176 
ORDER DECANDRIA. 
has suggested the idea of its being emblematic of the passion or suf¬ 
fering of our Saviour ; this is supposed to have given rise to its name. 
This plant has been placed in the class Gynandria, on the supposi¬ 
tion that its stamens stood upon the pistil. An English botanist* 
thinks it belongs to the class Pentandria, and order Trigynia. Its 
situation in the class and order under which we have described it, 
is, however, that generally assigned it by American botanists. 
In this order is the Stork’s-bill geranium, {Erodium f) it is an ex¬ 
otic, and belongs to the natural order Geranice. 
Order Heptandria. 
The seventh Order contains the genus Pelargonium, which includes 
the greater number of green-house Geraniums ; it is taken from the 
tenth order, and placed here, because, though its flowers have 10 fil¬ 
aments, only 7 of them bear anthers, or are perfect. The flower of 
this genus is somewhat irregular. Among the varieties of the Pelar¬ 
gonium now cultivated in the United States, are, 
The Fairy-queen geranium , with striped flowers, large and hand¬ 
some leaves. 
The Fiery-flowered , with cordate leaves, and black and scarlet 
flowers. 
The Balm-scented , with leaves deeply Ave-lobed, the flowers dark 
red and black. 
The Grandijlorum has an erect stem, little branched, with smooth 
leaves, from five to seven-lobed; as its name implies, the flowers are 
large. 
The Earge-hracted has an erect stem ; leaves cordate, or heart- 
shaped, flowers large and white,.with some streaks of purple. 
Frequent-flowering, or fish, a shrubby, brown stem, with flat, cor¬ 
date, five-lobed leaves, and red flowers, with spots of black and deep 
red. 
Peppermint-scented, or Velvet-leaved, a shrubby stem, much 
branched; leaves cordate, five-lobed, soft to the touch like velvet, 
flowers small, white and purple. 
Nutmeg-scented, or fragrant, an erect stem, much branched, leaves 
small, cordate and three-iobed, flowers small and pale, tinged with. 
blue. 
Royal purple, stem branched; flat cordate leaves, five-lobed; 
flowers large and of a bright purple. 
Another genus of the-Geranium family is called the Hoarea—this 
contains several varieties, differing chiefly from the Pelargonium in 
having a tuberous root, with radical leaves; most of the species are 
yellow. The plants of the natural family Geraniee are mostly natives 
of the Cape of Good Hopp, a region to which we are indebted for 
many of our finest exotics. 
Order Decandria. 
The tenth Order contains the genus Geranium, which differs from 
the Pelargonium, in having a regular calyx and corolla, aijd also in 
producing 10 perfect stamens, which vary in length, every alternate 
one being longer ; 5 glands adhere to the base of the five long fila¬ 
ments. We have few native species of this plant; the common 
Crane’s-bill, (Geranium maculatum,) with large, showy, purple flow¬ 
ers, is found in meadows during the first summer months. At 
* Smith. 
Stork’s-bill geranium—Pelargonium?—Order Decandria. 
