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bright coloured stipules, but with a little trouble most of the species 
can be grown as pot or tub plants, on trellis or baloon for the smaller 
specif, s, in pots or tubs for the larger ones with a duplicate pot or 
tub ready as the host becomes too large for the reception of the 
climbing" offspring, a large rosette of leaves with the decorative 
species. In this way, P. giganteum, P. Mamei and another similar 
aroid, Monster a ddiciosa, as well as some of the Rhaphidophoras , are 
regularly grown in the Singapore Gardens. 
Anthu'r turns are beautiful plants; some have velvet-looking leaves 
with a fine metallic lustre, others are equally striking for their highly 
coloured flower bracts, perhaps the best known example pf this 
genus in the Straits is A. crystallinum. The Singapore collection 
includes one or two fairly good hybrids raised in the Gardens. Nearly 
all the species are of easy culture and are easy to propagate, a few 
from seeds, others from joints of the stem. Ordinary soil without 
any manure and plenty of gritty matter with pieces of charcoal, 
bricks, and abundant drainage is all that is necessary ; in fact, if kept 
well watered and sufficiently shaded, our climate will do the rest. 
A few species, A. Scherzerianum , A. Andreanum , A. Veitchu re- 
quire more careful treatment, 
Dieffenbachias, Aglaonemas and Homalomenas of some kinds 
are grown in all gardens in the tropics, either as pot plants or 
in the shrubberies ; -all are very easy of culture and grow fast in rich 
soil. In most of these three genera, the plant eventually produces 
an erect or more or less erect stem, by which it can be easily pro- 
pagated, the stem being cut into joints and planted in a pan of sandy 
soil when the segments will soon send up fresh shoots. Aglaonema 
costatum and siamense have creeping rhizomes, which can be broken 
up, and some of the f{ omalomenas bud off laterally so as to be easily 
propagated. 
The Dieffenbachias with their noble green leaves often mottled 
with lighter green or white are natives of South America. The 
Aglaonemas are Malayan. These plants are very suitable for house 
decoration as they stand the dryness of the airland dust better than 
most plants. Aglaonema tostatum, a low growing form with deep 
black green leaves spotted with white, or with a central white bar, 
was discovered by Mr. Curtis, in the Lankawi Islands, and is a very 
popular plant, as it grows with great rapidity, soon filling a good 
sized pan and standing the discomforts of house-life and even of 
ship-life very well, and always looking handsome. 
Aglaonema commutation , Haenkei and oblongifolium especially the 
finely white-striped variety, Curtisii, from Penang Hill, are taller 
plants, of easy culture, either in pots or on rockeries or in shady 
parts of the garden. 
Among cultivated aroids in the Straits, the great desideratum is 
the so-called Arum lily ( Richardia africand). On the plains, these 
fine decorative plants are a failure and indeed at 5,000 feet merely 
exist, although the yellow-spathed R. Elliotiana might do better, 
their ' loss, however, is compensated for in the handsome leaves, 
