GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR PRONOUNCING THE NAMES OF PLANTS 
Botanical names of plants are formed according to the janalogies of the ancient 
languages, chiefly the Latin. Some of the most common terminations of names 
of Genera and Species, are in a, v.m, us, and is ; for example, the generig names 
Gerardia, Trifolium, Prdnus, and Iris; and the specific names, virginicum^ 
candidum, blandus, and officinalis. A great proportion of botanical names ter- 
minate in a, in which case the word has the sound of a in father, as Rosa, 
Viola, &c. 
The letter e at the end of a word is always sounded ; for example, Anemonty 
pronounced anem"o-ne. 
The e is long before 5, when it ends a word, as Bicor^^nes, pronounced Bicor- 
nees. 
In words that end in ides, the i is long, as in Hesper'Hdes. 
The vowels ae and oe, are often used as diphthongs, and then have the sound 
of e, as Hepaiiccc, pronounced Hepat'ice, and Di-cecia, pronounced Di-e-cia. 
C and g, as in English, are soft before e, i, and y, and hard before a, o, and u. 
The soft sound of c is like s, the hard sound like k. The soft sound of ^, is like 
9, the hard sound like g, in the word gave; thus Alga is pronounced AV'je. 
Musci is pronounced Mus"ci. 
The letters ch are hard like ^. as in Orchis, pronounced Or'-kis. 
Accent and Quantity. 
The marks over the Generic and Specific names, in the Description of Genera 
and Species, have reference not only to the syllable which is to be accented, but to 
the quantity of the vowel in the accented syllable, as either long or short. 
Those syllables over which the single mark is placed, have the vowel pro- 
nounced long, as in Fra-ga'-ria ; those over which the dovJ)le mark is placed, 
have the vowel short, as in He-pat"i-ca ; in the latter case, the stress of voice is 
thrown upon the consonant ; the two marks may, therefore, be considered as in- 
dicating that the consonant, as well as the vowel, is accented. 
Words of two syllables always have the accent on the first ; if the syllable end 
with a vowel, it is long, as in Cro'-cus ; if it end with a consonant, it is shorty as in 
Cac"-tus. 
Figures, and other Characters. 
The figures at the right hand of the name of the Genus, in the Description of 
Species, refer to the Class and Order of the Plant in the Artificial System; the 
word following the figures, and included in a parenthesis, designates the natural 
order of the plant. (For the characteristics of these orders, see Appendix, from 
page 27 to 32.) 
The following characters denote the duration of the plant : — 
0 Annual — Biennial — %. Perennial — Woody. 
Colour of Corollas. 
r. red, p. purple, g. green, b. blue, w. white, y. yellow. The union of anj 
two or more of these characters, denotes that the different colours are united. 
Ex. stands for exotic. 
S. stands for south, referring to a region south of the Middle States. 
Tijne of Flowering. 
Mar. March, Ap. April, M. May, J. June, Ju. July, An. August, S. Sep 
lember. Oc. October, Nov. November. 
Localities. 
Can. Canada, N. E. New England, Car. Carolina, Heig[h% i. and in. incher 
I and ft. feet. 
