NATURAL CLASSIFICATION. 



125 



Crotalaria and Ahrus shew, in the empty cleft on the back 

 of the cvhnder of the filament, this disposition to the separa- 

 tion of the one filament, which, in proper diadelphous plants, 

 we see standing single, whilst in Dipteryoc^ Schreb.^ the junc- 

 tion of the filaments is incomplete, and in Dalea and Petalos- 

 temon they are less united with each other than with the parts 

 of the corolla. Are not these instances proof sufficient that the 

 union of the filaments presupposes an original disunion of them? 

 Do we not every day, in many of Caryophyllese, perceive the 

 filaments standing free, whilst in others (Dianthus, Sapona- 

 ria, Silene^ and Agrostemma^) they are attached to a ring- 

 surrounding the pistil, or are united with the petals ? The 

 tribe of Chenopodeae, to which belong Illecebrum, Hemiaria, 

 Gomphrena, and others, shew the same thing. The fila- 

 ments in Iresine, Paronychia^ Tournef., Anychia^ Hernia-- 

 ria, and Bosea, stand free. In Achyranthes^ Illecebrum, 

 Gomphrena, and others, they are united. 



188. 



What has been said of petals and filaments is also appli- 

 cable to pistils ; that is to say, we are often forced, when we 

 see a simple pistil, to consider it as made up of several : other- 

 wise it would be difiicult to understand in what way many 

 plants have several pistils, whilst some nearly related to them 

 have but one. It may here become a question, whether Mespi- 

 lus monogyna be the only original species, or whether there be 

 not many other species, which have from two to three, four 

 and five pistils. When in most of the Grasses we regularly 

 perceive two pistils, it is extremely probable, that the few, as 

 Nardus, Cenclirus, Lygeum, and Spartina, which are mo- 

 nogynous, have their one pistil made up of two that are 

 united. This is still farther confirmed by observing, that the 

 number of the pistils corresponds with the number of lo- 

 culi in the germen. If there be but one pistil, the num- 

 ber of loculi in the germen corresponds with the number of 

 stigmata ; and it is probable that originally there were as 

 many pistils as stigmata. Lastly, in a cross section of a strong 



pistil, as for instance in any of the Cactus species, we observe 



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