Part 4

A magnifying-glass--or a small dissecting microscope and a good Zeiss lens, if more careful work is to be done,--a couple of dissecting needles, a pocket-knife, and a small three or four-inch measure, having one of the inches divided into lines, will be required for examining specimens.

It is also a good plan to make a note of the date and place of collection of all plants, as it is often of great interest to know these facts at some future time.

Plants are grouped into great orders, or families, which are made up of a number of genera, each genus consisting of a number of species. Every plant has two Latin names; the first a generic name, answering to the last name of a person; the second a specific name, answering to a person's given name. The latter is usually descriptive of some quality or character of the plant, the name of the place where found, or of its discoverer, or of some person in whose honor it is named. This dual name serves to clearly distinguish the species from all others, especially when the name of the person by whom the specific name was bestowed is added.

Each plant-family bears an English title, which is usually the name of its best-known genus. Thus the order Leguminosae is known as the "Pea Family" because Lathyrus, or the pea, is its best-known genus. In many instances the English names borne by orders in the Eastern States have no significance with us, as the type genus is not found in our flora. In such cases we have given the name of the genus best known among us, to which we have added the other; thus, "Baby-eyes or Waterleaf Family."

Most of our plants have common English names, and the same plant is often known by one name in one locality and by another in another. Hence, while these names are often pretty and apt, they cannot serve for the accurate identification of the plant. For this we must consult its Latin name, by which it is known all over the world.

Wherever the terms used are not understood, reference should be made to the "Explanation of Terms" or to the Glossary.

For identification of species not found in the present work, other books should be consulted. The two large volumes of the botany of the Geological Survey of California are the most complete of anything thus far published. In addition to these, "The Synoptical Flora of North America," as far as published (the Gamopetalae, the Compositae, and some orders of the Polypetalae), furnishes valuable aid. Professor E.L. Greene's works, "The Botany of the Bay Region," "Pittonia," and "Flora Franciscana," furnish excellent plant-descriptions for the more advanced botanist. The author's technical descriptions have in every instance been verified by comparison with one or more of the above works.

Miss Eastwood's little volume, recently published as Part Second of "Bergen's Elements of Botany," (and also issued in separate form), is recommended for use in connection with the present work, as it embodies in compact form a general view of the method of classification of plants, showing their places in the plant-world and their relations to one another. It also contains very clear descriptions of plant-families. To the student who becomes interested in knowing more about the structure of plants, Gray's "Structural Botany" will prove useful; and the large work of Oliver and Kerner (translated from the German) will prove a fascinating book.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS

ROOTS

The =root= is that portion of the plant which grows downward, fixing it to the soil, and absorbing nourishment from the latter. True roots produce nothing but root-branches or rootlets.

Simple or unbranched roots are named according to their shapes--

conical, when like the carrot;

napiform, when like the turnip;

fusiform, when like the long radish.

Multiple, or branched, roots may be--

fascicled, or bunched, as in the dahlia;

tubercular, when furnished with small tubers;

fibrous, when threadlike.

STEMS

The =stem= is the ascending axis of the plant, which usually bears the leaves, flowers, and fruit. The points on the stem to which the leaves are fastened are called the =nodes=; and the portions of stem between the nodes are called the =internodes=. The angle formed by the upper side of the leaf and the stem is called the =axil=.

Stems aboveground are classed as--

erect, when growing upright;

procumbent, when lying on the ground without rooting;

decumbent, when lying on the ground with the tip ascending;

diffuse, when loosely spreading;

creeping, when growing on the ground and rooting.

Stems underground are classed as =rhizomes= (or =rootstocks=) =tubers=, =corms=, and =bulbs=, the forms passing into one another by gradations.