Order 131.— ARACE^E. 



667 



thick, obtuse ; berry globular. — Woods along the coasfj, Ga. and Fla. (scarce N. 

 to the Capo Fear R.). One specimen in the street, front of the P. 0., Charleston. 

 Caudex 20 to 50f high, usually enlarged upwards, and rugged above with tho 

 split bases of tho old leaf-stalks. The majestic leaves are all terminal, from 1 bud, 

 and 6 to lOf long. Spadix from the same bud, which in early spring is tender 

 and nutritious like the cabbage. The use of tho leaves in hat-work, &c, i3 well 

 known. Jn., JL (Chamaerops, Mx.) 



2 S. Adinsoni Guernsent. Dwarf Palmetto. Caudex prostrate ; lvs. rigid, 

 gliucous; petioles slwrter, naked; spadix strict, glabrous, branchlets remote-flow- 

 ered ; style thick, obtuse, scarcely shorter than the petals ; bsrry depressed-globous. 

 — In low, sandy swamps, along the coast, Neuse river to the Apalachicola, &c., 

 often in wide patches. Spadix slender, about as high (3 to 4f) as the leaves. A 

 compound branch issues from each alternate sheath. Fls. numerous, 1J" long, 

 calyx half as long. Berry bluish black, 3" diam. Jn. — Aug. (S. pumila Walt.) 



3 S. scrrulata R. & S. Caudex creeping ; petioles aculeate-serrate ; lamina flabel- 

 iform, 10-12-cleft; spadix thick, flexuous, branchlets densely greyisli pubescent; 

 style very slender, subulate ; berry oblong-ovoid. — Flat pino barrens, S. Car. to 

 Fla., common. The prostrate rhizomes attain a diam. of 4 to C, creeping many 

 feet. Leaves 2 or 3fJ in dense masses, affording nice shelter for rattlesnakes 1 

 Sheaths of the spadix long (2 — 3'), loose. Fls. rather close on tho branchlets, 

 2^ ' long, calyx ^ as long, stylo single, tapering to a setaceous point. Berry dark 

 blue, 5' diam. JL, Aug. 



/3. minima. Every way smaller ; lv3. about 7 -cleft. — E. Fla. (S. min. Nutt) 



2. CHAM^E'ROPS, L. Blue Palmetto. (Gr^a^a/, on the ground, 

 ^hjt/', a bush.) Fls. polygamo-dioecious, sessile or short pedicellate ; 

 calyx 3- parted, cor. (inner perianth) 3-pctaled, valvate in bud; stam. G 

 or 9 ; iil. connate at base, anth. oblong or linear-oblong, cordate; ova- 

 ries 3, distinct, stigmas 3, sessile, subulate, berries 3, or by abortion 

 fewer, 1-sccded. — Palms acaulescent. Lvs. palmately many-cleft, segm. 

 split r.t apex with no intervening threads. Petioles aculeate at base 

 and edge. Spadix dense-flowered, fls. yellowish. 



C. Hystriz Fraser. Caudex low, making offsets at baso ; petioles spiny ia 

 the axils; spadix very short; drupes ovoid, apex oblique, rather large, hirsute. — 

 In clayey soils around Savanna]), to Fla. . Caudex creeping, becoming several 

 inches in diam. lu tho axils of tho sheathing leaf-stalk is a thick, matted, brown, 

 canvas-liko stipule, and rigid, sharp, needle-shaped spines 3 to 6' long. Spadix 

 enclosed in tho radical sheaths, bearing a dense mas3 of hairy, brown drupes 6" 

 ia length. Jn. — Aug. 



Order CXXXI. ARACEjE. Aroids. 



Herbs with a creeping rhizome or corm, and an acrid or pungent juico, with tho 

 leaves simple or compound, often veiny, and the /lowers mostly diclinous and naked. 

 Inflorescence a spadix, dense-flowered, naked or 

 mostly surrounded with a large spathe. Perianth 

 none, or of 4 to G scales. Stamens hypogynous, 

 with ovate-extrorse anthers. Ovary free, stigma 

 sessile. Fruit baccate or dry, seeds albuminous, 

 embryo axial. Fig. 91, 201. 



Genera 46, species 240. abundant in tropical regions, moro 

 rare in temperate, 0110 only, Call* palustris, extending to the 

 northern frigid zone. 



Properties. An acrid, volatile principle pervades the 

 order, which is, in some instances, so concentrated as to 

 become poisonous. The corms and rhizomas abound also in 

 »taroh, which in some cases when the volatile acridity is ex- 

 pelled in drying or covking, is edible and nutricious, as ia 

 Colocasia. ie. 



Fig. 709. Calla palustris, its Bpathe. spadix and flowers. 

 b. One of the flowers, consisting of an ovary surrounded by 

 *ix stamens, c, Cross section of the ovary. 



