Mediterranean region. Flowers in a dense, terminal spike. 
Leaves flat. S. cereale (Rye) as a corn crop in this 
country is gradually diminishing by the substitution of 
wheat. : : 
SECAMONE (altered from Squamona, the Arabic 
name of S. agyptiaca). ORD. Asclepiadee A genus 
comprising about two dozen species of stove, twining 
or decumbent, much-branched shrubs or sub-shrubs, 
natives of tropical and South Africa, tropical Asia and 
Australia, and the Mascarene Islands. Flowers small, 
often minute; calyx five-parted; corolla tube shortly 
rotate, deeply five-cleft; coronal scales five, shortly or 
deeply connate with the staminal tube; cymes loosely 
bi- or trichotomous, or clustered and few-flowered, 
sessile or shortly pedunculate. Leaves opposite, cori- 
aceous or membranous, sometimes pellucid-dotted. Three 
n introduced, but they are probably 
instrument used for pruning, ex- 
nd also, of late, in this country. 
hand pruning-shears; there are 
m made. They can be used much 
than a pruni 
. es, &c.; but they do not 
e a kni See also Pruning- 
be derived from sekos, a pen or 
metimes used for fattening hogs 
s.) Syn. Chayota. ORD. Cucur- 
mus. The species is a half-hardy, 
g, perennial herb. The fruits 
as an article of food by the 
es, being considered extremely 
asionally sent to England in a 
in our markets under the name 
nt is grown in South Europe 
and America. For culture, see 
Plant. f. yellow, 
, sub-fasciculate, 
piy five-parted. June. 
long, or 
ute 
The crown portion of the 
i overed with soil. Th 
which appear may. i a 
y, in due s 
the strongest ; this will then te aa 
tumn, the roots, 
lifted, covered 
this process, any pieces of 
may be collected and riang 
for cnttings 
In the way 
402 THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
ae peo roadl Pae f po 1ii F 2in. 1 ovate-lanceolate, ovate 
4 $ j ong, ovate-lanc »¢ , 
hardy, ual, erect grasses, b y dispersed over the aprenga e or haat, paberslous beneath. h. 10ft. to 15ft. 
ng-knife for shortening — 
Tropical America, 1824. An erect shrub. 
S. virgata (twiggy). fl. variegated, odorous, distant; corolla 
yellow; wings ain. ofa the outside, white within ; racemes terminal, 
filiform, drooping. July. l. eight toten lines in diameter, rounded 
at both ends or sub-emarginate ; those of the flowering branch- 
lets much smaller. West Indies, 1739. A high climber. 
SECURIDACA (of Geriner). A synonym of Securi- 
gera (which see). 
SECURIGERA (from securis, a hatchet, and gero, to 
bear; referring to the shape of the pods). Syns. Bona- 
veria, Securidaca (of Gærtner). ORD. Leguminose. A 
monotypic genus. The species is a hardy annual, only 
requiring to be sown in the open border in spring. 
S. Coronilla (Coronilla-like). Axe-weed ; Hatchet Vetch. fl. yellow, 
at the tips of axillary peduncles, nodding; petals free of the 
staminal tube ; standard sub-orbiculate. July. J. impari-pinnate ; 
leaflets entire; stipules small, membranous. h. lit. South  _ 
Bio 
Eurepe, &c., 1562. (S. F. G. 712, under name of Coronilla Secw: 
acea. 
SECURINEGA (from securis, a hatchet, and nego, 
to refuse; in reference to the extreme hardness of the 
wood). Including Geblera. ORD. Euphorbiacew. This 
genus embraces about eight species of stove, greenhouse, 
or hardy, branched shrubs, inhabiting temperate and 
tropical regions. Flowers moncecious or dicecious, apeta- 
lous, glomerate at the axils; males small, numerous, su 
sessile; females fewer or solitary. Leaves alternat 
entire, often small. Only one species calls for descrip- 
tion here, and it is doubtful if that is still cultivated. 
It thrives in any rich, loamy soil. Propagated readily 
by cuttings of the half-ripened wood, inserted in sand, 
under a glass, in heat. 
S. Commersoni (Commerson’s). A synonym of S. durissima. 
S. durissima (very hard-wooded). Otaheite Myrtle. fl. white ; 
males sub-sessile; females at length somewhat spreading, re- 
flexed; calyx silky-pubescent. June. J. usually oblong-ovate, 
acute, shortly narrowed into the petioles. A. 35ft. Mauritius, 
&c., 1793. Stove. This is the Bois dur of the colonists. SYNS. 
S. Commersoni, S. nitida. ; 
S. nitida (shining). A synonym of S. durissima. 
SEDGES. A common name for the Cyperacee, of 
which Carex is the principal genus. 
SEDUM (from sedeo, to sit ; alluding to the manner 
in which the plants fix themselves on rocks and walls). 
Orpine; Stonecrop. Including Rhodiola. ORD. Crassu- 
lacew. A genus comprising about 120 species of mostly 
hardy, glabrous or glandular-pubescent, fleshy, erect or 
moderate-sized § 
forming screens, or $f 
wind before the roots cann 
will not answer permanently 
z Some of the trees and shrubs "t 
very exposed situations on the sea- 
mus japonicus, Tamarix gallica (a “a 
exceedingly hardy plant for forming oak 
