1 



:VMYLUM MARANTyE. 



6:^9 



^l0n0ratpUi)0U0. 



CANNACE^. 



AMYLUM MARANTiE. 



Arroturoot 



Botanical Origin — Maranta arundinacea,'^ L. — An herbaceous 

 branching plant, 4 to G feet high, with ovate lanceolate, puberulous or 

 nearly glabrous leaves, and small Avhite flowers, solitary or in lax 



racemes. 



Mex 



Passinsr 



to Brazil, and of the West Indian Islands ; and under the slightly dif- 

 ferent form known as M. indica Tussac, it occurs in Bengal, Java and 

 the Philippines. This Asiatic variety is now found in the West Indies 

 and Tropical America, but apparently as an introduced plant." 



History 

 over some earb 



Herbe aux flech_^, ^. _. ^_ _, 



we find in Sloane's catalogue of Jamaica plants (169G), Canna Indica 

 ^^^dice alba alcxipharmaca. ""' ' ' ' ^" ^-~t\ .,„„ „.„o c-^,.+ 



thence to Barbadoes and 



as 



subsequently to Jamaica, it being, says Sloane, 

 " venj much esteemed for its alexipUarmach qualities" It was observed, 

 ne adds, that the native Indians used the root of the plant with success 



agamst 

 'the 2^0 i 



t the poison of their arrows, "by only mashing and applying it to 

 iso7i'd ivounds " : and further, that it cures the poison of the man- 



{Hij 



stops "a begun gcmgreen. 



irtiies of 



even 



Patrick Browne (1756) notices the reputed alexipharmic 

 ^fa}xtnta, which was then cultivated in many ^^ardcns ni Jamaica, and 



j,^ Fig. in Benfcley and Trimen's Ifed 

 i Units, part 23 (1877). 



(M accept the opinion of Kornicke 



\^^omgmphim Marantaccarum Frodromv.^, 

 ^jfU. de la Soc, imp. ties NatiiraUdes de 

 -'{o^cou^ XXXV. 1862, i.) that Maranta arinu 

 «'"acm L. and il/. indica Tus3. are one 

 ^nu tlie same species. Grisebach maintains 

 ^'^em as distinct [Flora of the BrltUh West 

 Jnutan Islands, 1S64, 605), allowing both 

 JO l^e nativea of Tropical America ; but he 

 jaiis to point out any important character 

 oy which they may be distinguished from 



each other. According to Miquel {Lwnaa, 

 xviii. 1844. 71) the plant in the herbarium 

 of Linnaeus labelled M, arumllnacea, is M, 

 indica. We have ourselves made arrowroot 

 from tiie fresh rhizomes of M. arundhiacm, 

 in order to compare it with an authentic 

 specimen obtained in Java from M. indirai 

 no difference could be found between them. 

 3 Sloane, CafaL plant, qucein ins. Jamaica 

 sponte provenimt, vd vnhjb colnntnry Loud. 

 1G9C. 122; sAso JlisL of Jamaica, L (1707) 



) 



253. 



