WILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS. 2\ 



These moisture-loving plants are chiefly to be found in rich, black, 

 swampy mould, beneath the shade of trees and rank herbage, near 

 creeks and damp places, in or about the forest. 



The sheath that envelopes and protects the spadix, or central column 

 which supports the clustered flowers and fruit, is an incurved membra- 

 naceous hood, of a pale green colour, beautifully striped with dark purple 

 or brownish-purple. The flowers are inconspicuous, hidden at the base 

 of the scape by the sheath. They are of two kinds, the sterile and fertile, 

 the former, placed above the latter, consisting of whorls of four or more 

 stamens, and two to four-celled anthers, the fertile or fruit-bearing 

 flowers, of one-celled ovaries. The fruit, when ripe, is bright scarlet, 

 clustered round the lower part of the round, fleshy, scape. As the 

 berries ripen, the hood, or sheath, withers and shrivels away to admit 

 the ripening rays of heat and light to the fruit. 



The root of the Indian Turnip consists of a round, wrinkled, fleshy 

 corm, sometimes over two inches in diameter; from this rises the simple- 

 scape or stem of the plant, which is sheathed by the base of the leaves. 

 These are on long naked stalks, divided into three ovate pointed leaflets, 

 waved at the edges. 



The jiiices, pf the Indian Turnip are hot, acrid, and of a poisonous 

 quality, but can be rendered useful. and harmless by the action of heat ; 

 the roots roasted in the fire are no longer poisonous. The Indian 

 herbalists use the Indian Turnip in medicine as a remedy in violent 

 colic, long experience having taught them in what manner to employ 

 this dangerous root. 



The ArisKma belongs to the natural order AracecF, most plants of 

 which contain an acrid poison, yet under proper care they can be made 

 valuable articles of food. Among these we may mention the roots of 

 Colocosia inucronatiim, and others, which, under the more familiar names 

 of Eddoes and Yams, are in common use in tropical countries. (Lindley.) 



The juice of ^. triphylluiii, our Indian Turnip, has been used boiled 

 in milk, as a remedy for consumption. 



Portland Sago is prepared from a larger species, Arum iimciilah(//i, 

 Spotted Arum The corm, or root, yields a fine, white, starchy powder, 

 similar to Arrow-root, and is prepared much in the same way as Potato 

 starch. The pulp, after being ground or pounded, is thrown into clean 

 water and stirred ; after settling, the water is poured off, and the white 

 sediment is again submitted to the same process until it becomes quite 

 pure and is then dried. A pound of this starch may be made from a peck 

 of the roots. The roots should be dried in sand before using. Thus 

 purified and divested of its poisonous qualities, the powder so procured 



