BANANA FAMILY. 413 



acute, 1° long ; raceme lax, simple or forked, the bracts small and obtuse, 

 green; sepals very small (j^' long), oblong and greenish; petals lanceo- 

 late, about 1' long, pale green ; staniinodia oblanceolate and pale yellow, 

 2' or less long, the lip linear, notched, pale yellow, not spotted. 



C. Warscewiczii, Dietr. Stem glabrous, 3°-4o high, light purple ; 

 leaves purple-brown, oblong and acute, 1^*^ or less long ; raceme simple 

 and rather dense, the bracts ovate, brown and very glaucous ; sepals 

 oblong-lanceolate, small, glaucous; petals lanceolate, red-tinged and 

 glaucous, 2' long ; staniinodia (sometimes 3) oblanceolate, 3' or less long, 

 sometimes obscurely notched, bright scarlet, the lip plain bright scarlet, 

 and distinctly notched. 



C. specidsa, Koscoe. Stem 5°-6° high, green and glabrous ; leaves green, 

 hroad-obhing and acute, the lowermost often 2^^ long; panicle deeply 

 forked ; sepals lanceolate and pale red ; petals 2' long, lanceolate, pale 

 red ; staniinodia notched, bright red, 3' long, the lip also notched at the 

 apex, and bright reddish-yellow. Himalayas. 



C. discolor., Lindl. Stem 5°-10° high, glabrous and glaucous, pui-ple; 

 leaves broad, oblong and acute, claret-brown, the lowermost sometimes 

 3° long ; panicle deeply forked, the bracts oi'bicular ; sepals small, lance- 

 olate and green ; petals lanceolate, pale green ; staminodia oblanceolate 

 and entire, bright red, 2h° long ; lip lanceolate and notched, brick-red. 



* * Corolla tube 2' or more Jong; upper staminodia 3, clawed; Up 



orbicular. 



C. flaccida, Salisb. Wild in swamps, S. Car., S. ; 20-4° high, with 

 ovate-lanceolate, pointed leaves, and yellow flowers 3'-4' long ; all the 

 inner divisions obovate and wavy, lax, the 3 corolla lobes reflexed. 



* * * Corolla tube as long as the blades of the staminodia ; flowers large 



and pendulous. 



C. iridiflbra, Ruiz. & Fav. Stem 6°-10° high, green ; leaves oblong, 

 slightly pubescent beneath, bright green ; panicle composed of several 

 drooping racemes ; sepals I'long, lanceolate, green ; corolla lobes lance- 

 olate, red-brown ; staminodia 3, somewhat longer than the corolla lobes, 

 bright red, the lip of the same color and notched. 



C. EhemAnni of gardens is a hybrid of this and probably C. Warsce- 

 wiczii. The modern race of dwarf and Crozy "flowering" Cannas is 

 mostly sprung from this garden form again crossed, the red-flowered ones 

 being mainly hybrids of C. Ehemanni and C. Warscewiczii, and the yel- 

 low-flowtTcd ones largely of C. Ehemanni and C. glauca. 



C. liliiflbra, Warsc. Similar to C. iridiflm-a in habit, but the flowers 

 white and fragrant. Not yet common, but it will undoubtedly play an 

 important part in ganlen forms in the future. 



5. MUSA, BANANA, PLANTAIN. {Anlonius Musa, physician to 



Augustus.) 



M. Sapientum, Linn. TJanana. Cult, for foliage and for the well- 

 known fruit ; the enwrapping bases of the huge leaves forming a sort of 

 tree-like, succulent stem, 10'^-20° high ; the flower stalk rising through 

 the center, and developing a drooping spike, the flowers clustered in tlie 

 axil of its purplish bracts; berry oblong, by long cultivation (from off- 

 .shoots) seedless. (Lessons, Fig. 71.) 



M. Cavendishii, Lamb. A dwarf species, flowering at a few feet in 

 luiLilii, is more manageable in greenhouses ; leaves 2'^-;*.'^ long. China. 



M. Ensete, (iniel. Now very popular among.st gaidener.s, much used 

 for planting out in summer; leaves nearly erect, lU'-'-l(5" long and 3°-4'^ 

 wide, bright green, with a stout crimson midrib ; stem 10°-2b'^ high and 

 becoming very thick. Abyssinia. 



