404 
AROIDEJS. 
Placentas parietal 
Placentas basilar . 
Placentas axile . 
* Colocasia. 
* Alocasia. 
* Xanthosoma. 
* Colocasia antiquorum , Schott, Prod. 138 (Arum Colocasia, Linn. ; 
Wight. 1c. t. 786. Caladium esculentum and nympheifolium, Vent.), 
a uative of the tropics of the Old World, long-cultivated for the 
sake of the farina of its caudex, is commonly naturalised in marshes 
and by streamsides both in Mauritius, Eodriguez, and the Seychelles. 
It has an erect oblong-cylindrical caudex, bearing 3-6 ovate membran- 
ous leaves 1-3 feet long deeply lobed at the base, with a petiole much 
longer than the blade inserted a third of the way up, tufted slender 
peduncles bearing a spathe 6-9 inches long with a short oblong tube 
and an open lanceolate yellow limb, containing a cylindrical spadix 
which is barren at the top and bears next a mass of male flowers, at 
the bottom a mass of female flowers and a quantity of neuter ones on 
the constricted intermediate part. Songe. 
* Alocasia macrorhiza, Schott, Prod. 146 (Arum macrorhizum, Linn. ; 
Bojer , Sort. Maur. 356), a native of Tropical Asia, is naturalised 
in Mauritius, Eodriguez, and the Seychelles, by streamsides. It 
has a tall stout eaudex, very large deltoid-sagittate leaves with long 
petioles inserted at the base of the sinus, short stout clustered 
peduncles, spathes a foot long with an oblong tube and a hooded 
glaucous-green finally yellowish limb, containing a free cylindrical 
spadix with a rugulose barren tip, bearing few female flowers at ihe 
base, many crowded male ones above and neuter ones on the con- 
stricted intermediate part. Songe blanc. 
* Xanthosoma sagittifolium, Schott, Prod. 179; Bot.Mag. t.4989, (Cala- 
dium sagittifolium, Vent. ; Bojer , Sort. Maur. 356), a native of the West 
Indies, is naturalised in Mauritius by streamsides in several places. It 
has a short erect caudex, large membranous deltoid-hastate leaves with the 
petiole inserted at the base of the sinus, short stout clustered pedun- 
cles, a spathe \-l foot long with an oblong tube and an oblong- green- 
ish- white lamina, containing a cylindrical spadix with flowers quite 
continuous from base to tip, a few females at the base, numerous 
males at the top and neuter flowers in the constricted intermediate 
part. 
Order CY. LEMNACE.ZE 
blowers very minute, hermaphrodite, achlamydeous, 1-3 together in a 
spathe produced from the edge or, without a spathe, from the middle of 
the frond. Stamens solitary; filaments subulate; anthers 1-2-celled. 
Ovary 1- celled; ovules lor many, various in structure; style short; 
stigma hollow, capitate. Pruit a bottle-shaped utricle. Seed albuminous. 
— Small or minute floating fronds, with roots simple or absent, propa- 
