SPADICIFLORjE. 



297 



Family 3. Spadiciflorae. 



The primitive form resembles that of the preceding family. In 

 it we find the typical, perfectly developed, Monocotyledonous 

 flower, sometimes even with free carpels and with a dry or some- 

 what fleshy, but never 

 petal oid perianth ; and this 

 passes over into very differ- 

 ent forms by the suppres- 

 sion of the floral-leaves, 

 perianth and sporophylls 

 (unisexual flowers are 

 common), and by the close 

 aggregatio7i of the flowers 

 in the inflorescence. The 

 flower is hypogynoui in 

 every case. The inflores- 

 cence is a spike which 

 may be either single or 

 branched, and has often a F ia .296.-Pias 8 ava(4ttaZ e a/um/ e m). 



thick and fleshy axis (a spadix). In Palms and Araceae it is en- 

 veloped, at any rate prior to the opening of the flowers, by a very 

 Targe floral-leaf, the spathe, which may be petaloid (Figs. 297, 301). 



The fruit is most frequently fleshy (berry, drupe) or a nut, never 

 a capsule. The embryo is small, with large, fleshy endosperm 

 (Fig. 299 C) ; very rarely the endosperm is wanting. 



The numerous plants 

 belonging to this family 

 are large, herbaceous or 

 tree-like, and the leaves 

 seldom have the usual 

 Monocotyledonous form, 

 i.e. linear Avith parallel 

 venation, but most fre- 

 quently have pinnate or 

 palmate venation. 



Order 1. Palmae 

 (Palms). The majority 

 are trees with an un- 

 branched, cylindrical stem. 



FIG. 296. A portion of the stem of Attale i 

 having short internodes with persistent leaf-bases. 



