into a separate order, called Grossulaceæ, from Grossularia, the gooseberry. The species of Cactus are very numerous; among the most splendid is the night-blooming Cereus, (CACTUS grandiflorus,) having flowers nearly a foot in diameter, with the calyx yellow, and the petals white. The blossoms begin to expand soon after the setting of the sun, and close before its rising, never again to open. Another species, (speciossissimus,) with flowers like crimson velvet, is still more superb than the grandiflorus. The different species of this genus are distinguished by a diversity of common names; when they are of a round form, they are called Melon thistles; when more cylindrical and erect, Torch thistles; when creeping, with lateral flowers, Cereuses; and when composed of a stem resembling flattened leaves, Prickly pears. Plants of the Cactus tribe are mostly destitute of leaves, but the stems often appear like a series of thick fleshy leaves, one growing from the top of another. The beautiful die, called cochineal, is obtained from an insect of this name, which feeds upon the Cactus cochinillifer. The Cactus opuntia, or true prickly pear, is found native in the United States.* The family Amygdale of Lindley, comprehends the peach and almond of the genus Amygdalus, with the plum, cherry, and pomegranate. These, which were placed by Jussieu in his order Rosacea, or rose-like plants, seem very properly separated. The characteristics of this tribe are a calyx 5-toothed, petals 5; stamens about 20, situated on the calyx; ovary superior, one-celled. The fruit a drupe. Trees or shrubs. The leaves and kernel contain prussic acid.t 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 into Italy. The Roman poets often notice its fruit. We have several native species of it. The pomegranate (PUNICA) is a shrubby tree, which is a native of 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 for its fruit, which does not come to perfection so far north, but on account of its large and beautiful scarlet flowers, which render it an ornamental plant. At Fig. 135, a, is the flower of the pomegranate, (Punica granatum;) b, represents the stamens of the same, as adhering to the calyx. The genus AMYGDALUS contains the peach and the almond. The latter is a native of warm countries, and seems to have been known in the remotest times of antiquity. Order Di-pentagynia. The four following orders in the class Icosandria, are included under one, called Di-pentagynia, signifying two and five pistils. We find here an important natural order, the Pomaceat or apple tribe. This is included in Jussieu's Rosacea, or rose-like plants; but although the flowers of the apple genus have a strong resemblance to that of the rose, the difference in the fruit seems to render *For illustrations of this family, see Plate i. Figures 2, 5, and 7. + Now known in chemistry as hydrocyanic acid. So called from Pomum, an apple. Family Amygdalæ-Prunus-Pomegranate-Amygdalus-Order Di-pentagynia. this division proper. In this tribe, the most important genus is Pyrus, which contains the apple and pear. The varieties of these fruits are the effects of cultivation, not the produce of different species. By means of grafting, or inoculation, good fruit may be produced upon a tree which before produced a poorer kind. Jussieu divided his natural order Rosacea into the following sections; the Pomacea, with fruit fleshy, like the apple and pear; the Rosa, having urn-form calyxes; Amygdala, having drupe-like fruits. Order Polygynia. The rose tribe (Rosacea) resemble the apple tribe, in the appearance of the blossom, but the fruit, instead of being a Pome, consists, either of nuts containing one-seeded acines, as the rose, or of berries, as the strawberry. The leaves have two stipules at their base. The rose unchanged by cultivation has but five petals. We have few indigenous species of this genus; among these, are the small wild rose, the sweet brier, and swamp rose. Red and white roses are remarkable in English history as emblems of the houses of York and Lancaster; when those families contended for the crown, in the reign of Henry the Sixth, the white rose distinguished the partisans of the house of York, and the red those of Lancaster. Among the nations of the East, particularly in Persia, the rose flourishes in great beauty and is highly valued. The Persians poetically imagine a peculiar sympathy between the rose and the nightingale. The Blackberry (Rubus) has a flower resembling the rose in general aspect; there are several species of the Rubus, one which produces the common blackberry, another the red raspberry, another the black raspberry, and another the dewberry. One species, the odoratus, produces large and beautiful red flowers, the fruit of which is dry and not eatable. The Strawberry belongs to the same natural and artificial order as the Rose. The gathering of strawberries in the fields, is among the rural enjoyments of children, which in after life are recollected with pleasure, not unfrequently mingled with melancholy reflections, upon the contrast of that happy season, with the sorrows with which maturer years are often shaded. The fruit of the strawberry, as was remarked in the classification of fruits, is not properly a berry, but a collection of seeds, imbedded in a fleshy receptacle. Icosandria furnishes us with a great variety of fine fruits, more perhaps than any other of the artificial classes. A great proportion of the genera to be found in this class, are natives of the United States. LECTURE XXXI. CLASS XII.-POLYANDRIA. In this class we find the stamens separate from the calyx, and attached to the receptacle or top of the flower-stem. The number of stamens varies from twenty to some hundreds. This class does not, like the one we have last examined, contain many delicious fruits," but abounds in poisonous and active vegetables. The mode of insertion of the stamens is to be regarded in considering the wholesome Order Pomaceæ-Pyrus, varieties by grafting-Order Rosaceæ divided into sections -Rose tribe-Blackberry-Strawberry-Class Polyandria. Fig. 136. a qualities of plants; it is asserted that no plant with the stamens on the calyx is poisonous; we know that many with the stamens upon the receptacle are so. Order Monogynia. We find in the first order some flowers of a curious appearance, as the Mandrake, or Mayapple, (Podophyllum ;) the distinction between this and the mandrake of the ancients, was remarked under the class Pentandria. This plant is very common in moist, shady places, where you may often see great numbers growing together; each stem supports a large white flower, and two large, peltate, palmate leaves; its yellow fruit is eaten by many as a delicacy; the root is medicinal. The Side-saddle flower (Sarracenia) is a curious and elegant plant; it has large leaves proceeding directly from the root. These leaves form a kind of cup, capable of containing a gill or more of water, with which liquid they are usually filled. The stem is of that kind called a scape, growing to the height of one or two feet, bearing one large purple flower. This plant is found in swamps; its common name, Side-saddle flower, is given in reference to the form of its leaf. It is sometimes called Adam's cup, in reference also to the shape of the leaf. No foreign plant, as an object of curiosity, can exceed this native of our own swamps; it is well worth the trouble of cultivation by those who are fond of collecting rare plants.* The white Pond lily (Nymphea)† is a splendid American plant, very fragrant, and with a larger leaf than almost any other northern plant. This flower closes at evening and sinks under the water; at the return of day, its blossoms rise above the surface and expand. The yellow Pond lily, (Nuphar,) though less showy, is equally curious in its structure. In this artificial class and order is the Tea-tree, (THEA ;) of this plant there are two species, the bohea tea, (bohea,) and the green tea, (viridis.) It is a small evergreen-tree or shrub, much branched, and covered with a rough, dark-coloured bark. The flowers are white; the leaves are lanceolate and veined; the capsule or seed vessel is three-celled, opening; the seeds are three, oblong and brown. This shrub is a native of China and Japan. Some suppose that all the teas are taken from the same species, and that the different flavour and appearance of them depend upon the nature of the soil and culture, and the method of preparing the leaves. On account of the secret and jealous policy of the Chinese, the natural history of the Tea plant is less known than might be expected from its very general use. The Chinese begin in February to gather the tea leaves, when they are young and yet unexpanded. The second collection is made in April, and the third in June. The first gathering, which consists only of the young and tender leaves, is the Imperial Tea; the other two kinds are less odorous: the last collected is the coarsest and cheapest kind. Tea was introduced into Europe by the Dutch East India Company, in the year 1666, when it sold for *See Plate iii. Fig. 5. † An extensive locality of this plant exists upon the Saratoga lake. I have seen its surface for a quarter of a mile whitened by these lilies, occasionally intermixed with the yellow lilies, and the rich blue of the Pontederia, another beautiful aquatic plant. Order Monogynia-Podophyllum-Sarracenia-Pond lilies-Tea-tree. sixty shillings a pound, and for many years its great price limited its use to the most wealthy. The poppy (Papaver) is a fine example of this class and order. Its numerous stamens standing upon the receptacle around the base of the germ, and its large stigma, with the two sepals of a caducous calyx, are conspicuous characters. Single poppies have but four petals; but the change of stamens to petals is very common in this flower, and most of the cultivated poppies are double. From the papaver somniferum is obtained the opium of commerce. The juice which issues from incisions in the green capsules, is dried in the sun, and usually made into cakes. Six hundred thousand pounds of this drug are said to be annually exported from the banks of the Ganges. The narcotic property of opium renders it highly valuable as a medicine. Why it is that certain substances, acting upon the human system, have power to affect the mind, no physiologist has yet been able to explain. But in the power of fermented liquors to produce changes in the mind, or of opium to lull its faculties into temporary oblivion, there is nothing more wonderful, than that the presence of light should produce vision, or the vibrations of the air, sound. All are equally beyond our knowledge; we may trace a series of organic changes, but the last link of the chain, that which connects body and soul, is concealed from our observation. Though narcotics can for a time, 66 Rase out the written troubles of the brain, yet, they who attempt to drown sorrow by artificial means, whether of the intoxicating bowl or the stupifying opium, find their sensibilities return with aggravated terrors. When properly used to allay bodily anguish, the product of the poppy may be considered one of our greatest blessings; but like all our blessings, it may, by its abuse, be made a curse. The genus Citrus, which contains the orange and lemon, is found here. Jussieu places this in his order Aurantia, or golden fruits. The fruit is a berry with a thick coat. It furnishes citric acid. Few valuable fruits, with the exception of this genus, are found in the class Polyandria. Order Di-pentagynia. The four orders following Monogynia, are, as in the preceding class, united into one, called as before, Di-pentagynia, having from two to five styles. We find here some plants of a poisonous nature, as the Larkspur, Monk's-hood, and the Columbine; these belong to the natural order Ranunculacea, which contains also the Ranunculus or crow-foot, the anemone and gold-thread, (Coptis.) In the same natural and artificial order we find the Peony, (Paonia,) a large and showy flower, which, in its native state, has a calyx with 5 sepals, a corolla with 5 petals; 2 or three germs, each crowned by a stigma; the capsules or carpels are the same in number as the germs; each contains several seeds; this flower is remarkable for becoming double by cultivation. Order Polygynia. This order is divided into two sections: 1st, flowers with no ca Poppy-Opium-Power of opium and fermented liquors to affect the mind-Genus Citrus-Order Di-pentagynia-Natural order Ranunculaceae-Peony-Order Polygynia. lyx or perianth; 2d, with a perianth. In the first section we find several interesting native plants. The Clematis or Virgin's bower is a beautiful climbing plant, which supports itself by winding its petiole or leaf-bearing stems around other plants; the flowers are white and clustered in corymbs; the seed has a long silk-like fringe, which gives it a fine appearance after the blossoms have faded. This plant contains many species, and is cultivated both in this country and in Europe. At fig. 136, a, is a flower of the Clematis; b, represents its receptacle with numerous styles proceeding from it, and the petal and stamens separated, showing them to be inserted upon the receptacle. The HELLEBORE (Helleborus) is an exotic much spoken of by classical writers. Hippocrates, one of the most ancient physicians, remarked upon its qualities; it grew about Mount Olympus, and was early known as a very poisonous plant. The Magnolia and Tulip-tree are among the most splendid trees of North America; they are said also to be common to China. The region of the Magnolia grandiflora extends from South Carolina to the isthmus of Darien. In some cases these trees rise to the height of 90 feet before sending off any considerable branches; the spreading top is then clothed with deep green, oblong-oval leaves, like a laurel; these are, at most seasons, enlivened by large and fragrant white flowers. The class Polyandria, though not important for its fruits, contains some valuable medicinal plants, besides those which we have noticed. LECTURE XXXII. CLASS DIDYNAMIA AND TETRADYNAMIA. THE two classes which are to afford subjects for our present observations, are founded upon the number and relative length of the stamens. In distinguishing their orders, the number of styles is not regarded, but new circumstances of distinction are introduced, viz. the seeds being enclosed in a pericarp, or destitute of this covering, and the comparative length of pods. a Fig. 137. d CLASS XIII.-DIDYNAMIA. This class has flowers with 4 stamens, two of which are longer than the other two; the stamens stand in pairs; the outer pair being longer, the inner pair shorter and converging. The class contains two orders, Gymnospermia, (seeds naked or without a pericarp,) and Angiospermia, (seeds enclosed in a perricarp.) The labiate flowers are found in this class; these are monopetalous, and irregular in their outline. The term labiate is derived from the Latin labia, signifying lips; the flowers being divided at the top into two parts, resembling the lips of an animal. This tribe Clematis-Hellebore Magnolia-What classes are now considered?-How are their orders distinguished ?-Labiate flowers. |