Lyonet acquired at least as much honour, and rendered as great service to mankind by his intimate acquaintance with the anatomy and functions of the organs of a single caterpillar, as if he had spent his life in arranging all the known insects of the world according to a new and Natural System. The Linnæan Method, as a late writer in the "Magazine of Nat. History” has well observed, is not opposed to that of Jussieu or De Candolle, "but is rather an easy and pleasing preface or index to their more extended inquiries." Let it not be supposed that the author is advocating the cause of an Artificial System, to the exclusion of a natural one; for if any one can be more alive than another to the real advantage derivable from a knowledge of the characters of plants when naturally combined, it is assuredly he, whose duty it is to teach the Science to those who are destined for the profession of medicine. The former method will soon enable the student to ascertain the Foxglove, the Cinchona, the Squill, and many other plants of which he would be ashamed to be ignorant: but the study of the latter will alone put it in his power to extend his inquiries, and with a prospect of success, to analyze other plants of the same Natural Order, among which he may expect to find similar or more powerful principles than what are hitherto known to us. This subject lays open a wide field of usefulness to the Botanist and the Physician; and with the view to so desirable an object, the name of the Natural Order to which each Genus belongs is mentioned in the following pages; and in the Appendix will be found a complete list with characters of all the Orders, so far as British Botany is concerned, together with an enumeration of the Genera belonging to them, and references to the pages of the present volume, where the genera and species are described; to these are added brief no. tices of other Orders of foreign countries, which are remarkable for the useful or interesting plants they contain. To those who wish for fuller information respecting the natural affinities of Plants, especially as concerns universal Botany, the following works may be studied with advantage: Dr Lindley's "Introduction to Botany," and his "Natural System of Botany," Mr Arnott's "Treatise on the Natural Arrangement of Plants" under the article "Botany," in the 5th vol. of the 7th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica; and the 7th and last edition of Sir 66 J. E. Smith's "Introduction to Botany," where we have ourselves given the characters of all the Natural Orders. Dr Lindley's Synopsis of the British Flora,"* and Dr Macreight's " Manual of British Botany," are arranged exclusively according to the Natural System. The labour of compiling the Flora of a country, by a careful examination and comparison of specimens themselves, whether in a living or dried state, can only be appreciated by those who have been engaged in an employment of the same kind. The collecting of materials, indeed, in their native hills and valleys, upon the sea-shore, in the woods, and among the majestic alpine scenery with which the northern parts of our island eminently abound, generally in the society of friends of a congenial taste, or students full of ardour and enthusiasm, has been a very delightful occupation, especially when taken in conjunction with "anticipations of the pleasure we may have to bestow on kindred minds with our own, when sharing with them our discoveries and our acquisitions." And the task of describing them has, in the present instance, been considerably lightened by the valuable assistance afforded by many of the most able Botanists of our country, whose names are mentioned, as far as it was consistent with the nature of the undertaking, when treating of the respective plants they have tended to illustrate. Mr Borrer, Mr W. Wilson, the Rev. Professor Henslow, the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, the late Rev. J. S. Tozer, the Rev. G. E. Smith, Mrs Griffiths, Miss Warren,† Dr Dewar, Mr Babington, Mr Christy, Mr H. C. Watson, Dr Graham, Mr Macnab, Mr J. E. Bowman, and Mr R. B. Bowman, have, in an especial manner, rendered service both by notes and illustrative specimens. The first of these gentlemen has kindly undertaken a complete revision of the genera Myosotis, Rosa, and Rubus; whilst to Mr Wilson, whose acuteness and botanical ardour are beyond all praise, I am indebted for many important remarks in the present as well as in the preceding editions. Mr Babington has obligingly communicated to me, and permitted me to use his MS. notes on the new and rare species of Plants which he and Mr Christy Of which the 2d edition appeared in 1835. A highly accomplished Devonshire botanist, who has lately published an interesting Botanical Chart, in which much valuable and useful information ⚫ is given. detected on their visit to the Channel islands, during the summer of last year, of which I have gladly availed myself. The design of this work would not allow of so many stations being given for the rarer plants as could have been wished: and indeed the Author has been rather anxious to indicate the range of the species, than the precise spot where any particular one is found. The admirable “Botanist's Guide" of Messrs Turner and Dillwyn; the interesting " Outlines of the Geographical Distribution of British Plants" and the New "Botanist's Guide," by H. C. Watson, Esq.; Mr J. T. Mackay's valuable "Flora Hibernica," and the various local Floras which are now happily become exceedingly numerous, may, for information on this head, be consulted with great advantage. Mr J. E. Bowman has, with his accustomed good judgment, suggested the propriety of erasing from the British Flora such plants as Buffonia tenuifolia, Swertia perennis, Gentiana acaulis, Stipa pennata, and some others universally acknowledged to be neither indigenous to the British isles nor naturalized amongst us and my first impression was to adopt this suggestion. But upon further consideration, I retain them, out of respect to the memory of Sir Jas. Smith, who saw reason to consider them British, and who introduced them as such, not only into his "Flora Britannica," but into "English Botany" and the "English Flora ;" works of so high a character that they may well be considered as standard authority for such plants as were deemed indigenous to Britain at the period of their publication. I have, nevertheless, thought proper to place an asterisk (*) against the names not only of such species as no longer exist in the given localities, but also against others which have become naturalized through the agency of man. I cannot, however, consent to admit every plant that recent research has detected in uncultivated ground, merely because Oenothera biennis and Datura Stramonium have, without sufficient consideration, found a place in our Flora. The Martagon Lily and the American Touch-me-Not can have no claim to be considered British plants. It may be well to remark here, that the figures which follow. the season of flowering of the plants in the descriptive pages, viz., 8, 24, and h, signify: (The Sun), implying that the plant is of annual duration, because the earth requires a year in performing a revolution round the sun. (Mars), a biennial plant; because that planet is two years in performing a similar revolution. (Jupiter), a perennial plant or root; because of the great length of time, 4332 days, required by that planet for such a revolution. (Saturn), a shrub or tree, which, living for a great number of years, is represented by a planet requiring nearly 30 years to revolve round the sun. The present volume terminates with the Ferns. A second (which also forms the fifth of Sir J. E. Smith's "English Flora") including the rest of the Class CRYPTOGAMIA, is now published, and completes the Flora of the British dominions. GLASGOW, March 1, 1838. Flowers Perfect, each with Stamens and Pistils. 20 or more, on the receptacle. 4; 2 long and 2 short. {6; 4 Flowers cruciform. 16. MONADELPHIA,. Filaments united at the base into one set. The twenty-four Classes are subdivided into ORDers. (See the characters of the Orders in the next page.) |