Ohdbb 139.— MARANTAOE^ 691 



formed to a fountain.) Perianth somewhat ringent ; sepals and petals 

 cohering at the base ; lip spurless, adnatc to the column at base, de- 

 flected at the end, and bearded inside ; pollinia 4, angular. — St. low, 

 sheathed, 1-flowcred, arising from a corm or bulb imbedded in moss. 

 A. bulbosa L. This beautiful and interesting plant is found in wet meadows and 

 swamps, Can. to Va. W. to Wis. Stem 6 — 12' higb, invested witli about 3 long, 

 loose sheaths, with lanceolate points, the upper ones rarely at length produced 

 into a short linear-spatulate leaf. At the top is a single, large, fragrant flower of 

 a rich purplo color. At the base of the flower is a small spathe of 2 unequal 

 bracts. June. 



19. EPIDEN'DRUffl, Swartz. Tkeb Orchi?. (Gr. em, upon, Sev- 

 (Jpov, a tree.) Sepals and petals spreading; lip united with tlio col- 

 umn and forming a tube which is sometimes decurrent on the ovary ; 

 anther terminal, opercular; pollinia 4, separated by complete, persistent 

 partitions, and each narrowed at base into a reflexed, ela.stic pedicel. 

 — Epiphytic plants, vegetating in air and the scanty soil lodged in tho 

 bark of trees. Sts. few-leaved at base, naked and many-flowered above, 

 E. oonopseum H. K. Sts. tufted, 2-leaved simple; Ivs. coriaceous, oblong-lan- 

 ceolate, acute or mucronate, sessile; fls. 3 to 7, apicate, erect, yellow; lip 3-lobed, 

 middle lobe obcordate, spreading as well as the narrow-linear, obtuse petals. — 

 Cliiefly on the Magnolia grandiflora, in damp woods, low country, S. Car. to Fla. 

 and farther West. Root an entangled mas^ of thick fibers. Sts. in clusters, 6 to 

 8' high. Lvs. 1' to 18" long. Fls. expanding 4 or 6", tinged with purple. 

 Aug., Sept. • 



Order CXXXIX. MARANTACE^. Arroworts. 



Serbs with a creeping rhizome, sheathing petioles, and ample leaves, with par- 

 allel veins diverging from the midveiu. Fls. with spathaceous bracts. Perianth 

 adherent, irregular, of 3 circles, each of 3 parts, tho inner often abortive. Slamms 

 3, potaloid, 2 sterile, the 3d fertile, lateral, v.'ith only half an anther. Ovary infe- 

 rior, 1 to 3-celled. Seeds albuminous, embryo not in a sac (vitellus). 



Genera C, species 16G, cliiefly found in the ti-opics. They are rem,irkable, as an order, for the 

 abundance of pure starch contained in the rhizomes of many species, constituting tho ^enulnti 

 arrow root of commerce. This is chiefly obtained from Marnnia ammdinaeea and nohilis. It 

 Indies, and M. rainosisftima^ W. Indies. Bomo are cultivated for ornament. 



1. THA'LIA, L. (Named for John Thalius, a German physician and 

 author.) Flowers contained in a 2-leavcd, glume-like spathe ; calyx 3- 

 sepaled, small, concave, lance-ovate ; corolla 6-parted, the 3 outer seg- 

 ments equal, 3 inner very unequal ; stamen 2-parted, the outer segment 

 petaloid, inner slender, bearing the 1-celled, ovate (half) anther ; stylo 

 short, twisted, with a large, lip-shaped stigma; fruit capsulai', thin, with 

 1 or 2 large seeds; embryo recurved. — 71 Lvs. with long sheaths. 

 Scape paniculate. 



T. dealbata Rosooe. Lvs. ovate-lanceolato, acute and revolute at apex, rounded 

 at base, petiole distinct, much shorter than its sheath ; scape and panicle pow- 

 dered ; spathe of 2 very unequal lvs., 2-fiowered, but usually 1-fruited, pilous ; 

 pericarp membranous, inclosing 1 large, farinaceous seed, in which the slender 

 embryo lies distinct, bent double. — A tall, elegant plant, in marshes, S. Car. (Cur- 

 tis) to Fla. Abundant in the Chattahoochee R. near Apalachicola. Scape slender, 

 3 to 5 to 7f! high, bearing a large, forking panicle, with several lance-linear, de- 

 ciduous bracts. Lvs. 9 to 14' by 4 to 8', often Eubcordat-e. Fls. purple, half con- 

 cealed in the bracts. 



2. CANNA, L. Indian Shot. (Derivation doubtful.) Calyx of 3 

 sepals, persistent on the fruit; corolla C-parted, with unequal segments, 



