Botany for Ladies: or, A Popular Introduction to the Natural System of Plants, According to the Classification of De Candolle.Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
Science
Botany for Ladies: or, A Popular Introduction to the Natural System of Plants, According to the Classification of De Candolle.
Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
Botany; Plants -- Classification
The flowers of all the species of Oxalis, the Wood-sorrel, are very
pretty. The flowers have five regular petals, each furnished with a
claw; and the petals are spirally twisted in the bud. There are ten
stamens, and five styles. The capsule is five-celled, and five or ten
valved, the valves opening lengthways. Most of the species are natives
of South America, and greenhouse plants in England.
ORDER LIV.—ZYGOPHYLLEÆ.—THE BEAN-CAPER TRIBE.
The flowers of the Bean-caper are usually yellow; and the five petals
are long, narrow, and placed widely apart. The botanic name of
Zygophyllum signifies “with the leaves in pairs,” and this is the case
to a remarkable degree. _Fagonia cretica_ is a very pretty plant, with
purple flowers very much like those of Clarkia; and _Guiacum_, the
Lignum Vitæ, is remarkable for the hardness of its wood and the gum it
produces. Melianthus belongs to this order.
ORDER LV.—RUTACEÆ.—THE RUE TRIBE.
This order has been divided into four sections; three of which
contain well-known plants, and have been divided into three orders by
many botanists. The Rue (_Ruta graveolens_) is well known from its
strong and disagreeable smell, which is produced by the oil secreted
in transparent cells in the leaves, which have the appearance of
dots, when the leaves are held up to the light. The leaves are of
a bluish green, and the flowers of a greenish yellow; the latter
growing in cymes at the end of the branches. There are four sepals,
four petals, and eight stamens. There are four carpels, seated on an
elevated receptacle, and each containing one cell, which grow into a
four-celled fruit. In Fraxinella (_Dictamnus_) the petals are unequal;
there are ten stamens, one style, and the carpels are two-seeded.
In Diosma there are only five stamens, the style is arched, and the
capsule consists of five-horned carpels. In Corræa the leaves are
opposite; there are eight stamens, and the four petals grow together
into a tube at the base; and in Crowea there are five sepals, five
petals, and ten stamens; the leaves are also alternate. The Diosmas
have as strong a scent as the Rue, and a perfume is made from them
called Bucku at the Cape of Good Hope, of which country they are
natives.
The section Zanthoxyleæ contains the Zanthoxylum, also called the
Toothache Tree, or Prickly Ash, a native of North America, the bark
of which is very fragrant, and is said to be a cure for toothache and
rheumatism; Ptelea or Shrubby Trefoil; and _Ailantus glandulosa_.
_Zanthoxylum fraxineum_ has very pretty pinnate leaves, and small
purple flowers; _Ptelea trifoliata_ has curiously winged fruit, which
resemble those of the elm; and the Ailantus has remarkably long
compound leaves, one leaf having been known to have fourteen pairs
of leaflets, and to be upwards of three feet long. The two following
orders are included in Rutaceæ by some botanists.
ORDER LVI.—SIMARUBACEÆ.
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