Reginald Scott, Disc

of Witchcraft.] Plan tag in aceæ (plan"ta-ji-nā'sē-ē), n. pl. [NL. (Lindley, 1835), includes 3 genera and over 200 species, nearly all of which belong to the typical genus Plant a go , the other genera, Bougueria and Littorella , being both monotypic. Plant a go (plan-tāgō), n . [NL. (Tournefort, 1700), plant a go , plantain: see plantain1 .] A genus of plants, type of the order Plan tagineæ , distinguished by the peltate seeds, two-celled ovary, and circumsci ile capsule. It includes over 200 species, known as plantain or ribwort , and found everywhere, from arctic to tropical regions, in wet or dry ground, but most common in temperate climates. They are annual or perennial herbs, almost stemle , bearing rosettes of spreading leaves, which are characteristically broad, entire, five to seven-nerved, with dilated-petiole base. The small flowers are usually crowded in a long spike, cro -fertilized by the earlier maturity of the pis tils. Many species are dimorphous, or include perfect seed-bearing plants of two kinds, one form having long stamens and short styles, the other the opposite. Most of the American species are introduced weeds (for which see plantain1 , kemp4 , hen - plant , and way - bread , and, for P. lanceolata , ribwort , rib - gra , jackstraw , and cocks ). P.media , the hoary plantain, lamb's-tongue, or fireweed of English pastures, is a pest on account of its stifling growing crops by its broad flat leaves, close-pre ed to the ground; and the common P. major is sometimes similarly injurious in America. P. Coronopus is a peculiar plant of the British sea-cliffs, called star - of - the - earth from its divided radiat ing leaves, also herb - ivy , buck's -horn, and hartshorn - plan tain. For other species, see fleawort , 2, and ispaghul - seed. See cut under plantain1 . paradisiac a , or its fruit. The plantain closely resembles the banana, and is in fact often regarded as a variety of it. It is distinguished to the eye by purple spots on the stem, and by its longer fruit. The plantain-fruit is commonly eaten cooked before fully mature, while the banana is mostly eaten fresh when ripe. The pulp is dried and pulverized to make meal. The fresh fruit is comparable chemically with the potato, the meal with rice. The plantain, together with the banana, supplies the chief food of millions in the tropics. Though le nutritious than wheat or potatoes, it is produced in vastly larger quantities from the same area, and with far le effort. Sometimes called Adam's apple , from the fancy that this was the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden; the specific name refers to the same fancy. See Musa and banana . They would also bring great store of oranges and plan tans , which is a fruit that groweth upon a tree, and is very like vnto a cucumber, but very pleasant in eating. Hakluyt's Voyages , II. ii. 129. Berries and chestnuts, plantains , on whose cheeks The sun sits smiling. Fletcher, Faithful Shepherde , i. 1. Bastard plantain. See Heliconia , 2.-Manila plantain, wild plantain, Musa textilis , the Manila-hemp plant. See manila and Musa . plantain-cutter (plan'tān-kut"ėr), n. Same as plantain - eater . P. L. Sclater . plantain-eater (plant an-ē"ter), n. A bird of the family Musophagidæ ; a plantain-cutter or touracou. See touracou . eyner plantain-lily (plant an-lil i), n . plantain1 (plan'tān), n. [Formerly also plan tan , plaint a in ; plant eyne , plawnteyne ,