Thisorder includes Smilax, the root of a species of which affords the drug called Sarsaparilla, the Lily of the Valley (Convallaria), and the Alexandrian Laurel, or Butcher’s Broom (Ruscus). The male and female flowers in Smilax are on different plants; and in Ruscus the flowers spring from the middle of the leaves. The perianth is in six equal segments, and there are six stamens. The ovary is three-celled, with the cells one or many seeded, and the fruit is a globose berry. The seeds, when ripe, have a brown membranous skin. Dr. Lindley confines this tribe to Smilax, and Ripogonum; and includes the other genera in Liliaceæ.
ORDER CXCV.—ASPHODELEÆ.
Thisorder includes the Hyacinth (Hyacinthus), the squills (Scilla), the onions (Allium), the Grape Hyacinth (Muscari), the Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum), King’s Spear (Asphodelus),Anthericum,Albuca,Gagea,Thysanotus,Asparagus, the Dragon-wood (Dracæna), and New Zealand flax (Phormium). Many of these plants have tunicated bulbs; that is, bulbs which consist of several fleshy tunics or coats, which may easily be separated from each other, as may be seen in the hyacinth and the onion. The leaves are fleshy, and ligulate or strap-shaped; and the stems are frequently hollow. The flowers are generally in upright racemes, or umbels; they are regular, and sometimes bell-shaped; the perianth is divided into six segments, which are sometimes partly united into a tube, and recurved at the tip. There are six stamens attached to the perianth, and the fruit is either a fleshy or dry three-celled capsule, generally with several seeds, and opening into three valves, when ripe. Dr. Lindley makes this a separate order in hisLadies’ Botany, but he combines it with Liliaceæ in hisIntroduction to the Nat. Syst., and Sir W. J. Hooker includes in it Yucca and Aloe, the first of which in theHortus Britannicusis included in Tulipaceæ, and the latter in Hemerocallideæ.
ORDER CXCVI.—TULIPACEÆ.
Thisorder in theHortus Britannicuscomprises the genera Yucca, Tulipa, Fritillaria, Cyclobothra, Calochortus, Lilium, Gloriosa, and Erythronium (the Dog Violet); but Sir W. J. Hooker omits Yucca, and adds Blandfordia, Hemerocallis, and Polianthes; while Dr. Lindley includes all these plants, together with those comprised in Asphodeleæ, in the order Liliaceæ. This last appears the most natural arrangement, as all these plants have a regular perianth of six segments, with six stamens, and a dry or fleshy capsule of three cells, opening by as many valves. Some of the genera have more seeds than others, and some of the seeds have a hard, dry, black skin, while others have the skin spongy and soft. Some of the genera have the flowers erect and single, as in the Tulip; in others the flowers are erect, but in umbels, as in the Orange Lily; and in others they are in racemes and drooping, as in the Yucca, or single and drooping, as in the Fritillaria, or with the segments curved back as in the Martagon Lily.
ORDER CXCVII.—MELANTHACEÆ.
Theplants belonging to this order have generally inconspicuous flowers, except Colchicum and Bulbocodium, both of which have flowers like the Crocus. The bulbs of the Colchicum are used in medicine; but they and the whole plant abound in an acrid juice, which is poisonous if taken in too large a dose. The root of Veratrum is also poisonous, and this plant is believed to be the Hellebore of the ancients. The Colchicum and the Bulbocodium are distinguished from the Crocus genus, which they so strongly resemble in the appearance of their flowers, by the ovary being within the flower instead of below it, as is the case with all the Amaryllidaceæ, and by their having three distinct styles, instead of one style and three stigmas. In all other respects they are the same.
ORDER CXCVIII.—BROMELIACEÆ.
Thisorder includes the Pine Apple (Bromelia Ananas), the American Aloe (Agave americana),Billbergia, the magnificent plantBonapartea juncea, now calledLyttæa geminiflora, and the curious epiphyteTillandsia. What we are accustomed to call the fruit of the PineApple is, in fact, a fleshy receptacle, like that of the Strawberry, covered with scaly bracts, which are the remains of the fallen flowers. The flowers are blue, and one is produced in each bract; when they fall, the bracts thicken and grow together, and cover the ovaries, which sink into the fleshy part of the receptacle.
ORDER CXCIX.—PONTEDERACEÆ.
Elegantaquatic plants, with kidney-shaped leaves, and spikes or racemes of blue or white flowers. The principal genus is Pontederia.
ORDER CC.—COMMELINEÆ.
Thisorder is principally known in Britain by the Spiderwort (Tradescantia), and the beautifulCommelina cælestis. Both plants have the flowers springing from a tuft of leaves which sheath the stem.
ORDER CCI.—PALMÆ.—THE PALM TRIBE.
Thisorder contains many lofty trees, which are, with one exception, without branches, and bear a tuft of large leaves, called fronds, at the summit. The flowers are small, with bracts, and they are enclosed in a spathe,which bursts on the under side. The mass of flowers is called a spadix; and it is succeeded by the fruit, which, when ripe, is either a drupe or a berry. In the Cocoa-nut Palm (Cocos nucifera) the fruit is a drupe; but the pericardium consists of hard, dry, fibrous matter, which is uneatable, the only part fit for food being the albumen of the kernel. The Date Palm (Phœnix dactylifera), and the Sago Palm (Sagus Rumphii), are two interesting plants, from their products.
ORDER CCII.—PANDANEÆ.
Themost interesting plant in this order is the Screw Pine (Pandanus), which has the habit of the Palms, but the flowers of the Arum tribe.
ORDER CCIII.—TYPHINEÆ.—THE BULLRUSH TRIBE.
TheBullrushes (Typha), also called Cat’s-tail and Reed-mare, are tall rush-like plants, with a cylindrical mass of dark brown flowers round the stem, surmounted by a spike of yellow flowers. The lower dark-brown flowers are female ones, and the yellow ones are the males; the former consist only of an ovary on a long stalk, and a calyx cut into fine hairs so as to form a kind of pappus. The male flowers have achaff-like calyx, enclosing the stamens, the filaments of which are united at the base, and the anthers are very long and of a bright yellow. The seed is a dry capsule, and the plant has a rhizoma or creeping stem under the water.
ORDER CCIV.—AROIDEÆ.—THE ARUM TRIBE.
Thesecurious plants have their flowers in a spadix, enclosed in a spathe, the male and female flowers being separate, and the former above the latter, with some abortive ovaries again above them. The male flowers have only one stamen in each without any covering; and the female flowers in like manner consist each of a single ovary, with a puckered-up hole in the upper part, which serves as the stigma. The fruit consists of a cluster of red berries, which form round the spadix. Many of these plants have a very unpleasant smell, and some of them have a tuberous root, which, when cooked, is eaten, though it is poisonous when raw.ArumorCaladium esculentumis thus eaten as a common article of food in the East Indies; but the Dumb Cane (A.orC. seguinum) has its English name from its juice being so poisonous as, if tasted, to cause the lips to swell so as to prevent the possibility of speaking. The beautiful marsh plant calledCallaorRichardia ethiopica, or the White Arum, belongs to this order; as does the fragrant rush,Acorus Calamus. The order Typhaceæ is included by many botanists in Aroideæ; and indeed, the difference between them consists principally in the Bullrushes having no spathe.
ORDER CCV.—FLUVIALES, OR NAIADES.—THE POND-WEED TRIBE.
Floatingplants, of whichAponogeton distachyonis by far the most beautiful. This plant, which is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, has oblong, deeply-ribbed leaves on very long footstalks, and the flowers in two-cleft spikes, with snow-white bracts, which are very ornamental and very fragrant; each flower consists of from six to twelve stamens, and from two to five carpels. The root is tuberous, and eatable when roasted. The Duckweed (Lemna), which is sometimes included in this order, appears to consist entirely of a few leaves floating on the water, each of which sends down a root; and many people believe that it never flowers. If, however, it be watched in the months of June and July, two yellow anthers will be seen peeping out of the side of each leaf; and if the opening be enlarged, the flower will be found to consist of a kind of bag, open on one side, and containing two stamens, with an ovary furnishedwith a style and simple stigma. The fruit is a one-celled capsule, containing one or more seeds. Some botanists place this plant in a separate order, called Pistiaceæ, from another genus included in it.
ORDER CCVI.—JUNCEÆ.—THE RUSH TRIBE.
Themost interesting genus is the Rush (Juncus). These plants, low as they rank in the vegetable world, have a regular perianth of six divisions with six stamens, and a three-celled capsule which opens by three valves. The perianth of the flowers is, however, so small as to be inconspicuous. Most of the species are weeds, which are considered to indicate cold, wet, and poor ground.
ORDER CCVII.—GILLESIEÆ.
A grass-likeplant, a native of Chili, with greenish flowers.
ORDER CCVIII.—RESTIACEÆ.—THE PIPEWORT TRIBE.
Rigid, inelegant, and often leafless, plants, with the habit of rushes, natives of New Holland and the Cape of Good Hope.
§II.—Glumaceæ.
These plants, instead of having a regular calyx and corolla, have nothing but green and brown scales, which are called glumes, to cover the stamens and pistil. There are only two orders belonging to this division in British fields and gardens.
ORDER CCIX.—CYPERACEÆ.—THE SEDGE TRIBE.
Theseplants have solid stems, and the leaves not only sheathe the stem, but grow together round it, so as to form a kind of tube. The flowers are arranged in heads, some of which contain only male flowers, each of which consists of a membranous scale and three stamens, and others contain only female flowers. In the genus Carex, the Sedge, these flowers are each enclosed in a kind of bottle formed by two scales growing together, and opening at the top into two parts so as to show three stigmas, which have only a single style. The fruit is a dry, hard, triangular capsule with only one seed. The most remarkable genera arePapyrus, the plant anciently used for paper;Scirpus, the Club-rush, used for making the seats of chairs, mats, &c.;Eriophorum, Cotton-grass; andCyperus.
ORDER CCX.—GRAMINEÆ.—THE GRASS TRIBE.
Thisvery important order includes not only the common Grasses, but the Bread Corns, or Cereal Grasses—Wheat, Oats, Barley, Rye, and Maize; and the Sugar-cane and Rice. All these plants are botanically allied to the Sedges, but their stems are hollow, except at the joints, where they become solid; and their leaves, though sheathing the stem, do not unite round it. The flowers are produced in spikes, which are what are called spikelets. The glume, or calyx as it was called by Linnæus, is generally two-valved; and within it are two thinner smaller scales, or paleæ, which were called the corolla by Linnæus. Besides these, there are frequently two still smaller scales within the paleæ. There are generally three or six stamens, the anthers of which are two-celled, and forked at the extremity. There are two styles, either quite distinct, or combined at the base, and the stigmas are feathery. The pericarp is membranaceous, and adheres to the seed, forming a kind of caryopsides. The seeds contain a great deal of albumen, which, when ground into flour, becomes nourishing food. The stems, or culms, are hollow and articulated; the leaves, which are alternate, springing from each joint. The most important genera are Wheat (Triticum), Barley (Hordeum), Rye (Secale), Oats (Avena), Maize (Zea), the Sugar-cane (Saccharum), Rice (Oryza), and the Bamboo (Bambusa). Oats are not produced in spikes, but in loose panicles; and the male and female flowers of the Maize or Indian Corn are on different plants.
CRYPTOGAMOUS PLANTS.
Theseplants are generally described as being without spiral vessels, and consisting only of cellular tissue; but spiral vessels are known to exist in the Ferns, and are said to have been found in the Mosses. Whether this be the case or not, it is evident that the plants included in this division are very different from all that have preceded them, and occupy a lower grade in the scale of vegetable creation. They are divided into two sub-classes: viz. theFoliaceæ, or those with leaves, and theAphyllæ, or those without leaves; both of which are without visible flowers, though some have what are called anthers, and the Mosses have something resembling a style and stigma. They may also be said to have no seeds, for the spores, or sporules as they are called, are very different from the seeds of vascular plants, and they have neither cotyledon nor embryo.
SUB-CLASS I. FOLIACEÆ.
ORDER CCXI.—FILICES.—THE FERN TRIBE.
Thoughsome of the Ferns are so common that almost every one must have seen them, very few persons are aware how very curiously they are constructed. In the first place, they may be said to have neither stems nor leaves, and neither flowers nor seeds. The different parts of the plant spring from a rhizoma, and the leaves, which are called fronds, have their veins neither branched nor in parallel lines, but forked. On the back of the leaves are some curious brown spots of various shapes called sori; and these, which generally form under the outer skin or cuticle of the leaf, and which always spring from one of the veins, contain a number of small grains, called the thecæ, which are in reality cases containing the sporules or seeds. When the sorus forms under the cuticle of the leaf, the membranous part raised, which resembles a blister, is called the indusium; but sometimes the sori are naked, that is, they are formed on the outside of the cuticle; and sometimes they are found on the margin of the leaf, which folds over them, and supplies the place of the indusium. The order is generally divided into two sections, called Polypodiaceæ and Osmundaceæ. The first contains those plantswhich unroll their leaves, when they rise from the stem, and which have their sori either on the back or on the margin of the frond. The thecæ are on stalks, and they are furnished with a ribbed, elastic, articulated but incomplete ring, which seems to serve as a sort of hinge when they burst. This elastic ring is a continuation of the stalk of the theca, which always bursts on the opposite side. The following are the principal genera in this division: Polypody (Polypodium), sori without any indusium; Shield Fern (Aspidium), Bladder Fern (Cistopteris), and Spleenwort (Asplenium), all of which have their fronds pinnate or pinnatifid; Maiden Hair (Adiantum), Hart’s-tongue (Scolopendrium), the frond of which is simple and shaped like a tongue, and the sori oblong; and Brake (Pteris), the leaves of which are pinnatifid, with the sori placed round the margin so as to form a continuous line, and the edge of the leaf turned over them. The rhizoma of the Brake is eaten in many countries, and the fronds, when burnt, yield alkali, which is used in making both soap and glass.
The second division Osmundaceæ comprises those Ferns which apparently have flowers; the flowers, however, being merely sori, with the leaves on which they grew shrivelled up round them. The most remarkable of these is theflowering Fern (Osmunda regalis); but others are—the Grape Fern or Moonwort (Botrychium), a species of which, a native of North America, is called there the Rattle-snake Fern; and the Adder’s Tongue (Ophiglossum). The Tree Ferns of New Zealand are magnificent plants. The trunk or stipe rises to the height of forty or fifty feet without a branch, and then terminates in a head of noble fronds, which hang down on every side like a plume of feathers. The wood of these trees when cut across, instead of being in circles like the wood of Dicotyledonous trees, or full of pores like that of the Endogens, is marked with a number of zigzag lines, the traces of the stalks of old fronds which have grown together and formed the stipe.
ORDER CCXII.—LYCOPODINEÆ.—THE CLUB-MOSS TRIBE.
Theseplants appear to occupy the intermediate space between the Ferns and the Mosses. They have creeping stems, and grow two or three feet high; the erect stems being clothed with imbricated leaves, in the axils of which these are produced. Some of them open into three or four valves, and contain sporules; while others are only two-valved, and contain a kind of powder, which some suppose to bepollen, and others abortive sporules. In some of the species, the thecæ are produced in bracteated spikes, which resemble the young strobiles on a Spruce Fir. The seeds of the common Club-moss (Lycopodium clavatum) are used at the theatres to imitate lightning.
ORDER CCXIII.—MARSILEACEÆ.
Theseare aquatic herbs, the thecæ or receptacles of which are always found in the axils of the leaves near the root. In the genusIsoetes(Quillwort) these are of two kinds, like those of the Club-mosses, the one containing powder, and the other granules; but in Pepper-grass or Pillwort (Pillularia), the receptacles are four-celled, and each cell contains both powder and granules.Marsilea, from which the order takes its name, is a native of Italy and other parts of the south of Europe, where it grows in the same manner as Duckweed does with us.
ORDER CCXIV.—EQUISETACEÆ.—THE HORSE-TAIL TRIBE.
Thethecæ of these well-known plants are contained in terminal cone-like spikes or catkins, from four to eight lying in each scale.The stems are tubular, and articulated with whorls of membranaceous sheaths, and of slender branches, jointed, and sheathed like the stem at every joint. All the species of Equisetum abound in silicious matter, and particularly the Dutch Rush (E. hyemale), which is used for polishing both wood and metal. The handsomest species isE. sylvaticum.
ORDER CCXV.—CHARACEÆ.
Aquaticherbs, contained in the genera Nitella and Chara, always growing under water, with slender jointed stems, surrounded at the joints by whorls of tubular leaves or branches, which are either membranaceous and transparent, as inNitella; or brittle, and more or less encrusted with carbonate of lime, as inChara, Stonewort. The organs of reproduction are formed in the axils of the branches, and consist of transparent globules, and hard, spiral nuculas, which appear to be formed of twisted leaves, the points of which often form a kind of crest. Young plants are only produced by the nuculas.
ORDER CCXVI.—MUSCI.—THE MOSS TRIBE.
Fig. 149.—Cryptogamous Plants.
Fig. 149.—Cryptogamous Plants.
The Mosseshave fibrous roots, and slender wiry stems, densely covered with leaves, which are very small, and laid over each other like scales (seeainfig.149). The theca (g) is urn-shaped, and it is produced singly; in most cases, on a long, slender, wiry stem, called a seta, which signifies a bristle, but sometimes without any stalk. It always springs from a tuft of leaves, differing both in size and shape from ordinary leaves, which form what is sometimes called the perichætium. Among these may occasionally be seen a few stalks, resembling the Lichen called Cup-moss, which terminates in a kind of cup, and thickened at the base. The cups and upper parts soon die away, and the thicker part left among the leaves swells, andin time rises on a stalk of its own, carrying away one of the leaves with it on its head. This is the theca, and the leaf it carried away, and which resembles an extinguisher, is called the calyptra, and it remains on till the sporules are nearly ripe. When the calyptra falls, the theca is found to be covered with a little lid called the operculum; which also falls off in time, and shows the mouth or stoma of the theca. This mouth is sometimes naked, and sometimes covered with a kind of film; but generally it is surrounded by a row of long, slender, hair-like teeth called the peristome or fringe. When there are two rows of these hair-like teeth, the inner ones, which are finer than the others, are called the cilia; and the number of both the cilia and the teeth is always some number that can be divided by four. In the cavity of the theca is a central axis called the columella, and around that are found the sporules, kept together by the lining of the theca, which forms a kind of open bag. This is the usual construction of all the numerous genera of mosses; but in some kinds, as for example in the Hair-moss (Polytrichium), in addition to the theca, a number of granules are found among the leaves, which are said to be capable of producing young plants.
ORDER CCXVII.—HEPATICÆ.
Theseplants greatly resemble Mosses in their appearance, but they differ in their construction. The theca has no lid, but bursts into valves; and it generally contains not only sporules, but tubes formed of curiously twisted threads, called elaters. Jungermannia and Marchantia have a calyptra, which the other genera are without; and in Jungermannia the theca has a sort of sheath, which is sometimes called the calyx. There are also stalked granules called anthers, and warts which form on the leaves, and break up into a kind of sporules.
SUB-CLASS II.—APHYLLEÆ.
ORDER CCXVIII.—LICHENES.
Thoughthese plants are said to have no leaves, they consist almost entirely of a kindFig. 150—Usnea Florida.(Old Trees.)of leafy stem, called a frond or thallus, the branches of which are called podetia (seeainfigs.150, 151, and 152). The spores or sporules are produced in what are called shields (binFig. 151.—Ramalina fastigiata.(Rocks and Trees.)figs.149, 150, and 151), which are generally embedded in the thallus, and which, when theyare cup-shaped (as infig.150), are called scyphæ, and when flat (as infig.151), apothecia. The sporules, which are very numerous, are inclosed inFig. 152.—Cornicularia heteromalla.—(Old Trees.)receptacles of various forms, which are embedded in the shields. Some of the commonest lichens areUsnea florida(fig.150), andRamalina fastigiata(fig.151), both of which are found on old oaks, and are generally called grey moss; andCornicularia heteromalla(fig.152) is a brown mossy-looking lichen, often found on the bark. Other more interesting lichens are—the Iceland-moss (Cetraria islandica), the Reindeer-moss (Cenomyce, orCladonia rangiferina), the Cup-moss (Cenomyce pyxidata), and the Orchil (Rocella tinctoria).
ORDER CCXIX.—FUNGI.
TheFungi are divided into several distinct sections; the most important of which may be called the Mushroom tribe. The largest genus in this division is Agaricus, and the plants belonging to it consist of a stipe, or stalk (cinfig.149), surmounted by the pileus or cap (d). When the mushroom first appears, the stalk is covered by a thin membrane, called the veil (e), which unites the cap to the lower part; but as the mushroom grows, this veil is rent asunder, and it either entirely disappears, or only a small part of it remains round the stalk, which is called the annulus or ring. Under the cap are the gills or lamellæ, which are of a dark reddish brown; and attached to these are the thecæ, containing the sporules or seed. In the common Mushroom (Agaricus campestre), and all the eatable kinds, the gills are pink when the veil breaks, which it does very soon, and they become afterwards nearly black; but in all the poisonous kinds, the veil is longer before it breaks, and when it does so, the gills are pale, and frequently nearly white, without becoming darker; the smell is also quite different. The Mushroom tribe, which includes all the Fungi that carry their sporules in the part above the stem, is divided into two sections, viz.,those with caps, like the Mushroom, and those which are slender and entire, but club-shaped in the upper part, likeClavaria helvola, a fungus often found in meadows, which resembles the stamen of an orange-lily.
The Morel tribe includes those Fungi which have their sporules in the stipe, and it is in two divisions; the first of which includes those which, like the Morel (Morchella esculenta), have a pileus, or cap, like a mitre; and the second, those which have the pileus curving upwards, like a cup, as in Peziza. A third tribe includes those which, like Tremella, are of a jelly-like substance; and in a similar manner all the numerous genera are arranged. Among these the most remarkable are the Truffle (Tuber cibarium), which is found buried in the earth, and the curious Fungi called Blight and Mildew, which belong to several different genera, and which appear on the leaves and fruit of other plants.
ORDER CCXX.—ALGÆ.
TheSea-weeds are placed on the extreme verge of the vegetable kingdom; and indeed some of them seem almost to partake of the nature of zoophytes. They can live only where there is abundance of moisture, and many ofthem, such as the different kinds of Fucus, inhabit the sea; by the waves of which they are torn up from their native beds, and washed on shore by the tides. Others are found in the form of Confervæ, or green slime, on the surface of stagnant ponds, or on damp stone or gravel-walks; and others appear to form one of the connecting links between vegetable and animal life, as the joints in which they are produced possess the power of separating from each other, and in their divided state so closely resemble animals, as to puzzle naturalists to know where to place them. The Algæ are divided by botanists into three classes; viz., the jointless, the jointed, and the disjointed. The jointless Algæ are by far the most numerous; and they comprehend all those broad flat jelly-like substances which are called by the popular names of tangle and dulse on the coast, and which are frequently eaten. To this division belong the kinds of sea-weed that are used for making kelp; those from which iodine is procured; those forming the celebrated Chinese birds’ nests; those sold in the oil-shops under the name of laver; and those used by farmers as manure. The jointed Algæ are very inferior in the scale of creation to the first division; but the Confervæ (seefinfig.149) are well known, from the rapidity with whichthey form a thick green slime, by adhering together on the surface of ditches and cisterns, and in short, wherever there is stagnant water exposed to the open air. The disjointed Algæ are generally found among the Confervæ; but they are so small, and insignificant in appearance, as, in most cases, entirely to escape notice.