Wes Se 
SUPPLEMENT. 
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 
By Cuaries Louis Poutarp. 
the a CHAPTER X. a 
Order Scitamineae. 
r 3 
We now reach a group occupying a much higher plane in the 
Fig. 51.—-The ianane ie Musa Sapientum. (Af- 
ter Dodge, Rept. No. 9, U. S. Dept. of Agric.) 
scale of development than any 
members of the Liliflorae. The 
. perianth is often most irregular 
in shape, and the parts show a 
closer union; often there is a 
peculiar development of all but 
one stamen into petaloid bodies 
known as staminodia. The 
Scitamineae are herbs, though 
often arborescent in appearance, 
like the banana; they have usu- 
“ally tuberous rootstocks and 
Jarge pinnately-veined leaves. 
Family Musaceae.  Ba- 
nana Family. (See Fig. 51.) 
_, A family containing four gen- 
|: era, and about 70 species, dis- 
tinguished by -having flowers 
with five-stamens. The genus 
Musa besides containing the 
. t . s » > 
‘various edible species of banana 
and plantain, includes one or 
two, as the African I. Hnscte, 
which are cultivated as orna- 
