ways distinguishable by any particular figure, except in compound flowers constituting the Linnæan class Syngenesia, in which it is very remarkable and important. In the Daisy, Engl. Bot. t. 424, it is conical; in Chrysanthemum, t. 601, convex; in others flat, or slightly concave. Picris, t. 972, has it naked, that is, destitute of any hairs or scales between the florets or seeds; Carduus, t. 675, hairy; Anthemis, t. 602, scaly; and Onopordum, t. 977, cellular like a honey-comb. On this and the seed-down are founded the most solid generic characters of these plants, admirably illustrated by the inimitable Gærtner.
The term Receptacle is sometimes extended by Linnaeus to express the base of a flower, or even its internal part between the stamens and pistils, provided there be any thing remarkable in such parts, without reference to the foundation of the whole fructification. It also expresses the part to which the seeds are attached in a seed-vessel.
