AEACE.E. (arum family.) 465 



spadix slender, tapering to the obtuse apex. — Shaded rich soil on the moun- 

 tains of Georgia and North Carolina. May. — Plant 2° -3° high. Root 

 depressed. Leaflets 4' -6' long. Elowers dicecious. 



3. A. Dracontium, Schott. (Dragon-root.) Leaf solitary, pedately 

 9 - 1.3-foliate ; leaflets petioled, entire, lanceolate or oblong, acuminate ; spathe 

 tubular (green), concave and erect above, much shorter than the very slender 

 spadix. — Kich woods. March -April. — Plant l°-l^°high. Berries numer- 

 ous on the flat rachis, 1 -3-seeded. 



2. PELTANDRA, Raf. Arrow Arum. 



Spathe convolute, persistent at the base. Spadix wholly covered by the 

 monoecious flowers. Calyx and corolla none. Anther cells 5-6, embedded 

 in the thick peltate connective, opening by a terminal pore. Ovary 1 -celled, 

 with several orthotropous ovules. Berry I - 3-seeded. Seed gelatinous, with- 

 out albumen. Embryo large. Plumule conspicuous, curved. — Stemless 

 marsh herbs from a tuberous rhizoma. Leaves sagittate, with the petiole 

 sheatliing the base of the tliick scape. Fruit-clusters enclosed in the 'persist- 

 ent base of the spathe. 



1. P. uudulata, Raf. Leaves several, oblong, acute, the lobes obtuse; 

 spathe green, lanceolate, acute, convolute, longer than the cylindrical spadix ; 

 berries green, in a globose cluster, 1-seeded. — Marshes and wet places. 

 April - May. — Plant 1 ° high. Spathes 2' - 4' long. 



2. P. alba, Raf. Leaves few, oblong, acuminate, glaucous, the lobes ob- 

 tuse ; spathe oval, white, half convolute above the green persistent base, twice 

 or thrice tiie length of the spadix ; berry 1-seeded, crimson. — Sphagnous bogs 

 along the coa.st, Florida to North Carolina. May -June. — Plant 12' -15' 

 high. Leaves 3' - 5' long. Spathe 2' -3' long. 



3. PISTIA, L. 



Spathe tubular at the base, spreading above, united with the spadix. 

 Flowers few, monoecious, the upper ones stamiuate and supported by a cup- 

 shaped involucre ; the fertile solitary. Calyx and corolla none. Anther cells 

 3-8, opening transversely. Ovary 1-celled, with several erect orthotropous 

 ovules. Style thick : stigma disk-like. Berry few - many-seeded. Embryo 

 at the apex of the albumen. — Small free-floating aquatic herbs, with fibrous 

 roots, and entire clustered spreading leaves, with the flowers in their axils. 



L P. spathulata, Michx. Leaves arranged in a circle, wedge-obovate, 

 abruptly contracted into a short petiole, with the nerves projecting beneath 

 (lamelliform) ; stem copiously rooting at the joint ; spathe short-peduncled, 

 white. — In still water, East Florida, and westward. — Leaves l'-4' long. 



4. SYMPLOCARPUS, Salisb. Skunk Cabbage. 



Spathe hooded-shell-form, acuminate, fleshy, early decaying. Spadix ped un- 

 cled, globose, covered with the perfect flowers. Sepals 4, hooded, berry-like 

 in fruit. Corolla none. Stamens 4 : anthers 2-celled, opening lengthwise. 

 Ovary 1-cclled, 1-ovuled. Style pyramidal, 4-angled ; stigma minute. Berries 

 with the sepals united in a mass. Seeds globose, without albumen. Embryo 



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