138 BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS. {[(Ch. XXIII 
Crass XI. Icosanpria, more than ten stamens inserted on the 
calyx. 
Orper 1. Mownoeyntia, one pistil. 
582. In this class, the number of sta- 
mens is not regarded, so much as their . 
situation. If you remember what was 
said about the rose in the 4th chapter, 
you will understand what is the essen- 
tial character of thisclass. The rose, 
® however, does not belong to the first 
yorder. 
fo 583. In this order we find a genus 
/ called Cactus, one of the species of 
which is the Prickly-pear. This con- 
tains many species; a very splendid 
one is the Night-blooming Cereus, 
(Cactus grandifiorus,) having flowers 
nearly a foot in diameter, with the ca- 
lyx yellow, and the peta white ; the flowers begin to.open soon 
after the setting of the sun, and close before its rising, never 
again to blossom. Another species, (speciosissimus,) with 
flowers of the colour of crimson velvet, is said to be still more 
superb than the grandiflorus. These plants are mostly destitute 
of leaves, but the stems appear like a series of thick, fleshy 
leaves, one growing from the top of another. 
584. Prunus is the genus which contains the various kinds of 
the Plum, Cherry, and Sloe: this genus, according to ancient 
writers, was brought from Syria into Greece, and from thence 
' mto Italy. The Roman poets often notice its fruit. We have 
several native species of it. 
585. The Pomegranate is a shrubby tree, which is a native o. 
Spain, Italy, and Barbary, and flowers from June till September. 
The Greek writers were acquainted with it, and we are told by 
Pliny, that its fruit was sold in the neighbourhood of Carthage. 
It is cultivated in England and in the United States; not on ac- 
count of its fruit, which does not come to perfection so far to 
the north, but for its large and beautiful scarlet flowers, which 
render it an ornamental plant. 
582. What circumstance is more regarded in the class Icosandria 
than the number of stamens ? 
583. What is said of the genus Cactus? 
584. What is said of the genus Prunus? 
585. Of the Pomegranate ? 
