542 PART Hi. — THE CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 



Pandanvs utilis, the Screw-Pine, and other species, form thickets ia the 

 tropics, particularly on the banks of rivers. The straight woody stems, which 

 subsequently branch, give off numerous strong adventitious roots which attach 

 them to the soil, and bear crowns of large narrow liuear leaves, the margins 

 of which are frequently set with sharp spinous teeth. The tough vascular 

 bundles are used for the manufacture of fabrics. The genus Freycinetia in- 

 cludes a number of shrubs, some of which climb. Tropics of Australasia, and 

 the Malay Archipelago. 



Order 4. CYCLANTHACEiE. Plants of a palm-like habit in Southern 

 and Central America ; the diclinous flowers, which usually have a 

 perianth, are disposed on the spadix in regular spirals : ovules 

 many, parietal. 



The leaves of Carludovica palmata are applied to various purposes, e.g. 

 Panama hats are woven of them. 



Order 5. Typhace^. Flowers monoecious ; the perianth repre- 

 sented only by scales, or 0. Stamens usually 3. Ovary usually 

 monomerous, containing one ovule. Inflorescence a spadix, with- 

 out a spathe, elongated or compact. 



In Sparganium, the Bur-Reed, the inflorescences are spherical spikes wh.ich 

 are borne terminally and laterally in two rows on the upper part of the stem. 

 The lower spikes bear only 9 , and the upper only ^ flowers ; the perianth 

 consists of 3-6 scales ; stamens 3-8, free ; gynaeceum sometimes dimerous with 

 an ovule in each loculus. Sparganium simplex and ramosum are not rare in 

 ditches. 



Typha, the Eeed-Mace or Bulrush, bears its flowers on a long terminal spadix; 

 the (J flowers are borne directly on the upper and thinner portion of the main 

 axis; on the lower and thicker portion are borne the $ flowers, partly on 

 the main axis and partly on very short lateral shoots ; the perianth is rej^laced 

 by long hairs ; stamens 1-5, monadelphous. Typha angustifolia and latifolia 

 occur in bogs and wet places. 



Cohort 2. Pal males. Order 1. Palmace^. The dioecious or 

 monoecious, rarely monoclinous or polygamous, flowers are inserted, 

 with or without bracts, on the spadix or on the thick axis of a 

 spicate or paniculate inflorescence (Fig. 351) : they generally con- 

 form to the type K3, 03, AS -f- 3, G '-' : in some instances a larger 

 or a smaller number of stamens are present : anthers sometimes 

 introrse : carpels rarely more or less than 3, either free or connate ; 

 when the gynoeceum is apocai'pous, the ovary is unilocular ; when 

 syncarpous, the ovary has from one to three loculi. Each loculus 

 contains, typically, a single basal ovule ; but in trimerous ovaries, 

 two of the ovules are generally abortive : frequently not more 



