AN ENCYCLOPADIA 
OF HORTICULTURE. 
25 
Parnassia—continued. 
free or adnate at the base to the ovary; lobes five, 
spreading, imbricate; petals five, spreading, marcescent, 
entire or fimbriate; scape angular, one-flowered. Leaves 
radical, petiolate, ovate-reniform or oblong; petioles 
dilated at base. Parnassias succeed in a moist, peaty 
soil or spongy bog. Propagated by divisions, or by seeds. 
P. asarifolia (Asarum-leaved). fl. white; petals five, abruptly 
contracted into a claw at the base. Summer. l., radical ones 
kidney-shaped; cauline ones somewhat cordate - orbicular. 
h. 6in. North America, 1812. An extremely pretty plant, with 
larger leaves and flowers than the British species. 
P. caroliniana (Carolinian). fl. white, netted with green or 
porns, and having a greenish tint; petals almost sessile. July. 
„radical ones somewhat orbicular, cauline ones ovate, sessile. 
— 9 North America (in swamps), 1802. (B. M. 1459; R. G. 
P. fimbriata (fringed). fl. white; petals obovate, unguiculate, 
fringed at the base. July. l, radical ones kidney-shaped, 
cucullate at the base; cauline ones cordate. h. 6in. North 
America. The leaves of this species are remarkably hollowed 
out at the base close to the lateral ribs, which are connec 
with one another by a common base, like the divisions of a 
pedate leaf, and have, consequently, a very elegant appearance. 
P. nubicola (dood Si ji. white, solitary, lin. to l}in. 
in diameter; staminodes yellow, three-lobed; peduncle four- 
angled, 6in. to 12in. high. Summer. l., radical ones petiolate, 
elliptic, sub-cordate; cauline ones solitary, sessile, elliptic. 
Himalayas, 1882. (B. M. 6609.) 
P. palustris (marsh-loving). Common Grass of Parnassus, 
ji. white, marked with greenish, pellucid veins; petals almost 
sessile, somewhat emarginate. Summer. “., radical ones 
cordate, cauline ones stem-clasping. h. 6in. Northern hemi- 
sphere (Britain). An elegant bog plant. (Sy. En. B. 565.) 
P. parviflora (small-flowered), fl. white, with pale purple or 
green netted veins ; petals sessile. July and August. (., radical 
ones ovate, cauline ones sessile. h. 6in. North America, 1820, 
GRASS OF. See Parnassia 
palustris. 
PAROCHETUS (from para, near, and ochetus, a 
brook; referring to the habitat of the genus). ORD. 
Leguminose. A monotypic genus. The species is an 
elegant, hardy, prostrate, herbaceous plant; it is most 
desirable for the rock garden, and for choice borders in 
warm positions, and in light vegetable soil. Propa- 
gated by divisions, or by seeds. 
P. communis (common). Shamrock Pea. fl. of a beautiful blue, 
rather large, having a slightly acute keel; disposed on solitary 
or axillary peduncles, or in umbels of two or three. J. digitately 
trifoliolate, and resembling those of the Shamrock; leaflets 
truncate, dentately-serrate kh. 2in. to Zin. 1820. Cold and 
temperate Himalayas, &c. (F. d. S. 1575.) 
PARONYCHIA (old Greek name used by Dio- 
scorides, and derived from paronychia, a whitlow, for 
which it was thought to be a cure). Nailwort; Whitlow 
Grass. ORD. Illecebraceew. A genus of about forty spe- 
cies of small, annual or perennial, mostly hardy herbs, 
often cæspitose, natives of the Mediterranean region, 
North Africa, Arabia, America, and Angola. Flowers 
small, in cymose heads or fascicles, often hidden by the 
large, white, scarious bracts; perianth five-parted. Leaves 
opposite, oblong-lanceolate or subulate, flat, or very 
rarely with recurved margins, entire; stipules usually 
large, scarious, shining. Thé Arabe, or Algerian Tea 
(Paronychia argentea, Lam., and P. nivea, DC.), is used 
in catarrh, phthisis, and to promote digestion. Scarcely 
any of the species are worth growing, except, perhaps, 
the following. They thrive in a light, sandy soil. Pro- 
pagated by seeds; the perennials also by divisions, 
P, entea (silvery). 45 whitish, axillary and terminal, 
crowded ; bracts white and shining, acuminate. J. ovate, slightly 
abrous, sub-acute; stipules broader, but shorter, than the 
eaves. South Europe, 1869. A free-growing and very dwarf 
lant, forming neat, compact patches lft. or more in diameter. 
The large, silvery stipules, and the numerous, scarious bracts of 
the same colour, have a good effect. A 
x (Thyme-leaved). fl. in dense heads at the tips 
of the shoots, surrounded and 388 hidden by silvery, 
scarious bracts. Summer. l. sub-orbicular or obovate, ciliate. 
Stems prostrate. South Europe. This makes a pretty covering 
for beds, or ‘amongst taller-growing plants, and is much used in 
carpet-bedding. 
PARONYCHIEZ. A tribe of Ilecebracee. 
li 
Vol. III. 
PARROT-BEAK PLANT. See Clianthus. 
PARROTIA (named after F. Parrot, 1792-1812, a 
German naturalist and traveller). ORD. Hamamelideæ. 
This genus comprises a couple of species of hardy trees 
or shrubs, the one inhabiting Kashmir, the other Northern 
Persia. Calyx-tube bell-shaped, and the border divided 
into five or seven lobes; corolla wanting; stamens five 
to seven; styles two. Leaves oblong or orbicular, de- 
ciduous, crenate; stipules large, deciduous. P. persica, 
under cultivation, is a beautiful, hardy shrub or small 
tree, whose chief attraction lies in the fine autumnal 
tints of its leaves. The most suitable situation for it is 
against a wall, where it will need no protection, and 
almost any soil will suit it. Both species may be pro- 
pagated by seeds, or by layers. 
P. Jacquemontiana (Jacquemont’s). f. small; calyx seg- 
ments narrow, oblong or linear; involucral bracts obovate, jin. 
long. l, 2in, to Sin. in diameter, blunt; petioles zin. — h. 
6ft. to 12ft. Kashmir. A gregarious bush, closely resemb a 
bazel. (B. F. F. 28.) n é oe 
P. persica (Persian).* Iron-tree. fl. chiefly conspicuous for 
the numerous, spreading stamens. l marge gay of a deep 
green in summer; in autumn, they assume at the tip a glowing 
crimson colour, in the centre a rich orange or yellow, while 
—.— 78 retains its green hue. k. 10ft. Persia, 1848. (B. M. 
PARROT’S BILL. See Clianthus puniceus. 
PARRYA (named after Captain W. E. Parry, 1790- 
1855, the Arctic navigator). Including Newroloma and 
Pachyneurum. ORD. Crucifere. A genus comprising 
half-a-score species of hardy, low, glabrous or pilose 
herbs, with thick perennial roots, all Arctic, or natives 
of the highest mountains of Northern Asia. Flowers 
white, rose, or purple, racemose, rarely on solitary 
scapes, usually showy; sepals erect; petals unguiculate, 
spathulate; scape naked or leafy. Pod compressed. 
Leaves linear or spathulate, entire or sinuate-toothed, in 
one species pinnatifid. Parryas thrive in any garden 
soil, Increased by division. 
P. arabidifiorum (Arabis-flowered). 
pedicels scarcely longer than the 
J. sub-radical, somewhat fleshy, lanceolate. h. 
1800. Syns. Hesperis arabidiflora, Neuroloma arabidiflora. 
P. arctica (Arctic). AH. pale purple, borne in corymbs; anthers 
oval; peduncles quite smooth. May and June. J. almost all 
quite entire. A, 3in, Arctic America, 1820. 
P. integerrima (entire-leaved). fl. beautiful purple, about the 
size of those of Cardamine pratensis ; racemes at first corymbose. 
April and May. l, radical ones rather spathulate, quite entire; 
cauline ones few. A. 6in. Siberia, 1827. 
P. nudicaulis (naked-stemmed). fi. lilac, lin. across, six to eight 
in a corymb on a leafless stem; petals obcordate. Early summer. 
l. all radical, petiolate, elliptic-oblong, acute, entire or tooi 
2in. to Zin. long. Arctic regions, 1 A beautiful little rock- 
work plant. 
PARSLEY (Carum Petroselinum). A hardy biennial, 
said to have been introduced into this country from 
Sardinia in 1548; it has become naturalised in some 
localities. Hooker, in the Student's Flora,” asserts 
that it is “only known as a cultivated plant or an 
escape,” but De Candolle, in his “ Origine des Plantes 
Cultivées,” believes it to be truly wild in the Mediter- 
ranean region. The leaves are in great demand for 
garnishing, and also for flavouring in numerous culinary 
preparations. Parsley, for one or both of these pur- 
poses, is in daily request throughout the whole year, 
and the crop is, in consequence, a most important one, 
a continued supply being maintained only by devoting 
considerable attention and forethonght to its culture. 
In some gardens, Parsley will, from some unaccountable 
cause, very rarely succeed; and in others, where it 
usually grows freely, it is not uncommon to find a sow- 
ing, or a whole crop, suddenly die away without, 
apparently, any satisfactory reason. This causes much 
inconvenience, and should be prevented, if possible, by 
sowing somewhat frequently, so that, in the event of a 
failure occurring, a supply from the succession may 
soon be forthcoming. ; 
purple; petals obovate ; 
yr: scapes simple. May. 
bin. Siberia, 
E 
