CLASS OCTANDRIA. 
159 
132. 
LECTURE XXVIII. 
CLASSES OCTANDRIA AND ENNEANDRLA 
CLASS VIII.—OCTANDRIA, 
Order Monogynicu 
The eighth class, although not large, contains some 
beautiful and useful plants. One of the first which we 
shall notice is the scabish, (lEnothera ,) sometimes called 
evening primrose. Many species of this are common to 
our countiy ; some grow to the height of five feet. The 
flowers are generally of a pale yellow, and in some 
species they remain closed during the greater part of 
the day, and open as the sun is near setting. This pro¬ 
cess of their opening is very curious, the calyx suddenly 
springs out and turns itself back quite to the stem, and 
the petals being thus released from the confinement in 
which they had been held, immediately expand. There 
are few flowers which thus hail the setting sun, though 
many salute it at its rising. The flowers of the (Eno¬ 
thera are thickly clustered on a spike, and it is said that 
blos- 
again 
u each one, after expanding once, fades, and never 
soms.”* This singular flower has been observed in dark nights to 
throw out a light resembling that of phosphorus. The regularity of 
its parts render it a good example of the eighth class; the different 
parts of its corolla preserve in their divisions the number four, or 
half the number of stamens. It has 4 large, yellow petals, the stig¬ 
ma is 4-cleft, capsule 4-celled, 4-valved, the seeds are affixed to a 4- 
sided receptacle. 
The evening primrose belongs to an order of dicotyledonous 
plants called 6nagrae;f the characters of which, are four petals 
above the calyx; stamens inserted in the same manner, and equal 
or double the number of petals ; the fruit a capsule or berry. To 
this natural order belongs the willow herb, ( Epilobium ,) a very 
branching plant with red flowers and feathery seeds. The cranber¬ 
ry (Oxy coccus ) also belongs to the same family, but having ten 
stamens, is placed in the class Decandria ; a natural affinity being 
made to yield to the artificial system. The fruit of the cranberry 
consists of large scarlet berries, which contain tartaric acid. The 
flowers are white, they have a four-toothed calyx, and corolla four- 
parted. It is found in swamps in various parts of North America. 
The ladies’ ear-drop, Fuscksia , (see fig. 131,) is a beautiful exotic. 
It has a funnel-form calyx, of a brilliant red colour; the petals are 
almost concealed by the calyx, they are purple, and rolled round 
the stamens, which are long, extending themselves beyond the col¬ 
oured calyx. This plant is a native of Mexico and South America, 
except one species, from the Island of New Zealand. Ten species 
are said, by horticulturists, to be cultivated; but some of them are, 
probably, rather varieties, than distinct species. 
The heathj {Erica) is not known to be indigenous to this coun¬ 
try ; many species have been introduced. The common heath 
* W. Barton. 
f The common French name for the evening primrose, is Onagre. 
t The term heath is said to have originated from an old Saxon word, alluding to the 
heat which the plant affords as fuel; it is used in England for heating ovens. 
Evening Primrose—What are the characteristics of the natural order Onagri and. 
what plants belong to it ?—Ladies’ ear-drop—Heath.. 
