S<5 GENERA OF CLASS XIV. DIDYNAMIA, 



CHAP. XVII. 



OF THE FOURTEENTH CLASS, DIDYNAMIA, 



THIS class consists of such plants as bear bisexual flowers, 

 furnished with four stamina; two of which are longer than the 

 rest. This circumstance would suffice to distinguish it from the 

 fourth class, in which the four stamina are equal; however, as 

 the flowers of this class have a particular structure, there are ge- 

 neral characters which will nearly serve for the whole class ; and 

 these we will give at length. 



Characters of the Class Didynamia. 



Calyx — A perianthium, monophyllous, erect, tubulate, quin* 

 quefid, with segments for the most part unequal, and persisting. 



Corolla — Monopetalous and erect, the base of which con- 

 tains the honey, and does the office of a nectarium. The upper 

 lip straight : the lower spreading and trifid. The middle lacinia 

 the broadest. 



Stamina — Four filaments, subulate, inserted in the tube of 

 the corolla, and inclined towards the back thereof. The two in- 

 ner and nearest the shortest. All of them parallel, and rarely 

 exceeding the length of the corolla. The antherae lodged un- 

 der the upper lip of the corolla in pairs ; in each of which re- 

 spectively the two antherae approach each other. 



Pistillum — The germen commonly above the receptacle. 

 The style single, filiform, bent in the same form as the fila- 



