34 



HENDEKSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



ART 



Artillery Plant. See Pilea aerpillifolia and 

 P. herniaricefolia. 



Artocarpa'ceae. A group of apetalous trees, 

 not unlike the Plane-trees of Europe ; but for 

 the most part inhabiting the tropics. They 

 abound in a milky juice, and have, for the most 

 part, their female flowers collected into fleshy 

 masses or heads. Moreover, they have great 

 sheathing, convolute stipules, like those of a 

 Fig-tree. This natural order presents strange 

 anomalies : the invaluable Bread-fruit tree of 

 the tropics, the useful Cow-tree of Caraccas, 

 and the virulent poison of the Upas-tree of 

 Java, side by side. The more important 

 genera are Artocarpus and Antiarte. 



Artoca'rpus. Bread Fruit. From artos, bread, 

 and carpos, fruit ; the fruit baked resembles 

 bread. Nat. Ord. Artocarpacece. 



A. incisa, the Bread-fruit, originally found 

 in the southeastern parts of Asia and the 

 islands of the Pacific, though now intro- 

 duced into the West Indies and South Amer- 

 ica, is one of the most interesting as well as 

 singular productions of the vegetable king- 

 dom. The Bread-fruit is a beautiful as well 

 as a useful tree. The trunk rises to the 

 height of about forty feet, and, in a full-grown 

 tree, is from twelve to fifteen inches in diam- 

 eter ; the branches come out in a horizontal 

 manner, the lower ones about ten feet from 

 the ground, and they become shorter and 

 shorter until they reach the top, giving the 

 tree an appearance of perfect symmetry. The 

 leaves are of a lively green, divided into seven 

 or nine lobes, from eighteen inches to two feet 

 long. The fruit is about nine inches long, 

 heart-shaped, of a greenish color, and marked 

 with hexagonal warts in clusters. The pulp 

 is white, partly farinaceous and partly fibrous; 

 but when quite ripe it becomes yellow and 

 juicy. The Bread-fruit furnishes the chief 

 sustenance of the inhabitants of the Society 

 and South Sea Islands, and is used to a con- 

 siderable extent in the West Indies. It is 

 usually cut into pieces, and roasted or baked 

 in ovens on the ground heated by hot stones. 



Arum. From aron; supposed to be an ancient 

 Egyptian word. Nat. Ord. Aroidece. 



There are several interesting species con- 

 tained in this genus which may be accounted 

 pretty additions to the collections of the hot- 

 house and green-house, though the flowers 

 possess a disagreeable odor. In contrast with 

 the other species is A. Palestinum, that has 

 flowers of deep crimson, with a delicious fra- 

 grance not unlike the Violet. In shape it 

 resembles the Calla Lily, Richardia ^thiopica ; 

 in fact, when it was introduced, in 1876, into 

 the United States, it was under the name of 

 "Crimson Calla." Numerous offsets are 

 annually produced, by which the species are 

 extended. A. Sanctum, the Black Calla, a late 

 introduction (1887) from the Holy Land, is 

 described as "producing large, sweet-scented 

 flowers, rising above the leaves on a slender 

 but vigorous stalk, of a brown-red color at the 

 lower part and green at the upper end. The 

 spathe is from fourteen to eighteen inches 

 long and four inches wide, of a brilliant dark 

 purple color and green underneath. The 

 spadix is about ten inches long, velvet-like, 

 and quite black. The whole plant is most 

 stately and elegant in appearance." A. Dra- 

 cunculua, the Dragon Arum, deserves a place 



ASA 



in the flower garden forits large, very remark- 

 able flowers. This species requires the same 

 treatment as the Gladiolus. The roots of all 

 this natural order, when green, contain a 

 milky fluid, which is exceedingly acrid, 

 exciting a painful sensation of burning heat 

 in the tongue and mouth. When cut in slices 

 and applied to the skin, it will very quickly 

 produce a blister. This same active principle 

 is not confined to the roots of the various 

 genera and species, but is found in the leaves 

 as well. A piece of the Calla leaf, not larger 

 than a pin's head, if taken into the mouth, will 

 produce violent and painful burnings. Some 

 of the species yield an excellent quality of 

 Arrow-root. 



Arum Lily. Richardia ^thiopica. 

 Spotted Leaved. Richardia maculata. 

 Yellow. Richardia hastata. 



Arundina'ria. An alteration of the word Arundo, 

 to which this genus may be compared in refer- 

 ence to its large size. Nat. Ord. Graminacece. 

 A genus of grasses of a shrubby or arbo- 

 rescent nature, with strong-jointed stems, 

 resembling those of the Bamboo cane. They 

 are mostly from the warmer parts of the globe, 

 and in some instances attain a great size. A. 

 falcata is one of the hardiest kinds, and is 

 very ornamental in the sub-tropical garden. 

 This species will endure the winter without 

 protection, from Washington, southward. A. 

 Schomburgkii, a native of Guiana, is an import- 

 ant species. The canes grow sixteen feet high, 

 with a diameter at the base of from twelve to 

 eighteen inches. It is this plant that chiefly 

 furnishes the native Indians with the tubes 

 from which they blow their poisonous arrows, 

 which act with such fatal effect on their vic- 

 tims. A. gigantea and A. tecta, two species 

 found in the Southern and Western States, 

 from Florida to Indiana, form canes from ten 

 to twenty feet high and are now much used 

 by florists for plant stakes, the toughest 

 and best of which come from Indiana. 



Aru'ndo. Reed. A word of doubtful deriva- 

 tion, perhaps from the Latin word arundo, a 

 reed. Nat. Ord. Graminacece. 



A. Donax is a splendid Bamboo-looking reed, 

 rather tender in severe winters, but which, if 

 the season be favorable, will grow, in rich soil 

 kept moist, to the height of ten or twelve feet 

 in one year, producing a fine oriental appear- 

 ance when standing singly on a lawn or near 

 water. This variety is a native of Southern 

 Europe, introduced in 1648, and for many 

 years has been an inmate of our flower gar- 

 dens. A. Donax variegata, a variety with 

 leaves beautifully striped in different colors, 

 similar to those of the commos Ribbon-grass 

 of our gardens, is one of the most beautiful 

 plants for the sub-tropical garden. It re- 

 quires, however, the protection of the green- 

 house during winter in our Northern States. 

 It is propagated by division of the roots, and 

 will succeed in ordinary garden soil. 



Asafce'tida plant. Narthex asaf&tida. 

 Asafce'tida plant, Persian. Ferula Persica. 



Asaraba'cca. A common name for Asarum 

 Europceum. 



A'sanim. Wild Ginger. From a, private, and 

 saron, feminine ; the application of the term 

 unexplained. -Nat. Ord. Aristolochiacece. 



