Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/615

 PLANTAIN with various grass seeds in the mixtures they offer for seeding down permanent pastures; in this country it is regarded as a weed, and as its seeds are of the size of those of clover, it is one very difficult to keep clear of, though it is much less harmful than most weeds. PLANTAIN EATER 595 Common Plantain (Plantago major). Among our native species is the seaside plan- tain, P. maritima, found all along the coast; its linear, fleshy, and almost cylindrical ribless leaves look very unlike those of the other plantains. P. Virginica is a hairy species found on sandy ground and dry hills, and P. pusilla is only 1 to 4 in. high, with thread- like leaves. P. Patagonica is a very variable species that has received a number of names ; it is found nearly the whole length of North and South America, and is especially common westward. The seeds of an oriental species, P. decumbens, are found in East Indian ba- .zaars under the Persian name of ispagJiul; they have much the same appearance as the seeds of other plantains, but when held in the mouth give off an abundant mucilage, with- out taste or odor ; one part of the seeds to 20 parts of water forms a thick jelly, and one part to 70 of water yields a mucilaginous drink much used for dysentery and other affections of the bowels ; they have been in use for sev- eral centuries, and are employed by the Euro- pean physicians in India as a demulcent. Since naturalists have turned their attention to the provisions for securing cross fertilization among flowers by the aid of insects and oth- erwise, these humble weeds have possessed a new interest, as they furnish excellent exam- ples of dichogamy, i. e., the stamens and pistils of the flowers coming to perfection at differ- ent times. In the common and ribwort plan- tains the long and hairy style is protruded from the apex of the closed bud, to be fertil- ized by pollen from other flowers, for a day or two before its own stamens are ready ; and by the time these are hung out upon their long filaments, fertilization has already taken place or the stigma is too dry to receive pollen from its own flowers. II. A banana-like fruit, the produce of musa paradisiaca. Though differ- ent specific names are applied to the plantain and banana, the plants are probably mere vari- eties; the former lacks the purple spots upon the stems of the other, and has a longer and more angled fruit. (See BANANA.) PLANTAIN EATER, the name of the mmopha- gina, a subfamily of conirostral birds, inhabit- ing Africa, and living chiefly upon the fruit of the plantain. In all the genera the bill is strong, broad at the base, curved, with notched tip; wings short; tail long and broad; tarsi and toes strong, the outer one capable of being directed backward ; this last, however, is de- nied by Swainson. In the genus musophaga (Isert) the bill is large, with the culmen much advanced on the forehead; fourth and fifth quills the longest, and the tertials long and broad; tail rounded; orbital region naked. The violet plantain eater (M. violacea, Is.) is 20 in. long, of a beautiful shining purplish black; crown and quills crimson, on the last with a lilac tinge ; bill bright yellow, passing into crimson at the tip, light and semi-trans- parent ; a white stripe beneath the eye. It is found on the Gold coast. In the genus turacus (Cuv.), or corythaix (111.), the bill is short and high, with the lateral margins finely serrated ; wings short, the fourth to the seventh quills the longest ; outer toe versatile ; orbital region naked, and head with movable crest. The Senegal plantain eater (T. purpureus, Less.) is about 16 in. long, of a glossy purple, with the head, neck, breast, and crest green ; orbits naked and red ; white stripe over the eye, and a black one beneath ; it is very shy, and diflB- Plantain Eater (Turacus purpureus). cult to shoot, from its frequenting the highest branches of the tallest trees; it is restricted to the W. coast of tropical Africa. Several oth- er species are described in Africa, all shy and handsome. The American subfamily opistho- comidce is placed in the same family by Gray;