MARANTACEiE. 637 



only one fertile. Filament petaloid, either entire or 2-lobed, one of the lobes bearing the 

 anther on its edge ; anther 1-celled, with a longitudinal dehiscence. Pollen round. 

 Ovary 1 — 3-celled ; ovules solitary, erect and campylotropal, or numeroils, and anatropal ; 

 style petaloid, or swollen ; stigma either the mere naked end of the style, or hollow, cu- 

 cullate and incurved. Fruit capsular. Seeds round, exarillate. 



These are all herbaceous, tropical plants, wholly destitute of aroma. Their 

 rhizomes are mostly tuberous, and abound in fecula. In their leaves, inflo- 

 rescence, and habit, they closely resemble the species of the last order. The 

 greater part of them are found in tropical America and Africa ; some are na- 

 tives of the East Indies. 



Maranta . — Linn. 



Corolla unequal, one of the inner segments lip-like. Stamens petaloid, one fertile, with 

 the anther on its edge. Style cucullate, adhering to the edge of the sterile filament. 

 Ovary 3-celled, smooth ; ovules solitary. Fruit even, dry, 1-seeded. 



The species are caulescent plants, with succulent roots or rhizomes ; the 

 stems are often dichotomously branched. One species is officinal. 



M. arundinacea, Linn. — Root perennial, fibrous, with numerous fusiform, succulent, 

 pendulous tubers. Stem much branched, slender, tumid at the joints, covered with fine 

 hair. Leaves alternate, with long, leafy, hairy sheaths, ovate, lanceolate, a little hairy 

 beneath, pale-green. Panicles terminal, lax, spreading, with long, linear, sheathing 

 bracts. Calyx green, smooth. Corolla small, white. Ovary hairy. Fruit mealy, glo- 

 bular, with three obsolete angles. 



Linn., Sp. PL 2 ; Redoute, Liliac. t. 57 ; Lindley, Fl. Med. 569. 



This species seems originally to have been a native of Dominica, whence 

 it was carried to Barbadoes, and afterwards to the other islands, being now 

 cultivated in the whole group. It affords the fecula known as West Indian 

 or Bermuda Arrow-root. This is prepared by washing the tubers, and beat- 

 ing them to a pulp, which is thrown into a vessel of water. The whole is 

 well stirred, and the fibrous portions separated and rejected. The fluid is 

 then strained and permitted to rest, when the fecula subsides ; this, after 

 being well washed and drained, is dried in the sun. 



Good arrow-root is white, and without a marked taste or odour. It is 

 usually in the form of a light, opaque powder (see fig. 39), and is nutritive, 

 emollient, and demulcent, and hence is much employed as a diet for invalids 

 and children. There are a variety of feculas, of analogous characters, procured 

 from different plants (see Introduction, p. 40). Aublet states that in Guiana 

 people eat the root of this plant, when roasted, as a cure for intermittent 

 fevers (Guiane, 3). It is said to derive its English name from having been 

 considered as an antidote to the effects of wounds from poisoned arrows. 



Some other species of the genus likewise afford a good fecula. Thus, M. 

 allouya, of Cayenne and St. Domingo, is said to be equal to the officinal 

 kind. The roots are eaten, when roasted, as a substitute for potatoes. M. 

 indica yields an abundant product ; this is a native of the East Indies, and is 

 said by M. Tussac to be a species distinct from M. arundi?iacea, and dis- 

 tinguished by the leaves being smooth on both sides ; but a more recent exa- 

 mination of it by Wickstrom has shown it to be only a variety (Pereira, ii. 

 149). The roots of M. nobilis of the West Indies, and M. ramosissima of 

 India, also abound in a nutritious starch. 



Canna.— Xiww. 

 Corolla unequal, variable in the number of its parts, scarcely lip-shaped in any one of 



