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 Carya (the Hickory) consists of ten or twelve species, which
greatly resemble the Walnuts in their general appearance, but are
distinguished by the male catkins, instead of being solitary, being
produced in tufts or bunches, three or more on each peduncle. The
stigma is also frequently four-lobed, and the husk, when ripe, divides
into four equal valves, which in some of the species are very thick, as
in the Thick-shell bark Hickory (see _a_ in _fig._ 80). The nut (_b_)
is not valved, and it is either not furrowed, or very slightly so; but
it has four angles which are more or less distinct in the different
species: the shell and the dissepiments are both very hard, and the
latter, as in the Mocker nut, are sometimes entire, so as to render
it very difficult to extract the kernel. The leaves (_c_) resemble
those of the walnut; but they are generally of a thinner texture, and
somewhat downy, the down being disposed in little tufts, as may be seen
by a microscope. The trees vary much in size, but all of them have a
reticulated bark. The wood is of a coarse grain, and will not polish;
but it is very strong, and so remarkably tough that it is hardly
possible to break it.
There is only one other genus in the order Juglandaceæ, and that
consists of only a single species, _Pterocarya caucasica_. It has
pinnate leaves of nineteen leaflets each, placed as closely as possible
together; and the fruit, (that is, the husk,) is spread out on each
side into a thin membrane or wing. This plant is sometimes called
_Juglans fraxinifolia_.
SALICACEÆ.—THE WILLOW TRIBE.
The plants contained in this order have simple leaves, and the male
and female flowers on different plants, both in upright cylindrical
catkins.
THE GENUS SALIX.
The genus Salix (the Willow) contains perhaps more species than any
other, above two hundred and fifty having been named and described,
besides innumerable varieties. The plants included in the genus may,
however, be all divided into three kinds—viz. the true Willows, which
have thin green leaves, and which include all the tree species, most
of which have brittle branches; the Osiers, the leaves of which
resemble those of the Willows, but which are low shrubs with very tough
branches; and the Sallows, the leaves of which are thick and woolly or
shaggy. The Osiers and the true Willows are often confounded together;
particularly when the former take, as they sometimes do, a tree-like
character; but the Sallows are always perfectly distinct. The rods of
the Osiers are used in basket-making.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account