PREFACE

...not only that, but the species of other genera also differ either in the number of petals in the flower, or in the regularity and irregularity of the flower’s shape. Thus, most species of Cinquefoil Latin: Pentaphylli, literally "five leaves" have a five-petaled flower, yet some have four petals, such as the smaller green Cinquefoil with a golden flower which sends down little roots into the earth from its joints (see Morison’s History Robert Morison (1620–1683), a Scottish botanist and Ray's contemporary). Indeed, Tormentil Latin: Tormentilla, a plant of the same family, has a four-petaled flower. One species of Herb-Paris Latin: Herbæ Paris has a four-petaled flower, while another has a three-petaled one. The plants called Rough-leaved Latin: Asperifoliæ, the family including borage and forget-me-nots have a regular flower, except for Viper’s Bugloss Latin: Echium, which has an irregular flower. Among the Four-petaled Pod-bearers Latin: Tetrapetalis Siliculoſis, the mustard and cabbage family, which are all clearly of the same genus, Candytuft Latin: Thlaſpi Creticum and its related species have an irregular flower, while the rest are gifted with a regular one.

II. The Tournefortian Method The classification system of Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708), who focused on the shape of the flower corolla can in no way be reconciled with Bulbous herbs. For what does the number of cells into which the fruit is divided contribute to the structure of the flower, unless you establish that the fruit is actually a part of the flower? Yet Dr. Tournefort See Elements of Botany, Page 41 distinguishes the flower from the fruit as separate things, and makes the fruit and the flower two distinct essential parts of the plant. However, according to his own teaching, the fruit is actually a part of the flower—namely, it is either the Calyx: the outer, usually green part of a flower that protects the bud or the Pistil: the central, seed-bearing organ of the flower. For he generally affirms that either the Calyx or the Pistil turns into the fruit. But they do not turn into something other than what they were before, since the fruit from the...