PAET II. 



THE FAMILIES OF PLANTS SYSTEMATICALLY AR- 

 RANGED, WITH A DESCRIPTION OP THEIR CHA- 

 RACTERS, PROPERTIES, USES, &c. 



DIVISION I.— CRYPTOGAMS. 



iLOWEELESS plants, consisting of cellular tissue 



J- only. Organs of fructification obscure, generating 

 microscopic spores, contained in cells, cysts, or cases 

 imbedded in the substance, or seated on the surface of 

 the plant, or borne on stalks. This division contains 

 the whole of the plants comprehended by Linnaeus in 

 the class Cryptogamia. 



This class comprises all plants known by the names of 

 Lichens, Sea-iueeds, Conferva, and Fungi ; the higher 

 forms consisting of leafy expansions, called fronds — the 

 lower of microscopic globules, or jointed filaments. 

 Amongst them the lowest types and most simple forms 

 of vegetation are to be found. They are generally 

 mucilaginous, soft or gelatinous, many being of special 

 interest as useful for food, and in the arts. The dis- 

 coveries of late years, not only in the number of new 

 species, but also in their structure, have led botanists to 

 separate them into distinct families. 



CLASS I.— THALLOGENS. 



