BOTANY. 
curious gardens, bears tubular leaves, which 
retain water in their hollows, and imprison 
insects, whose putrifying bodies' evidently 
produce a quantity of bad air, and analogy 
leads ns to suppose that air is destined to be 
serviceable to the constitution of the vege- 
table. See Dr. Smith’s Introduction, page 
195. 
Many important botanical distinctions 
are founded upon the situations and forms 
of leaves. These are explained by the fol- 
lowing terms. 
Folia radicalia, are radical leaves, as in 
the primrose. 
F. caidina, stem leaves, and ramea, 
branched leaves. The situation of the lat- 
ter is either alternate, opposite, scattered, 
or clustered. Several leaves standing round 
a stem or branch are termed verticillata, 
whorled ; such are either ternate, quater- 
nate, or quinate, See. 
F. imbricata, imbricated, lie one over 
the other like tiles upon a house. 
F. decussata, cross each other in pairs al- 
ternately, as in many plants with opposite 
leaves. 
F. distic/ia, two-ranked, spread in two di- 
rections like the yew. 
F. secunda, unilateral, lean all towards 
one side. Some leaves are erect, others re- 
flexed or recurved; but the greater part 
spread more or less horizontally. A few 
are obliquely twisted, and still fewer are 
reversed, resupinata, what should be the up- 
per surface becoming the under, as in the 
beautiful alstraemeria. Curt. Mag. 1. 139. 
F. petiolata are such as stand on foot- 
stalks ; sessilia, sessile leaves, grow imme- 
diately from the branch or root without any 
stalk. 
F. peltata, peltate leaves, have the foot- 
stalk inserted into their centre, like the 
handle of a shield to which the name al- 
ludes, witness the common nasturtium, 
trapaeolum. 
F. amplexicaulia clasp the stem or branch 
with their base. 
F. decurrentia run down the same part in 
the form of a leafy border, ds in many this- 
tles. 
F. connata are united at their base. 
F. perfoliata have the stem running 
through them, as in hair’s-ear, bupleurum 
rotundifolium. 
F. vaginantia sheath the stem or each 
other, as in most grasses. 
F. equitantia clasp each other in two op- 
posite rows, being compressed at the base, 
as in many common species of iris. 
The form of leaves is either simple, as in 
grasses, lilies, &c. or compound, as in 
parsley, elder, roses, &c. Simple leaves 
are either Integra , undivided, like those just 
mentioned, or lobed like, the vine, holly- 
hock, and many others. 
The following forms of simple leaves re- 
spect their outline only. 
Folium orbiculatum, as nearly circular as 
possible, which is very rare. 
Subrotundum , roundish, is much more 
common. 
Ovatum, ovate, the shape of an egg, very 
frequent. 
Obovatum, obovate, the same figure with 
the broad end uppermost. 
Ellipiicum, or ovale, elliptical, or ova!/ 
being broadest in the middle. 
Oblongum, oblong, several times longer 
than broad, without any very decided form. 
Spatulatum, spatulate, of a roundish fi- 
gure, tapering into an oblong base. 
Cuneiforme, wedge-shaped, broad at the 
summit, tapering down to the base. 
Lanceolalum, lanceolate, narrow and ob- 
long, tapering towards each end, a very 
common sort of leaf, as in willows. 
Lineare, linear, narrow, with parallel 
sides, like most grasses. 
Acerosmn, needle-shaped, linear, and ever- 
green, generally acute and rigid, as in the 
fir, juniper, ike. 
Triangulare, quadrangulare, quinquangu- 
lare, express the number of angles, without 
any allusion to their measurement. 
Deltoides, trowel-shaped, or deltoid, has 
three angles, of which the terminal one is 
the most acute. 
Rhombeum, rhomboid, nearly square. 
Reniforme, kidney-shaped, as that of the 
asarabacca. 
Cordatum, heart-shaped, which is ex- 
tremely common. 
Lunulatum, crescent-shaped, whether the 
points are directed backwards or forwards. 
Sagittatum, arrow-shaped, triangular, 
with the posterior angles much elongated. 
Hastatum, halbert-shaped, triangular-, the 
lateral lobes spreading horizontally. 
Panduriforme, fiddle-shaped, as in the fid- 
dle dock. 
Runcinatum, runcinate, or lion-toothed, 
cut into several transverse acute reflexed 
segments, like the dandelion. 
Lyratum, lyrate, or lyre-shaped, cut into 
several transverse segments, gradually 
larger towards the extremity of the leaf, 
which is dilated and rounded. 
