I ' 1 ■ ' " •* ' I ' •• / 
An Explanation of the Technical Terms of Botany. 
Acini is by fome fuppofed to be the berries of Grapes 
and Currants, but is ufed in a more extenfive fenfe 
by moil of the writers on botany, who ftile the fmall 
protuberances of Mulberries, Strawberries, &c. fig. 
7. plate 2. Acini. 
A Clufter, Racemus , is a ftalk divided or. branched into 
feveral pedicles, fuftaining the flowers or fruits thick 
fet together in an oblong form. See fig. 12. plate 2. 
The firft of thefe conditions diftinguifhes it from a 
fpike, the laft from a panicle. 
A Pod, Siliqiia , is a long membranaceous feed-veffel, 
either fiat or round, containing one or two rows of 
feeds. See fig. 13, 14. plate 2. Some of thele are 
minted, each of the fweilings containing one feed, as 
is fhewn, fig. 15. plate 2. 
The Seeds of Corn and Grafs are called Grains, Grana. 
The leaf which covers the grain is called Chaff, Gluma , 
fig. 16. plate 2. a The Beard, Arifta. b is a fmall 
needle proceeding from the chaff. The chaff which 
has no beard is called naked. 
A Plum, Prunum , is a fiefhy veffel inclofing a hard 
brittle fhell, in which is one or two feeds. 
A Nut, Nux, is a feed covered with a hard, dry, brittle 
fhell. 
A Flower, Flos, is the organs of generation of both 
fexes, adhering to a common placenta, together with 
their common coverings, or of either fex feparately, 
with its proper coverings, if it have any. 
Flowers are either male, female, or hermaphrodite. 
The male flowers have ftamina and fummits, but have 
no ovary or ftyle. Female flowers have an ovary and 
ftyle, but have no ftamina or fummits. Hermaphro- 
dite flowers have both organs of generation. 
The Ovary, Ovarium , or Germen, according to Linnseus, 
is the rudiment of the fruit. See a, fig. 13. plate 3. 
and fo is properly the female organ of generation. 
The Style, Stylus, is a body accompanying the ovary, 
either arifing from the top of it. See b fig. 13. plate 
3. or (landing as an axis in the middle with the em- 
bryos of the feeds round it, fig. 12. plate 3. and c 
is the ftigma. 
The Empalement, Calyx, is generally underftood to 
mean, thofe lefs tender leaves, which cover the other 
parts of the flower. See fig.Ti. a, plate 3. Thefe, 
according to Mr. Ray, are of an herbaceous colour. 
The Petals, Petala , are thofe tender fine-coloured 
leaves, which are the moft confpicuous parts of a 
flower. See fig. 11. b, plate 3. 
The Stamina or Filaments, according to Linnasus, 
which fome call Chives, are thofe (lender threads which 
generally furround the ftyle. See c , fig. 11. plate 3. 
The Summits, or Apices, which Linnaeus calls Anthera, 
are thofe bodies which contain the farina fcecundans, 
or prolific powder, analagous to the male fperm in 
animals * thefe generally terminate the fummits. See 
d, fig. 11. plate 3. 
Flowers, according to the number of their petals, are 
called monopetalous, dipetalous, tripetalous, tetra- 
petalous, &c. 
A regular monopetalous flower is that in which the pe- 
tal is not at all divided. See fig. 1. plate 3. or if di- 
vided, the fegments are equal, as in fig. 2. plate 3. 
An irregular monopetalous flower, is that in which the 
parts of the petal are unequal, as in fig. 3. plate 3. 
thefe Dr. Linnaeus calls ringent flowers. Mr. Ray, 
Tournefort, and others, call all thofe monopetalous 
flowers, whofe petals are connected at their bafe, and 
fall off without feparating ; but Dr. Linnaeus calls 
them tetrapetalous or pentapetalous, when the petal 
is divided into fo many parts near the bottom,. 
A regular polypetalous flower, is when the petals are 
equal in fize, and agree in pofkion, as in fig. 3, plate 3, 
An irregular polypetalous flower is when the petals do 
not agree together in figure and pofltion. See fig. 9, 
10. plate 3. 
A labiated, or Lip-flower, Flos labiatiis , is an irregu- 
lar monopetalous flower, divided ufually into two 
lips, as in fig. 6. plate 3. The upper lip is called 
the Creft, Galea, and the under one b, the Beard, 
Barba. Sometimes the creft is wanting, as in fig. 4. 
plate 3. and then the ftyle and ftamina fupply ks 
place. This is by fome called an unilabiated flower. 
A papilionaceous Flower, Flos papilionaceus, in fome mea- 
fure refembles a butterfly with its wings extended. 
See fig. 5, 7. plate 3. It always confifts of thefe four 
parts : the ftandard, Vexillum, a, which is a large feg- 
ment or petal ; the two Wings, Ala, b, which compote 
the fides 4 and the Keel, Carina, c, which is a concave 
petal or fegment, refembling the lower part of a boat*, 
the keel is lometimes of one petal or fegment and en- 
tire -, fometimes it confifts of two petals or fegments 
adhering pretty clofely together. 
A Floret, Flofculos, is a little tube expanded at the top, 
ufually into five fegments. See fig. 17, 20. plate 3. 
and fitting upon the embryo of a Angle feed^-, from 
the inner part of the floret arife five ftamina b, which 
uniting together form a fheath c ; from the embryo of 
the feed a, arifes a ftyle d, which pafies through the 
fheath c, to which it is conne&ed, and is terminated 
by a bifid ftigma which is generally reflexed, e. Thefe 
are hermaphrodite. 
A Semifloret, Semifiof cuius, is tubulous at the bafe, and 
afterwards expanded in form of a tongue. See fig. 18. 
plate 3. Thele generally form the rays of compound 
flowers, and are female. 
A compound Flower, Flos compofitus, is that which is 
compofed either of florets, fig. 19. plate 3. or femi- 
florets, fig. 15. plate 3. or both together, fig. 16. 
and fig. 20. 
A Difk, Difcus, is an aggregate of florets forming, as it 
were, a plain furface, as in fig. 19. plate 3. Such 
flowers are called difeous flowers. 
A Ray, Radius , is feveral femiflorets fet round a difk. 
See fig. 1 6. a, plate 3. in form of a radiant ftar. Such 
flowers are called radiated difeous flowers ; thofe 
which have no fuch ray, are called naked difeous, as 
fig. 19. plate 3. 
A headed flower, Flos capitatus , is that which is com- 
pofed of florets and femiflorets colle&ed into a round* 
lfh head, and are all inclofed in one common fcaly 
empalement, as in fig. 14. plate 3. 
A whorled Flower, Flos verticillatus , is when the flowers 
are collected in whorls round the ftalks at the bafe of 
the leaves, as in fig. 20. plate 3. 
A Mofs Flower, which rifes on a (lender foot-ftalk from 
the plant, fig. 27. plate 3. with the head (or Capitu- 
lum ), fig. 28. and the cover (or Calyptra) which opens 
and falls off when the feeds are ripe. 
A Cone cut through the middle longitudinally to repre- 
fent how the feeds are lodged between the feales. See 
fig. 22. plate 3. 
Fig. 24. plate 3. fhews the parts of a flower, a is th^ 
empalement, b the germen, c the ftyle, d the ftigma, 
e the ftamina, / the fummit, and g the fame entire. 
Fig* 21. plate 3. fhews a flower with feveral nedlari- 
ums which fit clofe to the germen a. 
Fig. 25. a fhews a germen, b a ftyle, and c a ftigma. 
Fig. 26. fhews a grain of farina fcecundans magnified. 
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