Addisonia 53 



(Plate 107) 



OTHONNA CRASSIFOLIA 

 Thick-leaved Othonna 



Native oj south Africa 

 Family Carduaceas Thisti^e Family 



Othonna crassifolia Harvey; Harvey & Sonder, Fl. Cap. 3: 336. 1865. 



A tufted light green somewhat glaucous perennial succulent 

 plant, with the lower leaves short and crowded, those on the stems 

 more scattered and longer. The leaves are cylindric and usually 

 curved, acute, from a quarter to three eighths of an inch in diameter, 

 the lower ones up to two inches long and commonly purple-tipped, 

 those on the spreading shoots longer and usually entirely green. 

 The flowering stems are up to eight inches long, slender, somewhat 

 branched; they arise from a whorl of leaves and commonly bear 

 two to four flower-heads on long peduncles, and often one or two 

 leaves. The heads are up to one inch broad, with a dozen or more 

 ray-flowers and numerous disc-flowers. The corollas of the pis- 

 tillate ray-flowers are ligulate, reflexed-spreading, bright yellow; 

 the corolla of the disc-flowers is cylindric-bell-shaped, five-lobed, 

 and of a deeper yellow. 



A decorative little plant for the temperate house, especially use- 

 ful in rockeries. Potted plants may also be plunged for the sum- 

 mer in a sunny spot in the garden, where they will soon make a 

 vigorous growth and bloom freely. The main body of the plant is 

 prostrate; the flowering stems, ascending for six or eight inches and 

 lightly veiled with a whitish bloom, and the bright yellow flowers 

 make a pleasing combination. It has a long flowering period. 

 The specimen from which the illustration was prepared was secured 

 by exchange with the Royal Gardens, Kew, England, in 1902, and 

 has flowered repeatedly in the collections of the New York Botanical 

 Garden. 



Georgia V. Nash. 



Explanation of Plate. Fig. 1. — Flowering stem. Fig. 2. — Ray-flower, X 3. 

 Fig. 3. — Disc-flower, X 5. 



