122 XANTHOSOMA SAGITTIFOLIA,^ — ARROW-LEAVED SPOONFLOWER. 



only place of nativity; while it is but rarely thought of by 

 any European writer in connection with the United States. It 

 is also believed to be a native of China, where it is extensively 

 cultivated. 



Our plant is quite closely allied to a very common garden 

 plant, — Caladium esculcnhun, — the " Tanyah " of the Southern 

 States ; and the tuberous roots of both are of equal value. In 

 a raw state, the roots of Xanthosoma, like those of most of the 

 AracccF, are extremely acrid, and blister the mouth when brought 

 into contact with it ; but this acridity is driven out by heat, and 

 when the roots are cooked, they are very mealy and agreeable, 

 and said to be almost precisely like those of Caladiu77i. In 

 China, we are told, the leaves also are used, cut and boiled like 

 our spinach, and they are said to be an excellent vegetable when 

 prepared in this way. It may be well to observe, for the benefit 

 of those who may desire to cultivate the plant in our country 

 for culinary purposes, that, judging by its probable central home, 

 it is not likely to endure any frost ; but the roots can, no doubt, 

 be preserved in the winter in any dry place where the ther- 

 mometer does not fall much below forty-five degrees, although, 

 like the Caladmm, it seems naturally to be at home in wet, 

 marshy, or springy places. 



To most of our readers, however, the edibility of our 

 plant will be but an incident. Its chief interest will be in 

 its beauty, and the botanical lessons which it affords. The 

 resemblance between it and the common Calla Lily, Richardia 

 y^thiopica, of our gardens, is seen at a glance, and it gives the 

 general appearance of being something between that and the 

 Caladium before referred to. The last named has the flowers 

 low down, scarcely rising above the bulb; while the Calla 

 Lily sends them above the leaves. Our plant has them 

 about of equal height with the leaves, nearly in the position 

 shown in the plate. The shape of the leaves, and at the first 

 glance also the flowers, remind us strongly of our common 

 garden plant. Indeed, the differences in most of the genera of 



