244 



ARACE^E. 



Orontium. 



Leaves on long petioles, floating ; the lamina varying from oblong-lanceolate to elliptical- 

 ovate, at first small, but finally 8-10 inches long and 2-3 inches wide, deep green and 

 dull above, pale underneath, abruptly coalescing with the petiole. Scape 8-18 inches long. 

 Spadix 1-2 inches long, yellow, somewhat tapering ; the lower flowers hcxamerous, the 

 upper tetramerous. Sepals dilated. Stamens about the length of the sepals ; the filaments 

 broadly flat : anthers of 2 roundish lobes, which open on the margin on the upper part. 

 Ovary roundish, with a minute sessile stigma- Ovule solitary, arising from the base and 

 lying transversely. Utricle roundish, the size of a pea, green. Seed surrounded with a 

 tough gelatinous coat, consisting chiefly of a thick fleshy embryo which is destitute of albumen, 

 with a large concealed cavity at the summit ; the plumule curved in a groove on the outside, 

 and consisting of ihree sheathing leaves. 



Marshes and pools ; chiefly within the limits of salt or brackish water, but occasionally 

 found in the interior of the State. Fl. April - May Fr. August. 



6. ACORUS. Linn.; L. C. Rich, in Guill. arch. 1. p. 22. t. 3 ; Endl. gen. 1708. 



SWEET-FLAG, or CALAMUS. 

 [From the Greek, a, without, anJ hore, the pupil of the eye; having been used for sore eyes.] 



Spathe leaf-like, continuous with the scape. Spadix terete, covered with perfect flowers. 

 Calyx of 6 concave sepals. Stamens 6, inserted at the base of the sepals ; the filaments 

 linear : anthers reniform, one-celled, opening transversely. Ovary 2 - 3-celled, with several 

 pendulous orlhotropous ovules in each cell : stigma minule. Fruit baccate or capsular, 

 gelatinous inside, 1 - few-seeded ; the seed oblong-ovoid. Embryo in the axis of albumen. 

 — Marsh plants, with a creeping thick aromatic rhizoma, and distichous ensiform leaves. 

 Spadix lateral from a leaf-like scape, the upper portion of which is regarded as an open 

 spathe. 



1. Acorus Calamus, Linn. Common Calamus, or Siveet Flag. 



Scape ancipital, with a very long ensiform leaf-like spathe above the spadix. — Linn. sp. 1. 

 p. 324 ; Engl. hot. t. 356 ; Michx. fl. 1. p. 194 ; Pursh, fl. 1. p. 235 ; Ell. sk. 1. p. 403 ; 

 Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 137 ; Torr.fl. I. p. 359 ; Beck, hot. p. 381 ; Darlingt. fl. Cest. p. 226 ; 

 Kunfh, ennm. 3. p. 87. 



Rhizoma branching horizontally, aromatic. Leaves 2-3 feet long and 6-8 lines wide. 

 Scape resembling the leaves, acule on the outer edge, the inner channelled. Spadix sessile, 

 1^ — 3 inches long, yellowish-green, thickly covered with small flowers in a tessellated 

 manner. Sepals oblong, thickened at the apex. Capsules 2 - 3-celled, with several seeds 

 in each cell. 



Wet meadows, and on the borders of rivulets and ponds : frequent. Fl. June. Fr. 

 August. A well known medicinal plant ; common to Europe and America. It is easily 

 distinguished from Typha (even when not in flower) by its aromatic odor. 



