285 



the Andes, Pothos pedatus and P. quinquenervius rise to the height of 8400 

 feet. 



Properties. A principle of acridity generally pervades this tribe, and ex- 

 ists in so high a degree in some of them as to render them dangerous poisons. 

 The most remarkable is the Dumb Cane, or Caladium Seguinum, a native of 

 the West Indies and South America, growing to the height of a man : this 

 plant has the power, when chewed, of swelling the tongue and destroying the 

 power of speech. Dr. Hooker relates an account of a gardener, who " incau- 

 tiously bit a piece of the Dumb Cane, when his tongue swelled to such a de- 

 gree that he could not move it ; he became utterly incapable of speaking, and 

 was confined to the house for some days in the most excruciating torments." 

 Exot. Bot. 1. The same excellent botanist adds, that it is said to impart an 

 indelible stain to linen. P. Browne states that its stalk is employed to bring 

 sugar to a good grain when it is too viscid, and cannot be made to granulate 

 properly by the application of lime alone ; Arum ovatum is used for the same 

 purpose. The leaves of Arum esculentum excite violent salivation and a 

 burning sensation in the fauces, as I have myself experienced. The fresh 

 leaves of Dracontium pertusum are employed by the Indians of Demerara as 

 vesicatories or rubefiants in cases of dropsy. Milk in which the acrid root 

 of Arum triphjdlum has been boiled has been known to cure consumption. 

 Dec. Notwithstanding this acridity, the flat under-ground stems, called roots, 

 and the leaves of many Aroidere, are harmless, and even nutritive when roasted 

 or boiled, as, for instance, the roots of Arum esculentum, Colocasia, mucrona- 

 tum, violaceum, and others, which under the names of Cocoa root, Eddoes, 

 and Yams, are common articles of food in hot countries. The roots (cormi) 

 of the Arum maculatum are commonly eaten by the country people in the Isle 

 of Portland : they are macerated, steeped, and the powder obtained from them 

 is sent to London for sale under the name of Portland Sago. Enc. of PI. 

 800. Medicinally, the root in its recent state is stimulant, diaphoretic, and ex- 

 pectorant. The root and seeds of the Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetida, 

 are powerful antispasmodics ; they are are also expectorants, and useful in 

 phthisical coughs. They have considerable reputation in North America as 

 palliatives in paroxysms of asthma. Barton. 1. 130. The prepared root of 

 Dracontium polyphyllum is supposed in India to possess antispasmodic virtues, 

 and is considered a valuable remedy in asthma ; it is also used in hemorrhoids. 

 Jlinslie, 2. 50. The root of the Labaria plant of Demerara, which is proba- 

 bly the same thing, is thought by the Indians to be an antidote to the bite of 

 serpents. Ed. N. Ph. Journ., June 1830, p. 169. The root of Acorus cala- 

 mus is aromatic and stimulant. The seeds of Orontium aquaticum and Arum 

 sagittifolium are acrid, but become eatable by roasting. The spadixes of some 

 species have a fetid putrid smell; others, such as Arum cordifolium, Italicum, 

 and maculatum, are said to disengage a sensible quantity of heat at the time 

 when they are about to expand. Agardh considers that the acrid principle, 

 which, notwithstanding its fugacity, has been lately obtained pure, is no doubt 

 of great power as a stimulant. Aph. 133. 



The following are the principal natural divisions of this order : 

 I. Flowers diclinous. Perianthium wanting. 

 Aroideoe verae, Broivn Prodr. 335. (1810.) 

 Examples. Arum, Caladium. 



II. Flowers monoclinous. Perianthium present. 

 Orontiacese, Brown Prodr. 337. (1810). — Acoroidea;, Agardh Jlph. 133. 

 (1822.) 

 Examples. Dracontium, Pothos, Gymnostachys, Acorus, 



