: 
Tas. 5948. 
PHILODENDRON rusro-runcratum. 
Native of Brazil. 
Nat. Ord. Arorpex.—Tribe, Pu1LopENDREz. 
Genus PHILODENDRON ; (Schott. Prod. Syst. Aroid., p. 219). 
» 
PmLopenpron (Polytomium) rubro-punctatum ; acaulis, foliis numerosis 
petiolo 2-3 pedali costa longiore dorso cylindrico facie angusto an- 
gulis obtusis, lamina 2-pedali ambitu ex ovato-cordato sagittata sinu 
angusto fere clauso ad medium pinnatifida, lobis consimilibus curvis 
approximatis obtusis terminali brevi acuto, lobis in auriculis posticis 
5-6 infimis brevioribus, costa in sinu nuda, pedunculis brevissimis, 
spatha 5-6 pollicari, tubo obovoideo ex albo virescente lamina, oblongo- 
cymbiformi cuspidata alba punctis sanguineis remotis conspersa, 
spadicis parte feeminea 3-pollicari basi postice spathe adnata, masculo 
duplo longiore pallide sulphureo, ovariis albis 5-locularibus loculis 
multi-ovulatis, stigmate 5-lobo lobis hemisphericis, antheris brevibus, 
No task of its kind is more difficult than that of naming 
_ tropical Aroids; they are very numerous, belong to a great 
many genera, not all of them readily distinguishable without 
complete materials, and no private establishment can afford 
the means of cultivating plants occupying so great a space, 
and requiring so much heat. Collections of Aroids are hence 
pretty nearly confined to Royal Establishments and Botanic 
Gardens. When grouped as they are in the Aroid House at 
Kew, they serve more than perhaps any other family of the 
vegetable kingdom, to convey some just idea of the rich 
luxuriance, strange and varied forms, deep hues,and glossy ever- 
green character of a tropical jungle. Second only to Kew is, (and 
has been from the days of its late Director, Dr. Schott) the 
Magnificent Aroid Houses of the Imperial Palace of Schen- 
brunn near Vienna, whence, indeed, Kew derived many of 
its treasures. Upwards of one hundred and thirty species of 
Philodendron are described in Schott’s “ Monograph of Aroidez, 
FEBRUARY Ist, 1872. 
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