104 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS March, 1909 
size, and as a consequence suffer very much 
harm in more ways than one. In the mat- 
ter of wind damage there is no tropical tree 
which is more grievous a victim. Any 
visitor to a banana plantation knows that 
after a fairly fresh breeze the leaves of the 
trees are simply shredded into ribbons and 
the foliage otherwise torn and bruised. But 
to make up for this serious deficiency the 
banana is one of those plants gifted with 
the power of most remarkably rapid 
growth. It is said that these leaves will 
extend upward at the rate of ten inches or 
even more in a single night, and it will 
thus be seen that it does not take very long 
for the banana to make good any damage 
which it may have sustained. Indeed the 
vigor evidenced in the Musa tribe is one of 
the most extraordinary things in the whole 
plant world, when it is remembered that 
throughout the whole of its existence the 
tree does not cease to bear flower and fruit. 
One can well pardon the popular fancy 
which has dubbed the Gunnera a giant pie- 
plant. With its long stems and ample 
leaves, it looks very much like the humble 
species of our gardens, but on what a pro- 
digious scale! A tall man standing by a 
well grown example of Gunnera is quite be- 
littled, and yet this tremendous growth is 
made in a few short months. Most of the 
Gunneras are semi-aquatic in habit, and all 
are indigenous to the American continent, 
and in many ways it must be admitted that 
their size and habit render them fit to rank 
with the wonders of the earth. But in 
addition to the fact that these plants grow 
quickly, an examination of their foliage will 
show that their leaves, big as they are, can 
not come to much harm. ‘The general tex- 
ture of the great organs is tough, and the 
cells are so arranged that evaporation of 
moisture will not go on at an undue rate. 
Moreover, by a nice adjustment, unless the 
plant is almost growing with the roots in 
water, it will not develop leaves of the 
largest size. The stem bearing aloft the 
huge leaf is hard and fibrous, unusually 
strong for one which is not at all woody. 
In fact the whole appearance of the Gun- 
nera gives an impression of robustness and 
strength which is not often present in spe- 
cies of its class. In passing, it may be men- 
tioned that these plants are of easy culture, 
and should appeal to the gardener on ac- 
count of the great effect which a few 
specimens will give. 
Many of the Aroidee are most interest- 
ing plants on account of the size of the 
foliage which they produce. Some of the 
members of a large genus (Anthurium), 
commonly grown under glass as foliage 
plants, develop very big leaves even under 
artificial conditions. A species known as 
A. brownii not infrequently produces leaves 
as much as four or even five feet in length. 
The leaves of these species are of sub- 
stantial texture and peculiarly well pro- 
tected against damage from wind. It is 
The single leaf of the South African elephant’s ear is beautifully curved and ribbed interesting to observe the manner in which 
It ba, 
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aT LPT 
