642 CIX. LILIACEiE [Asparagus 



3. ASPARAGUS, Linn.: Fl. Brit. Ind. vi. 314. 



■J 



Stems straggling or climbing. Minute scales, often spinescent, in the place 

 of leaves, bearing in their axils tufts of needle-like branchlets, " cladodes," 

 which have the function of 1. Fl. rarely unisexual, pedicels jointed. Perianth 

 deeply Q-M^ ovary 3-gonous, cells 2- or more ovuled. Berry globose, seeds 2-6. 

 Species 100, temperate and tropical regions of Europe, Africa and Asia. Only 

 two of the larger and more common species can here be named. 



1. A. racemosus, Willcl. ; Wight Ic t. 2056. Vern. Satrawal, Dehra Dun ; Sat-muli, 

 f^ada-hori, Hind. Subhimalayan tract and outer hills, ascending to 5,000 ft. Common 

 in most parts of India, not reported from Burma. — Ceylon, mostly in the dry region. 

 Tropical Africa. Java. Australia. A tall, much branched, rambling and climbing 

 spinous undershrub on a tuberous rootstock, prickles J in., cladodes J-l in. long, m 

 tufts of 2-6. Fl. white, fragrant, in racemes 1-4 in. long. 2. A. filicinus, Ham. Outer 

 Nortli-West Himalaya, Kashmir to Kumaon, 4-9,000 ft. Bhutan. Assam. Khasi 

 hills. Manipur. Upper Burma. — China. Erect unarmed, cladodes flat, J-J in. long, 

 in tufts of 2-5. Fl. white, single or in pairs, on long slender pedicels. 



Order OX. PALM^. Gen. ?1. iii. 870. 



Stem solid, either an underground perennial rhizome, producing flower- 

 stalks and tufts of leaves, or more commonly above ground, erect or climbing. 

 The stem above ground is in a few instances forked or sparingly branched ; as 

 a rule it is cylindric, simple and without leaf-bearing side branches. As 

 regards the surface of the trunk two great classes may be distinguished. The 

 stem of the first class is smooth and shining, annulate with raised rings (the 

 scars of the leaf- stalks), and according to the length of the internodes these 

 rings are at greater or less distance from each other. Many species of this 

 class have the 1. close together at the top of the trunk {Areca, Cocos)^ while 

 in others {Calamus) the internodes are longer, the 1. stand at some distance, 

 often occupying a considerable length of the stem. The species of the second 

 class (BorassioSj most sp. of Fhcenix) always have short internodes, and the 

 surface of the stem is covered with the persistent base of petioles or their 

 scars, which are arranged around the stem in a series of close spirals. 



The 1. of seedlings, as a rule, are undivided, while the 1. of mature plants 

 are either pinnately or palmately divided, the pinnae or segments being 

 mostly folded longitudinally, provided with numerous longitudinal nerves 

 and transverse veins, which in the dry leaf are conspicuous in many genera. 

 The petiole is always broad-based and generally amplexicaul or sheathing. 

 The L here designated as pinnate are in reality pinnatifid, the segments not 

 appearing as distinct protuberances in the young bud, but being united in the 

 youngest stage (Eichler, Palmenblatter, in Abhandlungen d. Konigl. Preuss. 

 Akademie d. Wissensch. Berlin, 1885). The pinnate L of Phoenix and other 

 genera have a more or less pronounced spiral twist. 



The inflorescence is terminal in a few species, but as a rule lateral, in the 

 axils of existing or fallen leaves. It generally is a panicle enclosed in bud by 

 large sheathing bracts (spathes), the common peduncle (spadix) being often 

 thick and sometimes woody. The species of several genera are monocarpic, 

 not only those with terminal (Coryplia) but also some with axillary in- 

 florescence (Caryota^ Arenga) the stem of which dies after the last spadix has 

 ripened its seed. The n. are usually sessile on the last ramifications 

 (spikelets) of the spadix, and they are supported by one or several bracts 

 (spathels), which are often cup-shaped or tubular. They are dicBcious, 

 monoecious, or polygamous, rarely bisexual. Calyx and corolla, as a rule, 

 consist of 3 segments or leaves each, the perianth of the fertile fi. being 

 commonly persistent in fr. Stamens 6, rarely B, 9 or numerous, anthers 

 2-oelled. Ovary 3-celled, one ovule in each cell, sometimes 3 distinct 1-celled 

 carpels. Seed with a small embryo and a large endosperm, the cells of 

 which are either filled with oil or have their walls much thickened, 



