484 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
STACKHOUSIA (named after John Stackhouse, 1740- 
1819, a British botanist, who wrote on Algæ). The only 
genus of ORD. Stackhousiew (which see for characters). 
The species best known to cultivation is described below. 
It thrives in ordinary soil, and may be increased by 
cuttings of the young shoots, inserted in sandy soil, in a 
cold frame. 
S. linariæfolia (Toadflax-leaved). 
gyna. 
-i ite ; four 
a T tees p Beia e A gas a Ra Boara to 
4in. or bin. April. l. linear or lanceolate, acute or obtuse, 
crowded, or few and distant, sin. to lin., or, in very luxuriant 
specimens, 2in. long. Stems slender, simple or slightly branched, 
ft. to lift. high. B rdy perennial. SYN. S. linariæfolia. 
STACKHOUSIEZ. A small natural order of herbs, 
usually forming a perennial stock, with erect, slightly 
branched, twiggy stems, often assuming a yellowish 
colour, rarely dwarf and tufted; they are almost endemic 
in Australia, one species extending to New Zealand, and 
another to the Philippine Islands. Flowers white or 
yellow, in terminal spikes, rarely solitary, three-bracted 
at base; calyx small, five-lobed or five-cleft; petals five, 
perigynous, with elongated claws, usua'ly free at the 
base, but united upwards in a tubular corolla, with 
A synonym of S. mono- 
Stages—continued. 
made of iron, and the shelves of slate. If plants are 
found to get dry too frequently on slate Stages, it is an 
easy matter to spread a little fine ashes, spar, or shell, 
over the surface, beneath the pots, for retaining mois- 
ture. 
Step-stages are those made so that one shelf is situated 
above the other, in a similar way to stairs; they are 
frequently preferred for the centre of a span - roofed 
greenhouse, or for the back part of a lean-to structure. 
The shelves in Step-stages are best made of battens, 
which may be fixed at any distance apart, according as 
the plants intended to be stood upon them are in medium- 
sized or small pots. 
STAG’S-HORN FERN. 
several species of Platycerium. 
STAG’S-HORN SUMACH. 
Rhus typhina (which see). 
STAKES AND STAKING. Stakes, in various 
sizes, are indispensable in gardens, both for supporting 
plants in pots, and also in the open ground. For the 
first- named purpose, those made from deal are the 
best; they may be purchased, ready for use, in a great 
A popular name for 
A common name for 
Fig. 518. FLOWERING BRANCHLET OF STACHYURUS PRÆCOX (see page 483). 
spreading lobes; stamens five, included in the corolla 
tube, of very unequal lengths. Leaves alternate, narrow, 
entire, often somewhat fleshy; stipules none, or when 
present very minute. The order Stackhousiee is limited 
to a single genus —Stackhousia—comprising about twenty 
species. 
STH HELINA (named after Benedict Stæhelin, 1695- 
1750, a Swiss botanist). ORD. Composite. A genus con- 
sisting of half-a-dozen species of hardy or half-hardy 
sub-shrubs, natives of the Mediterranean region. Flower- 
heads purplish, narrow, solitary or densely corymbose ; 
involucral bracts in many series, acute or obtuse; recep- 
tacle flat; achenes glabrous or silky-villous. Leaves 
alternate, entire or sinuate-toothed, white-tonentose 
heres Two Fess S. arborescens and S. dubia, 
ave been introduced, but they are probabl 
cultivated. y probably not now 
STAFF-TREE. A common name for Celastrus 
(which see). 
STAG BEETLES. See Lucanus cervus. 
STAGES. In greenhouses and other glass structures, 
Stages are erected on which to stand plants that are 
grown in pots. They are generally constructed of wood, 
but are much more substantial when the uprights are 
_ variety of lengths and sizes, or cut out of ordinary laths 
of double thickness. Small annual growths of Hazel, 
which grow in great quantities from the base of esta- = 
blished bushes, are valuable as Stakes for young plants 
that are being grown on; also prunings of fruit - trees, 
when appearances are immaterial. Strong Stakes, for 
fruit and ornamental trees, Raspberries, &c., are best 
selected from a plantation where the common Ash pre- 
dominates, as this wood generally grows tolerably up- 
right, and lasts a long time in use. Hazel, of moderate 
size, is also largely employed for Stakes, when required 
for packing, as, in a green or partially green state, it 
bends readily if required. Several other kinds of wood 
may also be selected, and made to answer their purpose, 
as Stakes. 
The value of Staking, in connection with newly-planted 
trees, cannot be over-estimated, as, when properly exe- 
cuted, it prevents the trees from rocking about when 
the wind blows. When a single Stake is likely to be 
needed for permanently supporting a tree, it should be 
inserted at the time of planting; otherwise, it may very 
likely be driven in just where the best roots are 
situated, and thereby cause much injury. Plants that 
are likely to take care of themselves at the end of a 
year, are rendered safe for that period by placing three 
