24 IHE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Parinarium—continued. 
bescence beneath, Guinea, 1822. A large tree. This species 
s the “Grey” or Rough-skinned Plum” of Sierra Leone. 
A llum (large-leaved). Gingerbread Plum, fl. white, 
in terminal racemes. February. fr. oblong, twice the size of 
that of the preceding species, which it much resembles in 
flavour ap ce. l large, ovate, sessile, and cordate, 
above and downy beneath. Stems thickly’ beset with 
5 hairs. Guinea, 1822 Shrub or small tree. 
PARI-PINNATE. Even-pinnate; abruptly pinnate. 
PARIS (from par, equal; alluding to the regularity 
of the parts). ORD. Liliucec. Of this genus, about half- 
a-dozen species have been proposed; but not more than 
three or four are sufficiently distinct for that rank. They 
are hardy perennial herbs, with creeping rhizomes, natives 
of Europe and temperate and mountainous Asia. Flowers 
green, erect, solitary, pedicellate ; perianth persistent, 
with distinct segments in series of four to six. Leaves 
four or many, wherled at the apex of the stem, sessile 
or petiolate, lanceolate or ovate, slenderly three-nerved 
and reticulate-venulose. Stem simple. P. polyphylla 
and P. quadrifolia are the only species which call for 
description here. The leaves and stems of the latter 
a were formerly employed in medicine, au the juice of 
the berry has been used to cure inflammation of the 
eyes. They thrive in light sandy loam, in a shaded situa- 
tion. Propagated by divisons, or by seeds. 
polyphylla (many-leaved). edicellate ; sepals greenish. 
four to six, 7 —— * petals re four to six, 
filiform ; stamens four to ten. May. fr. brilliant scarlet. Z. four 
to nine in a whorl, petiolate, linear or oblong-lanceolate, acu- 
minate, rounded or acute at base. h. 3in. to ft. Himalayas, 
1826, (I. H. Pl. 24.) 
P. lia (four-leaved). Herb-Paris; True Love. fl., 
nth yellowish-green, the four outer segments about lin. 
— the four inner ones rather more yellow; peduncle rising to 
lin. or 2in. above the leaves. Spring or early summer. Jr. 
bluish-black. J. four, broadly ovate or obovate, 2in, to 4in. long. 
Stem Qin. to 12in. high. Europe (Britain), Russian Asia, &c. 
„Sometimes, but rarely, there is a fifth leaf, with the addition of 
a — to each of the parts of the flower” (Bentham). (Sy. En. B. 
1509.) 
PARITIUM. Included under Hibiscus (which see). 
PARK. An extensive inclosure of land, specially 
set apart for public or private recreation and enjoy- 
ment. In and around cities and large towns, public 
Parks, or similar open spaces; are essential for promoting 
health as well as for affording recreation. A private Park 
usually surrounds the owner’s residence, and, in conse- 
quence, should be rendered as attractive as possible. Its 
beauty depends very materially on the natural landscape 
and disposition of land, although much may be accom- 
plished, by way of improving Park scenery, by persons 
competent to conduct alterations. An irregular belt of 
trees, such as succeed best in the soil and locality, is 
always most satisfactory as a boundary, and all the mate- 
rial for forming the principal groups and masses in the 
Park should be similarly selected with a due regard to 
the description of soil. For instance, Chestnut, Elm, 
Oak, and Lime-trees are best suited with loam or clay 
soils; while Beech, Birch, and Sycamore may be cited as 
trees which succeed in poor soils and in exposed situa- 
tions. Bold groups of trees, cireular or oval in general 
outline, and composed of one species or variety, are to 
be recommended, and single specimens of a marked 
and distinct character may be judiciously introduced in 
well-chosen spots; not, however, with a too frequent repe- 
tition. In any system of arrangement, formality must 
be avoided; and the idea of producing a natural pic- 
turesque effect, where it is wanting, should be the aim 
kept in view. In planning and laying out Parks, and in 
improving Park scenery, much experience and judgment 
are necessary with each case individually. No two are 
exactly alike. The subject is one of an indefinite extent, 
and is far too vast for dealing with in such a limited 
space as that which is here available. 
PAREKERIA PTEROIDES. See Cera 
topteris 
PARKIA (named in honour of Mungo Park, 1771- 
1805, the celebrated African traveller). Syn. Parypho- 
sphera. ORD. Leguminose. This genus comprises about 
eight species of showy, unarmed, stove trees, two or three 
of which inhabit tropical Asia and Africa, and four or 
five tropical America. Flowers very numerons, in large 
heads; upper ones yellowish, tawny, or red; lower ones 
sterile, white or red; peduncles sometimes solitary, axil- 
lary, very long, pendulous, sometimes several at the 
apices of the branches. Leaves bipinnate; leaflets small, 
numerous, and in pairs. The species best known in 
gardens are P. africana and P. biglandulosa. For cul- 
ture, see Inga. 3 
P. africana, African Locust, or Nitta-tree. fl. crimson, in bi- 
globular heads. February. l, with usually twenty pairs of pinne, 
each pinna bearing about thirty pairs of obtuse, pubescent 
leaflets, with a gland at the base of the petiole, and with a 
small, umbilicate gland between two or three of the upper 
pas of leaflets. h. 30ft. to 40ft. Africa, 1822. An agreeable 
verage is prepared from the sweet, farinaceous pulp surround- 
ing the seeds, and sweetmeats are also made of it. 
P. i . ” wnish- 
ee, Chen. ING Ait in, donee the, tae 
abrous, the teeth pilose. Immature pod downy. l, rachis 
wny, lft. or more long; pinnæ forty to sixty, 3in. to 4in. 
long; leaflets linear-ligulate, 150 to 200 to a pinna; petioles 
Naar Malay Peninsula. 
PARKINSONIA (named after John Parkinson, 1567- 
1629, an apothecary of London, author of Paradisis 
Terrestris,” and“ Theatrum Botanicum”), ORD. Legumi- 
nosæ. A genus comprising only three species of stove 
or greenhouse trees, of which one is Mexican, the second 
South African, and the third broadly dispersed over the 
warmer parts of Western America and the Antilles. 
Flowers disposed in short, loose, axillary racemes; calyx 
segments five, narrow, imbricate or sub-valvate; petals 
five, spreading. Pods linear, torulose. Leaves at first 
sight apparently simply pinnate and fasciculate, but 
really bipinnate; common petiole very short, spine-like ; 
pinnæ two to four, very long; leaflets numerous, small; 
stipules often short, spinescent. P. aculeata, the only 
species in cultivation, is an ornamental, stove, evergreen 
plant, of great beauty, but very difficult to preserve. It 
is generally raised from imported seeds. The young 
plants should be potted in a well-drained, porous loam, 
and kept in a light, airy place. f 
P. aculeata (prickly). Jerusalem Thorn. fl. yellow, sweet-scented, 
disposed in loose, pendulous racemes. l. bipinnate ; leaflets usually 
deciduous or abortive ; petioles linear, very long, winged. h. Sit. 
to 10ft. Tropical America, 1739; cultivated in all tropical coun- 
tries. Plant furnished with generally solitary, 2 prickles 
or spines. Stove. : 
PARMENTIERA (named after A. Parmentier, 
1737-1813, a French writer on edible plants). ORD. 
Bignoniacee. A genus comprising about three species 
of glabrous, stove trees, inhabiting Mexico and Central 
America, Flowers greenish, large, at the nodes, solitary 
or few, pedicellate; corolla tube short above the base, 
incurved at the throat, ample, campanulate; limb sub- 
bilabiate. Fruit edible, elongate-fusiform or oblong. 
Leaves alternate or almost opposite, solitary or fascicu- 
late at the nodes, trifoliolate, or in some cases simple ; 
common petiole often winged. P. cereifera, the only 
species introduced, requires culture similar to Bignonia 
(which see), 
P. cereifera (wax-beari 3 e i ; lobes 
of corolla ee e greg at ee naw: 
hanging down, and much resembling large candles; hence the 
common name. i. all trifoliolate; leaflets ovate-elliptic or 
obovate-oblong, acuminated at each end, or entire; 
common petiole winged. Panama, 1866. 
PARNASSIA (named from Mount Parnassus ; called 
Grass of Parnassus by Dioscorides). Grass of Parnassus. 
Orv. Sawxifragee. A genus comprising about twelve 
species of elegant, hardy, glabrous, erect, perennial 
herbs, often marsh-loving, inhabiting the temperate and 
frigid regions of the Northern hemisphere and the moun- 
tains of the whole of India. Flowers white or pale 
yellow, rather large; calyx tube short or very short, 
n 
