430 



(8) M. Pabadisiaca. (Linn.J 



Ident. Spreng. syst. I. p. 833. 



Syn. M. Bapientum, Roxl. I. c. p. 663. 



Mngram. Eoxb. Cor. III. t. 276.— Rheede Mai. I. t. 12, 13, 14. 

 — Eumph. Amb. I, t. 60. 



Spec. ' Chab. Spadix drooping, spathes ovate, deciduous, smooth, 

 ■erimeon inside, 6 or. 8 of those nearest the spadis ; embracing a 

 double row of female-hermaphrodite flowers, the rest expanding in 

 succession embracing the male-hermaphrodite onesj always de- 

 ciduous : outer sepal unequally 6-toothed at the apex, inner 

 one smaller, both deeply concave, emarginate at the apex, 

 incurved and ensiform at the point: ovaiy oblong, 3-ceUed, with 

 4 — 6 rows of ovules in each cell : style cylindric : stigma 3-lobed, 

 large, clammy: fruit oblong, tapering to each end, 5-ribbed, 

 3-celled, partitigns soft and pulpy : seeds numerous, round, turbi- 

 nate, tubercled. 



Forests of Chittagong. The common cultivated plantain is a 

 variety of this species. 



ORDER CLXXI. MARANTACEiE. 



Calyx 3-sepaled: corolla tubular, irregular, 2-wliorled, 

 outer whorl B-parted, nearly equal, inner one very irregular, 

 one of the lateral segments usuaiUy coloured, dissimilar to the 

 rest : stamens 3, distract, one ' lateral, one fertile : filament 

 petaloid, entire or 2-lobed, 1 lobe antheriferous.: anther 

 1 -celled, opening lengthways: ovary 1 — 3-celled, ovules 

 solitary, erect, and campylotropal, or numerous, anatropal 

 and attached to the axis of each cell : style petaloid : stigma 

 hollow, hooded, curved inwards : fruit a capsule : seeds round 

 exarillate : albumen hard : embryo straight, naked : radicle 

 next the hilum. — Herbs, not aromatic: rhizome usually 

 tuberous, abounding in starch: stem often branched: leaves 

 simple, sheathing, with a single mid-rib: flowers on spikes, 

 racemes or. panicles, terminal or radical, proceeding from 

 among spathaceous bracts, usually in pairs. 



