THE STUDY OF THE SCIENCE OF BOTANY. 
185 
Classis IV.— Tetrandria. 
Tetrandria , from tetra, 
four, and aner, a man; 
meaning that this class . 
bears bisexual flowers, fur¬ 
nished with four husbands, 
or four stamens of equal 
length. (See Classis XIV.) 
This class is neither so large or important as the last; it is com¬ 
posed chiefly of ornamental or curious plants, mostly shrubs, of which 
the Proteacece holds the first rank. Among the few plants used in the 
arts which it contains are, the madder ( Rubia ), Fuller’s thistle ( Dip - 
sacus), the holly (Ilex), one of the best evergreen hedge-plants, and 
some foreign timbers and dyes, as the sandal-wood ( Santalum ), and 
chay-root ( Hedyotis umbellata). Orders three, viz. 
Monogynia ; Dryandra Baxterii. 
Digynia ; Buffonia tenuifolia. 
Tetragynia; tetra , four, and gyne , a woman; flowers furnished 
with four styles ; Sagina procumbens. 
Classis V.— Pentandria. 
Pentandria, from pente, five, and aner, 
a man ; signifying that this class bears 
bisexual flowers, furnished with five hus¬ 
bands, or stamens. 
One of the most extensive of the Lin- 
naean classes, and contains about a fifth 
part of all phsenogamous plants. It includes the whole of the Bora - 
ginece, Asclepiadece , Apocynece, and Umbelliferce, nearly all Primulacece 
and portions of a great variety of other natural orders, among which 
many are ornamental, and others valuable on account of their relation to 
medicine and the arts. The Boraginece are, in many instances, orna¬ 
mental plants; a few, such as Anchusa tinctoria, are applied to econo¬ 
mical purposes; but the principal are mere weeds of northern latitudes. 
Asclepiadece contains the curious genus Stapelia; and Apocynece 
contains, among some poisonous plants (such as Echitus venenata ), the 
oleander, remarkable for the beauty of its flowers, and the cream-fruit 
and picimons of Sierra Leone. Umbelliferous plants contain nume¬ 
rous species ; some of which, like the Cicuta virosa , and Conium macu - 
VOL. IV.— NO. XLVII. R 
