

_D 

m 
m 


CD 
a 


a 
m 
a 

CD 


C- 71 

GRAY'S * 

SCHOOL AND FIELD BOOK 


OP 


BOTANY. 


CONSISTING OP 


"LESSONS IN BOTANY," AND "FIELD, FOREST, AND 
GARDEN BOTANY," 


BOUND IN ONE VOLUME. 


BY ASA GRAY, 

KSHER PROFESSOR OP NATURAL HISTORY IN HARVARD 


IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO., 
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 

1881. 


PUBLISHEES' PREFACE 


GHAT'S SCHOOL AND FIELD BOOK OF BOTANY 


THIS work consists of the " LESSONS IN BOTANY " and the 
" FIELD, FOREST AND GARDEN BOTANY," bound together in one 
complete volume, forming a most popular and comprehensive 
SCHOOL BOTANY, adapted to beginners and advanced classes, to 
Agricultural Colleges and Schools, as well as to all other grades 
in which the science is taught ; it is also adapted for use as a 
hand-book to assist in analyzing plants and flowers in field 
study of botany, either by classes or individuals. 

The book is intended to furnish Botanical Classes and 
beginners with an easier introduction to the Plants of this 
country, and a much more comprehensive work, than is tne 
MANUAL. 

Beginning with the first principles, it progresses by easy 
stages until the student, who is at all diligent, is enabled to 
master the intricacies of the science. 

It is a Grammar and Dictionary of Botany, and comprises 
the common Herbs, Shrubs, and Trees of the Southern as well 
as the Northern and Middle States, including the commonly 
cultivated, as well as the native species in fields, gardens, 
pleasure-grounds, or house culture, and even the conservatory 
plants ordinarily met with. 

This work supplies a great desideratum to the Botanist and 
Botanical Teacher, there being no similar class-book published 
in this country. 


GRAY'S 3 

LESSONS IN BOTANY 

AND 

VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, 


ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 360 WOOD ENGRAVINGS, FROM ORIGINAL 
DRAWINGS, BY ISAAC SPRAGUE. 


TO WHICH IS ADDED A COPIOUS 

GLOSSARY, 

OB 

DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS, 


BY ASA GKAY, 

FISHER PROFESSOR OP NATURAL HISTORY IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 


IVISON, BLAKEMAN, TAYLOR & CO., 
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 

1881. 


Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1357, by 

GEORGE T. PUTNAM & i-i- . 
the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New Yon. 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in ft- 3 /ear 1868, bv 

ASA GRAY, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 


PREFACE. 


THIS book is intended for the use of beginners, and for classes in the 
common and higher schools, in which the elements of Botany, one of 
the most generally interesting of the Natural Sciences, surely ought to be 
taught, and to be taught correctly, as far as the instruction proceeds. 
While these Lessons are made as plain and simple as they well can be, 
all the subjects treated of have been carried far enough to make the book 
a genuine Grammar of Botany and Vegetable Physiology, and a sufficient 
introduction to those works in which the plants of a country especially 
of our own are described. 

Accordingly, as respects the principles of Botany (including Vege- 
table Physiology), this work is complete in itself, as a school-book 
for younger classes, and even for the students of our higher seminaries. 
For it comprises a pretty full account of the structure, organs, growth, 
and reproduction of plants, and of their important uses in the scheme of 
creation, subjects which certainly ought to be as generally understood 
by all educated people as the elements of Natural Philosophy or Astron- 
omy are ; and which are quite as easy to be learned. 

The book is also intended to serve as an introduction to the author's 
Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States (or to any similar 
work describing the plants of other districts), and to be to it what a 
grammar and a dictionary are to a Classical author. It consequently con - 
tains many terms and details which there is no necessity for young stu- 
dents perfectly to understand in the first instance, and still less to commit 
to memory, but which they will need to refer to as occasions arise, when 
they come to analyze flowers, and ascertain the names of our wild plants. 

To make the book complete in this respect, a full Glossary, or Diction- 
ary of Terms used in describing Plants, is added to the volume. This con- 
tains very many words which are not used in the Manual of Botany; 
but as they occur in common botanical works, it was thought best to in- 
troduce and explain them. All the words in the Glossary which seemed 
to require it are accented. 


IT PREFACE. 

It is by no means indispensable for students to go through the volume 
before commencing with the analysis of plants. When the proper season 
for botanizing arrives, and when the first twelve Lessons have been gone 
over, they may take up Lesson XXVIII. and the following ones, and pro- 
ceed to study the various wild plants they find in blossom, in the manner 
illustrated in Lesson XXX., &e., referring to the Glossary, and thence 
to the pages of the Lessons, as directed, for explanations of the various 
distinctions and terms they meet with. Their first ^essays will necessarily 
be rather tedious, if not difficult ; but each successful attempt smooths 
the way for the next, and soon these technical terms and distinctions 
will become nearly as familiar as those of ordinary language. 

Students who, having mastered this elementary work, wish to extend 
their acquaintance with Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology, and to con- 
sider higher questions about the structure and classification of plants, will 
be prepared to take up the author's Botanical Text-Book, an Introduction 
to Structural Botany, or other more detailed treatises. 

No care and expense have been spared upon the illustrations of this 
volume; which, with one or two exceptions, are all original. They 
were drawn from nature by Mr. Sprague, the most accurate of living 
botanical artists, and have been as freely introduced as the size to which 
it was needful to restrict the volume would warrant. 

To append a set of questions to the foot of each page, although not un- 
usual in school : books, seems like a reflection upon the competency or the 
faithfulness of teachers, who surely ought to have mastered the lesson be- 
fore they undertake to teach it; nor ought facilities to be afforded for 
teaching, any more than learning, lessons by rote. A full analysis of the 
contents of the Lessons, however, is very convenient and advantageous. 
Such an Analysis is here given, in place of the ordinary table of con- 
tents. This will direct the teacher and the learner at once to the leading 
ideas and important points of each Lesson, and serve as a basis to ground 
proper questions on, if such should be needed. 

ASA GRAY. 

HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, 
January 1, 1857. 


%* Revised August, 1868, and alterations made adapting it to the new edition of 
Manual, and to Fitld, Forest, and Garden tiotany, to which this work is the propel 
introduction and companion. 

A. G. 


ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. 1 


LESSON I. BOTANY AS A BRANCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. . . p. 1. 

1. Natural History, its subjects. 2. The Inorganic or Mineral Kingdom, 
what it is : why culled Inorganic. 3. The Organic world, or the world of Or- 
ganized beings, why so called, and what its peculiarities. 4. What kingdoms 
it comprises. 5, 6. Differences between plants and animals. 7. The use of 
plants : how vegetables are nourished ; and ho\v animals. 

8. Botany, how defined. 9. Physiology, and Physiological Botany, what 
/iey relate to. 10. Systematic Botany, what it relates to : a Flora, what it is. 
11. Geographical Botany, Fossil Botany, c., what they relate to. 

LESSON II. THE GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. . p. 4. 

12. The Course of Vegetation : general questions proposed. 13. Plants 
formed on one general plan. 14. The Germinating Plantlet : 15. exists in 
miniature in the seed: 16. The Embryo; its parts: 17, 18. how it develops. 
19. Opposite growth of Root and Stem : 20. its object or results : 21,22. the 
different way each grows. 

LESSON III. GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED ; continued, p. 9. 

23. Recapitulation : Ascending and Descending Axis. 24, 25. The Germi- 
nating Plantlet, how nourished. 26. Deposit of food in the embryo, illustrated 
in the Squash, c. : 27. in the Almond, Apple-seed, Beech, &c. : 28. in the 
Bean : 29. in the Pea, Oak, and Buckeye : peculiarity of these last. 30, 31. 
Deposit of food outside of the embryo : Albumen of the seed : various shapes 
of embryo. 32, 33. Kinds of embryo as to the number of Cotyledons : di- 
cotyledonous : monocotyledonous : polycotyledonous. 34, 35. Plan of vegeta 
tion. 36. Simple-stemmed vegetation illustrated. 

LESSON IV. THE GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS AND BRANCHES, p. 20. 

37, 38. Branching : difference in this respect between roots and stems. 39. 
Buds, what they are, and where situated : 40. how they grow, and what they 
become. 41. Plants as to size and duration : herb, annual, biennial, perennial: 
shrub : tree. 42. Terminal Bud. 43. Axillary Buds. 44. Scaly Buds. 45. 
Naked Buds. 46. Vigor of vegetation from buds illustrated. 47-49. Plan 
and arrangement of Branches : opposite : alternate. 50. Symmetry of Branches, 

* The numbers in the analysis refer to the paragraphs. 


Vi ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. 

what it depends on: 51. how It becomes incomplete: 51-59. how varied. 
53. Definite growth. 54. Indefinite growth. 55. Deliquescent or dissolving 
stems, how formed. 56. Excurrent stems of spire-shaped trees, how produced. 
57. Latent Buds. 58. Adventitious Buds. 59. Accessory or supernumerary 
Buds. 60. Sorts of Buds recapitulated and defined. 

LESSON V. MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS p. 28. 

61 - 64. Morphology; what the term means, and how applied in Botany. 65. 
Primary Root, simple ; and, 66. multiple. 67. Rootlets ; how roots absorb : 
time for transplantation, &c. 68. Great amount of surface which a plant 
spreads out, in the air and in the soil ; reduced in winter, increased in spring. 
69. Absorbing surface of roots increased by the root-hairs. 70. Fibrous roots 
for absorption. 71. Thickened or fleshy roots as storehouse of food. 72, 73. 
Their principal fv>"ins. 74. Biennial roots ; their economy. 75. Perennial 
thickened roots. 76. Potatoes, &c. are not roots. 77. Secondary Roots, their 
economy. 78. Sometimes striking in open air, when they are, 79- Aerial Roots ; 
illustrated in Indian Corn, Mangrove, Screw Pine, Banyan, &c. 80. Aerial 
Rootlets of Ivy. 81. Epiphytes or Air-Plants, illustrated. 82. Parasitic Plants, 
illustrated by the Mistletoe, Dodder, &c. 

LESSON VI. MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS A-ND BRANCHES. ... p. 36. 

83 - 85. Forms of stems and branches above ground. 86. Their direction or 
habit of growth. 87. Culm, Caudex, c. 88. Suckers : propagation of plants 
by division. 89. Stolons : propagation by layering or laying. 90. Offsets. 
91. Runners. 92. Tendrils; how plants climb by them : their disk-like tips in 
the Virginia Creeper. 93. Tendrils are sometimes forms of leaves. 94. Spines 
or Thorns ; their nature : Prickles. 95. Strange forms of stems. 96. Subter- 
ranean stems and branches. 97. The Rootstock or Rhizoma, why stem and 
not root. 98. Why running rootstocks are so troublesome, and so hard to de- 
stroy. 99-101. Thickened rootstocks, as depositories of food. 102. Their 
life and growth. 103. The Tuber. 104. Economy of the Potato-plant. 105. 
Gradations of tubers into, 106. Corms or solid bulbs : the nature and economy 
of these, as in Crocus. 107. Gradation of these into, 108. the Bulb : nature of 
bulbs. 109, 110. Their economy. 111. Their two principal sorts. 112. Bulb- 
lets. 113. How the foregoing sorts of stems illustrate what is meant by mor- 
phology. 114. They are imitated in some plants above ground. 115. Consoli- 
dated forms of vegetation, illustrated by Cactuses, &c. 116. Their economy 
and adaptation to dry regions. 

LESSON VH. MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES. . . ^ p. 49. 

117. Remarkable states of leaves already noticed. 118, 119. Foliage the 
natural form of leaves : others are special forms, or transformations ; why so 
called. 120. Leaves as depositories of food, especially the seed-leaves ; and, 121. 
As Bulb-scales. 122. Leaves as Bud-scales. 123. As Spines. 124. As Ten- 
drils. 125. As Pitchers. 126. As Fly-traps. 127-129. The same leaf serving 
various purposes. 


ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. VH 

LESSON VIII. MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. ... p. 54. 

130. Foliage the natural state of leaves. 131. Leaves a contrivance for in- 
creasing surface: the vast surface of a tree in leaf. 132, 133. The parts of a 
leaf. 134. The blade. 135. Its pulp or soft part and its framework. 136. 
The latter is wood, and forms the rihs or veins and veinlets. 137. Division and 
use of these. 138. Venation, or mode of veining. 139. Its two kinds. 140. 
Netted-vcined or reticulated. 141. Parallel-veined or nerved. 142. The so- 
called veins and nerves essentially the same thing; the latter not like the 
nerves of animals. 143. How the sort of veining of leaves answers to the num- 
ber of cotyledons and the kind of plant. 144. Two kinds of parallel-veined leaves. 
145, 146. Two kinds of netted-veined leaves. 147. Relation of the veining to 
the shape of the leaf. 148-151. Forms of leaves illustrated, as to general out- 
line. 152. As to the base. 153. As to the apex. 


LESSON IX. MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE ; continued, p. 61. 

154, 155. Leaves either simple or compound. 156-162. Simple leaves il- 
lustrated as to particular outline, or kind and degree of division. 163. Com- 
pound leaves. 164. Leaflets. 165. Kinds of compound leaves. 166, 167. 
The pinnate, and, 168. the palmate or digitate. 169. As to number of leaflets, 
c. 170. Leaflets, as to lobing, &c. 171, 172. Doubly or trebly compound 
leaves of both sorts. 173. Peculiar forms of leaves explained, such as: 174. 
Perfoliate: 175. Equitant: 176. Those without blade. 177. Phyllodia, or 
flattened petioles. 178. Stipules. 179. Sheaths of Grasses ; Ligule. 


LESSON X. THE ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES p. 71. 

181. Phyllotaxy, or arrangement of leaves on the stem : general sorts of ar- 
rangement. 182. Leaves arise only one from the same place. 183. Clustered 
or fascicled leaves explained. 184. Spiral arrangement of alternate leaves. 185. 
The two-ranked arrangement. 186. The three-ranked arrangement. 187. The 
five-ranked arrangement. 188. The fractions by which these are expressed. 
189. The eight-ranked and the thirteen-ranked arrangements. 190. The series 
of these fractions, and their relations. 191. Opposite and whorled leaves. 
192. Symmetry of leaves, c. fixed by mathematical rule. 193. Vernation, or 
arrangement of leaves in the bud. 194. The principal modes. 

LESSON XI. THE ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS ON THE STEM, 

OR INFLORESCENCE p. 76. 

195. Passage from the Organs of Vegetation to those of Fructification or Re- 
production. 196. Inflorescence : the arrangement of flowers depends on that 
of the leaves. 197. They arc from either terminal or axillary buds. 198. In- 
determinate Inflorescence. 199. Its sorts of flower-clusters. 200. Flower- 
stalks, viz. peduncles and pedicels, bracts and bractlets, c. 201. Raceme. 
202. Its gradation into (203) a Corymb, and that (204) into (205) an Umbel. 
206. Centripetal order of development 207. The Spike. 208. The Hea' 


fiii ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. 

209. Spadix. 210. Catkin or Ament. 211, 212. Compound inflorescence of 
the preceding kinds. 213. Panicle. 214. Thyrsus. 215. Determinate In- 
florescence explained. 216, 217. Cyme: centrifugal order of development 
218. Fascicle. 219. Glomerule. 221. Analysis of flower-clusters. 222. Com. 
bination of the two kinds of inflorescence in the same plant. 

LESSON XII. THE FLOWER : ITS PARTS OR ORGANS p. 84. 

223. The Flower. 224. Its nature and use. 225. Its organs. 226. The 
Floral Envelopes or leaves of the flower. Calyx and Corolla, together called 
(-2-27) Perianth. 228. Petals, Sepals. 229 Neutral and "double" flowers, 
those destitute of, 230. The Essential Organs : Stamens and Pistils. 231,232. 
The parts of the flower in their si:< cession. 233. The Stamen : its parts. 234. 
The Pistil : its parts. 

LESSON XIII. THE PLAN OF THE FLOWER p. 88. 

235. Flowers all constructed upm the same plan. 236. Plan in vegetation 
referred to. 237 - 239. Typical or pattern flowers illustrated, those at once 
perfect, complete, regular, and symmetrical. 241 . Imperfect or separated flowers. 
242. Incomplete flowers. 243. Symmetry and regularity. 244. Irregular flow- 
ers. 245. Unsymmetrical flowers. 246. Numerical plan of the flower. 247. 
Alternation of the successive parts. 248. Occasional obliteration of certain parts. 
24^- Abortive organs. 250. Multiplication of parts. 

LESSON XIV. MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER p 96. 

251. Recapitulation of the varied forms under which stems and leaves appear. 
252. These may be called metamorphoses. 253. Flowers are altered branches ; 
how shown. 254. Their position the same as that occupied by buds. 255, 
256. Leaves of the blossom are really leaves. 257. Stamens a different modifi- 
cation of the same. 258. Pistils another modification ; the botanist's idea of 
a pistil. 259. The arrangement of the parts of a flower answers to that of the 
leaves on a branch. 

LESSON XV. MORPHOLOGY OF THE CALYX AND COROLLA. . . p. 99. 

260. The leaves of the blossom viewed as to the various shapes they assume ; 
as, 261. by growing together. 262. Union or cohesion of parts of the same sort, 
rendering the flower, 263. Monopetalous or monosepalous ; various shapes de- 
fined and named. 265 The tube, and the border or limb. 266. The claw 
and the blade, or lamina of a separate petal, &e. 267. When the parts are 
distinct, polysepalous, and polvpetalous. 268. Consolidation, or the growing 
together of the parts of different sets. 269. Insertion, what it means, and what 
i^ meant by the terms Free and Hypogynou*. 270. Perigynous insertion. 271, 
272. Coherent or adherent calyx, &c. 273. Epigynous. 274. Irregularity of 
parts. 275. Papilionaceous flower, and its parts. 276. Labiate or bilabiate 
flower. 277. 278. Ligulate flowers : the so-called compound flowers. 


ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. IX 

LESSON XVI. ^ESTIVATION, OR THE ARRANGEMENT or THE 

CALYX AND COROLLA IN THE BUD. ... p. 108. 

279. ^Estivation or Prcefloration defined. 280. Its principal modes illustrated, 
viz. the valvate, induplicatc, reduplicate, convolute or twisted, and imbricated. 
282, 283. Also the open, and the plaited or plicate, and its modification, the 
supervolute. 

LESSON XVII. MORPHOLOGY OF THE STAMENS p. 111. 

284. Stamens considered as to, 285. Their insertion. 286. Their union with 
each other. 287, 288. Their number. 289. Their parts. 290. The Filament 
291. The Anther. 292,293. Its attachment to the filament. 294. Its structure. 
295. Its mode of opening, &c. 296. Its morphology, or the way in which it is 
supposed to be constructed out of a leaf; its use, viz. to produce, 297. Pollen. 
298. Structure of pollen-grains. 299. Some of their forms. 

LESSON XVIII. MORPHOLOGY OF PISTILS p. 116. 

300. Pistils as to position. 301. As to number. 302. Their parts ; Ovary, 
style, and stigma. 303, 304. Plan of a pistil, whether simple or compound. 
305, 306. The simple pistil, or Carpel, and how it. answers to a leaf. 307. Its 
sutures. 308. The Placenta. 309. The Simple Pistil, one-celled, 310. and with 
one style. 311, 312. The Compound Pistil, how composed. 313. With two or 
more cells : 314. their placenta? in the axis : 315. their dissepiments or parti- 
tions. 316, 317. One-celled compound pistils. 318. With a freo central pla- 
centa. 319, 320. With parietal placenta?. 321. Ovary superior or inferior. 
322. Open or Gymnospermous pistil : Naked-seeded plants. 323. Ovules. 324. 
Their structure. 325, 326. Their kinds illustrated. 

LESSON XIX. MORPHOLOGY OF THE RECEPTACLE p. 124. 

327. The Receptacle or Torus. 328-330. Some of its forms illustrated. 
331. The Disk. 332. Curious form of the receptacle in Nelumbium. 

LESSON XX. THE FRUIT p. 126. 

333. What the Fruit consists of. 334. Fruits which are not such in a strict 
botanical sense. 335. Simple Fruits. 336, 337. The Pericarp, and the changes 
it may undergo. 338 Kinds of simple fruits. 339. Fleshy fruits. 340 The 
Berry. 341. The Pcpo or Ground-fruit. 342. The Pome or Apple-fruit. 343- 
345. The Drupe or Stone-fruit. 346. Dry fruits. 347. The Achcnium : nature 
of the Strawberry. 348. Raspberry and Blackberry. 349. Fruit in the Com- 
posite Family : Pappus. 350. The Utricle. 351. The Caryopsis or Grain. 352. 
The Nut : Cupule. 353. The Samara or Key-fruit. 354. The Capsule or Pod. 
355. The Follicle. 356. The Legume and Loment. 357. The true Capsule. 
358,359. Dehiscence, its kinds. 361. The Silique. 362. The Silicic. 363. The 
Pyxis. 364. Multiple or Collective Fruits. 365. The Strobile or Cone. 


X ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. 

LESSON XXI. THE SEED p. 134. 

366. The Seed; its origin. 367. Its parts. 360,369. Its coats. 370. The 
Aril or Arillus. 371. Names applied to the parts of the seed. 372. The Ker- 
nel or Nucleus. 373. The Albumen. 374, 375. The Embryo. 376. The 
Radicle. 377. The Cotyledons or Seed-leaves : the monocotyledonous, dicoty- 
ledonous, and polycotyledonous embryo. 378. The Plumule. 379. The circle 
of vegetable life completed. 


LESSON XXII. How PLANTS GROW p. 138. 

380, 381. Growth, what it is. 382. For the first formation or beginning of 
a plant dates farther back than to, 383. the embryo in the ripe seed, which is 
already a plantlet. 384. The formation and the growth of the embryo itself. 
385. Action of the pollen on the stigma, and the result. 386. The Embryonal 
Vesicle, or first cell of the embryo. 387. Its growth and development into the 
embryo. 388. Growth of the plantlet from the seed. 389. The plant built up 
of a vast number of cells. 390. Growth consists of the increase iu size of cells, 
and their multiplication in number. 


LESSON XXIII. VEGETABLE FABRIC : CELLULAR TISSUE. . . p. 142. 

391, 392. Organic Structure illustrated : Cells the units or elements of plants. 
393. Cellular Tissue. 394, 395, 397. How the cells are put together. 396. Inter- 
cellular spaces, air-passages. 398. Size of cells. 399. Rapidity of their produc- 
tion. 400. Their walls colorless; the colors owing to their contents. 401. The 
walls sometimes thickened. 402. Cells are closed and whole ; yet sap flows from 
one cell to another. 403. Their varied shapes. 

LESSON XXIV. VEGETABLE FABRIC : WOOD p. 145. 

404. All plants at the beginning formed of cellular tissue only ; and some 
never have anything else in their composition. 405. Wood soon appears in 
most plants. 406. Its nature. 408. Wood-cells or Woody Fibre. 409. Hard 
wood and soft wood. 410. Wood-cells closed and whole ; yet they convey sap. 
411. They communicate through thin places : Pine-wood, &e. 412. Bast-cells 
or fibres of the bark. 413. Ducts or Vessels. 414. The principal kinds. 415. 
Milk-vessels, Oil-receptacles, c. 

LESSON XXV. ANATOMY OF THE ROOT, STEM, AND LEAVES, p. 149. 

416. The materials of the vegetable fabric, how put together. 417-419. 
Structure and action of the rootlets. 420. -Root-hairs. 421. Structure of the 
stem. 422. The two sorts of stem. 423. The Endogenous. 423. The Exo- 
genous : 425. more particularly explained. 426. Parts of the wood or stem 
itself. 427. Parts of the bark. 428. Growth of the exogenous stem year aftet 
year. 429. Growth of the bark, and what becomes of the older parts. 431. 
Changes in the wood ; Sap-wood. 432. Heart- wood. 433. This no longer lir- 


ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. xl 

ing. 434. What the living parts of a tree are; their annual renewal. 435. 
Cambium-layer or zone of growth in the stem ; connected with, 436. new root- 
lets below, and new shoots, buds, and leaves above. 437. Structure of a leaf : 
its two parts, the woody and the cellular, or, 438. the pulp ; this contains the green 
matter, or Chlorophyll. 439, 440. Arrangement of the cells of green pulp in the 
leaf, and structure of its epidermis or skin. 441. Upper side only endures the 
sunshine. 442. Evaporation or exhalation of moisture from the leaves. 443. 
Stomates or Breathing-pores, their structure and use. 444. Their numbers. 

LESSON XXVI. THE PLANT IN ACTION, DOING THE WORK 

OF VEGETATION p. 157. 

446. The office of plants to produce food for animals. 447. Plants feed 
upon earth and air. 449. Their chemical composition. 450. Two sorts of 
material. 451, 452. The earthy or inorganic constituents. 453. The organic 
constituents. 454. These form the Cellulose, or substance of vegetable tissue ; 
composition of cellulose. 455. The pla'nt's food, from which this is made. 

456. Water, furnishing hydrogen and oxygen. 458. Carbonic acid, furnishing, 

457. Carbon. 459. The air, containing oxygen and nitrogen ; and also, 460. 
Carbonic acid; 461. which is absorbed by the leaves, 462. and by the roots. 
463. Water and carbonic acid the general food of plants. 464. Assimilation 
the proper work of plants. 465 Takes place in green parts alone, under the 
light of the sun. 466-468. Liberates oxygen gas and produces Cellulose or 
plant-fabric. 469. Or else Starch ; its nature and use. 470. Or Sugar; its na- 
ture, c. The transformations starch, sugar, &c. undergo. 471. Oils, acids, &c. 
The formation of all these products restores oxygen gas to the air. 472. There- 
fore plants purify the air for animals. 473. While at the same time they pro- 
duce all the food and fabric of animals. The latter take all their food ready made 
from plants. 474. And decompose starch, sugar, oil, &c., giving back their ma- 
terials to the air again as the food of the plant ; at the same time producing ani- 
mal heat. 475. But the fabric or flesh of animals (fibrine, gelatine, c.) contains 
nitrogen. 476 This is derived from plants in the form of Proteine. Its nature 
and how the plant forms it. 477. Earthy matters in the plant form the earthy 
part of bones, c. 478. Dependence of animals upon plants ; showing the great 
object for which plants were created. 

LESSON XXVII. PLANT-LIFE p. i 6 6. 

479. Life; manifested by its effects ; viz its power of transforming matter: 
480. And by motion. 481, 482. Plants execute movements as well as animals. 
483. Circulation in cells. 484. Free movements of the simplest plants in their 
forming state. 485. Absorption and conveyance of the sap. 486. Its rise into 
the leaves. 487. Explained by a mechanical law; Erulosmose. 488. Set in ac- 
tion by evaporation from the leaves. 489. These movements controlled by the 
plant, which directs growth and shapes the fabric by an inherent power. 4SO - 
492. Special movements of a conspicuous sort ; such as seen in the bending, 
twining, revolving, and coiling of stems and tendrils ; in the so-called sleeping 
and waking states of plants ; in movements from irritation, aud striking spon- 
taneous motions. 


Xii ANALYSIS OF THE LESSONS. 

493. Cryptogamous or Flowerless Plants. 494. What they comprise ; why 
so called. 495. To be studied in other works. 

LESSON XXVIII. SPECIES AND KINDS p. 173. 

496. Plants viewed as to their relationships. 497. Two characteristics of 
plants and animals : they form themselves, and, 498. They exist as Individu- 
als. The chain of individuals gives rise to the idea of, 499, 500. Species : as- 
semblages of individuals, so like that they are inferred to have a common an- 
cestry. 501. Varieties and Races. 502. Tendency of the progeny to inherit 
all the peculiarities of the parent; how taken advantage of in developing and 
fixing races. 503. Diversity and gradation of species ; these so connected as to 
show all to be formed on one plan, all works of one hand, or realizations of the 
conceptions of one mind. 504. Kinds, what they depend upon. 505. Genera. 
506. Orders or Families. 507. Suborders and Tribes. 508 Classes. 509. The 
two great Series or grades of plants. 510. The way the various divisions in 
classification are ranked. 

LESSON XXIX. BOTANICAL NAMES AND CHARACTERS. . . . p. 178. 

511, 512. Classification ; the two purposes it subserves. 513. Names : plan of 
nomenclature. 514, 515. Generic names, how formed. 516. Specific names, 
how formed. 517. Names of Varieties. 518, 519. Names of Orders, Sub- 
orders, Tribes, &c. 520, 521. Characters. 

LESSONS XXX. -XXXII. How TO STUDY PLANTS, pp. 181, 187, 191. 

522 - 567. Illustrated by several examples, showing the mode of analyzing and 
ascertaining the name of an unknown plant, and its place in the system, &c. 

LESSON XXXIII. BOTANICAL SYSTEMS . . p. 195. 

568-571. Natural System. 572, 573. Artificial Classification. 574. Arti- 
ficial System of Linnaeus. 575. Its twenty-four Classes, enumerated and de- 
fined. 576. Derivation of their names. 577, 578. Its Orders. 

LESSON XXXIV. How TO COLLECT SPECIMENS AND MAKE 

AN HERBARIUM p- 199. 

579-582. Directions for collecting specimens. 583, 584. For drying and 
preserving specimens. 585, 586 For forming an Herbarium. 

GLOSSARY, OR DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS p. 203 


FIRST LESSONS 


IN 


BOTANY AND VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 


LESSON 1. 

BOTANY AS A BRANCH OF NATURAL HISTORY. 

1. THE subjects of Natural History are, the earth itself and the 
beings that live upon it. 

2. The Inorganic World, or Mineral Kingdom, The earth itself, with 

the air that surrounds it, and all things naturally belonging to them 
which are destitute of life, make up the mineral kingdom, or in- 
organic world. These are called inorganic, or unorganized, because 
they are not composed of organs, that is, of parts which answer to 
one another, and make up a whole, such as is a horse, a bird, or a 
plant. They were formed, but they did not grow, nor proceed from 
previous bodies like themselves, nor have they the power of pro- 
ducing other similar bodies, that is, of reproducing their kind. On 
the other hand, the various living things, or those which have pos- 
sessed life, compose 

3. The Organic World, the world of organized beings. These 
consist of organs ; of parts which go to make up an individual, a 
being. And each individual owes its existence to a preceding one 
like itself, that is, to a parent. It was not merely formed, but 
produced. At first small and imperfect, it grows and develops by 
powers of its own ; it attains maturity, becomes old, and finally dies. 
It was formed of inorganic or mineral matter, that is, of earth and 
air, indeed ; but only of this matter under the influence of life : 
and after life departs, sooner or later, it is decomposed into earth 
and air again. 

1 


2 BOTANY, WHAT IT RELATES TO. f LESSON 1. 

4. The organic world consists of two kinds of beings ; namely, 
1. Plants or Vegetables, which make up what is called the Vegetable 
Kingdom ; and, 2. Animals, which compose the Animal Kingdom. 

5. The Differences between Plants and Animals seem at first sight so 

obvious and so great, that it would appear mere natural to inquire 
how they resemble rather than how they differ from each other. 
What likeness does the cow bear to the grass it feeds upon ? The 
one moves freely from place to place, in obedience to its own will, 
as its wants or convenience .require : the other is fixed to the spot 
of earth where it grew, manifests no will, and makes no movements 
that are apparent to ordinary observation. The one takes its food 
into an internal cavity (the stomach), from which it is absorbed 
into the system : the other absorbs its food directly by its surface, 
by its roots, leaves, &c. Both possess organs; but the limbs or 
members of the animal do not at all resemble the roots, leaves, 
blossoms, &c. of the plant. All these distinctions, however, gradu- 
ally disappear, as we come to the lower kinds of plants and the lower 
animals. Many animals (such as barnacles, coral-animals, and 
polyps) are fixed to some support as completely as the plant is to 
the soil ; while many plants are not fixed, and some move from 
place to place by powers of their own. All animals move some of 
their parts freely ; yet in the extent and rapidity of the motion 
many of them are surpassed by the common Sensitive Plant, by 
the Venus's Fly-trap, and by some other vegetables ; while whole 
tribes of aquatic plants are so freely and briskly locomotive, that 
they have until lately been taken for animals. It is among these 
microscopic tribes that the animal and vegetable kingdoms most 
nearly approach each other, so nearly, that it is still uncertain 
where to draw the line between them. 

6. Since the difficulty of distinguishing between animals and 
plants occurs only, or mainly, in those forms which from their 
minuteness are beyond ordinary observation, we need not further 
concern ourselves with the question here. One, and probably the 
most absolute, difference, however, ought to be mentioned at the 
outset, because it enables us to see what plants are made for. It 
is this: 

7. Vegetables are nourished by the mineral kingdom, that is, by 
the ground and the air, which supply all they need, and which they 
are adapted to live upon ; while animals are entirely nourished by 
vegetables. The great use of plants therefore is, to take portions of 


LESSON 1.] BOTANY, WHAT IT RELATES TO. 3 

earth and air, upon which animals cannot subsist at all, and to con- 
vert these into something upon which animals can subsist, that is, 
into food. All food is produced by plants. How this is done, it is 
the province of Vegetable Physiology to explain. 

8. Botany is the name of the science of the vegetable kingdom in 
general. 

9. Physiology is the study of the way a living being lives, and 
grows, and performs its various operations. The study of plants in 
this view is the province of Vegetable Physiology. The study of the 
form and structure of the organs or parts of the vegetable, by which 
its operations are performed, is the province of Structural Botany. 
The two together constitute Physiological Botany. With this de- 
partment the study of Botany should begin ; both because it lies 
at the foundation of all the rest, and because it gives that kind of 
knowledge of plants which it is desirable every one should possess ; 
that is, some knowledge of the way in which plants live, grow, and 
fulfil the purposes of their existence. To this subject, accordingly, 
a large portion of the following Lessons is devoted. 

10. The study of plants as to their kinds is the province of Sys- 
tematic Botany. An enumeration of the kinds of vegetables, as far 
as known, classified according to their various degrees of resemblance 
ttr difference, constitutes a general System of plants. A similar ac- 
count of the vegetables of any particular country or district is called 
a Flora of that country or district. 

1 1 . Other departments of Botany come to view when instead 
of regarding plants as to what they are in themselves, or as to their 
relationship with each other we consider them in their relations 
to other things. Their relation to the earth, for instance, as respects 
their distribution over its surface, gives rise to Geographical Botany, 
or Botanical Geography. The study of the vegetation of former 
times, in their fossil remains entombed in the crust of the earth, 
gives rise to Fossil Botany. The study of plants in respect to their 
uses to man is the province of Agricultural Botany, Medical Botany t 
and the like. 


4 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 2. 

LESSON II. 

THE GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 

12. The Course of Vegetation, We see plants growing from the 
seed in spring-time, and gradually developing their parts : at length' 
they blossom, bear fruit, and produce seeds like those from which 
they grew. Shall we commence the study of the plant with the 
full-grown herb or tree, adorned with flowers or laden with fruit ? 
Or shall we commence with the seedling just rising from the 
ground ? On the whole, we may get a clearer idea of the whole 
life and structure of plants if we begin at the beginning, that is, with 
the plantlet springing from the seed, and follow it throughout its 
course of growth. This also agrees best with the season in which 
the study of Botany is generally commenced, namely, in the spring 
of the year, when the growth of plants from the seed can hardly 
fail to attract attention. Indeed, it is this springing forth of vegeta- 
tion from seeds and buds, after the rigors of our long winter, 
clothing the earth's surface almost at once with a mantle of freshest 
verdure, which gives to spring its greatest charm. Even the 
dullest beholder, the least observant of Nature at other seasons, 
can then hardly fail to ask : What are plants ? How do they live 
and grow ? What do they live upon ? What is the object and use 
of vegetation in general, and of its particular and wonderfully various 
forms ? These questions it is the object of the present Lessons to 
answer, as far as possible, in a simple way. 

13. A reflecting as well as observing person, noticing the re- 
semblances between one plant and another, might go on to inquire 
whether plants, with all their manifold diversities of form and 
appearance, are not all constructed on one and the same general 
plan. It will become apparent, as we proceed, that this is the 
case; that one common plan may be discerned, which each par- 
ticular plant, whether herb, shrub, or tree, has followed much more 
closely than would at first view be supposed. The differences, wide 
as they are, are merely incidental. What is true in a general way 
of any ordinary vegetable, will be found to be true of all, only with 
great variation in the details. In the same language, though in 
varied phrase, the hundred thousand kinds of plants repeat the same 


LESSON 2.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 


story, are the living witnesses and illustrations of one and the 
same plan of Creative Wisdom in the vegetable world. So that the 
study of any one plant, traced from the seed it springs from round 
to the seeds it produces, would illustrate the whole subject of vege- 
table life and growth. It matters little, therefore, what particular 
plant we begin with. 

14. The Germinating Plantlet, Take for example a seedling Maple,,. 
Sugar Maples may be found in abundance in many places, starting 
from the seed (i. e. germinating) in early spring, and Red Maples 
at the beginning of summer, shortly after the fruits of the season 
have ripened and fallen to the ground. A pair of narrow green 
leaves raised on a tiny stem make up the whole plant at its first 
appearance (Fig. 4). Soon a root appears at the lower end of this 
stemlet ; then a little bud at its upper end, between the pair of 
leaves, which soon grows into a second joint or 

stem bearing another pair of leaves, resembling 
the ordinary leaves of the Red Maple, which 
the first did not. Figures 5 and 6 represent 
these steps in the growth. 

15. Was this plantlet formed in the seed at 
the time of germination, something as the chick 
is formed in the egg during the process of incu- 
bation ? ' Or did it exist before in the seed, 
ready formed ? To decide this question, we 
have only to inspect a sound seed, which in this 
instance requires no microscope, nor any other 
instrument than a sharp knife, by which the 
coats of the seed (previously soaked in water, if 
dry) may be laid open. We find within the 
seed, in this case, the little plantlet ready formed, 
and nothing else (Fig. 2) ; namely, a pair 
of leaves like those of the earliest seedling 
(Fig. 4), only smaller, borne on a stemlet just 
like that of the seedling, only much shorter, 
and all snugly coiled up within the protecting 
seed-coat. The plant then exists beforehand 

in the seed, in miniature. It was not formed, but only devel- 

FIG. 1. A winged fruit of Red Maple, with the seed-bearing portion cut open, to show th 
seed. 2. This seed cut open to show the embryo plantlet within, enlarged. 3. The embryo 
taken out whole, and partly unfolded. 4. The same after it has begun to grow ; of the 
natural size. 

1* 


GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 2. 


oped, in germination ; when it had merely to unfold and grow, 
to elongate its rudimentary stem, which takes 
at the same time an upright position, so as to 
bring the leaf-bearing end into the light and air, 
where the two leaves expand ; while from the 
opposite end, now pushed farther downwards 
into the soil, the root begins to grow. All this 
is true in the main of all plants that spring from 
real seeds, although with great diversity in the 
particulars. At least, there is hardly an excep- 
tion to the fact, that the plantlet exists ready 
formed in the seed, in some shape or other. 

16. The rudimentary plantlet contained in 
the seed is called an Embryo. Its little stem 
is named the Radicle, because it was supposed 
to be the root, when the difference between the 
root and stem was not so well known as now. 
It were better to name it the Caulicle (i. e. 
little stem) ; but it is not expedient to change 
old names. The seed-leaves it bears on its sum- 
mit (here two in number) are technically called 
Cotyledons. The little bud of undeveloped 
leaves which is to be found between* the co- 
tyledons before germination in many cases (as in the Pea, Bean, 
Fig. 17, &c.), has been named the Plumule. 

17. In the Maple (Fig. 4), as also in the Morning-Glory (Fig. 
28), and the like, this bud, or plumule, is not seen for some days 
after the seed-leaves are expanded. But soon it appears, in the 
Maple as a pair of minute leaves (Fig. 5), erelong raised on a stalk 
which carries them up to some distance above the cotyledons. The 
plantlet (Fig. 6) now consists, above ground, of two pairs of leaves, 
viz. : 1. the cotyledons or seed-leaves, borne on the summit of the 
original stemlet (the radicle) ; and 2. a pair of ordinary leaves, 
raised on a second joint of stem which has grown from the top 
of the first Later, a third pair of leaves is formed, and raised 
on a third joint of stem, proceeding from the summit of the second 
(Fig. 7), just as that did from the first ; and so on, until the germi~ 
nating plantlet becomes a tree. 


FIG. 5. Germinating Red Maple, which has produced its root beneath, and is developinf 
* second pair of leaves above. 6. Same, further advanced. 


LESSON 2.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 


18. So the youngest seedling, and even the embryo in the seed_ 
is already an epitome of the herb or tree. It has a stem, from the 
lower end of which it strikes root ; and it 

has leaves. The tree itself in its whole 
vegetation has nothing more in kind. 
To become a tree, the plantlet has only 
to repeat itself upwardly by producing 
jnore similar parts, that is, new por- 
tions of stem, with new and larger leaves, 
in succession, while beneath, it pushes 
its root deeper and deeper into the soil. 

19. The Opposite Growth of Root and 

Stem began at the beginning of germi- 
nation, and it continues through the 
whole life of the plant. While yet 
buried in the soil, and perhaps in total 
darkness, as soon as it begins to grow, 
the stem end of the embryo points 
towards the light, curving or turning 
quite round if it happens to lie in 
some other direction, and stretches 
upwards into the free air and sunshine ; 
while the root end as uniformly avoids 
the light, bends in the opposite direction 
to do so if necessary, and ever seeks to bury itself more and more 
in the earth's bosom. How the plantlet makes these movements we 
cannot explain. But the object of this instinct is obvious. It 
places the plant from the first in the proper position, with its roots 
in the moist soil, from which they are to absorb nourishment, and its 
leaves in the light and air, where alone they can fulfil their office of 
digesting what the roots absorb. 

20. So the seedling plantlet finds itself provided with all the 
organs of vegetation that even the oldest plant possesses, namely, 
root, stem, and leaves ; and has these placed in the situation where 
each is to act, the root in the soil, the foliage in the light and air. 
Thus established, the plantlet has only to set about its proper work. 

21. The different Mode of Growth of Root and Stem may also be here 
mentioned. Each grows, not only in a different direction, but in a 
different way. The stem grows by producing a set of joints, each from 


FIG. 7. Germinating Red Mapleu further developed. 


8 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 2. 

the summit of its predecessor ; and each joint elongates throughout 
every part, until it reaches its full length. The root is not composed 
of joints, and it lengthens only at the end. The stem in the embryo 
(viz. the radicle) has a certain length to begin with. In the pump- 
kin-seed, for instance (Fig. 9), it is less than an eighth of an inch 
long : but it grows in a few days to the length of one or two inches 
(Fig. 10), or still more, if the seed were deeper covered by the soil. 
It is by this elongation that the seed-leaves are raised out of the 
soil, so as to expand in the light and air. The^ length they acquire 
varies with the depth of the covering. When large and strong seeds 
are too deeply buried, the stemlet sometimes grows to the length of 
several inches in the endeavor to bring the seed-leaves to the sur- 
face. The lengthening of the succeeding joints of the stem serves to 
separate the leaves, or pairs of leaves, from one another, and to ex- 
pose them more fully to the light. 

22. The root, on the other hand, begins by a new formation at 
the base of the embryo stem ; and it continues to increase in length 
solely by additions to the extremity, the parts once formed scarcely 
elongating at all afterwards. This mode of growth is well adapted 
to the circumstances in which roots are placed, leaving every part 
undisturbed in the soil where it was formed, while the ever-advan- 
cing points readily insinuate themselves into the crevices or looser 
portions of the soil, or pass around the surface of solid obstacles. 


LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 9 

LESSON III. 

GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. Continued. 

23. So a plant consists of two parts, growing in a different manner. 
^as well as in opposite directions. One part, the root, grows down- 
wards into the soil : it may, therefore, be called the descending axis. 
The other grows upwards into the light and air : it may be called 
the ascending axis. The root grows on continuously from the ex- 
tremity, and so does not consist of joints, nor doe* it bear leaves, 
or anything of the kind. The stem grows by a succession of 
joints, each bearing one or more leaves on its summit. Root on 
the one hand, and stem with its foliage on the other, make up the 
whole plantlet as it springs from the seed ; and the full-grown herb, 
shrub, or tree has nothing more in kind, only more in size and 
number. Before we trace the plantlet into the herb or tree, some 
other cases of the growth of the plantlet from the seed should be 
studied, that we may observe how the same plan is worked out under 
a variety of forms, with certain differences in the details. The mate- 
rials for this study are always at hand. We have only to notice what 
takes place all around us in spring, or to plant some common seeds 
in pots, keep them warm and moist, and watch their germination. 

24. The Germinating Plantlel feeds on Nourishment provided beforehand. 

The embryo so snugly ensconced in the seed of the Maple (Fig. 2, 
3, 4) has from the first a miniature stem, and a pair of leaves already 
green, or which become green as soon as brought to the light. It 
has only to form a root by which to fix itself to the ground, when it 
becomes a perfect though diminutive vegetable, capable of providing 
for itself. This root can be formed only out of proper material : 
neither water nor anything else which the plantlet is imbibing from 
the earth will answer the purpose. The proper material is nourish- 
ing matter, or prepared food, more or less of which is always pro- 
vided by the parent plant, and stored up in the seed, either in the 
embryo itself, or around it. In the Maple, this nourishment is stored 
up in the thickish cotyledons, or seed-leaves. And there is barely 
enough of it to make the beginning of a root, and to provide for the 
lengthening of the stemlet so as to bring up the unfolding seed-leaves 
where they may expand to the light of day. But when this is done, 
S&F 2 


10 


GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3. 


the tiny plant is already able to shift for itself; that is, to live and 
continue its growth on what it now takes from the soil and from the 
air, and elaborates into nourishment in its two green leaves, under 
the influence of the light of the sun. 

25. In most ordinary plants, a larger portion of nourishment is 
provided beforehand in the seed ; and the plantlet consequently is 
not so early or so entirely left to its own resources. Let us examine 
a number of cases, selected from very common plants. Sometimes, 
as has just been stated, we find this 

26. Deposit Of Food in the Embryo itself, And we may observe it 
in every gradation as to quantity, from the Maple of our first illus- 
tration, where there is very little, up to 
the Pea and the Horsechestnut, where 
there is as much as there possibly can 
be. If we strip off the coats from the 
large and flat seed of a Squash or 
Pumpkin, we find nothing but the em- 
bryo within (Fig. 9) ; and almost the 
whole bulk of this consists of the two 
seed-leaves. That these contain a good 
supply of nourishing matter, is evident 
from their sweet taste and from their 
thickness, although there is not enough 
to obscure their leaf-like appearance. 
It is by feeding on this supply of nour- 
ishment that the germinating Squash or 
Pumpkin (Fig. 10) grows so rapidly 
and so vigorously from the seed, 
lengthening its stemlet to more than 
twenty times the length it had in the 
seed, and thickening it in proportion, 
sending out at once a number of roots 
from its lower end, and soon developing 

the plumule (16) from its upper end into a third leaf: meanwhile 
the two cotyledons, relieved from the nourishment with which their 
tissue was gorged, have expanded into useful green leaves. 

27. For a stronger instance, take next the seed of a Plum or 
Peach, or an Almond, or an Apple-seed (Fig. 11, 12), which shows 


FIG. 9. Embryo of a Pumpkin, of the natural size ; the cotyledons a little opened 
JO. The same, when it has germinated. 


LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 


11 


the same thing on a smaller scale. The embryo, which here also 
makes up the whole bulk of the kernel of the 
seed, differs from that of the Pumpkin only 
in having the seed-leaves more thickened, by 
the much larger quantity of nourishment stored 
up in their tissue, so large and so pure in- 
deed, that the almond becomes an article of 
food. Fed by this abundant supply, the second, 
and even the third joints of the stem, with 
their leaves, shoot forth as soon as the stemlet comes to the surface oi 
the soil. The Beech-nut (Fig. 13), with 
its sweet and eatable kernel, consisting 
mainly of a pair of seed-leaves folded 
together, and gorged with nourishing 
matter, offers another instance of the 
same sort : this ample store to feed 
upon enables the germinating plantlet 
to grow with remarkable vigor, and to 
develop a second joint of stem, with its 
pair of leaves (Fig. 14), before the first 
pair has expanded or the root has ob- 
tained much foothold in the soil. 

28. A Bean affords a similar and 
more familiar illustration. Here the co- 
tyledons in the seed (Fig. 16) are so 
thick, that, although they are raised out 
of ground in the ordinary way in ger- 
mination (Fig. 17), and turn greenish, 
yet they never succeed in becoming leaf- 
like, never display their real nature of 
leaves, as they do so plainly in the Ma- 
ple (Fig. 5), the Pumpkin (Fig. 10), the 
Morning-Glory (Fig. 8, 26-28), &c. 
Turned to great account as magazines 
of food for the germinating plantlet, they 
fulfil this special office admirably, but 

FIG. 11. An Apple-seed cut through lengthwise, showing the embryo with its thickened 
cotyledons. 12. The embryo of the Apple, taken out whole, its cotyledons partly separated 

FIG. 13. A Beech-nut, cut across. 14. Beginning germination of the Beech, showing the 
plumule growing before the cotyledons have opened or the root has scarcely formed. 15. The 
tame, a little later, with the second joint lengthened. 


12 


GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. ^LESSON 3. 


they were so gorged and, as it were, misshapen, that they became 

quite unfitted to perform the office of 
foliage. This office is accordingly first 
performed by the succeeding pair of 
leaves, those of the plumule (Fig. 17, 
18), which is put into rapid growth by 
the abundant nourishment contained in 
the large and thick seed-leaves. The 
latter, having fulfilled this office, soon 
wither and fall away. 

29. This is carried a step farther in 
the Pea (Fig. 19, 20), a near relative 
of the Bean, 
and in the 
Oak (Fig. 
21, 22), a 
near relative 
of the Beech. 
The differ- 
ence in these 
and many 
other similar 
cases is this. 

The cotyledons, which make up nearly 

the whole bulk of the seed are exces- 
sively thickened, so as to become nearly 

hemispherical in shape. They have lost 

all likeness to leaves, and all power of 

ever fulfilling the office of leaves. Ac- 
cordingly in germination they remain 

unchanged within the husk or coats of 

the seed, never growing themselves, but 

supplying abundant nourishment to the 

plumule (the bud for the forming stem) 

between them. This pushes forth from 

the seed, shoots upward, and gives rise 

FIG. 16, A Bean : the embryo, from which seed-coats have been removed : the smal) 
stem is seen above, bent down upon the edge of the thick cotyledons. 17. The same in early 
germination ; the plumule growing from between the two seed-leaves. 18. The germination 
more advanced., the two leaves of the plumule unfolded, and raised on a short joint of stem. 

FIG, 19. A Pea: the embryo, with the seed-coats taken off. 20. A Pea in germination. 


LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 


to the first leaves that appear. In most cases of the sort, the radicle, 
or short original stemlet of the embryo be- 
low the cotyledons (which is plainly shown 
in the Pea, Fig. 19), lengthens very little, 
or not at all; and so the cotyledons remain 
under ground, if the seed was covered by 
the soil, as every one knows to be the case 
with Peas. In these (Fig. 20), as also in 
the Oak (Fig. 22), the leaves of the first 
one or two joints are imperfect, and mere 
small scales ; but genuine leaves immedi- 
ately follow. The Horsechestnut and Buck- 
eye (Fig. 23, 24) furnish another instance 
of the same sort. These trees are nearly 
related to the Maple ; but while the seed- 
leaves of the Maple show themselves to 
be leaves, even in the seed (as we have 
already seen), and when they germinate 
fulfil the office of ordinary leaves, those 
of the Buckeye and of the Horsechestnut 
(Fig. 23), would never be suspected to be 
the same organs. Yet they are so, only 
in another shape, exceedingly thickened 
by the accumulation of a great quantity 
of starch and other nourishing matter in 
their substance ; and besides, their contigu- 
ous faces stick together more or less firmly, 
so that they never open. But the stalks 
of these seed-leaves grow, and, as they 
lengthen, push the radicle and the plumule 22 

out of the seed, when the former develops downwardly the root, the 
latter upwardly the leafy stem and all it bears (Fig. 24). 

30. Deposit of Food OQtside Of the Embryo. Very often the nourish- 
ment provided for the seedling plantlet is laid up, not in the embryo 
itself, but around it. A good instance to begin with is furnished by 
the common Morning-Glory, or Convolvulus. The embryo, taken 
out of the seed and straightened, is shown in Fig. 26. it consists 
of a short stemlet and of a pair of very thin and delicate green 
leaves, ha.ving no stock of nourishment in them for sustaining the 

FIG. 21. An acorn divided lengthwise. 22. The germinating Oak. 

2 


14 


GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3. 


earliest growth. On cutting open the seed, however, we find this 

embryo (considerably crumpled or folded together, so as to occupy- 
less space, Fig. 25) to be surround- 
ed by a mass of rich, mucilaginous; 
matter (becoming rather hard and 
solid when dry), which forms the 
principal bulk of the seed. Upon 
this stock the embryo feeds in ger- 
mination ; the seed-leaves absorbing 
it into their tissue as it is rendered 
soluble (through certain chemical 
changes) and dissolved by the wa- 
ter which the germinating seed im- 
bibes from the moist soil. Having 
by this aid & as 

lengthened 
its radicle 
into a stem 
of consider- 
able length, 

and formed the beginning of a root at its 

lower end, already imbedded in the soil 

(Fig. 27), the cotyledons now disengage 

themselves from the seed-coats, and ex- 
pand in the light as the first pair of leaves 

(Fig. 28). These immediately begin to 

elaborate, under the sun's influence, what 

the root imbibes from the soil, and the new 

nourishment so produced is used, partly to 

increase the size of the little stem, root, 

and leaves already existing, and partly to 

produce a second joint of stem with its 

leaf (Fig. 29), then a third with its leaf 

(Fig. 8) ; and so on. 

31. This maternal store of food, deposited in the seed along with 

the embryo (but not in its substance), the old botanists likened to 

FIG. 23. Buckeye : a seed divided. 24. A similar seed in gemination. 

FIG. 25. Seed and embryo of Morning-Glory, cut across. 26. Embryo of the same, de. 
tached and straightened. 27. Germinating Morning-Glory . 28. The same further advanced,- 
its two thin seed-leaves expanded. 


LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 


15 


the albumen, or white of the egg, which encloses the yolk, and 
therefore gave it the same name, the albumen of the seed, a 
name which it still retains. Food of this sort for the plant is also 
food for animals, or for man ; and it is 
this albumen, the floury part of the seed, 
which forms the principal bulk of such 
important grains as those of Indian Corn 
(Fig. 38 - 40), Wheat, Rice, Buck- 
wheat, and of the seed of Four-o'clock, 
(Fig. 36, 37), and the like. In all 
these last-named cases, it may be ob- 
served that the embryo is not enclosed 
in the albumen, but placed on one side 
of it, yet in close contact with it, so 
that the embryo may absorb readily 
from it the nourishment it requires 
when it begins to grow. Sometimes 
the embryo is coiled around the outside, in the form of a ring, as 
in the Purslane and the Four-o'clock (Fig. 36, 37) ; sometimes it is 
coiled within the albumen, as in the Potato (Fig. 34, 35) ; some- 
times it is straight in the centre of the albumen, occupying nearly its 
so 32 34 36 whole length, as in 

the Barberry (Fig. 
32, 33), or much 
smaller and near one 
end, as in the Iris 
(Fig. 43) ; or some- 
times so minute, in 
the midst of the al- 
bumen, that it needs 
a magnifying-glass to 
find it, as in the But- 


37 


FIG. 29. Germination of the Morning Glory more advanced : the upper part only ; showing 
the leafy cotyledons, the second joint of stein with its leaf, and the third with its leaf just 
developing. 

FIG. 30. Section of a seed of a Peony, showing a very small embryo in the albumen, 
near one end. 31. This embryo detached, and more magnified. 

FIG. 32. Section of a seed of Barberry, showing the straight embryo in the middle of 
the albumen. 33. Its embryo detached. 

FIG. 34. Section oi a Potato-seed, showing the embryo coiled in the albumen. 35. Its 
embryo detached. 

FIG. 36. Section of the seed of Four-o'clock, showing the embryo coiled round tfi 
outside of the albumen. 37. Its embryo detached* 


16 GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [LESSON 3. 

tercup or the Columbine, and in the Peony (Fig. 30, 31), where, 
however, it is large enough to be distinguished by the naked eye. 
Nothing is more curious than the various shapes and positions of 
the embryo in the seed, nor more interesting than to watch its de- 
velopment in germination. One point is still to be noticed, since 
the botanist considers it of much importance, namely : 

32. The Kinds of Embryo as to the Number of Cotyledons, In all the 

figures, it is easy to see that the embryo, however various in shape, 
is constructed on one and the same plan ; it consists of a radicle or 
stemlet, with a pair of cotyledons on its summit. Botanists there- 
fore call it dicotyledonous, an inconveniently long word to express 
the fact that the embryo has two cotyledons or seed-leaves. In 
many cases (as in the Buttercup), the cotyledons are indeed so 
minute, that they are discerned only by the nick in the upper end 
of the little embryo ; yet in germination they grow into a pair of 
seed-leaves, just as in other cases where they are plain to be seen, 
as leaves, in the seed. But in Indian Corn (Fig. 40), in Wheat, 
the Onion, the Iris (Fig. 43), &c., it is well known that only one 

leaf appears at first from the 
sprouting seed : in these the 
embryo has only one cotyle- 
don, and it is therefore termed 
by the botanists monocotyledo- 
nous ; an extremely long 
word, like the other, of Greek derivation, which means one-cotyle- 
doned. The rudiments of one or more other leaves are, indeed, 
commonly present in this sort of embryo, as is plain to see in Indian 
Corn (Fig. 38 - 40), but they form a bud situated above or within 
the cotyledon, and enclosed by it more or less completely ; so thai, 
they evidently belong to the plumule (16); and these leaves appear 
in the seedling plantlet, each from within its predecessor, and there- 
fore originating higher up on the forming stem (Fig. 42, 44). This 
will readily be understood from the accompanying figures, with their 
explanation, which the student may without difficulty verify for him- 

FIG. 38. A grain of Indian Corn, flatwise, cut away a little, so as to show the embryo, 
lying on the albumen, which makes the principal bulk of the peed. 

FIG. 39. Another grain of Corn, cut through the middle in the opposite direction, divid- 
ing the embryo through its thick cotyledon and its plumule, the latter consisting of two 
leaves, one enclosing the other. 

FIG. 40. The embryo of Corn, taken out whole : the thick mass is the cotyledon ; the 
narrow body partly enclosed by it is the plumule ; the little projection at its base is the very 
hort radicle enclosed in the sheathing base of the first leaf of the plumule. 


tESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 17 

self, and should do so, by examining grains of Indian Corn, soaked 
in water, before and also during germination. In the Onion, Lily, 
and the Iris (Fig. 43), the monocotyledonous embryo is simpler, 
consisting apparently of a simple oblong or cylindrical 
body, in which no distinction of parts is visible : the lower 
end is radicle, and from it grows the root ; the rest is a 
cotyledon, which has wrapped up in it a minute plumule, 
or bud, that shows itself when the seeds sprout in germi- 
nation. The first leaf which appears above ground in all 
these cases is not the cotyledon. In all seeds with one coty- 
ledon to the embryo, this remains in the seed, or at least 
its upper part, while its lengthening base, comes out, so as 
to extricate the plumule, which shoots upward, and de- 
velops the first leaves of the plantlet. These appear one 
above or within the other in succes- 
sion, as is shown in Fig. 42 and 
Fig. 44, the first commonly in the 
form of a little scale or imperfect 
leaf; the second or third and the 4l 

following ones as the real, ordinary leaves of 
the plant. Meanwhile, from the root end of 
the embryo, a root (Fig. 41, 44), or soon a 
whole cluster of roots (Fig. 42) , makes its 
appearance. 

33. In Pines, and the like, the embryo con- 
sists of a radicle or stemlet, bearing on ite 
summit three or four, or often from five to 
ten slender cotyledons, arranged in a 
circle (Fig. 45), and expanding at 
once into a circle of as many green 
leaves in germination (Fig. 46). Such 
embryos are said to \tepolycotyledonous. 
that is, as the word denotes, many- 
cotyledoned. 

34. Plan of Vegetation, The student 

who has understandingly followed the 
growth of the embryo in the seed into the seedling plantlet, com- 
posed of a root, and a stem of two or three joints, each bearing a 

FIG. 41. Grain of Indian Corn in germination. 
FIG. 42. The same, further advanced 

2* 


18 


GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. [^LESSON 3. 


leaf, or a pair (rarely a circle) of leaves, will have gained a cor- 
rect idea of the plan of vegetation in general, and have laid a good 
foundation for a knowledge of the whole structure and physiology 
43 of plants. For the plant goes on to grow in the same 

way throughout, by mere repetitions of what the early 
germinating plantlet displays to view, of what was 
contained, in miniature or in rudiment, in the seed itself. 
So far as vegetation is concerned (leaving out of view 
for the present the flower and fruit), the full-grown leafy 
herb or tree, of whatever size, has nothing, and does 
nothing, which the seedling plantlet does not have and 
do. The whole mass of stem or trunk and foliage of 
the complete plant, even of the largest forest-tree, is 
composed of a succession or multiplication of similar 
parts, one arising from the summit of another, 
each, so to say, the offspring of the preceding and 
the parent of the next. 

35. In the same way that the earliest portions of 
the seedling stem, with the leaves 
they bear, are successively produced, 
so, joint by joint in direct succes- 
sion, a single, simple, leafy stem is 
developed and carried up. Of such a 
simple leafy stem many a plant consists 
(before flowering, at least), many 
herbs, such as Sugar-Cane, Indian 
Corn, the Lily, the tall Banana, the 
Yucca, &c. ; and among trees the 
Palms and the Cycas (wrongly called 
Sago Palm) exhibit the same simplicity, their 
stems, of whatever age, being unbranched columns 45 
(Fig. 47). (Growth in diameter is of course to be considered, 
as well as growth in length. That, and the question how growth 
of any kind takes place, we will consider hereafter.) But more 
commonly, as soon as the plant has produced a main stem of a cer- 
tain length, and displayed a certain amount of foliage, it begins to 

FIG. 43. Section of a seed of the Iris, or Flower-de-Luce, showing its small embryo in 
Ihe albumen, near the bottom. 

FIG. 44. Germinating plantlet of the Iris. 

FIG. 45. Section of a seed of a Pine, with its embryo of several cotyledons. 46. Early 
seedling Pine, with its stem let, displaying its six seed-leaves. 


LESSON 3.] GROWTH OF THE PLANT FROM THE SEED. 


19 


produce additional stems, that is, branches. The branching plant 
we will consider in the next Lesson. 

36. The subjoined figures (Fig. 47) give a view of some forms 
of simple-stemmed vegetation. The figure in the foreground on 
the left represents a Cycas (wrongly called in the conservatories 
Sago Palm). Behind it is a Yucca (called Spanish Bayonet at the 
South) and two Cocoanut Palm-trees. On the right is some Indian 
Corn, and behind it a Banana. 


20 GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. (_LESSON 4. 


LESSON IV. 

THE GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS AND BRANCHES. 

37. WE have seen how the plant grows so as to produce a root, 
and a simple stem with its foliage. Both the root and stem, how- 
ever, generally branch. 

38. The branches of the root arise without any particular order. 
There is no telling beforehand from what part of a main root they 
will spring. But the branches of the stem, except in some extra- 
ordinary cases, regularly prise from a particular place. Branches 
or shoots in their undeveloped state are 

39. Buds, These regularly appear in the axils of the leaves, 
that is, in the angle formed by the leaf with the stem on the upper 
side ; and as leaves are symmetrically arranged on the stem, the 
buds, and the branches into which the buds grow, necessarily par- 
take of this symmetry. 

40. We do not confine the name of bud to the scaly winter-buds 
which are so conspicuous on most of our shrubs and trees in winter 
and spring. It belongs as well to the forming branch of any herb, at 
its first appearance in the axil of a leaf. In growing, buds lengthen 
into branches, just as the original stem did from the plumule of the 
embryo (16) when the seed germinated. Only, while the original 
stem is implanted in the ground by its root, the branch is implanted 
on the stem. Branches, therefore, are repetitions of the main stem. 
They consist of the same parts, namely, joints of stem and leaves, 
growing in the same way And in the axils of their leaves 
another crop of buds is naturally produced, giving rise to another 
generation of branches, which may in turn produce still another 
generation ; and so on, until the tiny and simple seedling develops 
into a tall and spreading herb or shrub ; or into a massive tree, 
with its hundreds of annually increasing branches, and its thousands, 
perhaps millions, of leaves. 

41. The herb and the tree grow in the same way. The difference 
is only in size and duration. 

An Herb dies altogether, or dies down to the ground, after it has 
ripened its fruit, or at the approach of winter. 


LESSON 4.J GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. 


21 


An annual herb flowers in the first year, and dies, root and all, 
after ripening its seed : Mustard, Peppergrass, Buckwheat, &c., are 
examples. 

A biennial herb such as the Turnip, Carrot, Beet, and Cabbage 
grows the first season without blossoming, survives the winter, 
flowers after that, and dies, root and all, when it has ripened its seed. 

A perennial herb lives and blossoms year after year, but dies 
down to the ground, or near it, annually, not, however, quite down 
to the root : for a portion of the stem, with its buds, still survives ; 
and from these buds the shoots of the following year arise. 

A Shrub is a perennial plant, with woody stems which continue 
alive and grow year after year. 

A Tree differs from a shrub only in its greater size. 

42. The Terminal Bud, There are herbs, shrubs, and trees which 
do not branch, as we have already seen (35) ; but whose stems, 
even when they liv for many years, rise as a simple shaft 
(Fig. 47). These plants grow by the continued evolution of a bud 
which crowns the summit of the stem, and which is therefore called 
the terminal bud. This bud is very conspicuous in 

many branching plants also ; as on all the stems or 
shoots of Maples (Fig. 53), Horsechestnuts (Fig. 48), 
or Hickories (Fig. 49), of a year old. When they 
grow, they merely prolong the shoot or stem on which 
they rest. On these same shoots, however, other buds 
are to be seen, regularly arranged down their sides. 
We find them situated just over broad, flattened places, 
which are the scars left by the fall of the leaf-stalk the 
autumn previous. Before the fall of the leaf, they 
would have been seen to occupy their axils (39) : so 
they are named 

43. Axillary Buds, They were formed in these trees 
early in the summer. Occasionally they grow at the 
time into branches : at least, some of them are pretty 
sure to do so, in case the growing terminal bud at the 
end of the shoot is injured or destroyed. Otherwise 
they lie dormant until the spring. In many trees 

or shrubs (such for example as the Sumach and Honey-Locust) 
these axillary buds do not show themselves until spring ; but if 

FIG. 48. Shoot of Horsechestnut, of one year's growth, taken in autumn after the ieaveg 
iave fallen. 


22 


GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. [LESSON 4. 


searched for, they may be detected, though of small size, hidden 
under the bark. Sometimes, although early formed, they are con- 
cealed all summer long under the base of the leaf- 
stalk, hollowed out into a sort of inverted cup, like a 
candle-extinguisher, to cover them ; as in the Locust, 
the Yellow-wood, or more strikingly in the Button- 
wood or Plane-tree (Fig. 50). 

44. Such large and conspicuous buds as those of 
the Horsechestnut, Hickory, and the like, are scaly ; 
the scales being a kind of imperfect leaves. The 
use of the bud-scales is obvious ; namely, to protect 
the tender young parts beneath. To do this more 
effectually, they are often coated on the outside with 
a varnish which is impervious to wet, while within 
they, or the parts they enclose, are thickly clothed 
with down or wool ; not really to keep out the cold 
of winter, which will of course penetrate the bud in 
time, but to shield the interior against sudden changes 
from warm to cold, or from cold to warm, which are 
equally injurious. Scaly buds commonly belong, as would be expect- 
ed, to trees and shrubs of northern climates ; while naked buds are 
usual in tropical regions, as well as in herbs everywhere which 
branch during the summer's growth and do not endure the winter. 


45. But naked buds, or nearly naked, also occur in several of oui 
own trees and shrubs ; sometimes pretty large ones, as those of Hob 


FIG. 49. Annual shoot of the Shagbark Hickory. 

FIG. 50. Bud and leaf of the Buttonwood, or American Plane-tree. 


LESSON 4.] GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. 23 

blebush (while those of the nearly-related Snowball or High Bush- 
Cranberry are scaly) ; but more commonly, when naked buds occur 
in trees and shrubs of our climate, they are small, and sunk in the 
bark, as in the Sumac ; or even partly buried in the wood until they 
begin to grow, as in the Honey-Locust. 

46. Vigor Of Vegetation from Buds, Large and strong buds, like those 
of the Horsechestnut, Hickory, and the like, on inspection will be 
found to contain several leaves, or pairs of leaves, ready formed, 
(bided and packed away in small compass, just as the seed-leaves 
are packed away in the seed : they even contain all the blossoms of 
the ensuing season, plainly visible as small buds. And the stems 
npon which these buds rest are filled with abundant nourishment, 
which was deposited the summer before in the wood or in the bark. 
Under the surface of the soil, or on it, covered with the fallen leaves 
of autumn, we may find similar strong buds of our perennial herbs, 
in great variety ; while beneath are thick roots, rootstocks, or tubers, 
charged with a great store of nourishment for their use. As we 
regard these, \ve shall readily perceive how it is that vegetation 
shoots forth so vigorously in the spring of the year, and clothes the 
bare and lately frozen surface of the soil, as well as the naked 
boughs of trees, almost at once with a covering of the freshest 
green, and often with brilliant blossoms. Everything was prepared, 
and even formed, beforehand : the short joints of stem in the bud 
have only to lengthen, and to separate the leaves from each other 
so that they may unfold and grow. Only a small part of the vege- 
tation of the season comes directly from the seed, and none of the 
earliest vernal vegetation. This is all from buds which have lived 
through the winter. 

47. This growth from buds, in manifold variety, is as interesting 
a subject of study as the growth of the plantlet from the seed, and 
is still easier to observe. We have only room here to sketch the 
general plan ; earnestly recommending the student to examine at- 
tentively their mode of growth in all the common trees and shrubs, 
when they shoot forth in spring. The growth of the terminal bud 
prolongs the stem or branch: the growth of axillary Luds pro- 
duces branches. 

48. The Arrangement Of Branches is accordingly the same as of 
axillary buds ; and the arrangement of these buds is the same as 
that of the leaves. Now leaves are arranged in two principal ways : 
they are either opposite or alternate. Leaves are opposite when 


24 GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. [LESSON 4. 

there are two borne on the same joint of stem, as in the Horse- 
chestnut, Maple (Fig. 7), Honeysuckle (Fig. 132), Lilac, &c. ; the 
two leaves in such cases being always opposite each other, that is, 
on exactly opposite sides of the stem. Here of course the buds 
in their axils are opposite, as we observe in Fig. 48, where the 
leaves have fallen, but their place is shown by the scars. And the 
branches into which the buds grow are likewise opposite each other 
in pairs. 

49. Leaves are alternate when there is only one from each joint of 
stem, as in the Oak (Fig. 22), Lime-tree, Poplar, Buttonwood (Fig. 
50), Morning-Glory (Fig. 8), not counting the seed-leaves, which of 
course are opposite, there being a pair of them ; also in Indian Corn 
(Fig. 42), and Iris (Fig. 44). Consequently the axillary buds are 
also alternate, as in Hickory (Fig. 49) ; and the branches they 
form alternate, making a different kind of spray from the other 
mode, one branch shooting on the one side of the stem and the 
next on some other. For in the alternate arrangement no leaf is 
on the same side of the stem as the one next above or next 
below it. 

50. Branches, therefore, are arranged with symmetry ; and the 
mode of branching of the whole tree may be foretold by a glance at 
the arrangement of the leaves on the seedling or stem of the first 
year. This arrangement of the branches according to that of the 
leaves is always plainly to be recognized ; but the symmetry of 
branches is rarely complete. This is owing to several causes ; 
mainly to one, viz. : 

51. It never happens that all the buds grow. If they did, there 
would be as many branches in any year as there were leaves the 
year before. And of those which do begin to grow, a large portion 
perish, sooner or later, for want of nourishment or for want of light. 
Those which first begin to grow have an advantage, which they are 
apt to keep, taking to themselves the nourishment of the stem, and 
starving the weaker buds. 

52. In the Horsechestnut (Fig. 48), Hickory (Fig. 49), Mag- 
nolia, and most other trees with large scaly buds, the terminal bud 
is the strongest, and has the advantage in growth, and next in 
strength are the upper axillary buds: while the former continues 
the shoot of the last year, some of the latter give rise to branches, 
while the rest fail to grow. In the Lilac also, the upper axillary 
buds are stronger than the lower ; but the terminal bud rarely 


LESSON 4.] GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. 25 

appears at all ; in its place the uppermost pair of axillary buds grow, 
and so each stem branches every year into two ; making a re- 
peatedly two-forked ramification. 

53. In these and many similar trees and shrubs, most of the shoots 
make a definite annual growth. That is, each shoot of the season 
develops rapidly from a strong bud in spring, a bud which gen- 
erally contains, already formed in miniature, all or a great part of the 
leaves and joints of stem it is to produce, makes its whole growth 
in length in the course of a few weeks, or sometimes even in a few 
days, and then forms and ripens its buds for the next year's similar 
rapid growth. 

54. On the other hand, the Locust, Honey-Locust, Sumac, and, 
among smaller plants, the Rose and Raspberry, make an indefinite 
annual growth. That is, their stems grow on all summer long, 
until stopped by the frosts of autumn or some other cause ; con- 
sequently they form and ripen no terminal bud protected by scales, 
and the upper axillary buds are produced so late in the season 
that they have no time to mature, nor has the wood time to solidify 
and ripen. Such stems therefore commonly die at the top in winter, 
or at least all their upper buds are small and feeble ; and the growth 
of the succeeding year takes place mainly from the lower axillary 
buds, which are more mature. Most of our perennial herbs grow 
in this way, their stems dying down to the ground every year : the 
part beneath, however, is charged with vigorous buds, well pro- 
tected by the kindly covering of earth, ready for the next year's 
vegetation. 

55. In these last-mentioned cases there is, of course, no single 
main stem, continued year after year .in a direct line, but the trunk 
is soon lost in the branches ; and when they grow into trees, these 
commonly have rounded or spreading tops. Of such trees with 
deliquescent stems, that is, with the trunk dissolved, as it were, 
into the successively divided branches, the common American Elm 
(Fig. 54) furnishes a good illustration. 

56. On the other hand, the main stem of Pines and Spruces, as 
it begins in the seedling, unless destroyed by some injury, is carried 
on in a direct line throughout the whole growth of the tree, by the 
development year after year of a terminal bud : this forms a single, 
uninterrupted shaft, an excurrent trunk, which can never be con- 
founded with the branches that proceed from it. Of such spiry or 
spire-shaped trees, the Firs or Spruces are the most perfect and 

3 


26 GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. [LESSON 4. 

familiar illustrations (Fig. 54) ; but some other trees with strong 
terminal buds exhibit the same character for a certain time, and 
in a less marked degree. 

57. Latent Buds, Some of the axillary buds grow the following 
year into branches ; but a larger number do not (51). These do not 
necessarily die. Often they survive in a latent state for some years, 
visible on the surface of the branch, or are smaller and concealed 
under the bark, resting on the surface of the wood : and when at 
any time the other buds or branches happen to be killed, these older 
latent buds grow to supply their place ; as is often seen when the 
foliage and young shoots of a tree are destroyed by insects. The 
new shoots seen springing directly out of large stems may sometimes 
originate from such latent buds, which have preserved their life for 
years. But commonly these arise from 

58. Adventitious Buds, These are buds which certain shrubs and 
trees produce anywhere on the surface of the wood, especially where 
it has been injured. They give rise to the slender twigs which often 
feather so beautifully the sides of great branches or trunks of our 
American Elms. They sometimes form on the root, which naturally 
is destitute of buds ; and they are sure to appear on the trunks and 
roots of Willows, Poplars, and Chestnuts, when these are wounded 
or mutilated. Indeed Osier- Willows are pollarded, or cut off, from 
time to time, by the cultivator, for the purpose of producing a crop of 
slender adventitious twigs, suitable for basket-work. Such branches, 
being altogether irregular, of course interfere with the natural sym- 
metry of the tree (50). Another cause of irregularity, in certain 
trees and shrubs, is the formation of what are called 

59. Accessory OF Supernumerary Buds, There are cases where two, 

three, or more buds spring from the 
axil of a leaf, instead of the single 
one which is ordinarily found there. 
Sometimes they are placed one over 
the other, as in the Aristolochia or 
Pipe- Vine, and in the Tartarian 
Honeysuckle (Fig. 51) ; also in the 
si Honey-Locust, and in the Walnut and 

Butternut (Fig. 52), where the upper supernumerary bud is a good 
way out of the axil and above the others. And this is here stronger 

FIG. 51. Tartarian Honeysuckle, with three accessory buds in one axil. 


LESSON 4.] GROWTH OF PLANTS FROM BUDS. 


27 


than the others, and grows into a branch which is considerably out 01 
the axil, while the lower and smaller ones commonly do not grow at 
all. In other cases the three buds stand side by side 
in the axil, as in the Hawthorn, and the Red Mapl 
(Fig. 53). If these were all to grow into branches, 
they would stifle or jostle each other. But some 
of them are commonly flower-buds : in 
the Red Maple, only the middle one is 
a leaf-bud, and it does not grow until 
after those on each side of it have ex- 
panded the blossoms they contain. 

60. Sorts Of Buds, It may be useful 
to enumerate the kinds of buds which 
have now been mentioned, referring 
back to the paragraphs in which the pe- 
culiarities of each are explained. Buds, 
then, are either terminal or lateral. 
They are 

Terminal when they rest on the apex 
of a stem (42). The earliest terminal 
bud is the plumule of the embryo (16). 

Lateral, when they appear on the 
side of a stem : of which the only 
regular kind is the 

Axillary (43), namely, those which are situated in 
the axils of leaves. 

Accessory or Supernumerary (59), when two or more 
occur in addition to the ordinary axillary bud. 53 

Adventitious (58), when they occur out of the axils and without 
order, on stems or roots, or even on leaves. Any of these kind* 
may be<, either 

Naked, when without coverings; or scaly, when protected by 
scales (44, 45). 

Latent, when they survive long without growing, and commonly 
without being visible externally (57). 

Leaf-buds, when they contain leaves, and develop into a leafy 
shoot. 

Flower-buds, when they contain blossoms, and no leaves, as the 

FIG. 52. Butternut branch, with accessory buds, the uppermost above the axil. 
FIG. 53. Red-Maple branch, with accessory buds placed side by side. 


28 MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. [LESSON 5. 

side-buds of the Red-Maple, or when they are undeveloped blossoms, 
These we shall have to consider hereafter. 

Figure 54 represents a spreading-topped tree (American Elm), 
the stem dividing otf into branches ; and some spiiy trees (Spruces 
on the right hand, and two of the Arbor- Vitae on the left) with ex- 
current siems. 


LESSON V. 

MORPHOLOGY (1.6. VARIOUS SORTS AND FORMS) OF ROOTS. 

61. MoFpholOgV as the name (derived from two Greek words) 
denotes, is the doctrine of forms. In treating of forms in plants, the 
botanist is not confined to an enumeration or description of the 
shapes or sorts that occur, which would be a dull and tedious 
business. but he endeavors to bring to view the relations between 
one form and another ; and this is an interesting study. 

62. Botanists give particular names to all the parts of plants, and 
also particular terms to express their principal varieties in form. 
They use these terms with great precision and advantage in describ- 
ing the species or kinds of plants. They must therefore be defined 
and explained in our books. But it would be a great waste of time 


LESSON 5.] MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 29 

for the young student to learn them by rote. The student should 
rather consider the connection between one form and another ; and 
notice how the one simple plan of the plant, as it has already been 
illustrated, is worked out in the greatest variety of ways, through the 
manifold diversity of forms which each of its* three organs of vege- 
tation root, stem, and leaf is made to assume. 

63. This we are now ready to do. That is, having obtained a 
g neral idea of vegetation, by tracing the plant from the seed and 
the bud into the herb, shrub, or tree, we proceed to contemplate the 
principal forms under which these three organs occur in different 
plants, or in different parts of the same plant ; or, in other words, to 
study the morphology of the root, stem, and leaves. 

64. Of these three organs, the root is the simplest and the least 
varied in its modifications. Still it exhibits some widely different 
kinds. Going back to the beginning, we commence with 

65. The Simple Primary Root, which most plants send down from 
the root-end of the embryo as it grows from the seed ; as we havf 
seen in the Maple (Fig 5 - 7), Morning-Glory (Fig. 8 and 28), 
Beech (Fig. 14, 15), Oak and Buckeye (Fig. 22-24), &c. This, 
if it goes on to grow, makes a main or tap root, from which aide- 
branches here and there proceed. Some plants keep this maii> root 
throughout their whole life, and send off only small side bra' <;hes ; 
as in the Carrot (Fig. 58) and Radish (Fig. 59) : and in some trees, 
like the Oak, it takes the lead of the side-branches for many years, 
unless accidentally injured, as a strong tap-root. But commonly 
the main root divides off very soon, and is lost in the branches. 
We have already seen, also, that there may be at the beginning 

66. Multiple Primary Roots, We have noticed them in the Pump- 
kin (Fig. 10), in the Pea (Fig. 20), and in Indian Corn (Fig. 42). 
That is, several roots have started all at once, or nearly so, from the 
seedling stem, and formed a bundle or cluster (a fascicled root, as 
it is called), in place of one main root. The Bean, as we observe 
in Fig. 18, begins with a main root , but some of its branches soon 
overtake it, and a cluster of roots is formed. 

67. Absorption of Moisture by Roots, The branches of roots as they 
grow commonly branch again and again, into smaller roots or rootlets ; 
in this way very much increasing the surface by which the plant 
connects itself with the earth, and absorbs moisture from it. The 
whole surface of the root absorbs, so long as it is fresh and new ; 
and the newer the roots and rootlets are, the more freely do they 

3* 


30 


MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 


[LESSON 5. 


imbibe. Accordingly, as long as the plant grows above ground, and 
expands fresh foliage, from which moisture much of the time largely 
escapes into the air, so long it continues to extend and multiply its 
roots in the soil beneath, renewing and increasing the fresh surface 
for absorbing moisture, in proportion to the demand from above. 
And when growth ceases above ground, and the leaves die and fall, 
or no longer act, then the roots generally stop growing, and their 
soft and tender tips harden. From this period, therefore, until 
growth begins anew the next spring, is the best time for transplant- 
ing ; especially for trees and shrubs, and herbs so large that they 
cannot well be removed without injuring the roots very mnch. 

68. We see, on considering a moment, that an herb or a tree 
consists of two great surfaces, with a narrow part or trunk between 
them, one surface spread out in the air, and the other in the soil. 
These two surfaces bear a certain proportion to each other ; and the 

upper draws largely on the lower for 
moisture. Now, when the leaves fall 
from the tree in autumn, the vast sur- 
face exposed to the air is reduced to a 
very small part of what it was before ; 
and the remainder, being covered with 
a firm bark, cannot lose much by evap- 
oration. In common herbs the whole 
surface above ground perishes in au- 
tumn ; and many of the rootlets die at 
the same time, or soon afterwards. 
So that the living vegetable is reduced 
for the time to the smallest compass, 
to the thousandth or hundred-thou- 
sandth part of what it was shortly 
before, and what remains alive rests 
in a dormant state, and may now be 
transplanted without much danger of 
harm. If any should doubt whether 
there is so great a difference between 
the summer and the winter size of 
56 plants, let them compare a lily-bulb 

with the full-grown Lily, or calculate the surface of foliage which 


FIG. 55. Seedling Maple, of the natural size, showing the root-hairs. 56. A bit of the 
n4 of the root magnified. 


LESSON 5.] 


MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 


31 


a tree exposes to the air, as compared with the surface of its 
twigs. 

69. The absorbing surface of roots is very much greater than 
it appears to be, on account of the root-hairs, 
or slender fibrils, which abound on the fresh and 
new parts of roots. These may be seen with 
an ordinary magnifying-glass, or even by the 
naked eye in many cases ; as in the root of a 
seedling Maple (Fig. 55), where the surface is 
thickly clothed with them. They are not root- 
lets of a smaller sort ; but, when more magnified, 
are seen to be mere elongations of the surface 
of the root into slender tubes, which through 
their very delicate walls imbibe moisture from 
the soil with great avidity. They are com- 
monly much longer than those shown in Fig. 
56, which represents only the very tip of a root 
moderately magnified. Small as they are indi- 
vidually, yet the whole amount of absorbing 
surface added to the rootlets by the countless 
numbers of these tiny tubes is very great. 

70. Roots intend- 
ed mainly for ab- 
sorbing branch free- 
ly, and are slender 

or thread-like. When the root is prin- 
cipally of this character it is said to be 
fibrous ; as in Indian Corn (Fig. 42), 
and other grain, and to some extent in 
all annual plants (41). 

71. The Root as a Storehouse of Food, 

In biennial and many perennial herbs 
(41), the root answers an additional 
purpose. In the course of the season it 
becomes a storehouse of nourishment, 
and enlarges or thickens as it receives 
the accumulation. Such roots are said 
to be fleshy ; and different names are applied to them according to 


PTO. 57 58. 59. Forms of fleshy or thickened roots. 


32 


MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 


[LESSON 5. 


their shapes. We may divide them all into two kinds ; 1st, those 
consisting of one main root, and 2d, those without any main root. 

72. The first are merely different shapes of the tap-root ; which is 

Conical, when it thickens most at the crown, or where it joins 
the stem, and tapers regularly downwards to a point, as in the 
Common Beet, the Parsnip, and Carrot (Fig. 58) : 

Turnip-shaped or napiform, when greatly thickened above ; but 
abruptly becoming slender below ; as the Turnip (Fig. 57) : and, 

Spindle-shaped, or fusiform, when thickest in the middle and 
tapering to both ends ; as the common Radish (Fig. 59). 

73. In the second kind, where there 
is no main root, the store of nourishing 
matter may be distributed throughout 
the branches or cluster of roots gener- 
ally, or it may be accumulated in some 
of them, as we see in the tuberous roots 
of the Sweet Potato, the common Peony, 
and the Dahlia (Fig. 60). 

74. All but the last of these illustra- 
trations are taken from biennial plants. 
These grow with a large tuft of leaves 
next the ground, and accumulate nour- 
ishment all the first summer, and store 
up all they produce beyond what is 
wanted at the time in their great root, 
which lives over the winter. We know 

Tery well what use man and other animals make of this store of food, 
in the form of starch, sugar, jelly, and the like. From the second 
year's growth we may learn what use the plant itself makes of it. 
The new shoots then feed upon it, and use it to form with great 
rapidity branches, flower-stalks, blossoms, fruit, and seed ; and, having 
used it up, the whole plant dies when the seeds have ripened. 

75. In the same way the nourishment contained in the separate 
tuberous roots of the Sweet Potato and the Dahlia (Fig 60) is fed 
upon in the spring by the buds of the stem they belong to ; and 
as they are emptied of their contents, they likewise die and decay. 
But meanwhile similar stores of nourishment, produced by the second 
year's vegetation, are deposited in new roots, which live through the 


FIG. 60. Clustered tuberous toots of the Dahlia, with the bottom of the stem they 
belong to. 


LESSON 5.] MOItPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 33 

next winter, and sustain the third spring's growth, and so on ; 
these plants being perennial (41), or lasting year after year, though 
each particular root lives little more than one year. 

76. Many things which commonly pass for roots are not really 
roots at all. Common potatoes are tuberous parts of stems, while 
sweet potatoes are roots, like those of the Dahlia (Fig. CO). The dif- 
ference between them will more plainly appear in the next Lesson. ; 

77. Secondary Roots, So far we have considered only the original 
or primary root, that which proceeded from the lower end of the 
first joint of stem in the plantlet springing from the seed, and its 
subdivisions. We may now remark, that any other part of the stem 
will produce roots just as well, whenever favorably situated for it; 
that is, when covered by the soil, which provides the darkness and 
the moisture which is congenial to them. For these secondary roots, 
as they may be called, partake of the ordinary disposition of the 
organ : they avoid the light, and seek to bury themselves in the, 
ground. In Indian Corn we see roots early striking from the second 
and the succeeding joints of stem under ground, more abundantly 
than from the first joint (Fig. 42). And all stems that keep up a 
connection with the soil such as those which creep along on or 
beneath its surface are sure to strike root from almost every joint. 
So will most branches when bent to the ground, and covered with 
the soil : and even cuttings from the branches of most plants can be 
made to do so, if properly managed. Propagation by buds depends 
upon this. That is, a piece of a plant which has stem and leaves, 
either developed or in the bud, may be made to produce roots, and 
so become an independent plant. 

78. In many plants the disposition to strike root is so strong, that 
they even will spring from the stem above ground. In Indian Corn, 
for example, it is well known that roots grow, not only from all those 
joints round which the earth is heaped in hoeing, but also from those 
several inches above the soil : and other plants produce them from 
stems or branches high in the air. Such roots are called 

79. Aerial Roots, All the most striking examples of these are met 
with, as we might expect, in warmer and damper climates than ours, 
and especially in deep forests which shut out much of the light ; this 
being unfavorable to roots. The Mangrove of tropical shores, which 
occurs on our own southern borders ; the Sugar Cane, from which, 
roots strike just as in Indian Corn, only from higher up the stem ; 
the Pandauus, called Screw Pine (not from its resemblance to a 

S&F 3 


34 MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS [LESSON 5. 

Pine-tree, but because it is like a Pine-apple plant) ; and the famous 
Banyan of India, and some other Fig-trees, furnish the most remark- 
able examples of roots, which strike from the stem or the branches 
in the open air, and at length reach the ground, and bury them- 
selves, when they act in the same manner as ordinary roots. 

80. Some of our own common plants, however, produce small 
aerial rootlets ; not for absorbing nourishment, but for climbing. By 
these rootlets, that shoot out abundantly from the side of the stems 
and branches, the Trumpet Creeper, the Ivy of Europe, and our 
Poison Rhus, here called Poison Ivy, fasten themselves firmly 
to walls, or the trunks of trees, often ascending to a great height. 
Here roots serve the same purpose that tendrils do in the Grape- 
Vine and Virginia Creeper. Another form, and the most aerial of 
all roots, since they never reach the ground, are those of 

81. Epiphytes, or Air-Plants, These are called by the first name 
(which means growing on plants), because they are generally found 
upon the trunks and branches of trees ; not that they draw any 
nourishment from them, for their roots merely adhere to the bark, 
and they flourish just as well upon dead wood or any other con- 
venient support. They are called air-plants because they really 
live altogether upon what they get from the air, as they have no 
connection with the soil. Hundreds of air-plants grow all around 
us without attracting any attention, because they are small or hum- 
ble. Such are the Lichens and Mosses that abound on the trunks 
or boughs of trees, especially on the shaded side, and on old walls, 
fences, or rocks, from which they obtain no nourishment. But this 
name is commonly applied only to the larger, flower-bearing plants 
which live in this way. These belong to warm and damp parts of 
the world, where there is always plenty of moisture in the air. The 
greater part belong to the Orchis family and to the Pine- Apple 
family ; and among them are some of the handsomest flowers known. 
We have two or three flowering air-plants in the Southern States, 
though they are not showy ones. One of them is an Epidendrum 
growing on the boughs of the Great-flowered Magnolia : another is 
the Long- Moss, or Black Moss, so called, although it is no Moss 
at all, which hangs from the branches of Oaks and Pines in all 
the warm parts of the Southern States. (Fig 61 represents both 
of these. The upper is the Epidendrum conopseum ; the lower, the 
Black Moss, Tillandsia usneoides.) 

82. Parasitic Plants exhibit roots under yet another remarkable 


LESSON 5.J 


MORPHOLOGY OF ROOTS. 


85 


aspect. For these are not merely fixed upon other plants, as air- 
plants are, but strike their roots, or what answer to roots, into them, 
and feed on their juices. Not only Moulds and Blights (which are 
plants of very low organization) live in this predacious way, but 
many flowering herbs, and even shrubs. One of the latter is the 
Mistletoe, the seed of which germinates on the bough of the tree 
where it falls or is left by birds ; and the forming root penetrates the 
/bark and engrafts itself into the wood, to which it becomes united as 
' firmly as a natural branch to its parent stem ; and indeed the parasite 
lives just as if it were a branch of the tree it grows and feeds on. 
A most common parasitic herb is the Dodder; which abounds in 
low grounds everywhere in summer, and coils its long and slender 
leafless, yellowish stems resembling tangled threads of yarn 
round and round the stalks of other plants ; wherever they touch 
piercing the bark with minute and very shorfr rootlets in the form of 
suckers, which draw out the nourishing juices of the plants laid hold 
of. Other parasitic plants, like the Beech-drops and Pine-sap, fasten 
their roots under ground upon the roots of neighboring plants, and 
rob them of their rich juices. 


36 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6. 


LESSON VI. 

MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. 

83. THE growth of the stem in length, and the formation of 
branches, have been considered already. Their growth in thick- 
ness we may study to more advantage in a later Lesson. The very 
various forms which they assume will now occupy our attention, 
beginning with 

84. The Forms of Stems and Branches above ground, The principal 

differences as regards size and duration have been mentioned before 
(41); namely, the otyious distinction of plants into herbs, shrubs, 
and trees, which depends upon the duration and size of the stem. 
The stem is accordingly 

Herbaceous, when it dies down to the ground every year, or after 
blossoming. 

Suffrutescent, when the bottom of the stem above the soil is a 
little woody, and inclined to live from year to year. 

Suffruticose, when low stems are decidedly woody below, but 
herbaceous above. 

Fruticose, or shrubby, when woody, living from year to year, and 
of* considerable size, not, however, more than three or four times 
the height of a man. 

Arborescent, when tree-like in appearance, or approaching a tree 
in size. 

Arboreous, when forming a proper tree trunk. 

85. When the stem or branches rise above ground and are ap- 
parent to view, the plant is said to be caulescent (that is, to have a 
caulis or true stem). When there is no evident stem above ground, 
but only leaves or leaf-stalks and flower-stalks, the plant is said to 
be acaulescent, i. e. stemless, as in the Crocus, Bloodroot, common 
Violets, &c., and in the Beet, Carrot, and Radish (Fig. 59), for the 
first season. There is a stem, however, in all such cases, only it 
remains on or beneath the ground, and is sometimes very short. 
Of course leaves and flowers do not arise from the root. These 
concealed sorts of stem we will presently study. 

86. The direction taken by stems, &c., or their mode of growth, 


LESSON 6.] SUCKERS, STOLONS, AND OFFSETS. -37 

gives rise to several terms, which may be briefly mentioned: 
such as 

Diffuse, when loosely spreading in all directions. 

Declined, when turned or bending over to one side. 

Decumbent, reclining on the ground, as if too weak to stand. 

Assurgent or ascending, when rising obliquely upwards. 

Procumbent or prostrate, lying flat on the ground from the first. , 

Creeping, or repent, when prostrate stems on or just beneath the 
ground strike root as they grow ; as does the White Clover, the 
little Partridge-berry, &c. 

Climbing, or scandent, when stems rise by clinging to other ob- 
jects for support, whether by tendrils, as do the Pea, Grape- 
Vine, and Virginia Creeper (Fig. 62) ; by their twisting leaf-stalks, 
as the Virgin's Bower ; or by rootlets, like the Ivy, Poison Ivy, and 
Trumpet Creeper (80). 

Twining, or voluble, when stems rise by coiling themselves spirally 
around other stems or supports ; like the Morning-Glory and the Bean. 

87. Certain forms of stems have received distinct names. The 
jointed stem of Grasses and Sedges is called by botanists a culm ; 
and the peculiar scaly trunk of Palms and the like (Fig. 47) is 
sometimes called a caudex. A few forms of branches the gardener 
distinguishes by particular names ; and they are interesting from 
their serving for the natural propagation of plants from buds, and 
for suggesting ways by which we artificially multiply plants that 
would not propagate themselves without the gardener's aid. These 
are suckers, offsets, stolons, and runners. 

88. Slickers are ascending branches rising from stems under ground, 
such as are produced so abundantly by the Rose, Raspberry, and 
other plants said to multiply " by the root." If we uncover them, 
we see at once the great difference between these subterranean 
branches and real roots. They are only creeping branches under 
ground. Remarking how the upright shoots from these branches 
become separate plants, simply by the dying off of the connecting 
under-ground stems, the gardener expedites the result by cutting 
them through with his spade. That is, he propagates the plant " by 
division." 

89. Stolons are trailing or reclining branches above ground, which 
strike root where they touch the soil, and then send up a vigorous 
shoot, which has roots of its own, and becomes an independent plant 
when the connecting part dies, as it does after a while. The Currant 

4 


38 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS A.ND BRANCHES. |_LESSON (X 

and the Gooseberry naturally multiply in this way, as well as by 
suckers (which we see are just the same thing, only the connecting 
part is concealed under ground). They must have suggested the 
operation of layering, or bending down and covering with earth 
branches which do not naturally make stolons ; and after they have 
taken root, as they almost always will, the gardener cuts through 
the connecting stem, and so converts a rooting branch into a sepa- 
rate plant. 

90. Offsets, like those of the Houseleek, are only short stolons, 
with a crown of leaves at the end. 

91. Runners, of which the Strawberry presents the most familiar 
example, are a long and slender, tendril-like, leafless form of creep- 
ing branches. Each runner, after having grown to its full length ? 
strikes root from the tip, and fixes it to the ground, then forms a bud 
there, which develops into a tuft of leaves, and so gives rise to a new 
plant, which sends out new runners to act in the same way. In this 
manner a single Strawberry plant will spread over a large space, or 
produce a great number of plants, in the course of the summer ; all 
connected at first by the slender runners -, but these die in the 
following winter, if not before, and leave the plants as so many 
separate individuals. 

92. Tendrils are branches of a very slender sort, like runners, not 
destined like them for propagation, and therefore always destitute 


of buds or leaves, but intended for climbing. Those of the Grape- 
Yine, of the Virginia Creeper (Fig. 62), and of the Cucumber and 

FIG, 62. Piece of the stem of Virginia Creeper, bearing a leaf and a tendril. 63. Tips 
of a tendril, about the natural size, showing the disks by which they hold fast to walls, &,c. 


LESSON 6.] RUNNERS, TENDRILS, SPINES. 89 

Squash tribe are familiar illustrations. The tendril commonly grows 
straight and outstretched until it reaches some neighboring support, 
such as a stem, when its apex hooks around it to secure a hold ?. 
then the whole tendril shortens itself by coiling up spirally, and so 
draws the shoot of the growing plant nearer to the supporting object. 
When the Virginia Creeper climbs the side of a building or the 
smooth bark of a tree, which the tendrils cannot lay hold of in the 
usual way, their tips expand into a flat disk or sucker (Fig. 62. 63), 
which adheres very firmly to the wall or bark, enabling the plant to 
climb over and cover such a surface, as readily as the Ivy does by 
means of its sucker-like little rootlets. The same result is effected 
by different organs, in the one case by branches in the form of ten- 
drils ; in the other, by roots. 

93. Tendrils, however, are not always branches ; some are leaves, 
or parts of leaves, as those of the Pea (Fig. 20). Their nature in 
each case is to be learned from their position, whether it be that of 
a leaf or of a branch. In the same way 

94. Spines OF Thorns sometimes represent leaves, as in the Bar- 
berry, where their nature is shown by their situation outside of an 
axillary bud or branch. In other words, here they have a bud in 
their axil, and are therefore leaves ; so we shall have to mention 
them in another place. Most commonly spines are stunted and 
hardened branches, arising from the axils of leaves, as in the Haw- 
thorn and Pear. A neglected Pear-tree or Plum-tree shows every 
gradation between ordinary branches and thorns. Thorns sometimes 
branch, their branches partaking of the same spiny character : in 
this way those on the trunks of Honey- Locust trees (produced from 
adventitious buds, 58) become exceedingly complicated and horrid. 
The thorns on young shoots of the Honey-Locust may appear some- 
what puzzling at first view ; for they are situated some distance 
above the axil of the leaf. Here the thorn comes from the upper- 
most of several supernumerary buds (59). Prickles, such as those 
of the Rose and Blackberry, must not be confounded with thorns: 
these have not the nature of branches, and have no connection with 
the wood ; but are only growths of the bark. When we strip off 
the bark, the prickles go with it. 

95. Still stranger forms of stems and branches than any of these 
are met with in some tribes of plants, such as Cactuses (Fig. 76). 
These will be more readily understood after we have considered 
some of the commoner forms of 


40 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6. 

96. Subterranean Stems and Branches, These are very numerous 

and various ; but they are commonly overlooked, or else confounded 
with roots. From their situation they are out of the sight of the 
superficial observer : but if sought lor and examined, they will well 
repay the student's attention. For the vegetation that is carried on 
under ground is hardly less varied, and no less interesting and im, 
portant, than that which meets our view above ground. All their 
lorms may be referred to four principal kinds ; namely, the Rhizo- 
ma or Rootstock, the Tuber, the Corm, and the Bulb. 

97. The RootstOCk, or Rhizoma, in its simplest form, is merely a 
creeping stem or branch (80) growing beneath the surface of the 
soil, or partly covered by it. Of this kind are the so-called creeping, 
running, or scaly roots, such as those by which the Mint (Fig. 64), 
the Scotch Rose, the Couch-grass or Quick-grass, and many other 
plants, spread so rapidly and widely, " by the root," as it is said. 


That these are really stems, and not roots, is evident from the way 
in which they grow; from their consisting of a succession of joints; 
and from the leaves which they bear on each joint (or node, as 
the botanist calls the place from which leaves arise), in the form of 
small scales, just like the lowest ones on the upright stem next the 
ground. Like other stems, they also produce buds in the axils of 
these scales, showing the scales to be leaves ; whereas real roots 
bear neither leaves nor axillary buds. Placed, as they are, in the 
damp and dark soil, such stems naturally produce roots, just as the 
creeping stem does where it lies on the surface of the ground ; but 
the whole appearance of these roots, their downward growth, and 
their mode of branching, are very different from that of the subter- 
ranean stem they spring from. 

98. It is easy to see why plants with these running rootstocks take 
such rapid and wide possession of the soil, often becoming great 
pests to farmers, and why they are so hard to get rid of. They are 

FIG. 64. Rootstocks, or creeping subterranean branches, of the Peppermint. 


LESSON 6.] SUBTERRANEAN FORMS : ROOTSTOCKS. 41 

always perennials (41) ; the subterranean shoots live over the first 
winter, if not longer, and are provided with vigorous buds at every 
joint. Some of these buds grow in spring into upright stems, bearing 
foliage, to elaborate the plant's crude food into nourishment, and at 
length produce blossoms for reproduction by seed ; while many oth- 
ers, fed by nourishment supplied from above, form a new generation 
of subterranean shoots ; and this is repeated over and over in the 
course of the season or in succeeding years. Meanwhile as the sub- 
terranean shoots increase in number, the older ones, connecting the 
series of generations into one body, die off year by year, liberating 
the already rooted side-branches as so many separate plants ; and 
so on indefinitely. Cutting these running rootstocks into pieces, 
therefore, by the hoe or the plough, far from destroying the plant, 
only accelerates the propagation ; it converts one many-branched 
plant into a great number of separate individuals. Even if you 
divide the shoots into as many pieces as there are joints of stem, 
each piece (Fig. 65) is already a plantlet, with its roots and with a 
bud in the axil of its scale-like leaf (either latent or apparent), and 
having prepared nourishment enough in the bit of 
stem to develop this bud into a leafy stem ; and so 
a single plant is all the more speedily converted 
into a multitude. Such plants as the Quick- 
grass accordingly realize the fable of the Hy- 
dra ; as fast as one of its many branches is cut K 
off, twice as many, or more, spring up in its stead. Whereas, when 
the subterranean parts are only roots, cutting away the stem com- 
pletely destroys the plant, except in the rather rare cases where the 
root produces adventitious buds (58). 

99. The more nourishment rootstocks contain, the more readily do 
separate portions, furnished with buds, become independent plants. 
It is to such underground stems, thickened with a large amount of 
starch, or some similar nourishing matter stored up in their tissue, 
that the name of rhizoma or rootstock is commonly applied ; such, 
for example, as those of the Sweet Flag or Calamus, of Ginger, of Iris 
or Flower-de-luce (Fig. 133), and of the Solomon's Seal (Fig. 66). 

100. The rootstocks of the common sorts of Iris of the gardens 
usually lie on the surface of the ground, partly uncovered ; and 
they bear real leaves (Fig. 133), which closely overlap each other; 

FFG. 65. A piece of the running rootstock of the Peppermint, with its node or joint, and 
an axillary bud ready to grow. 

A. * 


42 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6. 

the joints (i. e. the internodes, or spaces between each leaf) being 
very short. As the leaves die, year by year, and decay, a scar 
left in the form of a ring marks the place where each leaf was 
attached. Instead of leaves, rootstocks buried under ground com- 
monly bear scales, like those of the Mint (Fig. 64), which are im- 
perfect leaves. 


101. Some rootstocks are marked with large round scars of a 
different sort, like those of the Solomon's Seal (Fig. 66), which gave 
this name to the plant, from their looking something like the impres- 
sion of a seal upon wax. Here the rootstock sends up every spring 
an herbaceous stalk or stem, which bears the foliage and flowers, 
and dies in autumn ; and the seal is the circular scar left by the 
death and separation of the dead stalk from the living rootstock. 
As but one of these is formed each year, they mark the limits of a 
year's growth. The bud at the end of the rootstock in the figure, 
which was taken in summer, will grow the next spring into the stalk 
of the season, which, dying in autumn, will leave a similar scar, while 
another bud will be formed farther on, crowning the ever-advancing 
summit or growing end of the stem. 

102. As each year's growth of stem, in all 
these cases, makes its own roots, it soon becomes 
independent of the older parts. And after a 
certain age, a portion dies off behind, every 
year, about as fast as it increases at the grow- 
ing end ; death following life with equal and 
certain step, with only a narrow interval be- 
tween. In vigorous plants of Solomon's Seal 
or Iris, the living rootstock is several inches or 
a foot in length ; while in the short rootstock of 

FIG. 66. Rootstock of Solomon's Seal, with the bottom of the stalk of the season, and th 
*ud for the next year's growth. 
FIG. 67. The very short rootstock and bud of a Trillium or Birthroot. 


LESSON 6.] SUBTERRANEAN FORMS : TUBERS. 


43 


Trillium or Birthroot (Fig. 67) life is reduced to a very narrow- 
span, only an inch or less intervening between death beneath and 
young life in the strong bud annually renewed at the summit. 

103. A Tuber is a thickened portion of a rootstock. When slender 
subterranean branches, like those of the Quick-grass or Mint (Fig. 
64), become enlarged at the growing end by the accumulation there 
of an abundance of solid nourishing matter, tubers are produced, like 
those of the Nut-grass of the Southern States (which accordingly be- 
comes a greater pest even than the Quick-grass), and of the Jerusalem 
Artichoke, and the Potato. The whole formation may be seen at a 
glance in Figure 68, which represents the subterranean growth of a 
Potato-plant, and shows the tubers in all their stages, from shoots 
jti-t beginning to enlarge at the tip, up to fully-formed potatoes. 
And Fig. 69, one of the forming tubers moderately magnified, 
plainly shows the leaves of this thickening shoot, in the form of little 
scales. It is under these scales that the eyes appear (Fig. 70) : 
and these are evidently axillary buds (43). 


104. Let us glance for a moment at the economy or mode of life 
of the Potato-plant, and similar vegetables, as shown in the mor- 

FIG, 68. Forming tubers of the Potato. 69. One of the very young potatoes, moderately 
magnified. 70- Slice of a portion through an eye, more magnified. 


44 MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6. 

phology of the branches, that is, in the different forms they appear 
under, and the purposes they serve. The Potato-plant has three 
principal forms of branches: 1. Those that bear ordinary leaves, 
expanded in the air, to digest what they gather from it and what 
the roots gather from the soil, and convert it into nourishment. 
2. After a while a second set of branches at the summit of the 
plant bear flowers, which form fruit and seed out of a portion of the 
nourishment which the leaves have prepared. 3- But a larger part 
of this nourishment, while in a liquid state, is carried down the stem, 
into a third sort of branches under ground, and accumulated in the 
form of starch at their extremities, which become tubers, or deposi- 
tories of prepared solid food; just as in the Turnip, Carro!, 
Dahlia, &c. (Fig. 57 - 60), it is deposited in the root. The use 
of the store of food is obvious enough. In the autumn the whole 
plant dies, except the seeds (if it formed them) and the tubers ; and 
the latter are left disconnected in the ground. Just as that small 
portion of nourishing matter which is deposited in the seed (3, and 
Fig. 34) feeds the embryo when it germinates, so the much larger 
portion deposited in the tuber nourishes its buds, or eyes, when they 
likewise grow, the next spring, into new plants. And the great 
supply enables them to shoot with a greater vigor at the beginning, 
and to produce a greater amount of vegetation than the seedling 
plant could do in the same space of time ; which vegetation in turn 
may prepare and store up, in the course of a few weeks or months, 
the largest quantity of solid nourishing material, in a form most 
available for food. Taking advantage of this, man has transported 
the Potato from the cool Andes of South America to other cool cli- 
mates, and makes it yield him a copious supply of food, especially in 
countries where the season is too short, or the summer's heat too 
little, for profitably cultivating the principal grain-plants. 

105. All the sorts of subterranean stems or branches distinguished 
by botanists pass into one another by gradations. We have seen 
how nearly related the tuber is to the rootstock, and there are many 
cases in which it is difficult to say which is the proper name to use. 
So likewise, 

10G. Til form, OF Solid Bulb, like that of the Indian Turnip and 
the Crocus (Fig. 71), is just a very short and thick rootstock; as 
will be seen by comparing Fig. 71 with Fig. 67. Indeed, it grows 
so very little in length, that it is often much broader than long, as 
in the Indian Turnip, and the Cyclamen of our greenhouses. Corms 


LESSON 6.] 


SUBTERRANEAN FORMS : BULBS. 


45 


are usually upright, producing buds on their upper surface and 

roots from the lower. But (as \ve see in the Crocus here figured) 

buds may shoot from just above any of the faint cross lines or 

rings, which are the scars left by the death 

and decay of the sheathing bases of former 

leaves. That is, these are axillary buds. In 

these extraordinary (just as in ordinary) stems, 

the buds are either axillary or terminal. The 

whole mode of growth is just the same, only 

the corm does not increase in length faster 

than it does in thickness. After a few years 

some of the buds grow into new corms at the 

expense of the old one ; the young ones taking 

the nourishment from the parent, and storing 

up a large part of it in their own tissue. 

When exhausted in this way, as Avell as by 

flowering, the old corm dies, and its shrivelled 

and decaying remains may be found at the side of or beneath the 

present generation, as we see in the Crocus (Fig. 71). 

1 07. The corm of a Crocus is commonly covered with a thin and 
dry, scaly or fibroua husk, consisting of the dead remains of the bases 
of former leaves. When this husk consists of many scales, there is 
scarcely any distinction left between the corm and 

108. The Bulb. This is an extremely short subterranean stem r 
usually much broader than high, producing roots from underneath, 
and covered with leaves or the bases of leaves, in the form of thick- 
ened scales. It is, therefore, the same as a corm, or solid bulb, only 
it bears an abundance of leaves or scales, which make up the greater 
part of its bulk. Or we may regard it as a bud, with thick and 
fleshy scales. Compare a Lily-bulb (Fig. 73) with the strong scaly 
buds of the Hickory and Horsechestnut (Fig. 48 and 49), and the 
resemblance will be apparent enough. 

109. Bulbs serve the same purpose as tubers, rootstocks, or corms. 
The main difference is, that in these the store of food for future 
growth is deposited in the stem ; while in the bulb, the greater part 
is deposited in the bases of the leaves, changing them into thick 
scales, which closely overlap or enclose one another, because the 
etem does not elongate enough to separate them. That the scales 


FIG. 71. Conn or solid bulb of a Crocus. 72. The same, cut through lengthwise. 


46 


MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6. 


of the bulb are the bases of leaves may be seen at once by follow- 
ing any of the ground-leaves (root-leaves as they are incorrectly 

called) down to their 
origin in the bulb. 
Fig. 75 represents 
one of them from 
the White Lily ; the 
thickened base, which 
makes a scale, being 
cut off below, to show 
its thickness. After 

73 74 having lasted its time 

and served its purpose as foliage, the green leaf dies, down to the 
thickened base, which remains as a scale of the bulb. And year 
after year, as the bulb grows from the centre, to produce the vege- 
tation and the flowers of the season, the outer scales yield up their 
store of nourishment for the purpose, and perish. 

110. Each scale, being a leaf, may have a bud in its axil. Some 
of these buds grow into leafy and flowering stems 

above ground : others grow into new bulbs, feeding 
on the parent, and at length destroying it, in the same 
way that corms do, as just described (106). 

111. When the scales are broad and enwrap all 
that is within so as to form a succession of coats, one 
over another, the bulb is said to be tunicated or coated. 
The Tulip, Hyacinth, Leek, and Onion afford such 
familiar examples of coated bulbs that no figure is 
needed. When the scales are narrow and separate, 
as in the Lily (Fig. 73), the bulb is said to be scaly. 

112. BlllbletS are small bulbs formed above ground 
on some plants ; as in the axils of the leaves of the 
common bulbiferous Lily of the gardens, and often in 
the flower-clusters of the Leek and Onion. They are 
plainly nothing but bulbs with thickened scales. They 
never grow into branches, but detach themselves when 75 

full grown, and fall to the ground, to take root there and form 
uew plants. 

113. From the few illustrations already given, attentive students 

FIG. 73. Bulb of the Meadow or Canada Lily. 74. The same, cut through lengthwise. 
FIG. 75. A lower leaf of White Lily, with its base under ground thickened into a oulb- 
oale. 


LESSON G.] CONSOLIDATED FORMS OF VEGETATION. 47 

can hardly fail to obtain a good idea of what is meant by morphology 
in Botany ; and they will be able to apply its simple principles for 
themselves to all forms of vegetation. They will find it very inter- 
esting to identify all these various subterranean forms with the com- 
mon plan of vegetation above ground. There is the same structure, 
and the same mode of growth in reality, however different in ap- 
pearance, and however changed the form, to suit particular conditions, 
or to accomplish particular ends. It is plain to see, already, that 
the plant is constructed according to a plan, a very simple one, 
which is exhibited by all vegetables, by the extraordinary no less 
than by the ordinary kinds ; and that the same organ may appear 
under a great many different shapes, and fulfil very different offices. 

114. These extraordinary shapes are not confined to subterra- 
nean vegetation. They are all repeated in various sorts of fleshy 
plants ; in the Houseleek, Aloe, Agave (Fig. 82), and in the many 
and strange shapes which the Cactus family exhibit (Fig. 76) ; 
shapes which imitate rootstocks, tubers, corms, &c. above ground. 
All these we may regard as 

115. Consolidated Forms of Vegetation, While ordinary plants are 
constructed on the plan of great spread of surface (131), these 
are formed on the plan of the least possible amount of surface in 
proportion to their bulk. The Cereus genus of Cactuses, for ex- 
ample, consisting of solid columnar trunks (Fig. 76, 5), may be 
likened to rootstocks. A green rind serves the purpose of foliage ; 
but the surface is as nothing compared with an ordinary leafy plant 
of the same bulk. Compare, for instance, the largest Cactus known, 
the Giant Cereus of the Gila River (Fig. 76, in the background), 
which rises to the height of fifty or sixty feet, with a common leafy 
tree of the same height, such as that in Fig. 54, and estimate how 
vastly greater, even without the foliage, the surface of the latter, 
is than that of the former. Compare, in the same view, an Opuntia 
or Prickly-Pear Cactus, its stem and branches formed of a succes- 
sion of thick and flattened joints (Fig. 76, ), which may be likened 
to tubers, or an Epiphyllum (e?), with shorter and flatter joints, with 
an ordinary leafy shrub or herb of equal size. And finally, in 
Melon- Cactuses or Echinocactus (e), with their globular or bulb-like 
shapes, we have plants in the compactest shape ; their spherical fig- 
ure being such as to expose the least possible amount of its bulk 
to the air. 

116. These consolidated plants are evidently adapted and designed 


48 


MORPHOLOGY OF STEMS AND BRANCHES. [LESSON 6. 


for very dry regions ; and in such only are they found. Similarly, 
bulbous and corm-bearing plants, and the like, are examples of a 
form of vegetation which in the growing season may expand a large 
surface to the air and light, while during the period of rest the 
living vegetable is reduced to a globe, or solid form of the least 
possible surface ; and this is protected by its outer coats of dead 
and dry scales, as well as by its situation under ground. Such 
plants exhibit another and very similar adaptation to a season of 
drought. And they mainly belong to countries (such as Southern 
Africa, and parts of the interior of Oregon and California) which 
have a long hot season during which little or no rain falls, when, 
their stalks and foliage above and their roots beneath being early cut 
off by drought, the plants rest securely in their compact bulbs, filled 
with nourishment, and retaining their moisture with great tenacity, 
until the rainy season comes round. Then they shoot forth leaves 
and flowers with wonderful rapidity, and what was perhaps a desert 
of arid sand becomes green with foliage and gay with blossoms, 
almost in a day. This will be more perfectly understood when the 
nature and use of foliage have been more fully considered. (Fig. 76 
represents several forms of Cactus vegetation.) 


LESSON 7.] MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES. 49 


LESSON VII. 

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES. 

117. IN describing the subterranean forms of the stem, we have 
been led to notice already some of the remarkable forms under 
which leaves occur ; namely, as scales, sometimes small and thin, as 
those of the rootstocks of the Quick-grass, or the Mint (Fig. 64), 
sometimes large and thick, as those of bulbs (Fig. 73 - 75), where 
they are commonly larger than the stem they belong to. We have 
seen, too, in the second Lesson, the seed-leaves (or cotyledons) in 
forms as unlike foliage as possible ; and in the third Lesson we have 
spoken of bud-scales as a sort of leaves. So that the botanist recog- 
nizes the leaf under other forms than that of foliage. 

118. We may call foliage the natural form of leaves, and look 
upon the other sorts as special forms, as transformed leaves: by 
this term meaning only that what would have been ordinary leaves 
under other circumstances (as, for instance, those on shoots of Mint, 
Fig. 64, had these grown upright in the air, instead of creeping under 
ground) are developed in special forms to serve some particular 
purpose. For the Great Author of Nature, having designed plants 
upon one simple plan, just adapts this plan to all cases. So, when- 
ever any special purpose is to be accomplished, no new instruments 
or organs are created for it, but one of the three general organs of 
the vegetable, root, stem, or leaf, is made to serve the purpose, and 
is adapted to it by taking some peculiar form. 

119. It is the study of the varied forms under this view that con- 
stitutes Morphology (61), and gives to this part of Botany such great 
interest. We have already seen stems and roots under a great 
variety of forms. But leaves appear under more various and widely 
different forms, and answer a greater variety of purposes, than do 
both the other organs of the plant put together. We have to con- 
sider, then, leaves as foliage, and leaves as something else than foliage. 
As we have just been noticing cases of leaves that are not foliage, 
we may consider these first, and enumerate the principal kinds. 

120. Leaves as Depositories Of Food, Of these we have had plenty 
of instances in the seed-leaves, such as those of the Almond, Apple- 

.5 


50 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES. 


[LESSON 7. 


seed (Fig. 11), Beech (Fig. 13-15), the Bean and Pea (Fig. 16- 
20), the Oak (Fig. 21, 22), and Horsechestnut (Fig. 23, 24) ; where 
the food upon which the plantlet feeds when it springs from the 
seed is stored up in its cotyledons or first leaves. And we have 
noticed how very unlike foliage such leaves are. Yet in some case?, 

as in the Pumpkin (Fig. 10), they 
actually grow into green leaves as 
they get rid. of their burden. 

121. Bulb-Scales (Fig. 73-75) of- 
fer another instance, which we were 
considering at the close of the last 
Lesson. Here a part of the nourish- 
ment prepared in the foliage of one 
year is stored up in the scales, or 
subterranean thickened leaves, for the 
early growth and flowering of the next 
year ; and this enables the flowers to 
appear before the leaves, or as soon 
as they do ; as in Hyacinths, Snow- 
drops, and many bulbous plants. 

122. Leaves as Bud-scales, &c, True 

to its nature, the stem produces 
leaves even under ground, where 
they cannot serve as foliage, and 
where often, as on rootstocks and 
tubers (97 - 103), they are not of 
any use that we know of. In such 
cases they usually appear as thin 
scales. So the first leaves of the 
stems of herbs, as they sprout from 
the ground, are generally mere scales, 
such as those of an Asparagus shoot ; 
and such are the first leaves on the 
stem of the seedling Oak (Fig. 22) 
and the Pea (Fig. 20). Similar 
scales, however, often serve an im- 
portant purpose; as when they form the covering of buds, where 
they protect the tender parts within (44). That bud-scales are 

FIG. 77. Leaves of a developing bud of the Low Sweet Buckeye (Genius parviflora), 
showing a nearly complete set of gradations from a scale to a compound leaf of five leaflets. 


LESSON 7.] SPINES, TENDRILS, AND PITCHERS. 


51 


leaves is plainly shown, in many cases, by the gradual transition 
between them and the first foliage of the shoot. The Common Lilac 
and the Shell-bark Hickory are good instances 
of the sort. But the best illustration is fur- 
nished by the Low Sweet Buckeye of the 
Southern States, which is often cultivated as 
an ornamental shrub. From one and the same 
growing bud we may often find all the grada- 
tions which are shown in Fig. 77. 

123. Leaves as Spines occur in several plants. 
The most familiar instance is that of the Com- 
mon Barberry. In almost any summer shoot, 
most of the gradations may be seen between the 
ordinary leaves, with sharp bristly teeth, and 
leaves which are reduced to a branching spine 
or thorn, as shown in Fig. 78. The fact that 
the spines of the Barberry produce a leaf-bud 
in their axil also proves them to be leaves. 

124. Leaves as Tendrils are to be seen in the 
Pea and the Vetch (Fig. 20, 127), where the 
upper part of each leaf becomes a tendril, which 

the plant uses to 

climb by ; and in 

one kind of Vetch the whole leaf is 

such a tendril. 

1 25. Leaves as Pitchers, or hollow tubes, 

are familiar to us in the common Pitcher- 
plant or Side-saddle Flower (Sarracania, 
Fig. 79) of our bogs. These pitchers 
are generally half-full of water, in which 
flies and other insects are drowned, often 
in such numbers as to make a rich 
manure for the plant, no doubt ; though 
we can hardly imagine this to be the 
design of the pitcher. Nor do we per- 
ceive here any need of a contrivance 
to hold water, since the roots of these 
plants are always well supplied by the wet bogs where they grow. 


FIG. 78. Summer shoot of Barberry, showing the transition of leaves into spines. 
FIG. 79. Leaf of Sarracenia purpurea, entire, and another with the upper part cut off. 


52 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES. 


[LESSON 


126. Leaves as Fly-traps, Insects are caught in another way, and 
more expertly, by the most extraordinary of all the plants of this 

country, the Dionsea or Venus's Fly- 
trap, .which grows in the sandy bogs 
around Wilmington, North Carolina. 
Here (Fig. 81) each leaf bears at its 
summit an appendage which opens and 
shuts, in shape something like a steel- 
trap, and operating much like one. For 
when open, as it commonly is when the 
sun shines, no sooner does a fly alight 
on its surface, and brush against any 
one of the several long bristles that grow 
there, than the trap suddenly closes, 
often capturing the intruder, pressing it 
all the harder for its struggles, and com- 
monly depriving it of life. If the fly 
escapes, the trap soon slowly opens, and 
is ready for another capture. When retained, the insect is after a 
time moistened by a secretion from minute glands of the inner sur- 
face, and is apparently digested ! How such 
and various other movements are made by 
plants, some as quick as in this case, 
others very slow, but equally wonderful, 
must be considered in a future Lesson. 

127. Leaves serving both Ordinary and 

Special Purposes, Let us now remark, that 
the same leaf frequently answers its gen- 
eral purpose, as foliage, and some special 
purpose besides. For example, in the Dio- 
naea, the lower part of the leaf, and prob- 
ably the whole of it, acts as foliage, while the 
appendage serves its mysterious purpose 
as a fly-catcher. In the Pea and Vetch 
(Fig. 20, 127), the lower part of the leaf 
is foliage, the upper a tendril. In the Pitcher-plants of the Indian 
Archipelago (Nepenthes, Fig. 80) which are not rare in conserva- 
tories, the lower part of the leaf is expanded and acts as foliage ; 

FIG. 80. Leaf of Nepenthes: leaf, tendri\, and pitcher combined. 

FIG. 81. Leaves of Dioniea : the trap in one of them open, in the others closed. 


LESSON 7.] THICKENED AND FLESHY LEAVES. 


53 


farther on, it is contracted into a tendril, enabling the plant to climb ; 
the end of this tendril is then expanded into a pitcher, of five or 
six inches in length, and on the end of this is a lid, which exactly 
closes the mouth of the pitcher until after it is full grown, when the 
lid opens by a hinge ! But the whole is only one leaf. 

128. So in the root-leaves of the Tulip or the Lily (Fig. 75), 
while the green leaf is preparing nourishment throughout the grow- 
ing season, its base under ground is thickened into a reservoir for 
Storing up a good part of the nourishment for next year's use. 

129. Finally, the whole leaf often serves both as foliage, to pre- 
pare nourishment, and as a depository to store it up. This takes 
place in all fleshy-leaved plants, such as the Houseleek, the Ice- 
plant, and various sorts of Mesembryanthemum, in the Live-for-ever 
of the gardens to some extent, and very strikingly in the Aloe, and 
in the Century-plant. In the latter it is only the green surface of 
these large and thick leaves (of three to five feet in length on a 
strong plant, and often three to six inches thick near the base) which 
acts as foliage ; the whole interior is white, like the interior of a 
potato, and almost as heavily loaded with starch and other nourish- 
ing matter. (Fig. 82 represents a young Century-plant, Agave 
Americana.) 


5* 


54 MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8. 

LESSON VIII. 

MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. 

130. HAVING in the last Lesson glanced at some of the special 
or extraordinary forms and uses of leaves, we now return to leaves 
in their ordinary condition, namely, as foliage. We regard this as 
the natural state of leaves. For although they may be turned to 
account in other and very various ways, as we have just seen, 
still their proper office in vegetation is to serve as foliage. In this 
view we may regard 

131. Leaves as a Contrivance for Increasing the Surface of that large 

part of the plant which is exposed to the light and the air. This is 
shown by their expanded form, and ordinarily slight thickness in 
comparison with their length and breath. While a Melon-Cactus 
(115, Fig. 76) is a striking example of a plant with the least pos- 
sible amount of suiface for its bulk, a repeatedly branching leafy 
herb or tree presents the largest possible extent of surface to the 
air. The actual amount of surface presented by a tree in full leaf 
is much larger than one would be apt to suppose. Thus, the Wash- 
ington Elm at Cambridge a tree of no extraordinary size was 
some years ago estimated to produce a crop of seven millions of 
leaves, exposing a surface of 200,000 square feet, or about five 
acres, of foliage. 

132. What is done by the foliage we shall have to explain in 
another place. Under the present head we are to consider ordinary 
leaves as to their parts and their shapes. 

133. The Parts of the Leaf, The principal part of a leaf is the 
blade, or expanded portion, one face of which naturally looks toward 
the sky, the other towards the earth. The blade is often raised on 
a stalk of its own, and on each side of the stalk at its base there is 
sometimes an appendage called a stipule. A complete leaf, there- 
fore consists of a blade (Fig. 83, b}, a foot-stalk or leaf-stalk, called 
the petiole (p), and a pair of stipules (st). See also Fig. 136. 

134. It is the blade which we are now to describe. This, as 
being the essential and conspicuous part, we generally regard as the 
leaf: and it is only when we have to particularize, that we speak of 
the blade, or lamina, of the leaf. 


LESSON 8.] 


THEIR VENATION. 


55 


135. Without here entering upon the subject of the anatomy of 
the leaf, we may remark, that leaves consist of two sorts of mate- 
rial, viz.: 1. the green pulp, or parenchyma; and 2. the fibrous 
framework, or skeleton, which extends throughout the soft greer; 
pulp and supports it, giving the leaf a strength and firmness which 
it would not otherwise possess. Besides, the whole surface is cov- 
ered with a transparent skin, called the 

epidermis* like that which covers the 
surface of the shoots, &c. 

136. The framework consists of 
wood, a fibrous and tough material 
which runs from the stem through the 
leaf-stalk, when there is one, in the 
form of parallel threads or bundles of 
fibres ; and in the blade these spread 
out in a horizontal direction, to form 
the ribs and veins of the leaf. The 
stout main branches of the framework 
(like those in Fig. 50) are called the 
ribs. When there is only one, as in 
Fig. 83, &c., or a middle one decid- 
edly larger than the rest, it is called 

the midrib. The smaller divisions are termed veins ; and their 
still smaller subdivisions, veinlets. 

137. The latter subdivide again and again, until they become so 
fine that they are invisible to the naked eye. The fibres of which 
they are composed are hollow ; forming tubes by which the sap is 
brought into the leaves and carried to every part. The arrangement 
of the framework in the blade is termed the 

138. Venation, or mode of veining. This corresponds so complete- 
ly with the general shape of the leaf, and with the kind of division' 
when the blade is divided or lobed, that the readiest way to study 
and arrange the forms of leaves is first to consider their veining. 

139. Various as it appears in different leaves, the veining is all 
reducible to two principal kinds ; namely, the parallel-veined and the 
netted-veined. 

140. In netted-veined (also called reticulated) leaves, the veins 
branch off from* the main rib or ribs, divide into finer and finer 


FIG. 81 Leaf of the Quince: b, blade ; p, petiole ; st, stipules. 


56 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8- 


veinlets, and the branches unite with each other to form meshes of 
network. That is, they anastomose, as anatomists say of the veins 
and arteries of the body. The Quince-leaf, in Fig. 83, shows this 
kind of veining in a leaf with a single rib. The Maple, Basswood, 
and Buttonwood (Fig. 50) show it in leaves of several ribs. 

141. In parallel-veined leaves, the whole framework consists of 
slender ribs or veins, which run parallel with each other, or nearly 
so, from the base to the point of the leaf, not dividing and sub- 
dividing, nor forming meshes, except by very minute cross-veinlets. 
The leaf of any grass, or that of the Lily of the Valley (Fig. 84) 
will furnish a good illustration. 

142. Such simple, parallel veins Linnaeus, to distinguish them 

called nerves, and parallel-veined leaver 
are still commonly called nerved leaves * 
while those of the other kind are said to 
be veined; terms which it is conven- 
ient to use, although these " nerves " and 
" veins " are all the same thing, and have 
no likeness to the nerves of animals. 

143. Netted-veined leaves belong tc 
plants which have a pair of seed-leaves 
or cotyledons, such as the Maple (Fig. 1 
-7), Beech (Fig. 15), Pea and Bean 
(Fig. 18, 20), and most of the illustra- 
tions in the first and second Lessons. 
While parallel-veined or nerved leaves 
belong to plants with one cotyledon or 
true seed-leaf; such as the Iris (Fig. 134) 
and Indian Corn (Fig. 42). So that a mere glance at the leaves 
of the tree or herb enables one to tell what the structure of the 
embryo is, and to refer the plant to one or the other of these two 
grand classes, which is a great convenience. For generally when 
plants differ from each other in some one important respect, they 
differ correspondingly in other respects as well. 

144. Parallel- veined leaves are of two sorts ; one kind, and the 
commonest, having the ribs or nerves all running from the base to 
the point of the leaf, as in the examples already given ; while in 
another kind they run from a midrib to the margin ; as in the com- 


FIG. 84. A (parallel-veined) leaf of the Lily of the Valley. 


LESSON 8.] THEIR FORMS AS TO GENERAL OUTLINE. 57 

mon Pickerel-weed of our ponds, in the Banana (Fig. 47), and many 
similar plants of warm climates. 

145. Netted-veined leaves are also of two sorts, as is shown in 
the examples already referred to. In one case the veins all rise 
from a single rib (the midrib), as in Fig. 83. Such leaves are called 
feather -veined or pinnately-veined ; both terms meaning the same 
thing, namely, that the veins are arranged on the sides of the rib 
like the plume of a feather on each side of the shaft. 

146. In the other case (as in the Button wood, Fig. 50, Maple, 
&c,), the veins branch off from three, five, seven, or nine ribs, which 
spread from the top of the leaf-stalk, and run through the blade like 
the toes of a web-footed bird. Hence these are said to be palmately 
or digitately veined, or (since the ribs diverge like rays from a 
centre) radiate-veined. 

147. Since the general outline of leaves accords with the frame- 
work or skeleton, it is plain that feather-veined leaves will incline to 
elongated shapes, or at least will be longer than broad ; while in 
radiate-veined leaves more rounded forms are to be expected. A 
glance at the following figures shows this. Whether we consider 
the veins of the leaf to be adapted to the shape of the blade, or the 
green pulp to be moulded to the framework, is not very material. 
Either way, the outline of each leaf corresponds with the mode of 
spreading, the extent, and the relative length of the veins. Thus, in 
oblong or elliptical leaves of the feather-veined sort (Fig. 87, 88), 
the principal veins are nearly equal in length ; while in ovate and 
heart-shaped leaves (Fig. 89, 90), those below the middle are 
longest; and in leaves which widen upwards (Fig. 91 94), the 
veins above the middle are longer than the others. 

148. Let us pass on, without particular reference to the kind of 
veining, to enumerate the principal ) 

149. Forms of Leaves as to General Outline, It is necessary to give 

names to the principal shapes, and to define them rather precisely, 
since they afford the easiest marks for distinguishing species. The 
same terms are used for all other flattened parts as well, such as the 
petals of the flowers ; so that they make up a great part of the 
descriptive language of Botany. We do not mention the names of 
common plants which exhibit these various shapes. It will be a good 
exercise for young students to look them up and apply them. 

150. Beginning with the narrower and proceeding to the broadest 
forms, a leaf is said to be 

S&F 4 


58 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8. 


Linear (Fig. 85), when narrow, several times longer than wide, 
and of the same breadth throughout. 

Lanceolate, or lance-shaped, when several times longer than wide, 
and tapering upwards (Fig. 86), or both upwards and downwards. 

Oblong (Fig. 87), when nearly twice or thrice as long as broad. 

Elliptical (Fig. 88) is oblong with a flowing outline, the two ends 
alike in width. 

Oval is the same as broadly elliptical, or elliptical with the breadth 
considerably more than half the length. 

Ovate (Fig. 89), when the outline is like a section of a hen's-egg 
lengthwise, the broader end downward. 

Orbicular, or rotund (Fig. 102), circular in outline, or nearly so. 


V. 


151. When the leaf tapers towards the base, instead of upwards, 
it may be 

Oblanceolate (Fig. 91), which is lance-shaped, with the more 

tapering end downwards ; 

Spatulate (Fig. 92), round- 
ed above and long and narrow 
below, like a spatula ; 

Obovate (Fig. 93), or in- 
versely ovate, that is, ovate with 
the narrower end down ; or 
Cuneate, or cuneiform, that is, wedge-shaped (Fig. 94), broad 
above and tapering by straight lines to an acute angle at the base. 

152. As to the Base, its shape characterizes several forms, such as 
Cordate, or heart-shaped (Fig. 90, 99, 8), when a leaf of an ovate 

form, or something like it, has the outline of its rounded base turned 
in (forming a notch or sinus) where the stalk is attached. 

Reniform, or kidney-shaped (Fig. 100), like the last, only rounder 
and broader than long. 


FIG. 85 - 90. Various forms of feather-veined leaves . 

FIG. 91. Oblanceolate, 92. spatulate, 93. obovatc, 94. wedge-shaped, feather-veined leaves. 


LESSON 8.] 


THEIR PARTICULAR FORMS. 


59 


Auriculate, or eared, having a pair of small and blunt projections, 
or ears, at the base, as in one species of Magnolia (Fig. 96). 

Sagittate, or arrow-shaped, where such ears are pointed and turned 
downwards, while the 
main body of the blade 
tapers upwards to a 
point, as in the com- 
mon Sagittaria or Ar- 
row-head, and in the 
Arrow-leaved Polygo- 
num (Fig. 95). 

Hastate, or halberd- 
shaped, when such 
lobes at the base point outwards, giving the leaf the shape of the 
halberd of the olden time, as in another Polygonum (Fig. 97). 

Peltate, or shield-shaped, (Fig. 102,) is the name applied to a 
curious modification of the leaf, commonly of a rounded form, where 
the footstalk is attached to the lower surface, instead of the base, and 


therefore is naturally likened to a shield borne by the outstretched 
arm. The common Watershield, the Nelumbium, and the White 
Water-lily, and also the Mandrake, exhibit this sort of leaf. On 
comparing the shield-shaped leaf of the common Marsh Pennywort 
(Fig. 102) with that of another common species (Fig. 101), we see 
at once what this peculiarity means. A shield-shaped leaf is like a 


FIG. 95. Sagittate, 96. auriculate, 97. halberd-shaped, leaves. 
FIG. 98 - 102. Various forms of radiate-veined leaves. 


60 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 8. 


kidney-shaped (Fig. 100) or other rounded leaf, with the margins at 
the base brought together and united. 

153. As tO the Apex, the following terms express the principal 
variations. 

Acuminate, pointed, or taper-pointed, when the summit is more or 
less prolonged into a narrowed or tapering point, as in Fig. 97. 

Acute, when ending in an acute angle or not prolonged point, as 
in Fig. 104, 98, 95, &c. 

Obtuse, when with a blunt or rounded point, as in Fig. 105, 89, &c. 

Truncate, with the end as if cut off square, as in Fig. 106, 94. 

Retuse, with the rounded summit slightly indented, forming a 
very shallow notch, as in Fig. 107. 

Emarginate, or notched, indented at the end more decidedly, as 
in Fig. 108. 

Obcordate, that is, inversely heart-shaped, where an obovate leaf 
is more deeply notched at the end (Fig. 109), as in White Clover and 
Wood-sorrel ; so as to resemble a cordate leaf (Fig. 99) inverted. 

Cuspidate, tipped with a sharp and rigid point ; as in Fig. 110. 

Mucronate, abruptly tipped with a small and short point, like a 
projection of the midrib ; as in Fig. 111. 

Aristate, awn-pointed, and bristle-pointed, are terms used when this 
mucronate point is extended into a longer bristle-form or other 
slender appendage. 

The first six of these terms can be applied to the lower as well as 
to the upper end of a leaf or other organ. The others belong to 
the apex only. 


103 104 105 


110 111 


FIG. 103 - 11L Forms of the apex of Iea<v 


LESSON 9."] 


SIMPLE AND COMPOUND LEAVE3. 


61 


LESSON IX. 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. SIMPLE AND COM- 
POUND LEAVES, STIPULES, ETC. 

154. IN the foregoing Lesson leaves have been treated of in their 
simplest form, namely, as consisting of a single blade. But in many 
cases the leaf is divided into a number of separate blades. That is, 

155. Leaves are either Simple or Compound, They are s?,id to be 

simple, when the blade is all of one piece : they are compound, when 
the blade consists of two or more separate pieces, borne upon a 
common leaf-stalk. And between these two kinds every interme- 
diate gradation is to be met with. This will appear as we proceed 
to notice the principal 

156. Forms of Leaves as to particular Outline or degree of division. 

In this respect, leaves are said to be 

Entire, when their general outline is completely filled out, so that 
the margin is an even line, without any teeth or notches ; as in 
Fig. 83, 84, 100, &c. 

Serrate, or saw-toothed, when the margin only is cut into sharp 
teeth, like those of a saw, and pointing forwards; as in Fig. 112; 
also 90, &c. 


V-*- A **K ^ 

112 113 114 115 116 117 

Dentate, or toothed, when such teeth point outwards, instead 
of forwards ; as in Fig. 113. 


FIG. 112 - 117. Kinds of margin of leares. 
6 


62 MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. PLESSOX 9. 

Crenate, or scalloped, when the teeth are broad and rounded ; as 
in Fig. 114, 101. 

Repand, undulate, or wavy, when the margin of the leaf forms a 
wavy line, bending slightly inwards and outwards in succession ; as 
in Fig. 115. 

Sinuate, when the margin is more strongly sinuous, or turned 
inwards and outwards, as in Fig. 116. 

Incised, cut, or jagged, when the margin is cut into sharp, deep, 
and irregular teeth or incisions, as in Fig. 117. 

157. When leaves are more deeply cut, and with a definite number 
of incisions, they are said, as a general term, to be lobed ; the parts 
being called lobes. Their number is expressed by the phrase two- 
lobed, three-lobed, Jive-lobed, many-lobed, &c., as the case may be. 
When the depth and character of the lobing needs to be more par- 
ticularly specified, as is often the case, the following terms are 
employed, viz. : 

Lobed, when the incisions do not extend deeper than about half- 
way between the margin and the centre of the blade, if so far, and 
are more or less rounded ; as in the leaves of the Post-Oak, Fig. 
118, and the Hepatica, Fig. 122. 

Cleft, when the incisions extend half-way down or more, and 
especially when they are sharp, as in Fig. 119, 123. And the 
phrases two-cleft, or, in the Latin form, bifid ; three-cleft, or trijid ; 
four-cleft, or quadrifid ; Jive-cleft, or quinquejid, &c. ; or many-cleft, 
in the Latin form muUifid, express the number of the segments, 
or portions. 

Parted, when the incisions are still deeper, but yet do not quite 
reach to the midrib or the base of the blade ; as in Fig. 120, 124. 
And the terms two-parted, three-parted, &c. express the number of 
such divisions. 

Divided, when the incisions extend quite to the midrib, as in the 

lower part of Fig. 121 ; or to the leaf-stalk, as in Fig. 125 ; which 

I makes the leaf compound. Here, using the Latin form, the leaf is 

said to be bisected, trisected (Fig. 125), &c., to express the number 

of the divisions. 

158. In this way the degree of division is described. We may 
likewise express the mode of division. The notches or incisions, 
being places where the green pulp of the blade has not wholly filled 
up the framework, correspond with the veining ; as we perceive 
on comparing the figures 118 to 121 with figures 122 to 125. The 


LESSON 9.] 


LOBED OR DIVIDED LEAVES. 


63 


upper row of figures consists of feather-veined, or, in Latin form, 
pinnately-veined leaves (145); the lower row, of radiate-veined or 
palmately-veined leaves (146). 


118 


119 


121 


123 


124 


159. In the upper row the incisions all point towards the midrib, 
from which the main veins arise, the incisions (or sinuses) being 
between the main veins. That is, being pinnately veined, such 
leaves are pinnately lobed (Fig. 118), pinnately cleft, or pinnatijid 
(Fig. 119), pinnately parted (Fig. 120), or pinnately divided (Fig. 
121), according to the depth of the incisions, as just defined. 

160. In the lower row of figures, as the main veins or ribs all 
proceed from the base of the blade or the summit of the leaf-stalk, so 
the incisions all point in that direction. That is, palmately- veined, 
leaves are palmately lobed (Fig. 122), palmately cleft (Fig. 123), 
palmately parted (Fig. 124), or palmately divided (Fig. 125). Some- 
times, instead of palmately, we say digitately cleft, &c., which means 
just the same. 

161. To be still more particular, the number of the lobes, &c. 
may come into the phrase. Thus, Fig. 122 is a palmately three- 
lobed ; Fig. 123, & palmately three-cleft ; Fig. 124, & palmately three- 
parted ; Fig. 125, a palmately three-divided, or trisected, leaf. The 

F*G. 118 - 121. Pinnately lobed, cleft, parted, and divided leaves. 

FIG. 122-125. Palmately or digitately lobed, cleft, parted, and divided leaves. 


64 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. ["LESSON 9. 


Sugar-Maple and the Button wood (Fig. 50) have palmately five- 
lobed leaves ; the Soft White-Maple palmately Jive-parted leaves ; and 
so on. And in the other sort, the Post-Oak has pinnately seven- 
to nine-lobed leaves ; the Red-Oak commonly has pinnately seven- to 
nine-cleft leaves, &c., &c. 

162. The divisions, lobes, &c. may themselves be entire (without 
teeth or notches, 156), as in Fig. 118, 122, &c. ; or serrate (Fig. 
124), or otherwise toothed or incised (Fig. 121) ; or else lobed, cleft, 
parted, &c. : in the latter cases making twice pinnatijid, twice pal- 
mately or pinnately lobed, parted, or divided leaves, &c. From these 
illustrations, the student will perceive the plan by which the bota- 
nist, in two or three words, may describe any one of the almost 
endlessly diversified shapes of leaves, so as to convey a perfectly 
clear and definite idea of it. 

163. Compound Leaves. These, as already stated (155), do not 
differ in any absolute way from the divided form of simple leaves. 
A compound leaf is one which has its blade in two or more entirely 
separate parts, each usually with a stalklet of its own : and the stalk- 
let is often jointed (or articulated) with the main leaf-stalk, just as 
this is jointed with the stem. When this is the case, there is no 


doubt that the leaf is compound. But when the pieces have no 
stalklets, and are not jointed with the main leaf-stalk, the leaf may 
be considered either as simple and divided, or compound, according 
to the circumstances. 

FIG. 126. Pinnate with an odd leaflet, or odd-pinnate. 127. Pinnate with a tendril 
128. Abruptly pinnate leaf. 


LESSON 9.] COMPOUND LEAVES. 65 

1 64. The separate pieces or little blades of a compound leaf are 
called leaflets. 

165. Compound leaves are of two principal kinds, namely, the 
pinnate and the palmate ; answering to the two modes of veining in 
reticulated leaves (145- 147), and to the two sorts of lobed or di- 
vided leaves (158, 159). 

166. Pinnate leaves are those in which the leaflets are arranged 
on the sides of a main leaf-stalk ; as in Fig. 126 - 128. They answer 
to the, feather-veined (i. e. pinnately-veined) simple leaf; as will be 
seen at once, on comparing Fig. 126 with the figures 118 to 121. 
The leaflets of the former answer to the lobes or divisions of the 
latter ; and the continuation of the petiole, along which the leaflets 
are arranged, answers to the midrib of the simple leaf. 

167. Three sorts of pinnate leaves are here given. Fig. 126 is 
pinnate with an odd or end leaflet, as in the Common Locust and 
the Ash. Fig. 127 is pinnate with a tendril at the end, in place of 
the odd leaflet, as in the Vetches and the Pea. Fig. 128 is abruptly 
pinnate, having a pair of leaflets at the end, like the rest of the leaf- 
lets ; as in the Honey- Locust. 

168. Palmate (also named digitate) leaves are those in which the 
leaflets are all borne on the very tip of the leaf-stalk, as in the 
Lupine, the Common Clover (Fig. 136), tLe Virginia Creeper (Fig. 
62), and the Horsechestnut and Buckeye (Fig. 129). They answer 
to the radiate-veined or palmately- 

veined simple leaf; as is seen by 
comparing Fig. 136 with the figures 
122 to 125. That is, the Clover- 
leaf of three leaflets is the same as 
a, palmately three-ribbed leaf cut 
into three separate leaflets. And 
such a simple five-lobed leaf as that 
of the Sugar-Maple, if more cut, so 
as to separate the parts, would pro- 
duce a palmate leaf of five leaflets, 
like that of the Horsechestnut or Buckeye (Fig. 129). 

169. Either sort of compound leaf may have any number of leaf- 
lets ; though palmate leaves cannot well have a great many, since 
they are all crowded together on the end of the main leaf-stalk. 

FIG. J29. Palmate leaf of five leaflets, of the Sweet Buckeye. 
6* 


66 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9. 


Some Lupines have nine or eleven ; the Horsechestnut has seven, 
the Sweet Buckeye more commonly five, the Clover three. A pin- 
nate leaf often has only seven or five leaflets, as in the Wild Bean 
or Groundnut; and in the Common Bean it has only three; in 

some rarer cases only two ; in 
the Orange and Lemon only 
one! The joint at the place 
where the leaflet is united with 
the petiole alone distinguishes 
this last case from a simple 
leaf.* 

170. I'he leaflets of 'a com- 
pound leaf may be either entire 
(as in Fig. 126-128), or ser- 
rate, or lobed, cleft, parted, 
&c. : in fact, they may pre- 
sent all the variations of simple 
leaves, and the same terms 
equally apply to them. 

171. When this division is 
carried so far as to separate 
what would be one leaflet into 
two, three, or several, the leaf 
becomes doubly or twice com- 
pound, either pinnately orpal- 
mately, as the case may be. 

For example, while some of the leaves of the Honey-Locust are 
simply pinnate, that is, once pinnate, as in Fig. 128, the greater part 


* When the botanist, in describing leaves, wishes to express the number of 
leaflets, he may use terms like these : 

Unifoliolate, for a compound leaf of a single leaflet ; from the Latin unwn, one. 
&n([foliolum, leaflet. 

Bifoliolate, of two leaflets, from the Latin bis, twice, andfoliolum, leaflet. 

Trifoliolate (or ternate), of three leaflets, as the Clover; and so on. 

When he would express in one phrase both the number of leaflets and the way 
the leaf is compound, he writes : 

Palmately bifoliolate, trifoliolate, plurifoliolate (of several leaflets), &c., or else 

Pinnately bi-, tri-, quadri-, or pluri-foliolate (that is, of two, three, four, five, or 
several leaflets), as the case may be. 


FIG. 130. A twice-pinnate (abruptly) leaf of the Honey-Locust. 


L^SSCN 9.] 


PERFOLIATE LEAVES, ETC- 


67 


are bipinnate, i. e. twice pinnate, as in Fig. 130. If these leaflets 
were again divided in the same way, the leaf would become thrice 
pinnate, or tripinnate, as in many Acacias. The first divisions are 
called pinnae ; the others, pinnules ; and the last, or little blades, 
leaflets. 

172. So the palmate leaf, if again compounded in the same way, 
becomes twice palmate, or, as we say when the divisions are in 
threes, twice ternate (in Latin form Uternate) ; if a third time com- 
pounded, thrice ternate or triternate. But if the division goes still 
further, or if the degree is variable, we simply say that the leaf is 
decompound ; either palmately or pinnately so, as the case may be. 
Thus, Fig. 138 represents a four times ternately compound, in other 
words a ternately decompound, leaf of our common Meadow Rue. 

173. So exceedingly various are the kinds and shapes of leaves, 
that we have not yet exhausted the subject. We have, however, 
mentioned the principal terms used in describing them. Many 
others will be found in the glossary at the end of the volume. Some 
peculiar sorts of leaves remain to be noticed, which the student might 
not well understand without some explanation ; such as 

174. Perfoliate Leaves, A common and simple case of this sort is 
found in two species of Uvularia or Bellwort, where the stem appears 
to run through the blade of the leaf, 

near one end. If we look at this plant 
in summer, after all the leaves are 
formed, we may see the meaning of this 
at a glance. For then we often find 
upon the same stem such a series of 
leaves as is given in Fig. 131 : the low- 
er leaves are perfoliate, those next above 
less so ; then some (the fourth and fifth) 
with merely a heart-shaped clasping 
base, and finally one that is merely 
sessile. The leaf, we perceive, becomes 
perfoliate by the union of the edges of 
the base with each other around the 
stem ; just as the shield-shaped leaf, Fig. 
102, comes from the union of the edges of the base of such a leaf 
as Fig. 101. Of the same sort are the upper leaves of most of 

FIG. 131. Leaves of Uvularia (Bellwort) ; the lower ones perfoliate, the others merely 
clasping, or the uppermost only sessile. 


68 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9. 


the true Honeysuckles (Fig. 132): but here it is a pair* of oppo- 
site leaves, with their contiguous broad bases grown together, which 
makes what seems to be one round leaf, with the stem running 
through its centre. This is seen to be the case, by comparing 
together the upper and the lowest leaves of the same branch. 
Leaves of this sort are said to be connate-perfoliate. 

175. Equitant Leaves, While ordinary 
leaves spread horizontally, and present 
one face to the sky and the other to the 
earth, there are some that present their 
tip to the sky, and their faces right 
and left to the horizon. Among these 
are the equitant leaves of the Iris or 
Flower-de-Luce. On careful inspection 
we shall find that each leaf was formed 
folded together length- 
wise, so that what 
would be the upper 
surface is within, and 
all grown together, ex- 
cept next the bottom, 
where each leaf covers 

the next younger one. It was from their strad- 
dling over each other, like a man on horseback (as 
is seen in the cross-section, Fig. 134), that Linnaeus, 
with his lively fancy, called these equitant leaves. 

176. Leaves with no distinction of Petiole and Blade, 

The leaves of Iris just mentioned show one form 
of this. The flat but narrow- 
leaves of Jonquils, Daffodils, 
and the like, are other in- 
stances. Needle-shaped leaves, 
like those of the Pine (Fig. 
140), Larch (Fig. 139), and 
Spruce, and the awl-shaped 
as well as the scale-shaped 
leaves of Junipers, Red Ce- 

FIG. 132. Branch of a Yellow Honeysuckle, with connate-perfoliate leaves. 
FIG. 133. Rootstock and equitant leaves of Iris. 134. A section across the cluster of 
leaves at the bottom. 


LESSON 9.J 


PHILLODIA, STIPULES, ETC. 


69 


dar, and Arbor- Yitoe (Fig. 135), are different examples. These 
last are leaves serving for foliage, but having as 
little spread of surface as possible. They make 
up for this, however, by their immense numbers. 

177. Sometimes the petiole expands and flattens, 
and takes the place of the blade ; as in numerous 
New Holland Acacias, some of which are now 
common in greenhouses. Such counterfeit blades 
are called phyllodia, meaning leaf-like bodies. 
They may be known from true blades by their 
standing edgewise, their margins being directed 
upwards and downwards ; while in true blades the 
faces look upwards and downwards ; excepting in 
equitant leaves, as al- 
ready explained, and 
in those which are 
tuiv.ed edgewise by 

a twist, such as those of the Callis- 

temon or Bottle-brush Flower of our 

greenhouses, and other Dry Myrtles 

of New Holland, &c. 

178. Stipules, the pair of appendages 

which is found at the base of the peti- 
ole in many leaves (133), should also 

be considered in respect to their very 

varied forms and appearances. More 

commonly they appear like little blades, 

on each side of the leaf-stalk, as in the 

Quince (Fig. 83), and more strikingly 

in the Hawthorn and in the Pea. Here 

they remain as long as the rest of the 

leaf, and serve for the same purpose 

as the blade. Very commonly they 

serve for bud-scales, and fall off wh^n 

the leaves expand, as in the Fig-tree, 

and the Magnolia (where they are large and conspicuous), or soon 

FIG. 135. Twig of Arbor- Vine, with its two sorts of leaves: viz. some awl-shaped, the 
others scale-like ; the latter on the branchlets, a. 

FIG. 136. Leaf of Red Clover : st, stipules, adhering to the base of p, the petiole : ft, blade 
of three leaflets. 

FIG. 137. Part of stem and leaf of Priuce's-Feather (Polygonum orientale) with th united 
sheathing stipules forming a sheath. 


70 


MORPHOLOGY OF LEAVES AS FOLIAGE. [LESSON 9. 


afterwards, as in the Tulip-tree. In the Pea the stipules make a 
very conspicuous part of the leaf; while in the Bean they are quite 
small ; and in the Locust they are reduced to bristles or prickles. 
Sometimes the stipules are separate and distinct (Fig. 83): often 
they are united with the base of the leaf-stalk, as in the Rose and 
the Clover (Fig. 136) : and sometimes they grow together by both 
margins, so as to form a sheath around the stem, above the leaf, as 
in the Buttonwood, the Dock, and almost all the plants of the 
Polygonum Family (Fig. 137). 

179. The sheaths of Grasses bear the blade on their summit, and 
therefore represent a form of the petiole. The small and thin ap- 
pendage which is commonly found at the top of the sheath (called a 
ligule) here answers to the stipule. 

FIG. 138. Ternately-decompound leaf of Meadow Rue (Thalictrura Cornuti). 


LESSON 10.] ARRANGEMENT OP LEAVES. 71 

LESSON X. 

THE ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES. 

180. UNDER this head we may consider, 1. the arrangement o{ 
leaves on the stem, or what is sometimes called PHYLLOTAXY (from 
t\vo Greek words meaning leaf-order) ; and 2. the ways in which 
they are packed together in the bud, or their VERNATION (the word 
meaning their spring state). 

181. Phyllotaxy, As already explained (48, 49), leaves are ar- 
ranged on the stem in two principal ways. They are either 

Alternate (Fig. 131, 143), that is, one after another, only a single 
leaf arising from each node or joint of the stem ; or 

Opposite (Fig. 147), when there is a pair of leaves on each joint 
of the stem ; one of the two leaves being in this case always situ- 
ated exactly on the opposite side of the stem from the other. A 
third, but uncommon arrangement, may be added ; namely, the 

Whorled, or verticillate (Fig. 148), when there are three or more 
leaves in a circle (whorl or verticil) on one joint of stem. But this 
is only a variation of the opposite mode; or rather the latter ar- 
rangement is the same as the whorled, with the number of the 
leaves reduced to two in each whorl. 

182. Only one leaf is ever produced from the same point. When 
two are borne on the same joint, they are always on opposite sides 
of the stem, that is, are separated by half the circumference ; when 
in whorls of three, four, five, or any other number, they are equally 
distributed around the joint of stem, at a distance of one third, one 
fourth, or one fifth of the circumfer- 
ence from each other, according to 

their number. So they always have 
the greatest possible divergence from 
each other. Two or more leaves be- 
longing to the same joint of stem 
never stand side by side, or one 
above the other, in a cluster. 

183. What are called clustered or fascicled leaves, and which 

FIG. 139. Clustered or fascicled loaves of the Larch 


72 ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES ON THE STEM [LESSON 10. 

appear to be so, are always the leaves of a whole branch which 
remains so very short that they are all crowded together in a 
bundle or rosette ; as in the spring leaves of the Barberry and of 
the Larch (Fig. 139). In these cases an examination shows them 
to be nothing else than alternate leaves, very much crowded on a 
short spur ; and some of these spurs are seen in the course of the 
season to lengthen into ordinary shoots with scattered alternate 
Jeaves. So, likewise, each cluster of two or three needle-shaped 
leaves in Pitch Pines (as in Fig. 140), or of five leaves 
in White Pine, answers to a similar, extremely short 
branch, springing from the axil of a thin and slender 
scale, which represents a leaf of the main shoot. For 
Pines produce two kinds of leaves; 1. primary, the 
proper leaves of the shoots, not as foliage, but in the 
shape of delicate scales in spring, which soon fall away ; 
and 2. secondary, the fascicled leaves, from buds in the 
axils of the former, and these form the actual foliage. 

184. Spiral Arrangement of Leaves, If we examine any 

alternate-leaved stem, we shall find that the leaves are 
placed upon it in symmetrical order, and in a way per- 
fectly uniform for each species, but different in different 
plants. If we draw a line from the insertion (i. e. the 
point of attachment) of one leaf to that of the next, and 
so on, this line will wind spirally around the stem as it 
rises, and in the same species will always have just the 
same number of leaves upon it for each turn round the 
stem. That is, any two successive leaves will always 
be separated from each other by just an equal portion 
of the circumference of the stem. The distance in height between 
any two leaves may vary greatly, even on the same shoot, for that 
depends upon the length of the intemodes or spaces between each 
leaf; but the distance as measured around the circumference (in 
other words, the angular divergence, or angle formed by any two 
successive leaves) is uniformly the same. 

185. The greatest possible divergence is, />f course, where the 
second leaf stands on exactly the opposite side of the stem from the 
first, the third on the side opposite the second, and therefore over the 

FIG. 140. Piece of a branchlet of Pitch Pine, with three leaves in a fascicle or bundle, in 
the axil of a thin scale which answers to a primary leaf. The bundle is surrounded at the 
base by a short sheath, formed of the delrcate scales of the axillary btid. 


LESSON 10.] 


IN A SPIRAL ORDER. 


73 


first, and the fourth over the second. This brings all the leaves into 
two ranks, one on one side of the stem and one on the other ; and 
is therefore called the two-ranked arrangement. It occurs in all 
Grasses, in Indian Corn, for instance ; also in the Spider wort, the 
Bellwort (Fig. 131) and Iris (Fig. 132), in the Basswood or Lime- 
tree, &c. This is the simplest of all arrangements. 

186. Next to this is the three-ranked arrangement, such as we 
see in Sedges, and in the Veratrum or White Hellebore. The plan 
of it is shown on a Sedge in Fig. 141, and in a diagram or cross- 
section underneath, in Fig. 142. Here the 

second leaf is placed one third of the way 
round the stem, the third leaf two thirds of 
the way round, the fourth leaf accordingly 
directly over the first, the fifth over the 
second, and so on. That is, three leaves 
occur in each turn round the stem, and they 
are separated from each other by one third 
of the circumference. 

187. The next and one of the most com- 
mon is the Jive-ranked arrangement ; which 
is seen in the Apple (Fig. 143), Cherry, 
Poplar, and the greater part of our trees 
and shrubs. In this case the line traced 
from leaf to leaf will pass twice round the 
stem before it reaches a leaf situated di- 
rectly over any below (Fig. 144). Here 
the sixth leaf is over the first ; the leaves 
stand in five perpendicular ranks, equally 
distant from each other ; and the distance 
between any two successive leaves is just 
two fifths of the circumference of the stem. 

188. The five-ranked arrangement :s expressed by the fraction f. 
This fraction denotes the divergence of the successive leaves, i. e. the 
angle they form with each other : the numerator also expresses the 
number of turns made round the stem by the spiral line in complet- 
ing one cycle or set of leaves, namely 'A ; and the denominator gives 
the number of leaves in each cycle, or the number of perpendicular 

FIG. 141. Piece of the stalk of a Sedge, with the leaves cut away, leaving their bases : 
the leaves are numbered in order, from I to 6. 142. Diagram or cross-section of the 
all in one plane ; the leaves similarly numbered. 

7 


74 


ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES ON THE STEM. [LESSON 10. 


ranks, namelj 5. In the same way the fraction stands for the 
two-ranked mode, and for the three-ranked : and so these different 
sorts are expressed by the series of fractions , 
, f . And the other cases known follow in the 
same numerical progression. 

189. The next is the eight-ranked arrange- 
ment, where the ninth leaf stands over the first, 
and three turns are made around the stem to 
reach it ; so it is expressed by the fraction -f . 
This is seen in the Holly, and in the common 
Plantain. Then comes the thirteen-ranked ar- 
rangement, in which the fourteenth leaf is over 
the first, after five turns around the stem. Of 
this we have a good example in the common 
Houseleek (Fig. 146). 

190. The series so far, 
then, is , , f , f , T 5 ^ ; the 
numerator and the denomi- 
nator of each fraction being 
those of the two next pre- 
ceding ones added together. 
At this rate the next higher 
should be ^ 8 T , then , and 
so on ; and in fact just such 

cases are met with, and (commonly) no others. 
These higher sorts are found in the Pine Fam- 
ily, both in the leaves and the cones (Fig. 324), 
and in many other plants with small and crowd- 
ed leaves. But the number of the ranks, or of 
leaves in each cycle, can here rarely be made 
out by direct inspection: they may be ascer- 
tained, however, by certain simple mathematical 
computations, which are rather too technical for 
these Lessons. 


0-" 


FIG. 143. Shoot with its leaves 5-ranked, the sixth leaf over the first ; as in the Apple-tree. 

FIG. 144. Diagram of this arrangement, with a spiral line drawn from the attachment of. 
one leaf to the next, and so on ; the parts on the side turned from the eye are fainter. 

FIG. 145. A ground-plan of the same ; the section of the leaves similarly numbered; a 
dotted line drawn from the edge of one leaf to that of the next completes the spiral. 

FIG. 146. A young plant of the Houseleek, with the leaves (not yet expanded) numbered, 
and exhibiting the Ki ranked arrangement 


LESSON 10.] ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES IN THE BUD. 


75 


191. The arrangement of opposite leaves (181) is usually very 
simple. The second pair is placed over the intervals of the first ; 
the third over the intervals of the second, and so on (Fig. 147) ; the 
successive pairs thus crossing each other, 

commonly at right angles, so as to make four 
upright rows. And whorled leaves (Fig. 148) 
follow a similar plan. 

192. So the place of every leaf on every plant 
is fixed beforehand by unerring mathematical 
rule. As the stem grows on, leaf after leaf ap- 
pears exactly in its predes- 
tined place, producing a per- 
fect symmetry ; a symme- 
try which manifests itself not 

in one single monotonous 
pattern for all plants, but in 
a definite number of forms 
exhibited by different spe- 
cies, and arithmetically ex- 
pressed by the series of frac- 
tions, , 7}, f , |, -fy 9 7j 8 T , &c., according as the formative energy in 
its spiral course up the developing stem lays down at corresponding 
intervals 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, or 21 ranks of alternate leaves. 

193. Vernation, sometimes called Prcefoliation, relates to the way 
in which leaves are disposed in the bud (180). It comprises two 
things ; 1st, the way in which each separate leaf is folded, coiled, or 
packed up in the bud ; and 2d, the arrangement of the leaves in the 
bud with respect to one another. The latter of course depends very 
much upon the phyllotaxy, i. e. the position and order of the leaves 
upon the stem. The same terms are used for it as for the arrange- 
ment of the leaves of the flower in the flower-bud : so we may pass 
them by until we come to treat of the flower in this respect. 

194. As to each leaf separately, it is sometimes straight and 
open in vernation, but more commonly it is either bent, folded, or 
rolled up. When the upper part is bent down upon the lower, 
as the young blade in the Tulip-tree is bent upon the leafstalk, 
it is said to be inflexed or reclined in vernation. "When folded 


FIG. 147. Opposite leaves of the Spindle-tree or Burning-bush. 
FIG. 148. Whorled or verticillate leaves of Galium or Bedstraw. 


76 ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11. 

by the midrib so that the two halves are placed face to face, it is 
conduplicate (Fig. 149), as in the Magnolia, the Cherry, and the 
Oak : when folded back and forth like the plaits of a fan, it is plicate 
or plaited (Fig. 150), as in the Maple and Currant. If rolled, 
it may be so either from the tip downwards, as in Ferns and the 
Sundew (Fig. 154), when in unrolling it resembles the head of a 
crosier, and is said to be circinate ; or it may be rolled up parallel 
with the axis, either from one edge into a coil, when it is convolute 
(Fig. 151), as in the Apricot and Plum, or rolled f.om both edges 
towards the midrib; sometimes inwards, when it is involute (Fig. 
152), as in the Violet and Water-Lily ; sometimes outwards, when 
it is revolute (Fig. 153), in the Rosemary and Azalea. The figures 
are diagrams, representing sections through the leaf, in the way 
they were represented by Linnaeus. 

151 


158 


LESSON XL 

THE ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS ON THE STEM, OR INFLO- 
RESCENCE. 

195. THUS far we have been considering the vegetation of the 
plant, and studying those parts, viz. root, stem, and leaves, by which 
it increases in size and extent, and serves the purpose of its indi- 
vidual life. But after a time each plant produces a different set of 
organs, viz. flowers, fruit, and seed, subservient to a different 
purpose, that is, the increase in numbers, or the continuance of the 


LESSON 11.] INDETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE. 77 

species. The plant reproduces itself in new individuals by seed. 
Therefore the seed, and the fruit in which the seed is formed, and 
the flower, from which the fruit results, are named the Organs of 
Reproduction or fructification. These we may examine in succes- 
sion. We begin, of course, with the flower. And the first thing to 
consider is the 

196. Inflorescence, or the mode of flowering, that is, the situation 
and arrangement of blossoms on the plant. Various as this arrange- 
ment may seem to be, all is governed by a simple law, which is 
easily understood. As the position of every leaf is fixed beforehand 
by a mathematical law which prescribes where it shall stand (192), 
so is that of every blossom ; and by the same law in both cases. 
For flowers are buds, developed in a particular way ; and flower- 
buds occupy the position of leaf-buds, and no other As leaf-buds 
are either terminal (at the summit of a stem or branch, 42), or 
axillary (in the axil of a leaf, 43), so likewise 

197. Flowers are either terminal or axillary. In blossoming as 
in vegetation we have only buds terminating (i. e. on the summit of) 
stems or branches, and buds from the axils of leaves. But while 
the same plant commonly produces both kinds of leaf-buds, it rarely 
bears flowers in both situations. These are usually either all axil- 
lary or all terminal ; giving rise to two classes of inflorescence, 
viz. the determinate and the indeterminate. 

198. Indeterminate Inflorescence is that where the flowers all arise 
from axillary buds; as in Fig. 155, 156, 157, &c. ; and the reason 
why it is called indetermi- 
nate (or indefinite) is, that 

while the axillary buds 
give rise to flowers, the 
terminal bud goes on to 
grow, and continues the 
stem indefinitely. 

199. Where the flowers arise, as in Fig. 155, singly from the 
axils of the ordinary leaves of the plant, they do not form flower-, 
clusters, but are axillary and solitary. But when several or many 
flowers are produced near each other, the accompanying leaves are 
usually of smaller size, and often of a different shape or character ; 
then they are called bracts ; and the flowers thus brought together 

FIG. 155 Moneywort (Lysimachia numinularia) of the gardens, with axillary flowers*- 

7* 


78 ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11. 


form one cluster or inflorescence. The sorts of inflorescence of the 
indeterminate class which have received separate names are chiefly 
the following : viz. the Raceme, the Corymb, the Umbel, the Spike, 
the Head, the Spadix, the Catkin, and the Panicle. 

20Q. Before illustrating these, one or two terms, of common oc- 
currence, may be defined. A flower (or other body) which has no 
stalk to support it, but which sits directly on the stem or axis it pro- 
ceeds from, is said to be sessile. If it has a stalk, this is called its 
peduncle. If the whole flower-cluster is raised on a stalk, this is 
called the peduncle, or the common peduncle (Fig. 156, p) ; and the 
stalk of each particular flower, if it have any, is called 
the pedicel or partial peduncle (p')> The portion 
of the general stalk along which flowers are dis- 
posed is called the axis of injlorescence, or, when cov- 
ered with sessile flower;?, the rhachis (back-bone), and 
sometimes the receptacle. The leaves of a flower- 
cluster generally are termed bracts. But when we 
wish particularly to distinguish them, those on the 
peduncle, or main axis, and which have a flower in 
their axil, take the name of bracts (Fig. 156, b) ; and 
those on the pedicels or partial flower-stalks, if any, 
that ofbractlets (Fig. 156, b'). 

201. A Raceme (Fig. 156, 157) is that form of flower- 
cluster in which the flowers, each on their own foot- 
stalk or pedicel, are arranged along a common stalk 
or axis of inflorescence ; as in the Lily of the Valley, 
Currant, Choke-Cherry, Barberry, &c. Each flower 
comes from the axil of a small leaf, or bract, which, 
111 however, is often so small that it might escape notice, 
and which sometimes (as in the Mustard Family) disappears alto- 
gether. The lowest blossoms of a raceme are of course the oldest, 
and therefore open first, and the order of blossoming is ascending, 
from the bottom to the top. The summit, never being stopped by 
a terminal flower, may go on to grow, and often does so (as in the 
common Shepherd's Purse), producing lateral flowers one after an- 
other the whole summer long. 

202. All the various kinds of flower-clusters pass one into another 


FIG. 156 
lets (ft'). 


A Raceme, with a general peduncle (p~), pedicels (//)> bracts (*), and bract- 


WESSON ll.j RACEME, CORYMB, UMBEL, ETC. 


79 


by intermediate gradations of every sort. For instance, if we 
lengthen the lower pedicels of a raceme, and keep the main axis 
rather short, it is converted into 

203. A Corymb (Fig. 158). This is the same as a raceme, except 
that it is flat and broad, either convex, or level-topped, as in the 
Hawthorn, owing to the lengthening of the lower pedicels while the 
uppermost remain shorter. 

204. The main axis of a corymb is short, at least in comparison 
with the lower pedicels. Only suppose it to be so much contracted 
that the bracts are all brought into a cluster or circle, and the 
corymb becomes 

205. An Umbel (Fig. 159), as in the Milkweed and Primrose, 
a sort of flower-cluster where the pedicels all spring apparently 
from the same point, from the top of the peduncle, so as to resemble, 
when spreading, the rays of an umbrella, whence the name. Here 
the pedicels are sometimes called the rays of the umbel. And the 
bracts, when brought in this way into a cluster or circle, form what 
is called an involucre. 


206. For the same reason that the order of blossoming in a ra- 
ceme is ascending (201), in the corymb and umbel it is centripetal, 
that is, it proceeds from the margin or circumference regularly to- 
wards the centre ; the lower flowers of the former answering to the 
outer ones of the latter. Indeterminate inflorescence, therefore, is 
said to be centripetal in evolution. And by having this order of 
blossoming, all the sorts may be distinguished from those of the 
other, or the determinate class. In all the foregoing cases the 
flowers are raised on pedicels. These, however, are very short in 
many instances, or are wanting altogether; when the flowers are 
sessile (200). They are so in 

FIG. 157. A raceme. 158. A corymb, 159. AD umbel. 


80 


ARRANGEMENT OP FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11. 


207. The Spike, This is a flower-cluster with a more or less 
lengthened axis, along which the flowers are sessile or 
nearly so; as in the Mullein and the Plantain (Fig. 160), 
It is just the same as a raceme, therefore, without any 
pedicels to the flowers. 

208. The Head is a round or roundish cluster of flowers 
which are sessile on a very short axis or receptacle, as in 
the Button-ball, Button-bush (Fig. 161), and Red Clover. 
It is just what a spike would become if its axis were 
shortened ; or an umbel, if its pedicels were all shortened 
until the flowers became sessile or apparently so. The 
head of the Button-bush (Fig. 161) is naked ; but that of 
the Thistle, of the Dandelion, the Cichory (Fig. 221), 
and the like, is surrounded by empty bracts, which form 
an involucre. Two particular forms of the spike and the 
head have received particular names, namely, the Spadix 
and the Catkin. 

209. A Spadix is nothing but a fleshy spike or head, with small 
and often imperfect flowers, as in the Calla, the Indian Turnip 


(Fig. 162), Sweet Flag, &c. It is commonly covered by a peculiar 
enveloping leaf, called a spathe. 

FIG. 160. Spike of the common Plantain or Ribwort. 

FIG. 161. Head of the Button-bush (Cephalanthus). 

FIG. 162. Spadix and spathe of the Indian Turnip ; the latter cut through below. 


LESSON 11.] DETERMINATE INFLORESCENCE. 


81 


210. A Catkin Of Ament is the name given to the scaly sort of spike 
of the Birch and Alder, the Willow and Poplar, and one sort of 
flower-clusters of the Oak, Hickory, and the like ; on which ac- 
count these are called Amentaceous trees. 

211. Sometimes these forms of flower-clusters become compound. 
For example, the stalks which, in the simple umbel such as has 
been described (Fig. 159), are the pedicels of single flowers, may/ 
themselves branch in the same way at the top, and so each become 
the support of a smaller umbel ; as is the case in the Parsnip, Cara- 
way, and almost the whole of the great family of what are called 
Umbelliferous (i. e. umbel-bearing) plants. Here the whole is 
termed a compound umbel; and the smaller or partial umbels take 
the name in English of umbellets. The general involucre, at the 
base of the main umbel, keeps that name ; while that at the base 
of each umbellet is termed a partial involucre or an involuceL 

212. So a corymb (Fig. 158) with its separate stalks branching 

again, and bearing smaller clusters of the same 
sort, is a compound corymb; of which the Moun- 
tain Ash is a good example. A raceme .where 
what would be the pedicels of single flowers 
become stalks, along which flowers are disposed 
on their own pedicels, forms a compound raceme, 
as in the Goat's-beard and the False Spikenard. 
But when what would have been a raceme or a 
corymb branches irregularly into an open and 
more or less compound flower-cluster, we have 
what is called 

213. A Panicle (Fig. 163); as in the Oat and 
in most common Grasses. Such a raceme as that 
of the diagram, Fig. 156, would be changed into 
a panicle like Fig, 163, by the production of a 
flower from the axil of each of the bractlets If. 

214. A ThjTSUS is a compact panicle of a pyram- 
idal or oblong shape ; such as a bunch of grapes, 
or the cluster of the Lilac or Horsechestnut. 

215. Determinate Inflorescence is that in which the flowers are from 
terminal buds. The simplest case is where a stem bears a soli- 
tary, terminal flower, as in Fig. 163 a . This stops the growth of 


8 & F 5 


FIG. 1C3. A Panicle 


82 


ARRANGEMENT OF FLOWERS ON THE STEM. [LESSON 11. 


the stem ; for its terminal bud, being changed into a blossom, can 
no more lengthen in the manner of a leaf-bud. Any further growth 


c b 


c b 


must be from axillary buds developing into branches. If such 
branches are leafy shoots, at length terminated by single blossoms, 
the inflorescence still consists of solitary flowers at the summit of the 
stem and branches. But if the flowering branches bear only bracts 
in place of ordinary leaves, the result is the kind of flower-cluster 
called 

216. A Cyme, This is commonly a flat-topped or con- 
$} vex flower-cluster, like a corymb, only the blossoms are 
\ / from terminal buds. Fig. 164 illustrates the simplest 
^^ cyme in a plant with opposite leaves, namely, with three 
Q 7 flowers. The middle flower, a, terminates the stem ; 
1 I the two others, b b, terminate short branches, one from 
the axil of each of the uppermost leaves; and being 
later than the middle one, the flowering proceeds from 
the centre outwards, or is centrifugal; just the op- 
posite of the indeterminate mode, or that where all 
the flower-buds are axillary. If flowering branches 
appear from the axils below, the lower ones are the 
later, so that the order of blossoming continues centrif- 
ugal or descending (which is the same thing), as in Fig. 166, mak- 
ing a sort of reversed raceme ; a kind of cluster which is to the 
true raceme just what the flat cyme is to the corymb. 

217. Wherever there are bracts or leaves, buds may be produced 
from their axils and appear as flowers. Fig. 165 represents the 
case where the branches, b b, of Fig. 164, each with a pair of small 

FIG. 1C3 a. Diagram of an opposite-leaved plant, with a single terminal flower. 1G4 
Same, with a cyme of three flowers ; a, the first flower, of the main axis ; b b, those of branches. 
165. Same, with flowers of the third order, c c. ICG. Same, with flowers only of the second 
order from all the axils ; the central or uppermost opening first, and so on downwards. 


LESSON 11.] SORTS OF FLOWER-CLUSTERS. 83 

leaves or bracts about their middle, have branched again, and pro- 
duced the branchlets and flowers c c, on each side. It is the con- 
tinued repetition of this which forms the full or compound cyme, 
such as that of the Laurustinus, Hobblebush, Dogwood, and Hy- 
drangea (Fig. 167). 

218. A Fascicle, like that of the Sweet- William and Lychnis of 
the gardens, is only a cyme with the flowers much crowded, as it 
were, into a bundle. 

219. A Glomemle is a cyme still more compacted, so as to form a 
sort of head. It may be known from a true head by the flowers 
not expanding centripetally, that is, not from the circumference to- 
wards the centre, or from the bottom to the top. 

220. The illustrations of determinate or cymose inflorescence have 
been taken from plants with opposite leaves, which give rise to the 
most regular cymes. But the Rose, Cinquefoil, Buttercup, and the 
like, with alternate leaves, furnish equally good examples of this 
class of flower-clusters. 

221. It may be useful to the student to exhibit the principal sorts 
of inflorescence in one view, in the manner of the following 

Analysis of Flower-Clusters, 

I. INDETERMINATE OR CENTRIPETAL. (198.) 
Simple ; and with the 

Flowers borne on pedicels, 

Along the sides of a lengthened axis, RACEME, 201- 

Along a short axis ; lower pedicels lengthened, CORYMB, 203- 

Clustered on an extremely short axis, UMBEL, 205- 
Flowers sessile, without pedicels (206), 

Along an elongated axis, SPIKE, 207 . 

On a very short axis, HEAD, 208. 

with their varieties, the SPADIX, 209, and CATKIN, 210. 

Branching irregularly, PANICLE, 213. 

with its variety, the THYRSUS, 214. 

II. DETERMINATE OR CENTRIFUGAL. (215.) 

Open, mostly flat-topped or convex, CYME, 216. 

Contracted into a bundle, FASCICLE, 218. 

Contracted into a sort of head, GLOMERULE, 219. 

222. The numbers refer to the paragraphs of this Lesson. The 
various sorts run together by endless gradations in different plants. 
The botanist merely designates the leading kinds by particular 
names. Even the two classes of inflorescence are often found com- 
bined in the same plant. For instance, in the whole Mint Family, 


84 


THE FLOWER. 


[LESSON 


the flower-clusters are centrifugal, that is, are cymes or fascicles ; 
but they are themselves commonly disposed in spikes or racemes, 
which are centripetal, or develop in succession from below up- 
wards. 


LESSON XII. 


THE FLOWER '. ITS PARTS OR ORGANS. 


223. HAVING considered, in the last Lesson, the arrangement oi 
flowers on the stem, or the places from which they arise, we now 
direct our attention to the flower itself. 

224. Nature and Use Of the Flower, The object of the flower is the 
production of seed. The flower consists of all those parts, or organs,, 
which are subservient to this end. Some of these parts are neces- 
sary to the production of seed. Others serve merely to protect or 
support the more essential parts. 

FIG. 167. Cyme of the Wild Hydrangea (with neutral flowers in the border). 


LESSON 12.] ITS PARTS OR ORGANS* 85 

225. The Organs Of the Flower are therefore of two kinds ; namely, 
first, the protecting organs, or leaves of the flower, also called the 
floral envelopes, and, second, the essential organs. The latter are 
situated within or a little above the former, and are enclosed by them 
in the bud. 

226. The Floral Envelopes in a complete flower are double ; that is, 
they consist of two whorls (181), or circles of leaves, one above or 
within the other. The outer set forms the Calyx ; this more com- 
monly consists of green or greenish leaves, but not always. The 
inner set, usually of a delicate texture, and of some other color than 
green, and in most cases forming the most showy part of the blos- 
som, is the Corolla. 

227. The floral envelopes, taken together, are sometimes called the 
Perianth. This name is not much used, however, except in cases 
where they form only one set, at least in appearance, as in the Lily, 
or where, for some other reason, the limits between the calyx and 
the corolla are not easily made out. 

228. Each leaf or separate piece of the corolla is called a Petal ; 
each leaf of the calyx is called a Sepal. The sepals and the petals 
or, in other words, the leaves of the blossom serve to protect, 
support, or nourish the parts within. They do not themselves make 
a perfect flower. 

229. Some plants, however, naturally produce, besides their per- 
fect flowers, others which consist only of calyx and corolla (one or 
both), that is, of leaves. These, destitute as they are of the essential 
organs, and incapable of producing seed, are called neutral flowers. 
We have an example in the flowers round the margin of the cyme of 
the Hydrangea (Fig. 167), and of the Cranberry-Tree, or Snowball, 
in their wild state. By long cultivation in gardens the whole cluster' 
has been changed into showy, but useless, neutral flowers, in these 
and some other cases. "What are called double flowers, such as full 
Roses (Fig. 173), Buttercups, and Camellias, are blossoms which, 
under the gardener's care, have developed with all their essential 
organs changed into petals. But such flowers are always in an 
unnatural or monstrous condition, and are incapable of maturing 
seed, for want of 

230. The Essential Organs, These are likewise of two kinds, placed 
one above or within the other ; namely, first, the Stamens or fertil- 
izing organs, and, second, the Pistils, which are to be fertilized and 
bear the seeds. 

8 


86 


THE FLOWER. 


[LESSON 12. 


231. Taking them in succession, therefore, beginning from below, 
or at the outside, we have (Fig. 168, 169), first, the calyx or outer 

A A circle of leaves, which are individually 

termed sepals (a) ; secondly, the corolla 
or inner circle of delicate leaves, called 
petals (b) ; then a set of stamens (c) ; 
and in the centre one or more pistils (d). 
The end of the flower-stalk, or the short 
axis, upon which all these parts stand, is 
called the Torus or Receptacle. 

232. We use here for illus- 
tration the flower of a spe- 
cies of Stonecrop (Sedum ter- 
rtatum), which is a com- 
mon plant wild in the Middle 
States, and in gardens almost 
everywhere, because, al- 
though small, it exhibits all 

the parts in a perfectly simple and separate state, and so answers for 
a sort of pattern flower, better than any larger one that is common 
c and well known. 

233. k Stamen consists of two parts, 
namely, the Filament or stalk (Fig. 170, 
rz), and the Anther (b). The latter is 
a the only essential part. It is a case, 
commonly with two lobes or cells, each 
opening lengthwise by a slit, at the 
proper time, and discharging a pow- 
der or dust-like substance, usually of a yellow color. This powder 
is the Pollen, or fertilizing matter, to produce which is the sole office 
of the stamen. 

234. k Pistil is distinguished into three parts ; namely, beginning 
from below, the Ovary, the Stijle, and the Stigma. The Ovary is 
the hollow case or young pod (Fig. 171, ), containing rudimentary 
seeds, called Ovules (d). Fig. 172, representing a pistil like that ol 

FIG. If8. Flower of a Stonecrop : Pednm ternatnm. 

FIG. 1C9. T\vo parts of eacli kind of the same flower, displayed and enlarged. 

FIG. 170. \ stamen : a, the filament ; ft, the anther, discharging pollen. 

FIG. 171. A pistil divided lengthwise, showing the interior of the ovary, a, and it* 
ovule-:, d ; b, the style ; c, stigma. 

FIG. 172. A pistil, enlarged ; the ovary cut across to show the ovules within. 

FIG. 173. " Double " Ros ; the essential organs all replaced by petal*. 


LESSON 12.] 


ITS PARTS OR ORGANS. 


Fig. 169, <:/, but on a larger scale, and with the ovary cut across, 
shows the ovules as they appear in a transverse 
section. The style (Fig. 171, b) is the tapering 
part above, sometimes long and slender, sometimes 
short, and not rarely altogether wanting, for it is 
not an essential part, like the two others. The 
stigma (c) is the tip or some other portion of the 
style (or of the top of the ovary when there is no 
distinct style), consisting of loose tissue, not cov- 
ered, like the rest of the plant, by a skin or epi- 
dermis. It is upon the stigma that the pollen 
falls ; and the result is, that the ovules contained 
in the ovary are fertilized and become seeds, by 
having an embryo (1G) formed in them. To the 
pistil, therefore, all the other organs of the blos- 
som are in some way or other subservient : the 
stamens furnish pollen to fertilize its ovules ; the 
corolla and the calyx form coverings which pro- 
tect the whole. 

234 a . These are all the parts which belong to any flower. But 
these parts appear under a variety of forms and combinations, some 
of them greatly disguising their natural appearance. To understand 
the flower, therefore, under whatever guise it may assume, we must 
study its plan. 


PLAN OF THE FLOWER. ' LESSON 13. 


LESSON XIII. 

THE PLAN OF THE FLOWER. 

235. THE FLOWER, like every other part of the plant, is formed 
upon a plan, which is essentially the same in all blossoms ; and the 
student should early get a clear idea of the plan of the flower. Then 
the almost endless varieties which different blossoms present will be 
at once understood whenever they occur, and will be regarded with 
a higher interest than their most beautiful forms and richest colors 
are able to inspire. 

236. We have already become familiar with the plan of the vege- 
tation; with the stem, consisting of joint raised upon joint, each 
bearing a leaf or a pair of leaves ; with the leaves arranged in sym- 
metrical order, every leaf governed by a simple arithmetical law, 
which fixes beforehand the precise place it is to occupy on the stem ; 
and we have lately learned (in Lesson 11) how the position of each 
blossom is determined beforehand by that of the leaves ; so that the 
ghape of every flower-cluster in a bouquet is given by the same sim- 
ple mathematical law which arranges the foliage. Let us now con- 
template the flower in a similar way. Having just learned what 
parts it consists of, let us consider the plan upon which it is made, 
and endeavor to trace this plan through some of the various forms 
which blossoms exhibit to our view. 

237. In order to give at the outset a correct idea of the blossom, 
we took, in the last Lesson, for the purpose of explaining its parts, a 
perfect, complete, regular, and symmetrical flower, and one nearly as 
simple as such a flower could well be. Such a blossom the botanist 
regards as 

238. A Typical Flower 5 that is, a pattern flower, because it well ex- 
emplifies the plan upon which all flowers are made, and serves as 
what is called a type, or standard of comparison. 

239. Another equally good typical flower (except in a single re- 
spect, which will hereafter be mentioned), and one readily to be ob- 
tained in the summer, is that of the Flax (Fig. 174). The parts 
differ in shape from those of the Stonecrop ; but the whole plan is 
evidently just the same in both. Only, while the Stonecrop has ten 
stamens, or in many flowers eight stamens, in all cases just twice 


LESSON 13.] PERFECT AND IMPERFECT FLOWERS. 


as many as there are petals, the Flax has only five stamens, or 
just as many as the petals. Such flowers as these are said to be 

Perfect, because they are 
provided with both kinds of 
essential organs (230), namely, 
stamens and pistils ; 
, Complete, because they have 
,all the sorts of organs which 
'any flower has, namely, both 
calyx and corolla, as well as 
stamens and pistils ; 

Regular, because all the parts 
of each set are alike in shape and size ; and 

Symmetrical, because they have an equal number of parts of each 
sort, or in each set or circle of 
organs. That is, there are five 
sepals, five petals, five stamens, 
or in the Stonecrop ten stamens 
(namely, two sets of five each), 
and five pistils. 

240. On the other hand, 
many flowers do not present 
this perfect symmetry and reg- 
ularity, or this completeness of parts. Accord- 
ingly, we may have 

241. Imperfect, or Separated Flowers; which are 

those where the stamens and pistils are in separate 
blossoms ; that is, one sort of flowers has stamens 
and no pistils, and another has pistils and no sta- 
mens, or only imperfect ones. The blossom which 
has stamens but no pistils is called a staminate or 
sterile flower (Fig. 176) ; and the corresponding 
one with pistils but no stamens is called a pistil- 
late or fertile flower (Fig. 177). The two sorts 
may grow on distinct plants, from different roots, 
as they do in the Willow and Poplar, the Hemp, and the Moonseed 

FIG. 174. Flowers of the common Flax : a perfect, complete, regular, and symmetrical 
blossom, all its parts in fives. 175. Half of a Flax-flower divided lengthwise, and enlarged 

FIG. 176. Staminate flower of Moonseed (Menispennum Caiiadense). 177. Pistillate 
flower of th same. 

8* 


90 


PLAN OF THE FLOWER. 


[LESSON 13. 


(Fig. 17C, 177) ; when the flowers are said to be dioecious (from two 
Greek words meaning in two households). Or the two may occur 

on the same plant 
or the same stem, 
as in the Oak, 
"Walnut, Nettle, 
and the Castor-oil 
Plant (Fig. 178); 
when the flowers 
are said to be mo- 


noecious (that is, in one household). A flower 
may, however, be perfect, that is, have both 
stamens and pistils, and yet be incomplete. 

242. Incomplete Flowers are those in which 
one or both sorts of the floral envelopes, or 
leaves of the blossom, are wanting. Some- 
times only one sort is wanting, as in the 
Castor-oil Plant (Fig. 178) and in the Anem- 
one (Fig. 179). In this case the missing 
sort is always supposed to be the inner, that is, the corolla ; and 
accordingly such flowers are said to be opetalous (meaning without 
petals). Occasionally both the corolla and the calyx are wanting, 
when the flower has no proper cover- 
ings or floral envelopes at all. It is then 
eaid to be naked, as in the Lizard's- 
tail (Fig. 180), and in the Willow. 

243. Our two pattern flowers (Fig. 
168, *74) are regular and symmetrical 
(239). We commonly 
expect this to be the 
case in living things. 
The corresponding 

parts of plants, like the limbs or members of ani- 
mals, are generally alike, and the whole arrange- 
ment is symmetrical. This symmetry pervades 
the Mossom, especially. But the student may often fail to perceive 

Tlf 178. Monoecious flowers, i. e. one staminato (s) and one pistillate (p) flower, of 
the OMor-oil Plant, growing on the same stem. 
FIG. 179. Apctalous (incomplete) flower of Anemone Pennsylvania. 
FIG. 180. A naked /but perfect) flower of the Lizard J s-tail. 


LESSON 13. J IRREGULAR AND UNSYMMETRICAL FLOWERS 91 


it, at first view, at least in cases where the plan is more or less 
obscured by the leaving out (obliteration) of one or more of the 
members of the same set, or by some in- 
equality in their size and shape. The 
latter circumstance gives rise to 

244. Irregular Flowers, This name is 
given to blossoms in which the different 
members of the same sort, as, for exam- 
ple, the petals or the stamens, are unlike 
in size or in form. We have familiar 

cases of the 
sort in the 
Larkspur 
(Fig. 183, 
184), and 
Monkshood 
(Fig. 185, 
186); also 
in the Vio- 
let (Fig. 181, 182). In the latter it 
is the corolla principally which is ir- 
regular, one of the petals being larger 
than the rest, and extended at the 
base into a hollow protuberance or 
spur. In the Larkspur (Fig. 183), 
both the calyx 'and the corolla par- 
take of the irregularity. This and 
the Monkshood are likewise good ex- 
amples of 

245. Unsymmetrical Flowers, We, 

call them unsymmetrical, when the 
different sets of organs do not agree 
in the number of their parts. The 
irregular calyx of Larkspur (Fig. 183, 184) consists of five sepals, 
one of which, larger than the rest, is prolonged behind into a large 
spur; but the corolla is made of only four petals (of two shapes); 

FIG. 181. Flower of a Violet. 182. Its calyx and corolla displayed: the five smaller 
parts are the sepals ; the five intervening larger ones are the petals. 

FIG. 183. Flower of a Larkspur. 184. Its calyx and corolla displayed ; the five large* 
pieces are the sepals ; the four smaller, the petals. 


92 


PLAN OF THE FLOWER. 


[LESSON 13. 


the fifth, needed to complete the symmetry, being left out. And 
the Monkshood (Fig. 185, 186) has five very dissimilar sepals, 

and a corolla of only two, very small, 
curiously-shaped petals ; the thiee need^ 
ed to make up the symmetry being left 
out. For a flower which is unsymmet- 
rical but regular, we may take the com- 
mon Purslane, which has a calyx o. 
only two sepals, but a corolla of five 
petals, from seven to twelve stamens, 
and about six styles. The Mustard, 
and all flowers of that family, are un- 
symmetrical as to the stamens, these 
being six in number (Fig. 188, while 
the leaves of the blossom (sepals and 
petals) are each only four 
(Fig. 187). Here the 
stamens are irregular also, 
two of them being shorter 
than the other four. 

246. Numerical Plan of 
the Flower, Although not 
easy to make out in all 
cases, yet generally it is 
plain to see that each 

blossom is based up6n a particular number, which 
runs through all or most of its parts. And a prin- 
cipal thing which a botanist notices when examin- 
ing a flower is its numerical plan. It is upon this 
that the symmetry of the blossom depends. Our two 
pattern flowers, the Stonecrop (Fig. 168) and the 
Flax (Fig. 174), are based upon the number five, 
which is exhibited in all their parts. Some flowers of this same 
Stonecrop have their parts in fours, and then that number runs 
throughout ; namely, there are four sepals, four petals, eight stamens 
(two sets), and four pistils. The Mustard (Fig. 187, 188), Radish, 

FIG. 185. Flower of a Monkshood. 186. Its parts displayed : the five larger pieces are the 
sepals ; the two small ones under the hood are petals ; the stamens and pistils are in the 
tentre. 

FIG. 187. Flower of Mustard. 188. Its stamens and pistil separate and enlarged. 


LESSON 13.] THE RELATIVE POSITION OF ITS PARTS. 


93 


&c., also have their flowers constructed on the plan of four as to the 
calyx and corolla, but this number is interfered with in the stamens, 
either by the leaving out of two sta- 
mens (which would complete two sets), 
or in some other way. Next to five, 
the most common number in flowers 
is three. On this number the flowers 
of Lily, Crocus, Iris, Spiderwort, and 
Trillium (Fig. 189) are constructed. 
In the Lily and Crocus the leaves of 
the flower at first view appear to be 
six in one set ; but the bud or just- 
opening blossom plainly shows these to consist of an outer and an 
inner circle, each of three parts, namely, of calyx and corolla, both of 
the same bright color and delicate texture. In the Spiderwort and 
Trillium (Fig. 189) the three outer 
leaves, or sepals, are green, and dif- 
ferent in texture from the three inner, 
or the petals ; the stamens are six 
(namely, two sets of three each), and 
the pistils three, though partly grown 
together into one mass. 

247. Alternation of Parts, The symmetry of the flower is likewise 
shown in the arrangement or relative position of successive parts. 
The rule is, that the parts of successive circles alternate with one 
another. That is, the petals stand over the intervals between the 
sepals ; the stamens, when of the same number, 
stand over the intervals between the petals ; or 
when twice as many, as in the Trillium, the 
outer set alternates with the petals, and the 
inner set, alternating with the other, of course 
stands before the petals ; and the pistils alter- 
nate with these. This is shown in Fig. 189, 
and in the diagram, or cross-section of the same in the bud Fig. 190. 
And Fig. 191 is a similar diagram or ground-plan (in the form of a 


FIG. 189. Flower of Trillium erectum, or Birthroot, spread out a little, and riewei from 
above. 

FfG. 190. Diagram or ground-plan of the same, as it would appear in a cross-section of 
the bud ; the parts all in the same relative position 

FIG. 191. Diagram, or ground-plan, of the Flax-flower, Fig. 174. 


54 PLAN OF THE FLOWER, J]LESSON 13. 

section made across the bud) of the Flax blossom, the example of a 
pattern symmetrical flower taken at the beginning of this Lesson, 
with its parts all in fives. 

248. Knowing in this way just the position which each organ 
should occupy in the flower it is readily understood that flowers 
often become unsymmetrical through the loss of some parts, which 

belong to the plan, but are obliterated 
or left out in the execution. For ex- 
ample, in the Larkspur (Fig. 183, 
184), as there are five sepals, there 
should be five petals likewise. We 
find only four ; but the vacant place 
where the fifth belongs is plainly rec- 
ognized at the lower side of the flower. 
Also the similar plan of the Monkshood (Fig. 18G) equally calls for 
five petals ; but three of them are entirely obliterated, and the two 
that remain are reduced to slender bodies, which look as unlike or- 
dinary petals as can well be imagined. Yet their position, answer- 
ing to the intervals between the upper sepals and the side ones, 
reveals their true nature. All this may perhaps be more plainly 
shown by corresponding diagrams of the calyx and corolla of the 
Larkspur and Monkshood (Fig. 192, 193), in which the places of 
the missing petals are indicated by faint dotted lines. The oblitera- 
tion of stamens is a still more common case. For example, the 
Snapdragon, Foxglove, Gerardia, and almost all flowers of the 
large Figwort family they belong to, have the parts of the calyx 
and corolla five each, but only four stamens (Fig. 194); the place 
on the upper side of the flower where the fifth stamen belongs is 
vacant. That there is in sudi cases a real obliteration of the miss- 
ing part is shown by the 

249. Abortive Organs, or vertiges which are sometimes met with ; 
bodies which stand in the place of an organ, and represent it, 
although wholly incapable of fulfilling its office. Thus, in the Fig- 
wort family, the fifth stamen, which is altogether missing in Gerardia 
(Fig. 194) and most others, appears in the Figwort as a little scale, 
and in Pentstemon (Fig. 195) and Turtlehead as a sort of filament 
without any anther ; a thing of no use whatever to the plant, but 

FIG. 192. Diagram of the calyx and corolla of a Larkspur. 193. Similar diagram of 
Monkshood. The dotted lines show where the petals are wanting ; one in the former, three 
in the latter. 


LESSON 13. ! 


A.BORTIVE ORGANS. 


95 


very interesting to the botanist, since it completes the symmetry of 
the blossom. And to show that this really is the lost stamen, it 
now and then bears an anther, or the rudiment of one. So the 
flower of Catalpa should likewise have five stamens ; but we seldom 
find more than two good ones. Still we 
may generally discern the three others, 
as vestiges or half-obliterated stamens 
(Fig. 196). In separated flowers the 
rudiments of pistils are often found in 
the sterile blossom, and rudimentary sta- 
mens in the fertile blossom, as in Moon- 
seed (Fig. 177). 

250. Muliiplicaticr. of Parts, Quite in 

the opposite way, the simple plan of the 
flower is often more or less obscured by 
an increase in the number of parts. In 
the White Water-Lily, and in many 
Cactus-flowers (Fig. 197), all the parts 
are very numerous, so that it is hard 
to say upon what number the blos- 
som is constructed. But more com- 
mo^lv some of the sets are few and 
definite in the number of their parts. 
The Buttercup, for instance, has five 
sepals and five petals, but many sta- 
mens and pistils ; so it is built upon 
the plan of five. The flowers of Mag- 
nolia have indefinitely numerous stamens 
and pistils, and rather numerous floral 
envelopes ; but these latter are plainly distinguishable into sets oi 
three ; namely, there are three sepals, and six. petals in two circles, 
or nine in three circles, showing that these blossoms are con- 
structed on the number three. 


FIG. 194. Corolla of a purple Gerardia laid open, showing the four stamens; tho cross 
shows where the fifth stamen would be, if present. 

FIG. 195. Corolla, laid open, and stamens of Pentstemon grandiflorus of Iowa, &c., with 
a sterile filament in the place of the fifth stamen, and representing it. 

FIG. 196. Corolla of Catalpa laid open, displaying two good stamens and three abortive 
vestiges of stamens. 


96 MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER. [LESSON U 


LESSON XIV. 

MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER. 

251. IN all the plant till we came to the blossom we found nothing 
bat root, stem, and leaves (23, 118). However various or strange 
their shapes, and whatever their use, everything belongs to one of 
these three organs, and everything above ground (excepting the rare 
case of aerial roots) is either stem or leaf. We discern the stem 
equally in the stalk of an herb, the trunk and branches of a tree, the 
trailing or twining Vine, the straw of Wheat or other Grasses, the 
columnar trunk of Palms (Fig. 47), in the flattened joints of the 
Prickly-Pear Cactus, and the rounded body of the Melon Cactus 
(Fig. 76). Also in the slender runners of the Strawberry, the 
tendrils of the Grape-vine and Virginia Creeper, the creeping 
subterranean shoots of the Mint and Couchgrass, the tubers of the 
Potato and Artichoke, the solid bulb of the Crocus, and the solid 
part or base of scaly bulbs ; as is fully shown in Lesson 6. And in 
Lesson 7 and elsewhere we have learned to recognize the leaf alike 
in the thick seed-leaves of the Almond, Bean, Horsechestnut, and the 
like (Fig. 9-24), in the scales of buds (Fig. 77), and the thickened 

FIG. 107. A Cactus-flower, viz. of Mamillaria csespitoea of the Upper Missouri 


LESSON 14.] ARRANGEMENT OF LEAVES IN THE BUD. 97 


scales of bulbs (Fig. 73-75), in the spines of the Barberry and the 
tendrils of the Pea, in the fleshy rosettes of the Houseleek, the 
strange fly-trap of Dionaea (Fig. 81), and the curious pitcher of Sar- 
racenia (Fig. 79). 

252. Now the student who understands these varied forms or 
metamorphoses of the stem and leaf, and knows how to detect the 
real nature of any part of the plant under any of its disguises, 
may readily trace the leaf into the blossom also, and perceive that, 
as to their morphology, 

253. Flowers are altered Branches, and their parts, therefore, altered 
leaves. That is, certain buds, which might have grown and length- 
ened into a leafy branch, do, under other circumstances and to ac- 
complish other purposes, develop into blossoms. In these the axis 
remains short, nearly as it is in the bud ; the leaves therefore remain 
close together in sets or circles ; the outer ones, those of the calyx, 
generally partake more or less of the character of foliage ; the next 
set are more delicate, and form the corolla, while the rest, the sta- 
mens and pistils, appear under forms very different from those of 
ordinary leaves, and are concerned in the production of seed- This 
is the way the scientific botanist views a flower ; and this view gives 
to Botany an interest which one who merely notices the shape and 
counts the parts of blossoms, without understanding their plan, has 
no conception of. 

254. That flowers answer to branches may be shown first from 
their position. As explained in the Lesson on Inflorescence, flowers 
arise from the same places as branches, and from no other ; flower- 
buds, like leaf-buds, appear either on the summit of a stem, that is, 
as a terminal bud, or in the axil of a leaf, as an axillary bud (196). 
And at an early stage it is often impossible to foretell whether the 
bud is to give rise to a blossom or to a branch. 

255. That the sepals and petals are of the nature of leaves is 
evident from their appearance ; , persons who are not botanists com- 
monly call them the leaves of the flower. The calyx is most gen- 
erally green in color, and foliaceous (leaf-like) in texture. And 
though the corolla is rarely green, yet neither are proper leaves 
always green. In our wild Painted-Cup, and in some scarlet Sages, 
common in gardens, the leaves just under the flowers are of the 
brightest red or scarlet, often much brighter-colored than the corolla 
itself. And sometimes (as in many Cactuses, and in Carolina All- 
spice) there is sueh a regular gradation from the last leaves of the 

9 


88 MORPHOLOGY OF THE FLOWER. [LESSON 14. 


plant (bracts or bractlets) into the leaves of the calyx, that it is im- 
possible to say where the one ends and the other begins. And if 
sepals are leaves, so also are petals ; for there is no clearly fixed 
limit between them. Not only in the Carolina Allspice and Cactus 
(Fig. 197), but in the Water-Lily (Fig. 198) and a variety of 
flowers with more than one row of petals, there is such a complete 
transition between calyx and corolla that no one can surely tell how 
many of the leaves belong to the one and how many to the other. 

256. It is very true that the calyx or the corolla often takes the 
form of a cup or tube, instead of being in separate pieces, as in Fig. 
194-196. It is then composed of two or more leaves grown 
together. This is no objection to the petals being leaves ; for the 
same thing takes place with the ordinary leaves of many plants, as, 
for instance, in the upper ones of Honeysuckles (Fig. 132). 

257. That stamens are of the same general nature as petals, and 
therefore a modification of leaves, is shown by the gradual transitions 
that occur between the one and the other in many blossoms ; es- 
pecially in cultivated flowers, such as Roses and Camellias, when 
they begin to double, that is, to change their stamens into petals. 
Some wild and natural flowers show the same interesting transitions. 
The Carolina Allspice and the White Water-Lily exhibit complete 
gradations not only between sepals and petals, but between petals 
and stamens. The sepals of the Water-Lily are green outside, but 
white and petal-like on the inside ; the petals, in many rows, grad- 
ually grow narrower towards the centre of the flower ; some of these 
are tipped with a trace of a yellow anther, but still are petals ; the 
next are more contracted and stamen-like, but with a flat petal-like 
filament ; and a further narrowing of this completes the genuine sta- 
men. A series of these stages is shown in Fig. 198. 

258. Pistils and stamens now and then change into each other in 
some Willows ; pistils often turn into petals in cultivated flowers ; 
and in the Double Cherry they occasionally change directly into 
small green leaves. Sometimes a whole blossom changes into a 
cluster of green leaves, as in the " green roses " which are occa- 
sionally noticed in gardens, and sometimes it degenerates into a 
leafy branch. So the botanist regards pistils also as answering to 
leaves. And his idea of a pistil is, that it consists of a leaf with its 
margins curved inwards till they meet and unite to form a closed 
cavity, the ovary, while the tip is prolonged to form the style and 
bear the stigma ; as will be illustrated in the Lesson upon the Pistil. 


LESSON 15.] 


THE CALYX AND COROLLA. 


99 


259. Moreover, the arrangement of the parts of the flower an&svers 
to that of leaves, as illustrated in Lesson 10, either to a succes- 
sion of whorls alternating with each other in the manner of whorled 
leaves, or in some regular form of spiral arrangement. 


LESSON XV. 

MORPHOLOGY OF THE CALYX AND COROLLA. 

260. HAVING studied the flower as a whole, we proceed to con- 
sider more particularly its several parts, especially as to the principal 
differences they present in different plants. We naturally begin 
with the leaves of the blossom, namely, the calyx and corolla. And 
first as to 

261. The Growing together Of Parts, It is this more than anything 
else which prevents one from taking the idea, at first sight, that the 
flower is a sort of very short branch clothed with altered leaves. 
For most blossoms we meet with have some of their organs grown 
together more or less. We have noticed it as to the corolla of Ge- 
rardia, Catalpa, <$cc. (Fig. 194-196), jn Lesson 13. This growing 


FIG. 198. Succession of sepals, petals, gradations between petals and stamens, and true 
stamens, of the Nymplwa, or White Water-Lily. 


100 


THE CALYX AND COROLLA. 


[LESSON 15. 


together takes place in two ways : either parts of the same kind, 
or parts of different kinds, may be united. The first we may call 
simply the union, the second the consoli^ 
dation, of parts. 

262. Union OF Cohesion with one another 
of parts of the same sort. We very com- 
monly find that the calyx or the corolla 
is a cup or tube, instead of a set of leaves. 
Take, for example, the flower of the Stra- 
monium or Thorn- Apple, where both the 
calyx and the corolla are so (Fig. 199); 
likewise the common Morning-Glory, and 
the figures 201 to 203, where the leaves 
of the corolla are united into one piece, 
but those of the calyx are separate. Now 
there are numerous cases of real leaves 
growing together much in the same 
way, those of the common Thorough- 
wort, and the upper pairs in Woodbines 
or Honeysuckles, for example (Fig. 132) ; 
so that we might expect it to occur in 

the leaves of the blossom also. And that this is the right view to 
take of it plainly appears from the transitions everywhere met with 
in different plants, between a calyx or a corolla of separate pieces 
and one forming a perfect tube or cup. Figures 200 to 203 show 
one complete set of such gradations in the corolla, and Fig. 204 to 
206 another, in short and open corollas. How many leaves or petals 
each corolla is formed of may be seen by the number of points or 
tips, or of the notches (called sinuses) which answer to the inter- 
vals between them. 

263. When the parts are united in this way, whether much or 
little, the corolla is said to be monopetalous, and the calyx mono- 
sepalous. These terms mean " of one petal," or " of one sepal " ; 
that is, of one piece. Wherefore, taking the corolla or the calyx 
as a whole, we say that it is parted when the parts are separate 
almost to the base, as in Fig. 204 ; cleft or lobed when the notches 
do not extend below the middle or thereabouts, as in Fig. 205 ; 


FIG. 199. Flower of the common Stramonium ; both the calyx and the corolla with then 
parts united into a tuba. 


LESSON 15.] UNION OF PARTS. 101 

toothed or dentate, when only the tips are separate as short points 
entire, when the border is even, without points or notches, as in the 


common Morning-Glory, and very nearly so in Fig. 203; and so 
on ; the terms being just the same as those applied to leaves and 
all other flat bodies, and illustrated in Lessons 8 and 9. 

264. There is a set of terms applied particularly to calyxes, 
corollas, or other such bodies of one piece, to express their general 
shape, which we see is very various. The following are some of 
the principal : 

Wheel-shaped, or rotate ; when spreading out at once, without a 
tube or with a very short one, something in the shape of a wheel 
or of its diverging spokes, as in the corolla of the Potato and Bitter- 
sweet (Fig. 204, 205). 

Salver-shaped, or salver-form ; when a flat-spreading border is 
raised on a narrow tube, from which it diverges at right angles, 


205 206 

like the salver represented in old pictures, with a slender handle 
beneath. The corolla of the Phlox (Fig. 208) and of the Cyprees- 
Vine (Fig. 202) are of this sort, 

FIG. 200. Corolla of Soapwort (the same in Pinks, &c.), of 5 separate, long-clawed petals. 

FIG. 201. Flower of Gilia or Ipomopsis coronopifolia ; the parts answering to the clawa 
of the petals of the last figure here all united into a tube. 

FIG. 202. Flower of the Cypress-Vine ; the petals a little farther united into a five-lobed 
spreading border. 

FIG. 203. Flower of the small Scarlet Morning-Glory, the five petals it is composed of 
perfectly united into a trumpet-shaped tube, with the spreading border nearly even (or entire). 

FIG. 204. Wheel-shaned and five-parted corolla of Bittersweet (Solanum Dulcamara). 

FIG. 205. Wheel-shaped and five-cleft corolla of the common Potato. 

FIG. 206. Almost entire and very open bell-shaped corolla of a Ground Cherry (PhysalisJ 

9* 


102 


THE CALYX AND COROLLA. 


[LESSON 15. 


Bell-shaped, or campanulate ; where a short and broad tube 
widens upward, in the shape of a bell, as in Fig. 207. 

Funnel-shaped, or funnel-form ; gradually spreading at the sum- 
mit of a tube which is narrow below, in the shape of a funnel or 
tunnel, as in the corolla of the common Morning-Glory, and of the 
Stramonium (Fig. 199). 

Tubular ; when prolonged into a tube, without much spreading at 
the border, as in the corolla of the Trumpet Honeysuckle, the calyx 
of Stramonium (Fig. 199), &c. 


265. In most of these cases we may distinguish two parts; namely, 
the tube, or the portion all in one piece and with its sides upright or 
nearly so ; and the border or limb, the spreading portion or summit. 
The limb may be entire, as in Fig. 203, but it is more commonly 
lobed, that is, partly divided, as in Fig. 202, or parted down nearly 
to the top of the tube, as in Fig. 208, &c. 

266. So, likewise, a separate petal is sometimes distinguishable 
into two parts ; namely, into a narrowed base or stalk-like part (a? 
in Fig. 200, where this part is peculiarly long), called the claw, and 
a spreading and enlarged summit, or body of the petal, called the 
lamina or blade. 

267. When parts of the same set are not united (as in the Flax, 
Cherry, &c., Fig. 212 - 215), we call them distinct. Thus the sepals 
or the petals are distinct when not at all united with each other. As 
a calyx with sepals united into one body is called monosepalous (263, 
that is, one-sepalled), or sometimes monophyllous, that is, one-leaved ; 
so, on the other hand, when the sepals are distinct, it is said to be 

FIG. 207. Flower of the Harebell, with a campannlate or bell-shaped corolla. 208. Of a 
Phlox, with salver-shaped corolla. 209. Of Dead-Nettie (Lamium), with labiate ringent (or 
gaping) corolla. 210. Of Snapdragon, with labiate personate- corolla. 211. Of Toad-Flax, 
with a similar corolla spurred at the base. 


LESSON 15.] 


CONSOLIDATION OF PARTS. 


103 


polysepalous, that is, composed of several or many sepals. And a 
corolla with distinct petals is said to be polypetalous'. 

268. Consolidation, the growing together of the parts of two or more 
different sets. In the most natural or pattern flower (as explained 
in Lessons 13 and 14), the 

several parts rise from the 

receptacle or axis in succes- ' 

sion, like leaves upon a very 

short stem ; the petals just 

above or within the sepals, 

the stamens just above or 

within these, and then the 

pistils next the summit or 

centre. Now when contiguous parts of different sorts, one within 

the other, unite at their base or origin, it obscures more or less the 

plan of the flower, by consolidating organs which in the pattern 

flower are entirely separate. 213 

269. The nature of this con- 
solidation will be at once un- 
derstood on comparing the fol- 
lowing series of illustrations. 
Fig. 212 represents a flower of 
the common Flax, cut through 
lengthwise, so as to sho.w the 
attachment (or what the bot- 


anist calls the insertion) of all 
the parts. Here they are all 
inserted on, that is grow out 
of, the receptacle or axis of 
the blossom. In other words, 
fhere is no union at all of the 
parts of contiguous circles. So 
the parts are said to be free. 
And the sepals, petals, and stamens, all springing of course from 
beneath the pistils, which are on the very summit of the axis, are 
said to be hypogynous (a term composed of two Greek words, mean- 
ing "under the pistil"). 

FIG. 212. A Flax-flower, cut through lengthwise. 

FIG. 213. Flower of a Cherry, divided in the same way. 

FIG. 214. Flower of the common Purslane, divided lengthwise. 


104 


THE CALYX AND COROLLA. 


[LESSON 15. 


270. Fig. 213 is a flower of a Cherry, cut through lengthwise in 
the same way." Here the petals and the stamens grow out of, that 
is, are inserted on, the calyx ; in other words they cohere or are 
consolidated with the base of the calyx up to a certain height. In 
such cases they are said to be perigynous (from two Greek words, 
meaning around the pistil). The consolidation in the Cherry is con- 
fined to the calyx, corolla, and stamens : the calyx is still free from 
the pistil. One step more we have in 

271. Fig. 214, which is a similar section of a flower of a Purslane. 

Here the lower part of the 
calyx (carrying with it of 
course the petals and stamens) 
is coherent with the surface of 
the whole lower half of the 
ovary. Therefore the calyx, 
seeming to rise from the mid- 
dle of the ovary, is said to be 
half superior, instead of being 
inferior, as it is when entirely free. It is better to say, however, 
calyx half-adherent to the ovary. Every gradation occurs between 
/? such a case and that of a calyx 

altogether free or inferior, as 
we see in different Purslanes 
and Saxifrages. The consol- 
idation goes farther, 

272. In the Apple, Quince, 
Hawthorn (Fig. 215), &c. 
Here the tube of the calyx 
is consolidated with the whole 
surface of the ovary ; and its 
limb, or free part, therefore appears to spring from its top, instead of 
underneath it, as it naturally should. So the calyx is said to be 
superior, or (more properly) adherent to, or coherent with, the ovary. 
In most cases (and very strikingly in the Evening Primrose), the 
tube of the calyx is continued on more or less beyond the ovary, 
and has the petals and stamens consolidated with it for some dis- 
tance ; these last, therefore, being borne on the calyx, are said to 
be perigynous, as before (270). 


FIG. 215. Flower of a Hawthorn, divided lengthwise. 
FIG. 216. Flower of the Cranberry, divided lengthwise. 


LESSON 15.] 


IRREGULARITY OP PARTS. 


105 


273. But if the tube of the calyx ends immediately at the summit 
of the ovary, and its lobes as well as the corolla and stamens are as 
it were inserted directly on the ovary, they are said to be epigynous 
(meaning on the pistil), as in Cornel, the Huckleberry, and the Cran- 
berry (Fig. 216). 

274. Irregularity Of Parts in the calyx and corolla has already been 
noticed (244) as sometimes obstructing one's view of the real plan of/ 
a flower. There is infinite variety in this respect ; but what has 
already been said will enable the student to understand these irreg- 
ularities when they occur. We have only room to mention, one or 
two cases which have given rise to 

particular names. A very common ^\- 

kind, among polypetalous (267) 
flowers, is 

275. The Papilionaceous flower 
of the Pea, Bean, and nearly all 

that family. In this we have an 217 

irregular corolla of a peculiar shape, which Linnaeus likened to a 
butterfly (whence the term, papilio being the Latin name for a but- 
terfly) ; but the resemblance is 
not very obvious. The five pet- 
als of a papilionaceous corolla 
(Fig. 217) have received different 
names taken from widely different 
objects. The upper and larger 
petal (Fig. 218, s), which is gen- 
erally wrapped round all the rest 
in the bud, is called the standard 
or banner. The two side petals 
(w) are called the wings. And 
the two anterior ones (&), the 


blades of which commonly stick 
together a little, and which en- 
close the stamens and pistil in the flower, from their forming a 
body shaped somewhat like the keel, or rather the prow, of an 
ancient boat, are together named the keel. 

276. The Labiate or bilabiate (that is, two-lipped) flower is a very 
common form of the monopetalous corolla, as in the Snapdragon 

FIG. 217. Front view of the papilionaceous corolla of the Locust-tree. 218. The parts of 
the same, displayed 

S&F-45 


106 THE CALYX AND COROLLA. JJLESSON !*> 

(Fig. 210), Toad-Flax (Fig. 211), Dead-Nettie (Fig. 209), Catnip, 
Horsemint, &c. ; and in the Sage, the Catalpa, &c., the calyx also is 
two-lipped. This is owing to unequal union of the different parts of 
the same sort, as well as to diversity of shape. In the corolla two 
of the petals grow together higher than the rest, sometimes to the 
very top, and form the upper lip, and the three remaining ones join 
on the other side of the flower to form the lower lip, which therefore 
is more or less three-lobed, while the upper lip is at most only two- 
lobed. And if the calyx is also two-lipped, as in the Sage, since 
the parts of the calyx always alternate with those of the corolla 
(247), then the upper lip has three lobes or teeth, namely, is com- 
posed of three sepals united, while the lower has only two ; which is 
the reverse of the arrangement in the corolla. So that all these 
flowers are really constructed on the plan of five, and not on that of 
two, as one would at first be apt to suppose. In Gerardia, &c. (Fig. 
194, 195), the number five is evident in the calyx and corolla, but is 
more or less obscured in the stamens (249). In Catalpa this num- 
ber is masked in the calyx by irregular union, and in the stamens by 
abortion. A different kind of irregular flower is seen in 

277. The Ligulate or strap- 
shaped corolla of most com- 
pound flowers. What was 
called the compound flower 
of a Dandelion, Succory (Fig. 
221), Thistle, Sunflower, As- 
ter, Whiteweed, &c., consists 
of many distinct blossoms, 
closely crowded together into 

a head, and surrounded by an involucre (208). People who are not 
botanists commonly take the whole for one flower, the involucre for 
)a calyx, and corollas of the outer or of all the flowers as petals. 
And this is a very natural mistake when the flowers around the 
edge have flat and open or strap-shaped corollas, while the rest 
are regular and tubular, but small, as in the Whiteweed, Sunflower, 
&c. Fig. 219 represents such a case in a Coreopsis, with the 
head, or so-called compound flower, cut through ; and in Fig. 220 
we see one of the perfect flowers of the centre or disk, with a reg- 
ular tubular corolla (a), and with the slender bract (b) from whose 

FIG. 219. Head of flowers (the so-called " compound flower ") of Coreopsis, divided 
lengthwise. 


LESSON 15.] 80-CALLED COMPOUND FLOWERS. 


107 


axil it grew ; and also one belonging to the margin, or ray, with 
a strap-shaped corolla (c), borne in the axil of a leaf or bract of 

6 


the involucre (d). Here the ray-flower consists merely of a strap- 
shaped corolla, raised on the small rudiment of an ovary ; it is 
therefore a neutral flower, like those of the ray or margin of the 
cluster in Hydrangea (229, Fig. 167), only of a different shape. 
More commonly the flowers with a strap-shaped corolla are pis 
tillate, that is, have a pistil only, and produce seed like the others, 
as in Whiteweed. But in the Dandelion, Succory (Fig. 221, 222), 


and all of that tribe, these flowers are perfect, that is, bear both 
stamens and pistils. And moreover all the flowers of the head are 
strap-shaped and alike. 

278. Puzzling as these strap-shaped corollas appear at first view, 
an attentive inspection will generally reveal the plan upon which 
they are constructed. We can make out pretty plainly, that each 
one consists of five petals (the tips of which commonly appear as five 
teeth at the extremity), united by their contiguous edges, except on 

FIG. 220. A slice of Fig. 219, more enlarged, with one tubular perfect flower (a) left 
standing on the receptacle, with its bractlet or chaff (i), one ligulate, neutral ray -dower (c). 
and part of another: d, section of bracts or leaves of The Involucre. 

FIG. 222. Head of flowers of Succory, cut through lengthwise and enlarged. 


108 THE CALYX AND COROLLA. [LESION 16. 

one side, and spread out flat. To prove that this is the case, we have 
only to compare such a corolla (that of Coreopsis, Fig. 220, c, or 
one from the Succory, for instance) with that of the Cardinal-flower, 
or of any other Lobelia, which is equally split down along one side ; 
and this again with the less irregular corolla of the Woodbine, par- 
tially split down on one side. 


LESSON XVI. 

ESTIVATION, OR THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE CALYX AND CO- 
ROLLA IN THE BUD. 

279. ^ESTIVATION or Prcefloration relates to the way in which 
the leaves of the flower, or the lobes of the calyx or corolla, are 
placed with respect to each other in the bud. This is of some 
importance in distinguishing different families or tribes of plants, 
being generally very uniform in each. The aestivation is best seen 

FIG. 221. Compound flowers, i. e. heads of flowers, of Succory. 


LESSON 16.] THEIR ARRANGEMENT IN THE BUD. 


109 


by making a horizontal slice of the flower-bud when just ready to 
open ; and it may be expressed in diagrams, as in Fig. 223, 224. 

280. The pieces of the calyx or the corolla either overlap each 
other in the bud, or they do not. When they do not, the aestivation 
is commonly 

Valvate, as it is called when the pieces meet each other by their 
abrupt edges without any infolding or overlapping ; as the calyx of 
.the Linden or Basswood (Fig. 223) and the Mallow, and the corolla 
of the Grape, Virginia Creeper, &c. Or it may be 

Induplicate, which is valvate with the margins of each piece pro- 
jecting inwards, or involute (like the leaf in Fig. 152), as in the 
calyx of Yirgin's-Bower and the corolla of the Potato, or else 

Reduplicate, like the last, but the margins projecting outwards 
instead of inwards ; these last being mere vari- 
ations of the valvate form. 

281. When the pieces overlap in the bud, it 
is in one of two ways : either every piece has 
one edge in and one edge out ; or some pieces 
are wholly outside and others wholly inside. 
In the first case the aestivation is 
Convolute or twisted, as in the corolla of Geranium (most com- 
monly, Fig. 224), Flax (Fig. 191), and of the Mallow Family. 
Here one edge of every petal covers the next 
before it, while its other edge is covered by 
the next behind it. In the second case it is 

Imbricated or imbricate, or breaking joints, 
like shingles on a roof, as in the calyx of Ge- 
ranium (Fig. 224) and of Flax (Fig. 191), 
and the corolla of the Linden (Fig. 223). In 
these cases the parts are five in number; and the regular way then 
is (as in the calyx of the figures above cited) to have two pieces en- 
tirely external (1 and 2), one (3) with one edge covered by the first, 
while the other edge covers that of the adjacent one on the other 
side, and two (4 and 5) wholly within, their margins at least being 
covered by the rest. That is, they just represent a circle of five 
leaves spirally arranged on the five-ranked or f plan (187, 188, 
and Fig. 143-145), only with the stem shortened so as to bring 
the parts close together. The spiral arrangement of the parts of 


FIG. 223. Section across the flower-bud of Linden. 
FIG. 224. Section acrois the flower-bud ot Geranium 

10 


the sepals numbered in their order 


110 ARRANGEMENT OF PARTS IN THE BUD. ([LESSON 16. 

the blossom is the same as that of the foliage, an additional evi- 
dence that the flower is a sort of branch. The petals of the Linden, 
with only one outside and one inside, as shown in Fig. 223, exhibit 
a gradation between the imbricated and the convolute modes. When 
the parts are four in number, generally two opposite ones overlap the 
other two by both edges. When three in number, then one is outer- 
most, the next has one edge out and the other covered, and the third 
is within, being covered by the other two; as in Fig. 190. This is 
just the three-ranked (J) spiral arrangement of leaves (186, and 
Fig. 171). 

282. In the Mignonette, and some other flowers, the aestivation is 
open ; that is, the calyx and corolla are not closed at all over the 
other parts of the flower, even in the young bud. 

283. When the calyx or the corolla is tubular, the shape of the 
tube in the bud has sometimes to be considered, as well as the way 
the lobes are arranged. For example, it may be 

Plaited or plicate, that is, folded lengthwise ; and the plaits may 
either be turned outwards, forming projecting ridges, as in the 
corolla of Campanula ; or turned inwards, as in the corolla of the 
Gentian, &c. When the plaits are wrapped round all in one direc- 
tion, so as to cover one another in a convolute manner, the aestivation 
is said to be 

Supervolute, as in the corolla of Stramonium (Fig. 225) and the 
Morning-Glory ; and in the Morning- Glory it is twisted besides. 

FIG. 225. Upper part of the corolla of a Stramonium (Datura meteloides), in the bud. 
Underneath is a cross-section of the same. 


LESSON 17.] THE STAMENS. Ill 


LESSON XVII. 

MORPHOLOGY OF THE STAMENS. 

284. THE STAMENS exhibit nearly the same kinds of variation in 
different species that the calyx and corolla do. They may be dis- 
tinct (that is, separate from each other, 2G7) or united. They may 
\)efree (269), or else coherent with other parts : this concerns 

285. Their Insertion, or place of attachment, which is most com- 
monly the same as that of the corolla. So, stamens are 

Hypogynom (269), when they are borne on the receptacle, or axis 
of the flower, under the pistils, as they naturally should be, and as is 
shown in Fig. 212. 

Perigynous, when borne on (that is coherent below with) the 
calyx ; as in the Cherry, Fig. 213. 

Epigynous, when borne on the ovary, appar- 
ently, as in Fig. 216. To these we may add 

Gynandrous (from two Greek words, answer- 
ing to "stamens and pistil united"), when the 
stamens are consolidated with the style, so as 
to be borne by it, as in the Lady's Slipper 
(Fig. 226) and all the Orchis Family. Also 

Epipetalous (meaning on the petals), when 
they are borne by the corolla; as in Fig. 194, 
and in most monopetalous blossoms. As to 

286. Their Union With each Other, the stamens may be united by 
their filaments or by their anthers. In the former case they are 

Monadelphous (from two Greek words, meaning " in one brother- 
hood "), when united by their filaments into one set, usually into a 
ring or cup below, or into a tube, as in the Mallow Family, the 
Passion-flower, and the Lupine (Fig. 228). 

Diadelphous (in two brotherhoods), when so united in two sets, 
as in the Pea and almost all papilionaceous flowers (275) : here 
the stamens are nine in one set, and one in the other (Fig. 227). 

FIG. 026. Style of a Lady's Slipper (Cypripediurn), and stamens united with it : a, a, the 
anthers of the two good stamens ; s., an abortive stamen, what should be its anther changed 
into a petal-like body ; stig., the stigma. 


112 


THE STAMENS. 


[LESSON 17. 


Triadelphous, in three sets or parcels, as in the common St. Johns- 
wort ; or 

Polyadelphous, when in more numerous sets, as in the Loblolly 
Bay, where they are in five clusters. On 
the other hand, stamens are said to be 

Syngenesious, when united by their an- 
thers (Fig. 229, 230), as they are in Lobelia, 
in the Violet (slightly), and in what are 
called compound flowers, such as the Thistle, 
Sunflower, Coreopsis (Fig. 220), and Suc- 
cory (Fig. 222). In Lobelia, and in the 
Squash and Pumpkin, the stamens are 
united both by their anthers and their filaments. 

287. Their Number in the flower is sometimes expressed by terms 
compounded of the Greek numerals and the word used to signify 
stamen ; as, monandrous, for a flower having 

only one stamen ; diandrous, one with two 
stamens ; triandrous, with three stamens ; te- 
trandrous, with four stamens ; pentandrous, 
with five stamens ; and so on, up to polyan- 
drous (meaning with many stamens), when 
there are twenty or a larger number, as in a 
Cactus (Fig. 397). All such terms may be 
found in the Glossary at the end of the book. 

288. Two terms are used to express particular numbers wit{i uo, 
equal length. Namely, the stamens are didynamous when only four 
in number, two longer than the other two, as in the Mint, Catnip, 
Gerardia (Fig. 194), Trumpet-Creeper, &c. ; and tetradynamous, 
when they are six, with four of them regularly longer than the 
other two, as in Mustard (Fig. 188), and all that family. 

289. Their Parts. As already shown (233), a stamen consists of 
two parts, the Filament and the Anther (Fig. 231). 

290. The Filament is a kind of stalk to the anther : it is to the 
anther nearly what the petiole is to the blade of a leaf. Therefore 
it is not an essential part. As a leaf may be without a stalk, so 
the anther may be sessile, or without a filament. When present, 

FIG. 227. Diadelphous stamens of the Pea, &c. 228. Monadelphous stamens of tho 
Lupine. 

FIG. 229. Syngenesioua stamens of Coreopsis (Fig. 220, ), &c. 230. Same, with tb 
tube of anthers split down on one side and spread open. 


230 


LESSON 17.] THEIR STRUCTURE AND PARTS. 


113 


the filament may be of any shape ; but it is commonly thread-like, 
as in Fig. 231, 234, &c. 

291. The Anther is the essential part of the stamen. * "' 
It is a sort of case, filled with a fine powder, called 
Pollen, which serves to fertilize the pistil, so that it 
may perfect seeds. The anther may be considered, 
first, as to 

292. Its Attachment to the filament. Of this there are 
three ways ; namely, the anther is 

Innate (as in Fig. 232), when it is attached by its base to the 
very apex of the filament, turning neither inwards nor outwards ; or 

Adnate (as in Fig. 233), when at- 
tached by one face, usually for its 
whole length, to the side of the fila- 
ment ; and 

Versatile (as in Fig. 234), when fixed 
by its middle only to the very point of 
the filament, so as to swing loosely, as 
we see it in the Lily, in Grasses, &c. 

293. In both the last-named cases, 
234 the anther either looks inwards or out- 
wards. When it is turned inwards, or is fixed to that side of the 
filament which looks towards the pistil or centre of the flower, the 
anther is incumbent or introrse, as in Magnolia and the Water-Lily. 
When turned outwards, or fixed to the outer side of the filament, it is 
extrorse, as in the Tulip-tree. 

294. Its Structure, &c. There are few cases in which the stamen 
bears any resemblance to a leaf. Nevertheless, the botanist's idea of 
a stamen is, that it answers to a leaf developed in a peculiar form 
and for a special purpose. In the filament he sees the stalk of the 
leaf; in the anther, the blade. The blade of a leaf consists of two 
similar sides ; so the anther consists of two lobes or cells, one answer- 
ing to the left, the other to the right, side of the blade. The two lobe* 
are often connected by a prolongation of the filament, which answers 
to the midrib of a leaf' this is called the connective. It is very con- 
spicuous in Fig. 232, where the connective is so broad that it separates 
the two cells of the anther to some distance from each other. 

FIG. 231. A stamen : a, filament ; b, anther discharging pollen. 

FIG. 232. Stamen of Isopymm, with innate anther. 233. Of Tulip-tree, with adnate (and 
xtroree) anther- 234 Of Evening Primrose, with rersatile anther. 

10* 


iu 


THE STAMENS. 


[LESSON 17. 


295. To discharge the pollen, the anther opens (or is dehiscent) 
at maturity, commonly by a line along the whole 
length of each cell, and which answers to the 
margin of the leaf (as in Fig. 231) ; but when 
the anthers are extrorse, this line is often on the 
outer face, and when introrse, on the inner face 
of each cell. Sometimes the anther opens only 
by a chink, hole, or pore at the top, as in the 
SM ass Azalea, Pyrola or False Wintergreen (Fig. 235), 

&c. ; and sometimes a part of the face separates as a sort of trap-door 
(or valve), hinged at the top, and opening to allow the escape of the 
pollen, as in the Sassafras, Spice-bush, and Barberry (Fig. 236). 
Most anthers are really four-celled when young ; 
a slender partition running lengthwise through 
each cell and dividing it into two compartments, 
one answering to the upper, and the other to the 
lower, layer of the green pulp of the leaf. Oc- 
casionally the anther becomes one-celled. This 
takes place mostly by confluence, that is, the two 
cells running together into one, as they do 
slightly in Pentstemon (Fig. 237) 
and thoroughly in the Mallow Family (Fig. 238). But 
sometimes it occurs by the obliteration or disappear- 
ance of one half of the anther, as in the Globe Ama- 
ranth of the gardens (Fig. 239). 

296. The way in which a stamen is supposed to be 
constructed out of a leaf, or rather on the plan of a 
leaf, is shown in Fig. 240, an ideal figure, the lower 
part representing a stamen with the top of its anther 
cut away ; the upper, the corresponding upper part of 
a leaf. The use of the anther is to produce 
297. Pollen, This is the powder, or fine dust, commonly of a yel- 
low color, which fills the cells of the anther, and is discharged during 
blossoming, after which the stamens generally fall off or wither away. 

FIG. 235. Stamen of Pyrola ; the anther opening by holes at the top. 

FIG. 236. Stamen of Barberry ; the anther opening by uplifted valves. 

FIG. 237. Stamen of Pentstemon pubescens ; anther-cells slightly confluent. 

FIG. 238. Stamen of Mallow ; the two cells confluent into one, opening round the margin 

FIG. 239. Anther of Globe Amaranth, of only one cell ; the other cell wanting. 

FIG. 240 Diagram of the lower part of an anther, cut across above, and the upper part of 
t leaf, to show how the one answers to the other. 


LESSON 17.] 


POLLEN. 


115 


Under the microscope it is found to consist of grains, usually round or 
oval, and all alike in the same species, but very different in different 
plants. So that the plant may sometimes be recognized from the 
pollen alone. 

293. A grain of pollen is made up of two coats ; the outer coat 
Ihickish, but weak, and frequently adorned with lines or bands, or 
studded with points ; the inner coat is extremely thin and delicate, 
but extensible, and its cavity is filled with a thickish fluid, often 
rendered turbid by an immense number of minute grains that float 
in it. When wet, the grains absorb the water and swell so much 
that many kinds soon burst and discharge their contents. 

299. Figures 241 - 250 represent some common sorts of pollen, 
magnified one or two hundred diameters, viz.: A pollen-grain of 
the Musk Plant, spirally grooved. One of Sicyos, or One-seeded 
Cucumber, beset with bristly points and marked by smooth bands. 
One of the Wild Balsam-Apple (Echinocystis), grooved lengthwise. 
One of Hibiscus or Rose-Mallow, studded with prickly points. One 
of Succory, many-sided, and dotted with fine points. A grain of the 
curious compound pollen of Pine. One from the Lily, smooth and 
oval. One from Enchanter's Nightshade, with three small lobes on 
the angles. Pollen of Kalmia, composed of four grains united, as in 
all the Heath family. A grain from an Evening Primrose, with a 
central body and three large lobes. The figures number from left 
to right, beginning at the top. 


116 THE PISTILS. [LESSON 1& 

LESSON XVIII. 

MORPHOLOGY OF PISTILS. 

300. THE PISTIL, when only one, occupies the centre of the 
flower ; when there are two pistils, they stand facing each other in 
the centre of the flower ; when several, they commonly form a ring 
or circle ; and when very numerous, they are generally crowded in 
rows or spiral lines on the surface of a more or less enlarged or 
elongated receptacle. 

301. Their number in a blossom is sometimes expressed, in Sys- 
tematic Botany, by terms compounded of the Greek numerals and 
the Greek word used to signify pistil, in the following way. A flower 
with one pistil is said to be monogynous ; with two, digynous ; with 
three, trigynous ; with four, tetragynous ; with five, pentagynous, and 
so on ; with many pistils, polygynous, terms which are explained 
in the Glossary, but which there is no need to commit to memory. 

302. The Parts Of a Pistil, as already explained (234), are the 
Ovary, the Style, and the Stigma. The ovary is one essential part : 
it contains the rudiments of seeds, called Ovules. The stigma at 
the summit is also essential : it receives the pollen, which fertilizes 
the ovules in order that they may become seeds. But the style, the 
tapering or slender column commonly borne on the summit of the 
ovary, and bearing the stigma on its apex or its side, is no more neces- 
sary to a pistil than the filament is to the stamen. Accordingly, there 
is no style in many pistils : in these the stigma is sessile, that is, rests 
directly on the ovary. The stigma is very various in shape and 
appearance, being sometimes a little knob (as in the Cherry, Fig. 
213), sometimes a small point, or small surface of bare, moist tissue 
(as in Fig. 254-256), and sometimes a longitudinal crest or line 
(as in Fig. 252, 258, 267, 269), and also exhibiting many other 
shapes. 

303. The pistil exhibits an almost infinite variety of 'forms, and 
many complications. To understand these, it is needful to begin 
with the simple kinds, and to proceed gradually to the complex. 
And, first of all, the student should get a clear notion of 

304. The Plan or Ideal Structure of the Pistil, or, in other words, of 
the way in which a simple pistil answers to a leaf. Pistils are either 


LESSON 18.] 


SIMPLE PISTILS. 


117 


simple or compound. A simple pistil answers to a single leaf. A 
compound pistil answers to two or more leaves combined, just as a 
monopetalous corolla (263) answers to two or more petals, or leaves 
of the flower, united into one body. In theory, accordingly, 

305. The Simple Pistil, OF Carpel (as it is sometimes called), consists 
of the blade of a leaf, curved until the margins meet and unite, form- 
ing in this way a closed case or pod, which is the ovary. So that 
the upper face of the altered leaf answers to the inner surface of the 
ovary, and the lower, to its outer surface. And the ovules are borne 
on whut answers to the united edges of the leaf. The tapering sum- 
mit, rolled together and prolonged, forms the style, when there is 
any ; and the edges of the altered leaf turned outwards, either at 
the tip or along the inner side of the style, form the stigma. To 
make this perfectly clear, compare a leaf folded together in this way 
(as m Fig. 251) Avith a pistil of a 

Garden Peeony, or Larkspur, or with 
that in Fig. 252 ; or, later in the 
season, notice how these, as ripe pods, 
split down along the line formed by 
the united edges, and open out again 
into a sort of leaf, as in the Marsh- 
Marigold (Fig. 253). In the Double- 
flowering Cherry the pistil occasion 
ally is found changed back again into 
a small green leaf, partly folded, much as in Fig. 251. 

306. Fig. 172 represents a simple pistil on a larger scale, the, 
ovary cut through to show how the ovules (when numerous) are 
attached to what answers to the two margins of the leaf. The 
Stonecrop (Fig. 168) has five such pistils in a circle, each with the 
side where the ovules are attached turned to the centre of the flower. 

307. The line or seam down the inner side, which answers to the 
united edges of the leaf, and bears the ovules, is called the ventral or 
inner Suture. A corresponding line down the back of the ovary, 
and which answers to the middle of the leaf, is named the dorsal or 
outer Suture. 

308. The ventral suture inside, where it projects a little into the 


FIG. 251. A Inaf rolled up inwards, to show how the pistil \a supposed to he formed. 

FIG. 252. Pistil of Isopyrum biternatuin cut across, with the inner suture turned towards 
the eye. 

FIG. 253. Pod or ripe pistil of the Caltha, or Marsh-Marigold, after opening. 


118 


THE PISTILS. 


[LESSON 18. 


cavity of the ovary, and bears the ovules, is called the Placenta. 
Obviously a simple pistil can have but one placenta ; but this is in 
its nature double, one halt' answering to each margin of the leaf. 
And if the ovules or seeds are at all numerous, they will be found 
to occupy two rows, one for each margin, as we see in Fig. 252, 172, 
in the Marsh-Marigold, in a Pea-pod, and the like. 

309. A simple pistil obviously can have but one cavity or cell ; 
except from some condition out of the natural order of things. But 
the converse does not hold true : all pistils of a single cell are not 
simple. Many compound pistils are one-celled. 

310. A simple pistil necessarily has but one style. Its stigma, 
however, may be double, like the placenta, and for the same reason 
(305) ; and it often exhibits two lines or crests, as in Fig. 252, or it 
may even be split into two lobes. 

311. The Compound Pistil consists of two, three, or any greater 

number of pistil-leaves, 
or carpels (305), in a 
circle, united into one 
body, at least by their 
ovaries. The Culti- 
vated Flax, for exam- 
ple (Fig. 212), has a 
compound pistil com- 
posed of five simple 
ones with their ovaries 
united, while the five 
styles are separate. 

254 ass 256 But in one of our 

wild species of Flax, the styles are united into one also, for about 
half their length. So the Common St. John's-wort of the fields has 
a compound ovary, of three united carpels, but the three styles are 
separate (Fig. 255), while some of our wild, shrubby species have the 
styles also combined into one (Fig. 256), although in the fruit they 
often split into three again. Even the ovaries may only partially 
combine with each other, as we see in different species of Saxifrage, 
some having their two pistils nearly separate, while in others they 

FIG. 254. Pistil of a Saxifrage, of two simple carpels or pistil-leaves, united at the base 
Mily, cut across both above and below. 

FIG. 255. Compound pistil of common St. John's-wort, cut across: styles separate. 
FIG. 256. The same of shrubby St. John's-wort ; the three styles united iuto one- 


LESSON 18.] COMPOUND PISTILS. 119 

are joined at the base only, or else below the middle (as in Fig. 
254), and in some they are united quite to the top. 

312. Even when the styles are all consolidated into one, the stig- 
mas are often separate, or enough so to show by the number of their 
lobes how many simple pistils are combined to make the compound 
one. In the common Lily, for instance, the three lobes of the stigma, 
as well as the three grooves down the ovary, plainly tell us that the 
pistil is made of three combined. But in the Day-Lily the three 
lobes of the stigma are barely discernible by the naked eye, and in 
the Spiderwort (Fig. 257) they are as perfectly united into 

one as the ovaries and styles are. Here the number of 
cells in the ovary alone shows that the pistil is compound. 
These are all cases of 

313. Compound Pistils with two or more Cells, namely, with 

as many cells as there are simple pistils, or carpels, that 
have united to compose the organ. They are just what 
would be formed if the simple pistils (two, three, or five 
in a circle, as the case may be), like those of a Pasony or 
Stonecrop, all pressed together in the centre of the flower, 
Were to cohere by their contiguous parts. 

314. As each simple ovary has its placenta, or seed- 
bearing line (308), at the inner angle, so the resulting 
compound ovary has as many axile placentas (that is, as SS7 
many placentae in the axis or centre) as there are pistil-leaves in 
its composition, but all more or less consolidated into one. This is 
shown in the cross-sections, Fig. 254-256, &c. 

315. The partitions (or Dissepiments, as they are technically 
named) of a compound ovary are accordingly part of the walls or 
the sides of the carpels which compose it. Of course they are double, 
one layer belonging to each carpel ; and in ripe pods they often split,, 
into the two layers. 

316. We have described only one, though the commonest, kind of 
compound pistil. There are besides 

317. One-Celled Compound Pistils, These are of two sorts, those with 
axile, and those with parietal placenta. That is, first, where the 
ovules or seeds are borne in the axis or centre of the ovary, and, 
secondly, where they are borne on its walls. The first of these 
cases, or that 

FIG. 257. Pistil of Spidenvort (Tradescantia) : the three-celled orary cut across. 


120 


THE PISTILS. 


[LESSON 18. 


318. With a Free Central Placenta, is what we find in Purslane 
(Fig. 214), and in most Chickweeds (Fig. 258, 259) and Pinks. 
The difference between this and the foregoing case is only that the 
delicate partitions have very early vanished ; and traces of them 
may often be detected. Or sometimes this is a variation 
of the mode 

319. With Parietal Placentae, namely, with the ovules 
and seeds borne on the sides or wall (parietes) of the 
ovary. The pistil of the Prickly Poppy, Bloodroot, 
Violet, Frost-weed (Fig. 261), Gooseberry, and of 
many Hypericums, are of this sort. To understand it^ 
perfectly, we have only to. imagine two, three, or any 
number of carpel-leaves (like that of Fig. 
251), arranged in a circle, to unite by their 
contiguous edges, and so form one ovary 
or pod (as we have endeavored to show in Fig. 260) ; 
very much as in the Stramonium (Fig. 199) the 
five petals unite by their edges to compose a mono- 
petalous corolla, and the five sepals to form a tubular 
calyx. Here each carpel is an open leaf, or partly' 
open, bearing ovules along its ma%ins ; and each 
placenta consists of the contiguous margins of two 
pistil-leaves grown together. 

320. All degrees occur between this and the sev- 
eral-celled ovary with the placentae in the axis. Com- 
pare, for illustration, the common St. John's-worts. Fig. 255 and 256, 
with Fig. 262, a cross-section of the ovary of a different species, in 
which the three large placentae meet in the axis, but 
scarcely unite, and with Fig. 263, a similar section of 
the ripe pod of the same plant, showing three parietal 
placentae borne on imperfect partitions projecting a 
little way into the general cell. Fig. 261 is the same 
in plan, but with hardly any trace of partitions ; that 
is, the united edges of the leaves only slightly project into the cell. 

FIG. 258. Pistil of a Sandwort, with the ovary divided lengthwise ; and 259, the same 
divided transversely, to show the free central placenta 

FIG. 260. Plan of a one-celled ovary of three carpel-leaves, with parietal placentae, cut 
across below, where it is complete ; the upper part showing the top of the three leaves it is 
composed of, approaching, but not united. 

FIG. 261 Cross-section of the ovary of Frodt-weed (Hclianthemum), with three parietal 
placenta., bearing ovule*. 


LESSON 18.] 


OPEN PISTILS. 


121 


321. The ovary, especially when compound, is often covered by 
and united with the tube of the calyx, as has already been explained 
(272). We describe this by saying either " ovary adherent," or 
" calyx adherent," &c. Or we say '* ovary inferior" when the tube 
of the calyx is adherent throughout to 

the surface of the ovary, so that its 
lobes, and all the rest of the flower, 
appear to be borne on its summit, as 
in Fig. 215 and Fig. 216; or "half- 
inferior" as in the Purslane (Fig. 214), 
where the calyx is adherent part way up ; or " superior" where the 
calyx and the ovary are not combined, as in the Cherry (Fig. 213) 
and the like, that is, where these parts are free. The term " ovary 
superior," therefore, means just the same as "calyx inferior"; and 
" ovary inferior," the same as " calyx superior." 

322. Open OF GymnospermoilS Pistil, This is what we have in the 
X "~~N whole Pine family, the most peculiar, and yet the simplest, 

/ \ of all pistils. While the ordinary simple pistil in the eye 

Vof the botanist represents a leaf rolled together into a 
closed pod (305), those of the Pine, Larch (Fig. 264), 
264 Cedar, and Arbor- Vitae (Fig. 265, 
266) are plainly open leaves, in the form of; 
scales, each bearing two or more ovules on the 
inner face, next the base. At the time of 
blossoming, these pistil-leaves of the young 
cone diverge, and the pollen, so abundantly 
shed from the staminate blossoms, falls di- 
rectly upon the exposed ovules. Afterwards 
the scales close over each other until the 
seeds are ripe. Then they separate again, 
that the seeds may be shed. As their ovules and seeds are not 
enclosed in a pod, all such plants are said to be Gymnospermous^ 
that is, naked-seeded. 

FIG. 262. Cross-section of the ovary of Hypericum graveolens. 2G3. Similar section of 
the ripe pod of the same. 

FIG. 2C4. A pistil, that is, a scale of the cone, of a Larch, at the time of flowering} 
inside view, showing its pair of naked ovules. 

F[G. 265. Branchlet of the American Arbor- Vitae, considerably larger than in nature, 
terminated by its pistillate flowers, each consisting of a single scale (an open pistil), together 
forming a small cone. 

FIG. 266. One of the scales or pistils of the last, removed and more enlarged, the inside 
exposed to view, showing a pair of ovules on its base. 
11 


122 THE PISTILS. [LESSON 181 

323. Ovules (234). These are the bodies which are to become 
seeds. They are either sessile, that is, stalkless, or else borne on a 
stalk, called the Funiculus. They may be produced along the whole 
length of the cell, or only at some part of it, generally either at the 
top or the bottom. In the former case they are apt to be numerous ; 
in the latter, they may be few or single (solitary, Fig. 267-269). 
As to their direction, ovules are said to be 

Horizontal, when they are neither turned upwards nor down- 
wards, as in Fig. 252, 261 ; 

Ascending, when rising obliquely upwards, usually from the side 
of the cell, not from its very base, as in the Buttercup (Fig. 267). 

and the Purslane (Fig. 214) ; 
Erect, when rising upright from 


wheat (Fig. 268); 

Pendulous, when hanging from 
towards the top> as in the Flax 

(Fig. 212); and 
Suspended, when hanging perpendicularly from the very sum- 
mit of the cell, as in the Anemone (Fig. 269), Dogwood, &c. All 
these terms equally apply to seeds. 

324. An ovule consists of a pulpy mass of tissue, the Nucleus or 
kernel, and usually of one or two coats. In the nucleus the embryo 
is formed, and the coats become the skin or coverings of the seed. 
There is a hole ( Orifice or Foramen) through the coats, at the place 
which answers to the apex of the ovule. The part by which the 
ovule is attached is its base ; the point of attachment, where the ripe 
seed breaks away and leaves a scar, is named the Hilum. The 
place where the coats blend, and cohere with each other and with the 
nucleus, is named the Chalaza. We will point out these parts in 
illustrating the four principal kinds of ovule. These are not difficult 
to understand, although ovules are usually so small that a good nw.g- 
nifying-glass is needed for their examination. Moreover, their names, 
all taken from the Greek, are unfortunately rather formidable. 

325. The simplest sort, although the least common, is what is 
called the 

Orthotropous, or straight ovule. The Buckwheat affords a good 

FIG. 267. Section of the ovary of a Buttercup, lengthwise, showing its ascending ovule, 
FIG. 2C8. Section of the ovary of Buckwheat, showing the erect ovule. 
FIG. 2T>9. Section of th ovary of Anemone, showing its suspended ovule 


LESSON 18.] OVULES. 123 

instance of it : it is shown in its place in the ovary in Fig. 268, 
also detached in Fig. 270, and a much more magnified diagram of it 
in Fig. 274. In this kind, the orifice (/) is at the top, the chalaza 
and the hilum (c) are blended at the base or point of attachment, 
which is at the opposite end ; and the axis of the ovule is straight. 


If such an ovule were to grow on one side more than on the other, 
and double up, or have its top pushed round as it enlarges, it would 
become a 

Campylotropous or curved ovule, as in Cress and Chickweed (Fig. 
271). Here the base remains as in the straight kind, but its apex 
with the orifice is brought round close to it. Much the most com- 
mon form of all is the 

Anatropous or inverted xxvule. This is shown in Fig. 267, and 
273 ; also a much enlarged section lengthwise, or diagram, in Fig. 
275. To understand it, we have only to suppose the first sort (Fig. 
270) to be inverted on its stalk, or rather to have it,** stalk bent 
round, applied to one side of the ovule lengthwise, and to grow fast 
to the coat down to near the orifice (f) ; the hilum, therefore, where 
the seed-stalk is to break away (A), is close to the orifice ; but the 
chalaza (c) is here at the top of the ovule ; between it and the hilum 
runs a ridge or cord, called the Rhaphe (r), which is simply that part 
of the stalk which, as the ovule grew and turned over, adhered to its 
surface. Lastly, the 

Amphitropous or half-anatropous ovule (Fig. 272) differs from 
the last only in having a shorter rhaphe, ending about half-way 
between the chalaza and the orifice. So the hilum or attachment is 
not far from the middle of one side, while the chalaza is at one end 
and the orifice at the other. 

326. The internal structure of the ovule is sufficiently displayed 
in the subjoined diagrams, representing a longitudinal slice of two 

FIG. 270. Orthotropou? ovule of Buckwheat: c, hilum and chalaza ; /, orifice. 

FIG. 271. Campylotropous ovule of a Chickweed : c, hilum and chalaza ; /, orifice. 

FIG. 272. Ampliitro|K)us ovule of Mallow : /, orifice ; A, hilum ; r, rhaphe ; c, chalaza. 

FIG. 273. Anatropous ovule of a Violet; the parts lettered as in the last. 


124 


THE RECEPTACLE. 


[LESSON 19. 


ovules ; Fig. 274, an orthotropous, Fig. 275, an anatropous ovule. 
The letters correspond in the two ; c, the chalaza ; /, the orifice ; 
r, rhaphe (of which there is of course none in Fig. 274) ; p, the 
outer coat, called primine ; -s, inner coat, called secundine ; n, nu- 
cleus or kernel. 


LESSON XIX. 


MORPHOLOGY OF THE RECEPTACLE. 

327. THE RECEPTACLE (also called the Torus) is the axis, or 
stem, which the leaves and other parts of the blossom are attached 
to (231). It is commonly small and short (as in Fig. 169) ; but it 
sometimes occurs in more conspicuous and remarkable forms. 

328. Occasionally it is elongated, as in some plants of the Caper 
family (Fig. 276), making the flower really look like a branch, hav- 
ing its circles of leaves, stamens, &c., separated by long spaces or 
internodes. 

329. The Wild Geranium or Cranesbill has the receptacle pro- 
longed above and between the insertion of the pistils, in the form 
of a slender beak. In the blossom, and until the fruit is ripe, it 
is concealed by the five pistils united around it, and their flat styles 
covering its whole surface (Fig. 277). But at maturity, the five 
small and one-seeded fruits separate, and so do their styles, from the 
beak, and hang suspended from the summit. They split off elasti- 


LESSON 19.] 


THE RECEPTACLE. 


125 


cally from the receptacle, curving upwards with a sudden jerk, whioh 
scatters the seed, often throwing it to a considerable distance. 

330. When a flower 
bears a great many pis- 
tils, its receptacle is gen- 
erally enlarged so as to 
give them room ; some- 
times becoming broad 
and flat, as in the Flow- 
ering Raspberry, some- 
times elongated, as in 
the Blackberry, the Mag- 
nolia, &c. It is the re- 
ceptacle in the Straw- 
berry (Fig. 279), much 

enlarged and pulpy when ripe, which forms the eatable part of the 
fruit, and bears the small seed-like pistils on its 
surface. In the Rose (Fig. 280), instead of being 
convex or conical, the receptacle is deeply con- 
cave, or urn-shaped. Indeed, a Rose-hip may be 
likened to a strawberry turned inside out, like 
the finger of a glove reversed, and the whole 
covered by the adherent tube of the calyx; which 
remains beneath in the strawberry. 

331. A Disk is a part of the re- 
ceptacle, or a growth from it, en- 
larged under or around the pistil. 
It is hypogynous (269), when free 
from all union either with the pistil 
or the calyx, as in the Rue and the 
Orange (Fig. 281). It is perigy- 
nous (270), when it adheres to the 
base of the calyx, as in the Bladder-nut and Buckthorn (Fig. 282, 

FIG. 276. Flower of Gynandropsis , the receptacle enlarged and flattened where it bears 
the sepals and petals, then elongated into a slender stalk, bearing the stamens (in appearance, 
but they are monadelphous) above its middle, and a compound ovary on its summit. 

FIG. 277. Young fruit of the common Wild Cranesbill. 

FIG. 278. The same, ripe, with the five pistils splitting away from the long beak or recep. 
tacle, and hanging from its top by their styles. 

FIG. 279. Longitudinal section of a young strawberry, enlarged. 

FIG- 280. Similar section of a young Rose-hip 

FIG. 281. Pistil of the Orange, with a large hypogynous disk at its baa*. 
11* 


126 THE FRUIT. [LESSON 20. 

283). Often it adheres both to the calyx and to the ovary, as in 
New Jersey Tea, the Apple, &c., consolidating the whole together. 
In such cases it is sometimes carried up and expanded on the top of 

the ovary, as in the Parsley and 
the Ginseng families, when it is 
said to be epigynous (273). 

332. In Nelumbium, a large 
Water-Lily, abounding in the wa- 
ters of our Western States, the 
singular and greatly enlarged receptacle is shaped like a top, and 
bears the small pistils immersed in separate cavities of its flat upper 
surface (Fig. 284). 


LESSON XX. 

THE FRUIT. 

333 THE ripened ovary, with its contents, becomes the Fruit. 
When the tube of the calyx adheres to the ovary, it also becomes 
a part of the fruit : sometimes it even forms the principal bulk of it, 
as in the apple and pear. 

334. Some fruits, as they are commonly called, are not fruits at 
all in the strict botanical sense. A strawberry, for example (as 
we have just seen, 330, Fig. 282), although one of the choicest fruits 
in the common acceptation, is only an enlarged and pulpy receptacle, 
bearing the real fruits (that is, the ripened pistils) scattered over its 

FIG. 282. Flower of a Buckthorn, with a large perigynous disk. 283. The same, divided. 
FIG. 284 Receptacle of Nekimbium, in fruit. 


LESSON 20.] ITS KINDS. 127 

surface, and too small to be much noticed. And mulberries, figs, 
and pine-apples are masses of many fruits with a pulpy flower-stalk, 
&c. Passing these by for the present, let us now consider only 

335. Simple Fruits, These are such as are formed by the ripening 
of a single pistil, whether simple (305) or compound (311). 

336. A simple fruit consists, then, of the Seed-vessel (technically 
called the Pericarp}, or the walls of the ovary matured, and the seeds, 
contained in it. Its structure is generally the same as that of the 
ovary, but not always ; because certain changes may take place after 
flowering. The commonest change is the obliteration in the growing 
fruit of some parts which existed in the pistil at the time of flowering. 
The ovary of a Horsechestnut, for instance, has three cells and two 
ovules in each cell ; but the fruit never has more than three seeds, 
and rarely more than one or two, and only as many cells. Yet the 
vestiges of the seeds that have not matured, and of the wanting cells 
of the pod, may always be detected in the ripe fruit. This oblitera- 
tion is more complete in the Oak and Chestnut. The ovary of the 
first likewise has three cells, that of the second six or seven cells, 
each with two ovules hanging from the summit. We might there- 
fore expect the acorn and the chestnut to have as many cells, and 
two seeds in each cell. Whereas, in fact, all the cells and all the 
ovules but one are uniformly obliterated in the forming fruit, which 
thus becomes one-celled and one-seeded, and rarely can any vestige 
be found of the missing parts. 

337. On the other hand, a one-celled ovary sometimes becomes 
several-celled in the fruit by the formation of false partitions, com- 
monly by cross-partitions, as in the jointed pod of the Sea-Rocket 
and the Tick-Trefoil (Fig. 304). 

338. Their Kinds, In defining the principal kinds of simple fruits 
which have particular names, we may classify them, in the first place, 
into, 1. Fleshy Fruits-, 2. Stone Fruits-, and 3. Dry Fruits. 
The first and second are of course indehiscent ; that is, they do not 
split open when ripe to discharge the seeds. 

339. In fleshy fruits the whole pericarp, or wall of the ovary, 
thickens and becomes soft (fleshy, juicy, or pulpy) as it ripens. Of 
this the leading kind is 

340. The Berry, such as the gooseberry and currant, the blueberry 
and cranberry, the tomato, and the grape. Here the whole flesh is 
equally soft throughout. The orange is merely a berry with a 
leathery rind. 


128 THE FRUIT. [LESSON 20. 

341. The Pepo, or Gourd-fruit, is the sort of berry which belongs 
to the Gourd family, mostly with a hard rind and the inner portion 
softer. The pumpkin, squash, cucumber, and melon are the prin- 
cipal examples. 

342. The Pome is a name applied to the apple, pear, and quince ; 
fleshy fruits like a berry, but the principal thickness is calyx, only 
the papery pods arranged like a star in the core really belonging to 
the pistil itself (333). 

343. Secondly, as to fruits which are partly fleshy and partly hard, 
one of the most familiar kinds is 

344. The Drupe, or Stone-fruit ; of which the cherry, plum, and 

peach (Fig. 285) are familiar examples. In 
this the outer part of the thickness of the 
pericarp becomes fleshy, or softens, like a 
berry, while the inner hardens, like a nut. 
From the way in which the pistil is con- 
structed (305), it is evident that the fleshy 
part here answers to the lower, and the stone 
to the upper, side of the leaf; a leaf always 

consisting of two layers of green pulp, an upper and an under layer, 

which are considerably different (439). 

345. Whenever the walls of a fruit are separable into two layers, 
the outer layer is called the Exocarp, the inner, the Endocarp (from 
Greek words meaning "outside fruit" and " inside fruit"). But in 
a drupe the outer portion, being fleshy, is likewise called Sarcocarp 
(which means "fleshy fruit"), and the inner, the Putamen or stone. 
The stone of a peach, and the like, it will be perceived, belongs to 
the fruit, not to the seed. When the walls are separable into three 
layers, the outer layer is named either exocarp or Epicarp ; the 
middle one is called the Mesocarp (i. e. middle fruit) ; and the inner- 
most, as before, the Endocarp. 

346. Thirdly, in dry fruits the seed-vessel remains herbaceous in 
texture, or becomes thin and membranaceous, or else it hardens 
throughout. Some forms remain closed, that is, are indehiscent 
(338) ; others are dehiscent, that is, split open at maturity in some 
regular way. Of indehiscent or closed dry fruits the principal kinds 
are the following. 

347. The AcliCllitini, or Akene, is a small, one-seeded, dry, indehis- 

F1G. 285. Longitudinal section of a peach, showing the flesh, the stone, and the teed- 


LESSON 20.] 


ITS KINDS. 


129 


cent frnit, such as is popularly taken for a naked seed : but it is 
plainly a ripened ovary, and shows the re- 
mains of its style or stigma, or the place 
ass from which it has 

fallen. Of this sort 
are the fruits of the 
Buttercup (Fig. 286, 

287), the Cinque-foil, and the Strawberry (Fig. 
279, 288) ; that is, the real fruits, botanical ly 
speaking, of the latter, which are taken for seeds, 
not the large juicy receptacle on the surface of 
which they rest (330). Here the akenes are 
A^-^_;- -- ----- simple pistils (305), very numerous in the same 

I ^\ r flower, and forming a head of such fruits. In 

the Nettle, Hemp, &c., there is only one pistil to 
each blossom, 

348. In the raspberry and blackberry, each grain 
is a similar pistil, like that of the strawberry in the 
flower, but ripening into a miniature stone-fruit, or 
drupe. So that in the strawberry we eat the 
receptacle, or end of the flower-stalk ; in the rasp- 
berry, a cluster of stone-fruits, like cherries on a 
very small scale ; and in the blackberry, both a juicy 
receptacle and a cluster of btone-fruits covering it 
(Fig. 289, 290). 

349. The fruit of the Composite family is also 
an achenium. Here the surface of the ovary is 
covered by an adherent calyx-tube, as is evident 
from the position of the corolla, apparently standing 
on its summit (321, md Fig. 220, a). Sometimes the 
limb or divisions of the calyx are entirely wanting, 

as in Mayweed (Fig. 291) and White weed. Sometimes the limb 
of the calyx forms a crown or cup on the top of the achenium, as in 
Succory ( Fig. 292) ; in Coreopsis, it often takes the form of two 
blunt teeth or scales ; in the Sunflower (Fig. 293), it consists of two 


FIG. 286. Achenium of Buttercup. 287. Same, cut through, to show the seed within. 

FIG. 288. Slice of a part of a ripe strawberry, enlarged ; some of the achenia shown cut 
through. 

FIG. 289. Slice of a part of a blackberry. 290. One of the grains or drupes divided, more 
enlarged ; showing the flesh, the stone, and the seed, as in Fig. 285. 
S&F 7 


130 


THE FRUIT. 


|_LE8SUN 20. 


thin scales which fall off at the touch ; in the Sneezeweed, of about 
five very thin scales, which look more like a calyx (Fig. 294) ; and 
in the Thistle, Aster, Sow-Thistle (Fig. 295), and hundreds of others, 
it is cut up into a tuft of fine bristles or hairs. This is called the 
Pappus ; a name which properly means the down like that of the 
Thistle ; but it is applied to all these forms, 
and to every other under which the limb of the 
calyx of the " compound flowers " appears. In 
Lettuce, Dandelion (Fig. 296), and the like, \ 
the achenium as it matures tapers upwards 
into a slender beak, like a stalk to the pappus. 


350. A Utricle is the same as an achenium, but witk a thin and 
bladdery loose pericarp ; like that of the Goosefoot ur Pigweed 
(Fig. 297). When ripe it bursts open irregularly to 
discharge the seed ; or sometimes it opens by a circular 
line all round, the upper part falling off like a lid ; as in 
the Amaranth (Fig. 298). 

351. A Caryopsis, OF Grain, differs from the last only 
in the seed adhering to the thin pericarp 
throughout, so that fruit and seed are in- 
corporated into one body; as in wheat, In- 
dian corn, and other kinds of grain. 

352. A Nllt is a dry and indehiscent fruit, 
commonly one-celled and one-seed^ i, with a hard, crus- 
taceous, or bony wall, such as tne cocoanut, hazelnut, 
chestnut, and the acorn (Fig. 21, 299). Here the 
involucre, in the form of a cup at the base, is called the Cupule. ID 
the Chestnut it forms the bur ; in the Hazel, a leafy husk. 

FIG. 291. Achenium of Mayweed (no pappus). 292. That of Succory (its pappus a shal 
low cup). 293. Of Sunflower (pappus of two deciduous scales). 294. Of Sneezeweed (Hele- 
nium), with its pappus of five scales. 295. Of Sow-Thistle, with its pappus of delicate downj 
hairs. 296. Of the Dandelion, its pappus raised on a long beak. 

IG. 297. Utricle of the common Pigweed (Chenopodium album). 

FIG. 298. Utricle (pyxis) of Amaranth, opening all round (circumcissile). 

FIG. 290. Nut (acorn) of the Oak, with its cup (or cupule). 


LESSON 20.] 


ITS KINDS. 


131 


353. A Samara, OF Key-fruit, is either a nut or an acheniura, or any 
other indehiscent fruit, furnished with a wing, like that of the Mapls 
(Fig. 1), Ash (Fig. 300), and Elm (Fig. 301). 

354. The Capsule, OF Pod, is the general name for dry seed-vessels 
which split or burst open at maturity. 

But several sorts of pod are distin- 
guished by particular names. Two of 
them belong to simple pistils, namely, 
the Follicle and the Legume. 

355. The Follicle is a fruit of a simple 
pistil opening along the inner suture 
(307). The pods of the Preony, Col- 
umbine, Larkspur, Marsh-Marigold 
(Fig. 302), and Milkweed are of this 
kind. The seam along which 

the follicle opens answers to 
the edges of the pistil-leaf 
(Fig. 251, 253). 

356. The Legume or true 
Pod, like the Pea-pod (Fig. 

303), is similar to the follicle, only it opens by the outer as well as 
the inner or ventral suture (307), that is, by what answers to the 
midrib as well as by what answers to the united margins of the leaf. 
It splits therefore into two pieces, which are called valves. The le- 
gume belongs to plants of the Pulse family, which are accordingly 
termed Leguminosce, that is, leguminous plants. So the fruits of this 
family keep the name of legume, whatever their form, and whether 
they open or not. A legume divided across into one-seeded joints, 
which separate when ripe, as in Tick-Trefoil (Fig. 304), is named a 
Loment. 

I 357. The true Capsule is the pod of a compound pistil. Like the 
ovary it resulted from, it may be one-celled, or it may have as many 
cells as there are carpels in its composition. It may discharge its 
seeds through chinks or pores, as in the Poppy, or burst irregularly 
in some part, as in Lobelia and the Snapdragon ; but commonly it 
splits open (or is dehiscent) lengthwise into regular pieces, called 
valves. 

FIG. 300. Samara or key of the White Ash. 301. Samara of the American Elm. 

FIG. 302. Follicle of Marsh-Marigold (Caltha palustris). 

FIG. 303. Legume of a Sweet Pea, opened. 

FIG 394. Loment or jointed legume of Tick-Trefoil (DesmoiZiuinJ. 


132 


THE FRUIT. 


[LESSON 20. 


358. Dehiscence of a pod resulting from a compound pistil, when 
regular, takes place in one of two principal ways, which are best 

shown in pods of two or three cells. Either the pod 
splits open down the middle of the back of each cell, 
when the dehiscence is loculicidal, as in Fig. 305 ; or 
it splits through the partitions, after which each cell 
generally opens at its inner angle, when it 
is septicidal, as in Fig. 306. These names 
are of Latin derivation, the first meaning 
" cutting into the cells " ; the second, " cut- 
ting through the partitions." Of the first 
sort, the Lily and Iris (Fig. 305) are good 
examples ; of the second, the Rhododen- 
dron, Azalea, and St. John's-wort. From 
the structure of the pistil (305-311) the 
student will readily see, that the line down 
the back of each cell answers to the dorsal suture of the carpel ; so 
that the pod opens by this when loculicidal, while it separates into 
its component carpels, which open as follicles, when septicidal. 
Some pods open both ways, and so split into twice as many valves 
as the carpels of which they are formed. 

359. In loculicidal dehiscence the valves naturally bear the par- 
titions on their middle ; in the septicidal, half the thickness of a 
partition is borne on the margin of each valve. See the diagrams, 
Fig. 307-309. A variation of either mode sometimes occurs, as 


shown in the diagram, Fig. 309, where the valves break away from 
the partitions. This is called septifragal dehiscence ; and ma/ be 
seen in the Morning-Glory. 

3 GO. Three remaining sorts of pods are distinguished by proper 
names, viz. : 

FIG. 305. Capsule of Iris (with loculicidal dehiscence), below cut across. 

FIG. 306. Pod of a Marsh St. John's-wort, with septicidal dehiscence. 

FIG. 307. Diagram of septicidal ; 308, of loculicidal ; and 300, of septifragal dehiscenc*. 


LESSON 20.] 


MULTIPLE FRUITS. 


133 


361. The Silique (Fig. 310), the peculiar pod of the Mustard fam- 
ily ; which is two-celled by a false partition stretched across between 
two parietal placentae. It generally opens by two valves 

from below upwards, and the placentas with the partition 
are left behind when the valves fall off. 

362. A Silicic OF Pouch is only a short and broad silique, 
like that of the Shepherd's Purse, of the Candy-tuft, &c. 

363. The Pyxis is a pod which opens by a circular hori- 

zontal line, the p upper part forming a lid, as 
in Purslane (Fig. 311), the Plantain, Hen- 
bane, &c. In these the dehiscence extends 
all round, or is circumcissile. So it does 
in Fig. 298, which represents a sort of one- 
seeded pyxis. In Jeffersonia or Twin-leaf, the line 
does not separate quite round, but leaves a portion 
to form a hinge to the lid. 

364. Multiple or Collective Fruits (334) are, properly speaking, 
masses of fruits, resulting from several or many blossoms, aggre- 
gated into one body. The pine-apple, mulberry, Osage-orange, and 
the fig, are fruits of this kind. This latter is a peculiar form, how- 
ever, being to a mulberry nearly what a Rose-hip is to a strawberry 
(Fig. 279, 280), namely, with a hollow receptacle bearing the flowers 
concealed inside ; and the whole eatable part is this puipy common 
receptacle, or hollow thickened flower-stalk. 

365. A Strobile, or Cone (Fig. 314), is the pe- 
culiar multiple fruit of Pines, Cypresses, and 
the like ; hence named Coniferce, viz. cone- 
bearing plants. As already shown (322), these 
cones are made of open pistils, mostly in the 
form of flat scales, regularly overlying each 
other, and pressed together in a spike or head. 

Each scale bears one or two naked seeds on its inner face. When 
the cone is ripe and dry, the scales turn back or diverge, and the 
seed peels off and falls, generally carrying with it a wing, which was 
a part of the lining of the scale, and which facilitates the dispersion 
of the seeds by the wind (Fig. 312, 313). In Arbor- Vitse, the scales 

FIG. 310. Siliqne of Sprinp Cress (Cardamine rhomboidea), opening. 
FIG. 311. The pyxis, or pod, of the common Purslane 

FIG. 312. Inside view of a scale from the cone of Pitch-Pine ; with one of the seed* 
(Fig. 313) detached ; the other in its place on the scale. 

12 


134 


THE SEED. 


[LESSON 21. 


of the small cone are few, and not very unlike the leaves (Fig. 265). 
In Cypress they are very thick at the top and narrow at the base, so 
as to make a peculiar sort of closed cone. In Juniper and Red Ce- 
dar, the few scales of the very small cone become fleshy, and ripen 
into a fruit which might be taken for a berry. 


LESSON XXL 


THE SEED. 

366. THE ovules (323), when they have an embryo (or unde- 
veloped plantlet, 16) formed in them, become seeds. 

367. The Seed, like the ovule from which it originates, consists 
of its coats, or integuments, and a kernel. 

368. The Seed-COatS are commonly two (324), the outer and the 

inner. Fig. 315 shows the two, in a seed cut through 
lengthwise. The outer coat is often hard or crustaceous, 
whence it is called the Testa, or shell of the seed ; the 
inner is thin and delicate. 

369. The shape and the markings, so various in dif- 
ferent seeds, depend mostly on the outer coat. Sometimes it fits 

FIG. 314. Cone of Pitch-Pine (Pinus rigida). 

PIG. 315. Seed of Basswood cut through lengthwise : a, the hilum or scar ; i, the outer 
coat ; r, the inner ; d. the albumen ; e. the embryo. 


LESSON 21.] 


ITS COATS OR COVERINGS. 


135 


the kernel closely ; sometimes it is expanded into a wing, as in the 
Trumpet-Creeper (Fig. 316), and occasionally this wing is cut up 
into shreds or tufts, as in the Catalpa ; or instead of a 
wing it may bear a coma, cr tuft of long and soft hairs, 
such as we find in the Milkweed or Silk weed (Fig. 317). 
The object of wings or downy tufts is to render the seeds 
buoyant, so that they may be widely dispersed by the 
winds. This is clear, not only from their evident adap- 
tation to this purpose, but also from the interesting fact 
that winged and tufted seeds are found only in fruits that split open 
at maturity, never in those that remain closed. The coat of some 
seeds is beset with long hairs or wool. Cotton, one of 
the most important vegetable products, since it forms 
the principal clothing of the larger part of the human 
race, consists of the long and woolly hairs which 
thickly cover the whole surface of the seed. Certain 
seeds have an additional, but more or less incomplete 
covering, outside of the real seed-coats, called an 

370. Aril, OF ArillllS. The loose and transparent bag 
which encloses the seed of the White Water-Lily (Fig. 317 
318) is of this kind. So is the mace of the nutmeg; and also the 
scarlet pulp around the seeds of the Waxwork (Celastrus) 
and Strawberry-bush (Euonymus), so ornamental in autumn, 
after the pods burst. The aril is a growth from the ex- 
tremity of the seed-stalk, or the placenta. 

371. The names of the parts of the seed and of its kinds 
are the same as in the ovule. The scar left where the seed- 
stalk separates is called c 
the Hilum. The orifice 
of the ovule, now closed 
up, and showing only a 

small point or mark, is sis 322 320 321 

named the Micropyle. The terms orthotropous, anatropous, &c. 

FIG. 316. A winged seed of the Trumpet-Creeper. 

FIG. 317. Seed of Milkweed, with a coma or tuft <tf long silky hairs at one end. 

FIG. 318. Seed of White Water- Lily, enclosed in its aril. 

FIG. 319. Seed of a Violet (anatropous) : a, hilum ; b, rhaphe; c, chalaza. 

FIG. 320. Seed of a Larkspur (also anatropous) ; the parts lettered as in the last. 

FIG. 321. The same, cut through lengthwise: a, the hilum; c, chalaza ; </, outer seed- 
coat ; e, inner seed-coat ; /, the albumen ; g, the minute embryo. 

FIG. 322. Seed of a St. John's- wort, divided lengthwise ; here the whole kernel Is 
embryo. 


136 THE SEED. [LESSON 21. 

apply to seeds just as they do to ovules (325) ; and so do those 
terms which express the direction of the ovule or the seed in the 
cell ; such as erect, ascending, horizontal, pendulous, or suspended 
(323) : therefore it is not necessary to explain them anew. The 
accompanying figures (Fig. 319-322) show all the parts of the 
most common kind of seed, namely, the anatropous. 

372. The Kernel, or Nucleus, is the whole body of the seed within tiie 
coats. In many seeds the kernel is all Embryo ; in others a large 
part of it is the Albumen. 

373. The Albumen of the seed is an accumulation of nourishing 
matter (starch, &c.), commonly surrounding the embryo, and des- 
tined to nourish it when it begins to grow, as was explained in the 
earlier Lessons (30-32). It is the floury part of wheat, corn (Fig. 
38, 39), buckwheat, and the like. But it is not always mealy in 
texture. In Poppy-seeds it is oily. In the seeds of Paeony and 
Barberry, and in the cocoanut, it is fleshy ; in coffee it is corneous 
(that is, hard and tough, like horn) ; in the Ivory Palm it has the 
hardness as well as the general appearance of ivory, and is now 
largely used as a substitute for it in the fabrication of small objects. 
However solid its texture, the albumen always softens and partly 
liquefies during germination ; when a considerable portion of it is 
transformed into sugar, or into other forms of fluid nourishment, on 
which the growing embryo may feed. 

374. The Embryo, or Germ, is the part to which all the rest of the 
seed, and also the fruit and the flower, are subservient. When the 
embryo is small and its parts little developed, the albumen is the 
more abundant, and makes up the principal bulk of the seed, as in 
Fig. 30, 321, 325. On the other hand, in many seeds there is no 
albumen at all ; but the strong embryo forms the whole kernel ; as 
in the Maple (Fig. 2, 3) ; Pumpkin (Fig. 9), Almond, Plum, and 
'Apple (Fig. 11, 12), Beech (Fig. 13), and the like. Then, what- 
ever nourishment is needed to establish the plantlet in the soil is 
stored up in the body of the embryo itself, mostly in its seed-leaves. 
And these accordingly often become very large and thick, as in the 
almond, bean, and pea (Fig. 16, 19), acorn (Fig. 21), chestnut, and 
horsechestnut (Fig. 23, 24). Besides these, Fig. 25, 26, 30 to 37, 
43, and 45 exhibit various common forms of the embryo ; and also 
some of the ways in which it is placed in the albumen ; being 
sometimes straight, and sometimes variously coiled up or packed 
away. 


LESSON 21.] THE EMBRYO. 137 

375. The embryo, being a rudimentary plantlet, ready formed in 
the seed, has only to grow and develop its parts to become a young 
plant (15). Even in the seed these parts are generally distinguish- 
able, and are sometimes very conspicuous ; as in a Pumpkin-seed, for 
example (Fig. 323, 324). They are, first, 

376. The Radicle, or rudimentary stemlet, which is sometimes long 
and slender, and sometimes very short, as we may see in the numer- 
ous figures already referred to. In the seed it always 

points to the micropyle (371), or what answers to the 
foramen of the ovule (Fig. 325, 326). As to its po- 
sition in the fruit, it is said to be inferior when it points 
to the base of the pericarp, superior when it points to 
its summit, &c. The base or free end of the radicle 
gives rise to the root ; the other extremity bears 

377. The Cotyledons OF Seed-leaves, With these in various forms we 
have already become familiar. The number of 

cotyledons has also been explained to be impor- 
tant (32, 33). In Corn (Fig. 40), and in all 
Grasses, Lilies, and the like, we have a 

Monocotyledonous embryo, namely, one fur- 
nished with only a single cotyledon or seed-leaf. Nearly all the 
rest of our illustrations exhibit various forms of the 

Dicotyledonous embryo ; namely, with a pair of cotyledons or seed- 
leaves, always opposite each other. In the Pine family we find a 

Polycotyledonous embryo (Fig. 45, 46) ; that is, one with several, 
or more than two, seed-leaves, arranged in a circle or whorl. 

378. The Plumule is the little bud, or rudiment of the next leaf or 
pair of leaves after the seed-leaves. It appears at the summit of 
the radicle, between the cotyledons when there is a pair of them, 
as in Fig. 324, 14, 24, &c. ; or the cotyledon when only one is 
wrapped round it, as in Indian Corn, Fig. 40. In germination the 
plumule develops upward, to form the ascending trunk or stem of 
the plant, while the other end of the radicle grows downward, 
and becomes the root. 

FIG. 323. Embryo of the Pumpkin, seen flatwise. 324. Same cut through and viewed 
edgewise, enlarged ; the small plumule seen between the cotyledons at their base. 

FIG. 325. Seed of a Violet (Fig. 319) cut through, showing the embryo in the section, 
edgewise ; being an anatropous seed, the radicle of the straight embryo points down to the 
base near the hilum. 

FIG. 326. Similar section of the orthotropous seed of Buckwheat. Here the radicle poinU 
directly away from the hilum, and to the apex of the seed ; also the thin cotyledons happen 
in Uiis plant to be bent round into the same direction. 

12* 


138 HOW PLANTS GROW. [LESSON 22. 

379. This completes the circle, and brings our vegetable history 
round to its starting-point in the Second Lesson ; namely, The 
Growth of the Plant from the Seed. 


LESSON XXII. 

HOW PLANTS GROW. 

380. A PLANT grows from the seed, and from a tiny embryo, like 
that of the Maple (Fig. 327), becomes perhaps a large tree, pro- 
ducing every year a crop of seeds, to grow in their turn in the same 
way. But how does the plant grow? A 'little seedling, weighing 
only two or three grains, often doubles its weight every week of its 
early growth, and in time may develop into a huge bulk, of many 
tons' weight of vegetable matter. How is this done ? What is vege- 
table matter ? Where did it all come from ? And by what means 
is it increased and accumulated in plants ? Such questions as these 
will now naturally arise in any inquiring mind ; and we must try to 
answer them. 

381. Growth is the increase of a living thing in size and substance. 
It appears so natural to us that plants and animals should grow, that 
people rarely think of it as requiring any explanation. They say 
that a thing is so because it grew so. Still we wish to know how 
the growth takes place. 

382. Now, in the foregoing Lessons we explained the whole struc- 
ture of the plant, with all its organs, by beginning with the seedling 

and following it onward in its development through the 

FIG. 327. Germinating embryo of a MapU. 


LESSON 22.] FORMATION OF THE EMBRYO. 


139 


whole course of vegetation (12, &c.). So, in attempting to learn 
how this growth took place, it will be best to adopt the same plan, 
and to commence with the commencement, that is, with the first 
formation of a plant. This may seem not so easy, because we have 
to begin with parts too small to be seen without a good microscope, 
and requiring much skill to dissect and exhibit. But it is by no 
means difficult to describe them ; and with the aid of a few figures 
we may hope to make the whole mat- 
ter clear. 

383. The embryo in the ripe seed 
is already a plant in miniature, as we 
have learned in the Second, Third, 
and Twenty-first Lessons. It is al- 
ready provided with stem and leaves. 
To learn how the plant began, there- 
fore, we must go back to an earlier 
period still ; namely, to the forma- 
tion and 

384. Growth of the Embryo itself. 

For this purpose we return to the 
ovule in the pistil of the flower (323). 
During or soon after blossoming, a 
cavity appears in the kernel or nu- 
cleus of the ovule (Fig. 274, o), lined 
with a delicate membrane, and so 
forming a closed sac, named the 
embryo-sac (s). In this sac or cav- ' 
ity, at its upper end (viz. at the 
end next the orifice of the ovule), 
appears a roundish little vesicle or 
bladder-like body (v), perhaps less 
than one thousandth of an inch in 

diameter. This is the embryo, or rudimentary new plant, at its 
very beginning. But this vesicle never becomes anything more 
than a grain of soft pulp, unless the ovule has been acted upon by 
the pollen. 

FIG. 328. Magnified pistil of Buckwheat ; the ovary and ovule divided lengthwise : som 
pollen on the stigmas, one grain distinctly showing its tube, which penetrates the style, re- 
appears in the cavity of the ovary, enters the mouth of the ovule (o), and reaches the sur- 
face of the embryo-sac {s}, near the embryonal vesicle (e>). 


140 


HOW PLANTS GROW. 


[LESSON 22. 


385. The poJlen (297) which falls upon the stigma grows there 
in a peculiar way : its delicate inner coat extends into a tube (the 
pollen-tube), which sinks into the loose tissue of the stigma and 
the interior of the style, something as the root of a seedling 
sinks into the loose soil, reaches the cavity of the ovary, and at 
length penetrates the orifice of an ovule. The point of the pollen- 
tube reaches the surface of the embryo-sac, and in 
some unexplained way causes a* particle of soft pulpy 
or mucilaginous matter (Fig. 328) to form a mem- 
branous coat and to expand into a vesicle, which is 
the germ of the embryo. 

386. This vesicle (shown detached and more mag- 
nified in Fig. 329) is a specimen of what botanists call 
a Cell. Its wall of very delicate membrane encloses a 
mucilaginous liquid, in which there are often some 
minute grains, and commonly a larger soft mass 
(called its nucleus). 

387. Growth takes place by this vesicle or cell, 
after enlarging to a certain size, dividing by the for- 
mation of a cross partition into two such cells, co- 
hering together (Fig. 330) ; one of these into two 
more (Fig. 331); and these repeating the process 
by partitions formed in both directions (Fig. 332); 
forming a cluster or mass of cells, essentially like the 

first, and all proceeding from it. After increasing in number for 
some time in this way, 
and by a continuation of 
the same process, the em- 
bryo begins to shape it- ^ 
self; the upper end forms 
the radicle or root-end, 
while the other end shows a notch between two lobes (Fig. 333), 
these lobes become the cotyledons or seed-leaves, and the embryo 
as it exists in the seed is at length completed (Fig. 336) 

FIG. 399. Vesicle or first cell of the emliryo, with a portion of the summit of the embryo- 
sac, detached. 330. Fame, more advanced, divided into two rells. 331. Same, a little far- 
ther advanced, consisting of three cells. 332. Same, still more advanced, consisting of a 
little mass of young cells. 

FIG. 333. Forming emhryo of Buckwheat, moderately magnified, showing a nick at the 
end where the cotyledons are to he. 334. Same, more advanced in growth. 335. Same, 
still farther advanced. 333. The completed emliryo, displayed and straightened out; tb 
tame as shown in a section when folded together in Fig. 326. 


LESSON 22.] GROWTH OF THE PLANTLET. 


141 


388. The Growth Of the Plantlct when it springs from the seed is 
only a continuation of the same process. The bladder-like cells of 
which the embryo consists multiply in number by the repeated 
division of each cell into two. And the plantlet is merely the ag- 
gregation of a vastly larger number of these cells. This may be 
clearly ascertained by magnifying any part of a young plantlet. The 
young root, being more transparent 

than the rest, answers the purpose 
best. Fig. 56, on page 30, repre- 
sents the end of the rootlet of Fig. 
55, magnified enough to show the 
cells that form the surface. Fig. 
337 and 338 are two small bits of 
the surface more highly magnified, 
showing the cells still larger. And 
if we make a thin slice through the 
young root both lengthwise and 
crosswise, and view it under a good 
microscope 'T^ig. 340), we may per- 
ceive that the whole interior is made up of just such cells. It is 
the same with the young stem and the leaves (Fig. 355, 357). 
It is essentially the same in the full-grown herb and the tree. 

389. So the plant is an aggregation of countless millions of little 
vesicles, or cells (Fig. 339), as they are called, essentially like 

the cell it began with in the formation of the embryo 
(Fig. 329) ; and this first cell is the foundation of 
the whole structure, or the ancestor of all the rest. 
And a plant is a kind of structure built up of these 
individual cells, something as a house is built of 
bricks, only the bricks or cells are not brought to the forming 
plant, but are made in it and by it ; or, to give a better comparison, 
the plant is constructed much as a honeycomb is built up of cells, 
only the plant constructs itself, and shapes its own materials into 
fitting forms. 

390. And vegetable growth consists of two things ; 1st, the ex- 
pansion of each cell until it gets its full size (which is commonly not 
more than ^ov of an inch in diameter) ; and 2d, the multiplication 

FIG. 337. Tissue from the rootlet of a seedling Maple, magnified, showing root-hairs. 
&3S. A small portion, more magnified. 
FIG. 339. A regularly twelve-sided cell, like those of Fig. 840, detached. 


142 VEGETABLE FABRIC. [LESSON 23. 

of the cells in number. It is by the latter, of course, that the prin- 
cipal increase of plants in bulk takes place. 


LESSON XXIII. 

VEGETABLE FABRIC : CELLULAR TISSUE. 

391. Organic Structure, A mineral such as a crystal of spar, or 
a piece of marble may be divided into smaller and still smaller 
pieces, and yet the minutest portion that can be seen with the mi- 
croscope will have all the characters of the larger body, and be 
capable of still further subdivision, if we had the means of doing it, 
into just such particles, only of smaller size. A plant may also be 
divided into a number of similar parts : first into branches ; then 
each branch or stem, into joints or similar parts (34), each with its 
leaf or pair of leaves. But if we divide these into pieces, the pieces 
are not all alike, nor have they separately the properties of the 
whole ; they are not whole things, but fragments or slices. 

392. If now, under the microscope, we subdivide a leaf, or a piece 
of stem or root, we come down in the same way to the set of similar 
things it is made of, to cavities with closed walls, to Cells, as we 
call them (386), essentially the same everywhere, however they may 
vary in shape. These are the units, or the elements of which every 
part consists ; and it is their growth and their multiplication which 

FIG. 340. Magnified view, or diagram, of some perfectly regular cellular tissue, formed of 


LESSON 23.] CELLULAR TISSUE. 143 

make the growth of the plant, as was shown in the last Lesson. 
We cannot divide them into similar smaller parts having the prop- 
erties of the whole, as we may any mineral body. We may cut 
them in pieces ; but the pieces are only mutilated parts of a cell. 
This is a peculiarity of organic things (2, 3) : it is organic structure. 
Being composed of cells, the main structure of plants is called 

393. Cellular Tissue, The cells, as they multiply, build up the 
tissues or fabric of the plant, which, as we have said (389), may be 
likened to a wall or an edifice built of bricks, or still better to a 
honeycomb composed of ranges of cells (Fig. 340). 

394. The walls of the cells are united where they touch each 
other ; and so the partition appears to be a simple membrane, 
although it is really double ; as may be shown by boiling the tissue 
a few minutes and then pulling the parts asunder. And in soft fruits 
the cells separate in ripening, although they were perfectly united 
into a tissue, when green, like that of Fig. 340. 

395 In that figure the cells fit together perfectly, leaving no 
interstices, except a very small space at some of the corners. 
But in most leaves, the cells are loosely heaped together, leaving 
spaces or passages of all sizes (Fig. 356) ; and in the leaves and 
stems of aquatic and marsh plants, in particular, the cells are built 
up into narrow partitions, which form the sides of large and regular 
canals or passages (as shown in Fig. 341). These passages form 
the holes or cavities so conspicuous on cutting across any of these 
plants, and which are always filled with air. They may be likened 
to a stack of chimneys, built up of cells in place of bricks. 

396. When small and irregular, the interstices are called inter- 
cellular spaces (that is, spaces between the cells). When large anc^ 
regular, they are named intercellular passages or air-passages, 

397. It will be noticed that in slices of the root, stem, or any tissue* 
where the cells are not partly separate, the boundaries of the cells 
are usually more or less six-sided, like the cells of a honeycomb ; 
and this is apt to be the case in whatever direction the slice is made, 
whether crosswise, lengthwise, or obliquely. The reason of this is 
easy to see. The natural figure of the cell is globular Cells which 
are not pressed upon by others are generally round or roundish 
(except when they grow in some particular direction), as we see in 
the green pulp of many leaves. When a quantity of spheres (such, 
for instance, as a pile of cannon-balls) are heaped up, each one in the 
interior of the heap is touched by twelve others. If the spheres be 


144 VEGETABLE FABRIC. [LESSON 23. 

soft and yielding, as young cells are, when pressed together they will 
become twelve-sided, like that in Fig. 339. And a section in any 
direction will be six-sided, as are the meshes in Fig. 340. 

398. The size of the common cells of plants varies from about 
the thirtieth to the thousandth of an inch in diameter. An ordinary 
size is from -^fa to -5^ of an inch ; so that there may generally be 
from 27 to 125 millions of cells in the compass of a cubic inch ! 

399. Now when it is remembered that many stems shoot up at 
the rate of an inch or two a day, and sometimes of three or four , 
inches, knowing the size of the cells, we may form some conception] 
of the rapidity of their formation. The giant Puff-ball has been 
known to enlarge from an inch or so to nearly a foot in diameter 
in a single night ; but much of this is probably owing to expansion. 
We take therefore a more decisive, but equally extraordinary case, 
in the huge flowering stem of the Century-Plant. After waiting 
many years, or even for a century, to gather strength and materials 
for the effort, Century-Plants in our conservatories send up a flow- 
ering stalk, which grows day after day at the rate of a foot in twenty- 
four hours, and becomes about six inches in diameter. This, sup- 
posing the cells to average -3^ of an inch in diameter, requires the 
formation of over twenty thousand millions of cells in a day ! 

400. The walls of the cells are almost always colorless. The 
green color of leaves and young bark, and all the brilliant hues of 
flowers, are due to the contents of the cells, seen through their more 
or less transparent walls. 

401. At first the walls are always very thin. In all soft parts 
they remain so ; but in other cases they thicken on the inside and 
harden, as we see in the stone of stone-fruits, and in all hard wood 
(Fig. 345) Sometimes this thickening continues until the cell is- 
nearly filled up solid. 

402. The walls of cells are perfectly closed and whole, at least in 
all young and living cells. Those with thickened walls have thin 
places, indeed ; but there are no holes opening from one cell into 
another. And yet through these closed cells the sap and all the 
juices are conveyed from one end of the plant to the other. 

403. Vegetable cells may vary widely in shape, particularly when 
not combined into a tissue or solid fabric. The hairs of plants, for 
example, are cells drawn out into tubes, or are composed of a row 
of cells, growing on the surface. Cotton consists of simple long hairs 
on the coat of the seed ; and these hairs are single cells. The hair- 


LESSON 24.] WOOD. 145 

like bodies which abound on young roots are very slender projec- 
tions of some of the superficial cells, as is seen in Fig. 337. Even 
the fibres of wood, and what are called vessels in plants, are only 
peculiar forms or transformations of cells. 


LESSON XXIV. 

VEGETABLE FABRIC : WOOD. 

404. CELLULAR TISSUE, such as described in the last Lesson, 
makes up the whole structure of all very young plants, and the 
whole of Mosses and other vegetables of the lowest grade, even 
when full grown. But this fabric is too tender or too brittle to 
give needful strength and toughness for plants which are to rise to 
any considerable height and support themselves. So all such plants 
have also in their composition more or less of 

405. Wood, This is found in all common herbs, as well as in 
shrubs and trees ; only there is not so much of it in proportion to 
the softer cellular tissue. It is formed very early in the growth of 
the root, stem, and leaves ; traces of it appearing in large embryos 
even while yet in the seed. 

406. Wood is likewise formed of cells, of cells which at first 
are just like those that form the soft parts of plants. But early in 
their growth, some of these lengthen and at the same time thicken 
their walls ; these are what is called Woody Fibre or Wood- Cells ; 
others grow to a greater size, have thin walls with various markings 
upon them, and often run together end to end so as to form pretty 

SIG 341. Part of a slic across the stem of the Calla, or rather Richardia Africana, magnified 

13 


U6 


VEGETABLE FABRIC. 


[LESSON 24. 


large tubes, comparatively ; these are called Ducts, or sometimes 
Vessels. Wood almost always consists of both woody fibres and ducts, 

variously intermingled, and combined 
into bundles or threads which run 
lengthwise through the root and stem, 
and are spread out to form the frame- 
work of the leaves (136). In trees f 
and shrubs they are so numerous and 
crowded together, that they make a 
6 solid mass of wood. In herbs they 
are fewer, and often scattered. That 
is all the difference. 
b 407. The porosity of some kinds of 
wood, which is to be seen by the naked 
eye, as in mahogany and Oak-wood, is 
owing to a large sort of ducts. These 
generally contain air, except in very 
6 young parts, and in the spring of the 
year, when they are often gorged with 
sap, as we see in a wounded Grape- 
vine, or in the trunk of a Sugar-Maple 
at that time. But in woody plants 
through the season, the sap is usually 
carried up from the roots to the leaves 
by the 

408. Wood-Cells, or Woody Fibre, (Fig. 342-345.) These are 
email tubes, commonly between one and two thousandths, but in 
Pine-wood sometimes two or three hundredths, of an inch in diam- 
eter. Those from the tough bark of the Basswood, shown in Fig. 

342, are only the fifteen-hundredth of an inch wide. Those of But- 
ton wood (Fig. 345) are larger, and are here highly magnified be- 
sides. They also show the way wood-cells are commonly put to- 
gether, namely, with their tapering ends overlapping each other, 
spliced together, as it were, thus giving more strength and tough- 
ness to the stem, &c. 

FIG. 342. Two wood-cells from the inner or fibrous hark of the Linden or Basswood. 

343. Some tissue of the wood of the same, viz. wood-cells, and below (</) a portion of a 
spirally marked duct 344. A separate wood-cell. All equally magnified. 

FIG. 345. Some wood-cells of Buttonwood, highly magnified : a, thin spots in the 
walls, looking like holes ; on the right-hand side, where the walls are cut through, these 
;*) are seen in profile. 


LESSON 24.] 


WOOD. 


147 


A 


V 


409. In hard woods, such as Hickory, Oak, and Button wood (Fig. 
345), the walls of these tubes are very thick, as well as dense ; while 
in soft woods, such as White-Pine and Basswood, they are pretty thin. 

410. Wood-cells, like other cells (at least when young and living), 
have no openings ; each has its own cavity, closed and independent. 
They do not form anything like a set of pipes opening one into an- 
other, so as to convey an unbroken stream of sap through the plant, 
in the way people generally suppose. .The contents can pass from one 
cell to another only by getting through the partitions in some way or 
other. And so short are the individual wood- 
cells generally, that, to rise a foot in such a tree 

as the Basswood, the sap has to pass through 
about two thousand partitions ! 

411. But although there are no holes (ex- 
cept by breaking away when old), there are 
plenty of thin places, which look like perfora- 
tions; and through these the sap is readily trans- 
ferred from one cell to another, in a manner to 
be explained further on (487). Some of them 

are exhibited in Fig. 345, both as looked directly down upon, when 
they appear as dots or holes, and in profile where the cells are cut 
through. The latter view shows what they really are, namely, very 
thin places in the thickness of the wall ; and also that a thin place in 
one cell exactly corresponds to one in the contiguous wall of the next 
cell. In the wood of the Pine family, these thin spots are much 
larger, and are very conspicuous in a thin slice of wood under the 
microscope (Fig. 346, 347) ; forming stamps impressed as it were 
upon each fibre of every tree of this great family, by which it may 
be known even in the smallest fragment of its wood. 
v 41 2. Wood-cells in the bark are generally longer, finer, and 
tougher than those of the proper wood, and appear more like fibre?. 
For example, Fig. 344 represents a cell of the wood of Basswood, 
of average length, and Fig. 342 one (and part of another) of the 
fibrous bark, both drawn to the same scale. As these long cells 
form the principal part of fibrous bark, or bast, they are named Bast- 
cells or Bast-fibres. These give the great toughness to the inner 
bark of Basswood (i. e. Bast-wood) and of Leatherwood ; and they 

FIG. 346. A bit of Pine-shaving, highly magnified, showing the large circular thin spots 
of the wall of the wood-cells. 34T. A separate wood-cell, more magnified, the varying thick- 
ttess of the wall at these spots showing as rings. 


148 


VEGETABLE FABRIC. 


[LESSON 24. 


furnish the invaluable fibres of flax and hemp ; the wood of the 
stem being tender, brittle, and destroyed by the processes which 
separate for use the tough and slender bast-cells. 

413. DuctS (Fig. 348-350) are larger than wood-cells, some of 
them having a calibre large enough to be seen by the naked eye, 

when cut across (407), although 
they are usually much too small 
for this. They are either long 
single cells, or are formed of a row 
of cells placed end to end. Fig. 
349, a piece of a large dotted duct, 
and two of the ducts in Fig. 350, 
show this by their joints, which 
mark the boundaries of the several 
cells they are composed of. 

414. The walls of ducts under the microscope display various 
kinds of markings. In what are called 

Dotted Ducts (Fig. 348, 349), which are the commonest and the 
largest of all, their cut ends making the visible porosity of Oak- 
wood, the whole wall is apparently riddled with holes ; but until 
they become old, these are only thin places. 

Spiral Ducts, or Spiral Vessels, also the varieties of these called 
Annular or Banded Ducts (Fig. 350), are marked by a delicate fibre 
spirally coiled, or by rings or bands, thickening the wall. In the 
genuine spiral duct, the thread may be uncoiled, tearing the trans- 
parent wall in pieces ; as may be seen by breaking most young 
shoots, or the leaves of Strawberry or Amaryllis, and pulling the 
broken ends gently asunder, uncoiling these gossamer threads in 
abundance. In Fig. 355, some of these various sorts of ducts or 
vessels are shown in their place in the wood. 

415. Milk- Vessels, Turpentine- Vessels, Oil- Receptacles, and the 
like, are generally canals or cavities formed between or among the 
cells, and filled with the particular products of the plant. 

FIG. 348. Part of a dotted duct from a Grape-vine. 349. A similar one, evidently com- 
posed of a row of cells. 350. Part of a bundle of spiral and annular ducts from the stem 
of Polygonum orieutale, or Princes' Feather. All highly magnified. 


LESSON 25.] ANATOMY OF THE ROOT. 149 

LESSON XXV. 

ANATOMY OF THE ROOT, STEM, AND LEAVES. 

416. HAVING in the last preceding Lessons learned what the 
materials of the vegetable fabric are, we may now briefly consider 
how they are put together, and how they act in carrying on the 
plant's operations. 

417. The root and the stem are so much alike in their internal 
structure, that a description of the anatomy of the latter will answer 
for the former also. 

418. The Structure Of the Rootlets, however, or the tip of the root, 
demands a moment's attention. The tip of the root is the newest 
part, and is constantly renewing itself so long as the plant is active 
(67). It is shown magnified in Fig. 56, and is the same in all rootlets 
as in the first root of the seedling. The new roots, or their new 
parts, are mainly concerned in imbibing moisture from the ground ; 
and the newer they are, the more actively do they absorb. The ab- 
sorbing ends of roots are entirely composed of soft, new, and very 
thin-walled cellular tissue ; it is only farther back that some wood- 
cells and ducts are found. The moisture (and probably also air) 
presented to them is absorbed through the delicate walls, which, like 
those of the cells in the interior, are destitute of openings or pores 
visible even under the highest possible magnifying power. 

419. But as the rootlet grows older, the cells of its external layer 
harden their walls, and form a sort of skin, or epidermis (like that 
which everywhere covers the stem and foliage above ground), which 
greatly checks absorption. Roots accordingly cease very actively to 
imbibe moisture almost as soon as they stop growing (67). 

420. Many of the cells of the surface of young rootlets send out a 
prolongation in the form of a slender hair-like tube, closed of course 
at the apex, but at the base opening into the cavity of the cell. 
These tubes or root-hairs (shown in Fig. 55 and 56, and a few of 
them, more magnified, in Fig. 337 and 338), sent out in all direc- 
tions into the soil, vastly increase the amount of absorbing surface 
which the root presents to it. 

421. Structure of the Stem (also of the body of the root). At the 
beginning, when the root and stem spring from the seed, thej consist 

13* 


150 


ANATOMY OF ENDOGENOUS 


[LESSON 25. 


almost entirely of soft and tender cellular tissue. But as they grow, 
wood begins at once to be formed in them. 

422. This woody material is arranged in the stem in two very 
different ways in different plants, making two sorts of wood. One 
sort we see in a Palm-stem, a rattan, and a Corn-stalk (Fi<r. 351) ; 
the other we are familiar with in Oak, Maple, and all our common 
kinds of wood. In the first, the wood is made up of separate threads, 
scattered here and there throughout the whole diameter of the stem. 
In the second the wood is all collected to form a layer (in d, slice 
across appearing as a ring) of wood, between a central cellular part 
which has none in it, the Pith, and an outer cellular part, the Bark. 
This last is the plan of all our Northern trees and shrubs, and of the 
greater part of our herbs. The first kind is 

423. The Endogenous Stem ; so named from two Greek words mean- 
ing " inside-growing," because, when it lasts from year to year, the 

new wood which is added is interspersed among 
the older threads of wood, and in old stems the 
hardest and oldest wood is near the surface, and 
the youngest and softest towards the centre. All 
the plants represented in Fig. 47, on p. 19, (ex- 
cept the anomalous Cycas,) are examples of En. 
dogenous stems. And all such belong to plants 
with only one cotyledon or seed-leaf to the em- 
bryo (32). Botanists therefore call them Endoge- 
nous or Monocotyledonous Plants, using sometimes 
one name, and sometimes the other. Endogenous 
stems have no separate pith in the centre, no distinct bark, and no 
layer or ring of wood between these two ; but the threads of wood 
are scattered throughout the whole, without any particular order. 
This is very different from 

424. The Exogenous Stem, the one we have most to do with, since 
all our Northern trees and shrubs are constructed on this plan. It 
belongs to all plants which have two cotyledons to the embryo (or 
more than two, such as Pine's, 33) ; so that we call these either 
Exogenous or Dicotyledonous Plants (16), accordingly as we take 
the name from the stem or from the embryo. 

425. In the Exogenous stem, as already stated, the wood is all 
collected into one zone, surrounding- a pith of pure cellular tissue in 
the centre, and surrounded by a distinct and separable bark, the 

FIG. 331. Section of a Corn-stalk (an endogenous stem), both crosswise and length-vise. 


LESSON 25.] 


AND EXOGENOUS STEMS. 


151 


outer part of which is also cellular. This structure is very familiar 
in common wood. It is really just the same in the stem of an herb, 
only the wood is much less in quantity. Compare, for 
instance, a cross-section of the stem of Flax (Fig. 352) 
with that of a shoot of Maple or Horsechestnut of 
the same age. In an herb, the wood at the beginning 
consists of separate threads or 'little wedges of wood; 
but these, however few and scattered they may be, ait 
all so placed in the 
stem as to mark out 
a zone (or in the 
cross-section a ring) 
of wood, dividing the 
pith within from the 
bark without. 

426. The accompa- 
nying figures (which 
are diagrams rather 
than exact delinea- 
tions) may serve to 
illustrate the anat- 
omy of a woody 
exogenous stem, of 
one year old. The 
parts are explained 
in the references be- 
low. In the centre is 
the Pith. Surround- 
ing this is the layer 
of Wood, consisting both of wood-cells and of ducts or vessels. From 
the pith to the bark on all sides run a set of narrow plates of cellular 
tissue, called Medullary Rays : these make the silver-grain of wood. 
On the cross-section they appear merely as narrow lines ; but in 
wood cut lengthwise parallel to them, their faces show as glimmer- 

FIG. 352. Cross-section of the stem of Flax, showing its hark, wood, and pith. 

FIG. 333. Piere of a stem of Soft Maple, of a year old, cut crosswise and lengthwise. 

FFG. 354. A portion of the same, magnified. 

FIG. 355. A small piece of the same, taken from one side, reaching from the bark to the 
pith, and highly magnified : a, a small bit of the pith ; i, spiral ducts of what is railed Uie 
medullary sheath, ; c, the wood ; rf, rf, dotted ducts in the wood ; e, e, annular ducts ; /, the liber 
or inner bark ; g, the green bark ; A, the corky layer ; t, the skin, or epidermis j /, one of tin 
medullary rays, or plates of silver-grain, seen on the cross-section. 


152 ANATOMY OF THE [LESSON 25. 

ing plates, giving a peculiar appearance to Oak, Maple, and other 
wood with large medullary rays. 

427. The Bark covers and protects the wood. At first it is all 
cellular, like the pith ; but soon some slender woody fibres, called 
bast-cells (Fig. 342), generally appear in it, next the wood, forming 

The Liber, or Fibrous Bark, the inner bark ; to which belongs the 
fine fibrous bast or bass of Basswood, and the tough and slender fibres 
of flax and hemp, which are spun and woven, or made into cordage. 
In the Birch and Beech the inner bark has few if any bast-cells in 
its composition. 

The Cellular or Outer Bark consists of cellular tissue only. It is 
distinguished into two parts, an inner and an outer, viz. : 

The Green Bark, or Green Layer, which consists of tender, cells, 
containing the same green matter as the leaves, and serving the 
same purpose. In the course of the first season, in woody stems, this 
becomes covered with 

The Corky Layer, so named because it is the same substance as 
cork ; common cork being the thick corky layer of the bark of the 
Cork-Oak, of Spain. It is this which gives to the stems or twigs of 
shrubs and trees the aspect and the color peculiar to each ; namely, 
light gray in the Ash, purple in the Red Maple, red in several Dog- 
woods, &c. Lastly, 

The Epidermis, or skin of the plant, consisting of a layer of thick- 
sided empty cells, covers the whole. 

428. Growth of the Stem year after year, So much for an exogenous 

stem only one year old. The stems of herbs perish at the end of the 
season. But those of shrubs and trees make a new growth every 
year. It is from their mode of growth in diameter that they take the 
name of exogenous, i. e. outside-growing. The second year, such a 
stem forms a second layer of wood outside of the first ; the third year, 
another outside of that ; and so on, as long as the tree lives. So that 
the trunk of an exogenous tree, when cut off at the base, exhibits as 
many concentric rings of wood as it is years old. Over twelve hun- 
dred layers have actually been counted on the stump of an agrd tree, 
such as the Giant Cedar or Redwood of California; and there are 
doubtless some trees now standing in various parts of the world which 
were already in existence at the beginning of the Christian era. 

429. As to the bark, the green layer seldom grows much after the 
first season. Sometimes the corky layer grows and forms new 
layers, inside of the old, for a good many years, as in the Cork-Oak, 


LESSON 25.] EXOGENOUS STEM. 153 

the Sweet Gum-tree, and the White and the Paper Birch. But it 
all dies after a while ; and the continual enlargement of the wood 
within finally stretches it more than it can bear, and sooner or later 
cracks and rends it, while the weather acts powerfully upon its 
surface ; so the older bark perishes and falls away piecemeal year 
by year. 

430. But the inner bark, or liber, does make a new growth an-,' 
nually, as long as the tree lives, inside of that formed the year before, 
and next the surface of the wood. More commonly the liber occurs 
in the form of thin layers, which may be distinctly counted, as in 
Basswood : but this is not always the case. After the outer bark 
is destroyed, the older and dead layers of the inner bark are also 
exposed to the weather, are riven or split into fragments, and fall 
away in succession. In many trees the bark acquires a considerable 
thickness on old trunks, although all except the innermost portion is 
dead ; in others it falls off more rapidly ; in the stems of Honey- 
suckles and Grape-vines, the bark all separates and hangs in loose 
shreds when only a year or two old. 

431. Sap-WOOd. In the wood, on the contrary, owing to its 
growing on the outside alone, the older layers are quietly buried 
under the newer ones, and protected by them from all disturbance. 
All the wood of the young sapling may be alive, and all its cells 
or woody tubes active in carrying up the sap from the roots to the 
leaves. It is all Sap-wood or Alburnum, as young and fresh wood 
is called. But the older layers, removed a step farther every year 
from the region of growth, or rath r the zone of growth every 
year removed a step farther from them, soon cease to bear much r 
if any, part in the circulation of the tree, and probably have long 
before ceased to be alive. Sooner or later, according to the kind of 
tree, they are turned into 

432. Heart- Wood, which we know is drier, harder, more solid, and 
much more durable as timber, than sap-wood. It is generally of a 
different color, and it exhibits in different species the hue peculiar 
to each, such as reddish in Red-Cedar, brown in Black- Walnut, 
black in Ebony, &c. The change of sap-wood into heart-wood re- 
sults from the thickening of the walls of the wood-cells by the depo- 
sition of hard matter, lining the tubes and diminishing their calibre ; 
and by the deposition of a vegetable coloring-matter peculiar to each 
species. 

433. The heart-wood, being no longer a living part, may decay 

S&F 


154 ANATOMY OF THE STEM [LESSON 25. 

and often does so, without the least injury to the tree, except by im- 
pairing the strength of the trunk, and so rendering it more liable to 
be overthrown. 

434. The Living Parts Of a Tree, of the exogenous kind, are only 
these : first, the rootlets at one extremity ; second, the buds and 
leaves of the season at the other ; and third, a zone consisting of 
the newest wood and the newest bark, connecting the rootlets with 
il'.ie buds or leaves, however widely separated these may be, in 
the largest trees from two to four hundred feet apart. And these 
parts of the tree are all renewed every year. No wonder, there- 
fore, that trees may live so long, since they annually reproduce 
everything that is essential to their life and growth, and since only 
a very small part of their bulk is alive at once. The tree sur- 
vives, but nothing now living has existed long. In it, as elsewhere, 
life is a transitory thing, ever abandoning the old, and displaying 
itself afresh in the new. 

435. Cambium-Layer, The new growth in the stem, by which it 
increases in diameter year after year, is confined to a narrow line 
between the wood arid the inner bark. Cambium is the old name 
for the mucilage which is so abundant between the bark and the 
wood in spring. It was supposed to be poured out there, and that 
the bark really separated from the wood at this time. This is not 
the case. The newest bark and wood are still united by a delicate 
tissue of young and forming cells, called the Cambium-layer, 
loaded with a rich mucilaginous sap, and so tender that in spring 
the bark may be raised from the wood by the slightest force. 
Here, nourished by this rich mucilage, new cells are rapidly form- 
ing by division (387-390) ; the inner ones are added to the wood, 
and the outer to the bark, so producing the annual layers of the 
two, which are ever renewing the life of the trunk. 

436. At the same time new rootlets, growing in a similar way, are 
extending the roots beneath ; and new shoots, charged with new buds, 
annually develop fresh crops of leaves in the air above. Only, 
while the additions to the wood and bark remain as a permanent 
portion of the tree, or until destroyed by decay, the foliage is tem- 
porary, the crop of leaves being annually thrown off after they have 
served their purpose. 

437. Structure Of the Leaf, Leaves also consist both of a woody 
and a cellular part (135). The woody part is the framework of ribs 
and veins, which have already been described in full (136-147). 


LESSON 25.] AND LEAVES. 155 

They serve not only to strengthen the leaf, but also to bring in the 
ascending sap, and to distribute it by the veinlets throughout every 
part. The cellular portion is the green pulp, and is nearly the same 
as the green layer of the bark. So that the leaf may properly 
enough be regarded as a sort of expansion of the fibrous and green 
layers of the bark. It has of course no corky layer ; but the whole 
is covered by a transparent skin or epidermis, resembling that o' 
the stem. 

438. The green pulp consists of cells of various forms, usually 
loosely arranged, so as to leave many irregular spaces, or air-pas* 
sages, communicating with each other throughout the whole interior 
of the leaf (Fig. 356). The green color is owing to a peculiar 
green matter lying loose in the cells, in form of minute grains, 
named Chlorophyll (i. e. the green of " 

leaves). It is this substance, seen 
through the transparent walls of the 
cells where it is accumulated, which 
gives the common green hue to vege- 
tation, and especially to foliage. 

439. The green pulp in most leaves 
forms two principal layers ; an upper 
one, facing the sky, and an under one, 
facing the ground. The upper one is 

always deeper green in color than the lower. This is partly owing, 
perhaps, to a greater amount of chlorophyll in the upper cells, but 
mainly to the more compact arrangement of these cells. As is seen 
in Fig. 356 and 357, the cells of the upper side are oblong or cylin- 
drical, and stand endwise to the surface of the leaf, usually close to- 
gether, leaving hardly any vacant spaces. Those of the lower part 
of the leaf are apt to be irregular in shape, most of them with their 
longer diameter parallel to the face of the leaf, and are very loosely 
arranged, leaving many and wide air-chambers. The green color 
underneath is therefore diluted and paler. 

440. In many plants which grow where they are subject to 
drought, and which hold their leaves during the dry season (the 
Oleander for example), the greater part of the thickness of the leaf 
consists of layers of long cells, placed endwise and very much com- 

FIG. 356. Section through the thickness of a leaf of the Star- Anise fllliciiiiti), of Florida, 
magnified. The upper and the lower layers of thick-walled and empty cells represent the 
epidermis or skin. All those between are cells of the green pulp, containing grains of 
chlorophyll. 


156 ANATOMY OF THE LEAVES. [LESSON 25. 

pacted, so as to expose as little surface as possible to the direct action 
of the hot sun. On the other hand, the leaves of marsh plants, and 
jf others not intended to survive a drought, have their cells more 
loosely arranged throughout. In such leaves the epidermis, or skin, 
is made of only one layer of cells ; while in the Oleander, and the 
like, it consists of three or four layers of hard and thick-walled cells. 
In all this, therefore, we plainly see an arrangement for tempering 
the action of direct sunshine, and for restraining a too copious evap- 
oration, which would dry up and destroy the tender cells, at least 
when moisture is not abundantly supplied through the roots. 

441. That the upper side of the leaf alone is so constructed as to 
bear the sunshine, is shown by what happens when their position is 
reversed : then the leaf soon twists on its stalk, so as to turn again 
its under surface away from the light ; and when prevented from 
doing so, it perishes. 

442. A large part of the moisture which the roots of a growing 
plant are constantly absorbing, after being carried up through the 
stem, is evaporated from the leaves. A Sunflower-plant, a little 
over three feet high, and with between five and six thousand square 
inches of surface in foliage, &c., has been found to exhale twenty or 
thirty ounces (between one and two pints) of water in a day. Some 
part of this, no doubt, flies off through the walls of the epidermis or 
skin, at least in sunshine and dry weather ; but no considerable por- 
tion of it. The very object of this skin is to restrain evaporation. 
The greater part of the moisture exhaled escapes from the leaf 
through the 

443. Stomates or Breathing-pores, These are small openings through 
the epidermis into the air-chambers, establishing a direct commu- 
nication between the whole interior of the leaf and the external air. 
Through these the vapor of water and air can freely escape, or 
enter, as the case may be. The aperture is guarded by a pair of 
thin-walled cells, resembling those of the green pulp within, 
which open when moist so as to allow exhalation to go on, but 
promptly close when dry, so as to arrest it before the interior of the 
leaf is injured by the dryness. 

444. Like the air-chambers, the breathing-pores belong mainly to 
the under side of the leaf. In the White Lily, where they are 
unusually large, and easily seen by a simple microscope of mod- 
erate power, there are about 60,000 to the square inch on the 
epidermis of the lower surface of the leaf, and only about 3,000 in 


LESSON 26.] 


THE PLANT IN ACTION. 


157 


the same space of the upper surface. More commonly there are few 
or none on the upper side ; direct sunshine evidently being unfavor- 
able to their operation. Their immense numbers make up for their 
minuteness. They are said to vary from less than 1,000 to 170,000 
to the square inch of surface. In the Apple-tree, where they are 
under the average as to number, there are about 24,000 to the 
square inch of the lower surface ; so that each leaf has not far from 
100,000 of these openings or mouths. 


LESSON XXVI. 


THE PLANT IN ACTION, DOING THE WORK OF VEGETATION. 

445. BEING now acquainted with the machinery of the plant, we 
naturally proceed to inquire what the use of it is, and how it works. 

446. It has already been stated, in the first of these Lessons (7), 
that the great work of plants is to change inorganic into organic 
matter ; that is, to take portions of earth and air, of mineral mat- 
ter, upon which animals cannot live at all, and to convert them 

FIG. 357. Portion of a White-Lily leaf, cut through and magnified, showing a section of 
the thickness, and also a part of the skin of the lower side, with some breatliing-itorca- 

14 


158 THE PLANT IN ACTION. [LESSON 26. 

into something upon which they can live, namely, into food. All 
the food of all animals is produced by plants. Animals live upon 
vegetables ; and vegetables live upon earth and air, principally 
upon the air. 

447. Plants feed Upon Earth and Air, This is evident enough from 
the way in which they live. Many plants will flourish in pure sand 
or powdered chalk, or on the bare face of a rock or wall, watered 
merely with rain-water. And almost any plant may be made to 
grow from the seed in pure sand, and increase its weight many times, 
even if it will not come to perfection. Many naturally live suspended 
from the branches of trees high in the air, and nourished by it alone, 
never having any connection with the soil (81) ; and some which 
naturally grow on the ground, like the Live-for-ever of the gardens, 
when pulled up by the roots and hung in the air will often flourish 
the whole summer long. 

448. It is true that fast-growing plants, or those which produce 
considerable vegetable matter in one season, especially in such a 
concentrated form as to be useful as food for man or the higher 
animals, will come to maturity only in an enriched soil. But 
what is a rich soil ? One which contains decomposing vegetable 
matter, or some decomposing animal matter ; that is, in either case, 
some decomposing organic matter formerly produced by plants ; 
aided by this, grain-bearing and other important vegetables will 
grow more rapidly and vigorously, and make a greater amount of 
nourishing matter, than they could if left to do the whole work at 
once from the beginning. So that in these cases also all the organic 
matter was made by plants, and made out of earth and air. 

449. Their Chemical Composition shows what Plants are made of, The 

soil and the air in which plants live, and by which they are every- 
where surrounded, supply a variety of materials, some likely to be 
useful to the plant, others not. To know what elements the plant 
makes use of, we must first know of what its fabric and its products 
are composed. 

4/>0 We may distinguish two sorts of materials in plants, one of 
whkrh is absolutely essential, and is the same in all of them ; the 
other, ulso to some extent essential, but very variable in different 
plants, or in the same plant under different circumstances. The 
forn>er is the organic, the latter the inorganic or earthy materials. 

451. The Earthy or Inorganic Constituents, If we burn thoroughly a 
, a piece of wood, or any other part of a vegetable, almost all of 


LESSON 26.] ITS CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 159 

it is dissipated into air. But a little ashes remain : these represent 
the earthy constituents of the plant. 

452. They consist of some potash (or soda if a marine plant was 
used), some silex (the same as flint), and probably a little lime, al- 
umine, or magnesia, iron or manganese, sulphur or phosphorus, &c. 
Some or all of these elements may be detected in many or most 
plants. But they make no part of their real fabric ; and they form 
only from one or two to nine or ten parts out of a hundred of any 
vegetable substance. The ashes vary according to the nature 
of the soil. In. fact, they consist, principally, of such materials as 
happened to be dissolved, in small quantity, in the water which was 
taken up by the roots ; and when that is consumed by the plant, or 
flies off pure (as it largely does, 447) by exhalation, the earthy mat- 
ter is left behind in the cells, just as it is left incrusting the sides 
of a teakettle in which much hard water has been boiled. As is 
very natural, therefore, we find more earthy matter (i. e. more 
ashes) in the leaves than in any other part (sometimes as much as 
seven per cent, when the wood contains only two per cent) ; because 
it is through the leaves that most of the water escapes from the plant. 
These earthy constituents are often useful to the plant (the silex, for 
instance, increases the strength of the Wheat-stalk), or are useful in 
the plant's products as furnishing needful elements in the food of man 
and other animals ; and some mu?t be held to be necessary to vege- 
tation, since this is never known to go on without them. 

453. The Organic Constituents. As has just been remarked, when 
we burn in the open air a piece of any plant, nearly its whole bulk, 
and from 88 to more than 99 parts out of a hundred by weight of its 
substance, disappear, being turned into air and vapor. These are 
the organic constituents which have thus been consumed, the 
actual materials of the cells and the whole real fabric of the plant. 
And we may state that, in burning, it has been decomposed into ex- 
actly the same kinds of air, and the vapor of water, that the plant 
used in its making. The burning has merely undone the work of 
vegetation, and given back the materials to the air just in the state 
in which the plant took them. 

454. It will not be difficult to understand what the organic con- 
stituents, that is, what the real materials, of the plant are, and how 
the plant obtains them. The substance of which vegetable tissue, 
viz. the wall of the cells, is made, is by chemists named Cellulose. It 
is just the same thing in composition in wood and in soft cellular tis- 


160 THE PLANT IK ACTION". [LESSOR 26. 

sue, in the tender pot-herb and in the oldest tree. It is composed 
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, 6 parts of the first to 10 of the 
second and 5 of the third. These, accordingly, are necessary mate- 
rials of vegetable growth, and must be received by the growing plant 

455. The Plant's Food must contain these three elements in some 
shape or other. Let us look for them in the materials which the 
plant is constantly taking from the soil and the air. 

456. Water is the substance of which it takes in vastly more than 
of anything else : we well know how necessary it is to vegetable life. 
The plant imbibes water by the roots, which are specially construct- 
ed for taking it in, as a liquid when the soil is wet, and probably 
also in the form of vapor when the soil is only damp. That water 
in the form of vapor is absorbed by the leaves likewise, when the 
plant needs it, is evident from the way partly wilted leaves revive 
and freshen when sprinkled or placed in a moist atmosphere. Now 
water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, two of the three elements 
of cellulose or plant-fabric. Moreover, the hydrogen and the oxygen 
exist in water in exactly the same proportions that they do in cellu- 
lose : so it is clear that water furnishes these two elements. 

457. We inquire, therefore, after the third element, carbon. This 
is the same as pure charcoal. Charcoal is the carbon of a vegetable 
left behind after charring, that is, heating it out of contact of the air 
until the hydrogen and oxygen are driven off. The charcoal of wood 
is so abundant in bulk as to preserve perfectly the shape of the cells 
after charring, and in weight it amounts to about half that of the 
original material. Carbon itself is a solid, and not at all dissolved 
by water : as such, therefore, it cannot be absorbed into the plant, 
however minute the particles ; only liquid and air can pass through 
the walls of the cells (402, 410). It must therefore come to the 
plant in some combination, and in a fluid form. The only substance 
within the plant's reach containing carbon in the proper state is 

458. Carbonic Acid. This is a gas, and one of the components 
of the atmosphere, everywhere making about ^^ part of its bulk, 
enough for the food of plants, but not enough to be injurious to 
nnimals. For when mixed in any considerable proportion with the 
air we breathe, carbonic acid is very poisonous. The air produced 
by burning charcoal is carbonic acid, and we know how soon burning 
charcoal in a close room will destroy life. 

459. The air around us consists, besides this minute proportion 
of carbonic acid, of two other gases, mixed together, viz. oxygen 


LESSON 26.] ITS FOOD. 161 

and nitrogen. The nitrogen gas does not support animal life '. it only 
dilutes the oxygen, which does. It is the oxygen gas alone which 
renders the air fit for breathing. 

460. Carbonic acid consists of carbon combined with oxygen. In 
breathing, animals are constantly forming carbonic acid gas by unit- 
ing carbon from their bodies with oxygen of the air ; they inspire 
oxygen into their lungs ; they breath it out as carbonic acid. So 
with every breath animals are diminishing the oxygen of the air, 
so necessary to animal life, and are increasing its carbonic acid, 
so hurtful to animal life ; or rather, which would be so hurtful if it 
were allowed to accumulate in the air. The reason why it does not 
increase in the air beyond this minute proportion is that plants feed 
upon it. They draw their whole stock of carbon from the carbonic 
acid of the air. 

461. Plants take it in by their leaves. Every current, or breeze 
that stirs the foliage, brings to every leaf a succession of fresh atoms 
of carbonic acid, which it absorbs through its thousands of breathing- 
pores. We may prove this very easily, by putting a small plant or 
a fresh leafy bough into a glass globe, exposed to sunshine, and hav- 
ing two openings, causing air mixed with a known proportion of 
carbonic acid gas to enter by one opening, slowly traverse the foliage, 
and pass out by the other into a vessel proper to receive it : now, 
examining the air chemically, it will be found to have less carbonic 
acid than before. A portion has been taken up by the foliage. 

462. Plants also take it in by their roots, some probably as a gas, 
in the same way that leaves absorb it, and much, certainly, dissolved 
in the water which the rootlets imbibe. The air in the soil, es- 
pecially in a rich soil, contains many times as much carbonic acid 
as an equal bulk of the atmosphere above. Decomposing vegetable 
matter or manures, in the soil, are constantly evolving carbonic acid, 
'and a large part of it remains there, in the pores and crevices, among 
which the absorbing rootlets spread and ramify. Besides, as this gas 
is dissolved by water in a moderate degree, every rain-drop that falls 
from the clouds to the ground brings with it a little carbonic acid, 
dissolving or washing it out of the air as it passes, and bringing it 
down to the roots of plants. And what flows off into the streams 
and ponds serves for the food of water-plants. 

463. So water and carbonic acid, taken in by the leaves, or taken 
in by the roots and carried up to the leaves as crude sap, are the 
general food of plants, are the raw materials out of which at least 

14* 


162 THE PLANT IN ACTION, [LESSON 26. 

the fabric and a part of the general products of the plant are made. 
Water and carbonic acid arc mineral matters : in the plant, mainly 
in the foliage, they are changed into organic matters. This is 

464. The Plant's proper Work, Assimilation, viz. the conversion by the 

vegetable of foreign, dead, mineral matter into its own living sub- 
stance, or into organic matter capable of becoming living substance. 
To do this is, as we have said, the peculiar office of the plant. How 
and where is it done ? 

465. It is done in the green parts of plants alone, and only when 
these are acted upon by the light of the sun. The sun in some way 
supplies a power which enables the living plant to originate these 
peculiar chemical combinations, to organize matter into forms 
which are alone capable of being endowed with life. The proof of 
this proposition is simple ; and it shows at the same time, in the 
simplest way, what the plant does with the water and carbonic acid 
it consume?. Namely, 1st, it is only in sunshine or bright daylight 
that the green parts of plants give out oxygen gas, then they do ; 
and 2d, the giving out of this oxygen gas is just what is required to 
render the chemical composition of water and carbonic acid the same 
as that of cellulose (454), that is, of the plant's fabric. This shows 
why plants spread out so large a surface of foliage. 

466. In plants growing or placed under water we may see bubbles 
of air rising from the foliage ; we may collect enough of this air to 
test it by a candle's burning brighter in it ; which shows it to be 
oxygen gas. Now if the plant is making cellulose or plant- substance, 
that is, is making the very materials of its fabric and growth, as 
must generally be the case, all this oxygen gas given off by the 
leaves comes from the decomposition of carbonic acid taken in by 
the plant. 

467. This must be so, because cellulose is composed of 5 parts of. 
oxygen and 10 of hydrogen to 6 of carbon (454) : here the first two 
are just in the same proportions as in water, which consists of 1 part 
of oxygen and 2 of hydrogen, so that 5 parts of water and 6 of car- 
bon represent 1 of cellulose or plant-fabric ; and to make it out of 
water and carbonic acid, the latter (which is composed of carbon and 
oxygen) has only to give up all its oxygen. In other words, the 
plant, in its foliage under sunshine, decomposes carbonic acid gas, 
and turns the carbon together with water into cellulose, at the same 
time giving off the oxygen of the carbonic acid into the air. 

468. And we can readily prove that it is so, namely, that plants 


LESSON 26.] PRODUCING ORGANIC MATTER. 163 

do decompose carbonic acid in their leaves and give out its oxygen, 
by the experiment mentioned in paragraph 461. There the 
leaves, as we have stated, are taking in carbonic acid gas. We 
now add, that they are giving out oxygen gas at the same rate. 
The air as it comes from the glass globe is found to have just as 
much more oxygen as it has less carbonic acid than before just 
as much more oxygen as would be required to turn the carbon re- 
tained in the plant back into carbonic acid again. 

4G9. It is all the same when plants instead of making fabric at 
once, that is, growing make the prepared material, and store it 
up for future use. The principal product of plants for this purpose 
is Starch, which consists of minute grains of organic matter, lying 
Jjo-e in the cells. Plants often accumulate this, perhaps in the root, 
as in the Turnip, Carrot, and Dahlia (Fig. 57 - 60) ; or in subter- 
ranean steins or branches, as in the Potato (Fig. 68), and many 
rootstocks ; or in the bases of leaves, as in the Onion, Lily (Fig. 
73-75), and other bulbs ; or in fleshy leaves above ground, as those 
of the Ice-Plant, House-leek, and Century-Plant (Fig. 82) ; or in 
the whole thickened body, as in many Cactuses (Fig. 76) ; or in 
the seed around the embryo, as in Indian Corn (Fig. 38, 39) and 
other grain ; or even in the embryo itself, as in the Horsechestnut 
(Fig. 23, 24), Bean (Fig. 16), Pea (Fig. 19), &c. In all these 
forms this is a provision for future growth, either of the plant 
itself or of some offset from it, or of its offspring, as it springs 
from the seed. Now starch is to cellulose or vegetable fabric just 
what the prepared clay is to the potter's vessel, the same thing, 
only requiring to be shaped and consolidated. It has exactly the 
eame chemical composition, and is equally made of carbon and the 
elements of water, by decomposing the same amount of carbonic 
acid and giving back its oxygen to the air. In using it for growth, 
the plant dissolves it, conveys it to the growing parts, and consoli- 
dates it into fabric. 

470. Sugar, another principal vegetable product, also has essen- 
tially the same chemical composition, and may be formed out of the 
same common food of plants, with the same result. The different 
kinds of sugar (that of the cane, &c. and of grapes) consist of the 
same three materials as starch and cellulose, only with a little more 
water. The plant generally forms the sugar out of starch, changing 
one into the other with great ease ; starch being the form in which 
prepared material is stored up, and sugar that in which it is ex- 


164 THE PLANT PURIFYING THE AIR, [LESSON 26. 

pencled or transferred from one part of the plant to another. In the 
Sugar-cane and Indian Corn, starch is deposited in the seed ; in ger- 
mination this is turned into sugar for the plantlet to begin its growth 
with ; the growing plant produces more, and deposits some as starch 
in the stalk ; just before blossoming, this is changed into sugar again, 
and dissolved in the sap, to form and feed the flowers (which cannot, 
like the leaves, create nourishment for themselves) ; and what is left 
is deposited in the seed as starch again, with which to begin the 
same operation in the next generation. 

471. We might enumerate other vegetable products of this class 
(such as oil, acids, jelly, the pulp of fruits, &c.), and show how they 
are formed out of the carbonic acid and water which the plant takes 
in. But those already mentioned are sufficient. In producing any 
of them, carbonic acid taken from the air is decomposed, its carbon 
retained, and its oxygen given back to the air. That is to say, 

472. Plants purify the Air for Animals, by taking away the carbonic 
acid injurious to them, continually poured into it by their breathing, 
as well as by the burning of fuel and by decay, and restoring in its 
place an equal bulk of life-sustaining oxygen (4GO). And by the 
same operation, combining this carbon with the elements of water, 
&c., and elaborating them into organic matter, especially into 
starch, sugar, oil, and the like, 

473. Plants produce all the Food and Fabric of Animals, The herbiv- 
orous animals feed directly upon vegetables ; and the carnivorous 
feed upon the herbivorous. Neither the one nor the other originate 
any organic matter. They take it all ready-made from plants, 
altering the form and qualities more or less, and at length destroy- 
ing or decomposing it. 

474. Starch, sugar, and oil, for example, form a large part of the 
food of herbivorous animals and of man. When digested, they enter 
into the blood ; any surplus may be stored up for a time in the form 
of fat, being changed a little in its nature ; while the rest (and finally 
the whole) is decomposed into carbonic acid and water, and exhaled 
from the lungs in respiration ; in other words, is given back to the 
air by the animal as the very same materials which the plant takes 
from the air as its food (463) ; is given back to the air in the same 
form that it would have been if the vegetable matter had been left 
to decay where it grew, or if it had been set on fire and burned ; 
and with the same result too as to the heat, the heat in this case 
producing and maintaining the proper temperature of the animal. 


LESSON 26.] AND PRODUCING THE FOOD OF ANIMALS. 165 

475. But starch, sugar, and the like, do not make any part of the 
flesh or fabric of animals. And that for the obvious reason, that they 
consist of only the three elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; 
whereas the flesh of animals has nitrogen as well as these three ele- 
ments in its composition. The materials of the animal body, called 
Fibrine in the flesh or muscles, Gelatine in the sinews and bones, 
Caseine in the curd of milk, &c., are all forms of one and the same 
substance, composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. As 
nitrogen is a large constituent of the atmosphere, and animals are 
taking it into their lungs with every breath they draw, we might 
suppose that they take this element of their frame directly from the 
air. But they do not. Even this is furnished by vegetables, and 
animals receive it ready-made in their food. And this brings us to 
consider still another and most important vegetable product, of a- 
different class from the rest (omitted till now, for the sake of greater 
simplicity) ; namely, what is called 

476. Proteine. This name has been given to it by chemists, be- 
cause it occurs under such a protean variety of forms. The Gluten 
of wheat and the Legumine of beans and other leguminous plants 
may be taken to represent it. It occurs in all plants, at least in 
young and growing parts. It does not make any portion of their 
tissue, but is contained in all living cells, as a thin jelly, mingled 
with the sap or juice, or as a delicate mucilaginous lining. In fact, 
it is formed earlier than the cell- wall itself, and the latter is moulded 
on it, as it were ; so it is also called Protoplasm. It disappears from 
common cells as they grow old, being transferred onward to new or 
forming parts, where it plays a very active part in growth. Mixed 
with starch, &c., it is accumulated in considerable quantity in wheat, 
beans, and other grains and seeds, especially those which are most 
nutritious as food. It is the proteine which makes them so nutritious. 
Taken by animals as food, it forms their flesh and sinews, and the 
animal part of their bones, without much change ; for it has the same 
composition, is just the same thing, indeed, in some slightly different 
forms. To produce it, the plant employs, in addition to the carbonic 
acid and water already mentioned as its general food, some ammo- 
nia ; which is a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen. Ammonia 
(which is the same thing as hartshorn) is constantly escaping 
into the air in small quantities from all decomposing vegetable 
and animal substances. Besides, it is produced in every thunder- 
storm. Every flash of lightning causes some to be made (in the 


166 PLANT-LIFE. LESSON 27. 

form of nitrate of ammonia) out of the nitrogen of the air and the 
vapor of water. The reason why it never accumulates in the air 
so as to be perceptible is, that it is extremely soluble in water, as 
are all its compounds. So it is washed out of the atmosphere by the 
rain as fast as it is made or rises into it, and is brought down to the 
roots of plants, which take it in freely. When assimilated in the 
leaves along with carbon and water, proteine is formed, the very 
substance of the flesh of animals. So all flesh is vegetable matter 
in its origin. 

477. Even the earthy matter of the bones, and the iron and other 
mineral matters in the blood of animals, are derived from the plants 
they feed upon, with hardly an exception. These are furnished by 
the earthy or mineral constituents of plants (45^), and are merely 
accumulated in the animal frame. 

478. Animals, therefore, depend absolutely upon vegetables for 
their being. The great object for which the All-wise Creator estab- 
lished the vegetable kingdom evidently is, that plants might stand on 
the surface of the earth between the mineral and the animal crea- 
tions, and organize portions of the former for the sustenance of 
the latter. 


LESSON XXVII. 

PLANT-LIFE. 

479. LIFE is known to us only by its effects. We cannot tell 
what it is : but we notice some things which it does. One peculi-i 
arity of living things, which has been illustrated in the last Lesson, 
is their power of transforming matter into new forms, and thereby 
making products never produced in any other way. Life is also 
manifested by 

480. Motion, that is, by self-caused movements. Living things 
move ; those not living are moved. Animals, living as they do 
upon organized food, which is not found everywhere, must 
needs have the power of going after it, of collecting it, or at least of 
taking it in ; which requires them to make spontaneous movements. 
But plants, with their wide-spread surface (34, 131) always in con- 


LESSON 27.] CIRCULATION IN CELLS. 167 

tact with the earth and air on which they feed, the latter and the 
most important of these everywhere just the same, have no need 
of locomotion, and so are generally fixed fast to the spot where 
they grow. 

481. Yet many plants move their parts freely, sometimes when 
there is no occasion for it that we can understand, and sometimes 
accomplishing by it some useful end. The sudden closing of the 
leaflets of the Sensitive Plant, and the dropping of its leafstalk, 
when jarred, also the sudden starting forwards of the stamens of the 
Barberry at the touch, are familiar examples. Such cases seem at 
first view so strange, and so different from what we expect of a plant, 
that these plants are generally imagined to be endowed with a pe- 
culiar faculty, denied to common vegetable?. But a closer exam- 
ination will show that plants generally share in this faculty ; that 
similar movements may be detected in them all, only like those 
of the hands of a clock, or of the shadow of a sun-dial they are 
too slow for the motion to be directly seen. 

482. It is perfectly evident, also, that growth requires motion ; 
that there is always an internal activity in living plants as well as 
in animals, a power exerted which causes their fluids to move or 
circulate, and carries materials from one part to another. Some 
movements are mechanical ; but even these are generally directed 
or controlled by the plant. Others must be as truly self-caused as 
those of animals are. Let us glance at some of the principal sorts, 
and see what light they throw upon vegetable life. 

483. Cil'CUlalioil ill Cells, From what we know of the anatomy of 
plants, it is clear that they have no general circulation (like that of 
all animals except the lowest), through a system of vessels opening 
into each other (402, 410). But in plants each living cell carries 
on a circulation of its own, at least when young and active. This, 
may be beautifully seen in the transparent stems of Chara and many 
other water-plants, and in the leaves of the Fresh-water Tape-Grass 
(Vallisneria), under a good microscope. Here the sap circulates, 
often quite briskly in appearance, (but the motion is magnified as 
well as the objects,) in a steady stream, just beneath the wall, 
around each cell, passing up one side, across the end, down the 
other, and so round to complete the circuit, carrying with it small 
particles, or the larger green grains, which make the current more 
visible. This circulation may also be observed in hairs, particularly 
those on flowers, such as the jointed hairs of Spiderwort, looking 


168 PLANT-LIFE. [LESSON 27. 

under the glass like strings of blue beads, each bead being a cell. 
But here a microscope magnifying six or eight hundred times in 
diameter is needed to see the current distinctly. 

484. The movement belongs to the protoplasm (476), or jelly-like 
matter under the cell-wall. As this substance has just the same 
composition as the flesh of animals, it is not so strange that it should 
exhibit such animal-like characters. In the simplest water-plants, 
of the Sea-weed family, the body which answers to the seed is at 
first only a rounded little mass of protoplasm. When these bodies 
escape from the mother plant, they often swim about freely in the 
water in various directions, by a truly spontaneous motion, when they 
closely resemble animalcules, and are often mistaken for them. After 
enjoying this active life for several hours, they come to rest, form 
a covering of cellulose, and therefore become true vegetable cells, 
fix themselves to some support, germinate, and grow into the 
perfect plant. 

485. Absorption, Conveyance of the Sap, &c, Although contained in 

cells with closed walls, nevertheless the fluids taken in by the roots 
are carried up through the stem to the leaves even of the topmost 
bough of the tallest tree. And the sap, after its assimilation by the 
leaves, is carried down in the bark or the cambium-layer, and dis- 
tributed throughout the plant, or else is conveyed to the points where 
growth is taking place, or is accumulated in roots, stems, or wherever 
a deposit is being stored up for future use (71, 104, 128, 469). 

486. That the rise of the sap is pretty rapid in a leafy and growing 
plant, on a dry summer's day, is evident from the amount of water it 
is continually losing by exhalation from the foliage (447) ; a loss 
which must all the while be supplied from the roots, or else the 
leaves would dry up and die ; as they do so promptly when sepa- 
rated from the stem, or when the stem is cut off from the roots. 
Of course they do not then lose moisture any faster than they 
did before the separation ; only the supply is no longer kept 
up from below. 

487. The rise of the sap into the leaves apparently is to a great 
degree the result of a mode of diffusion which has been called En- 
dosmose. It acts in this way. Whenever two fluids of different 
density are separated by a membrane, whether of dead or of living 
substance, or are separated by any porous partition, a flow takes 
place through the partition, mainly towards the heavier fluid, until 
(bat is brought to the same density as the other. A familiar illus- 


LESSON 27.3 CONVEYANCE OF THE SAP. 169 

tration is seen when we place powdered sugar upon strawberries, 
and slightly moisten them : the dissolving sugar makes a solution 
stronger than the juice in the cells of the fruit ; so this is gradually 
drawn out. Also when pulpy fruits are boiled in a strong sirup; as 
soon as the sirup becomes denser than the juice in the fruit, the 
latter begins to flow out and the fruit begins to shrivel. But when 
shrivelled fruits are placed in weak sirup, or in water, they become 
plump, because the flow then sets inwards, the juice in the cells being 
denser than the water outside. Now the cells of the living plant 
contain organic matter, in the form of mucilage, protoplasm, some- 
times sugar, &c. ; and this particularly abounds in young and 
growing parts, such as the tips of roots (Fig. 56), which, as is well 
known, are the principal agents in absorbing moisture from the 
ground. The contents of their cells being therefore always much 
denser than the moisture outside (which is water containing a little 
carbonic acid, &c., and a very minute quantity of earthy matter), 
this moisture is constantly drawn into the root. What makes it 
ascend to the leaves ? 

488. To answer this question, we must look to the leaves, and 
consider what is going on there. For (however it may be in the 
spring before the leaves are out), in a leafy plant or tree the sap is 
not forced up from below, but is drawn up from above. Water large- 
ly evaporates from the leaves (447) ; it flies off into the air as vapor, 
leaving behind all the earthy and the organic matters, these not 
being volatile ; the sap in the cells of the leaf therefore becomes 
denser, and so draws upon the more watery contents of the cells of 
the stalk, these upon those of the stem below, and so on, from cell to 
cell down to the root, causing a flow from the roots to the leaves, 
which begins in the latter, just as a wind begins in the direction 
towards which it blows. Somewhat similarly, elaborated sap is 
drawn into buds or any growing parts, where it is consolidated 
into fabric, or is conveyed into tubers, roots, seeds, and the like, 
in which it is condensed into starch and stored up for future use 
(74, 103, (fee.). 

489. So in absorbing moisture by the roots, and in conveying 
the sap or the juices from cell to cell and from one part to another, 
the plant appears to make use of a physical or inorganic force ; but 
it manages and directs this as the purposes of the vegetable econ- 
omy demand. Now, when the proper materials are brought to the 
growing parts, growth takes place > and in growth the plant moves 

35 


170 PLANT-LIFE. [LESSON 27. 

the particles of matter, arranges them, and shapes the fabric in a 
manner which we cannot at all explain by any mechanical laws. 
The organs are not shaped by any external forces ; they shape 
themselves, and take such forms and positions as the nature of 
each part, or the kind of plant, requires. 

490. Special Movements, Besides growing, and quite independent 
of it, plants not only assume particular positions, but move or bend 
one part upon another to do so. Almost every species does this, as 
well as what are called sensitive plants. In springing from the seed, 
the radicle or stem of the embryo, if not in the proper position 
already, bends itself round so as to direct its root-end downwards, 
and the stern-end or plumule upwards. It does the same when 
covered so deeply by the soil that no light can affect it, or when 
growing in a perfectly dark cellar. But after reaching the light, 
the stem bends towards that, as every one knows ; and bends 
towards the stronger light, when the two sides are unequally ex- 
posed to the sun. It is now known that the shoot is bent by the 
shortening of the cells on the more illuminated side ; for if we split 
the bending shoot in two, that side curves over still more, while the 
opposite side inclines to fly back. But how the light causes the 
cells to shorten on that side, we can no more explain, than we can 
tell how the will, acting through the nerves, causes the contraction 
of the fibres of the muscles by which a man bends his arm. We 
are sure that the bending of the shoot has nothing to do with 
growth, because it takes place after a shoot is grown ; and the del- 
icate stem of a young seedling will bend a thousand times faster 
than it grows. Also because it is yellow light that most favors 
growth and the formation of vegetable fabric, while the blue and 
violet rays produce the bending. Leaves also move, even more 
freely than steins. They constantly present their upper face to the 
light ; and when turned upside down, they twist on their stalks, or 
curve round to recover their original position. The free ends of 
twining stems, as of Hop, or Morning Glory, or Bean, which appar- 
ently hang over to one ?ide from their weight, are in fact bent over, 
and, the direction of the bend constantly changing, the shoot is 
steadily sweeping round the circle, making a revolution every few- 
hours, or even more rapidly in certain ca^es, until it reaches a 
neighboring support, when, by a continuation of the same move- 
ment, it twines around it. Most tendrils revolve in the same way, 
sometimes even .more rapidly ; while others only turn from the 


LESSON 27.] MOVEMENTS. 171 

light ; this is especially the case with those that cling to walls 01 
trunks by sucker-like disks, as Virginia Creeper, p. 38, fig. 62. 
When an active tendril comes into contact with a stem or any such 
extraneous body, it incurves at the point of contact, and so lays hold 
of the support: the same contraction or tendency to curve affecting 
the whole length of the tendril, it soon shortens into a 'coil, part coil- 
ing one way, part the other, thus drawing the shoot up to the sup- 
porting body ; or, if the tendril be free, it winds up in a simple coil. 
This movement of tendrils is so prompt in the Star-Cucumber (Sic- 
yos) in Echinocystis, and in two sorts of Passion-flower, that the 
end, after a gentle rubbing, coils up by a movement rapid enough to 
be readily seen. In plants that climb by their leaf-stalks, such as 
Mauramlia and Tropseolum, the movements are similar, but much 
too slow to be seen. 

491. The so-called sleep of plants is a change of position as night 
draws on, and in different ways, according to the species, the 
Locust and Wood-Sorrel turning down their leaflets, the Honey 
Locust raising them upright, the Sensitive Plant turning them for- 
wards one over another ; and the next morning they resume their 
diurnal position. One fact, among others, showing that the changes 
are not caused by the light, but by some power in the plant itself, is 
this. The leaves of the Sensitive Plant close long before sunset ; 
but they expand again before sunrise, under much less light than 
they had when they closed. In several plants the leaves take the 
nocturnal position when brushed or jarred, in the common Sensi- 
tive Plant very suddenly, in other sorts less quickly, in the Honey 
Locust a little too slowly for us to see the motion. The way in 
which blossoms open and close, some when the light increases, some 
when it diminishes, illustrates the same thing. The stamens of ths 
Barberry, when touched at the base on the inner side, as by an} 
insect seeking for honey, or by the point of a pin, make a sudden 
jerk forward, and in the process commonly throw some pollen 
upon the stigma, which stands a little above their reach. 

432. In many of these cases we plainly perceive that a useful end 
is subserved. But what shall we say of the Venns's Fly-trap of 
IVorth Carolina, growing where it might be sure of all the food a 
j;lant can need, yet provided with an apparatus for catching insects, 
and actually capturing them expertly by a sudden motion, in the 
manner already described (126, Fig. 81) ? Or of the leaflet* of the 


172 CRYPTOGAMOUS OR FLOWERLESS PLANTS. [LESSON 27. 

Desmodium gyrans of the East Indies, spontaneously falling and 
rising by turns in jerking motions nearly the whole day long? We 
can only say, that plants are alive, no less than animals, and that it 
is a characteristic of living things to move. 


*#* CRYPTOGAMOUS OR FLOWERLESS PLANTS. 

493. IN all the foregoing Lessons, we have had what may be 
called plants of the higher classes alone in view. There are others, 
composing the lower grades of vegetation, to which some allusion 
ought to be made. 

494. Of this sort are Ferns or Brakes, Mosses, Liverworts, 
Lichens, Sea-weeds, and Fungi or Mushrooms. They are all 
classed together under the name of Flowerless Plants, or Crypto- 
gamous Plants; the former epithet referring to the fact that they do 
not bear real blossoms (with stamens and pistils) nor seeds (with an 
embryo ready-formed within). Instead of seeds they have spores, 
which are usually simple cells (392). The name Cryptogamous 
means, of hidden fructification, and intimates that they may have 
something answering to stamens and pistils, although not the same ; 
and this is now known to be the ca?e with most of them. 

495. Flowerless plants are so very various, and so peculiar in 
each family, that a volume would be required to illustrate them. 
Curious and attractive as they are, they are too difficult to be studied 
botanically by the beginner, except the Ferns, Club-Mosses, and 
Horse-tails. For the study of these we refer the student at once to 
the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, and to the 
Field, Forest, and Garden. Botany. The structure and physiology 
of these plants, as well as of the Mosses, Liverworts, Lichens, Sea- 
weeds, and Fungi, are explained in the Structural Botany, or Botanical 
Text-Book, and in other similar works. When the student has 
become prepared for the study, nothing can be more interesting than 
these plants of the lowest orders. 


LESSON 28.] SPECIES AND KINDS. 173 


LESSON XXVIII. 

SPECIES AND KINDS. 

496. UNTIL now, we have been considering plants as to their 
structure and their mode of life. We have, as it were, been read- 
ing the biography of an individual plant, following it from the tiny 
seedling up to the mature and fruit-bearing herb or tree, and learning 
how it grows and what it does. The botanist also considers plants 
as to their relationships. 

497. Plants and animals, as is well known, have two great pecu- 
liarities : 1st, they form themselves ; and 2d, they multiply them- 
selves. They reproduce themselves in a continued succession of 

498. Individuals (3). Mineral things occur as masses, which are 
divisible into smaller and still smaller ones without alteration of 
their properties (391). But organic things (vegetables and ani- 
mals) exist as individual beings. Each owes its existence to a 
parent, and produces similar individuals in its turn. So each indi- 
vidual is a link of a chain ; and to this chain the natural-historian 
applies the name of 

499. Species, All the descendants from the same stock therefore 
compose one species. And it was from our observing that the sev- 
eral sorts of plants or animals steadily reproduce themselves, or, in 
other words, keep up a succession of similar individuals, that the 
idea of species originated. So we are led to conclude that the Cre- 
ator established a definite number of species at the beginning, which 
have continued by propagation, each after its kind. 

500. There are few species, however, in which man has actually 
observed the succession for many generations. It could seldom be 
proved that all the White Pine trees or White Oaks of any forest 
came from the same stock. But observation having familiarized 
us with the general fact, that individuals proceeding from the same 
stock are essentially alike, we infer from their close resemblance 
that these similar individuals belong to the same species. That is, 
we infer it when the individuals are as much like each other as those 
are which we know to have sprung from the same stock. 

501. We do not infer it from every resemblance ; for there is the 
resemblance of kind, as between the White Oak and the Red Oak, 

15* 


174 SPECIES AND KINDS. [LESSON 28. 

and between the latter and the Scarlet Oak : these, we take for 
granted, have not originated from one arid the same stock, but from 
three separate stocks. Nor do we deny it on account of every 
difference ; for even the sheep of the same flock, and the plants 
raised from peas of the same pod, may show differences, and such 
differences occasionally get to be very striking. When they are 
pretty well marked, we call them 

Varieties. The White Oak, for example, presents two or three 
varieties in the shape of the leaves, although they may be all alike 
upon each particular tree. The question often arises, practically, 
and it is often hard to answer, whether the difference in a particular 
case is that of a variety, or is specific. If the former, we may 
commonly prove it to be so by finding such intermediate degrees 
of difference in various individuals as to show that no clear line of 
distinction can be drawn between them ; or else by observing the 
variety to vary back again, if not in the same individual, yet in its 
offspring. Our sorts of Apples, Pears, Potatoes, and the like, show 
us that differences which are permanent in the individual, and con- 
tinue unchanged through a long series of generations when propa- 
gated by division (as by offsets, cuttings, grafts, bulbs, tubers, &c.), 
are not likely to be reproduced by seed. Still they sometimes are 
so : and such varieties are called 

Races. These are strongly marked varieties, capable of being 
propagated by seed. Our different sorts of Wheat, Indian Corn, 
Peas, Radishes, &c., are familiar examples : and the races of men 
offer an analogous instance. 

502. It should be noted, that all varieties have a tendency to be 
reproduced by seed, just as all the peculiarities of the parent tend to 
be reproduced in the offspring. And by selecting those plants which 
have developed or inherited any desirable peculiarity, keeping them 
from mingling with their less promising brethren, and selecting again 
the most promising plants raised from their seeds, we may in a few 
generations render almost any variety transmissible by seed, so long 
as we take good care of it. In fact, this is the way the cultivated or 
domesticated races, so useful to man, have been fixed and preserved. 
Races, in fact, can hardly, if at all, be said to exist independently of 
man. But man does not really produce them. Such peculiarities 
often surprising enough now and then originate, we know not 
how (the plant sports, as the gardeners say) ; they are only pre- 
served, propagated, and generally further developed, by the culti- 


LESSON 28.] CLASSIFICATION. 175 

vator's skilful care. If left alone, they are likely to dwindle and 
perish, or else revert to the original form of the species. 

503. Botanists variously estimate the number of known species 
of plants at from seventy to one hundred thousand. About 3,850 
species of the higher classes grow wild in the United States east of 
the Mississippi. So that the vegetable kingdom exhibits a very 
great diversity. Between our largest and highest-organized trees, 
such as a Magnolia or an Oak, and the simplest of plants, reduced 
to a single cell or sphere, much too minute to be visible to the 
naked eye, how wide the difference ! Yet the extremes are con- 
nected by intermediate grades of every sort, so as to leave no wide 
gap at any place ; and not only so, but every grade, from the most 
complex to the most simple, is exhibited under a wide and most 
beautiful diversity of forms, all based upon the one plan of vegeta- 
tion which we have been studying, and so connected and so an- 
swering to each other throughout as to convince the thoughtful 
botanist that all are parts of one system, works of one hand, realiza- 
tions in nature of the conception of One Mind. We perceive this, 
also, by the way in which the species are grouped into 

504. Kinds, If the species, when arranged according to their re- 
semblances, were found to differ from one another about equally, 
that is, if No. 1 differed from No. 2 just as much as No. 2 did from 
No. 3, and No. 4 from No. 5, and so on throughout, then, with all 
the diversity in the vegetable kingdom there is now, there would yet 
be no foundation in nature for grouping species into kinds. Species 
and kinds would mean just the same thing. We should classify them, 
no doubt, for convenience, but our classification would be arbitrary. 
The fact is, however, that species resemble each other in very un- 
equal degrees. Some species are almost exactly alike in their whole 

tincture, and differ only in the shape or proportion of their parts; 
these, we say, belong to one Genus. Some, again, show a more gen-' 
fcral resemblance, and are found to have their flowers and seeds con- 
structed on the same particular plan, but with important differences 
in the details; these belong to the same Order or Family. Then, 
taking a wider survey, we perceive that they all group themselves 
under a few general types (or patterns), distinguishable at once by 
their flowers, by their seeds or embryos, by the character of the 
seedling plant, by the structure of their stern* and leaves, and by 
their general appearance : these great groups we call Classes. 
Finally, we distinguish the whole into two great types or grades; 


176 SPECIES AND KINDS. ]_Li:SSON 28. 

the higher grade of Flowering plants, exhibiting the full plan of 
vegetation, and the lower grade of Flowerless plants, in which 
vegetation is so simplified that at length the only likeness between 
them and our common trees or Flowering plants is that they are 
both vegetables. From species, then, we rise first to 

505. Genera (plural of Genus). The Rose kind or genus, the Oak 
genus, the Chestnut genus, &c., are familiar illustrations. Ea:h 
genus is a group of nearly related species, exhibiting a particular 
plan. All the Oaks belong to one genus, the Chestnuts to another, 
the Beech to a third. The Apple, Pear, and Crab are species of one 
genus, the Quince represents another, the various species of Haw- 
thorn a third. In the animal kingdom the common cat, the wild cat, 
the panther, the tiger, the leopard, and the lion are species of the cat 
kind or genus ; while the dog, the jackal, the different species of wolf, 
and the foxes, compose another genus. Some genera are represented 
by a vast number of species, others by few, very many by only one 
known species. For the genus may be as perfectly represented in 
one species as in several, although, if this were the case throughout, 
genera and species would of course be identical (504). The B-jech 
genus and the Chestnut genus would be just as distinct from the Oak 
genus even if but one Beech and one Chestnut were known ; as in- 
deed was the case formerly. 

506. Orders or Families (the two names are used for the same thing 
in botany) are groups of genera that resemble each other ; that is, 
they are to genera what genera are to species. As familiar illustra- 
tions, the Oak, Chestnut, and Beech genera, along with the Hazel 
genus and the Hornbeams, all belong to one order, viz. the Oak Fam- 
ily ; the Birches and the Alders make another family ; the Poplars 
and Willows, another; the Walnuts (with the Butternut) and the 
Hickories, another. The Apple genus, the Quince and the Haw- 
thorns, along with the Plums and Cherries and the Peach, the 
Raspberry, with the Blackberry, the Strawberry, the Rose, and many 
other genera, belong to a large order, the Rose Family. 

507. Tribes and Suborders, This leads us to remark, that even the 
genera of the same order may show very unequal degrees of resem- 
blance. Some may be very closely related to one another, and at the 
same time differ strikingly from the rest in certain important partic- 
ulars. In the Rose Family, for example, there is the Rose genus 
itself, with the Raspberry genus, the Strawberry, the Cinquefoil. 
&c. near it, but by no means so much like it as they are like each 


LESSON 28.] ORDERS, CLASSES, ETC. 177 

other : this group, therefore, answers to what is called a Tribe ; and 
the Rose itself stands for another tribe. But we further observe 
that the Apple genus, the Hawthorns, the Quince, and the June- 
berry, though of the same order, and nearly related among them- 
selves, differ yet more widely from the Rose and its nearest relations; 
and so, on the other hand, do the Plum and Cherry, the Peach and 
the Almond. So this great Rose Family, or Order, is composed of 
three groups, of a more marked character than tribes, groups 
which might naturally be taken for orders ; and we call them Sub- 
orders. But students will understand these matters best after a few 
lessons in studying plants in a work describing the kinds. 

508. Classes. These are great assemblages of orders, as already 
explained (515). The orders of Flowering Plants are numerous, 
no less than 134 being represented in the Botany of the Northern 
United States ; but they all group themselves under two great 
classes. One class comprises all that have seeds with a mono- 
cotyledonous embryo (32), endogenous stems (423), and generally 
parallel-veined leaves (139) ; the other, those with dicotyledonous 
embryo, exogenous stems, and netted-veined leaves ; and the whole 
aspect of the two is so different that they are known at a glance. 

509. Finally, these two classes together compose the upper Series 
or grade of Flowering or Phcenogamous Plants, which have their 
counterpart in the lower Series of Flowerless or Cryptogamous Plants, 
composed of three classes, and about a dozen orders. 

510. The universal members of classification are CLASS, ORDER, 
GENUS, SPECIES, always standing in this order. When there are 
more, they take their places as in the following schedule, which 
comprises all that are generally used in a natural classification, 
proceeding from the highest to the lowest, viz. : 

Series, 

CLASS, 

Subclass, 

ORDER, or FAMILY, 
Suborder, 
Tribe, 

Subtribe, 
GENUS, 

Subgenus or Section 
SPECIES, 
Variety. 


178 BOTANICAL NAMES. [LESSON 29. 

LESSON XXIX. 

BOTANICAL NAMES AND CHARACTERS. 

511. PLANTS are classified, i. e. are marshalled under their re- 
spective classes, orders, tribes, genera, and species, and they are 
characterized, that is, their principal characteristics or distinguish- 

marks are described or enumerated, in order that, 
First, their resemblances or differences, of various degrees, may 

be clearly exhibited, and all the species and kinds ranked next to 

those they are most related to ; and 

Secondly, that students may readily ascertain the botanical names 

of the plants they meet with, and learn their peculiarities, properties, 

and place in the system. 

512. It is in the latter that the young student is chiefly interested. 
And by his studies in this regard he is gradually led up to a higher 
point of view, from which he may take an intelligent survey of the 
whole general system of plants. But the best way for the student 
to learn the classification of plants (or Botany as a system), is to use 
it, in finding out by it the name and the peculiarities of all the wild 
plants he meets with. 

513. Names. The botanical name of a plant, that by which a 
botanist designates it, is the name of its genus followed by that of 
the species, The name of the genus or kind is like the family name 
or surname of a person, as Smith, or Jones. That of the species 
answers to the baptismal name, as John, or James. Accordingly, 
the White Oak is called botanically Quercus alba ; the first word, or 
Quercus, being the name of the Oak genus ; the second, alba, that 
of this particular species. And the Red Oak is named Quercus 
rubra ; the Black-Jack Oak, Quercus nigra ; and so on. The bo- 
tanical names are all in Latin (or are Latinized), this being the 
common language of science everywhere ; and according to the 
usage of that language, and of most others, the name of the species 
comes after that of the genus, while in English it comes before it. 

514. Generic Names. A plant, then, is named by two words. The 
generic name, or that of the genus, is one word, and a substantive. 
Commonly it is the old classical name, when the genus was known 
to the Greeks and Romans ; as Quercus for the Oak, Fagus for the 


LESSON 29.] BOTANICAL NAMES. 179 

Beech, Corylus, the Hazel, and the like. But as more genera be- 
came known, botanists had new names to make or borrow. Many- 
are named from some appearance or property of the flowers, leaves, 
or other parts of the plant. To take a few examples from tne early 
pages of the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United Siaies, 
in which the derivation of the generic names is explained. The 
genus JTepatica, p. 6, comes from the shape of the leaf resembling 
that of the liver. Myosurus, p. 10, means mouse-tail. Delphin- 
ium, p. 12, is from delphin, a dolphin, and alludes to the shape of 
the flower, which was thought to resemble the classical figures of the 
dolphin. Zanthorhiza, p. 13, is from two Greek words meaning 
yellow-root, the common name of the plant. Ciwicifuga, p, 14, is 
formed of two Latin Words, meaning, to drive away bugs, the same 
as its common name of Bugbane, the Siberian species being used to 
keep away such vermin. Sanguinaria, p. 26, is named from the 
blood-like color of its juice. 

515. Other genera are dedicated to distinguished botanists or pro- 
moters of natural science, and bear their names : such are Magnolia, 
p. 15, which commemorates the early French botanist, Magnol, and 
Jeffersonia, p. 20, named after President Jefferson, who sent the first 
exploring expedition over the Rocky Mountains. Others bear the 
name of the discoverer of the plant in question ; as, Sarracenia, p. 
23, dedicated to Dr. Sarrazin of Quebec, who was one of the first 
to send our common Pitcher-plant to the botanists of Europe ; and 
Claytonia, p. 65, first made known by the early Virginian botanist 
Clayton. 

516. Specific Names, The name of the species is also a single 
word, appended to that of the genus. It is commonly an adjective, 
and therefore agrees with the generic name in case, gender, &c. 
Sometimes it relates to the country the species inhabits ; as, Clay- 
tonia Virginica, first made known from Virginia ; Sanguinaria 
Canadensis, from Canada, &c. More commonly it denotes some 
obvious or characteristic trait of the species; as, for example, in 
Sarracenia, our northern species is named purpurea, from the pur- 
ple blossoms, while a more southern one is named flava, because 
its petals are yellow ; the species of JefFersonia is called diphylla, 
meaning two-leaved, because its leaf is divided into two leaflets. 
Some species are named after the discoverer, or in compliment to a 
botanist who has made them known ; as, Magnolia Fraseri, named 
after the botanist Eraser, one of the first to find this species ; Ra 


180 BOTANICAL NAMES AND CHARACTERS. [LESSON 29. 

worthia Michauxii, p. 65, named for the early botanist Michaux ; 
and Polygala Nuttallii, in compliment to Mr. Nuttall, who described 
it under another name. Such names of persons are of course writ- 
ten with a capital initial letter. Occasionally some old substantive 
name is used for the species ; as Magnolia Umbrella, p. 49, and Ra- 
nunculus Flammula, p. 41. These are also written with a capital 
initial, and need not accord with the generic name in gender, &c. 

517. The name of a variety, when it is distinct enough to require 
any, is made on the same plan as that of the species, and is written 
after it; as, Ranunculus Flammula, variety reptans, p. 41 (i. e. the 
creeping variety), and R. abortivus, variety micranthus, p. 42, or 
the small-flowered variety of this species. 

518. Names Of Groups, The names of tribes, orders, and the like, 
are in the plural number, and are commonly formed by prolonging 
the name of a genus of the group taken as a representative of it. 
For example, the order of which the Buttercup or Crowfoot genus, 
Ranunculus, is the representative, takes from it the name of Ranun- 
culacecR (Manual, p. 34) ; meaning Planter Ranunculacece when 
written out in full, that is, Ranunculaceous Plants. This order 
comprises several tribes ; one of which, to which Ranunculus itself 
belongs, takes the name of Ranunculece ; another, to which the 
genus Clematis, or the Virgin's-Bower, belongs, takes accordingly 
the name of Clematidece ; and so on. So the term Rosacece (mean- 
ing Rosaceous plants) is the name of the order of which the Rose 
(Rosa) is the well-known representative ; and Rosece is the name of 
the particular tribe of it which comprises the Rose. 

519. A few orders are named on a somewhat different plan. The 
great order Leguminosce, for instance (Manual, p. 123), is not named 
after any genus in it ; but the fruit, which is a legume (356), gives 
the name of Leguminous Plants. So, likewise, the order Umbelliferce 
(Manual, p. 187) means Umbelliferous or Umbel-bearing Plants; 
and the vast order Composite (Manual, p. 215) is so named because 
it consists of plants whose blossoms are crowded into heads of the 
sort which were called " compound flowers " by the old botanists 
(277). 

520. Characters, The brief description, or enumeration in scien- 
tific terms, of the principal distinctive marks of a species, genus, 
order, or other group, as given in botanical works, is called itg 
Character. Thus, in the Manual, already referred to, at the begin- 


LESSON 30.] HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 1*1 

ning, the character of the first great series is given ; then that of 
the first class, of the first subclass, and of the first division under it. 
Then, after the name of the order, follows its character (the ordinal 
character) : under the name of each genus (as, 1. Clematis, p. 35) 
is added the generic character, or description of what essentially 
distinguishes it ; and finally, following the name of each species, is 
the specific character, a succinct enumeration of the points in which 
it mainly differs from other species of the same genus. See, for 
illustration, Clematis Viorna, p. 36, where the sentence immediately 
following the name is intended to characterize that species from all 
others like it. 

521. Under this genus, and generally where we have several spe- 
cies of a genus, the species are arranged under sections, and these 
often under subsections, for the student's convenience in analysis, 
the character or description of a section applying to all the species 
under it, and therefore not having to be repeated under each species. 
Under Clematis, also, are two sections with names, or sub-genera, 
which indicates that they might almost be regarded as two distinct 
genera. But these details are best understood by practice, in the 
actual studying of plants to ascertain their name and place. And to 
this the student is now ready to proceed. 


LESSON XXX. 

HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 

522. HAVING explained, in the two preceding Lessons, the gen- 
eral principles of Classification, and of Botanical Names, we may 
now show, by a few examples, how the student is to proceed in 
applying them, and how the name and the place in the system of an 
unknown plant are to be ascertained. 

523. We suppose the student to be provided with a hand magni- 
fy ing-glass, and, if possible, with a simple microscope, i. e. with a 
magnify ing-glass, of two or more different powers, mounted on a 
support, over a stage, holding a glass plate, on which small flowers 
or their parts may be laid, while they are dissected under the mi- 
croscope with the points of needles (mounted in handles), or divided 

16 


182 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30. 

by a sharp knife. Such a microscope is not necessary, except for 
very small flowers; but it is a great convenience at all times, and 
is indispensable in studying the more difficult orders of plants. 

524. We suppose the student now to have a work in which the 
plants of the country or district are scientifically arranged and 
described : if in the Southern Atlantic States, Dr. Chapman's Flora 
of the Southern States ; if north of Carolina and Tennessee, Gray's 
Manual of the Botany of the United States, fifth edition ; or, as cov- 
ering the whole ground as to common plants, and including also all 
the common cultivated plants, Gray's Field, Forest, and Garden 
Botany, which is particularly arranged as the companion of the 
present work ; that containing brief botanical descriptions of the 
plants, and this the explanation of their general structure, and of 
the technical terms employed in describing them. To express 
clearly the distinctions which botanists observe, and which furnish 
the best marks to know a plant by, requires a good many technical 
terms, or words used with a precise meaning. These, as they are 
met with, the student should look out in the Glossary at the end of 
this volume. The terms in common use are not so numerous as 
they would at first appear to be. With practice they will soon be- 
come so familiar as to give very little trouble. And the application 
of botanical descriptive language to the plants themselves, indicating 
all their varieties of form and structure, is an excellent discipline 
for the mind, equal, if not in some respects superior, to that of learn- 
ing a classical language. 

525. The following illustrations and explanations of the way to use 
the descriptive work are, first, for The Field, Forest, and Garden Bot- 
any, that being the one which will be generally used by beginners and 
classes. This and the Lessons, bound together in a single compact 
volume, will serve the whole purpose of all but advanced students, 
teachers, and working botanists. Thus equipped, we proceed to 

526. The Analysis of a Plant. A Buttercup will serve as well 
as any. Some species or other may be found in blossom throughout 
nearly the whole spring and summer ; and, except at the very 
beginning of the season, the fruit, more or less developed, may be 
gathered with the blossom. To a full knowledge of a plant the 
fruit is essential, although the name may almost always be ascer- 
tained without it. This common yellow flower being under exam- 
ination, we are to refer the plant to its proper class and order or 


LESSON 30.] 


HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 


183 


family. The families are so numerous, and so generally distinguish- 
able only by a combination of a considerable number of marks thai 
the student must find his way to them by means of a contrivance 
called an Analytical Key. This Key begins on p. 12. 

527. It takes note of the most comprehensive possible division of 
plants, namely those " producing true flowers and seeds," and those 
"not producing flowers, propagated by spores." To the first of' 
these, the great series of PH^NOGAMOUS or FLOWERING PLANTS, 
the plant under examination obviously belongs. 

528. This series divides into those u with wood in a circle, or in 
concentric annual circles or layers around a central pith, netted-veined 
leaves, and parts of the flower mostly in fives or fours," to which 
might be added the dicotyledonous embryo, but that in the present 
case is beyond the young student's powers, even if the fruit were at 
hand; and into those " with wood in separate threads scattered 
through the diameter of the stem, not in a circle," also the '* leaves 
mostly parallel-veined, and parts of the flower almost always in 
threes, never in fives." Although the hollo wness of the stem of the 
present plant may obscure its internal structure, a practised hand, 
by throwing the light through a thin cross section of the stem under 
the glass, would make it evident that its woody bundles were all in 
a circle near the circumference, yet this could hardly be expected 
of an unassisted and inexperienced beginner. But the two other 
and very obvious marks, the netted-veined leaves, and the number 
five in both calyx and corolla, certify at once that the plant belongs 
to the first cla-s, EXOGENOUS or DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 

529. We should now look at the flower more particularly, so 
as to make out its general 

plan of structure, which we 

shall need to know all about 

as we go on. We observe 

that it has a calyx of 5 

sepals, though these are apt 

to fall soon after the blossom 

opens ; that the 5 petals are 

borne on the receptacle (or common axis of the flower) just above 

the sepals and alternate with them ; that there are next borne, a 


FIG. 358. A flower of a Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) cut through from top to bottom, 
and enlarged. 


184 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30. 

little higher up on the receptacle, an indefinite number of stamens ; 
and, lastly, covering the summit or centre of the receptacle, an in- 
definite number of pistils. 
A good view of the whole 
is to be had by cutting the 
flower directly through the 
middle, from top to bottom 

359 sec 361 (Fig. 358). If this be done 

with a sharp knife, some of the pistils will be neatly divided, or may 
be so by a second slicing. Each pistil, we see, is a closed ovary, 
containing a single ovule (Fig. 359) ascending from near the base 
of the cell, and is tipped with a very short broad style, which has 
the stigma running down the whole length of its inner edge. The 
ovary is little changed as it ripens into the sort of fruit termed an 
akene (Fig. 360) ; the ovule becoming the seed and fitting the cell 
(Fig. 361). Reverting to the key, on p. 13, we find that the class 
to which our plant belongs has two subclasses, one " with pistil of 
the ordinary sort, the ovules in a closed ovary"; the other "without 
proper pistil, the ovules naked on a scale," &c. The latter is 
nearly restricted to the Pine Family. The examination already had 
makes it quite clear that our plant belongs to the first subclass, 
ANGIOSPERMOUS Exogenous or Dicotyledonous Plants. 

530. We have here no less than 110 orders under this subclass. 
To aid the unpractised student in finding his way among them, they 
are ranked under three artificial divisions ; the Polypetalous, the 
Monopetalous, and the Apetalous. The plant in hand being fur- 
nished, in the words of the key, "with both calyx and corolla, the 
latter of wholly separate petals," is to be sought under I. POLY- 
PETALOUS DIVISION; for the analysis of which, see p. 14. 

531. Fully half the families of the class rank under this division. 
The first step in the key is to the sections A and B ; to the first of 
which, having "stamens more than 10, and more than twice the 
number of the sepals or divisions of the calyx," our plant must pertain. 

532. Under this we proceed by a series of successive steps, their 
gradations marked by their po-ition on the page, leading down to 
the name of the order or family, to which is appended the number 

FIG. 359. A pistil taken from a Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus), and more magnified ; 
its ovary cut through lengthwise, showing the ovule. 360. One of its pistils when ripened 
into a fruit (achenium or akene). 361. The same, cut through, to show the seed in it. 


LESSON 30. J HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 185 

of the page where that family and the plants under it are described. 
The propositions of the same grade, two or more, from which de- 
termination is to be made, not only stand one directly under the 
other, but begin with the same word or phrase, or with some 
counterpart, in the present case again with " Stamens," and with 
four propositions, with one and only one of which the flower in 
hand should agree. It agrees with the last of the four : Stamens 
not monadelphous." 

533. The propositions under this, to which we are now directed, 
are six, beginning with the word " Pistils " or " Pistil." The one 
which applies to the flower in hand is, clearly, the fourth : " Pistils 
numerous or more than one, separate, on the receptacle." 

534. The terms of the analysis directly subordinate to this are 
only two : we have to choose between " Stamens borne on the 
calyx," and " Stamens borne on the receptacle." The latter is true 
of our flower. The terms subordinate to this are four, beginning 
with the word " Leaves." The fourth alone accords : " Leaves not 
peltate ; herbs," and this line leads out to the CROWFOOT 
FAMILY, and refers to p. 33. 

535. Turning to that page, a perusal of the brief account of the 
marks of the RANUNCULACE^E (the technical Latin name) or CROW- 
FOOT FAMILY, assures us that the Key has led us safely and readily 
to a correct result. Knowing the order or family, we have next to 
ascertain the genus. Here are twenty genera to choose from ; but 
their characters are analyzed under sections and successive sub- 
sections (, * ,--,*+, &c.) so as to facilitate the way to the desired 
result. Of the two primary sections, we must reject 1, as it agrees 
only in respect to the pistils, and differs wholly in the characters 
furnished by the sepals, the petals, and the leaves. With " 2. 
Sepals imbricated in the bud: not climbing nor woody" it agrees. Il 
also agrees with the sub-section immediately following, viz. : " * Pis- 
tils and akenes, several or many in a head, one-seeded." The sub. 
division following : " +- Petals none: sepals petal-like " is inapplicable ; 
but its counterpart, ' H- - Petals and sepals both conspicuous, Jive or 
more : akenes, naked, short-pointed" suits, and restricts our choice to 
the three genera, Adonis, Myosurus, and Ranunculus. The deter- 
mination is soon made, upon noting the naked sepals, the petals with 
the little scale on the upper face of the short claw, and the akenes 
in a head: so the genus is, 7. RANUNCULUS. 

16* 


186 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 30. 

536. The arrangement of the species of Ranunculus is to be 
found, under the proper number, 7, 0:1 p. 37 and the following. 
The first section contains aquatic species ; ours is terrestrial, and in 
all other particulars answers to 2. The smooth ovary and akene, 
and the perennial root refer it to the sub-ectioii following, marked 
by the single star. The shape of the leaves excludes it from the 
" *- Spearwort Crowfoots," the large and showy petals from the 
" -f -i Small-flowered Crowfoots ; while all the marks agree with 
.*- -H- 4- BUTTERCUPS or COMMON CROWFOOTS. There is still 
a subdivision, one set marked, " -n- Natives of the country, low or 
spreading" the other " *-+ ++ Introduced weeds from Europe, com- 
mon in fields, fyc.: stem erect: leaves muck cut," which is the 
case. We have then only to choose between the two field Crow- 
foots, and we have supposed the pupil to have in hand the lower, 
early-flowered one, common at the east, which has a solid bulb or corm 
at the base of the stem, and displays its golden flowers in spring or 
earliest summer, and which accordingly answers to the description 
of RANUNCULUS BULBOSUS, the BULBOUS BUTTERCUP. 

537. Later in the season it might have been R. acris, the Tall 
Buttercup, or much earlier R. fascicularis, or R. repens. Having 
ascertained the genus from any one species, the student would not 
fail to recognize it again in any other, at a glance. 

538. If now, with the same plant in hand, the Manual (Fifth 
edition) be the book used, the process of analysis will be so similar, 
that a brief indication of the steps may suffice. Here the corres- 
ponding Analytical Key, commencing on p. 21, leads similarly to 
the first Series, Class, Subclass, and Division ; to A, with nume- 
rous stamens; 1, with calyx entirely free and separate from the 
pistil or pistils, thence to the fourth line beginning with the word 
Pistils; thence to the third of the three subordinate propositions, 
viz. to <; Stamens inserted on the receptacle " ; to the second of the 
succeeding couplet, or "Filaments longer than the anther"; to the 
second of the next couplet, Flowers perfect," &c., and to the first 
of the final Couplet, " Leaves not peltate ; petals deciduous," which 
ends in " RANUNCULACE^E, 34" This is the technical name of the 
family, and the page where it is described. 

539. Turning to that page we read the general description of that 
order, particularly the portion at the beginning printed in italics, 
which comprises the more important points. The " Synopsis of the 


LESSON 31.J HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 187 

Genera " which follows is similar to, but more technical than that of 
the other, more elementary book ; and the names of the tribes or 
natural groups of genera (507) are inserted. The steps of analysis 
bring the student to the Tribe III. RANUNCULE^E, and under it to 
the genus RANUNCULUS. The number prefixed to the name enables 
the student to turn forward and find the genus, p. 40. The name, 
seif/^ific and popular, is here followed by a full generic character 
(5^0). The primary sections here have names : the plant under 
examination belongs to " 2. RANUNCULUS proper"; and thence 
is to be traced, through the subdivisions *, -t -t -t , -M. +H-, to 
the ultimate subdivision b., under which, through a comparison of 
characters, the student reaches the species R. BULBOSUS, L. 

o 10. The L. at the end of the name is the recognized abbrevia- 
tion of the name of Linnaeus, the botanist who gave it. Then come 
the common or English names ; then the specific character ; after this, 
the station where the plant grows, and the region in which it occurs. 
This is followed by the time of blossoming (from May to July); 
and then by some general descriptive remarks. The expression 
4 * Nat. from Eu." means that the species is a naturalized emigrant 
from Europe, and is not original to this country. But all these 
details are duly explained in the Preface to the Manual, which the 
student who uses that work will need to study. 


LESSON XXXI. 

HOW TO STUDY PLANTS : FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. 

541. BEGINNERS should not be discouraged by the slow progress 
they must needs make in the first trials. By perseverance the vari- 
ous difficulties will soon be overcome, and each successful analysis 
will facilitate the next. Not only will a second species of the same 
genus be known at a glance, but commonly a second genus of the 
same order will be recognized as a relative at sight, by the family 
likeness. Or if the family likeness is not detected at the first view, 
it will be seen as the characters of the plant are studied out, 

542. To help on the student by a second example, we will take 
the common cultivated Flax. Turning to the Key, as before, on 


188 


HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 


[LESSON 31. 


p. 12, the student is led to ask, first, is the plant PH^ENOGAMOUS or 
FLOWERING ? Of course it is ; the blossom, with its 
stamens and pistils, answers that question. Next, to 
which of the two classes of Flowering Plants does it 
belong ? If we judge by the stem, we ask whether it 
is exogenous or endogenous (422-424). A section of 
the stem, considerably magnified, given on page 151, 
we may here repeat (Fig. 362) ; it plainly shows a 
ring of wood between a central pith and a bark. It is therefore 
exogenous. Moreover, the leaves are netted-veined, though the 
veins are not conspicuous. We might even judge from the embryo ; 
for there is little difficulty in dissecting a flax-seed, and in finding 
that almost the whole interior is occupied by an embryo with two 
cotyledons, much like that of an apple-seed (Fig. 11, 12), and this 
class, as one of its name denotes, is dicotyledonous. If we view the 
parts of the blossom, we perceive they are five throughout (Fig. 363, 
365), a number which occurs in that class only. All these marks, 
or as many of them as the student is able to verify, show that the 
plant belongs to Class I. EXOGENOUS or DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 

543. To which subclass, is the next inquiry. The single but 
several-celled ovary in the centre of the flower, enclosing the ovules, 
assures us that it belongs to the ANGIOSPERMOUS subclass, p. 13. 

544. To get a good idea of the general plan of the flower, before 


proceeding farther, cut it through the middle lengthwise, as in Fig. 
364, and also take a slice across a flower-bud, which will bring to view 
an arrangement somewhat like that of Fig. 365. Evidently the 
blossom is regularly constructed upon the number five. It has a 
calyx of five sepals, a corolla of five petals, five stamens, and five 

FIG. 382. Section of the stem of Flax, magnified. 383. Summit of a branch of the common 
Flax, with two flowers. 384. A flower divided lengthwise and enlarged. 


LESSON 31.} HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 189 

styles, with their ovaries all combined into one compound ovary. 
We note, also, that the several parts of the blos- 
som are all free and unconnected, the leaves 
of the calyx, the petals, and the stamens all ris- 
ing separately one after another from the recep- 
tacle underneath the ovary ; but the filaments, 
on close inspection, may show a slight union 
among themselves, at the base. 

545. So our plant, having 5 separate petals, is of the POLYPETA- 
LOUS division of the first cla?s, for the analysis of which see page 14. 

546. But it does not belong to the primary division A, which has 
more than 10 stamens. The student passes on, therefore, to the 
counterpart division B, on page 16, to which the few stamens, here 
only five, refer it. 

547. Of the three subdivisions, with numerals prefixed, only the 
second answers ; for the calyx is free from the ovary, and there is 
only one ovary, although the styles are five. 

548. The divisions subordinate to this form a couplet ; and our 
plant agrees with the second member of it, having " Stamens of the 
same number as the petals" [5] and "alternate with them." The 
division under this is a triplet, of which we take the third member; 
for the " Leaves are not punctate with pellucid dots." Under this, 
in turn, is a triplet beginning with the word Ovary, and the five, if 
not ten cells, determine our choice of the third member of it, 
" Ovary compound." Under this we have no less than nine choices, 
dependent upon the structure of the ovary, the number of ovules 
and seeds, &c. But the 5-celled ovary with a pair of ovules in 
each cell, separated by a false partition projecting from the back 
(Fig. 365), so that the pod becomes in fact 10-celled, with a sol- 
itary seed in each cell, is described only in the ninth and last of 
the set, p. 18. Under this, again, we have to choose among five 
propositions relating to the seeds. Here the fifth "Seeds and 
ovules only one or two in each cell" alone meets the case. 
Under this, finally, we have to choose from six lines, beginning 
with the words Tree, Shrubs, or Herbs. The fifth alone agrees, 
and leads to the FLAX FAMILY, p. 77. 

549. There is only one genus of it in this country, namely, the 
FLAX genus itself, or LINUM. To determine the species, look first 

FIG. 365. Cross-section of an unexpanded flower of the same, a sort of diagram. 


1 1 JO HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 31. 

at the three section?, marked with stars. The second answers to 
oui plant ; and the annual root, pointed sepals, and blue petals deter- 
mine it to be the COMMON FLAX, LINUM USITATISSIMUM. 

550. By the Manual, the same plant would be similarly traced, 
ulong a somewhat different order of steps, down to the genus on 
p. 104, and to the species, which being a foreign cultivated one, and 
only by chance spontaneous, is merely mentioned at the close. 

551. After several analyses of this kind, the student will be able 
to pass rapidly over most of these steps ; should ordinarily recog- 
nize the class and the division at a glance. Suppose a common Mal- 
low to be the next subject. Having flowers and seeds, it is Phaeno- 
gamous. The netted-veined leaves, the structure of the stem, and 
the leaves of the flower in fives, refer it to Class I. The pistils, of 
the ordinary sort, refer it to Subclass I. The five petals refer it to 
the Polypetalous division. Turning to the Key in the Field, Forest, 
and Garden Botany, and to the analysis of that division, commencing 
on p. 14, the numerous stamens fix it upon A, under which the 
very first line, " Stamens monadelphous, united with the base of 
the corolla; anthers kidney-shaped, one-celled," exactly expresses 
the structure of these organs, in our plant, which is thus determined 
to be of the MALLOW FAMILY, for which see page 70. 

552. After reading the character of the family, and noting its 
agreement in all respects, we fix upon 1, in which the anthers are 
all borne at the top, and not down the side of the tube of filaments. 
We pass the subdivision with a single star, and choose the alternative, 
with two stars, on account of the ring of ovaries, &c. ; fix upon the 
division -K-, on account of the stigmas running down one side of the 
slender style, instead of forming a little head or blunt tip at their 
apex ; and then have to choo-e among five genera. The three 
separate bracts outside of the calyx, the obcordate petals, and the 
fruit determine the plant to be a MALVA. Then, referring to p. 71 
for the species, the small whitish flowers point to the first division, 
and a comparison of the characters of the two species under it, 
assures us that the plant in hand is MALVA ROTUNDIFOLIA. 

553. For the sake of an example in the Monopt-talous Division, 
we take a sort of Morning-Glory which is often met with climbing 
over shrubs along the moist banks of streams. Its netted-veined 
leaves, the sepals and the stamens being five, also the structure of 
the stem, if we choose to examine it, and the embryo with two leafy 


31.1 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 191 

cotyledons (as in Fig. 26), readily inspected if we have seeds, 
show it belongs to Class I. Its pistil refers it of course to Subclass I. 
The corolla being a short funnel-shaped tube, theoretically regarded 
as formed of five petals united up to the very summit or border, ren- 
ders the flower a good illustration of the MONOPETALOUS DIVISION, 
the analysis of which begins on p. 20, in the work we are using. 

554. The calyx free from the ovary excludes it from the section, 
A, and refers it to section B. This is subdivided, in the first place, 
by the number of the stamens, and their position as respects the 
lobes of the corolla. Now, as the petals of the corolla in this flower 
are united up to the very border, the student may at first be puzzled 
to tell how many lobes it should have, or, in other words, how many 
petals enter into its composition. 'But the five leaves of the calyx 
would lead one to expect a corolla of five parts also. And, although 
there are here really no lobes or notches to be seen, yet the five 
plaits of the corolla answer to the notches, and show it to consist of 
five petals perfectly united. Since the stamens are of the same 
number as the plaits of the corolla, and are placed before them (as 
may be best seen by splitting down the corolla on one side and 
spreading it out flat), it follows that they alternate with the lobes or 
petals ; therefore our plant falls under the third subdivision : " Sta- 
mens as many as the lobes or parts of the corolla and alternate with 
them." This subdivides by the pistils. Our plant, having a pistil 
with two stigmas and two cells to the ovary, must be referred to the 
fifth and last category : " Pistil one, with a single compound ovary,'* 
&c. We are then directed to the stamens, which here are " plainly 
borne on the corolla " ; next to the leaves, which are on the stem 
(not all at the root), also alternate, without stipules; the stamens 
5, and the ovary 2-celled, all of which accords with the seventh 
of the succeeding propositions, and with no other. The middle one 
alone under this agrees as to the ovary and seeds, and all is confirmed* 
by the twining stem. It is the CONVOLVULUS FAMILY, p. 262. 

555. The proper Convolvulus Family has green foliage, as has 
our plant. Its style is single and entire, as in 1. Its calyx has a 
pair of large leafy bracts, as in the subdivision with two stars. So 
we reach the genus CALYSTEGIA, or BKACTED BINDWEED. 

556. Under this genus two species are described : the twining stem, 
and the other particulars of our plant, direct us to the first C. SEPIUM, 
which in England is named HEDGE BINDWEED, and here is one 
of the various Convolvulaceous plants known as MORNING-GLOEY. 


192 


HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 


[LESSON 


LESSON XXXII. 

HOW TO STUDY PLANTS : FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. 

557. THE foregoing illustrations have all been of the first or Ex- 
ogenous class. We will take one from the other class, and investi- 
gate it by the Manual. 

558. It shall be a rather common plant of our woods in spring, 
the Three-leaved Nightshade, or Birthroot. With specimens in 
hand, and the Manual open at the Analytical Key, p. 21, seeing 
that the plant is of the Phcenogamous series, we procyeed to deter- 
mine the class. The netted-veined leaves would seem to refer the 
plant to the first class; while the blossom (Fig. 366, 367), con- 
structed on the number three, naturally directs us to the second 

class, in which this number almost 
universally prevails. Here the stu- 
dent will be somewhat puzzled. If 
the seeds were ripe, they might be 
examined, to see whether the embryo 
has one cotyledon only, or a pair. 
But the seeds are not to be had in 
spring, and if they were, the embryo 
would not readily be made out. We 
366 must judge, therefore, by the structure 

of the stem. Is it exogenous or endogenous ? If we cut the stem 
through, or take off a thin slice crosswise and lengthwise, we shall 
perceive that the woody matter in it consists of 
a number of threads, interspersed throughout 
the soft cellular part without regularity, and not 
collected into a ring or layer. In fact, it is just 
like the Corn-stalk (Fig. 351), except that the 
woody threads are fewer. It is therefore endo- 
genous (422); and this decides the question in 
favor of Class II. MONOCOTYLEDONOUS or EN- 
DOGENOUS PLANTS (page 30), notwithstanding the branching veins 
of the leaves. For neither this character, nor the number of parts in 


FIG. 36G. Flower of Trillium erectum, viewed from above. 367. Diagram of the same, a 
cross-swition of the unopened blossom, showing the number and arrangement of parts. 


I.KSSON 32.] HOW TO STUD1* PLANTS 193 

the blossom, holds good universally, while the plan of the stem 
does. 

559. The single flower of our plant with distinct calyx and corolla 
takes us over the Spadiceous to the PETALOIDEOUS DIVISION: 
the Petaloideous Division of Endogens there begins on p. 28. 
These parts being free from and beneath the ovary, refer us to the 
third subdivision, viz : kt 3. Perianth wholly free from the ovary" 

559*. The pistil is next to be considered : it accords with the third 
of the triplet: " Pistil one, compound (cells or placenta? 3) ; anthers 
2-celled." Under this follows a triplet, of which the initial word is 
"Perianth": our choice falls upon the first, as there is nothing 
"glumaceous" about this flower. 

560. The succeeding triplet relates to the stamens; here 6, so 
we take the first alternative. The next refers to mode and place of 
growth : our plant is " Terrestrial, and not rush-like." The next 
again to the perianth : the second number of the triplet : " Perianth 
of 3 foliaceous and green sepals, and 3 colored withering-persistent 
petals" (as would be seen after flowering-time), brings us to a par- 
ticular group in the great Lily family, or LILIACE^E, p. 520. 

561. Reading over the family character, and collating the five 
tribes comprised, we perceive that our plant belongs to the group, 
quite peculiar among Liliaceous plants, here ranked as Tribe 1. 
TRILLIDE^E, the Trillium tribe. And the next step, leading to a 
choice between two genera, determines the genus to be TRILLIUM. 

562. Turning to this, on p. 522, and reading the full description 
of it, we proceed to the easy task of ascertaining the species. The 
"flower is raised on a peduncle," as in 2. This peduncle is slender 
and nearly erect, and all the other particulars accord with the sub- 
division marked by a single star. And, finally, the ovate, acutish, 
widely-spreading, dark dull-purple petals mark the species as the 
PURPLE BIRTHROOT, TRILLIUM ERECTUM, L. 

563. By the Field, Forest, and Garden Botany, the analysis is 
similar, only more simple. The details need not be particularly 
recapitulated. 

564. The student residing west of New England will also be 
likely to find another species, with similar foliage, but with larger, 
pure white, and obovate petals, turning rose-color when about to 
fade. This will at once be identified as T. grandiflorum. And 
towards the north, in cold and damp woods or swamps, a smaller 

17 


194 HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. [LESSON 32. 

species will be met with, having dull-green and petioled leaves 
rounded at the base, and rather narrow, wavy, white petals, marked 
with pink or purple stripes at the base : this the student will refer 
to T. erythrocarpum. But the species principally found in the east- 
ern parts of the country has a short peduncle recurved under the 
leaves, so as nearly to conceal the much less handsome, dull white 
flower: this, it will be seen, is T. cernuum, the Nodding Trillium' 
or Wake Robin. 

565. Whenever the student has fairly studied out one species of 
a genus, he will be likely to know the others when he sees them. 
And when plants of another genus of the same order are met with, 
the order may generally be recognized at a glance, from the family 
resemblance. For instance, having first become acquainted with the 
Convolvulus family in the genus Calystegia (555), we recognize it 
at once in the common Morning-Glory, and in the Cypress-Vine, 
and even in the Dodder, although these belong to as many different 
genera. Having examined the common Mallow (552), we immedi- 
ately recognize the Mallow family (Malvacetz) in the Marsh-Mallow, 
sparingly naturalized along the coast, in the Glade Mallow, and the 
Indian Mallow, in the Hibiscus or Rose-Mallow, and so of the rest : 
for the relationship is manifest in their general appearance, and in 
the whole structure of the flowers, if not of the foliage also. 

5G6. So the study of one plant leads naturally and easily to the 
knowledge of the whole order or family of plants it belongs to : 
which is a great advantage, and a vast saving of labor. For, 
although we have about one hundred and thirty orders of Flowering 
Plants represented in our Botany of the Northern States by about 
2,540 species, yet half of these species belong to nine or ten of these 
orders ; and more than four fifths of the species belong to forty of 
the orders. One or two hundred species, therefore, well examined, 
might give a good general idea of our whole botany. And students 
who will patiently and thoroughly study out twenty or thirty well- 
chosen examples will afterwards experience little difficulty in determin- 
ing any of our Flowering Plants and Ferns, and will find the pleasure 
of the pursuit largely to increase with their increasing knowledge. 

5G7.-And the interest will be greatly enhanced as the student, 
rising to higher and wider views, begins to discern the System of 
Botany, or, in other words, comprehends more and more of the Plan 
of the Creator in the Vegetable Kingdom. 


LESSON 33.] NATURAL SYSTEM. 195 


LESSON XXXIII. 

BOTANICAL SYSTEMS. 

568. Natural System, The System of Botany consists of the orders 
or families, duly arranged under their classes, and having the tribes, 
the genera, and the species arranged in them according to their re- 
lationships. This, when properly carried out, is the Natural System ; 
because it is intended to express, as well as we are able, the various 
degrees of relationship among plants, as presented in nature; to 
rank those species, those genera, &c. next to each other in the classi- 
fication which are really most alike in all respects, or, in other words, 
which are constructed most nearly on the same particular plan. 

569. Now this word plan of course supposes a planner, an in- 
telligent mind working according to a system : it is this system, 
therefore, which the botanist is endeavoring as far as he can to 
exhibit in a classification. In it we humbly attempt to learn some- 
thing of the plan of the Creator in this department of Nature. 

570. So there can be only one natural system of "Botany, if by the 
term we mean the plan according to which the vegetable creation 
was called into being, with all its grades and diversities among the 
species, as well of past as of the present time. But there may be 
many natural systems, if we mean the attempts of men to interpret 
and express the plan of the vegetable creation, systems which will 
vary with our advancing knowledge, and with the judgment and 
skill of different botanists, and which must all be very imperfect. 
They will all bear the impress of individual minds, and be shaped 
by the current philosophy of the age. But the endeavor always id 
to make the classification a reflection of Nature, as far as any system 
can be which has to be expressed in a series of definite propositions, 
and have its divisions and subdivisions following each other in some 
single fixed order.* 


* The best classification must fail to give more than an imperfect and con- 
siderably distorted reflection, not merely of the plan of creation, but even of our 
knowledge of it. It is often obliged to make arbitrary divisions where Nature 
shows only transitions, and to consider genera, c. as equal units, or groups of 
equally related species, while iii fact they may be very unequal, to assume, on 


106 BOTANICAL SYSTEMS. [LESSON 33, 

571. The Natural System, as we receive it, and as to that portion 
of it which is represented in the botany of our country, is laid before 
the student in the Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States. 
The orders, however, still require to be grouped, according to their 
natural relationships, into a considerable number of great groups 
(or alliances) ; but this cannot yet be done throughout in any easy 
way. So we have merely arranged them somewhat after a custom- 
ary order, and have given, in the Artificial Key, a Contrivance for 
enabling the student easily to find the natural order of any plant. 
This is a sort of 

572. Artificial Classification, The object of an artificial classifica- 
tion is merely to furnish a convenient method of finding out the name 
and place of a plant. It makes no attempt at arranging plants ac- 
cording to their relationships, but serves as a kind of dictionary. It 
distributes plants according to some one peculiarity or set of pecu- 
liarities (just as a dictionary distributes words according to their 
first letters), disregarding all other considerations. 

573. At present we need an artificial classification in Botany 
only as a Key to the Natural Orders, as an aid in referring an 
unknown plant to its proper family ; and for this it is very needful to 
the student. Formerly, when the orders themselves were not clearly 
made out, an artificial classification was required to lead the student 
down to the genus. Two such classifications were long in vogue. 
First, that of Tournefort, founded mainly on the leaves of the fiower, 
the calyx and corolla : this was the prevalent system throughout the 
first half of the eighteenth century ; but it has long since gone by. 
It was succeeded by the well-known artificial system of Linnaeus, 
which has been used until lately ; and which it is still worth while 
to give some account of. 

574. The Artificial System Of LinnaiUS was founded on the stamens 
and pistils. It consists of twenty-four classes, and of a variable 
number of orders, which were to take the place temporarily of the 
natural classes and orders ; the genera being the same under all 
classifications. 


paper at least, a strictly definite limitation of genera, of tribes, and of orders, 
although observation shows so much blending here and there of natural groups, 
sufficiently distinct on the whole, as to warrant us in assuming the likelihood 
that the Creator's plan is one of gradation, not of definite limitation, even perhapi 
vO the species themselves. 


LESSON 33.] ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM OF LINNJEUS. 


197 


575. The twenty-four classes of Linnaeus were founded upon 
something about the stamens. The following is an analysis of 
them. The first great division is into two great series, the Phce- 
nogamous and the Cryptogamous, the same as in the Natural System- 
The first of these is divided into those flowers which have the sta- 
mens in the same flower with the pistils, and those which have not ; 
and these again are subdivided, as is shown in the following tabular 
view. 

Series I. PH^ENOGAMIA ; plants with stamens and pistils, i. e. with real 

flowers. 

I Stamens in the same flower as the pistils : 
# Not united with them, 
<- Nor with one another. 

w. Of equal length if either 6 or 4 in number. 


One to each flower, Class 1. 


MONANBRIA. 


Two " 


2. 


DlAXDRIA. 


Three " 


3. 


TRIANDRIA. 


Four " 


4. 


TETRANDRIA. 


Five " 


5. 


PENTANDRIA. 


Six 


6. 


HEXANDRIA. 


Seven " 


7. 


HEPTANDRIA. 


Eight 


8. 


OCTAXDRIA. 


Nine " " 


9. 


ENNEANDRIA. 


Ten " 


10. 


DECANDRIA. 


Eleven to nineteen to each flower, 


11. 


DODECANDRIA. 


Twenty or more inserted on the calyx, 


12. 


ICOSANDRIA. 


" " " on the receptacle, 


13. 


POLYANDRIA. 


*- -w- Of unequal length and either 4 or 6. 


, 


Four, 2 long and 2 shorter, 


14. 


DlDYNAMIA. 


Six, 4 long and 2 shorter, 


15. 


TETRADYNAMIA 


- -i- United with each other, 
By their filaments, 

Into one set or tube, 16. MONADELPHIA. 

Into two sets, 17. DIADELPHIA. 

Into three or more sets, 18. POLYADELPHIA 

By their anthers into a ring, 19. SYNGENESIA. 

* * United with the pistil, 20. GYNANDRIA. 

2. Stamens and pistils in separate flowers, 

Of the same individuals, 21. MONCECIA. 

Of different individuals, 22. DICECIA. 

Some flowers perfect, others staminate or 
pistillate either in the same or in different 
individuals, 23. POLYGAMIA. 

Series II. CRYPTOGAMIA. No stamens and 
pistils, therefore no proper flowers, 24. CRYPTOGAMIA 

17* 


198 ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM OF LINNJEUS. [LESSON 33. 

576. The names of these classes are all compounded of Greek 
words. The first eleven consist of the Greek numerals, in succes- 
sion, from 1 to 11, combined with andria, which here denotes sta- 
mens ; e. g. Monandria, with one stamen; and so on. The llth 
has the numeral for twelve stamens, although it includes all which 
have from eleven to nineteen stamens, numbers which rarely occur. 
The 12th means " with twenty stamens," but takes in any higher 
number, although only when the stamens are borne on the calyx. 
The 13th means " with many stamens," but it takes only those 
with the stamens borne on the receptacle. The 14th means "two 
stamens powerful," the shorter pair being supposed to be weaker ; 
the loth, "four powerful," for the same reason. The names of the 
next three classes are compounded of adelphia, brotherhood, and 
the Greek words for one, two, and many (Monadelphia, Diaddpliia, 
and Poly adelphia). The 19th means "united in one household." 
The 20th is compounded of the words for stamens and pistils united. 
The 21st and 22d are composed of the word meaning house and the 
numerals one, or single, and two : Moncecia, in one house, Dicecia, 
in two houses. The 23d is fancifully formed of the words meaning 
plurality and marriage, from which the English word polygamy is 
derived. The 24th is from two words meaning concealed nuptials, 
and is opposed to all the rest, which are called Phcenogamous, be- 
cause their stamens and pistils, or parts of fructification, are evident. 

577. Having established the classes of his system on the stamens, 
Linnasus proceeded to divide them into orders by marks taken from 
the pistils, for those of the first thirteen classes. These orders de- 
pend on the number of the pistils, or rather on the number of styles, 
or of stigmas when there are no styles, and they are named, like the 
classes, by Greek numerals, prefixed to gynia, which means pistil 
Thus, flowers of these thirteen classes with 

One style or sessile stigma belong to Order 1. MONOGYNIA. 

Two styles or sessile stigmas, to 2. DIGYNIA. 

Three " " 3. TRIOYNIA. 

Four " " 4. TETRAGYNIA. 

Five " " 5. PENTAGYNIA. 

Six " " 6. HEXAGYKIA. 

Seven " " 7. HEPTAGYNIA. 

Eight " " 8. OCTOGYXIA. 

Nine " " 9. EKNEAGYNIA. 

Ten " " 10. DECAGYNIA. 

Eleven or twelve " 11. DODECAGYNIA. 

More than twelve " 13. POLYGYNIA. 


LESSON 34.~| HOW TO COLLECT SPECIMENS. 199 

578. The orders of the remaining classes are founded on various 
considerations, some on the nature of the fruit, others on the number 
and position of the stamens. But there is no need to enumerate 
them here, nor farther to illustrate the Linnasan Artificial Classifi- 
cation. For as a system it has gone entirely out of use ; and as a 
Key to the Natural Orders it is not so convenient, nor by any meanu 
so certain, as a proper Artificial Key, prepared for the purpose, such 
as we have been using in the preceding Lessons. 


LESSON XXXIV. 

HOW TO COLLECT SPECIMENS AND MAKE AN HERBARIUM. 

579. For Collecting Specimens the needful things are a large knife, 
strong enough to be used for digging up bulbs, small rootstocks, 
and the like, as well as for cutting woody branches ; and a botanical 
box, or a portfolio, for holding specimens which are to be carried to 
any distance. 

580. It is well to have both. The botanical box is most useful 
for holding specimens which are to be examined fresh. It is made 
of tin, in shape like a candle-box, only flatter, or the smaller sizes 
like an English sandwich-case ; the lid opening for nearly the 
whole length of one side of the box. Any portable tin box of con- 
venient size, and capable of holding specimens a foot or fifteen inches 
long, will answer the purpose. The box should shut close, so that 
the specimens may not wilt; then it will keep leafy branches and 
most flowers perfectly fresh for a day or two, especially if slightly 
moistened. 

581. The portfolio should be a pretty strong one, from a foot to 
twenty inches long, and from nine to eleven inches wide, and fasten- 
ing with tape, or (which is better) by a leathern strap and buckle at 
the side. It should contain a quantity of sheets of thin and smooth, 
unsized paper ; the poorest printing-paper and grocers' tea-paper 
are very good for the purpose. The specimens as soon as gathered 
are to be separately laid in a folded sheet, and kept under moderate 
pressure in the closed portfolio. 


200 HOW TO PRESERVE SPECIMENS, [LESSON 34. 

582. Botanical specimens should be either in flower or in fruit. 
In the case of herbs, the same specimen will often exhibit the two ; 
and both should by all means be secured whenever it is possible. 
Of small herbs, especially annuals, the whole plant, root and all, 
should be taken for a specimen. Of larger ones branches will suf- 
fice, with some of the leaves from near the root. Enough of the 
root or subterranean part of the plant should be collected to show 
whether the plant is an annual, biennial, or perennial. Thick roots, 
bulbs, tubers, or branches of specimens intended to be preserved, 
should be thinned with a knife, or cut into slices lengthwise. 

583. For drying Specimens a good supply of soft and unsized paper 
the more bibulous the better is wanted; and some convenient 
means of applying pressure. All that is requisite to make good dried 
botanical specimens is, to dry them as rapidly as possible between 
many thicknesses of paper to absorb their moisture, under as much 
pressure as can be given without crushing the more delicate parts. 
This pressure may be given by a botanical press, of which various 
forms have been contrived ; or by weights placed upon a board, 
from forty to eighty or a hundred pounds, according to the quantity 
of specimens drying at the time. For use while travelling, a good 
portable press may be made of thick binders' boards for the sides, 
holding the drying paper, and the pressure may be applied by a 
cord, or, much better, by strong straps with buckles. 

584. For drying paper, the softer and smoother sorts of cheap 
wrapping-paper answer very well. This paper may be made up 
into driers, each of a dozen sheets or less, according to the thickness, 
lightly stitched together. Specimens to be dried should be put into 
the press as soon as possible after gathering. If collected in a port- 
folio, the more delicate plants should not be disturbed, but the sheets 
that hold them should one by one be transferred from the portfolio 
to the press. Specimens brought home in the botanical box must 
be iaid in a folded sheet of the same thin, smooth, and soft paper 
used in the portfolio ; and these sheets are to hold the plants until 
they are dry. They are to be at once laid in between the driers, 
and the whole put under pressure. Every day (or at first even 
twice a day would be well) the specimens, left undisturbed in their 
sheets, are to be shifted into well-dried fresh driers, and the pressure 
renewed, while the moist sheets are spread out to dry, that they may 
take their turn again at the next shifting. This course must be 
continued until the specimens are no longer moist to the touch, 


LESSON 34.] AND FORM AN HERBARIUM. 201 

which for most plants requires about a week ; then they may be 
transferred to the sheets of paper in which they are to be preserved. 
If a great abundance of drying-paper is used, it is not necessary 
to change the sheets every day, after the first day or two. 

585. Herbarium, The botanist's collection of dried specimens, 
ticketed with their names, place, and time of collection, and sys- 
tematically arranged under their genera, orders, &c., forms a Hor- 
tus Siccus or Herbarium. It comprises not only the specimens 
which the proprietor has himself collected, but those which he ac- 
quires through friendly exchanges with distant botanists, or in other 
ways. The specimens of an herbarium may be kept in folded sheets 
of neat, and rather thick, white paper ; or they may be fastened on 
half-sheets of such paper, either by slips of gummed paper, or by 
glue applied to the specimens themselves. Each sheet should be 
appropriated to one species ; two or more different plants should 
never be attached to the same sheet. The generic and specific 
name of the plant should be added to the lower right-hand corner, 
either written on the sheet, or on a ticket pasted down at that corner; 
and the time of collection, the locality, the color of the flowers, and 
any other information which the specimens themselves do not afford, 
should be duly recorded upon the sheet or the ticket. The sheets 
of the herbarium should all be of exactly the same dimensions. The 
herbarium of Linnaeus is on paper of the common foolscap size, about 
eleven inches long and seven wide. But this is too small for an 
herbarium of any magnitude. Sixteen and a half inches by ten 
and a half, or eleven and a half inches, is an approved size. 

586. The sheets containing the species of each genus are to be 
placed in genus-covers, made of a full sheet of thick, colored paper 
(such as the strongest Manilla-hemp paper), which fold to the same 
dimensions as the species-sheet ; and the name of the genus is to be 
written on one of the lower corners. These are to be arranged 
under the orders to which they belong, and the whole kept in closed 
cases or cabinets, either laid flat in compartments, like large "pigeon- 
holes," or else placed in thick portfolios, arranged like folio volumes, 
and having the names of the orders lettered on the back. 


S&F 10 


GLOSSARY 


DICTIONARY OF TERMS USED IN DESCRIB- 
ING PLANTS, 

COMBINED WITH AN INDEX. 


A, at the beginning of words of Greek derivation, commonly signifies a negatire, 
or the absence of something ; as apetalous, without petals ; aphyllous, leaf- 
less, &c. If the word begins with a vowel, the prefix is an ; as awanther- 
ous, destitute of anther. 

Abnormal : contrary to the usual or the natural structure. 

Aboriginal : original in the strictest sense ; same as indigenous. 

Abortive: imperfectly formed, or rudimentary, as one of the stamens in fig. 195 
and three of them in fig, 196, p. 95. 

Abortion : the imperfect formation, or non-formation, of some part. 

Abrupt: suddenly terminating ; as, for instance, 

Abruptly pinnate: pinnate without an odd leaflet at the end ; fig. 128, p. 65. 

Acaulescent (acaulis) : apparently stemless ; the proper stem, bearing the leaves 
and flowers, being very short or subterranean, as iu Bloodroot, and most 
Violets ; p. 36. 

Accessory: something additional; as Accessory buds, p. 26. 

Accrescent : growing larger after flowering, as the calyx of Physalis. 

Accumbent: lying against a thing. The cotyledons are accumbent when they 
lie with their edges against the radicle. 

Acerose: needle-shaped, as the leaves of Pines; fig. 140, p. 72. 

Acetdbuliform : saucer-shaped. 

Achenium (plural achenia) : a one-seeded, seed-like fruit; fig. 286, p. 129. 

Achlamydeous (flower) : without floral envelopes; as Lizard's-tail, p. 90. fig. 18U. 

Acicular: needle-shaped ; more slender than acerose. 

Acindciform : scymitar-shaped, like some bean-pods. 

Acines : the separate grains of a fruit, such as the raspberry ; 3g. 289. 

Acorn: the nut o'f the Oak ; fig. 299, p. 130. 

Acotyle'donous . destitute of cotyledons or seed-leaves. 

Acrdgenous: growing from the apex, as the stems of Ferns and Mosses. 

Acrogens, or Acrogenous Plants: the higher Cryptogamous plants, such ai 
Ferns, &c., p. 172. 


204 GLOSSARY. 

Aculeate : armed with prickles, i. e. aculei ; as the Rose and Brier. 

Aculeofate : armed with small prickles, or slightly prickly. 

Acuminate: taper-pointed, as the leaf in fig. 97 and fig. 103. 

Acute: merely sharp-pointed, or ending in a point less than a right angle. 

Adelphous (stamens) : joined in a fraternity (adelphia) : see monadelphous and 
diadelphous. 

Adherent: sticking to, or, more commonly, growing fast to another body ; p. 104. 

Adnate: growing fast to; it means horn adherent. The anther is adnate when 
fixed by its whole length to the filament or its prolongation, as in Tulip- 
tree, fig. 233. 

'Adpressed, or oppressed: brought into contact, but not united. 

Adscendent, ascendent, or ascending : rising gradually upwards.. 

Adsurgent, or assurgeni : same as ascending. 

Adventitious: out of the proper or usual place; e. g. Adventitious buds, p. 26, 27. 

Adventive : applied to foreign plants accidentally or sparingly spontaneous in a 
country, but hardly to be called naturalized. 

^Equilateral: equal-sided ; opposed to oblique. 

^Estivation: the arrangement of parts in a flower-bud, p. 108. 

Air-cells or Air-passages : spaces in the tissue of leaves and some stems, p. 143. 

Air-Plants, p. 34. 

Ake'nium, or akene. See achenium, 

Ala (plural alee) : a wing; the sidVpetals of a papilionaceous corolla, p. 105, 
fig. 218, w. 

Alubdstrum : a flower-bud. 

Alar: situated in the forks of a stem. 

Alale: winged, as the seeds of Trumpet-Creeper (fig. 316) the fruit of the Maple, 
Elm (fig. 301), &c. 

Albescent : whitish, or turning white. 

Absorption, p. 168. 

Albumen of the seed : nourishing matter stored up with the embryo, but not 
within it; p. 15, 136. 

Albumen, a vegetable product; a form of proteine, p. 165. 

Albuminous (seeds) : furnished with albumen, as the seeds of Indian com (fig. 38, 
39), of Buckwheat (fig. 326), &c. 

Alburnum: young wood, sap-wood, p 153. 

Alpine : belonging to high mountains above the limit of forests. 

Alternate (leaves): one after another, p. 24, 71. Petals are alternate with the 
sepals, or stamens with the petals, when they stand over the intervals be- 
tween them, p. 93. 

Alveolate : honeycomb-like, as the receptacle of the Cotton-Thistle. 

Ament: a catkin, p. 81. Amentaceous: catkin-like, or catkin-bearing. 

Amorphous : shapeless ; without any definite form. 

Amphigdstrium (plural amphigastria) : a peculiar stipule-like, leaf of certair 
Liverworts. 

Amphitropous or Amphttropal ovules or seeds, p. 123, fig. 272. 

Ampl&tant : embracing. Amplexicaul (leaves) : clasping the stem by the base. 

Ampulldceous : swelling out like a bottle or bladder. 

Amylaceous : composed of starch, or starch-like. 


GLOSSARY. 205 

Andntherous : without anthers. Andntkous : destitute of flowers ; flowerless. 

Anastomosing: forming a net-work (anastomosis), as the veins of leaves. 

Andtropous or Andtropal ovules or seeds ; p. 123, fig. 273. 

Ancipital (anceps) : two-edged, as the stem of Blue-eyed Grass. 

Androxium : a name for the stamens taken together. 

Androgynous : having both staminate and pistillate flowers in the same cluster 

or inflorescence, as many species of Carex. 
Androphore : a column of united stamens, as in a Mallow ; or the support on 

which stamens are raised. 

Anfrdctuose : bent hither and thither, as the anthers of the Squash, &c. 
Angiospe'rmce, Angiospe'rmous Plants : with their seeds formed in an ovary or peri- 
carp, p. 183. 

Angular divergence of leaves, p. 72. 
Annual (plant) : flowering and fruiting the year it is raised from the seed, and 

then dying, p. 21. 

Annular: in the form of a ring, or forming a circle. 
Annulate : marked by rings ; or furnished with an 
Annulus, or ring, like that of the spore-case of most Ferns (Manual Bot. N. 

States, plate 9, fig. 2) in Mosses it is a ring of cells placed between the 

mouth of the spore-case and the lid, in many species. 
Anterior, in the blossom, is the part next the bract, i. e. external : while the 

posterior side is that next the axis of inflorescence. Thus, in the Pea, &c. 

the keel is anterior, and the standard posterior. 

Anther: the essential part of the stamen, which contains the pollen ; p. 86, 113. 
Anthertdium (plural antheridia) : the organ in Mosses, &c. which answers to 

the anther of Flowering plants. 
Anthenferous : anther-bearing. 

Anthe'sis : the period or the act of the expansion of a flower 
Anthocdrpous (fruits) : same as multiple fruits ; p. 133. 
Anticous : same as anterior. 
Antro'rse: directed upwards or forwards. 
Ape'talous: destitute of petals ; p. 90, fig. 179. 
Aphyllous : destitute of leaves, at least of foliage. 
Apical : belonging to the apex or point. 
Apiculate : pointletted ; tipped with a short and abrupt point. 
Apocarpous (pistils) : when the several pistils of the same flower are separate. 

as in a Buttercup, Sedum (fig. 168), &c. 

Apdphysis : any irregular swelling ; the enlargement at the base of the spore- 
case of the Umbrella-Moss (Manual, plate 4), &c. 
Appendage any superadded part. 
Appendiculate : provided with appendages. 
Apprised: where branches are close pressed to the stem, or leaves to tho 

branch, &c. 
Apterous: wingless. 
Aquatic : living or growing in water ; applied to plants whether growing under 

water, or with all but the base raised out of it. 

Arachnoid: cobwebby ; clothed with, or consisting of, soft downy fibres. 
Arboreous, Arborescent : tree-like, in size or form ; p. 36. 
18 


206 GLOSSARY. 

Archeg6nium (plural archegonia) : the organ in Mosses, &c., which is analogous 
to the pistil of Flowering Plants. 

Arcuate : bent or curved like a bow. 

Are'olate : marked out into little spaces or areoloe. 

Arillate (seeds) furnished with an 

Aril or Arillus : a fleshy growth forming a false coat or appendage to a seed; 
p. 135, fig. 318. 

Aristate : awned. i. e. furnished with an arista, like the beard of Barley, &c. 

Aristulate: diminutive of the last; short-awned. 

^rrow-shaped or Arrow-headed : same as sagittate ; p. 59, fig. 95. 

'Articulated: jointed ; furnished with joints or articulations, where it separates 01 
inclines to do so. Articulated leaves, p. 64. 

Artificial Classification, p. 196. 

Ascending (stems, &c.), p. 37 , (seeds or ovules), p. 122. 

Aspergillifonn : shaped like the brusli used to sprinkle holy water ; as the stigma* 
of many Grasses. 

Assimilation, p. 162. 

Assurgent: same as ascending, p. 37. 

Atropous or Atropal (ovules) : same as orthotropous. 

Auriculate: furnished with auricles or ear-like appendages, p. 59. 

Awl-shaped: sharp-pointed from a broader base, p. 68. 

Awn : the bristle or beard of Barley, Oats, &c. ; or any similar bristle-like ap- 
pendage. 

Awned: furnished with an awn or long bristle-shaped tip. 

Axil: the angle on the upper side between a leaf and the stem, p. 20. 

Axile : belonging to the axis, or occupying the axis ; p. 1 1 9, &c. 

Axillary (buds, &c.) : occurring in an axil, p 21, 77, &c. 

Axis : the central line of any body ; the organ round which others are attached ; 
the root and stem. Ascending Axis, p. 9. Descending Axis, p. 9. 

Baccate: berry-like, of a pulpy nature like a berry (in Latin bacca) ; p. 127. 

Barbate : bearded ; bearing tufts, spots, or lines of hairs. 

Barbed : furnished with a barb or double hook ; as the apex of the bristle on the 

fruit of Echinospermum (Stickseed), &c. 
Bdrbellate: said of the bristles of the pappus of some Composite (species of 

Liatris, &c.), when beset with short, stiff hairs, longer than when denticulate, 

but shorter than when plumose. 
Barbe'llulate : diminutive of barbellate. 

Bark : the covering of a stem outside of the wood, p. 150, 152. 
Basal : belonging or attached to the 

Base: that extremity of any organ by which it is attached to its support. 
Bast, Bast-fibres, p. 147. 
Beaked: ending in a prolonged narrow tip. 
Bearded: see barbate. Beard is sometimes used popularly for awn, more conv 

monly for long or stiff hairs of any sort. 

Bell-shaped: of the shape of a bell, as the corolla of Harebell, fig. 207, p. 102. 
Berry : a fruit pulpy or juicy throughout, as a grape ; p. 127. 
Bi- (or Bis), in compound words : twice; as 


GLOSSARY. 207 

Biartfculate : twice jointed, or two-jointed ; separating into two pieces. 

Biauriculate : having two ears, as the leaf in fig. 96. 

Bicallose: having two callosities or harder spots. 

Bicdrinate : two-keeled, as the upper palea of Grasses. 

Bicipital (Biceps) : two-headed ; dividing into two parts at the top or bottom. 

Bicdnjugate : twice paired, as when a petiole forks twice. 

Bidtntate: having two teeth (not twice or doubly dentate). 

Biennial : of two years' continuance ; springing from the seed one season, 

flowering and dying the next ; p. 21. 
Bifdrious : two-ranked ; arranged in two rows. 

Bifid: two-cleft to about the middle, as the petals of Mouse-ear Chickweed. 
Bifdliolate : a compound leaf of two leaflets ; p. 66. 
Bifurcate: twice forked ; or, more commonly, forked into two branches. 
Bijugate: bearing two pairs (of leaflets, &c.). 
Bilabiate?: two-lipped, as the corolla of sage. &c , p. 105, fig. 209. 
Bildmellate : of two plates (lamellce), as the stigma of Mimulus. 
BUobed : the same as two-lobed. 
Bildcular : two-celled ; as most anthers, the pod of Foxglove, most Saxifrages 

(fig. 254), &c. 

Binate : in couples, two together. 
Bipartite : the Latin form of two-parted ; p. 62. 
Bipinnate (leaf) : twice pinnate ; p. 66, fig. 130. 
Bipinndtifid : twice pinnatifid, p. 64; that is, pinnatifid with the lobes again 

pinnatifid. 

Biplicate : twice folded together. 

Bise'rial, or Biseriate : occupying two rows, one within the other. 
Biserrate : doubly serrate, as when the teeth of a leaf, &c. are themselves serrate. 
Bite'rnate : twice ternate ; i. e. principal divisions 3, each bearing 3 leaflets, &c. 
Bladdery: thin and inflated, like the calyx of Silene inflata. 
Blade of a leaf: its expanded portion ; p 54. 

Boat-shaped: concave within and keeled without, in shape like a small boat. 
Brdchiate : with opposite branches at right angles to each other, as in the 

Maple and Lilac. 
Bract (Latin, bractea). Bracts, in general, are the leaves of an inflorescence, 

more or less different from ordinary leaves. Specially, the bract is the 

small leaf or scale from the axil of which a flower or its pedicel proceeds : 

p. 78 ; and a 

Bractlet (bracteola) is a bract seated on the pedicel or flower-stalk; p. 78, fig. 156. 
Branch, p. 20, 36. 

Bristles : stiff, sharp hairs, or any very slender bodies of similar appearance. 
Bristly: beset with bristles. 
Brush-shaped: see aspergi/liform. 

Bryology: that part of Botany which relates to Mosses. 
Bud: a branch in its earliest or undeveloped state ; p. 20. 
Bud-scales, p. 22, 50. 

Bulb : a leaf-bud with fleshy scales, usually subterranean ; p. 45, fig. 73. 
Bulbiferous: bearing or producing bulbs. 
Bidbose or bulbous : bulb-like in shape, &c. 


208 GLOSSARY. 

Bulblets: small bulbs, borne above ground, as on the stems of the bulb-bearing 
Lily and on the fronds of Cistopteris bulbifera and some other Ferns; p. 46. 
Bulb-scales, p. 50. 
Bullate: appearing as if blistered or bladdery (from bulla, a bubble). 

Caducous: dropping off very early, compared with other parts; as the calyx in 

the Poppy Family, falling when the flower opens. 

Ccespitose, or Ce'spitose : growing in turf-like patches or tufts, like most sedges, &c. 
Cdlcarate: furnished with a spur (calcur), as the flower of Larkspur, fig. 183, 

and Violet, tig. 181. 

Calceolate or Cdlceiform : slipper-shaped, like one petal of the Lady's Slipper- 
Cdllose : hardened ; or furnished with callosities or thickened spots. 
Cdlycine: belonging to the calyx. 
Calculate : furnished with an outer accessory calyx (calyculus) or set of bracts 

looking like a calyx, as in true Pinks. 

Calyptra : the hood or veil of the capsule of a Moss : Manual, p. 607, &c. 
Calyptriform : shaped like a calyptra or candle-extinguisher. 
Calyx : the outer set of the floral envelopes or leaves of the flower ; p. 85. 
Cambium and Cambium -layer, p. 154. 
Campdnulate: bell-shaped; p. 102, fig. 207. 
Campyldtropous, or Campylotropal ; curved ovules and seeds of a particular sort ; 

p. 123, fig. 271. 
Campi/lospe'nnous : applied to fruits of Umbelliferae when the seed is curved in 

at the edges, forming a groove down the inner face ; as in Sweet Cicely. 
Canaliculate: channelled, or with a deep longitudinal groove. 
Cdncellate: latticed, resembling lattice-work. 
Cane'scent : gray ish- white ; hoary, usually because the surface is covered with 

fine white hairs. Incanous is whiter still. 

CapilldceoHS, Capillary : hair-like in shape ; as fine as hair or slender bristles. 
Capitate : having a globular apex, like the head on a pin ; as the stigma of 

Cherry, fig. 213; or forming a head, like the flower-cluster of Button-bush, 

fig. 161. < 

Capitellate : diminutive of capitate; as the stigmas of fig. 255. 
Capitulum (a little head) : a close rounded dense cluster or head of sessile 

flowers; p. 80, fig. 161. 

Capreo/ate: bearing tendrils (from caprcohis, a tendril). 
Capsule: a pod; any dry dehiscent seed-vessel; p. 131, fig. 305, 306. 
Cdpsular: relating to, or like a capsule. 
Carina : a keel ; the two anterior petals of a papilionaceous flower, which are 

combined to form a body shaped somewhat like the keel (or nther the 

prow) of a vessel ; p. 105, fig. 218, k. 

Cdrinate: keeled ; furnished with a sharp ridge or projection on the lower side. 
Caridpsis, or Carydpsis : the one-seeded fruit or grain of Grasses, &c., p. 351. 
Corneous: flesh-colored ; pale red. 
Cdrnose: fleshy in texture. 
Carpel, or Carpidium : a simple pistil, or one of the parts or leaves of which a 

compound pistil is composed ; p. 117. 
Cdrpellary : pertaining to a carpel. 


GLOSSARY. 209 

Carpolotjy : that department of Botany which relates to fruits. 

Carpophore: the stalk or support of a fruit or pistil within the flower; as in 

Sg. 276-278. 

Cartilaginous, or Cartilagineous : firm and tough, like cartilage, in texture. 
Caruncle: an excrescence at the scar of some seeds; as those of Polygala. 
Carunculate : furnished with a caruncle. 

Caryophylldceous : pink-like : applied to a corolla of 5 long-clawed petals ; fig. 200. 
Catkin : a scaly deciduous spike of flowers, an ament; p. 81. 
Caudate : tailed, or tail-pointed. 

Caudex: a sort of trunk, such as that of Palms ; an upright rootstock ; p. 37. 
Caulescent: having an obvious stem ; p. 36. 
Caulicle : a little stem, or rudimentary stem ; p. 6. 
Cauline : of or belonging to a stem (caulis, in Latin), p. 36. 
Cell (diminutive Cellule) : the cavity of an anther, ovary, &c., p. 113, 119; one of 

the elements or vesicles of which plants are composed ; p. 140, 142. 
Ct.lj.lar tissue of plants; p. 142. Cellular Bark, p. 152. 
Cellulose, p. 159. 
Centrifugal (inflorescence) : produced or expanding in succession from the centre 

outwards ; p. 82. The radicle is centrifugal, when it points away from the 

centre of the fruit. 

Centripetal : the opposite of centrifugal ; p. 79, 83. 
Cereal : belonging to corn, or corn-plants. 
Cernnous : nodding; the summit more or less inclining. 
Chaff: small membranous scales or bracts on the receptacle of Compositae ; the 

glumes, &c. of Grasses. 

Chaffy : furnished with chaff, or of the texture of chaff. 
Chaldza : that part of the ovule where all the parts grow together; p. 122. 
Channelled: hollowed out like a gutter; same as canaliculate. 
Character : a phrase expressing the essential marks of a species, genus, &c. 

which distinguish it from all others ; p. 180. 
Chartdceom : of the texture of paper or parchment. 
Chlorophyll : the green grains in the cells of the leaf, and of other parts exposed 

to the light, which give to herbage its green color; p. 155. 

Chrdmule: coloring matter in plants, especially when not green, or when liquid. 
Cicatrix : the scar left by the fall of a leaf or other organ. 
Ciliate : beset on the margin with a fringe of cilia, i. e. of hairs or bristles, like 

the eyelashes fringing the eyelids, whence the name. 
Cine'reous, or Cinerdceous : ash-grayish ; of the color of ashes. 
Circinate : rolled inwards from the top, like a crosier, as the shoots of Ferns ; 

p. 76, fig. 154; the flower-clusters of Heliotrope, &c. 
Circumscissile, or Circumcissile : divided by a circular line round the sides, as 

the pods of Purslane, Plantain, &c. ; p. 133, fig. 298, 311. 
Circumscription : the general outline of a thing. 
Citrhiferous, or Cirrhose: furnished with a tendril (Latin, cirrhus) ; as the Grape, 

vine. Cirrhose also means resembling or coiling like tendrils, as the leaf- 
stalks of Virgin's-bower ; p. 37. 
Class, p 175, 177. 
Classification, p. 173. 

18* 


210 GLOSSARY. 

Cldthrate : latticed ; same as cancellate. 

Cldvate : club-shaped ; slender below and thickened upwards. 

Claw: the narrower stalk-like base of some petals, as of Pinks; p. 102, fig. 200. 

Climbing : rising by clinging to other objects; p. 37. 

Club-shaped : see clavate. 

Clustered : leaves, flowers, c. aggregated or collected into a bunch 

Chjpeate : buckler-shaped. 

Coddunate : same as connate ; i. e. united. 

Coale'scent : growing together. 

Codrctate : contracted or brought close together. 

Coated Bulbs, p 46. 

Cobwebby : same as arachnoid : bearing hairs like cobwebs or gossamer. 

Coccus (plural cocci) : anciently a berry; now mostly used to denote the carpeis 

of a .dry fruit which are separable from each other, as of Euphorbia. 
Cochledriform : spoon-shaped. 
Cochleate : coiled or shaped like a snail-shell. 

Ccelospe'rmous : applied to those fruits of Umbelliferse which have the seed hol- 
lowed on the inner face, by the curving inwards of the top and bottom ; as in 

Coriander. 

Coherent, in Botany, is usually the same as connate; p. 104. 
Collective fruits, p. 133. 

Collum or Collar : the neck or line of junction between the stem and the root. 
Columbia : the axis to which the carpels of a compound pistil are often attached, 

as in Geranium (fig. 278), or which is left when a pod opens, as in Azalea 

and Rhododendron. 
Column : the united stamens, as in Mallow, or the stamens and pistils united into 

one body, as in the Orchis family, fig. 226. 
Columnar : shaped like a column or pillar. 

Coma : a tuft of any sort (literally, a head of hair) ; p. 135, fig. 317. 
Como.se: tufted ; bearing a tuft of hairs, as the seeds of Milkweed ; fig. 317. 
Commissure : the line of junction of two carpels, as in the fruit of Umbelliferse, 

such as Parsnip, Caraway, &c. 
Common : used as " general," in contradistinction to " partial " ; e. g. " common 

involucre," p. 81. 
Cdmplanate : flattened. 

Compound leaf, p. 64. Compound pistil , p. 118. Compound umbel, &c., p. 81. 
Complete (flower), p. 89. 
Complicate : folded upon itself. 
Compressed: flattened on two opposite sides. 
Conduplicate : folded upon itself lengthwise, as are the leaves of Magnolia in the 

bud, p. 76. 

Cone : the fruit of the Pine family ; p. 133, fig. 314. 
Confluent : blended together ; or ihe same as coherent. 
Conformed : similar to another thing it is associated with or compared to ; of 

closely fitted to it, as the skin to the kernel of a seed. 
Congested, Gmgldmeratt. : crowded together. 
Conjugate : coupled ; in single pairs. 
Connate : united or grown together from the first. 


GLOSSARY. 211 

Connective, ConnecUvum : the part of the anther connecting its two cells ; p. 113. 

Connwent : converging, or brought close together. 

Consolidated forms of vegetation, p. 47. 

Continuous : the reverse of interrupted or articulated. 

Contorted: twisted together. Contorted (estivation : same as convolute; p. 109. 

Contortuplicate : twisted back upon itself. 

Contracted: either narrowed or shortened. 

Contrary : turned in an opposite direction to another organ or part with which 

it is compared. 

^Convolute : rolled up lengthwise, as the leaves of the Plum in vernation ; p. 76, 
fig. 151. In estivation, same as contorted; p. 109. 

Cordate: heart-shaped ; p. 58, fig. 90, 99. 

Coriaceous : resembling leather in texture. 

Corky: of the texture of cork. Corky layer of bark, p. 152. 

Corm, Cormus : a solid bulb, like that of Crocus ; p. 44, fig. 71, 72. 

Corneous : of the consistence or appearance of horn, as the albumen of the 
seed of the Date, Coffee, &c. 

Corniculale : furnished with a small horn or spur. 

Cornute : horned ; bearing a horn-like projection or appendage. 

Cordlla : the leaves of the flower within the calyx ; p. 86. 

Corolldceous, Corollme : like or belonging to a corolla. 

Corona : a coronet or crown ; an appendage at the top of the claw of some 
petals, as Silene and Soapwort, fig. 200, or of the tube of the corolla of 
Hound's-Tongue, &c. 

Coronate : crowned ; furnished with a crown. 

Cdrtical : belonging to the bark (cortex). 

Cdrymb: a sort of flat or convex flower-cluster ; p. 79, fig. 158. 

Corymbdse : approaching the form of a corymb, or branched in that way ; 

arranged in corymbs. 

Costa : a rib ; the midrib of a leaf, &c. Costate: ribbed. 
Cotyledons : the first leaves of the embryo ; p. 6, 137. 
Crate'riform : goblet-shaped ; broadly cup-shaped. 

Creeping (stems) : growing flat on or beneath the ground and rooting; p. 37. 
Cremocarp : a half-fruit, or one of the two carpels of Umbellifera. 
Crenate, or Crenelled : the edge scalloped into rounded teeth ; p. 62, fig. 114 
Crested, or Cristate : bearing any elevated appendage like a crest. 
Cribrose : pierced like a sieve with small apertures. 
Crinite : bearded with long hairs, &c. 
Crown : see corona. 

Crowning : borne on the apex of anything. 
Cruciate, or Cruciform : cross-shaped, as the four spreading petals of the Mu%. 

tard (fig. 187), and all the flowers of that family. 
Crustaceous : hard, and brittle in texture ; crust-like. . 
Cryptoyamous, or Cryptogam ic : relating to Cryptogamia; p. 172, 197. 
Cucullate : hooded, or hood-shaped, rolled up like a cornet of paper, or a hood 

(cucullus], as the spathe of Indian Turnip, fig. 162. 
Culm : a straw ; the stem of Grasses and Sedges. 
Odneate, Cuneiform : wedge-shaped ; p. 58, fig. 94. 


212 GLOSSARY. 

Cup-shaped: same as cyathiform, or near it. 

Cupule : a little cup ; the cup to the acorn of the Oak, p. 130, fig. 299. 

Cupulate : provided with a cupule. 

Cuspidate : tipped with a sharp and stiff point. 

Cut : same as incised, or applied generally to any sharp and deep division. 

Ciiticle : the skin of plants, or more strictly its external pellicle. 

Cyathiform : in the shape of a cup, or particularly of a wine-glass. 

Cycle: one complete turn of a spire, or a circle; p. 73. 

Cyclical, rolled up circularly, or coiled into a complete circle. 

Cycldsis : the circulation in closed cells, p. 167. 

Cylindraceous : approaching to the 

Cylindrical form ; as that of stems, &c., which are round, and gradually if at all 

tapering. 

Cymbifform, or Cymbiform : same as boat-shaped. 
Cyme: a cluster of centrifugal inflorescence, p 82, fig. 165, 167. 
Cymose : furnished with cymes, or like a cyme. 

Deca- (in composition of words of Greek derivation) : ten ; as 
Dccdgynous : with 10 pistils or styles. Decandrous : with 10 stamens. 
Deciduous : falling off, or subject to fall , said of leaves which fall in autumn, 

and of a calyx and corolla which fall before the fruit forms. 
Declined : turned to one side, or downwards, as the stamens of Azalea nudiflora. 
Decompound : several times compounded or divided ; p 67, fig. 138. 
Decumbent: reclined on the ground, the summit tending to rise, p. 37. 
Decurrent (leaves) : prolonged on the stem beneath the insertion, as in Thistles. 
Decussate: arranged in pairs which successively cross each other; fig. 147. 
Definite,: when of a uniform number, and not above twelve or so. 
Deflexed: bent downwards. 

Deflorate. : past the flowering state, as an anther after it has discharged its pollen. 
Dehiscence: the mode in which an anther or a pod regularly bursts or splits 

open ; p. 132. 

Dehiscent : opening by regular dehiscence. 

Deliquescent: branching off so that the stem is lost in the branches, p. 25. 
Deltoid: of a triangular shape, like the Greek capital A. 
Demersed: growing below the surface of water. 
Dendroid, Dendritic : tree-like in form or appearance. 
Dentate: toothed (from the Latin dens, a tooth), p. 61, fig. 113. 
Denticulate : furnished with denticulations, or very small teeth : diminutive of 

the last. 

Depauperate (impoverished or starved) : below the natural size. 
Depressed : flattened, or as if pressed down from above ; flattened vertically. 
Descending : tending gradually downwards. 
Determinate Inflorescence, p. 81, 83. 
Dextrorse : turned to the right hand. 
Di- (in Greek compounds) : two, as 

Didddphm* (stamens) : united by their filaments in two sets; p. Ill, fig- 227. 
Didndrous: having two stamens, p. 112. 
Diagnosis . a short distinguishing character, or descriptive phrase. 


GLOSSARY. 213 

Didphanous : transparent or translucent. 

Dichlamydeous (flower) : having both calyx and corolla. 

Dichdtomons : two-forked. 

Diclinous; having the stamens in one flower, the pistils in another; p. 89, 

fig. 176, 177. 

Dicdccous (fruit) : splitting into two cocci, or closed carpels. 
Dicotyledonous (embryo) : having a pair of cotyledons ; p. 16, 137. 
Dicotyledonous Plants, p. 150, 182. 
Didi/mous : twin. 
Didynamous (stamens) ; having four stamens in two pairs, one pair shorter than 

the other, as in fig. 194, 195. 
Diffuse : spreading widely and irregularly. 
Digitate (fingered) : where the leaflets of a compound leaf are all borne on the 

apex of the petiole; p. 65, fig. 129. 
Digynous (flower) : having two pistils or styles, p. 116. 
Dimerous : made up of two parts, or its organs in twos. 
Dimidiate : halved ; as where a leaf or leaflet has only one side developed, or a 

stamen has only one lobe or cell ; fig. 239. 
Dimorphous : of two forms. 
Dioecious, or Dioicous : where the stamens and pistils are in separate flowers on 

different plants ; p. 89. 

Dipe'talous : of two petals. Diphyllous : two-leaved. Dipterous : two-winged. 
Disc/form or Disk-shaped : flat and circular, like a disk or quoit. 
Disk : the face of any flat body ; the central part of a head of flowers, like the 

Sunflower, or Coreopsis (fig. 224), as opposed to the ray or margin; a 

fleshy expansion of the receptacle of a flower ; p. 125. 
Dissected : cut deeply into many lobes or divisions. 
Dissepiments : the partitions of an ovary or a fruit ; p. 119. 
Distichous : two-ranked ; p. 73. 
Distinct: uncombined with each other ; p. 102. 
Divaricate : straddling ; very widely divergent. 
Divided (leaves, &c.) : cut into divisions extending about to the base or the mid 

rib; p. 62, fig. 125. 

Dodeca- (in Greek compounds) : twelve; as 
Dodecdf/ynous : with twelve pistils or styles. 
Dodecandrous : with twelve stamens. 
Dolabrifcrm : axe-shaped. 

Dorsal: pertaining to the back (dorsum) of an organ. 
Dorsal Suture, p. 117. 
Dotted Ducts, p. 148. 

Double Flowers, so called : where the petals are multiplied unduly ; p. 85, 98. 
Downy : clothed with a coat of soft and short hairs. 
Drupe: a stone-fruit; p. 128, fig. 285. 
Drupaceous: like or pertaining to a drupe. 
Ducts: the so-called vessels of plants; p. 146, 148. 
Dumose: bushy, or relating to bushes. 
Duramen: the heart- wood, p. 153. 
Dwarf: remarkably low in stature. 


214 GLOSSARY. 

E-, or Ex-, at the beginning of compound words, means destitute of ; as ecostate, 
without a rib or midrib ; exalbuminous, without albumen, &c. 

Eared: see auriculate; p. 59, h'g. 96. 

Ebrdcteate ; destitute of bracts. 

Echinate; armed with prickles (like a hedgehog). Echinulate: a diminutive of it. 

Edentate: toothless. 

Effete : past bearing, c. ; said of anthers which have discharged their pollen. 

Eglandulose : destitute of glands. 

Eldters : threads mixed with the spores of Liverworts. (Manual, p. 682.) 

Ellipsoidal ; approaching an elliptical figure. 

Elliptical : oval or oblong, with the ends regularly rounded ; p. 58, fig. 88. 

Emdrginate : notched at the summit ; p. 60, fig. 1 08. 

Embryo: the rudimentary undeveloped plantlet in a seed; p. 6, fig. 9, 12, 26, 
31 -37, &c., and p. 136. Embryo-sac, p. 139. 

Emersed : raised out of water. 

Endecdgynous : with eleven pistils or styles. Endecdndrous : with eleven stamens- 

Endocarp : the inner layer of a pericarp or fruit ; p. 128. 

Endochrome : the coloring matter of Alga and the like. 

Endogenous Stems, p. 150. Endogenous Plants, p. 150. 

Endosmose : p. 168. 

Endosperm : another name for the albumen of a seed. 

Endostome : the orifice in the inner coat of an ovule. 

Ennea- : nine. Ennedgynous : with nine petals or styles. 

Ennedndrous : with nine stamens. 

Ensiform : sword-shaped ; as the leaves of Iris, fig. 134. 

Entire: the margins not at all toothed, notched, or divided, but even ; p. 61. 

Ephemeral : lasting for a day or less, as the corolla of Purslane, &c. 

Epi-, in composition : upon ; as 

kpicarp : the outermost layer of a fruit ; p. 128. 

Epidermal: relating to the Epide'rmis, or the skin of a plant ; p. 152, 155. 

Epiyceous: growing on the earth, or close to the ground. 

Epigynous: upon the ovary ; p. 105, 111. 

Ep/petalous: borne on the petals or the corolla. 

Epiphyllous : borne on a leaf. 

Epiphyte : a plant growing on another plant, but not nourished by it ; p. 34. 

Epiphytic or Epiphytal : relating to Epiphytes ; p. 34. 

Episperm : the skin or coat of a seed, especially the outer coat. 

Equal: same as regular ; or of the same number or length, as the case may be, 
of the body it is compared with. 

Equally pinnate : same as abruptly pinnate ; p. 65. 

Equitant (riding straddle) ; p. 68, fig. 133, 134. 

Erose: eroded, as if gnawed. 

Erdstrate : not beaked . 

Essential Organs of the flower, p 85. 

Estivation : see aestivation . 

Etiolated: blanched by excluding the light, as the stalks of Celery. 

Evergreen : holding the leaves over winter and until new ones appear, or longer. 

Exalbuminous (seed) : destitute of albumen ; p. 136. 


GLOSSARY. 215 

Exciirrent : running out, as when a midrib projects beyond the apex of a leaf) 

or a trunk is continued to the very top of a tree. 
Exhalation, p. 156, 169. 

Exogenous Stems, p. 150. Exogenous Plants, p. 182. 
Exostome : the orifice in the outer coat of the ovule ; p. 122. 
Explanate : spread or flattened out. 

Exserted: protruding out of, as the stamens out of the corolla of fag. 201. 
Exstipulate : destitute of stipules. 
Extra-axillary : said of a branch or bud a little out of the axil ; as the upper 

accessory buds of the Butternut, p. 27, fig. 52. 
Extr6rse : turned outwards ; the anther is extrorse when fastened to the filament 

on the side next the pistil, and opening on the outer side, as in Iris ; p. 113. 

Falcate : scythe-shaped ; a flat body curved, its edges parallel. 

Family: p. 176. 

Farinaceous : mealy in texture. Farinose : covered with a mealy powder. 

Fdsciate: banded ; also applied to monstrous stems which grow flat. 

Fascicle: a close cluster ; p. 83. 

Fascicled, Fasciculated : growing in a bundle or tuft, as the leaves of Pine 
and Larch (fig 139, 140), the roots of Pseony and Dahlia, fig. 60. 

Fastigiate : close, parallel, and upright, as the branches of Lombardy Poplar. 

Faux (plural, fauces) : the throat of a calyx, corolla, &c. 

Fave'olate, Fdvose : honeycombed ; same as alveolate. 

Feather-veined : where the veins of a leaf spring from along the sides of a mid. 
rib ; p. 57, fig. 86 - 94. 

Female (flowers) : with pistils and no stamens. 

Fene'strate : pierced with one or more large holes, like windows. 

Ferrugineous, or Ferruginous : resembling iron-rust ; red-grayish. 

Fertile: fruit-bearing, or capable of producing fruit; also said of anthers when 
they produce good pollen. 

Fertilization : the process by which pollen causes the embryo to be formed. 

Fibre, p. 145. Fibrous : containing much fibre, or composed of fibres. 

Fibrillose : formed of small fibres. 

Fibrine, p. 165. 

Fiddle-shaped : obovate with a deep recess on each side. 

Filament: the stalk of a stamen; p. 86, fig. 170, a; also any slender thread- 
shaped appendage. 

Filame'ntose, or Filamentous : bearing or formed of slender threads. 

Filiform : thread-shaped ; long, slender, and cylindrical. 

Fimbriate: fringed; furnished with fringes (jimbi~ice). 

Fistular or Ffstulose: hollow and cylindrical, as the leaves of the Onion. 

Flabelliform or Flabe'llate : fan-shaped ; broad, rounded at the summit, and nar- 
rowed at the btvse. 

Flagellate, or Flagelliform long, narrow, and flexible, like the thong of a whip 
or like the runners (flagella) of the Strawberry. 

Flavescent : yellowish, or turning yellow. 

Fleshy : composed of firm pulp or flesh. 

Fleshy Plants, p. 47. 


216 GLOSSARY. 

Fltxuose, or Fle'xuous: bending gently in opposite directions, in a zigzag way. 

Floatitig: swimming on the surface of water. 

Fldccose : composed, or bearing tufts, of woolly or long and soft hairs. 

Flora (the goddess of flowers): the plants of a country or district, taken 

together, or a work systematically describing them ; p. 3. 
Floral: relating to the blossom. 

Floral Envelopes : the leaves of the flower ; p. 85, 99 
Floret : a diminutive flower ; one of the flowers of a head (or of the so-called 

compound flower) of Compositse, p. 106. 

Flower: the whole organs of reproduction of Phaenogamous plants; p. 84. 
Flower-bud: an unopened flower. 

Flowering Plants, p. 177. Flowerless Plants, p. 172, 177. 
Folidceous: belonging to, or of the texture or nature of, a leaf (folium). 
Fdliose : leafy ; abounding in leaves. 
Fdliolate: relating to or bearing leaflets (foliola). 

Fdllide: a simple pod, opening down the inner suture ; p. 131, fig. 302. 
Follicular : resembling or belonging to a follicle. 
Food of Plants, p. 160. 

Foramen: a hole or orifice, as that of the ovule ; p. 122. 
Fornix: little arched scales in the throat of some corollas, as of Comfrey. 
Fornicate: over-arched, or arching over. 
Fo'ceate: deeply pitted. Foveolate: diminutive of foveate. 
Free: not united with any other parts of a different sort ; p. 103. 
Fringed: the margin beset with slender appendages, bristles, &c. 
Frond : what answers to leaves in Ferns ; the stem and leaves fused into on* 

body, as in Duckweed and many Liverworts, &c. 
Frondescence : the bursting into leaf. 

Frdndose : frond-bearing ; like a frond : or sometimes used for leafy. 
Fruct ification : the state of fruiting. Organs of, p. 76. 
Fruit: the matured ovary and all it contains or is connected with ; p. 126 
Frute'scent: somewhat shrubby; becoming a shrub (frulex). 
Fruticulose: like a small shrub. Fruticose: shrubby; p. 36. 
Fugacious : soon falling off or perishing. 
Fulvous : tawny ; dull yellow with gray. 
Funiculus: the stalk of a seed or ovule; p. 122. 
Funnel-form, or Funnel-shaped: expanding gradually upwards, like a funnel 

or tunnel ; p. 102. 
Furcate : forked. 

Furfurdceous : covered with bran-like fine scurf. 
Furrowed: marked by longitudinal channels or grooves. 
Fuscous: deep gray-brown. 
Fusiform : spindle-shaped ; p. 32. 

Gdleate: shaped like a helmet (qalea] ; as the upper sepal of the Monkshood, 

fig. 185, and the upper lip of the corolla of Dead-Nettie, fig. 209. 
Gamope'talons: of united petals ; same as monopetalous, and a better word; p. 102. 
Gamophyllons : formed of united leaves. Gainose'palous : formed of united sepals. 
Gelatine, p. 165. 


GLOSSARY. 217 

Geminate: twin; in pairs; as the flowers of Linnsea. 

Gemma : a bud. 

Gemmation : the state of budding, or the arrangement of parts in the bud. 

Ge'mmule : a small bud ; the buds of Mosses ; the plumule, p. 6. 

Geniculate : bent abruptly, like a knee (yenu), as many stems. 

Genus : a kind ; a rank above species ; p. 175, 176. 

Generic Names, p. 178. Generic Character, p. 181. 

Geographical Botany : the study of plants in their geographical relations, p. 3. 

Germ: a growing point; a young bud; sometimes the same as embryo; p. 136. 

Germen : the old name for ovary. 

Germination: the development of a plantlet from the seed; p. 5, 137. 

Gibbous: more tumid at one place or on one side than the other. 

Glabrate: becoming glabrous with age, or almost glabrous. 

Glabrous : smooth, i. e. having no hairs, bristles, or other pubescent*. 

G/adiate: sword-shaped; as the leaves of Iris, fig. 134. 

Glands : small cellular organs which secrete oily or aromatic or other products : 
they are sometimes sunk in the leaves or rind, as in the Orange, Prickly 
Ash, &c. ; sometimes on the surface as small projections ; sometimes raised 
on hairs or bristles (glandular hairs, frc.), as in the Sweetbrier and Sun- 
dew. The name is also given to any small swellings, c., whether they 
secrete anything or not. 

Glandular, Glandulose: furnished with glands, or gland-like. 

Gians ( Gland) : the acorn or mast of Oak and similar fruits. 

Glaucescent: slightly glaucous, or bluish-gray. 

Glaucous : covered with a bloom, viz. with a fine white powder that rubs off, like 
that on a fresh plum, or a cabbage-leaf. 

Glolxtse: spherical in form, or nearly so. Gldbular : nearly globose. 

Glochidlate (hairs or bristles): barbed; tipped with barbs, or with a double 
hooked point. 

Gltimcrate : closely aggregated into a dense cluster. 

G/omerule: a dense head-like cluster; p. 83. 

Glossology : the department of Botany in which technical terms are explained. 

G/umaceous : glume-like, or glume-bearing. 

Glume: G'umes are the husks or floral coverings of Grasses, or, particularly, 
the outer husks or bracts of eaeh spikelet. (Manual, p. 535 ) 

Glume/les: the inner husks, or palete, of Grasses. 

Gluten: a vegetable product containing nitrogen; p. 165. 

Granular: composed of grains. Granule: a small grain. 

Growth, p 138. 

Grumous or Grumose : formed of coarse clustered grains. 

Guttate : spotted, as if by drops of something colored. 

Gymnocdr/x>us : naked-fruited. 

Gymnospe'rmous : naked-seeded; p. 121. 

Gymnospe'rmce, or Gymnospermous Plants, p. 184 ; Manual, p. xxiii. 

Gyndndrous : with stamens borne on, i. e. united with, the pistil; p. Ill, fig. 226. 

GyncKcium : a name for the pistils of a flower taken altogether. 

Gynobase : a particular receptacle or support of the pistils, or of the carpels of 
a compound ovary, as in Geranium, fig. 277. 278. 
19 


218 GLOSSARY. 

Gynophore : a stalk raising a pistil above the stamens, as in the Cleome Family, 

p. 276. 

Gyrate : coiled in a circle : same as circinate. 
Gyrose: strongly bent to and fro. 

Habit : the general aspect of a plant, or its mode of growth. 

Habitat : the situation in which a plant grows in a wild state. 

Hairs: hair-like projections or appendages of the surface of plants. 

Hairy : beset with hairs, especially longish ones. 

Halberd-shaped, or Halberd-headed: see hastate. 

Halved: when appearing as if one half of the body were cut away. 

Hamate or Hamose : hooked ; the end of a slender body bent round. 

Hdmulose : bearing a small hook ; a diminutive of the last. 

Hastate or Hostile : shaped like a halberd ; furnished with a spreading lobe on 

each side at the base ; p. 59, fig. 97. 

Heart-shaped: of the shape of a heart as commonly painted ; p. 58, fig. 90. 
Heart-wood: the older or matured wood of exogenous trees; p. 153. 
Helicoid: coiled like a helix or snail-shell. 

Helmet: the upper sepal of Monkshood in this shape, fig. 185, &c. 
Hemi- (in compounds from the Greek) : half; e. g. Hemispherical, &c. 
He'micarp : half-fruit, or one carpel of an Umbelliferous plant. 
Hemitropous or Hemitropal (ovule or seed): nearly same as ampkitropous, p. 123. 
Hepta- (in words of Greek origin) : seven; as, 
Heptdgynous: with seven pistils or styles. 

Heptdmerous : its parts in sevens. Heptdndrous : having seven stamens. 
Herb, p. 20. 

Herbaceous: of the texture of common herbage; not woody; p. 36. 
Herbarium: the botanist's arranged collection of dried plants; p. 201. 
Hermaphrodite (flower) : having both stamens and pistils in the same blossom ; 

same as perfect ; p. 89. 

Heterocdrpous : bearing fruit of two sorts or shapes, as in Amphicarpjea. 
Heterdgamous : bearing two or more sorts of flowers as to their stamens and 

pistils ; as in Aster, Daisy, and Coreopsis. 
Heteromdrphous : of two or more shapes. 

Heterdtropous, or Heterdtropal (ovule) : the same as amphitropous ; p. 123. 
Hexa- (in Greek compounds) : six; as 

Hexagonal: six-angled. Hexdgynous: with six pistils or styles. 
Hexdmerous : its parts in sixes. Hexdndrous: with six stamens. 
Hexdpterons : six-winged. 
Hilar: belonging to the hilum. 

Hilum: the scar of the seed; its place of attachment ; p. 122, 135. 
Hippocre'piform : horseshoe-shaped. 
Hirsute : hairy with stimsh or beard-like hairs. 

Hispid: bristly; beset with stiff hairs. Hispidulous is a diminutive of it. 
Hoary : grayish-white ; see canescent, &c. 

Homdgamous : a head or cluster with flowers all of one kind, as in Eupatorium. 
Homoge'neous : uniform in nature ; all of one kind. 
Homomdlfoiis (leaves, &c.) : originating all round a stem, but all bent or curved 

round to one side. 


GLOSSARY. 219 

Homomorphous : all of one shape. 

Homtitropous or Homdtropal (embryo) : curved with the seed ; curved one way- 

Hood : same as helmet or galea. Hooded : hood-shaped ; see cucullate. 

Hooked: same as hamate. 

Horn : a spur or some similar appendage. Horny : of the texture of horn. 

Hortus Slccus: an herbarium, or collection of dried plants ; p. 201. 

Humifuse : spread over the surface of the ground. 

Hyaline : transparent, or partly so. 

Hybrid: a cross-breed between two allied species. 

\llypocrate'riform : salver-shaped; p. 101, fig. 202, 208. 

Hi/poycean: produced under ground. 

Hypogynous: inserted under the pistil; p. ,103, fig. 212. 

Icosdndrous: having 12 or more stamens inserted on the calyx. 

Imbricate, Imbricated, Imbricative : overlapping one another, like tiles or shingles 
on a roof, as the scales of the involucre of Zinnia, &c., or the bud-scales of 
Horsechesnut (fig. 48) and Hickory (fig. 49). In aestivation, where some 
leaves of the calyx or corolla are overlapped on both sides by others ; p. 109. 

Immarginate : destitute of a rim or border. 

Immersed: growing wholly under "water. 

Impari-pinnate : pinnate with a single leaflet at the apex ; p. 65, fig. 126. 

Imperfect flowers : wanting either stamens or pistils ; p. 89. 

Incequilateral : unequal-sided, as the leaf of a Begonia. 

Incanous: hoary with white pubescence. 

Incised: cut rather deeply and irregularly ; p. 62. 

Included: enclosed ; when the part in question does not project beyond another. 

Incomplete Flower: wanting calyx or corolla; p. 90. 

Incrassated: thickened. 

Incumbent : leaning or resting upon : the cotyledons are incumbent when the 
back of one of them lies against the radicle ; the anthers are incumbent 
when turned or looking inwards, p. 113. 

Incurved: gradually curving inwards. 

Indefinite: not uniform in number, or too numerous to mention (over 12). 

Indefinite or Indeterminate Inflorescence: p. 77. 

Indehiscent : not splitting open; i. e. not dehiscent; p. 127. 

Indigenous: native to the country. 

Individuals: p. 173. 

IndupUcate: with the edges turned inwards; p. 109. 

Indusium: the shield or covering of a fruit-dot of a Fern. (Manual, p 588 } 

Infei'ior : growing below some other organ; p. 104, 121. 

Inflated: turgid and bladdery. 

Inflexed: bent inwards. 

Inflorescence: the arrangement of flowers on the stem; p. 76. 

Infra-axillary: situated beneath the axil. 

InfundibuUform or Infundibular: funnel-shaped; p. 102, fig. 199. 

Innate (anther) : attached by its base to the very apex of the filament; p. 113. 

Innovation : an incomplete young shoot, especially in Mosses. 

Inorganic Constituents, p. 160. 


220 GLOSSARY. 

Insertion : the place or the mode of attachment of an organ to its support ; p. 72. 

Intercellular Passages or 5/wzces, p. 143, fig. 341. 

Internode : the part of a stem between two nodes ; p. 42. 

Interruptedly pinnate: pinnate with small leaflets intermixed with larger ones, 

as in Water Avens. 

Intrafoliaceous (stipules, &c.) : placed between the leaf or petiole and the stem. 
Introrse: turned or facing inwards, i. e. towards the axis of the flower; p. 113. 
Inverse or Inverted: where the apex is in the direction opposite to that of the 

organ it is compared with. 
involucel: a partial or small involucre; p. 81. 
Inrolucellate : furnished with an involucel. 
Involucrate: furnished with an involucre. 

Involucre : a whorl or set of bracts around a flower, umbel, or head ; p. 79. 
Involute, in vernation, p. 76 : rolled inwards from the edges. 
Irregular Flowers, p. 91. 

Jointed: separate or separable at one or more places into pieces; p. 64, &c. 

Keel: a projecting ridge on a surface, like the keel of a boat; the two anterior 

petals of a papilionaceous corolla; p. 105, fig. 217, 218, k. 
Keeled: furnished with a keel or sharp longitudinal ridge. 
Kernel of the ovule and seed, p. 122, 136. 
Kidney-sJiaped: resembling the outline of a kidney ; p. 59, fig. 100. 

LaMlum : the odd petal in the Orchis Family. 

Labiate: same as bilabiate or two-lipped; p. 105. 

Laciniate: slashed ; cut into deep narrow lobes (called ladniaz). 

Lactescent: producing milky juice, as does the Milkweed, &c. 

Ldcunose : full of holes or gaps. 

Lcevigote : smooth as if polished. 

Lamellar or Lamellate : consisting of flat plates (lamellce}. 

Lamina : a plate or blade : the blade of a leaf, &c., p 54. 

Lanate : woolly ; clothed with long and soft entangled hairs. 

Lanceolate : lance-shaped ; p. 58, fig. 86. 

Lanuginous : cottony or woolly. 

Latent buds : concealed or undeveloped buds ; p. 26, 27. 

Lateral: belonging to the side. 

Latex: the milky juice, &c. of plants. 

Lax: loose in texture, or sparse ; the opposite of crowded. 

Leaf, p. 49. Leaf-buds, p. 20, 27. 

Leaflet: one of the divisions or blades of a compound leaf; p. 64. 

Leaf-like: same as foliaceous. 

Leathery : of about the consistence of leather ; coriaceous. 

Legume: a simple pod, dehiscent into two pieces, like that of the Pea, p. 131, 

fig. 303; the fruit of the Pea Family (Leguminosce) , of whatever shape. 
Legumine, p. 165. 

Leguminous : belonging to legumes, or to the Leguminous Family. 
Lenticular : lens-shaped ; i. e. flattish and convex on both sides. 


GLOSSARY. 221 

Ltpidote : leprous ; covered with scurfy scales. 

Liber: the inner, fibrous bark of Exogenous plants; p. 152. 

Ligneous, or Lignose : woody in texture. 

Ligidate: furnished with a ligule ; p. 106. 

Ligule: the strap-shaped corolla in many Composite, p. 106, fig. 220; the 

little membranous appendage at the summit of the leaf-sheatbs of most 

Grasses. 

Limb: the blade ol a leaf, petal, &c. ; p. 54, 102. 
^Linear: narrow and flat, the margins parallel; p. 58, fig. 85. 
"Lineate: marked with parallel lines. Lineolate: marked with minute lines. 
Lingulate, Linguiform : tongue-shaped. 
Lip: the principal lobes of a bilabiate corolla or calyx, p. 105 ; the odd and 

peculiar petal in the Orchis Family. 

Lobe: any projection or division (especially a rounded one) of a leaf, &c\ 
Loceilus (plural locelli) : a small cell, or compartment of a cell, of an ovary or 

anther. 

Lticular: relating to the cell or compartment (loculus) of an ovary, &c. 
Loculicidal (dehiscence) : splitting down through the middle of the back of each 

cell ; p. 132, fig. 305. 

Locusta : a name for the spikelet of Grasses. 

Ldment: a pod which separates transversely into joints; p. 131, fig. 304. 
Lomentdceous : pertaining to or resembling a loment. 
Ltirate: thong-shaped. 

Lunate : crescent-shaped. Lunulate : diminutive of lunate. 
Lyrate : lyre-shaped ; a pinnatifid leaf of an obovate or spatulate outline, the 

end-lobe large and roundish, and the lower lobes small, as in Winter- 
Cress and Radish, fig. 59. 

Mace: the aril of the Nutmeg; p. 135. 

Maculate : spotted or blotched. 

Male (flowers) : having stamens but no pistil. 

Mdmmose : breast-shaped. 

Marcescent : withering without falling off. 

Marginal: belonging to the edge or margin. 

Marginate : margined, with an edge different from the ret. 

Masked: see personate. 

.Median : belonging to the middle. 

Medullary: belonging to, or of the nature of pith (medulla) ; pithy. 

Medullary Rctys : the silver-grain of wood; p. 151. 

Medullary Sheath: 'a set of ducts just around the pith ; p. 151. 

Membranaceous or Membranous : of the texture of membrane ; thin and more or 

less translucent. 
Mentscoid : crescent-shaped. 

Mericarp : one carpel of the fruit of an Umbelliferous plant. 
Merismatic : separating into parts by the formation of partitions within. 
Me'socarp: the middle part of a pericarp, when that is distinguishable into three 

layers; p. 128. 
Mesophlceum : the middle or green bark. 

19* 


222 GLOSSARY. 

Micropyle: the closed orifice of the seed ; p. 135. 

Midrib: the middle or main rib of a leaf; p. 55. 

Milk-Vessels: p. 148. 

Miniate : vermilion-colored. 

Mitriform : mitre-shaped ; in the form of a peaked cap. 

Monade'lphous : stamens united by their filaments into one set; p. 111. 

Mondndrous (flower) : having only one stamen; p. 112. 

Moniliform : necklace-shaped ; a cylindrical body contracted at intervals. 

Monochlamydeous : having only one floral envelope, i. e. calyx but no corolla, as 

Anemone, fig. 179, and Castor-oil Plant, fig. 178. 
Monocotyle'donous (embryo) : with only one cotyledon; p. 16, 137. 
Monocotyledonous Plants, p. 150, 192. 

Monoecious, or Monoicous (flower) : having stamens or pistils only ; p. 90. 
Mondgyhous (flower) : having only one pistil, or one style; p. 116. 
Monopetalous (flower) : with the corolla of one piece; p. 101. 
Monophyllous : one-leaved, or of one piece; p. 102. 
Monose'palous : a calyx of one piece ; i. e. with the sepals united into one body ; 

p. 101. 

Monospe'rmous : one-seeded. 

Monstrosity : an unnatural deviation from the usual structure or form. 
Morphology : the department of botany which treats of the forms which an organ 

(say a leaf) may assume; p. 28. 

Miicronate: tipped with an abrupt short point (mucro) ; p. 60, fig. 111. 
Mucrdnulate : tipped with a minute abrupt point ; a diminutive of the last. 
Muiti-, in composition : many ; as 

Multangular: many-angled. Multicipital : many-headed, &c. 
Multifarious: in many rows or ranks. Miiltifid: many-cleft; p. 62. 
Multildcular : many-celled. Mult ise'rial : in many rows. 
Multiple Fruits, p. 133. 
Muricate: beset with short and hard points. 
Muriform : wall-like ; resembling courses of bricks in a wall. 
Muscology : the part of descriptive botany which treats of Mosses (i. e. Musci). 
Miiticous : pointless ; beardless ; unarmed. 
Mycelium : the spawn of Fungi ; i. e. the filaments from which Mushrooms, &c. 

originate. 

Ndpiform: turnip-shaped; p. 31, fig. 57. 

Natural System: p. 195. 

Naturalized: introduced from a foreign country, but growing perfectly wild ana 

propagating freely by seed. 

Navicular: boat-shaped, like the glumes of most Grasses. 
Necklace-shaped: looking like a string of beads ; see moniliform. 
Nectar : the honey, &c. secreted by glands, or by any part of the corolla. 
Nectariferous : honey-bearing ; or having a nectary. 
Nectary: the old name for petals and other parts of the flower when of unusual 

shape, especially when honey-bearing. So the hollow spur-shaped petals of 

Columbine were called nectaries ; also the curious long-clawed petals of 

Monkshood, fig. 186, &c. 


GLOSSARY. 223 

Needle-shaped: long, slender, and rigid, like the leaves of Pines; p. 68, fig. 140. 
Nerve: a name for the ribs or veins of leaves, when simple and parallel ; p. 56. 
Nerved: furnished with nerves, or simple and parallel ribs or veins ; p. 56, fig. 84. 
Netted-veined : furnished with branching veins forming network ; p. 56, fig. 83. 
Nodding (in Latin form, Nutant) : bending so that the summit hangs downward. 
Node : a knot ; the "joints " of a stem, or the part whence a leaf or a pair of 

leaves springs ; p. 40. 

Nddose: knotty or knobby. Nddulose: furnished with little knobs or knots. 
Normal : according to rule ; the pattern or natural way according to some law. 
Notate : marked with spots or lines of a different color. 
Nucamentaceous : relating to or resembling a small nut. 
Nuciform : nut-shaped or nut-like. Nucule : a small nut. 
Nucleus: the kernel of an ovule (p. 122) or seed (p. 136) of a cell ; p. 140. 
Nut : a hard, mostly one-seeded indehiscent fruit ; as a chestnut, butternut, 

acorn ; p. 130, fig. 299. 
Nutlet : a little nut ; or the stone of a drupe. 

Ob- (meaning over against) : when prefixed to words, signifies inversion ; as, 

Obcompressed : flattened the opposite of the usual way. 

Obco'rdate: heart-shaped with the broad and notched end at the apex instead of 

the base; p. 60, fig. 109. 

Obldnceolate : lance-shaped with the tapering point downwards ; p. 58, fig. 91. 
Oblique : applied to leaves, &c. means unequal-sided. 
Oblong: from two to four times as long as broad, and more or less elliptical 

in outline ; p. 58, fig. 87. 

Obduate: inversely ovate, the broad end upward ; p. 58, fig. 93. 
Obtuse: blunt, or round at the end ; p. 60, fig. 105. 
Obverse: same as inverse. 
Obvolute (in the bud) : when the margins of one leaf alternately overlap those of 

the opposite one. 
Ochreate: furnished with ochrece (boots), or stipules in the form of sheaths; & 

in Polygonum, p. 69, fig. 137. 
Ochroleucous : yellowish-white; dull cream-color. 
Octo-, eight, enters into the composition of 
Octdgynous : with eight pistils or styles. 

Octdmerous : its parts in eights. Octdndrous : with eight stamens, &c. 
Offset: short branches next the ground which take root ; p. 38. 
One-ribbed, One-nerved, c. : furnished with only a single rib, &c., &c. 
Opaque, applied to a surface, means dull, not shining. 

Ope'rculate: furnished with a lid or cover (operculum), as the capsules of Mosses. 
Opposite : said of leaves and branches when on opposite sides of the stem from 

each other (i. e. in pairs) ; p. 23, 71. Stamens are opposite the petals, &c. 

when they stand before them. 

Orbicular, Orbiculate : circular in outline or nearly so ; p. 58. 
Organ : any member of the plant, as a leaf, a stamen, &c. ; p. 1. 
Organs of Vegetation, p. 7 ; of Reproduction, p. 77. 
Organized, Organic: p. 1, 158, 159, 162. 
Organic Constituents, p. 160. Organic Structure, p. 142. 


224 GLOSSARY. 

Orthdtropous or Orthdtropal (ovule or seed) : p. 122, 135, fig. 270, 274. 
Osseous : of a bony texture. 
Oval : broadly elliptical ; p. 88. 

Ovary : that part of the pistil containing the ovules or future seeds; p. 86, 116. 
Ovate : shaped like an egg with the broader end downwards, or, in plane sur- 
faces, such as leaves, like the section of an egg lengthwise ; p. 58, fig. 89. 

ovate or oval in a solid form. 
Ovule: the body which is destined to become a seed ; p. 86, 116, 122. 

Palea (plural palew) : chaff; the inner husks of Grasses ; the chaff or bracts on 
the receptacle of many Composite, as Coreopsis, fig. 220, and Sunflower. 

Paleaceous : furnished with chaff, or chaffy in texture. 

Palmate : when leaflets or the divisions of a leaf all spread from the apex of the 
petiole, like the hand with the outspread fingers ; p. 167, fig. 129, &c. 

Palmately (veined, lobed, &c.) : in a palmate manner; p. 57, 63, 65. 

Pandunform; fiddle-shaped (which see). 

Panicle: an open cluster; like a raceme, but more or less compound; p. 81, 
fig. 163. 

Panicled, Paniculate : arranged in panicles, or like a panicle. 

Papery : of about the consistence of letter-paper. 

Papilionaceous : butterfly-shaped ; applied to such a corolla as that of the Pea 
and the Locust-tree; p. 105, fig. 217. 

Papilla (plural papillae) : little nipple-shaped protuberances. 

Papillate, Papillose: covered with papilla. 

Pappus : thistle-down. The down crowning the achenium of the Thistle, and 
other Composite, represents the calyx ; so the scales, teeth, chaff, as well 
as bristles, or whatever takes the place of the calyx in this family, are called 
the pappus; fig. 292-296, p. 130. 

Parallel-veined, or nerved (leaves) : p. 55, 56. 

Pardphyses : jointed filaments mixed with the antheridia of Mosses. (Manual, 
p. 607.) 

Pare'nchyma : soft cellular tissue of plants, like the green pulp of leaves. 

Parietal (placentae, &c.) : attached to the walls (parietes) of the ovary or pen- 
carp ; p. 119, 120. 

Parted: separated or cleft into parts almost to the base; p. 62. 

Partial involucre, same as an involucd : partial petiole, a division of a main leaf- 
stalk or the stalk of a leaflet : partial peduncle, a branch of a peduncle : par- 
tial umbel, an umbellet, p. 81. 

Patent : spreading ; open. Patulous : moderately spreading. 

Pauci-, in composition : few ; as paucijlorous, few-flowered, Q. 

Pear-shaped: solid obovate, the shape of a pear. 

Pectinate : pinnatifid or pinnately divided into narrow and close divisions, like 
the teeth of a comb. 

Pedate : like a bird's foot ; palmate or palmately cleft, with the side divisions 
again cleft, as in Viola pedata, &c. 

Pedately cleft, lobed, &c. : cut in a pedate way. 

Pe'dicel : the stalk of each particular flower of a cluster; p. 78, fig. 156. 

Pedicellate, Pe'dicelled: furnished with a pedicel. 


GLOSSARY. 225 

Peduncle : a flower-stalk, whether of :i single flower or of a flower-duster ; p. 78. 

Pe'duncied, Pediincti/ate : furnished with a peduncle. 

Peltate: shield-shaped : said of a leaf, whatever its shape, when the petiole is 

attached to the lower side, somewhere within the margin ; p. 59, fig. 102, 178. 
Pendent : hanging. Pendulous : somewhat hanging or drooping. 
PenCcillate : tipped with a tuft of fine hairs, like a painter's pencil ; as the stig- 
mas of some Grasses. 

Penta- (in words of Greek composition) : five ; as 
Pentdgi/nous : with five pistils or styles ; p. 116. 
Pentdmerous : with its parts in fives, or on the plan of five. 
Pentdndrous : having five stamens ; p. 112, Pentdstichous : in five ranks. 
Pepo: a fruit like the Melon and Cucumhcr; p. 128. 
Perennial: lasting from year to year; p. 21. 
Perfect (flower) : having both stamens and pistils ; p. 89. 
Perfoliate: passing through the leaf, in appearance ; p. 67, fig. 131, 132. 
Perforate : pierced with holes, or with transparent dots resembling holes, as an 

Orange-leaf. 
Perianth : the leaves of the flower generally, especially when we cannot readily 

distinguish them into calyx and corolla ; p. 85. 
Pericarp : the ripened ovary ; the walls of the fruit , p. 127. 
Pericdrpic : belonging to the pericarp. 

Pe'richfetk : the cluster of peculiar leaves at the base of the fruit-stalk of Mosses. 
PerichfRtial : belonging to the perichrcth. 
Perigo'nium, Per/gone: same as perianth. 
Perigyninm : bodies around the pistil ; applied to the closed cup or bottle-shapod 

body which encloses the ovary of Sedges, and to the bristles, little scales, 

&c. of the flowers of some other Cyperacete. 

Perigynous : the petals and stamens borne on the calyx; p. 104, 111. 
Penpheric: around the outside, or periphery, of any organ. 
Pe'risperm: a name for the albumen of a seed (p. 136). 
Pe'ristome: the fringe of teeth, c. around the orifice of the capsule of Mosses. 

(Manual, p. 607.) 
Persistent : remaining beyond the period when such parts commonly fall, as the 

leaves of evergreens, and the calyx, c. of such flowers as remain during 

the growth of the fruit. 
Personate : masked ; a bilabiate corolla with a projection, or polote in the throat. 

as of the Snapdragon ; p. 106, fig. 210, 211. 
Petal: a leaf of the corolla; p. 85. 
PetaJoid: petal-like ; resembling or colored like petals. 
Pe'tiole : a footstalk of a leaf; a leaf-stalk, p. 54. 
Petioled, Petiolate: furnished with a petiole. 

Petidhdate : said of a leaflet when raised on its own partial leafstalk. 
PkcentfgamouSy or Pltanerfyamoiis: plants bearing flowers and producing seeds; 

same as Flowering Plants ; p. 177, 182. 
PhyUddium (plural phyllodta] : a leaf where the blade is a dilated petiole, as in 

New Holland Acacias ; p. 69. 

Phyllotdxit, or Phylfotaxy : the arrangement of leaves on the stem ; p. 71. 
Physiological Botany, Physiology, p. 3. 
8&F 11 


226 GLOSSARY. 

Phyton : a name used to designate the pieces which by their repetition make up 

a plant, theoretically, viz. a joint of stern Avith its leaf or pair of leaves. 
Piliferous: bearing a slender bristle or hair (pilum), or beset with hairs. 
Pilose : hairy ; clothed with soft slender hairs. 
Pinna : a primary branch of the petiole of a bipinnate or tripinnate leaf, as fig. 

130, p. 66. 

Pinnule : a secondary branch of the petiole of a bipinnate or tripinnate leaf; p. 66. 
Pinnate (leaf) : when the leaflets are arranged along the sides of a common pe- 
tiole ; p. 65,