128 



ARACE/E. 



[Endogens. 



cold or temperate climates they are usually herbaceous, while in tropical countries they 

 are often arborescent and of considerable size, clinging to trees by means of their aerial 

 roots, which they protrude in abundance. In America, according to Humboldt (Dislr. 

 Otogr. 19G), their principal station is on the submontane region, between 1200 and 

 3600 feet of elevation, where the climate is temperate and rains abundant. 



An acrid principle generally pervades this Order, and exists in so high a decree 

 in some of them as to render them dangerous poisons. The most remarkable is the 

 Dumb Cane, or Dieftenbachia Seguina, a native of the West Indies and South America 

 growing to the height of a man : this plant has the property, when chewed, of swelling' 

 the tongue, and destroying the power of speech. Hooker relates an account of a 

 gardener, who " incautiously bit a piece of the Dumb Cane, when his tongue swelled to 

 such a degree that he could not move it ; he became utterly incapable of °speaking, and 

 was confined to the house for some days in the most excruciating torments." The same 

 excellent botanist adds, that it is said to impart an indelible stain to linen. P. Browne 

 states, that its stalk is employed to bring sugar to a good grain when it is too viscid, 

 and cannot be made to granulate properly by the application of lime alone ; Crvpto- 

 coryne ovata is used for the same purpose. The leaves of Colocasia esculenta excite 

 violent salivation and a burning sensation in the mouth, as I have myself experienced. 

 Milk in which the acrid root of Arum triphyllum has been boiled has been known to 

 cure consumption. DC. Notwithstanding this acridity, the flat under-ground corms, 

 called roots, and the leaves of many Arads, are harmless, and even nutritive when 

 roasted or boiled ; as for instance, those of Caladium 

 bicolor, pcecile and violaceum, Colocasia esculenta, hima- 

 lensis, antiquorum, mucronata, and others, which, under 

 the names of Cocoa root, Eddoes, and Yams, are com- 

 mon articles of food in hot countries. Nevertheless the 

 juice of Caladium bicolor is cathartic and anthelmintic. 

 Whole fields of Colocasia macrorhiza are cultivated in 

 the South Sea Islands, under the name of Tara or Kopeh 

 roots. The corms of the Arum maculatum are com- 

 monly eaten by the country people in the Isle of Port- 

 land ; they are macerated, steeped, and the powder 

 obtained from them is sent to London for sale under the 

 name of Portland Sago. They are universally culti- 

 vated in India, and known there under the names of 

 Kuchoo and Gaglee. Arum nymphaoifolium, which Dr. 

 Roxburgh considers oniy a variety of C. antiquorum, is 

 but rarely cultivated in Bengal. Arum indicum, Man- 

 kuchoo and Man-guri of the Bengalese, is a species 

 much cultivated about the huts of the natives for its 

 esculent stems and small pendulous tubers. Arum 

 campanulatuin, now Amorphophallus, 01 of the Bengal- 

 ese, and which deserves to be called the Telinga Potato, 

 is also much cultivated, especially in the Northern Cir- 

 cars, according to Dr. Roxburgh, whore it is highly 

 esteemed for the wholesomeness and nourishing quality 

 of its roots. In the Himalayas, the species which is 

 called Colocasia himalensis forms the principal portion 

 of the food of the hill-people. Royle. (Medicinally, the 

 root in its recent state is stimulant, diaphoretic, and 

 expectorant.) A similar starchy substance is yielded by 

 Xanthosoma sagittiiblia (Chou caraib), Peltandra vir- 

 Rinica, and the huge and hideous Amorphophalii of the 

 Indian Archipelago. The spadixes of some species 

 have a fetid putrid smell ; others, such as Arum cordi- 

 lolium, Italicum, and maculatum, are found to disengage 

 a sensible quantity of heat at the time when they are 

 about to expand. The emanations from Arum Dracun- 

 culua are extremely inconvenient ; when in flower they 

 produce dizziness, head-ache, and vomiting. A writer 

 in the Annals of Chemistry says that he was attacked 

 with violent head-ache and sickness after gathering 

 about 40 of the spadixes. Amorphophallus orixensis 

 having exceedingly acrid roots, is, when fresh, applied 

 i n India by the nati ves in cataplasm to excite, or bring forward tumours. Dr. 





Pig. LXX.Wtll. 



Pig. LXXXVIII.— Arum maculatum. 



