JOURNAL 
OF 
The New York Botanical Garden 
VoL. XIV November, ‘1913 No. 167 
THE AROID COLLECTION 
With Plates CKXVI and CXXVII 
The arum family, known to botanists as the Araceae, is widely 
distributed throughout the tropical world, over ninety per cent. 
of the species being found in that zone. They inhabit, in great 
part, the dense shade of the forests where the atmosphere is 
hot and charged with moisture. The remaining spectes are con- 
fined to the temperate and warm temperate regions, the cold 
zones being entirely devoid of them. There are only seven or 
eight genera in the United States, saunas about fifteen 
species. The Old World is much richer in en c forms, both 
genera and species, than the New, especially fe is region 
and tropical Africa. In the New World the endemic forms are 
found largely in the tropical Andean region. The family com- 
prises about 110 genera and perhaps 1,000 species. 
here are few genera common to both the Old World and the 
New, Homalomena, Cyrtosperma, Acorus, Spathyema, Calla, 
risaema, Pistia, and oe being examples of a common 
distribution. Such g ommon in cultivation, as Pothos, 
saad ‘Schema, Aglaonema, Alocasia, Colo- 
, Zantedeschia, Arum, and Dracunculus are 
ees ea to the oe d World; while Anthurium, Monstera, Dra- 
conttum, Philodendron, wa aa Caladium, Xanihoso 
Orontium, and Peltandra are of the New World only. 
In habit these plants are ees variable. The modest 
(Journat for October, 1913 (14: 167-180) was issued November 3, 1913] 
181 
