ORDER 139. MARANTACE^E. 691 



formed to a fountain.) Perianth somewhat ringent; sepals and petals 

 cohering at the base ; lip spurless, adnato to the column at base, de- 

 flected at the end, and bearded inside ; pollinia 4, angular. St. low, 

 sheathed, 1 -flowered, arising from a conn or bulb imbedded in moss. 

 A. bulbosa L. This beautiful and interesting plant is found in wet meadows and 

 swamps, Can. to Va. W. to Wis. Stem 6 12' high, invested with about 3 long, 

 loose sheaths, with lanceolate points, the upper ones rarely at length produced 

 into a short linear-spatulate leaf. At the top is a single, large, fragrant flower of 

 a rich purple color. At the base of the flower is a small spathe of 2 unequal 

 bracts. June. 



19. EPIDEN'DRUM, Swartz. TREE ORCHIP. (Gr. em, upon, dev- 

 dpov, a tree.) Sepals and petals spreading; lip united with the col- 

 umn and forming a tube which is sometimes dccurrent on the ovary ; 

 anther terminal, opercular ; pollinia 4, separated by complete, persistent 

 partitions, and each narrowed at base into a reflexed, elastic pedicel. 

 Epiphytic plants, vegetating in air and the scanty soil lodged in the 

 bark of trees. Sts. few-leaved at base, naked and many-flowered above. 



E. conopseum II. K. Sts. tufted, 2-leaved simple ; Ivs. coriaceous, oblong-lan- 

 ceolate, acute or mucronate, sessile ; Us. 3 to 7, spicate, erect, yellow ; lip 3-lobed, 

 middle loba obcordate, spreading as well as the narrow-linear, obtuse petals. 

 Chiefly on the Magnolia grandiflora, in damp woods, low country, S. Car. to Fla. 

 and farther West. Root an entangled mass of thick fibers. Sts. in clusters, 5 to 

 8' high. Lvs. 1' to 18" long. Fls. expanding 5 or G", tinged with purple. 

 Aug., Sept. 



ORDER CXXXIX. MARANTACE^E. ARROWORTS. 



Herbs with a creeping rhizome, sheathing petioles, and ample leaves, with par- 

 allel veins diverging from tho midveiu. Fls. with spathaceous bracts. Perianth 

 adherent, irregular, of 3 circles, each of 3 parts, tho inner often abortive. Stamens 

 3, petaloid, 2 sterile, the 3d fertile, lateral, with only half an anther. Ovary infe- 

 rior, 1 to 3-celled. Seeds albuminous, embryo not in a sac (vitellus). 



Genera C, species 166, chiefly found in the tropics. They are remarkable, us an order, for the 

 abundance of pure starch contained in the rhizomes of many species, constituting the penuino 

 arrow root of commerce. This is chiefly obtained from Marnntd arundinacea and iiobiliaf E. 

 Indies, and J/. ramonisnima, W. Indies. Some are cultivated for ornament. 



1. THA^LIA, L. (Named for John Thalius, a German physician and 

 author.) Flowers contained in a 2-leavecl, glume-like spathc ; calyx 3- 

 sepaled, small, concave, lance-ovate ; corolla 6-parted, the 3 outer seg- 

 ments equal, 3 inner very unequal ; stamen 2-parted, the outer segment 

 petaloid, inner slender, bearing the 1-cclled, ovate (half) anther; style 

 short, twisted, with a large, lip-shaped stigma ; fruit capsular, thin, with 

 1 or 2 large seeds; embryo recurved. 2 Lvs. with long sheaths. 

 Scape paniculate. 



T. dealbata Roscoe. Lvs. ovate-lanceolate, acute and revolute at apex, rounded 

 at base, petiole distinct, much shorter than its sheath ; scape and panicle pow- 

 dered ; Bpathe of 2 very unequal Ivs., 2-flowered, but usually 1-fruited, pilous ; 

 pericarp membranous, inclosing 1 large, farinaceous seed, in which the slender 

 embryo lies distinct, bent double. A tall, elegant plant, in marshes, S. Car. (Cur- 

 tis) to Fla. Abundant in the Chattahoochee R. near Apalachicola. Scape slender, 

 3 to 5 to 7f! high, bearing a large, forking panicle, with several lance-linear, de- 

 ciduous bracts. Lvs. 9 to 14' by 4 to 8', often subcordate. Fls. purple, hah" con- 

 cealed in the bracts. 



2. CANNA, L. INDIAN SHOT. (Derivation doubtful.) Calyx of 3 

 sepals, persistent on the fruit ; corolla G-parted, with unequal segments, 



