252 
cular description of those parts which serve 
chiefly to characterise the different classes, 
orders, genera, and species, will be given in 
the following sections, particularly 
Sect. II. — Of the classes of plants. 
The flowers of plants Linnaeus very pro- 
perly made the sole foundation of his beauti- 
ful system of botany. Being the same in all 
parts of the globe capable of producing 
plants, the classification founded upon them 
affords a kind of universal language (so to 
speak) to botanists, whereby they can no 
longer mistake each others’ meaning, as has 
unfortunately been the case, less or more, 
with almost all former botanical systems. 
Flowers, in respect of sex, are distinguished 
into male, female, hermaphrodite, and neuter. 
Male flowers are such as have only the sta- 
mina, as in the classes moncecia, dioecia, and 
polygamia. Female flowers are such as have 
only the pistilla, as in the same classes. Her- 
maphrodite flowers are such as have both 
the stamina and pistilla in the same flower, 
as in almost all the other classes: hermaphro- 
dites are also distinguished into male her- 
maphrodites, when the female is ineffectual ; 
and female hermaphrodites, when the male 
is ineffectual. Neuter flowers are such as 
have neither stamina nor pistilla perfect. 
The plants themselves also take a deno- 
mination from the sex of their flowers. Male 
plants are such as bear male flowers only ; 
female plants bear female flowers only ; her- 
maphrodite plants bear hermaphrodite flow- 
ers only. Androgynous plants are such as 
bear male and female flowers, distinct upon 
the same root, as in the class moncecia. 
Polygamous plants are such as bear herma- 
phrodite flowers, and male or female flowers, 
or both distinct, on the same or on different 
roots. 
When on the same root, the flowers are 
either male hermaphrodites and female her- 
maphrodites ; or hermaphrodites and male ; 
or hermaphrodites and female, distinct : if on 
different roots, the flowers are either herma- 
phrodites and male ; hermaphrodites and fe- 
male ; hermaphrodites and both male and 
female ; or are androgynous and male ; and 
sometimes androgynous and male and female 
«n three distinct plants. 
TABLE OF THE CLASSES. 
1 . Monandria, i. e. one male or stamen in 
an hermaphrodite flower. 
2. Diandtia, i. e. two stamina, 
3. Triandria, — three ditto. 
4 . Tetrandria, — four ditto. 
5. Pentandria, — five ditto. 
6. Hexandria, — six ditto. 
7. Irleptandria, — seven ditto. 
8. Octandria, — eight ditto. 
9. Enneandria, — nine ditto. 
10. Decandria, — ten ditto. 
11. Dodecandria, - twelve ditto. 
12. Icosandria, — twenty or more ditto, in- 
serted into the calyx. 
13. Polyandria, i. e. all above twenty sta- 
mina inserted into the receptacle. 
14. Didynamia, i. e. four stamina, two 
long and two short. 
15. Tetradynamia, i. e. six stamina, four 
long and two short. 
lb. Monadelphia, the stamina united into 
one body by the filaments. 
BOTANY. 
17. Diadelpia, the stamina united into two 
bodies by the filaments. 
18. Polyadelphia, the stamina united into 
three or more bodies by the filaments. 
19. Syngene&ia, the stamina united in a 
cylindrical form by the anther*. 
20. Gynandria, the stamina inserted into 
the pistillum. 
21. Monoecia, male and female flowers 
distinct, in the same plant. 
22. Dioecia, males and females in different 
plants, of the same species. 
23. Polygamia, male, female, and herma- 
phrodite flowers in the same or different 
plants. 
24. Cryptogamia, the flowers invisible, so 
that they cannot be ranked according to the 
parts of fructification, or distinctly described. 
These 24 classes comprehend every known 
genus and species. It is easy to class a plant 
belonging to any of the first 1 1 classes, as they 
all depend on tire number of stamina, without 
regard to any other circumstance : only it is 
to be observed that the 1 1th class, dodecan- 
dria, although its tide is expressive of 1 2 sta- 
mina only, consists of such plants as are fur- 
nished with any number of stamina from 1 1 
to 19 inclusive. The reason of the chasm in 
the classes from 10 to 12 stamina, is, that 
no flowers have yet been found with only 1 j , 
so as to form a class. T he reseda indeeci has 
sometimes 1 1, but often more ; and those of 
the brownea are united below, which brings 
it under monadelphia. 
The 12th class requires more attention. 
When the stamina amount to above 20, a 
young botanist will be apt to imagine that 
the plant belongs to the polyandria class. 
In reducing plants of this kind to their classes, 
particular* regard must be had to the inser- 
tion of the stamina. If they are inserted into 
the calyx, the plant belongs to the icosandria 
class; if into the receptacle, it belongs to the 
polyandria. This distinction it is very ne- 
cessary to observe, as the fruits of the latter 
class are frequently poisonous. 
The 1 4th class is likewise in danger of 
being confounded with the 4th, the number 
of stamina being the same; but in the 14th, 
two of them are uniformly much shorter 
than the other two; at the same time 
each particular stamen belonging to the dif- 
ferent pairs stands direc tly opposite to one 
another. 1’he plants of this class are all 
labiate, or gaping blossoms, as in the snap- 
dragon, foxglove, ground ivy, & c. The 
] 5th class may be mistaken for the 6th, as 
they consist of the same number of stamina ; 
but in the 15th, four of them are uniformly 
longer than the other two, and these two are 
always opposite to each other. T he plants 
of this class are all cruciform ; that is, four- 
petalled, like across, as in the cabbage, wall- 
flower, &c. 
In the 1 (5th class, the stamina are united 
below, but distinct above. The pistilla are 
also united below in one substance with the 
receptacle, which is prominent in the centre, 
bat divided above into as many threads as 
there are gennina. 
In the 17th class, the corolla is papilona- 
ceous, butterfly-shaped, and the petals are 
expressed by distinct names ; viz. vexillum, 
the uppermost, which covers the rest,; ala:, 
the two at each side of the flower; and 
carina, the lowest, which is often bipartite, 
and placed between the ala?. The anther* 
are most frequently 10, one on the upper fila- 
ment, and 9 on the lower. The pistillum 
grows out of the receptacle within the calyx. 
See the common pea. 
The 19th class consists of plants whose 
flowers are composed of a great number of 
small flowers, inclosed in one common calyx, 
and therefore styled compound flowers. The 
whole compound flower in its aggregate state 
is styled flosculose, because composed of these 
flosculi or florets. The essence of a floscu- 
lose flower consists in having the anther* 
united in a cylinder, and a single seed below 
the receptacfe of the floret. 
In the 20th class, the stamina grow either 
upon the pistillum, or upon a receptacle that 
stretches out in the form of a stylus, and 
supports both the stamina and the pistillum. 
1 he other classes are sufficiently distinguish- 
ed in the table. 
Sect. III. — Of the orders of plants. 
The orders are inferior divisions, which 
lead us a step nearer the genus. In the first 
1 3 classes they are taken from the female 
parts, in the same manner as the classes from 
the male ; and named monogynia, dig) nia, 
trigynia, tetragynia, &c. i. e. one, two, 
ree, four, &c*. pistilla, or female parts. 
When the pistils have no stalk or filament 
like the stamina, they are numbered by the 
stigmata or tops of the pistils, which in' that 
case adhere to the capsule in the form of small 
protuberances,, as may be observed in the 
llowets of the peppy, & c. 
In the 14th class the orders are derived 
from a different source. The plants belong- 
ing to it have their seeds either inclosed in a 
capsule, or altogether uncovered. Hence 
they are divided into gymnospermia, com- 
prehending such as have naked seeds; and 
angiospermia, comprehending such as have 
their seeds covered, or inclosed in a capsule. 
The 15th class is divided into two orders, 
viz. the siliculosa, or those which have a 
shojtpod: and the siliquosa,.or those which 
have a longer one. 
The orders of the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 
20th classes, are taken from the number of 
stamina; e. g. monadelphia pentandria, de- 
candria, polyandria, &c. 
The orders of the 19th class are, 1. poly- 
gamia aequalis, those whose floscules are all 
furnished with stamina and pistils. Polygamia 
spuria, comprehends plants that have herma- 
phrodite floscules in the disk,, and female 
floscules in the margin; which is made the 
foundation of the three next orders, viz. 2. 
Polygamia superflua, those whose hermaph- 
rodite flowers in the disk are furnished with 
stigmata, and bear seed, and whose female 
flow ers in the radius likewise produce seeds. 
3. Polygamia frustranea, such as have her- 
maphrodite seed-bearing floscules in the disk 
but whose floscules in (he radius, having no 
stigmata, are barren. 4. Polygamia neces- 
saria, is the reverse of the former : the her- 
maphrodite flowers in the disk want stigmata, 
and are barren ; but the female floscules in 
the radius are furnished with stigmata, and 
produce seeds. 5. Polygamia segregafa, 
many floscules inclosed in one common calyx, 
and each of the floscules likewise furnished 
with a perianthium proper to itself. 6. Mo- 
nogamia. This order consists only of seven 
genera, nope of which have properly com- 
