07 



specimens of it will be found in the collection. At maturity the 

 stem of this plant attains a diameter of about one foot and a 

 height of thirty feet. The bases of the petioles of the leaves 

 are dilated and firmly imbricated over each other. The inner 

 substance of the petioles is divided into small chambers or cells 

 filled with a clear watery sap which makes a refreshing drink ; it 

 is from this circumstance that it has received the name of the 

 traveler's-tree. In its native land the stems are used for the 

 floors of houses ; they are cut in half lengthwise and placed with 

 the convex side up, in which position the rounded surface soon 

 flattens out and becomes very hard, making an excellent floor. 



A group of plants belonging to the arrow-root family, Mar- 

 antaceae, will be found in the corner with the banana family. 



Calathea ovnata and C. zebrina, and Stromanthe sanguined. In 

 the same corner are some large plants of the pineapple family, 

 Bromeliaceae ; among them a fine plant of Pitcairnia corallina, 

 a native of Colombia, which bears long racemes of coral-red 

 flowers which hang out over the tub. 



On the column to the right, in the banana group, is a plant of 

 Allamanda Hcndersoni, Henderson's allamanda, from Brazil. 

 This blooms very freely, and when in full bloom is most attrac- 

 tive, being laden with large yellow flowers. It belongs to the 

 dogbane family, Apocynaceae. On the next column is a plant 

 belonging to the potato family, Solanaceae. This is Wendland's 

 solanum, Solanum Wendlandii, from Costa Rica. It bears showy 

 bunches of large blue flowers, resembling at a distance those of 

 the wistaria. Plants of the coffee tree, Coffea arabica, will be 

 found near by. This belongs to the madderwort family, Rubia- 

 ceae. The white flowers are followed by the red berries which 

 contain two seeds each, these being the coffee beans of com- 

 merce. In the opposite corner is a group of the genus Ficus, 

 forming part of the mulberry family, Moraceae. To this be- 

 longs Ficus elastica, of tropical Asia, a large tree of which will 

 be found near the center of this house. An interesting member 

 is Ficus Roxburghiana, from India, which bears its flowers and 

 fruit in large bunches near the base of the tree. 



