ENDOOENS. 47 



ebraoteate ; scape spicate-panioled with c» fls. IE. discolor, Ivs. purple 

 underneath. Panicle scarlet-stemmed, longer than Ivs. ; fls. with calyx 

 coral-red; petals purple, twisted. 4. Billb6rgia. Ova. adh. Pr. a 

 berry. Epiphytal on trees, trop. Am. Sev. spec. Lvs. harsh, rigid. 

 Pis. elegant, bluish-red or yellow, in light panicles, fragrant. Plants 

 hungonbalconies, etc., in trop. gardens. S. Bromelia. Ova. adh. Pr. 

 succulent, often with refreshing juice. Many spec. Trop. Am. Stem 

 short, with densely-packed, rigid, spiny, channelled lvs. Pis. spicate ; 

 petals convolute, erect, or spreading. Sev. spec, with very handsome 

 fls. B. pigna, lvs. furnish the fine fibre of which Fina or Pineapple 

 muslin is made. Philippine Islands. B. Pinguin (Penguin) is planted 

 as a hedge in W. Ind. ; its fruit used in fevers ; its If -fibre made into 

 hammocks. 6. Anan&ssa. Ova. adh. Pr. succulent. Plant bi- 

 ennial. Lvs. aloe-like, but thinner; spiny. Pis. bracteate, spicate on 

 a short stem ; spike ending in a crown of small spiny lvs. A., satlva, 

 Pineapple. Pr. consisting of the whole inflorescence. See Lesson 

 XXVIII., 358, Pig. 212. Lvs. furnish a fine valuable fibre. Brazil. 



Ord. 40. Scitamineae. Pleasant-Meats. — ^Pls. §■, very irreg. 

 Perianth 6-partite. Stamens 6 ; 1 or 5 antheriferous, the rest petaloid. 

 Ova. adh., 3-celled (rarely 1-2-celled). Fr. a capsule, fleshy or dry, 

 indehiscent or dehiscent. Emb. straight or bent ; perforating the peri- 

 sperm. Lvs. (usually large) with distinct petiole and blade; blade 

 with parallel veins running from midrib to margin. 3 Sub-Orders : 

 1. Musaceae ; S. Zingiberacex ; 3, Cannacese. 



Sub-Ord. 1. Musaceae. Bananas. — Perianth 2-seriate ; outer an- 

 terior segment usually very large, often carinate. Stamens 5, anthers 

 2-celled, connective appendaged ; 1 staminode petaloid. Pr. 8-celled, 

 fleshy. Sds. umbilicate, numerous, except in Helicdnia. Emb. straight. 

 Herbs, often gigantic. Ehizome sending up shoots which form spurious 

 stems enveloped by persistent bases of petioles. Lvs. alt., usually very 

 large. Pis. colored, in the axil of a colored spatha. 5 gen. ; about 20 

 species. Tropics, both worlds. 



1. Ravenala Tnadagascariensis (Urania speciosa), Travellbb's 

 Tkbb. Palra-like stem built up of the sheaths of petioles ; lvs. im- 

 mense, diverging on opposite sides of the upper part of the stem, and 

 storing up quantities of delicious water in their cup-like sheaths. Pis. 

 closely crowded in the axils of large spathas, which are 2-rowed on 

 terminal flower-stalks. Fr. a woodj' capsule ; sds. with a, fine ultra- 

 marine blue aril. Madagascar. 2. Phenacospermum. Similar to 

 Eaven^a, but smaller; and sds. with a funiculus which breaks up into 

 tow, concealing them. Trop. Am. 3. Strelitzia. Lvs. long-petioled, 

 large, glaucous, from a contracted stem. Flower-stalk with a large 

 oblique spatha, and gorgeous fls. Several fine species. Cape of Good 

 Hope. S. regince has fls. with bright orange sepals and bright purple 

 petals. S. juncea has rush-like petioles ; the leaf-blades suppressed. 

 4. Mvisa. Herbaceous. Fls. grouped in the axils of large, richly- 

 colored spathas, and borne on a large nodding spike. Lvs. large, ob- 

 long, their sheaths making a stem sometimes 30° high. Fr. a long, 

 indehiscent, many-seeded, fleshy capsule; sds. often abortive through 

 cultivation. Tropics of Old World, but transported to America before 

 its discovery by Europeans. M. pnradisiaca. Plantain. Pig. 60. 

 M. sapientum. Banana. M. textilis furnishes Manilla Hemp; 

 Philippine Islands. Sev. other species, all useful. 5. Heliconia. 



