264 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



tanicum, native of Portugal, and represented in North 

 America by Ceratiola ericoides, a heath-like shrub 4 to 6 

 feet high, and in South America by Oakesia. 



The relationship of the following families has not been 

 well ascertained. 



The Pitcher-leaf Family. 



(Nepenthace^.) 



Fruticuls (generally climbing) with alternate sessile leaves, 

 the lower part fiat, from a few to 18 inches in length, 

 and 2 to 6 inches in width ; the apex suddenly contracted 

 into a tendril or hook, bearing an appendage in the form 

 of a pitcher or vase furnished with a lid, which is at 

 first closed but ultimately opens as though by a hinge. 

 The vase varies in size from 2 to 12 inches in length, and 

 from 1 to 6 inches in diameter, and contains a natural fluid. 

 Flowers dioecious, in terminal racemes. Fruit a many- 

 seeded capsule. 



Natives of Ceylon, Malacca, Java, Borneo, and other 

 eastern islands. The number of species does not probably 

 exceed a dozen, eight of which have been introduced and 

 grown at Kew. 



Pitcher-plant {Nepenthes distillatoria), a native of Cey- 

 lon, has long been known in the hothouses of this 

 country. It sometimes attains a great length ; a plant at 

 Kew attained the length of between 30 and 40 feet. 

 During the last twenty years other species have been intro- 

 duced, one of the finest being N. Hafflesiana, a native of 

 Singapore and Java. It has large fine crested pitchers, 

 but is now far surpassed in size by JV. Bajah, a native of 

 Borneo, the pitchers of which are 12 inches in length and 

 6 inches in diameter, holding nearly a quart of water. 

 Many of the pitchers bear an exact resemblance to a water- 

 jug with a hd. Insects are attracted by the water they 

 contain, and get immersed in it, where they die and 

 become putrid, which is considered essential to the well- 

 being of the plant. These plants have no useful properties, 



