ORDER 139. MARANTACEJE. 691 



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

 cohering at the base ; lip spurless, adnate to the column at basop 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 612' 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. TRUE ORCHID. (Gr. e, upon, dev- 

 'j a tree.) Sepals and petals spreading ; lip united with the col- 

 umn and forming a tube -which is sometimes decurrent 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 H. K. Sts. tufted, 2-leaved simple; Ivs. coriaceous, oblong-lan- 

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

 middle lobe 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 TTest. Boot an entangled mass of thick fibers. Sts. hi clusters, 6 to 

 8' high. Lvs. 1' to 18" long. Fls. expanding 5 or 6", tinged with purple. 

 Aug., Sept. 



ORDER CXXIX. MARANTACEJS. ARROWORTS. 



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

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

 adherent, irregular, of 3 circles, each of 3 parts, the 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 6. fpecifs 166, chiefly found in the tropics. They are remarkable, as an order, for the 

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

 r.rrow root of commerce. This is chiefly obtained from Maranta arnndinacea and nobilis. E. 

 Indies, and J/". ramosi&rima, "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-leaved, glume-like spathe ; 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 -celled, 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 ; spathe 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 hi the Chattahoochee R. near Apalachicnla. Scape slender, 

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

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

 cealed in the bracts. 



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

 sepals, persistent on the fruit ; corolla 6-parted, with unequal segments, 



