CLASS DIANDKIA. 
ft is probable, however, that the poet here refers to the sea- 
samphire (Ckithmum maritimiim\ found on rocks near the sea ; 
this, according to English botanists, is still found upon the 
Dover cliffs, from which those who gather it are let down in 
baskets. The Salicornia is found in great quantities on the 
coasts of the Mediterranean, -where it is burned, and its ashes 
used in the manufacture of soda. It is also found at Onondaga 
Q^. Y.) Salt Springs, and on the sea-coast in some parts of 
ISTorth America. Some of the most valuable vegetable produc- 
tions of the tropical regions are found in this class. The Arrow- 
root'^ (Makanta (wundinacea) received its name from having 
been used by the Indians of South America to extract the 
venom from wounds made by their poisoned arrows. The root, 
which is a tuberous rhizome, furnishes the starch-like, nutritious 
substance called a/rrow^oot. The Curcuma^ sometimes called 
the Indian Crocus, furnishes from its root the turmeric imported 
from the East Indies ; it is remarkable for the peculiar yellow 
color of its bark, and is valuable as a chemical test of the pres- 
ence of alkalies : it is an ingredient in the mrry-powder. The 
ginger plant was first known to the Arabians, and called by 
tliem Zinziber, from whence the natural order Zingiberacem^ dis- 
tinguished by creeping rhizomes, with simple sheathing leaves 
having parallel veins proceeding from the midrib to the mar- 
gin ; the rhizorm of Zingiber officinale furnishes the ginger of 
commerce. The red valerian (Valeriana rubra) having but 
one stamen should belong to this class, according to the nor- 
mal law in this system ; but as other species of this plant have 
three stamens, this species is carried with the majority into the 
class Triandria, which is an example of the imperfection of the 
Linngean system. Some species of the genus Valeriana are 
found with five stamens. The root of Valeriana officinalis is 
the medicinal valerian. 
166. Order Digynia^ two pistils. — Contains an American 
plant, BLiTUM (Fig. 128, c) ; its calyx is deeply three-parted ; it 
has no corolla ; the ovary resembles a berry ; it has two carpek 
and is crowned by two styles. 
CLASS n. ^DIANDELA., TWO STAMENS. 
167. Order Monogynia^ one pistil, — -This, though more ex 
tensive than the preceding class, is somewhat limited. The 
lilac (Syringa) is exceeded in beauty and fragrance by few 
ornamental shrubs. Corolla salver-fovm^ or with a tube which 
spreads out into a flat, four-parted border. We might, at 
• Appendix, Plate iii. Fig. 4, 
Anrow-rootr-Ginger— Valerian. — 166. Second Order.— 167. Class Diaadria— Lilac. 
