Page:On the cultivation of the plants belonging to the natural order of Proteeae.djvu/38

 nevertheless often forced to admit it himself; and this he managed with great cunning, by calling the Umbel, Catkin, Spathe, &c. of vegetables, which are only different sorts of Inflorescence, a Calyx. Among modern writers, I believe that Mr. first dared publicly to dissent from the abovementioned canon of, asserting not merely the utility but absolute necessity, of employing the Inflorescence in many Natural Orders; and it must be confessed that such generic distinctions are peculiarly useful to working gardeners, being always obvious if a plant flowers at all, as well as intelligible to the poorest capacity: in this point, accordingly, he has at length been followed by other eminent botanists. Next to the Inflorescence, the various modifications of the Fruit, and Seeds, as they are in many species unphilosophically denominated, seem to afford the best generic distinctions, in Proteeæ. As for their habit, no certain guess at the genus of an unknown species can be deduced from it; for this sometimes differs amazingly, not only in the same genus, but in individuals of the same species, and several are found with leaves, of very different shapes, growing at the same time upon one branch.

Sect. 1. Flores dioici.

Berg.