696 BROMELIACE#. 
capsular, dehiscing loculicidally, or succulent and indehiscent, 
3-celled. Seeds usually numerous, rarely 3, with mealy albumen ; 
embryo not enclosed in a vitellus. 
Distribution and Numbers.—Generaliy diffused throughout 
tropical and sub-tropical regions. Illustrative Genera :—Musa, 
Tourn.; Ravenala, Adans. There are about 20 species. 
Properties and Uses.—The fruits of some species and varieties 
form important articles of food in tropical regions. Others 
yield valuable textile materials; and the large leaves of many 
are used for various purposes, such as to form a kind of cloth, 
and as thatching for cottages, &c. Theseeds and fruits of others 
are used as dyeing agents in some countries. 
Musa.—The fruits of some species, as those of MZ. paradisiaca, the Plan- 
tain, and M, sapientum, the Banana, of both of which there are numerous 
varieties, are well known as important articles of food in many tropical 
regions. They owe their value in this respect chiefly to the presence of 
starch and sugar, but they also contain some nitrogenous substances. Dr. 
Shier states that a new Plantain walk will yield 17 ewt. of starch per acre, 
According to Humboldt, the produce of Bananas to that of Wheat is as 133 
to ], and to that of Potatoes as 44 to 1. Some of the finer varieties are 
also used as dessert fruits in this country and elsewhere. The expressed 
juice is in some parts made into a fermented liquor. The fibrous materials 
obtained from the spurious stems and flower-stalks of the different species 
of Musa may be used for textile fabrics and in paper-making. ‘The fibres 
from Musa tertilis constitute the Manila Hemp of commerce. From the 
finer fibres of this plant the celebrated Indian muslins are manufactured. 
The young shoots of the Banana and other species of Musa when boiled are 
eaten as a vegetable; and the large leaves are used for various domestic 
purposes. The young leaves of the Banana and Plantain are also in common 
use in India for ‘dressing blistered surfaces. 
Ravenala speciosa has been called the Water-tree and Trayeller’s tree 
on account of its large sheathing petioles storing up water. Its seeds are 
edible. 
Order 4. BRoMELIACEA, the Bromelia Order.—Charac- 
ter.—Herbs or somewhat woodu plants, commonly epiphytical. 
Leaves persistent, crowded, channelled, rigid, sheathing at the 
base, and frequently scurfy and with spiny margins. lowers 
showy. Perianth regular, superior, or nearly or quite inferior, 
arranged in two whorls, the outer of which has its parts com- 
monly united into a tube; and the inner has its parts distinct, 
imbricate, and of a different colour to those of the outer whorl. 
Stamens 6; anthers introrse. Ovary 3-celled ; style 1. Frwit cap- 
sular or indehiscent (fig. 292). Seeds numerous ; embryo minute, 
at the base of mealy albumen, with the radicle next the hilum. 
Distribution and Numbers.—They are mostly found in the 
tropical regions of America, West Africa, and the East Indies. 
They appear to have been originally natives of America and the 
adjoining islands, but are now naturalised in West Africa and 
the East Indies. Illustrative Genera :—Ananassa, Lindl.; Til- 
landsia, Linn. There are about 180 species. 
Properties and Uses.—They are chiefly important for yielding 
