80 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
The ginger lily was much admired when in bloom in the 
aroid house at the Garden last August and September. Its 
present growth and size of bloom compare favorably with 
plants seen in the tropies, being more than double the size 
of the plants grown in pots in the old greenhouses. The 
branches are five feet in length, somewhat pendant. The 
eanna-like leaves are sessile, one and one-half feet long and 
six inches wide. The flower spikes each produced upwards 
of fifty light yellow flowers conspicuous by the long projected 
filament and anther which extend beyond the erowded flow- 
ers. When mature the three-chambered pod opens by the 
splitting and folding back of the triangular lobes. The fruit 
is also notable for its coloration, the lobes and central column 
of the seed pod being orange, while the closely attached seed 
surrounding the column are dark red. The roots or rhizomes 
are similar to those of the common ginger and are said to be 
used as a substitute. 
THE AMERICAN SYCAMORE 
A notable specimen of our native sycamore (Platanus occi- 
dentalis) is growing in the vicinity of St. Louis on the old 
Grant farm, the private estate of Mr. August A. Busch. It 
is located adjacent to the Gravois Creek about 400 feet north 
of Gravois Road and about 75 feet from the Grant Road. 
This stately specimen is over 100 feet high, with a spread of 
80 feet, and the trunk measures 13 feet 6 inches in cireum- 
ference three feet from the ground. An enormous side 
branch growing from the basal portion of the trunk gives 
the tree an unusually striking shape. Unlike the syeamores 
of our city streets and parkways, which at various times 
have been pruned to desired shapes, this specimen has been 
left to the care of Nature, and with age has grown to enor- 
mous size without much regard for symmetry. Apart from 
its size, the tree is interesting from a historical standpoint, 
as it must have at one time furnished shade for General 
Ulysses 8. Grant. 
The syeamore is readily distinguished from other asso- 
ciated trees by the strange crazy-patchwork on its branches, 
which in colors of dull olive and dingy white may be seen 
from some distance in winter. Another characteristic feature 
