93 



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[arro 



quently met with in collections of Alpine 

 plants. [A. A. B.] 



ARPOPHYLLUM. Under this name are 

 collected about four species of epiphytal 

 Orchids, inhabiting Mexico and New 

 Grenada. They have slender bulb-like 

 stems, invested with stout sheaths and one 

 or two narrow leathery leaves at their tip. 

 The flowers are collected in close cylin- 

 drical spikes, are small, somewhat globose, 

 and have a rich deep crimson colour. One 

 of the species, A. cardinalis, is as much as 

 three feet high. One or two species exist 

 in gardens, where they are valued for their 

 elegant manner of growth. A. alpinum is 

 the hardiest, inhabiting Mount Totanica- 

 pan, at the elevation of 10,000 feet above 

 the sea level, where it rides on the branches 

 of the Mexican alder, in a region where 

 oaks refuse to grow. 



ARRABIDJEA. A genus of Bignoni- 

 acere, composed of about twenty South 

 American, chiefly Brazilian species, all of 

 which are climbing shrubs, having, when 

 young, pinnate or trifoliate, when old bi- 

 foliate leaves, generally furnished with 

 tendrils. The genus may be readily dis- 

 tinguished from all other Bignoniacece by 

 having by far the smallest flowers in the 

 order, the corollas being, in some in- 

 stances, only three to four lines long ; also 

 by its stamens, four of which are fertile, 

 whilst the fifth is sterile and of equal 

 i length with the rest. The calyx is cup- 

 shaped ; the corolla hypocrateriform ; the 

 fruit a dehiscent, smooth, flattened cap- 

 sule, linear in shape, and having a septum 

 placed parallel with the valves of the latter. 

 The flowers, though small, are arranged in 

 i large terminal panicles, and render the 

 Arrabidaas ornamental objects. The leaves 

 \ of several have a deep rose or purplish 

 : tint, and are used for dyes. One of these 

 ; species is A. rosea, from which a purplish 

 ! colour is extracted in the forests of Rio Ne- 

 i gro, and im ported to Europe. The doubtful 

 j Bignonia Cliica, probably also a congener, 

 I furnishes, by boiling its leaves in water, 

 j a red feculent substance, which is quickly 

 j precipitated by adding some juices of the 

 ! bark of an unknown tree, called Arayana ; 

 the Indians use it for painting their body 

 red. It is also an article of importance to 

 dyers. In nature it approaches the resins, 

 but contains some peculiar properties ; it 

 gives an orange colour to cotton. Big- 

 noniaiV) Cliica, termed ' Chica' in the Ori- 

 noco districts, is probably identical with 

 the ' Carajura.' In the Isthmus of Panama 

 it is known as ' Hojita de tenir,' and used 

 for dyeing Spanish hammocks. Silk-worms 

 fed with the leaves are stated to produce 

 red silk. ** [B. SJ 



ARRACACHA. A name applied by the 

 •natives of the northern parts of South 

 America to several kinds of plants, pos- 

 sessing tubers or tuberous roots, but, bota- 

 nically speaking, confined to a srenus of 

 umbelliferous plants allied to the hem- 

 lock. Its principal distinguishing cha- 

 racteristics are — limb of the calyx entire ; 



! petals ovate or lance-shaped, purplish, with 

 j the point bent inwards ; fruit turgid, com- 

 I pressed from side to side, wingless, sur- 

 mounted by the thickened bases of the 

 i style ; albumen curved. A. esculenta is 

 cultivated in the cooler mountainous dis- 

 tricts of Northern South America, where 

 the roots form the staple diet of the in- 

 habitants. The plant is somewhat like the 

 hemlock (Conium maculatum), but its 

 leaves are broader, its stem not spotted, 

 and its flowers are of a dingy purple co- 

 lour ; the roots are large and divided into 

 several fleshy lobes of the size of a carrot, 

 which when boiled are firm and have a 

 flavour intermediate between a chesnut 

 and a parsnip. Trials have been made to 

 cultivate the plant in this country, but 

 the climate has not been found suited 

 for it. It might be tried in some of our 

 colonies with advantage. [M. T. M.] 



The name Arracacha is also given to one 

 of the tuber-bearing species of Oxalis, 0. 

 crenata. [T. M.] 



ARRETE-B03UF. (Fr.) Ononis procur- 

 rens. 



ARRHENATHERTTM. A genus of grasses 

 of the tribe Avenacece, distinguished chiefly 

 by having two florets within the glumes, 

 the lower of which is abortive. The only 

 British species is the tall Oat-grass, A. 

 avenaceum, which in many instances forms 

 a very considerable portion of good mea- 

 dows and pastures. Although a large 

 growing species, and one which cattle ap- 

 pear to like, it is found, on being chemi- 

 cally analyzed, to be low in nutritive pro- 

 perties compared with some other kinds, 

 consequently, it is mostly cultivated as a 

 portion in mixtures of grasses, and never 

 alone as a crop. For this purpose it is use- 

 ful in assisting the weaker stemmed kinds 

 to stand upright while ripening. The few 

 species which were formally included under 

 this genus, as defined by Beauvois, will be 

 found described under the genus Avena in 

 Steudel's Synopsis. [D. M.] 



ARROCHE EPINARD. fFr.) Atriplex 



hortcnsis. — FRAISE. Blitum capitatmn. 



— POURPIER. Atriplex portulacoides. 



ARROW-GRASS. A common name for 

 Triglochin. The name Arrow-grass is also 

 applied to the Juncaginacece generally. 



ARROW-HEAD. Sagittaria sagittifolia. 



ARROW-ROOT. A pure kind of starch 

 obtained from various plants, and employed 

 for dietary and other purposes. That called 

 Bermuda or West Indian Arrow- root is ob- 

 tained from Maranta arundinacea. Brazil- 

 ian Arrow-root or Tapioca meal is obtained 

 from Manihot uMlissima. Chinese Arrow- 

 root is said to come from the tubers of 

 Nelumbium spcciosum. East Indian Arrow- 

 root is obtained from different species of 

 Curcuma. English Arrow-root is the starch 

 obtained from the tubers of the potato, 

 Solanum tuberosum. The seeds of Dion 

 edale furnish a kind of Arrow-root in Mex- 

 ico. Oswego Arrow-root is obtained in 



