190 
ORDER PENTANDRIA. 
Order Triandria. 
In the third order we find a very common plant, called cat-tail, 
(Typha ;) this grows in swampy meadows, and stagnant waters, to 
the height of four or five feet. The long, brown spike, which grows 
at the summit of the stem (giving rise, from its peculiar appearance, 
to the name cat-tail) is the catkin ; the upper part consists of sta- 
minate flowers, having neither calyx nor corolla ; the three stamens 
arising from a chaffy receptacle. The pistillate flowers form the 
lower part of the spike ; each one produces a seed, supported in a 
kind of bristle. This plant is sometimes used by the poorer class 
of people for beds, but is considered by physicians as unhealthful on 
account of certain properties inherent in its substance. The leaves 
and stems of the Typha are employed for bottoming chairs and 
making mats; the young stalks are said to answer as a substitute for 
asparagus; the pollen of the flowers, which is very abundant and 
inflammable, is recommended by a French writer to be employed on 
the stage for fire.* 
The sedge, or Carex, is a genus consisting of nearly 140 known 
species. Though a grass-like plant, it is separated from the family 
of grasses, which are mostly in the 3d class, on account of the mo¬ 
noecious character of its flowers. A treatise upon this genus, 
called Caricography, has been lately published by an American 
botanist.* This extensive genus belongs to the natural order Cype- 
roidese, so called from Cyperus, one of the most important genera 
of the order. This tribe of coarse grasses inhabit marshy grounds ; 
though resembling the true grasses in their general aspect, they 
differ from them in having stems without joints, and often triangu¬ 
lar. Unlike the grasses, they are of little utility ; they spread rapidly, 
and often destroy the best pastures, by overrunning them. A spe¬ 
cies of Cyperus, the papyrus, which grows in abundance on the 
banks of the Nile, was used by the ancients in the manufacture of a 
kind of thick paper. A thin fibrous membrane beneath the bark 
was obtained, and several thicknesses being glued together, the 
whole was pressed into sheets. Fragile as it was, this parchment is 
still to be seen in ancient records, and offers to the observation of 
the curious, the autographs of Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. 
(See Plate 6, Fig. 5.) 
The Indian corn (Zea mays) is found in this order. The top or 
panicle consists of staminate flowers only, and of course never 
produces corn; the pistillate flowers grow in a spike enclosed in a 
husk : each pistil produces a seed, called corn ; the pistils are very 
long, forming what is called silk. This genus belongs to the natu¬ 
ral order Graminese. 
Order Tetrandria. 
We here meet with the mulberry, (Morns,) whose leaves furnish 
nourishment to the silk-worm. The white mulberry, Morus alba,, 
is the species which is chiefly used for this purpose. This plant 
belongs to the same natural order as the bread-fruit and fig. 
Order Pentandria. 
The 5th order contains the genus Amaranthus, in which is a very 
common weed, seeming to have some analogy to the pig-weed, not 
only in natural properties, but in being dignified with a name which 
* See Plate i. Fig. 6. t Professor Dewey. 
Order Triandria—Cat-tail—Sedge, or carex—Indian corn—What is said of the mul¬ 
berry ?—Amaranthus. 
