THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
ihes of the order it is common for only one stamen to be 
fe-^ ' ' - <.\\-root families the reduc- 
ti: • :t half a stamen functional. 
1 . . ;-. are not entirely missing 
111 r;to petal-like org-ans called 
St .: [cnnAy in guiding insects to the 
nvjwers and the nectar seem to indi- 
.)!<ints are not pollinated b\ the wind 
i> equcui^ ctrtiiM trom the size of the flowers m manv 
species that thev are not pollinated by insects. This, in fact. 
IS one of the few orders that make use of birds as pollen 
earners. Our own cannas are frequently visited by hum- 
mtng-birds as well as Ijees, and in the Kast Indies certain 
birds called honey-birds, from their fondness for nectar, 
assist in the translerence of pollen. It is probable, how- 
ever, that a majoritv of the species are |X>llinated by insects. 
The nectar is secreted in great quantities deep in the tul>e 
of the flowers The fruit is either a capsule or bern The 
canna fmit is a good example ot the capsule, while the com- 
mon banana is an example of the "berries" that this group 
produces. To call this a berry seems stretching the defini- 
tion a trifle. 
Four families make up the order Scitaminales ; the 
banana family (Musacese). the ginger family (Zingiber- 
ace^) the canna family (Cannace^) and the arrow-root 
family (Marantacese) . Of these families the ginger fam- 
ily is the largest, containing more than three hundred spe- 
aes.. In this family is founrl the ginger-plant {Zingiber 
ffffidnaie) from whose rootstocks the well-known Jamaica 
ginger is made. The tumeric {CurcmyM langa) and card- 
amom i Elettiwia cardmmmum) are also members of this 
family. The seeds of other genera besides Ellettaria are 
called cardamoms. Our common cultivated canna {Ccmna 
