nn K. 
. 
Te ee eee 
; is 
AN ENCYCLOPÆDIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 249 
Lens— continued. 
Fic. 387. UPPER PORTION OF PLANT AND Pop OF LENS 
ESCULENTA. 
L. esculenta (edible). fl. pale blue, small, in long-stalked, 
few-flowered, racemose clusters. Summer. J. usually terminating 
in a long, simple or slightly-branched tendril ; leaflets (about six 
pairs) narrowly lanceolate -oblong. R. 6in. to 18in. Native 
country unknown. One of the most anciently cultivated plants; 
it was well-known to Egyptians and and has been 
wn in Europe since the days of the Roman Empire. The seeds 
entils) are highly valued as food, being amongst the most nutri- 
of vegetable substances. Fig. 387. 
= - LENTIBULARIEÆ. A natural order of dicotyle- 
dons, belonging to Lindley's bignonial alliance of perigy- 
nous exogens. Chiefly aquatic or marsh herbs, most 
abundant in the tropics. Flowers showy, irregular; calyx 
divided, persistent; corolla bilabiate; stamens two, in- 
eluded; anthers one-celled. Leaves radical, either un- 
_ divided or cut into filiform root-like segments, bearing 
little bladders. There are four genera—the best known 
being Pinguicula and Utricularia—and about 180 species. 
LENTICULAR. Lens-shaped. 
LENTILS. The seeds of Lens esculenta (which 
see). 
LEONOTIS (from leon, a lion, and ous, otos, an ear; 
in allusion to the fanciful likeness of the corolla to the 
ear of a lion). Lion's Ear. ORD. Labiate. A genus 
comprising about twelve species of greenhouse herbs 
or shrubs, mostly found in tropical and Southern Africa, 
one species being broadly dispersed through the Mas- 
carene Islands and East Indies; also found in tropical 
America. Flowers red or yellow, sessile, often showy ; 
helmet villose; corolla tube often exserted ; limb bilabiate ; 
whorls densely many-flowered, sometimes solitary at the 
tops of the branches. Nutlets ovoid-triquetrous, obtuse 
or truncate at apex, glabrous. Leaves dentate. The 
Species, when well grown, are very ornamental, and are 
of easy culture in a rich loamy soil, if once properly 
established. Propagated by cuttings, which strike freely, 
in a gentle bottom heat, in early spring. : 
Vol. IL 
Leonotis—continued. 
When rooted, they should be potted off, and shifted into 
larger sizes as becomes requisite ; continual stopping will 
induce a bushy growth. The plants may be kept in the 
open air throughout summer, and removed to the green- 
house at the approach of autumn. ; 
intermedia (intermediate). fl. bright fulvous or orange- 
yellow, hairy, in whorls of about thirty from the uppermost joints 
of the stem. September. J. wrinkled, on very long ks, 
smoothish and opaque above, downy beneath; lower ones ovate- 
cordate, obtuse ; upper ones lanceolate. Stems erect, remotely 
jointed, h. 4ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1822. (B. R. 850.) 
L. Leonurus.“ Lion’s Tail. A. scarlet, villous, 2in. long; whorls 
rather loose; calyx finely tomentose. Winter. l. oblong-lanceo- 
late, bluntly serrated, tomentose beneath, and pubescent above. 
Branches tomentose. A, 3ft. to 6ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1712. 
hid g & Syn. Phlomis Leonurus (under which name it is 
figured in B. M. 478). (G. C. n. s., xix. 186.) i 
E (Catmint-leaved). f., corolla deep shining orange- 
scarlet, upper lip 8 far beyond the ne or cue; whorls 
distant, many-flowe September. i. cordate, obtusely and 
deeply serrated, green, sub-tomentose “seg the length of the 
leaves. A. Aft. to 6ft. East Indies, 17 (B. R. 281.) 
LEON TIC R (from leon, leontos, a lion; alluding to 
the fancied resemblance in the leaves to the print of a 
lion’s foot). ORD. Berberidee. A small genus (three or 
four species) of herbs, with tuberous rhizomes, natives of 
central Asia and South Europe. Flowers yellow, race- 
mose; racemes sub-paniculate; sepals six to nine, peta- 
truncate 
loid; petals six, much shorter than the sepals, 
at apex. Leaves twice or thrice pinnate or trisected, 
with rather thick segments; cauline ones few, L. altaica 
—the species best known to cultivation—is a half-hardy 
plant, succeeding in common soil. It may be increased 
by offsets, or by seeds. i 
i] ere | : 
Fig. 388. LEONTICE ALTAICA, sh 
and Portion of In 
L. altaica (Altaic). f about twelve, 
petiole 3 „ 
ts summit five ee marae gem 
ag oe e suce 3 
. Altai Mountains. See Fig. 388. E M. 
3245.) 
L. Chrysogonum, % Bongardia Rauwolfii, | 
LEONTODON (from leon, leontos, a lion, and odone, 
tooth ; referring to the tooth-like margins of the leaves). 
Hawkbit. Orp. Composite.’ This genus comprises abont 
forty species of hardy herbaceous plants, of which one is 
a native of North America, and the rest inhabit Europe, 
Central and Western Asia, and North Africa. Florets 
entirely strap-shaped, and surrounded by several rows of 
overlapping bracts; receptacle naked. Leaves spreading, 
toothed. None of the species are of any value horticul- 
turally. eee : 
LEONTOPODIUM (the Greek name, given origin- 
by Dioscorides; from leon, leontos, a lion, and pous, 
id ox. 
