FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 63 
are of economic value. Zingiber officinale, of the East Indies, furn- 
ishes ginger; the roots of several species of Curcuma and Alpinia 
yield well-known drugs; and the seeds of ileltaria Cardamomum, 
cardamon. Many species are cultivated as ornamental hot house 
exotics. 
Family Cannaceae. Canna Family. Contains a single genus, 
Canna, with about 30 species and innumerable garden varieties. The 
flowers in Canna are very asymmetrical; there is a single fertile 
stamen, with a petaloid appendage, and what appear to be four showy 
perianth divisions, being external, narrow and inconspicuous. The 
Canna is one of our best known and most popular of garden 
plants, the wonderful improvements made by M. Crozy and other 
French horticulturists in the size and coloration of the flower having 
brought it to the front rank of garden favorites. 
Family Marantaceae. Arrowroot Family. Twelve genera and 
about 160 species, all tropical and mostly South American. They are 
distinguished from the related families of this order by the stalked 
leaves, which have a joint-like swelling just below the blade; by the 
inconspicuous flowers, and by the four seeded capsule. The structure. 
of the flower is similar to that in Canna, except in the form of the in- 
ner staminodia. Many species are cultivated for their handsome 
brightly colored foliage. The rootstock of Maranta arwndinacea 
(See Fig. 52) yields arrowroot. 
CHAPTER XI. 
Order Microspermae. 
This order, embracing the most highly differentiated types of the 
Monocotyledons, is characterized by the extreme irregularity of floral 
structure, and more complex union of parts. The name is derived 
from the multitude of minute seeds that are produced, only. a small 
portion of which succeed in germinating. 
Family Burmanniaceae. Burmannia Family. These interesting 
little plants are distributed in about ten genera and 60 species. They 
are tropical, with the exception of Burmannia and Apteria, which 
reach the southern borders of the Gulf States. The plants are small, 
delicate herbs, with slender, wiry stems bearing scales in place of 
leaves and one or more small blue or white flowers at the summit. 
The perianth is united into a single piece, and its tube is united with 
