ENDOGENOUS OR MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 485 



a midrib ; the adnate perianth irregular and triple (having a corolla 

 of two series as well as a calyx) ; fertile stamen one, on the ante- 

 rior side of the flower, free ; the fruit a three-celled capsule or 

 berry ; the seeds several : with the embryo in a little sac at one 

 extremity of the farinaceous albumen. There are, in fact, six 

 stamens in the androecium, the three exterior petaloid and forming 

 the so-called inner corolla, and two of the inner verticil are sterile. 

 Ex. Zingiber (Ginger), Amomum (Cardamon). Stimulant and 

 aromatic. Some afford a coloring matter (Turmeric). They are 

 all showy plants. 



908. Ord, Cannaceffi (the Arrowroot Family) , which are equally 

 tropical plants, differ from the preceding chiefly in the want of 

 aroma, and in having the single fertile stamen posterior, with a 

 one-celled anther. Ex. Maranta arundinacea (the Arrowroot) 

 of the West Indies ; the tubers of which are filled with pure starch. 



909. Ord, Musaceae (the Banana Family). Tropical plants, of 

 which the Banana and Plantain are the type ; distinguished by their 

 simple perianth and five or six perfect stamens. The fruit is most 

 important in the tropics ; the gigantic leaves are used in thatch- 

 ing ; and the fibres of Musa textilis yield Manilla hemp, as well 

 as a finer fibre from which a delicate linen is made. 



910. Ord, BromeliaceSB (the Pine- Apple Family) consists of Amer- 

 ican and chiefly tropical plants ; with rigid and dry channelled 

 leaves, often with a scurfy surface, a mostly adnate perianth of 

 three sepals and three petals, and six or more stamens ; the seeds 

 with mealy albumen. Ex. Ananassa, the Pine-Apple ; the fine 

 fruit of which is formed by the consolidation of the imperfect flow- 

 ers, bracts, and receptacle into a fleshy, succulent mass. Tilland- 

 sia, the Black Moss or Long Moss, which, like most Bromelias, 

 grows on the trunks and branches of trees in the warmer and hu- 

 mid parts of America, has the ovary free from the perianth. 



911. Ord, HffimodoraceJB (the Bloodwort Family) is composed of 

 perennial herbs, with fibrous roots, equitant or ensiform leaves ; 

 which, with the stems and flowers, are commonly densely clothed 

 with woolly hairs or scurf. Perianth with the tube either nearly 

 free from, or commonly adherent to, the three-celled ovary ; the 

 limb six-cleft, regular. Stamens six, or only three, with introrse 

 anthers. Style single, the stigmas standing over the dissepiments 

 of the ovary. Embryo in cartilaginous albumen. Ex. Lachnan- 

 thes (Red-Root), Lophiola. 



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