A well known plant, and native, according to Willde- 
Now, of the Brazils. It has long been cultivated in the Island 
of Madeira, and thence was introduced, in the year 1773, to 
the stoves of our country, where it is become an universal fa- 
vourite, on account of the beauty and singularity of its leaves. 
The genus Caladium was established by Ventenat, in 
his beautiful work on the rare plants of the garden of M. Cels, 
and is now generally adopted ; the character of the spadix, 
which is covered with stamens to its extremity, by no means 
according with that of the genus Arum, in which all the spe- 
cies of Caladium had been placed. The number of individuals 
belonging to Caladium is considerable : they are all inhabitants 
of the tropics, and, although the present is of humble growth, 
yet some of its congeners are remarkable for their large stature. 
One of these, already figured in this work, is furnished with a 
stem 5 or 6 feet in height ; whilst the C. arbor eum of Hum- 
boldt and KuNTH acquires a trunk of SO feet. C. odorum, 
a new species, recently published in the Botanical Register, 
has leaves, of which the blade or lamina is from 2 to 4 feet 
long, and from 2 or 3 feet broad. 
It flowers in the autumn and winter months. 
Fig. 1. Spadix, natural size. Fig. 2. Anther, removed from the spadix. 
Fig. 3. Single anther. Fig. 4. Portion of an anther, seen from the 
side, to shew the cells. Fig. 5. Transverse section of an anther. 
Fig. 6. Abortive anther. Fig. ?• Cluster of pistils. Fig. 8. Pistil cut 
open vertically, to shew the cells and the ovules. — All, but Fig. 1., more 
or less magnified. 
