MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 35 
‘It is around these two collections, namely, the Bernhardi 
herbarium and the Engelmann herbarium, that the her- , 
barium of the Missouri Botanical Garden has been built. © 
To these have been’ added, from time to time, some thirty 
other private herbaria, together with the current collections 
8m by gift, exchange, and purchase, each year since 
1889 to the present time. 
Thus the Garden herbarium represents a general collec- 
tion of plants in all groups illustrative of the world’s flora, 
but with a particularly large representation of the flora of 
the western and southwestern parts of the United States. 
The herbarium, as a whole, represents a period of botanical 
activity extending from the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
tury_to the present time, or about one hundred and seventy 
years, It is of especial scientific value because it contains 
plants from different parts of the world, including many of 
the older collections from which hundreds of species new to 
science have been described and numerous published floras 
have been based. The Engelmann herbarium in particular 
contains many types which are of fundamental importance 
in the study of the American flora. 
PLANTS IN THE AROID HOUSE 
This house is separated into two "eg that containing the 
collection of araceous plants, and the orchid alcoves. m 
December until April the orchid alcoves filled with the bril- 
liant coloring and odd forms of the numerous tropical orchids 
present a most striking appearance. On the opposite side 
a rockery with its cascades running into a series of irregu- 
lar pools is thickly planted with representatives of the 
Araceae recognized by their calla-lily-like spathes. The 
bright red coloring of the flowers and subsequently the seeds 
adds a pleasing touch to the large, green, and often highly 
ornamental foliage. The anthuriums, dumb-cane (Diet- 
fenbachia), spathe flower (Spathiphyllum), false ginger 
(Alpinia nutans), the roots of which are used as a substitute 
for ginger in India, rattlesnake plant_(Calathea sito tee 
Monstera deliciosa, artillery plant (Dorstenia Contrajerva), 
popping out its ripened fruit in a manner similar to orange 
when pr between the thumb and index finger, are 
some of the interesting features of this house. The concrete 
wall serves as a support for the tropical climbers, such as 
philodendrons, shingle plant (Pothos celatocaulis), Scin- 
dapsus, etc. 
Aglaonema acutispathum. Araceae. China. Y 
Aglaonema Mannii. Araceae. Tropical Asia and Africa. 
