PLANTS OF BERMUDA. 87 



1. C. ugraria (Poultry-grass). Stems smooth, prostrate, rooting 

 ut the brittle joiuts, much branched and interwoven, several feet in 

 length ; leaves ovate or oblong -lanceolate, one and a half to two 

 andalialf inches long, sheath ciliate ; bracts one inch long, cordate, 

 ovate, pointed, bearing three or four flowers, on slender branched 

 stalks ; sepals pale, membranous ; petals roundish, the two upper 

 clawed and rather larger than the lower sessile one. "Distribution, 

 West Indies and Southern United States ; habitat, cultivated 

 ground, a most troublesome Aveed throughout the Islands. Flowers 

 bright blue, half-inch in diameter ; summer months. 



2. C. elegam. Stems ascending about a foot long ; leaves lanceo- 

 late, acute, bearing small ciliated auricles at the base, sheath rusty, 

 pubescent ; bract triangular, acute, margins of the base united, 

 forming a cup which contains a mucilaginous fluid; sepals very 

 delicate, upper smaller ; two upper petals wing-like, on long claws, 

 lower reduced to a minute scale ; anthers very dissimilar. Distri- 

 bution, Jamaica ; habitat, cultivated ground. Flowers very pretty, 

 bright blue with yellow stamens, an inch in diameter; summer 

 mouths, early morning only. 



Nat : Ord : 71. Morantacecc . 



Herbaceous plants with tuberous roots ; leaves large, with paralWl 

 veins from midrib to margin; flowers arising from membranous 

 bracts ; perianth very irregular in three series ; stamens three, 

 petal- like, two barren, the fertile one two-lobed and bearing half 

 an anther on one of the lobes ; ovary inferior, one to three celled. 



This order is noted for the purity of the starch contained in its 

 root-like rhizomes ; that which is obtained, under the name of 

 Ajrowroot, from Maranta anmdinacea has given to Bermuda a 

 Avorld-wide reputation. 



Arrowroot seems to grow best in deep red soil, but even that 

 appears soon to become exhausted by it. Portions of the rhizomes 

 are planted in April or are left behind from the former crop for 

 that purpose ; the stem is erect and branched, rising three or four 

 feet high, bearing large, ovate -lanceolate, entire leaves ; the white 

 flowers appear in pairs about September, and the crop is ready in 

 February. A large quantity of Avater is necessary to wash the 

 starch, and the smaller planters who manufacture their own arrow- 

 root have occasionally to leave the crop standing until the necessary 

 amount of rain falls ; should second growth commence the starch 

 deteriorates, which causes heavy loss. The tubers are first washed 

 and scraped, then rasped against a revolving grater, passed through 

 sieves to separate the fibre, and the starch cleansed by repeated 

 washing and decantation ; finally the moisture is pressed out and 

 the snow-white cake broken up and dried in the sun. Great care 

 and cleanliness are necessary in its production, and passing showers 

 have to be closely watched for during the drying stage. 



The largest manufactory is at Camden, near Hamilton, where 

 steam power is used ; but the appliances at St. David's Island are 

 of a most primitive description. 



