Natural Classification

" There are no trees, and few shrubs, among

the .80110oscadosi ; no bulbs, scarcely a tuberous met, 'ex cept in some species of Hieracitan. Their flowers are mostly yellow ; sometimes red underneath, as in Leostoion, Hieraciion and Creps's;" (very rarelypink, .in. Geropogon and Crepes); " sometimes blue, in Cichoritnn and Catananche ; never white." " Section 2. Capitati; all the florets tubular, as sembled into a bead, in-one common calyx." ' " All these are prickly or spinous, and vulgarly Cardai, Thistlee. If however they were all -considered as one genus, such a genus would prove too ample; hence it is best to separate them into *meal, though thellask is very difficult. CeataiRall belongs to them; though necessarily refeered, in the system, to the order Its calyx, always tumid, and often spinous, proves its affinity. The most extensive genera of this sec tion, Cardsous, and Serratula, are the most difficult to distinguish ; hence it is best to study the rest, in the first place, that those puzzling. ones may prove easier." " Vaillant divided this capitate tribe by thespines of their calyx, whether simple, spinous, or leafy. But the gradation is so imperceptible, that no ac curate principles of discrimination are hence to be obtained. No plant of this section is milky, or poisonous, or arboreous. Some of the Serratidse are shrubby ; many of the herbs are destitute of stems, as in Carlin, Atractylis, Onopordurn, Cardoso, and Centaurea." " Atractylis has a radiant flower, and the florets of the radius have each both stamens and pistil, a solitary instance among compound flowers, render ing the genus very distinct. The elongated and coloured scales of the calyx in Cortina have misled Tournefort to rank it among radiant flowers." " The capitati have a character peculiar to them aelves, in the dilatation, or inflation, of the tube of each floret, just below the limb, which causes their florets to project, in a more elongated-manner, than in the discoidei, or other compound flowers." " Section 3d. Discoidal. The first subdivision of these, polygarnia cefualis," (consisting of such as have all the florets furnished with stamens and pis tils, and all producing seed, ) " are distributed ac cording to the receptacle, whether naked, chaffy or hairy, and their seed•down, like the setnifloseidosi." " The second subdivision, polygantia superflisa have female florets in the circumference, but thee; are tubular, not ligulate or radiant. So that the flowers, though they have a marginal series of fe male florets, cannot be called radiated." We have here extracted the ideas of • Linnaeus from his re marks on Artemisia, which seem to refer to the whole of this subdivision, and are certainly correct, though they interfere with the distribution of the order before us in the Genera Plantarum, and seem to have been unintelligible to the editor of the Pree. lectiones ; see his note in p. 539 of that work.

" Section 4th.

R,adiati." (Marginal florets ra diant.) " The first subdivision is polygnmia superflua," (all whose florets are capable of producing perfect seed, though the marginal radiant ones have no sta mens.) These are distinguished by the presence or ab sence of seed-down, or of a membranous border to the seed, and by the nature of their receptacle, whe ther naked or chaffy.

The second, polygaosia frustranea. has imperfect or defective female or neuter florets in the circum ference, producing no seed. These in Centaurea are tubular, and neuter; in the rest ligulate, fur nished with rudiments, more or less evident, of a pistil.

The third, pe/ygornia necessaria, have effective -seed ; bearing female florets in the circumference only.

" Seotion-Sth.

Mono • " (Such as have but one floret in each partial calyx.) Coryinbium, and Strusspfiz.

" None of the

Composite are poisonous, except Tagetes, Doronicum, and Arnica ; the latter is more so than Doronicum. They contain much of a bitter flavour; hence many of the order are medicinal and strengthening. -Some, less bitter, as Arctium, Cy

sara, Carduess, are therefore esculent. Many semi floscodosi are used as food, though furnished with a milky juice, which in them is not poisonous," see a remark under Order 30th.) except Lactuca vsrosa, whose juice as above mentioned, has the quality of opium, and L. saliva has a soporific virtue. Boil ing entirely destroys the power of this, as well as of the other renufloscalosi." Order 50th. AMENTACEE. " An aniention, cat kin, is a species of calyx, and very like a spike, consisting of a common receptacle, drawn out like a thread, on which the flowers stand in alternate or der, subtended by scales or bracteas. Such a calyx is found in the plants of this order, whenne Linnaeus gave it the above name: They are all ei ther trees or shrubs,-with alternate leaves, and se parated male and female flowers, being either mo noecious or dioeoious. Many of them produce but one seed from each flower; but Solis and Populist bear a seed-vessel of two valves, with many seeds. The styles are usually two or three. The flowers come before the leaves, that the latter may not bin der the access of the pollen of the male to the fe male blossoms." " Monoecious genera, are Bettsles, Carpi:us, Co rylus, Querciss, Juglans, Fagus, and Plates's." " Dioeoious ones Pistacsa, Myrica, Populist and Sali.v." Order Slat. CONIFELE. " These are generally evergreen trees of cold climates. In the Indies al most all the trees are evergreen, and have broad leaves; but in our cold regions most trees cast their foliage every year ; and such as do not, bear &wrote, -that is, narrow and acute, leaves. If they were broader, the -snow which falls during winter would collect among them,. and break the branches by its -weight. Their great slenderness prevents any such effect, allowing the snow to pass between them. This precaution is unnecessary in India, where snow is unknown. Nevertheless, Liquidambar is to be re ferred to this order, though it bears no such slender, but rather broad, foliage; nor is it a native of a cold country." " The plants of the present order are denominated Conifere, because they bear-Strohili, which the older botanists called Coni, Cones. A cone and a catkin are closely related to each other. The latter bears several imbricated flowers about a common recep tacle or axis. Under each flower a membranous /wale or braotea is attached, which if it hardens and becomes woody, the catkin becomes a cone. Hence a cone is nothing more than a permanent or harden ed catkin." " All the Cornferte properly bear cones, though in some instances their fruit seems of a totally differ ent nature. Por -Matinee the fruit of %hasten hat all the appearance of a berry, and is universally so called. Yet it is no other than a strobilus whose scales are replete with pulp, and do not split asun der ; being in fact six fleshy united scales, in each of which is concealed a solitary seed. Texas has a berry, which is merely a fleshy receptacle, dilated so as nearly to cover the seed, so that the apex of the latter only appears. Liquidambar has a singular kind of fruit, which nevertheless is a strobiltu, whose scales are combined, each of them containing seve 'ral seeds ; whereas in other instances one or two seeds only belong to each scale." " Some have united this order with the last, but they differ essentially. The Conifers have not only hardened scales, but likewise noonadelphous stamens, the filaments of all of them being combined at the base." " The fruit in this whole order, Liquidambar ex cepted; is biennial. It is produced in the spring, remaining in an unripe state through the summer, and till the following spring, when it gradually ripens, and the gaping scales allow the seeds to Order 52d. COADUNATX. On this order there is no observation in the lectures. Illicium is added in manuscript to the genera in Gen. PI.