NATURAL FAMILIES. 
175 
kind of pod called a legume. It is distinguished from the Si- 
lique of the cruciform family, by there being no partition in the 
legume. Besides, the seeds grow to one side only, being alter- 
nately attached to the edges of the two valves ; but in the silique 
pod they are alternately attached to both edges of the partition. 
The legume also opens lengthwise and rolls backwards ; in 
the silique, the valves separate and stand out from the base up- 
wards. The seeds of this family as you have been already in- 
formed, have a marked scar, black spot, or line, called the hilum, 
by which they adhere to the pod. Near this scar there is a 
minute opening into the body of the seed, through which mois- 
ture is imbibed at the period of its first growth or germination. 
The proper germ, or that part of the seed which is to be the 
future plant, continues to swell and at length bursts through the 
coats of the seed, presenting between the divided halves the first 
true leaves, and the root, which commences its journey down- 
wards. These divided halves of the seed are the cotyledons or 
seed leaves, they furnish support to the infant plant until it is 
sufficiently mature to seek its own support, and then they grad- 
ually decay. 
The term Leguminous, which is taken from the fruit, as Papi- 
lionaceous is from the flower, is applied to the family of plants 
we are considering. In this family we find the fine table veget- 
ables, beans and peas, the useful medicinal plant, the liquorice, 
the fine colouring indigo, the fragrant clover, so grateful as food 
to many of the domestic animals, the splendid locust tree, the 
elegant lupine, and the delicate and odoriferous sweet pea. 
Class 15. 
Dicotyledons , without petals ; stamens separated , that is, in a 
different flower from the pistils. 
Having followed Jussieu in his leading principles of arrange- 
ment, we have now arrived at that class of plants •which we 
term imperfect, as the stamens and pistils are no longer united 
in the same flower. These are the plants which Linnatus calls 
Cryptogamous. We here find a large family called Cucurbi- 
taceie, from curvus curved ; this contains the genera of the 
squash, gourd, cucumber, &c. which have Monaecious, and some- 
times Dioecious flowers. 
The Amentaceae, are also found in the 15th class. This family 
has its staminate flowers arranged with scales, in that form of 
Distinction between legume and silique — Class 15th — Dicotyledons — 
Without petals — Stamens and pistils in separate flowers — Hence called im- 
perfect — Cucurbitacese — Amentacea:. 
