IDENTIFYING PLANTS 141 
Hach Sub-class is divided into Natural Orders. 
These Orders are composed of genera, or families ; 
the genera are composed of species, or kinds; and 
there are sometimes varieties of species. 
When you have a flowering plant you wish to 
identify, the first matter to be decided is whether 
it is a Dicotyledon or a Monocotyledon. When you 
have settled this point, you go on to ascertain which 
Sub-class it belongs to. When you know the Sub- 
class, you have to find the Natural Order, then the 
genus, and finally the species, and perhaps the 
variety. 
Here is a plant bearing flowers, and we will 
suppose we do not know its name. Without doubt 
it is a Dicotyledon ; its leaves are net-veined, and it 
has all the appearance of its class. Now, to what 
Sub-class does it belong? See, it has both calyx 
and corolla, so it must belong to either the Thalami- 
flore, Calyciflore, or Corolliflore. Look at the 
petals ; they can be separated one from another 
without tearing any of them; they are distinct. 
Do the petals and stamens grow separately from 
the sepals forming the calyx? They do. Where 
do the stamens spring from ? Why, they rise from 
below the ovary. There can be no doubt about it: 
this plant belongs to the Sub-class Thalamiflore. 
So far so good. Now we have to decide the 
Natural Order, an operation which will take some 
time and careful thought. We look at “ Johns,” 
p. 2, and read the description of the Natural Order 
Ranunculacee. Plants of this Order have pistils of 
several carpels, as in the Buttercup. Our plant 
has one ovary, so it cannot belong to the Order 
