ARALES. 123 



Alliance VIII. ARALES. — The Aral Alliance. 



Diagnosis. — Unisexual petaloid or naked floxoered endoc/ens, tvith a simple naked spadix, 

 and an embryo in the axis of mealy or fleshy albumen. 

 It is here that we find the lowest structure known among flowering plants. Lemna, in 

 the Lemiiod order, has a lenticular frond, in a cleft of whose edge lui'k a couple of 

 flowers, one $ and the other $ , enclosed m a membranous bag. Tn Pistia, of the same 

 Lemnod order, the leaves are separated from the stem, the flowers are more separated, 

 and the $ has the beginnmg of a calyx. In Ambrosinia, also associated with Lemna, a 

 complete bearded spathe is formed, and the $ is of a more comphcated sti'uctm'e. From 

 these plants we pass into the Arads, with naked flowers growing hi dense spikes or 

 spadixes, and they lead, on the one hand to the palm-like Screw Pines, and on the other 

 to the sedgy Tj^jhads, by means of wMch, especially the former, a commmiication is 

 effected with the princely Palms. By another transition, into the Orontiaceae of herma- 

 phrodite hypogjTious Endogens, a passage is formed into Lilyworts on the one hand 

 and Peppers on the other. In fact, as I stated long since, theAral al'.iance, and more 

 especially the Araceous order, is the centre of a large system whose rays pierce very 

 remote parts of the vegetable kingdom. Tlirough Lemna this alliance passes into the 

 Hydral by way of the Naiads. The Spadiciflorce of modem botanists, or SpadicicarptB 

 of Blume (Rumphia 2. 74) are nearly the same plants, except that Meisner includes 

 Palms among them, to wliich there seems some objection. 



Natural Orders of Arals. 

 Flowers 2 or 3, of tcMch one only is $ . Spadix 0. Ovary one-celled. Ipjc-TiArFi^ 



(hides erect. Embryo slit ....... J 



Flowers 00, oro a naked spadix. Calyx scaly (/r hairy. Anthers with "1 



lonfj filaments. Ovule solitary, pendulotcs. Seed adherent to the V Tvphace.e. 



pericarp. Embryo slit J 



Flowers 00, naked, on a solitary spjadix covered by a sinr/le hooded \ /. 



spathe. Anthers sessile. Seed loose. Embryo slit, axile . . J 

 Flowers 00, naked or scaly, on a spadix covered by many spathes. Anthers \ p ..„ .. 



stalked. Seeds loose. Embryo solid, minute ....]'' 



