CLASS PENTANDRIA. 
139 
evergreen, with a smooth, grayish bark ; shining, thorny leaves *, 
whitish flowers ; and scarlet berries : this plant ^'s much culti- 
vated in Er gland for fences. 
LECTUKE XXYI. 
PENTANDKIA, FIVE STAMENS. 
183. This class is supposed to compre- 
hend more than one-tenth part of all 
known species of plants. It differs from 
the class Syngeijjesia in having its Jive 
stamens separate. Plants with five sta- 
mens, including the Syngenesious, or 
those which have anthers united, are said 
to constitute one-fourth part of the vege- 
table kingdom. 
184. Order Monogynia^ one pistil^ As- 
perifolice^ or Boraginacem. — Here we find 
a group of plants, called by LinnsBus As- 
erifolicB (from asper^ rough, and folium, 
eaf ), or rough-leaved plants. These have monopetalous corollas, 
with five stamens and five naked seeds. The seeds are dicoty- 
ledonous. They now constitute the natural order called Boragi- 
naoeoB, from the genus Borago. " The change in the corolla of 
these plants, in general from a bright red to a vivid blue, as the 
flower expands, apparently caused by the sudden loss of some 
acid principle, is a very curious phenomenon."'^ The Cynoglos- 
smn is an interesting plant for botanical analysis. Its common 
name, hound's-tongue, is given from its soft, oval leaves. Al- 
though classed with rough-leaved plants, its pubescence gives 
^o its leaves a softness appearing to the touch like velvet. 
This plant is about two feet high ; the flowers of a reddish pur- 
ple, growing in panicles.f The Lungwort {Pulm,onaria), which 
also belongs to this natural family, has two species in l^orth 
A^merica with smooth leaves. The mouse-ear {Myosotis) is 
valued for its medicinal properties ; a species, the arvensis, or 
Forget-me-not, is an interesting little blue flower. The grom- 
well {Lithospermum) is a rough plant with white flowers ; the 
bark of the plant contains so much silex or flinty matter as to 
* Smith. — This subject we have elsewhere noticed, 
+ It is said that tlie leaves of this plant, if strewed about apartments infested with rats and mice, 
will expel these vermin. 
183. Class Pentandria — How different from the class Syngenesia ? — 184. Characteristics of the A* 
perifoliic— Cvnoglossum — Lungwort — Myosotis — What oti>er rough-leaved plants are mentioned in tlw 
Srst o'4er of the fifth class 1 
