Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-15
MILITANT PLANTS.
They Have the Look of Fighters, ana
That's What They Are.

That's What They Are.
'All organic beings. without exception,
tend to increase at SO high a ratio that no
district. no station. nor even the whole sur
face of the land or the whole ocean, would
hold the progeny of a single pair after q
certain number of generations. The inevs-
table result Is an ever-recurrent struggle
for existence. 1t has truly been said that
all nature is at war. the strongest ulti-
mately prevail, the weakest fall" Some
thing like this statement by the most cele-
brated of the naturalists, says the Pitts
burg Times, will occur to the observant
person without any skill in natural his
tory who visits the Phipps conservatory snd
tries TO make out the meanings of the Curl
Gus features which so many of the plants
present
For instance the big Pandanus refiexus.
which no visitor will pass unnoticed. IL
has a militant look from the root up. its
leaves. or whatever they are to be called.
reminding one Of the ancient two-handed
sword. That is. they do at first glance.
but one must not trust that he viii be
deceived The leaf is not like a sword blade;
only one-half of it is. The whole leaf II
of the shape of n half-openei book. Ga
each edge and along the center is a row
Of spines, which pierce like needles. Ii 10
growth and elongation at the top, and has
no bark TO strengthen ami protect IL. Judg-
ing from appearance. of those long
leaves would be easily broken by the push
Of an animal and to keep animals at their
distance il has sent out those spines which
guard il from three directions. A young
animal which ran against them once would
remember them The mex time Just an
calves and colts soon learn not TO play
close TO i barbed wire fence. The PAN
danus, which IL one of fifty species of q
genus which inhabts tropical chimes from
Africa to Poly nesia. as IL sticks out "a
keen spineS and threatens 10 pdncture the
hide of anything which comes near IL. seeTs
to say like the Scotch th.sIle: Nobody
can monkey with me with impuniiy. 1 am
fighter" That Is one reason why Il is
SO big. 1t has made room for itself. In
nature might is right; The weaker goes 10
the wall.
Protect the Young.
Some other fighters will be found in tie
palm house. one is easily found by ia.
label I-atania barbonica. and il is particu-
larry interesting in that Il IL an example
of plant protecting its young, if that IL
the way 70 say il. Three outer stalks.
strong and well developed. each with its
row OF sharp pines. h.clcse and defeat
the tender central stalks. The leaf OF a
central stalk, one may see. is not allowed
10 pass The older stalks. lest IL suffer darn
/ age. They keep il behind them as q mother
might push her child behind her IN time
OF danger. This young leaf is kept in lead
ing strings until the stalk has grown SO
that IL can reach out over the others and
take care of itself. Meantime IL viii pro-
duce set Of sDines and join the other
stalks in the great light which is TO de-
termine what plant is fittest TO survive.
The instinct of animals is wonderful but
the instinct # the plant is equally SO. That
may be seen in the larger Latania, which
states on its label that these palms were
discovered in South China i'm 1878 IL has
developed body. and in that at the base
of the branches the fruit grows.
Care must be taken of that, for II the seed
is not ripened they will not reproduce and
the species will suffer 10 that extent See
the spines on those branches around where
the fruit lies. Let animal try to get
into ii and ne would come out with a sore
hide. The plant would scratch him like a
cat The Pandanus is erect. and so its
spines stick straight out. IL wants TO pre-
vent animals from pushing against Il. The
palm wants to protect it's fruit. and so its
spine points downward. as much as to saw
4 to a thief below: You come up here and
I'll jab your eyes out In still another
palm, the great one just inside the main
entrance to the conservatory, the spines
are eight inches long. lock like stilettoes,
and form perfect cheveux de frsse. Man.
with all his thinking how To make that OIL
struction TO an enemy most complete has
not surpassed the genius OF nature in
directing the points OF these stilettoes as
to cover every possible approach. As a
fighter this big Phenix spinosa is the Jim
Corbett Of the palm house. And IL il great
on style.
Not Pretty To Look at.
4 That is what some OF the other fighters
are lot, as the cactuses. They take all
sorts of shapes. in stature rising from
creeping stems Though there are none 80
large in the conservatory to trunks thirty
feet high. but are neither beautiful when
small nor majestic when great. They are
tco abominably stupid TO put on style. But
what should one expect Of a plant which
wild grows in hot, stony places and when
cultivated is entirely happy in a sandy
loan mixed with brick dust? One might
Z as well expect style in those little black
Italians of the pipe line who have been
/ reared on mush ana cucumbers. And the
/ pity of it IS these cactuses are American
/ from way back. Pretty nearly their only re-
deeming feature is that they can fight. Big or
little they are ready TO do battle. unless n
be those granddaddies with the long white
hair, which. like many men. are aged
4 looking without being venerable and make
one think they had best betake themselves
to another world for all the good they are
doing in this Whoever it was that put the
Cactuses and the sleepy and leather-braine1
young alligators in the same house In the
conservatory had an inspiration. for they
surely go together. But that Is not 10 say
that these plants are embarrassing. Far
. from it. They offer many suggestions
10 the humorS OF nature. and In their
sphere they are useful. II they would only
wake up and look alivei They seem doubly
stupid to one who goes 20 them from the
spirited plants in the other parts OF the
conservatory.
And even one compares them 20 the
monkey puzzle, the Araucaria imbricste.
the young Chilean tree seen among them.
The Araucanians were a South American
uibe, noted for their fighting qualities. In
the late Chilean war the best soldiers are
said to have been the descendants OF those
Indians. and the most capable statesmen
and commanders of that plucky little coun-
I try are said TO be men OF Araucanian blood.
This tree is not unlike them. IL is called
Imbricata because its stin and hard leaves.
with points sharp. are imbricated. or over
tapping. like the shingles on a roof. IL
bears edible nuts, which the monkeys are
said to like but its branches are so ar
ranged and its leaf points so needle-hke
| that ii puzzles a monkey to climb IL. in II
there is no sign of stupidity. IL is wide
awake. on guard at every quarter. fight
ing of every thing that would rob II. not
only with its weapon-lske leaves but with
such a placing of it's branches as 20 pre-
vent che agile monkey from ascending IL.
In its strength, its resoluteness. its capacity
/ for self-defense. in its dark green. almost
black. il is a reminder OF that valiant Arau-
canaan tribe.
Rank Mfsnomer.
But is there not fighting enough In our
own struggle for existence that we need
dwell on the fighting qualities OF plants'
Let US go ami look at something different.
I "a he Suept and buchanan china