In the Angiosperms I have retained the sequence of orders in the Danish
original, and have not rearranged them according to the systems
more familiar to English students. In any rearrangement much of the
significance of Dr. Warming’s valuable and original observations
would have been lost, and also from a teacher’s point of view I have
found this system of great value. Although at present it may not be
completely satisfactory, yet as an attempt to explain the mutual
relationships, development and retrogression of many of the orders, it
may be considered to have a distinct advantage over the more artificial
systems founded upon Jussieu’s Divisions of Polypetalæ, Gamopetalæ, and
Apetalæ.
With reference to the principles of the systematic arrangement adopted,
I may here insert the following brief communication from the author
(dated March, 1890), which he has requested me to quote from the
preface of Dr. Knoblauch’s edition:--“Each form which, on comparative
morphological considerations, is clearly less simple, or can be shown
to have arisen by reduction or through abortion of another type having
the same fundamental structure, or in which a further differentiation
and division of labour is found, will be regarded as younger, and as
far as possible, and so far as other considerations will admit, will
be reviewed later than the ‘simpler,’ more complete, or richer forms.
For instance, to serve as an illustration: EPIGYNY and PERIGYNY are
less simple than HYPOGNY; the Epigynous _Sympetalæ_, _Choripetalæ_,
_Monocotyledones_ are, therefore, treated last, the _Hydrocharitaceæ_
are considered last under the _Helobieæ_, etc. ZYGOMORPHY is younger
than ACTINOMORPHY; the _Scitamineæ_ and _Gynandræ_ therefore follow
after the _Liliifloræ_, the _Scrophulariaceæ_ after the _Solanaceæ_,
_Linaria_ after _Verbascum_, etc. FORMS WITH UNITED LEAVES indicate
younger types than those with free leaves; hence the _Sympetalæ_
come after the _Choripetalæ_, the _Sileneæ_ after the _Alsineæ_, the
_Malcaceæ_ after the _Sterculiaceæ_ and _Tiliaceæ_, etc.
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