The plants belonging to this order have generally inconspicuous flowers, except Colchicum and Bulbocodium, both of which have flowers like the Crocus. The bulbs of the Colchicum are used in medicine; but they and the whole plant abound in an acrid juice, which is poisonous if taken in too large a dose. The root of Veratrum is also poisonous, and this plant is believed to be the Hellebore of the ancients. The Colchicum and the Bulbocodium are distinguished from the Crocus genus, which they so strongly resemble in the appearance of their flowers, by the ovary being within the flower instead of below it, as is the case with all the Amaryllidaceæ, and by their having three distinct styles, instead of one style and three stigmas. In all other respects they are the same. ORDER CXCVIII.—BROMELIACEÆ. This order includes the Pine Apple (_Bromelia Ananas_), the American Aloe (_Agave americana_), _Billbergia_, the magnificent plant _Bonapartea juncea_, now called _Lyttæa geminiflora_, and the curious epiphyte _Tillandsia_. What we are accustomed to call the fruit of the Pine Apple is, in fact, a fleshy receptacle, like that of the Strawberry, covered with scaly bracts, which are the remains of the fallen flowers. The flowers are blue, and one is produced in each bract; when they fall, the bracts thicken and grow together, and cover the ovaries, which sink into the fleshy part of the receptacle. ORDER CXCIX.—PONTEDERACEÆ. Elegant aquatic plants, with kidney-shaped leaves, and spikes or racemes of blue or white flowers. The principal genus is Pontederia. ORDER CC.—COMMELINEÆ. This order is principally known in Britain by the Spiderwort (_Tradescantia_), and the beautiful _Commelina cælestis_. Both plants have the flowers springing from a tuft of leaves which sheath the stem. ORDER CCI.—PALMÆ.—THE PALM TRIBE. This order contains many lofty trees, which are, with one exception, without branches, and bear a tuft of large leaves, called fronds, at the summit. The flowers are small, with bracts, and they are enclosed in a spathe, which bursts on the under side. The mass of flowers is called a spadix; and it is succeeded by the fruit, which, when ripe, is either a drupe or a berry. In the Cocoa-nut Palm (_Cocos nucifera_) the fruit is a drupe; but the pericardium consists of hard, dry, fibrous matter, which is uneatable, the only part fit for food being the albumen of the kernel. The Date Palm (_Phœnix dactylifera_), and the Sago Palm (_Sagus Rumphii_), are two interesting plants, from their products. ORDER CCII.—PANDANEÆ. The most interesting plant in this order is the Screw Pine (_Pandanus_), which has the habit of the Palms, but the flowers of the Arum tribe. ORDER CCIII.—TYPHINEÆ.—THE BULLRUSH TRIBE.