ORDER MONOGYNIA. 
187 
Fourth , petals above the germ. 
Fifth , flowers that have no corolla , and therefore called in- 
complete. 
As an example of the first order may be mentioned, the 
Houstonia caerulea, which is known by different common 
names ; in some sections of the country it is called Innocence , 
in others Venus’ Pride, and in some Blue Houstonia. It is a 
very delicate little flower, appearing early in the spring in gras- 
sy fields and meadows ; the colour varies from sky blue (which 
gives its specific name cierulea) to a pure white. The flower 
has a small calyx, with four divisions ; a monopetalous corolla 
of four divisions, which give it something the appearance of a 
cruciform plant. 
The common Plantain, (Plantago,) is found here; it is a 
plant by no means useless, although it exhibits nothing interes- 
ting to gratify the sight. The leaves are sometimes used in ex- 
ternal applications for medicinal purposes ; they are also, when 
young and tender, boiled and used for food in some parts of the 
United States. The flowers of the plantain grow on a spike ; 
they are very small, but each one has a calyx and corolla, which 
are both divided into four parts; the filaments are very long, 
and the pericarp is ovate with two cells. Canary birds are very 
fond of the seeds of the plantain. 
Aggregate flowers. We find in this class the aggregate flow- 
ers, (aggregat.ee,) such as have many flowers on the same re- 
ceptacle ; they have a general resemblance to the compound 
flowers of the class Syngenesia, but differ from them in having 
but four stamens with anthers separate, while the Syngenesious 
plants have five united anthers. The aggregate flowers are not 
often yellow, like many of the compound flowers, but are usu- 
ally either blue, white, red, or purple. The Button bush, (Ceph- 
alanthus,) of about five feet in height, affords a good example 
of the natural order a'ra-res'atee. The inflorescence is white, 
appearing in heads of a globular form, each consisting of many 
little perfect florets ; each head has its own four cleft calyx, but 
there is no general calyx, or involucrum for the whole. But 
one species of this genus, occidentalism is known, and this is 
entirely confined to North America. The Teasel, (Dipsacus,) 
belongs to the aggregate flowers ; its inflorescence is in heads 
of the form of a cone ; it is furnished with narrow, stiff leaves in 
the wild Teasel ; in the species which is cultivated these bristly 
leaves are hooked ; on this account they are used by clothiers 
* From occidens, the west, being- found on the western continent. 
Houstonia — Plantain — Aggregate flowers, including button-bush and 
teasel. 
