AN ENCYCLOP/EDIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 443 
Dasylirion—continued. 
D. gracile (graceful). A synonym of D. acrotrichum. 
D. graminifolium (grass-leaved). /l. white; inflorescence 8%. to 
Эй. long ; panicle narrow. l. in a dense rosette, linear, 5%. to 4ft. 
long,six to seven lines broad, greens marginal prickles half to one 
line long.* Trunk short. А. 8ft. Mexico, 1835. 
D. Hartwegianum (Hartweg’s).. A synonym of D. Hookeri. 
D. Hookeri (Hooker's) /. purplish; inflorescence about lift. 
long ; peduncles short ; icle dense. l. narrow, linear, 144%. to 
2ft. long, two to three lines broad, pale glaucous green ; margin 
serrate. Caudex a gigantic tuber, with the leaves springing in 
fascicles from tubercles on its surface. h. 3ft. Mexico, 1846. 
SYN. D. Hartwegianum. (B. M. 5099.) 
D. laxiflorum (loose-flowered). A synonym of D. serratifolium. 
D. serratifolium (saw-leaved) Л. white; panicle dense, 1ft. 
long. 1. 2ft. long, nearly lin. broad ; marginal teeth half to one- 
and-a-half lines long.~ Stem stout. Mexico. SYN. D. laxiflorum. 
DATE PALM. 5ге Phonix dactylifera. 
DATE PLUM. See Diospyros Kaki. 
DATISCA (derivation unknown) ORD. Datiscee. 
A very graceful herbaceous perennial, well suited for 
2 collection of hardy, fine-leaved plants, and also as an 
isolated specimen. It thrives in a deep, good soil, and 
may be propagated by dividing plants that have become 
well established ; also by seeds. 
FiG. 617. FLOWERS AND LEAF OP 
DaTISCA CANNABINA. 
D. cannabina (Hemp-like).* ji. yellow, dis- 
posed in long, loose, axillary racemes, Sep- 
tember. Z. pinnate, alternate; leaflets in 
three pairs and an odd one, about 2in. long, 
and Jin. broad, deeply serrate. Л. 5%. to 6ft. 
Crete and Western Asia, 1739. The male and 
female forms should be p as, though both are graceful, 
the fertilised female plant is the most so, and continues much 
longer in a green state. See Fig. 617. (S. F. С. 960.) 
. The only other neces of the genus is D. glomerata, a native 
of a and Mexico ; it is probably not in cultivation in this 
country. 
DATISCEZ. A small order of dicotyledonous plants, 
closely allied to the Begonias. Herbs or trees, glabrous, 
pubescent, or almost scaly. Flowers dicecious, regular, 
rarely hermaphrodite or polygamous; corolla small or 
altogether wanting; calyx tube adhering to the ovary. 
Fruit a one-seeded capsule, opening at the top. Leaves 
alternate, simple or pinnate, There are only three known 
genera: Datisca, Octomeles, and Tetrameles. 
DATURA (derivation obscure ; said to come from the 
Arabie name, datora). Окъ. Solanacem. Including Brug- 
mansia, Ceratocaulis, Dutra, and Stramonium. Orna- 
mental and pretty annuals, shrubs or trees. Flowers extra- 
axillary, pedunculate, or from the forks of the branches; 
corolla funnel-shaped. The annual species are generally 
known as Daturas, and the shrubby ones as Brugmansias. 
From an horticultural point of view, the latter section is 
by far the most important. 
PRoPAGATION. This may bo easily effected by cuttings 
of about 6in. in le 1, placed in sandy soil, and plunged in 
a bottom heat of 60deg. Young shoots, heeled off the old 
Aa ^^ 
bf e A 
Ap- 
илм... 
Datura—continued. 
wood, when they have grown abont 6in. long, in spring, 
root freely. Тһе annual species may be readily raised 
from seed. 
CULTIVATION.  Shrubby Species. ‘These thrive well 
against pillars, or planted in beds or borders in conserva- 
tories, and allowed to grow into large bushes or dwarf 
trees. The plants bear severe pruning remarkably well, 
and may be cut to keep them in any form or size desired. 
The best time to prune is at the close of the flowering 
season, or later in the autumn. This section of the genus 
is naturally an evergreen one, but does well treated as 
deciduous. Daturas enjoy a moderate amount of warmth 
when in full growth, but require to be kept dry and quite 
cool in winter. The best way of growing them in mode- 
rate-sized houses is in 12in. pots, as standards. These 
may have stems ranging in height from 4ft. to 7ft. The 
head should be formed of three or more branches, which 
will quickly be produced on stopping the main stem. After 
it is once obtained, the annual growths may be eut back 
to where the leading branches originate. Old plants 
flower far more freely than younger ones. Standard plants 
of D. sanguinea and D. suaveolens are well suited as per- 
manent features for centres of beds or groups. D. Knightii 
does well in sheltered positions outside, in 
summer, and forms a rich and pleasing addition 
to the usual sub-tropical large-leaved plants. 
During the flowering period, manure water is 
most useful in inereasing the vigour of the 
plants and the number and size of the flowers. 
Daturas are rather subject to White Scale on 
the leaves and. stems. 
Annual Species. "These are of very easy culti- 
vation. Seeds may be readily raised in a hotbed; 
and the seedlings, when large enough to handle, 
should be placed singly in small pots, and finally 
transferred to their flowering quarters in the open 
border. They delight in a light sandy soil, and 
require plenty of space for full development. 
