672 SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 



two states, one being called white ginger or uncoated ginger, and the other , 

 black ginger or coated ginger. The former is prepared from the rhizomes of 

 about a year old, which when dug up are washed, scalded, scraped and dried : 

 this kind is generally preferred. The latter is prepared from the rhizomes 

 in a somewhat similar manner, but not submitted to the scraping process. 

 The essential distinction between the two consists, therefore, in White Ginger 

 having its epidermis removed, while in Black G-inger it remains on the sur- 

 face as a shrivelled membrane. Ginger is extensively used as a condiment, 

 and also in medicine as a stimulant and stomachic internally, and ex- 

 ternally as a rubefacient. Z. Cassumnnar is supposed by some to be the 

 plant from which Cassumnnar root is obtained, but there can be but little 

 doubt that this is obtained from a species of Curcuma. (See Curcuma.) 



Natural Order 251. Marantace^. — The Maranta or Arrow- 

 root Order. — Character. — Herbaceous plants, generally with- 

 out aromatic properties. They have a close resemblance to the 

 Zlngiberaceae, Their distinctive characters are, in their more 

 irregular perianth ; in one of the lateral stamens being fertile, 

 and the other two stamens being abortive ; in the fertile stamen 

 having a petaloid filament, an entire or 2-lobed anther, one lobe 

 of which is sterile, and the anther is therefore 1-celled ; in the 

 style being petaloid or swollen ; and in the embryo not being 

 enclosed in a vitellus. 



Distribution, ^r. — Exclusively natives of tropical regions. 

 Examples of the Genera: — Maranta, Canna. There are about 

 160 species. 



Properties and Uses. — The rhizomes of some species contain 

 starch, which when extracted is extensively employed for food. 

 One species has been described as possessing aromatic and 

 stimulant properties ; this, if true, is a marked departure from 

 the general properties of the order, for one of its distinctive cha- 

 racters from Zingiberacese is usually considered to be the absence 

 of such qualities, (See Canna.) 



Canna. — One or more species of this genus yield " Tous les mois," a very 

 pure and useful starch, now lai'gely consumed in this country and elsewhere. 

 The exact species of Canna from which this starch is obtained is not 

 positively known ; it is said to be C. edulis, but it is just as probable to be 

 derived also from C. glauca and C. Achiras. A rhizome called "African 

 Turmeric," from its resemblance in appearance and properties to ordinary 

 commercial Turmeric, has been described by Dr. Daniell in the Pharma- 

 ceutical Journal. The plant producing it is said to be the Canna speciosa of 

 Roscoe. It requires further investigation. The seeds of C. indica are 

 commonly known under the name of Indian Shot, from their black colour 

 and hardness, &c. The seeds of this and other species are made use of as 

 beads. The rhizomes or tubers of some species are eaten as a vegetable. 



Maranta.— M. arundinacea.—The. rhizomes or tubers of this plant con- 

 tain a large quantity of starch, which, when extracted, constitutes West 

 Indian Arrowroot, one of the purest and best known of the amylaceous 

 substances used as food. As this arrowroot is now obtained from the 

 M. arundinacea in other parts of the world besides the West Indies, it is best 

 distinguished as Maranta Starch. It forms a very firm jelly, and is perhaps 

 the most palatable and digestible starch known. The name arrowroot was 

 originally applied to this plant from the fact of its bruised rhizomes being 

 employed by the native Indians as an ai)plication to the poisoned wounds 

 inflicted by their arrows. The name arrowroot has since been given to 

 various other starches used as food in this country and elsewhere. Af. 

 ramosissima is also used in the East Indies for obtaining arrowroot. 



