A 



I 



I 



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6. Ar.uM {Sagitt^ folium) acaule folils fagittatis trian- 

 gulis angulis divaricaris acutls. Hort. ClifF. 345. A- 

 rum "Without ftalk^ layice-Poaped leaves ^Jjhich are triangu- 

 lar, acute-pointed, and ribbed. Arum maximum /E- 

 gyptiacum quod vulgo Colocafia cauliculis nigrican- 



tibu5 Zeylanica. H. L. B. 



7. Arvm' (Jrborefcem) caulefcens rectum, foliis iiigit- 

 tatis. Lin. Sp. i^yi^ Aru7n with an erect fialk^ and ar- 

 rc-iv-fiaped leaves^ commonly called Dumb Cane, 



iS. Arum {Auritum) caulefcens radicans, foliis terna- 

 tl3, latcralibus unilobatis. Lin. Sp. 1371. Armuvjhcfe 

 ifalks fend out roots, and trifoliate leaves. Aruni hc- 

 dcraceum triphyllum & auritum. Plum. Amer. 41. 



tab. 58. 



The [irft fort grows naturally u\ woods and on fliady 



banks ia mod parts of England, fo is feldom admit- 

 ted into gardens \ but being a medicinal plant, it is 

 iiere infcrted to introduce the other fpecies. There 

 re two varieties of this, one with plain leaves, and 

 the other hath leaves full of black fpots, but thele 

 are only accidental varieties which arife from the fame 

 is. The roots of this are ordered by the College 

 of Phyficians to be ufed in a pov/der which bears the 

 title of the plant -, but tliefe are generally gathered 

 in the ipring, when the leaves are in full vigour, fo 

 that the roots fiirink and foon lofe their pungent 

 quality ; but thole which are taken up in Auguft, 

 when their leaves decay, will continue good a whole 

 year, and retain their pungency the fame as when firft 



The not obfervin^; this, has brought the 

 medicine into difrepute. It {lowers in April, and the 

 feeds ripen in July. 



The fccond fort grows naturally in Italy, Spain, and 

 Portugal, from whence I have received the feeds. 

 The leaves of this fort rife a foot and a half high, are 

 very large, running out to a point ; thefe are finely 

 veined with white, interfperfed with black fpots, 

 which, together with the fine Ihining green of their 

 furface, make a pretty variety. The flowers grow 

 near a foot high, and have very long upright fpathas, 

 which are of a pale green, inclining to white ; thefe 

 appear the end of April, or beginning of May, and 

 the feeds are ripe in Auguft ^ this propagates very 

 fail: by offsets from the root, and will thrive in any 

 foil or fituanon. The beft time to tranfplant them 

 is foon after the feeds are ripe, for'by the end of Oc- 

 tober they will be putting out new fibres. 

 I'he third, fourth, and fitth forts have been generally 

 feparated from this genus, and were diftinguiflied by 

 tlie title of Arifarum, or Friar's Cowl, from the re- 

 femblaiKe the fiower has in fhape to the hoods or 

 cowls worn by the people of that order ; the leaves of 

 thefe have fliort foot-llalks, the flowers o-rowino- clofe 



t-^ 



akcn up 



to the ground ; they fiower in April, but feldom pro- 

 duce ieeds in England \ however they multiply fiift 

 by offsets, and Ihould have a Ihady fituation. The 

 time for tranfplanting the roots is the fame as for the 

 tonner. They are preferved in fome gardens for 

 tiie fake of variety, but have little beauty to recom- 



nieiul them. 



T1ie fixth and feventh forts grow naturally in Virgi- 

 nia and Carolina, from whence I have received their 

 'oocs ; tiieir leaves ariie immediately from the roots, 



\ 



I laving [\w\x(t any toot-ilalks \ the flowers come up be- 

 iv.i-.^n their leaves, which liave fliort foot-ftalks ; they 

 ai:)pv^ar in May, but liave little beauty, fo the plants 

 are only kept in botanic gardens for the fake of va- 

 riety. They will live in the open air, if they are 

 planred in a fliekered fituation, or if the furface of 

 the gnnind is covered with tan to keep out the froil 

 in winter, and will thrive better in the full ground 

 than in pots. They are propagated by offsets. 

 The e:y;Iuh iort is the comm.on Dragon, which is 

 uleu in medicine, and has been generally ranged in 

 a leparate genus from tliis under the title of Dracun- 



. cuius, in which genus Tournefort has ranged all thofe 

 Ipecies vdnch have compound leaves, and thofe v/ith 



^ fingle leaves he has placed under Arum. 

 This fort is uled in medicine, {o is preferved in gar- 

 dens to fupply t!ic markets : it grows naturally in moil 



ferve lon.q; in a o-arden. 



A 



of tlic fouthern parts of Europe. This plant hath a 

 large, tuberous, flefliy root, which, in the fpr:ng puts 

 up X lb*ait ilalk about three rttt high, which is'ipot- 

 ted like the belly of a fnake j at the top it fpreads 

 out into leaves, which are cut into feveral narrow 

 fegi7ients almolt to the bottom, which fpread open 

 like a hand ; at the top of the ftalk the fiower is pro- 

 duced, v/hich is in fiiape like the common Arun>, 

 having a very long fpatha of a dark purple colour, 

 fl:anding erett, with a large pifl:il of the fame colour, 

 fo that when it is in flower, it makes no unpleafin«- 

 appearance ; but the flower hath fo fl:rong a fcent of 

 carrion, that few perfons can endure it ; for which 

 reafon it hath been baniflied mofl: gardens, but v/as 

 it not for this, a few of the plants might merit a place 

 in gardens, for theoddnefs of the flower. It is very 

 hardy, fo will grow in any foil or fituation, and pro- 

 pagates very faft by offsets from the root. The time 

 to tranfplant it is in autumn, when their leaves de- 

 cay. It flovv^ers in June or July, and their flalks de- 

 cay in September. 



The ninth fort grows naturally in moift places in Vir- 

 ginia and New England, but is very difficult to pre- 



I received fome roots of this 

 from New England a fev/ years ago, v/hich continued 

 two years \ but tlie foil being dry, they decayed in 

 fummer : thefe fliould have a moifi' flnady fituation, 

 otherwife they will not thrive. - The leaves of this fort 

 are divided like thofe of the former, but are fmaller, 

 and rarely grov/ more than nine inches high •, the 

 flowers are like thofe of the common Arum, but 

 the piftil is longer than the fpatha. It flowers in June, 



•and the ftalks decay in autumn. 

 The tenth fort grows naturally in Ceylon, and fome 

 other parts of India, fo is very impatient of cold : it 

 is a plant of humble growth : the leaves come up 

 from the root, having foot-ftalks about four inches 

 long ^ thefe are divided into three lobes, which ter- 



- minate in points; the fiower rifes immediately from 

 the root, ftanding on a very lliort foot-ftaik ■, the fpa- 

 tha is long, ereft, and of a fir^e fcarlet within, as is 

 alfo the piftil. This ufually appears in May, and the 

 leaves d<^cay in Auguft, but new ones foon after rife 

 fronf the root. This plant muft be placed in the 

 tan-bed of the bark-ftove, otherwife it will not thrive 

 in England. It is propagated by ofl^sets from the 

 root, which come out in plenty when the plant 

 in health. 



The eleventh, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and 

 fixteenth forts, have mild roots, v/hich are eaten by 

 the Inhabitants of all the hot countries, where they 

 grow naturally, and fome of the forts are cultivated 

 by the inhabitants of the fugar colonies, as efculent 

 plants, 'their roots being conftantly eaten, as alfo are 

 the leaves of fome of the forts, particularly the fif- 

 teenth, which they call Indian Kale : the leaves of 

 this are boiled, and fupply the v/ant of other greens. 

 As there is a conftant fucceffion of thefe all the year, 

 afmall fpot of ground, planted with thefe roots, will 

 be fufficient to fupply a large family. It is efteemed 

 a wholfome green, and in thofe countries where many 

 of the common European vegetables are with diffi- 

 culty procured, this proves a good fuccedanum •, but 

 they feem to make little diftinftion of the fpecies, for 

 I have received t!ie roots of three forts, by the com- 

 mon title of Edder-, but I fuppofe the lourteenth fort 

 is the moft commonly cultivated there for their roots. 

 Tlie fixteendi fort has not been many years introduced 

 among them, for it came originally from the Spanifti 

 WeftTndies, where it grows in great plenty. Both 

 tliefe have lart/cr roots than the fifteenth, for v/hich 



s are 



r 



reafon they are preferred to it. 



All thefe forts are preferved in the gardens of thofe 

 n-fons, who arc curious in collefting exotic plants. 



pc 



for the variety of tlieir leaves ; their fiow^ers have very 

 little beauty, nor do they often appear in this coun- 

 try. The plants are propagated ealily by oR^sets from 

 their .roots, which tfiey put out plentifully: thefe 

 muft be planted in pots filled with light earth, and 

 plunged into a hot-bed, to promote thoir taking root v 



Z and 



