POSOQUERIA. 
plants have been cut back when their 
blooming is over ; a good washing with in- 
secticide will then destroy the insects with- 
out injuring the plants. They are very 
subject in the summer to the attacks of 
red spider, which if not at once removed 
will in a short time destroy the leaves—in 
which case the plants are not worth much, 
as a hard stunted condition, from which 
they do not easily recover, is induced. 
A free use of the syringe all through the 
growing season, while the weather is warm 
and favourable to the development of the 
insects, will keep them down ; but the 
water must be directly applied to both the 
upper and under sides of the leaves where 
they harbour. 
POLYPODIUM. 
An extensive genus of Ferns, containing 
‘stove, greenhouse, and hardy species, and 
including many handsome kinds. 
For propagation and cultivation, see 
Ferns, general details of culture. 
STOVE SPECIES. 
P. Paradise. Tropical America. 
P. pectinatum. West Indies. 
P. plumosum. South America. 
P. sanctum. West Indies. 
GREENHOUSE SPECIES. 
P. effusum. Jamaica. 
P. nigrescens. Java. 
P. trichoides. Isle of Luzon. 
POLYSTICHUM. 
A genus of Ferns comprising stove, 
greenhouse, and hardy species; most of 
the kinds included in it hold only a 
secondary position in their appearance, 
but should be present in collections where 
the object is to include as many distinct 
forms as possible. The greenhouse section 
will usually be found most desirable. 
For propagation and cultivation, see 
Ferns, general details of culture. 
GREENHOUSE SPECIES. 
P. denticulatum. Jamaica. 
P. ordinatum. Chili. 
P. proliferum. Tasmania. 
P. pungens. Cape of Good Hope. 
P. triangulare. Jamaica. 
P. vestitum. New Zealand. 
PORTLANDIA. 
This is a limited genus of evergreen 
stove shrubs, only a few being known to 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
293 
cultivators. The appearance of the plants 
even when not in flower is such as to make 
them worth growing, and their flowers are 
handsome and distinct-looking. They re- 
quire a high temperature, otherwise they 
make slow progress. 
Their method of propagation and general 
treatment is like to that recommended for 
Ixoras, which see. 
P. coccinea. A fine species, with hand- 
some foliage, and striking red flowers, 
which open in summer. It comes from 
Jamaica. 
P. grandiflora. Much the finest of the 
genus in regard to the size it attains, the 
character of the foliage, and also the ap- 
pearance of the flowers, which are white, 
produced in summer, and the largest of 
any of the species. From Jamaica. 
P. platantha. This is from South 
America; like the last-named it bears 
white flowers in summer. It is a smaller 
grower than P. grandiflora, but where that 
is cultivated there will scarcely be occa- 
sion for this. 
Insects. — The high temperature the 
plants require favours the presence of in- 
sects, all of which that usually affect stove 
plants are troublesome on Portlandias. 
A free use of the syringe daily during the 
growing season will keep down the less 
injurious kinds. Mealy bug and scale may 
be got rid of by spunging in summer, and 
copious washings with insecticide inautumn 
and winter. 
POSOQUERIA. 
These pretty evergreen stove shrubs bear 
handsome very long-tubed flowers indi- 
vidually not unlike those of the Stephanotis. 
The two species most deserving of cultiva- 
tion, P. longiflora and P. multiflora, are 
both natives of Guiana, and succeed best 
when'grown in a moderately high tempera- — 
ture. They strike well in spring from 
cuttings made of the young shoots consist- 
ing of three or four joints. They should 
be placed in sand, in a temperature of 70°, 
kept close and shaded. Under such condi- 
tions they will be rooted sufficiently in two 
months to require shifting into 4-inch pots. 
They do best in peat, to which a moderate 
quantity of sand is added. Place them in 
a light position near the glass; this is 
necessary, otherwise their natural inclina- 
tion to grow thin and straggling is in- 
creased. Pinch out the points of the shoots 
when they have made a few inches of 
growth. A temperature during summer of 
65° to 70° at night will not be too much 
with proportionately more heat in the day- 
time ; tie out the shoots as they-grow, so 
