182. ARACL\E. 



FAM, 132. ARACEiE. 



Herbs of very varied size, more rarely shrubby and then usually 

 scandent, ver}^ frequently tuberous or rhizomatous with annual 

 shoots, very rarely aquatic, usually quite glabrous and somewhat 

 succulent. Tissues often with latex -tubes or raphides. Leaves 

 usualh^ rather fleshy, simple, lobed or palmately or pedately divided 

 with generally palmate or pedate principal venation and frequently 

 intermediate venation reticulate or of parallel arches ; in the tuberous 

 species solitar}' or few radical and sometimes appearing at a different 

 season to the flowers, in the caulescent species distichous or spiral ; 

 membranous sheaths usually present at base of the petiole or peduncle. 

 rioAvers small to minute, crowded on a simple fleshy spadix \sith 

 green or coloured spathe, rarely few (only one female fl. on spadix in 

 the aquatic genus Pistia), 2-sexual or usually monoecious with the 

 male and fern. infl. on different parts of the same spadix. very rarely 

 dioecious. Spadix often produced beyond the flowers into an 

 ''appendix.'' Perianth or inferior, cupular or of 4-8 segments. 

 Anthers in hermaphrodite fls. 4-8, in monoecious fls. 1-many, often 

 united into sj'nandria and connective usually overtopping the cells. 

 Ovary entire, most rarely lobed, 1-many-celled, Style or various. 

 Ovules 1 or several in each cell, basal, parietal or apical, rarely central ; 

 orthotropous or anatropous. Fruits mostly baccate, distinct or 

 confluent. Seeds 1 to many with usually copious albumen (0 in 

 Pothos) and axile embryo. 



I. Flowers 2-sexua] :— 



Ovary 



A. I'eriantli present. Stem often elongate. Raphides 0: — 

 Scandent. Perianth 6-phyllous. Ovary 3-celled, 



cells 1-ovuled 



Caudex erect. Perianth 2-phyllous. Ovary 2-celled, 

 cells 1-2-ovuled. Spathe often coloured 



B. Perianth 0. Scandent shrul:)s with abundant raphides : — 

 Ovary 2-celled. Ovules 2-seriate. Berries manj^- 



seeded 



Ovary 2-celled, cells with 2 basilar ovules 



Ovary 1- celled with 1 basilar ovule . 



C. Perianth present. Erect prickly marsh herbs. 



i -celled 



Flowers l-sexual, monoecious (dioecious iu some Ariscema). 



Perianth : — 

 A. Terrestrial with large leaves : — 



1. Caulescent (a thickened rootstock only in Zante- 

 degchia) or scandent, sometimes shrubby. Leaves 

 many. Stamens free or, if sy nandrous, then fem. fl. 

 with staminodes. Garden plants : — 



a. Female tls. with.S-5 staminodes : — 



L. oblong or ovate-oblong, variegated. Stoutly- 

 caulescent. Ovary 2-3-celled and -lobed . 



L. sagittate. Spathe large, pure white (Arum 

 Lily; 



b. Fem. fl. without staminodes (exc. some Aglao- 



nema) -. — 

 L. often variegated. M. fl. of 2 stamens. Ovarj- 



1- rarely 2-celled, cells with 1 anatropous ovule . 

 Suffruticose. L. sometimes pinnatifid. M. fl. of 



2-G stamens. Ovary 2-more-celled. several- 



ovuled . . . ' 



L Pothos. 



Authurhim 



(p. 858). 



2. Ithap1iidopho7'a. 

 2Ionstera 



(p. 859). 



3. Sciudapsus. 



i. Lasia. 



Dieffeyihachia 



(p 8G0). 



Zantedeschia 



(p. 860). 



Aghionema 



(p. 860). 



Fhilodendron 



(p. 860). 



85G 



