THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 79 



by leaves that flag or droop. The word flag-, therefore, can 

 not be held to belong to any one family. The irises, however, 

 usually go by this name, or some other word combined with it, 

 as blue flag, yellow flag, flag lily, etc. The cat-tails were more 

 often called flags in former days than at present. When they 

 were used between the staves of a barrel to make it water- 

 tight they were known as cooper's flags. Sweet flag also 

 comes properly by its name and com flag by which the 

 gladiolus is sometimes known is also appropriate. It may be 

 added, in passing, that our state and national flags have been 

 named from the .same word and for the same reason that the 

 plants have been. 



Spathes and Leaves. — The members of the Arum 

 family (Araceae) have been called "the composites of the 

 monocotyledons" and fairly deserve the implication for like 

 the true composites the "flower" consists of numerous true 

 flowers clustered along a main axis or spadix. Surrounding 

 these flowers there is usually a leaf-like organ or bract, which 

 in this group is called a spathe, that not only protects the 

 flowers, but by its color attracts insects to perform the work 

 of pollination. The spathe is frequently supposed to be a 

 corolla, similar to that of such plants as the morning-glory or 

 pumpkin, and where one hears a reference to calla-lily flowers 

 or Jack-in-the-pulpit flowers, it is usually the spathe and not 

 the real flowers that is meant. Morphologically both petals 

 and bracts are leaves, but the bract is much more leaf-like and 

 often makes this plain by various freaky performances. In 

 the April Guide to Nature is a photograph of some calla-lily 

 flower-clusters that through some error in treatment have be- 

 haved in this way. In these, the leaves, instead of becoming 

 green, were pure white and spathe-like, very similar to the 

 ordinary spathes surrounding the flower-cluster. Upon con- 

 sideration of the matter, it will be seen that this abnormal form 



