ORDER PENTAGYNIA. 
163 
7. Stem, tf, is herbciceous, branched. 
8. Leaves, e, narrow, pinnatifid * 
9. Floavers, terminal, umbelled.t 
In distinguishing the genera of umbelliferous plants, the fiffure. 
margin, and angles of the seeds are much regarded. TLe seeds of 
the carrot are bristly, those of the poison hemlock marked with 
ridges, those of the parsnip flat. 
Order 7^rigynia. 
This order contains the elder, (Sambucus,) a shrub which orna- 
ments the fields during the summer, with its clusters of delicate 
white flowers. From the appearance of the blossom you might 
suppose it to be umbelliferous ; the stalks do at first radiate from 
one common centre, but afterward they are unequall)'- sub-divided ; 
this arrangement of flowers is called a cyme. The dark, rich pur- 
ple berries of the elder, and the peculiarity of its pithy stem, are 
among its distinguishing, natural characters. 
The snow-bail. Viburnum, has a natural afl^nity with the elder: 
the flowers in its cymes are more thickly clustered together. Both 
are distinguished by their flat corollas, which resemble a circular 
piece of paper, with five divisions notched on the border. The only 
generic difference between the snow-ball and the elder is, that the 
former has a berry or pericarp, with one seed, the latter with three. 
The snow-ball which is cultivated in shrubberies is an exotic ; but 
there is a native species of viburnum, the o.vycoccus, which produces 
showy flowers early in the spring, and is well worth a place in 
pleasure-grounds. 
Order Tetragynia. 
Here w"e find the grass of Parnassus, (Par'wa.^.^m.) This is an 
interesting flower ; the leaves are white, and beautifully veined with 
yullow; the stem produces but one flower ; the nectaries are remark 
al)le for their beauty and singular appearance; they are five in 
n amber, heart-form, and hollow, surrounded with thirteen httle 
threads, each one terminating with a round, glandular substance. 
The plant is said to be a native of Mount Parnassus, in Greece, so 
celebrated in mythology, as the dwelling of the muses. 
Order Pentagynia. 
In the fifl;h order we find the flax, Linnm, so called from a Celtic 
word, li7i, a thread. It has a showy, blue flower, with an erect stem ; 
a field of flax in blossom presents a very beautiful appearance. The 
cultivated species is said to be of Egyptian origin. It is from the 
liber or inner bark of the stem of this plant, that all linen goods, 
and the finest lawn and cambric, are manufactured. We owe to it, 
in one sense, our literature ; as the paper of which our books are 
made, is mostly from linen rags. The fibres of the stem are not 
only thus important to the comfort of man, by contributing to his 
clothing, and to his intellectual improvement in furnishing a method 
of disseminating knowledge, but the s'^^eds are highly valuable for 
their oil, called linseed oO. This is used in medicine. The dehght- 
ful performances of the painter are executed by means of colours 
prepared with oil, from the seed of the flax, laid upon the canvass 
made from the fibres of its stems. 
* The leaves of Umbelliferous plants are mostly compound, and sheathing at the 
base. 
t The description of this plant is given on the authority of Nuttall, who calls it the 
American coriander, which he says is foiiijd in the neighbourhood of the Red River. 
The cultivated coriander has a one-leat'ed involucrum. 
Elder— 3now-ba!l— Grass of P.irn.-issuH— Fliix. 
