344 NATURAL HISTORY. 



acaulescent, herbaceous ; scape covered at base with leaf- 

 like scales, above with broad, fleshy leaves, spinous on 

 the borders, five to six feet long, and eight inches wide. 

 Scape arises from the center of the mass of leaves to a 

 height of from fifteen to twenty feet, bearing a pyramidal 

 panicle; four thousand, it is said, of greenish-yellow 

 flowers, which, as soon as fully expanded, die. It is a 

 popular notion that it blooms but once in one hundred 

 years, but it is known to flower oftener. Much depends 

 on the culture it receives. In Mexico the peduncles or 

 knobs, from which the scape producing the fruit is to 

 spring, are cut off, the richly-flowing sap collected, and 

 made into the well-flavored wine called Pulque. The 

 fibrous portion of the leaves spun into thread, and manu- 

 factured into coarse fabrics, linen, sail-cloth, etc., and 

 said to be very enduring. Paper can also be made from 

 them ; the old Mexicans, in the days of their glory used 

 them for that purpose. The root contains a reddish- 

 colored bitter juice, easily extracted by spirits of wine, 

 which is used medicinally. Found growing wild on the 

 shores of the Mediterranean since the sixteenth century. 

 The Banana (Musa sapientum) is a tree-like shrub, 

 twelve to thirteen feet high ; stem consists of a sheath 

 composed of different layers like that of an onion ; crown 

 leaves eight to ten feet long and two feet broad. Distin- 

 guished by a simple perianth and five to six perfect 

 stamens. When the plant is five to six months old a 

 tuft of buds comes forth on the crown ; at the base are 

 from thirty to sixty androgynous flowers, six-staminate ; 

 at the terminal portion shoots forth a globular cone com- 

 posed of violet-colored flowers, pistillate, which secrete 

 a quantity of sweet juices. The staminate flowers hang 

 in cluster, forming each a single fruit, which gradually 



