590 BROMELIACEJE. 



CXLIII. PONTEDERIA CE;E. 



Perigone coloured, of 6 divisions. Stamens 6-3, unequal, inserted into the perigone : 

 anthers iutrorse. Ovary free : style simple. Embryo axile in amylaceous albumen. — Aquatic 

 herbs j leaves usually provided with a blade. 



1. HETERANTHERA, R. P. 



Perigone salver-shaped : lobes little unequal. Stamens 3 : two upper filaments shorter. 

 Capsule incompletely 3-celled, many-seeded. — Low, floating or creeping herbs ; leaves rosu- 

 late: petiole much longer than the blade (rarely the latter suppressed) ; spathe \-few- 

 fiowered at the sheathing base of the petiole ; flowers fugacious. 



1. H. reniformis, R. P. Leaves cordate-reniform ; spathe 3-5 -flowered ; flowers 

 white ; inferior anther larger. — Leaves 9"'-12"' diam. ; lobes of the perigone 2'" long. — 

 Hab. Caribbean islands ; [Guadeloupe!; United States ! to Buenos Ayres!]. 



2. H. limosa, V. Leaves ovate, or ovate-obloug, blunt, truncate or rounded at the 

 base; spathe 1-flowered ; flower blue ; anthers subequal. — SI. t. 149. _/. 1. — Pontederia, Sur. 

 — Leaves l'-l?" long ; lobes of the perigone 5"'-6"' long; filaments broader than in the 

 preceding, the third little longer. — Hab. Jamaica !, Macf, Bist., March ; [United States I 

 to Venezuela]. 



2. EICHHORNIA, Kth. 



Perigone infundibular : tube dehiscent at the middle, along the anterior claw : lobes un- 

 equal, interior broader. Stamens 6 : three inferior longer, incurved. Capsule 3-celled, 

 many-seeded : seeds costate. — Large, aquatic herbs : leaves emerging ; inflorescence from a. 

 sheathing petiole, and supported by a spathe, panicled, or racemose ; flowers variegated ; 

 bracts obsolete. 



3. E. tricolor, Seub. Stem simple, one-leaved above ; leaves deeply cordate-deltoid, 

 pointleted, exceeded by the panicle, lowest rosulate ; spathe foliaceous, lanceolate-linear, a 

 little distant from the base of tbe petiole ; flowers distant along the simple, spreading 

 branches of the panicle, inferior pedicellate, superior snbsessile ; perigone variegated-blue : 

 lobes obovate and spathulate. — Mart. Fl. Bras. 8. t. 11. — Pontederia pauiculata, Spreng. — 

 Stem-leaf 3"-5" diam., as long as the petiole ; sheath 1"-H", panicle 5"-8", flowers 8"'- 

 10"' long ; capsule ovate-lanceolate. — Hab. Jamaica !, Macf., Bist., Pd., March, in ditches, 

 Westmoreland ; [Brazil]. 



4. E. azurea, Kth. Stem branched: leaves roundish, (or oval), very blunt, contracted 

 into the much longer, tapering petiole : spathe roundish, sheathing-complicate, a little dis- 

 tant from the base of the petiole ; Jloicers large, geminate, in a simple raceme, one in the 

 pair pedicellate, the other sessile ; perigone pale-blue with a yellow blotch : interior lobes 

 obovate-roundish, crenulate. — Schlechtend. Ic. in Ilaller, Abhandl. VI. — Pontederia, Sic. 

 T. Schlechtendal's doubts on Swartz's species are in contradiction with Seubert's remarks on 

 the Brazil Pontederia azurea, the correctness of which I have occasion to confirm by the 

 comparison of Uruguay specimens, and of the quoted figure with the plant collected in 

 Swartz's locality. Stem stout, " floating ;" leaves variable, the larger 3-4", perigone 2" 

 diam. — Hab. Jamaica!, Pd., behind the ferry; Trinidad, Cr. ; [Panama! and Guiana! to 

 Uruguay ! and northern Buenos Ayres]. 



CXLIV. BROMELIACEJE. 



Calyx of 3, corolla of as many divisions. Stamens 6. Ovary 3-celled. Embryo minute, 

 in the top of amylaceous albumen, or naked beyond its extremity. — Herbs, often epiphytical ; 

 leaves rosulate, rigid, parallel-nerved, usually channelled. 



The Pine-apple, or Ananas, is the syncarpium of Ananassa : the eatable fruits of Bromelia 

 and Nidularium Karatas are called wild Ananas. Of several the fibre is used, e.g. of A'i- 

 dilarium Karatas and Bromelia Pinguin. 



