AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 469 
Spheralcea—continued. 
or shrubs, in habit resembling Malva or Malvastrum; four 
are natives of the Cape of Good Hope, and the rest inhabit . 
the warmer regions of America. Flowers violet (rarely 
red) or flesh-coloured, shortly pedicellate (rarely long- 
pedunculate), solitary or fascicled, axillary, or disposed 
in terminal racemes or spikes; calyx five-cleft; staminal 
column more or less divided near the summit into nume- 
rous filaments; bracteoles three, free or coalescing at 
base. Leaves generally angled or lobed. The species 
described below thrive in a rich, well-drained, loamy soil, 
and like a light, airy place near the glass. They are 
readily increased by cuttings of the young growths, in- 
serted in sandy soil, under a bell glass, and kept shaded 
until rooted. 
S. abutiloides (Abutilon-like). fl. rose-coloured; calyx twice 
exceeded by the petals; peduncles axillary, one to five-flowered. 
August. l. roundish, angular-lobed, serrated. h. 4ft. Bahamas, 
1725. Greenhouse shrub. (B. M. 2544, under name of Malva 
abutiloides.) 
S. acerifolia (Maple-leaved). fl. pink; peduncles aggregated, 
terminal. July. J. five-lobed, sub-cordate; lobes acute, dentate 
or unequally serrate. h.4ft. North-west America, 1861. A half- 
hardy, stellate-pubescent shrub. (B. M. 5404.) 
S. angustifolia (narrow-leaved). fl. pink; peduncles axillary, 
solitary or in pairs, one or few-flowered ; involucral leaflets 
bristly, deciduous. August and September. J. lanceolate, 
toothed, powdery. A. 3ft. to 4ft. Mexico, 1780. Greenhouse 
shrub. (B, M. 2839, under name of Malva angustifolia.) 
S. elegans (elegant).* jl. pale, with dark purple veins, from the 
axils of the upper leaves, usually on short, simple stalks. July. 
l. rather distant, deeply three-lobed or three-parted, on petioles 
of their own length ; lobes cuneate, inciso-pinnatifid, undulated, 
stellate-tomentose, bluntly toothed. Stems numerous, procum- 
bent or spreading, 2ft. or more long. South Africa, 1791. Green- 
house sub-shrub. 
S. miniata (vermilion).* f. vermilion ; peduncles axillary, race- 
mose, few-flowered, but sometimes only one-flowered. May to 
July. Zł. ovate, three-lobed, toothed, tomentose. Stems erect. 
h. ift. South America, 1798. Greenhouse sub-shrub. (B. M. 
5938 ; S. B, F. G. ser. ii. 120.) 
S. nutans (nodding). fl. reddish-purple, nodding ; peduncles 
axillary, usually three-flowered, exceeding the leaves; involucral 
bracts subulate. July. /. cordate, five-lobed, unequally crenate- 
toothed, stellate-tomentose ; lobes very acute; stipules filiform. 
Stem branched. h. 2ft. Guatemala (?), 1862. Stove shrub. 
(F. d. S. 726; L. & P. F. G. iii. p. 173.) 
S. obtusiloba (obtusely-lobed). fl. crowded ; bih purple, 
obcordate, with rather dark claws; involucre of three linear 
leaflets ; peduncles axillary and terminal, corymbosely racemose, 
many-flowered. July. J. cordate, somewhat five-lobed, crenate ; 
lobes very blunt. h. 3ft to 4ft. Chili, 1827. A stellate-tomen- 
tose, greenhouse shrub. (B. M. 2787, under name of Malva 
obtusiloba.) 
S. umbellata (umbellate). f. of a fiery-violet colour, large ; 
involucral leaflets obovate, somewhat stipitate, deciduous ; pe- 
duncles axillary, umbelliferous. January to April. l. sub- 
peltate, five-lobed, obtuse. A. 10ft. Mexico, 1814. Stove shrub. 
(L. B. C. > B. R. 1608, under name of Malva umbellata.) 
SPHZERENCHYMA. Spheroidal or spherical, 
cellular tissue, such as is found in the pulp of fruits. 
SPHÆRIACEÆ. A large family of Fungi, belong- 
ing to the division of Pyrenomycetes (which see), 
provided with perithecia, of leathery or carbonaceous 
texture, distinct from the stroma, or mycelium, which 
open by a round hole or pore, sometimes in the wall of 
the perithecium, but sometimes at the end of a long 
neck. In this group are various species hurtful to culti- 
vated plants (see Pleospora). Several of them show 
pleomorphism very clearly. Formerly, the family was 
held to include certain other smaller groups that are 
now regarded as families distinct from it (e.g., Dothi- 
diacew, with fleshy, and often bright-coloured, perithecia), 
to which belong various species (e.g., Polystigma rubrum 
on Plum-leaves) that destroy living plants. The spores 
and sporidia in Spheriacee vary greatly in different 
genera in complexity of structure, and in the modes of 
production. 
SPHÆROCARPUS. A synonym of Globba. 
SPH®ROCARYA. A synonym of Pyrularia 
(which see). 
SPHZROCHLOA. A synonym of Eriocaulon. — 
SPHZ:ROCIONIUM. Included under Hymeno- 
phyllum. 
SOEST E. Included under Tococa (which 
see). 
SPHÆROLOBIUM (from sphaira, a sphere, and 
lobos, a pod; alluding to the globular .pods). ORD. 
Leguminosæ. A genus comprising thirteen species of 
greenhouse, evergreen, glabrous shrubs or under-shrubs, 
with Rush-like stems, generally leafless, restricted to 
Australia. Flowers yellow or red, disposed in terminal 
racemes, or in lateral racemes or clusters; calyx lobes 
imbricated, the two upper ones falcate, united; petals 
with short claws; standard orbicular or reniform, emar- 
ginate; wings rather shorter. Pods small, oblique, glo- 
bular, or compressed. Leaves, when present, narrow, 
entire, alternate or irregularly opposite or whorled. 
Two of the species have been introduced: these succeed 
in a compost of loam and peat. Propagation may be 
freely effected by young cuttings, inserted in sand, 
under a glass. 
S. acuminatum (taper-pointed), A synonym of S. medium. 
S. medium (intermediate). /. red or oi usuall 
numerous, | 
densely clustered in terminal racemes; standard rena hg rather 
longer than the calyx. Summer. l. on the barren branches 
small, subulate, often opposite or in whorls of three. Stems erect, 
= to 2ft. high; flowering ones leafless. 1803. SYN. S. acwmi- 
natum. f i 
S. vimineum (twiggy). fi. yellow, numerous, usually clustered 
two or three together along the smaller branches, formin, 
or interrupted, terminal racemes ; petals about twice as long as 
the calyx; pedicels very short. Summer. Stems ascending or 
erect, from a few inches to 2ft. high, with slender, wiry branches ; 
all leafless, or the barren ones bearing a few scattered, linear or 
oe leaves, jin. long. 1802. (B. M. 969; L. B. C. 
SPHZ ROMA. A synonym of Spheralcea (which 
see). 
SPHZEROPHORA (of Blume). A synonym of 
Morinda (which see). : 
SPHZIROPHYSA (from sphaira, a sphere, and 
physa, a bladder; alluding to the shape of the pods). 
Including Phyllolobium,. Orv. Leguminose. A genus 
comprising three species of hardy, glabrous or hoary, 
perennial herbs or sub-shrubs, natives of Russian Asia 
or the Orient. Flowers red, disposed in axillary 
racemes; calyx teeth sub-equal, or the two upper ones 
approximating ; standard orbicular, laterally reflexed, 
naked within; wings falcate-oblong; keel incurved at 
apex, obtuse. Pods long-stipitate, inflated. Leaves 
imparipinnate ; leaflets three or numerous, entire, ex- 
stipellate. The species, like some other salt-loving 
plants, are difficult to preserve in gardens. S. salsula 
should be grown in sandy loam, and salted water should 
be occasionally applied. Propagation may be effected 
by seeds, which sometimes ripen in this country. 
S. caspica (Caspian). A synonym of S. salsula. 
S. salsula (salt-loving). f/i. dirty pale purple, marked with more 
obscure veins. July and August. l. with eight pairs of oval, 
ae - laihaa vith pareet poeem i h, lft. Russi 
Siberia to North China, 1818. SYN. S. caspica. 3 
SPHÆROPSIDEÆ. A very large section of Fungi, 
resembling the Pyrenomycetes in external appearance, 
with pycnidia quite like perithecia except in size, 
but inclosing no asci, the sporidia being produced singly 
on the tips of more or less evident stalks, inside the 
pycnidia (these almost always open by a hole or slit). 
The plants were formerly regarded as true species, but 
now they are considered,. with good reason, to be only 
an imperfect stage of species of Pyrenomycetes. Many 
of them grow on living plants, which they destroy or 
weaken. The leading genera parasitic on living plants 
are: Ascochyta, with two-celled, transparent, pale sporidia ; 
erect, and, as well as the 
Diplodia, with two-celled, brown sporidia; Hendersonia, 
