Part 33

=A. paniculata= (panicled).* _fl._ rose-coloured; panicles terminal, composed of many alternate compound branches, large and elegant; petals and sepals ovate. July. Berries red, smooth, size of a pea, juicy. _l._ glabrous, cuneate-oblong, almost sessile, reflexed, 6in. to 20in. long, and from 3in. to 5in. broad, crowded at the ends of the branches. _h._ 8ft. to 10ft. India, 1818.

=A. punctata= (dotted). _fl._ greyish white, sub-campanulate, secund, beset with dark dots, and the pedicels with dark lines; peduncles umbellate, terminal, and axillary; umbels involucrated by deciduous bracts. June. _l._ glabrous, lanceolate, leathery, repandly crenated, tapering to the base. _h._ 6ft. to 10ft. China, 1822.

=A. serrulata= (finely serrated).* _fl._ deep red; petals ciliated; calyces and pedicels coloured; panicles terminal; pedicels umbellate. July. _l._ glabrous, lanceolate, acuminated, wrinkled, serrulated, beset with rusty dots beneath; branches downy. _h._ 2ft. to 3ft. China, 1820.

=A. villosa= (hairy). _fl._ whitish, umbels axillary and terminal, very villous. October. Berries villous. _l._ lanceolate, acuminated, villous beneath, crenulated, 5in. to 7in. long, tapering to the base, copiously dotted. China. All the upper parts of the plant are densely beset with hairs.

=A. v. mollis= (soft).* This variety has very fine red berries, and is superior to the type.

=A. Wallichii= (Wallich's). _fl._ red, in loose racemes; peduncles axillary, one-half shorter than the leaves, and are, as well as the pedicels, pilose. July. _l._ obovate, acute, or obtuse, narrowed into the marginate petioles, repandly crenulated, 4in. to 5in. long, and 2in. broad, thickish. _h._ 2ft. India.

=ARDUINA= (in honour of P. Arduini, curator of the Economical Garden of Padua, in the time of Linnæus). ORD. _Apocynaceæ_. A singular and pretty greenhouse evergreen shrub, of easy culture in carefully drained pots of peat and loam, mixed in equal proportions. Propagated by cuttings in sand, under a glass. The winter temperature should not be allowed to fall below 40deg.

=A. bispinosa= (two-spined). _fl._ small, white, sweet-scented, terminal, corymbose. March to August. Berry red. _l._ cordate-ovate, mucronate, nearly sessile, dark green, larger than those of Box. Spines twin, simple, but usually bifid; in this last case, one of the clefts points downwards, and the other upwards. _h._ 3ft. to 5ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1760. SYN. _Carissa Arduina_.

=ARECA= (_Areec_ is its name in Malabar, when an old tree). The Cabbage Palm. ORD. _Palmeæ_. This genus is now broken up into several, and many species formerly here arranged are now found under _Acanthophœnix_, _Euterpe_, _Hyophorbe_, _Kentia_, _Oncosperma_, _Phænicophorum_. Very ornamental and graceful stove palms, with a branching spadix, and double spathe, which incloses the flowers. Flowers unisexual, borne upon the same spike; female flowers having six rudimentary stamens, and male flowers a six-cleft perianth. Fruit one-seeded. They thrive in a compost of loam, peat, and leaf soil, in equal parts, with a liberal addition of sand; but when they are fully grown, loam should preponderate to the extent of about two-thirds, and some rotten cow-manure may be added. Propagated from seeds, which should be sown in a compost similar to above, and placed in a moist gentle heat. They are employed, when young, with much success for the decoration of drawing rooms and dinner tables.

=A. Aliciæ= (Princess Alice's). _l._ pinnatisect; segments sessile. North Australia. A very handsome species, with a comparatively dwarf habit; it is a valuable decorative plant.

=A. Catechu= (Catechu). _l._ pinnate, from 3ft. to 6ft. long; leaflets 12in. to 24in. in length, and about 2in. broad, light green; petioles broadly sheathed at the base. _h._ 30ft. India, 1690. One of the best and oldest species in cultivation, very effective, in a young state, for dinner table decoration. It produces the Betel nut, of which enormous quantities are used in India.

=A. concinna= (neat). _l._ pinnatisect, sub-glabrous; segments sickle-shaped, much acuminated. Stem green, 8ft. to 12ft. high, 1in. to 2in. in diameter. Ceylon. The Cingalese chew the albumen of the seeds with their Betel.

=A. gigantea= (gigantic). A synonym of _Pinanga ternatensis_.

=A. glandiformis= (gland-formed). _l._ pinnatisect, 9ft. to 12ft. long when fully grown. _h._ 30ft. Moluccas. A handsome stove palm, of bold aspect, and very suitable, when young, for decorative purposes.

=A. Normanbyi= (Normanby's). A synonym of _Ptychosperma Normanbyi_.

=A. triandra= (three-stamened). _l._ pinnate, like those of _A. Catechu_ in size, &c. _h._ 20ft. India, introduced to Britain about 1810.

=ARENARIA= (from _arena_, sand; in which most of the species are found). Sandwort. ORD. _Caryophyllaceæ_. TRIBE _Alsineæ_. A very large genus of hardy herbaceous plants, consisting of about 150 species. It is distinguished by having generally three styles. The perennials only are worth growing; these are extremely pretty little alpine plants, and will thrive in any ordinary soil in exposed places; the rarer species may be grown in small pots, well drained, in a mixture of sand, loam, and leaf soil, or in well-drained crannies of the rockery. They may be increased by either division, seeds, or cuttings; the latter, placed under a hand-glass, will root freely. The best time to divide the plants is early spring, or July and August. Seeds should be sown in spring in a cold frame.

=A. balearica= (Balearic).* _fl._ white, sepals erect; peduncles elongated, one-flowered. March to August. _l._ very small, ovate, shining, rather fleshy, ciliated. _h._ 3in. Corsica, 1787. A pretty little creeper, one of the best plants for covering damp borders of the rockwork.

=A. cæspitosa= (tufted). Synonymous with _A. verna cæspitosa_.

=A. ciliata= (ciliated). _fl._ white, usually solitary; sepals ovate, acute, five to seven ribbed; petals obovate, twice as long as the sepals. July. _l._ ovate, or obovate, roughish, with a few hairs, one-nerved, and ciliated. Ireland. _h._ 6in. A thick, tufted, spreading, procumbent plant.

=A. graminifolia= (grass-leaved).* _fl._ white; panicle three-forked, hairy, loose; sepals very blunt, much shorter than the obovate petals. June. _l._ long, awl-shaped, filiform, scabrous on the margins from serratures. Stem erect, simple. _h._ 6in. to 9in. Caucasus, 1817.

=A. grandiflora= (large-flowered).* _fl._ white, usually solitary; peduncles very long, pubescent; sepals ovate, awned, three-nerved, smaller than the petals. June. _l._ awl-shaped, broadish, flat, three-nerved, ciliated, radical ones crowded. _h._ 3in. to 6in. France, 1783. _A. g. biflora_ is a two-flowered, and _A. g. triflora_ a three-flowered, variety.

=A. laricifolia= (Larch-leaved).* _fl._ white; sepals bluntish, triple nerved, hairy; petals twice as long as the sepals; stems ascending, one, three, or six flowered, somewhat scabrous; calyx cylindrical. June. _l._ awl-shaped, denticulately ciliated. _h._ 6in. Switzerland, 1816.

=A. longifolia= (long-leaved). _fl._ white; sepals ovate, obtuse, not half the length of the obovate petals; panicle three-forked, glabrous, crowded. June. _l._ awl-shaped, filiform, serrulated. Stem erect, simple. _h._ 6in. to 9in. Siberia, 1823.

=A. montana= (mountain). _fl._ large, white; peduncles terminal, very long, one-flowered; sepals lanceolate, acuminated, much shorter than the corolla. April. _l._ lanceolate-linear; sterile stems very long, procumbent. _h._ 3in. France and Spain, 1800.

=A. peploides= (Peplis-like). _fl._ white; sepals ovate, shorter than the oblong petals. May to July. _l._ ovate, light green, rather fleshy; branches procumbent, fleshy, deciduous. _h._ 3in. to 4in. Sea shores of Britain. SYN. _Honckenya peploides_.

=A. purpurascens= (purplish).* _fl._ purplish; pedicels tomentose, scarcely exceeding the leaves; sepals lanceolate, smooth, with shrivelled margins, longer than the corolla; branches two to three-flowered. May. _l._ ovate-lanceolate, acuminated, glabrous. Plant tufted, decumbent. _h._ 6in. Higher Pyrenees.

=A. rotundifolia= (round-leaved).* _fl._ white, solitary; petals roundish-ovate, longer than the sepals. July and August. _l._ about 1/4in. across, roundish, ciliated, on spreading tufted branches. _h._ 4in. to 6in. Siberia.

=A. tetraquetra= (four-angled). _fl._ white, somewhat capitate; sepals stiff, acute, keeled, ciliated, almost equal in length to the corolla. August. _l._ ovate, keeled, recurved, edged, imbricated in four rows. Stem straight, pubescent. _h._ 3in. to 6in. France, 1731.

=A. verna= (spring-flowering). _fl._ small, white; sepals ovate, lanceolate, acuminated, with three remote equal ribs, longer than the obovate petals. May. _l._ awl-shaped, bluntish. Stems panicled, elongated. _h._ about 3in.

=A. v. cæspitosa= (turfy). A variety having very leafy stems. Calyces and peduncles smoothish. Europe. SYN. _A. cæspitosa_.

=ARENGA= (name of doubtful origin). SYN. _Saguerus_. ORD. _Palmæ_. An extremely useful and interesting palm. The medulla of the trunk is used as sago, and the saccharine juice forms excellent sugar. It requires a strong heat and rich mould. Propagated by seeds only.

=A. saccharifera= (sugar-bearing). _fl._ striped. June. _h._ 40ft. Moluccas, 1829.

=AREOLATE.= Divided into distinct angular spaces, or areolæ.

=ARETHUSA= (mythological: named after a nymph of Diana's, who was changed into a fountain; in allusion to the habit of the plants). ORD. _Orchideæ_. A small genus of very pretty, but rare, terrestrial orchids. They require a moist shady spot with a northern aspect, and thrive best in a compost of well-rotted manure and sphagnum. A mulching in winter, by way of protection, is needed.

=A. bulbosa= (bulbous).* _fl._ large, bright rose purple, solitary, sweet-scented, terminal; lip dilated, recurved, spreading towards the summit, bearded-crested down the face; scape one-leaved. May. _l._ linear, nerved. _h._ 8in. Carolina.

=ARETIA.= _See_ =Androsace=.

=ARGANIA= (from _argam_, its aboriginal name). ORD. _Sapotaceæ_. A very fine greenhouse evergreen tree, said by Don to flourish against a south wall, out of doors, with the protection of a mat in severe weather. It will thrive in ordinary garden soil. Increased by layers and cuttings in autumn and spring, the latter requiring a bell glass covering; both operations must be performed in a moderately heated greenhouse.

=A. Sideroxylon= (Iron-wood). _fl._, corolla greenish yellow, cup-shaped, five-parted, with ovate-lanceolate, sub-emarginate segments; lateral and axillary, scattered, crowded, sessile. _fr._ dotted with white, size of a plum, full of white, milky juice. July. _l._ lanceolate, entire, bluntish, glabrous, paler beneath; branches terminated by strong spines. _h._ 15ft. to 20ft. Morocco, 1711. As the specific name implies, the wood is excessively close and hard, so much so that it sinks in water. SYNS. _Elæodendron Argan_, _Sideroxylon spinosum_.

=ARGEMONE= (from _argema_, cataract of the eye; in allusion to some real or fancied medicinal properties). ORD. _Papaveraceæ_. Very handsome annuals and perennials, abounding with yellow juice, and covered with stiff prickles. Sepals two to three, concave, mucronate; petals four to eight; peduncles axillary, always erect. Leaves sessile, repand-sinuated, usually spotted with white; recesses spiny-toothed. The species will thrive in almost any garden soil in the open border. Seed may be sown out of doors about the end of March; those of the rarer species on a hotbed, and planted out about the end of June.

=A. albiflora= (white-flowered).* _fl._ white; petals usually three. July and August. _l._ sessile, feather-nerved. _h._ 1ft. Georgia, 1820. Hardy annual.

=A. grandiflora= (great-flowered).* _fl._ large, panicled, white with yellow anthers. July. _l._ sinuated, smooth, glaucous, spiny-toothed; nerves unarmed. _h._ 2ft. to 3ft. Mexico, 1827. This species, when raised from seed, does not flower until October; but when the roots have existed through the winter, the plants produce flowers early in the summer. Hardy perennial. See Fig. 147.

=A. hirsuta= (hairy).* _fl._ pure white, 3in. to 5in. in diameter. September. _l._ pinnatifid, bristly. _h._ 2ft. California, 1879. A very beautiful hardy annual.

=A. mexicana= (Mexican). Devil's Fig. _fl._ solitary, yellow; petals four to six. June. _l._ profoundly repand-sinuated, spiny, blotched with white. _h._ 2ft. Mexico, 1592. Hardy annual.

=A. ochroleuca= (yellowish-white).* _fl._ pale yellow, solitary; petals six. August. _l._ profoundly sinuated or pinnatifid, glaucescent nerves with prickly bristles, blotched with white. Stem prickly. Mexico, 1827. Hardy annual.

=ARGENTEUS.= Silvery. A pale colour resembling silver.

=ARGOLASIA.= _See_ =Lanaria=.

=ARGIYREIA= (from _argyreios_, silvery; in reference to the silvery undersides of the leaves). Silver-weed. ORD. _Convolvulaceæ_. An elegant genus of greenhouse and stove climbers. Sepals five; corolla campanulate. Shrubs for the most part silvery, but sometimes silky and tomentose. The greater number of the species are robust, extensive twiners or climbers, usually requiring plenty of room to run, before they will flower. _A. cuneata_, and one or two others, are of dwarf habit, and produce their splendid blossoms in abundance. All the species grow well in light rich soil, or a mixture of peat, loam, and sand. Cuttings root readily if planted in sand, with a hand glass placed over them, in a little bottom heat.

=A. capitata= (headed). _fl._, corolla 1in. to 2in. long, rose coloured or purple, hairy outside; peduncles exceeding the petioles. July. _l._ cordate-ovate, acuminated, 2in. to 5in, long, and 1in. to 3in. broad, hairy on both surfaces; hairs glandular at the base. Plant clothed with strigose hairs. Silhet, 1823.

=A. cuneata= (wedge-leaved).* _fl._, corolla large, of a beautiful deep bright purple; peduncles downy, shorter than the leaves, three to six-flowered. July. _l._ obovate-cuneate, emarginate, glabrous above, but beset with short, crowded hairs beneath, hardly petiolate. Stem clothed with powdery down at top. _h._ 2ft. to 5ft. India, 1822.

=A. cymosa= (cyme-flowered).* _fl._, corolla pale pink, tubularly funnel-shaped, villous outside; peduncles as long or longer than the leaves, leafy at top, and cymosely many-flowered. _l._ roundish-cordate, or reniformly-cordate, obtuse, terminated by a very short prickle, glabrous on both surfaces, or clothed with pruinose down. Malabar (mountains), 1823.

=A. malabarica= (Malabar). _fl._ rather small; bottom of the bell deep purple; throat pink, with the edges paler, almost white, and slightly ten-lobed; peduncles as long or longer than the leaves, many-flowered at the apex. June. _l._ roundish-cordate, acute, glabrous, or furnished with a few scattered hairs on both surfaces. Coromandel, 1823.

=A. pomacea= (Apple-fruited). _fl._ large, rose coloured; peduncles villous, exceeding the petioles a little, cymose, many-flowered. Berry size of a cherry, yellow. _l._ ovate-elliptic, obtuse, clothed with cinerous, velvety down on both surfaces, but especially beneath, sometimes sub-emarginate at apex. Mysore, 1818.

=A. speciosa= (showy).* _fl._, corolla nearly 2in. long, of a deep rose colour; peduncles about equal in length to the petioles, umbellately capitate. July. _l._ 3in. to 12in. long, and 2in. to 4in. broad, cordate, acute, glabrous above, or rarely villous, thickly nerved beneath, and clothed with silky, silvery down. India, 1818.

=A. splendens= (splendid).* _fl._, corolla tubularly campanulate, 1-1/2in. long, rather villous outside, pale red; peduncles exceeding the (hoary) petioles, corymbosely many-flowered. November. _l._ ovate-oblong or ovate-elliptic, entire or pandurately sinuated, sometimes somewhat three-lobed, smooth above, but clothed with silvery, silky down beneath, 6in. long, acuminated. India, 1820.

=ARGYROCHÆTA.= A synonym of =Parthenium= (which _see_).

=ARGYROXYPHIUM= (from _argyros_, silver, and _xyphion_, a corn-flag; in allusion to the leaves). ORD. _Compositæ_. An ornamental greenhouse perennial herb. Involucre campanulate; receptacle conical; heads pedunculate, racemose, or in thyrsoid panicles. Leaves alternate; lower ones close, elongated, thick, on both sides silver-lined. Stems simple or slightly branched. It thrives well in rich sandy loam and leaf mould. Propagated by seed-heads.

=C. sandwicense= (Sandwich Islands). _fl.-heads_ purplish. _l._ linear lanceolate, imbricate, clothed, like the stems, with silvery hairs. _h._ 3ft. Sandwich islands, 1872. SYN. _Argyrophyton Douglasii_.

=ARIA.= _See_ =Pyrus Aria=.

=ARISÆMA= (from _aron_, Arum, and _sana_, a standard; in reference to the close alliance to _Arum_). ORD. _Aroideæ_. Small tuberous rooted greenhouse (except where stated otherwise) herbaceous plants. Spathe rolled round the spadix at the base; spadix bearing unisexual flowers below. and rudimentary flowers in the upper part. Leaves peltate, pedate, palmate, or simple. For culture, &c., _see_ =Arum=.

=A. concinna= (neat).* _fl._, spathe convolute, tubular at the base; upper portion bent over at the mouth, and gradually narrowed into a tail-like appendage about 3in. long; spathe of the female plant longitudinally barred with white and green, the latter colour being replaced with blue-purple in the male. June. _l._ solitary, sheathing at the base, and made up of ten or twelve lanceolate, entire, light green leaflets, which radiate from the top of the petiole, the latter being 1ft. to 2ft. high. Sikkim, 1871.

=A. curvatum= (curved).* _fl._ crowning a scape which overtops the foliage; tube of spathe cylindrical, green, obscurely striped with white; the elliptic blade arches forward, green on the inner surface, and brownish-red on the outer; spadix produced into a purplish-red tail, about 1ft. long. April. _l._ pedate. The large bracts, which sheath the base of the stem, are beautifully marbled with dark olive green, red, and light green. _h._ 4ft. Himalayas, 1871. SYN. _A. helleborifolium_.

=A. galeata= (helmeted).* _fl._, spathe about 4in long; tube and cylindrical side of spathe green, tinted purplish at base, with many longitudinal white lines; inside of the tube purple. July. _l._ solitary, trifoliate; middle leaflet 6in. long by 3-3/4in. broad; lateral ones 7in. long and nearly 4in. broad. _h._ 1ft. Himalayas, Sikkim, 1879.

=A. Griffithi= (Griffith's).* _fl._, spathe large, hood-like, brown-violet, with green veins; spadix brown-violet, and the barren end at the base above the flowers has a disk-like projection, while its free extremity is prolonged into a long thread-like appendage. Spring. _l._ with bold roundish leaflets. _h._ 1ft. to 1-1/2ft. Sikkim, 1879. Hardy; very handsome. SYN. _A. Hookerianum_.

=A. helleborifolium= (Hellebore-leaved). A synonym of _A. curvatum_.

=A. Hookerianum= (Hooker's). A synonym of _A. Griffithi_.

=A. nepenthoides= (Nepenthes-like).* _fl._, spathe above the tubular portion extended into two decided auricles, which serve to distinguish it from other species, ochre, brown, green; spadix yellowish Spring. _l._ pedate, of five lanceolate or oblanceolate leaflets; central one 6in. long, the others shorter. _h._ 2ft. Himalayas, 1879.

=A. præcox= (early). A synonym of _A. ringens_.

=A. ringens= (gaping).* _fl._, spathe striped green and white, erect and cylindrical below, then arching suddenly over, and again contracting into a rather small deep purple orifice, with broad, reflexed margins; spadix erect, pale yellow-green. Spring. _l._, leaflets three, ovate-oblong, acuminate, and produced into a filiform point; peduncle short. Japan. Hardy. SYNS. _A. præcox_ and _A. Sieboldi_.

=A. Sieboldi= (Siebold's). A. synonym of _A. ringens_.

=A. speciosa= (showy).* _fl._, spadix deep glossy purple, greenish and white, with a long flexuous prolongation, sometimes nearly 20in. in length; spathe also terminating with a filiform elongation. March. _l._ solitary, trifoliate; leaflets petioled, dark green, conspicuously edged with blood red; petioles long, mottled with white. _h._ 2ft. Temperate Himalayas, 1872.

=A. triphylla= (three-leaved).* _fl._, spathe 4in. to 6in. long, striped with broad lines of purplish-brown, with about 1in. of green in the middle; spadix 3in. long, spotted with brown. June to July. _l._ on long stout petioles, trifoliate; leaflets entire, equal, acuminated. _h._ 9in. to 1ft. North America, 1664. This is quite hardy. SYNS. _A. zebrina_ and _Arum triphyllum_. See Fig. 148.

=A. zebrina= (zebra). A synonym of _A. triphylla_.

=ARISARUM= (name of Greek origin). ORD. _Aroideæ_. A small genus of half-hardy herbaceous plants, possessing but little horticultural interest, and allied to _Arisæma_. Flowers unisexual, spadix having no rudimentary flowers. Leaves on long stalks, heart-shaped or spear-shaped. The only species in cultivation thrives in a sand, loam, and peat compost. Propagated by seeds or divisions of the root in spring.

=A. vulgate= (common). _fl._, spathe livid purple. May. _h._ 1ft. South Europe, 1596.

=ARISTATE.= Having a beard or awn, as the glumes of barley.

=ARISTEA= (from _arista_, a point or beard; in reference to the rigid points of the leaves). ORD. _Iridaceæ_. A genus of greenhouse herbaceous perennials from the Cape of Good Hope. Flowers blue; perianth rotate, six-parted, twisted after flowering; scape two-edged, rigid, often branched. Leaves narrow, sword-shaped. The species are more interesting than ornamental, and may be grown in a compost of three parts turfy peat, and one of loam. Easily propagated by divisions and seeds. They vary in height from 3in. to 3ft., and flower generally in summer.

=A. capitata= (headed). _fl._ blue. July. _h._ 3ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1790.

=A. cyanea= (bright blue). _fl._ blue. June. _h._ 6in. Cape of Good Hope, 1759.