1. PRUNUS. 
2. ROSES. Calyx persistent. Carpels 1 or more, free (but sometimes included 
in the closed calyx). Genera :—2. SPIRHA; 3. DRYAS; 4. GEUM; 5. RUBUS; 6. 
FRAGARIA; 7. POTENTILLA; 8. SIBBALDIA; 9. ALCHEMILLA; 10. SANGUISORBA; 11. 
POTERIUM ; 12. AGRIMONIA; 13. ROSA. 
3. POMACEH. Calyx persistent, adherent to the ovary, the carpels of which are 
united, at least in the ripe fruit. Genera :—14. PYRUS; 15. CRATHGUS; 16. COTO- 
NEASTER; 17. MESPILUS. 
The double-flowering Kerria japonica, so frequently to be met with trained upon 
cottage garden-walls, formerly supposed to be a species of Corchorus, is now known 
to belong to the Rosacee. 
1. PRUNUS. PRUNUS. 
Shrubs or trees, with undivided, toothed leaves, and small, free 
stipules, often scarcely visible; the flowers either in small bunches on 
a former year’s wood, or in racemes in the axils of young leaves. Calyx 
free, 5-lobed. Petals 5. Stamens numerous. Ovary of 1 carpel, con- 
taining 2 pendulous ovules. Fruit a fleshy or juicy drupe, with a hard 
stone, smooth or rugged, but not wrinkled on the surface, containing 1, 
or rarely 2 seeds. 
A considerable genus, distributed over the whole of the northern © 
hemisphere, and even abundant within the tropics, both in the New 
and the Old World, but not extending into the south temperate zone. 
It is the only British genus with a stone fruit. 
Flowers in axillary racemes : : : . 3. Padus. 
Flowers solitary or clustered, from leafless buds. 
Flowers single or two together, on short pedicels . , . LP. communis. 
Flowers in clusters, on pedicels longer than the flower itself . 2 P. Cerasus. ‘ 
The well-known common Laurel and Portugal Laurel of our gardeners 
are species of Prunus (P. Lauro-cerasus and P. lusitanicus), and have no 
affinity with the true Laurel of the ancients, which is our Bay-tree 
(Laurus nobilis). The Mahaleb (P. Mahaleb) and the P. semperflorens, 
both from the continent of Europe, are also frequently to be met with 
in pur shrubberies. The Apricot is another Prunus (P. armeniaca) ; the 
Almond, the Peach, and the Nectarine belong to the genus Amygdalus, | 
only differing from Prunus in the wrinkled surface of the stone. = 
1. P. spinosa, Linn. (fig. 298). Blackthorn, Sloe.—In the common, 
truly wild state, this is a much-branched shrub, the smaller branches 
often ending in a stout thorn. Leaves ovate or oblong, stalked, and — 
