CLASS OCTANDRIA. 
139 
LECTURE XXVni. 
CLASSES OCTANDRIA AND ENNEANDRIA. 
CLASS VIIL — OCTANDRIA. 
Order Monogynia. 
Fig. 132. The eighth class, although not large, contains some 
beautiful and useful plants. One of the first which we 
shall notice is the scabish, (dJnothera,) sometimes called 
evening primrose. Many species of this are common to 
. our country 3 some grow to the height of five feet. The 
j!\ A flowers are generally of a pale yellow, and in some 
|t| species they remain closed during the greater part of 
Im the day, and open as the sun is near setting. This pro- 
^ cess of their opening is very curious, the calyx suddenly 
springs out and ttirns itself back quite to the stem^ and 
the petals being thus released from the confimement in 
which they had been held, immediately expand. There 
are few flowers which thus hail the setting sun, though 
many salute it at its rising. The flov/ers of the (Eno- 
thera are thickly clustered on a spike, and it is said that 
*' each one, after ■expanding once, fades, and never again blos- 
soms."* This singular flow^er has been observed in dark nights to 
throw out a hght resembling that of phosphorus. The regularity of 
its parts render it a good example of tlie eighth class ; the different 
parts of its corolla preserve in their divisions the number four, or 
half the number of stamens. It has 4 large, yellow petals, the stig- 
ma is 4-cleft, capsule 4-celied, 4-valved, the seeds are affixed to a 4- 
sided receptacle. 
The evening primrose belongs to an order of dicotyledonous 
plants called Onagrae;! the characters of which, are four petals 
above the calyx; stamens inserted in the same manner, and equal 
or double the number of peifals ; the fruit a capsule or berry. To 
this natural order belongs the willow herb, {Epilohivm^) a very 
branching plant with red flowers and feathery seeds. The cranber- 
ry {Oxy coccus) also belongs to the same family, but having ten 
stamens, is placed in tiie class Decandria ; a natural affinity being 
made to yield to the artificial system. The fruit of the cranberry 
consists of large scarlet berries, which contain tartaric acid. The 
flowers are white, they have a four-toothed calyx, and corolla four- 
parted. It is found in sw^amps in various parts of North America. 
The ladies' ear-drop, Fuschsia, (see fig. 131,) is a beautiful exotic. 
It has a funnel-form calyx, of a brilliant red colour ; the petals are 
almost concealed by the calyx, they are purple, and rolled round 
the stamens, which are long, extending themselves beyond the col- 
oured calyx. This plant is a native of "Mexico and South America, 
except one species, from the Island of New Zealand! Ten species 
are said, by horticulturists, to be cultivated ; but some of them are, 
probably, rather varieties, than distinct species. 
The heathj (Erica) is not known to be indigenous to this coun- 
try ; many species h^ve been introduced. The common heath 
* W. Barton. 
+ The common French name for the evening primrose, is Onagri, 
t The term heath is said to have originated from an old Saxon word, alluding to the 
heat which the plant affords as fuel; it is used in England for heating ovens. 
Evening Primrose— W^hat are the characteri^itics of the natural order Onagroi^ and 
what plants belong to it ?— Ladies' jear-drop— Hcatlx. 
