CALLA PALUSTRIS. 



BOG-ARUM. 

 NATURAL ORDER, ARACE^ (Orontiace^ of Lindley's Vegetable Kingdom). 



Calla PALUSTRIS, L. — Spathe open and spreading, ovate, persistent; spadix oblong, entirely 

 covered with flowers ; the lower perfect and hexandrous, the upper often of stamens only ; 

 flora! envelopes none ; filaments slender ; anthers two-celled, opening lengthwise ; ovary 

 one-celled, with five to nine anatropous ovules ; stigma almost sessile ; berries (red) dis- 

 tinct, few-seeded ; seeds with a conspicuous raphe, and an embryo nearly the length of the 

 hard albumen. (Gray's Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States. See also 

 Wood's Class-Booh of Botany.) 



HE derivation of the name Calla is uncertain. Prof. 

 Wood and others believe it is from a Greek word which 

 signifies " beautiful " ; but though many of the Aroid order are 

 interesting, there are none so striking for their beauty as to 

 suggest a name specially based on that quality. Dr. Gray 

 seems to be of the same opinion, as he confines himself to say- 

 ing that Calla is " an ancient name of unknown meaninsf." 

 Some of the plants comprised in the genus were certainly known 

 by this name in very remote times ; and Dalechamp, a French 

 author of many years ago, believed it was already applied to a 

 species belonging to this family by the ancient writer Pliny. 

 Linnceus, finding it in use in connection with this plant, adopted 

 it as it now stands. If we felt inclined to hazard a mere guess 

 ourselves, we might perhaps say that, inasmuch as most of the 

 species likely to have been known to the ancients are of a peculiar 

 tint of green, the name probably originated in a word denoting 

 a' sea-green color. 



The Calla pahtstris is extremely interesting, in studying the 

 natural orders of plants, as affording a good lesson on the uncer- 



