52 ARKOWEOOT FAMILY 



to the cultivated carinas, are very peculiar in their ir- 

 regularity as the filaments of the stamens are broader 

 and more petal-like than the narrow petals, and one stamen 

 only, and that on its extreme margin, bears an anther with 

 the necessary pollen. 



Canna flaccida. Flowers yellow, showy, very irregular, 

 tubular below, 3-4 in. long. Sepals 3, 1 in. long. Petals 3, 

 narrow. Stamen filaments broad, petal-like, spreading. 

 Style petal-like, thickish. Capsule bristly, about 2 in. long. 

 Flowers in raceme terminating leafy stem 2-5 ft. tall. Leaves 

 9-20 in. long. Swamps, chiefly near the coast. Blooming in 

 spring and summer. Fla. to S. C. 



ARROWROOT FAMILY (Marmtaceae) 



Plants of low grounds. Stems reed-like. Leaves large. Flow- 

 ers purple, irregular, in panicles. Fruit a capsule. 



Thalia (Genus Thalia) 



Large, long-stalked thalia leaves are an ornamental 

 feature of swamp borders in spring, appearing several 

 weeks before the reed-like flowering-stem opens its panicle 

 of many purple blossoms. 



There is but one fertile stamen in the peculiarly irregu- 

 lar flowers, and only one-half of the anther bears pollen; 

 the sterile stamens are petal-like, and one is strangely 

 transformed into a broad lip. 



The plants are tropical in appearance, and are sometimes 

 cultivated. They belong to the botanical order Scitaminae, 

 which includes the banana, canna, and ginger families, 

 whose peculiar flowers may be studied in many Florida 

 gardens, the ginger family being represented by shell- 

 flower, Alpinia; butterfly lily, Hedychium; cardamon, and 

 other plants. 



Thalia dealbata. Flowers purple, very irregular, about ^/^ 

 in. long, many, in panicle terminating flowering-stem 3-6 ft. 



