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 genus _Sambucus_, the Elder, is characterised by its pinnate leaves
and terminal cymes of flowers, which have a small five-lobed calyx, a
rotate corolla also five-lobed, five stamens about the length of the
corolla, no style, and three obtuse stigmas. The berries are globular,
pulpy, and one-celled; each containing three or five seeds, which
are convex on the outside, and angular within. The berries differ in
colour in the different species, those of the common kind being a
deep purplish black, and those of _S. racemosa_ being red. The stems
and branches are of a soft wood, having a white spongy pith. The
white-berried Elder is a variety of the common kind.
The genus _Viburnum_ contains several well-known plants, among which
may be mentioned the Laurestinus (_V. Tinus_), the Guelder Rose
(_V. Opulus_), and the Wayfaring Tree (_V. Lantana_). This genus
is very nearly allied to Sambucus in the flowers, but it is easily
distinguished, on examination, by its leaves, which are not pinnate,
and by its wood, which is hard and not spongy. The berries have also
only one seed, and they are not eatable,—those of the Laurestinus
are, indeed, injurious. The Laurestinus and some other species are
evergreen; but by far the greater number of species are deciduous.
The genus _Lonicera_ formerly included all the kinds of Honeysuckle;
but now only the upright species, or what are called the Fly
Honeysuckles, are comprised in it, and the climbing kinds are called
Caprifolium. One of the upright kinds, most common in gardens, is the
Tartarian Honeysuckle (_L. tartarica_), the flowers of which are in
twins. The corolla is tubular and funnel-shaped, with a five-cleft
limb. There are five stamens, a filiform style, and a capitate stigma.
The berries are distinct when young, but they afterwards grow together
at the base. The leaves are always distinct. The genus _Caprifolium_
embraces all the climbing species, the flowers of which are disposed
in whorls, and the upper leaves are connate, that is, growing together
at the base, so that two appear only one leaf, with the stem passing
through it. A single leaf of this kind is called perfoliate. The
flowers spring from the axils of the leaves, and are what are called
ringent, that is, they are composed of five petals, four of which
grow together, almost to the tip, while the fifth is only attached
to the others about half its length, and has the loose part hanging
down. Flowers of this kind, with their lower part forming a tube, and
their upper part widely open, are said to be gaping. In the Trumpet
Honeysuckle (_C. sempervirens_) the tube of the corolla is very long,
and the lobes of the limb nearly equal; and the flowers, instead of
springing from the axils of the leaves, form terminal spikes, each
consisting of three or more whorls of flowers.
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