HENDERSON'S 



HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



AND 



GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



AAR 



Aaron's Beard. Hypericum calydnum. 

 aron's Club. Verbascum Thapsus. 



Aba'ca, a popular name given to one of the 

 Musas or Bananas of the Philippine Islands, 

 which yields Manilla hemp. 



Abe'le. The White Poplar, Populus alba, of Eu- 

 rope ; a tree that has been extensively planted 

 as an ornamental tree, but discarded because 

 of its tendency to sucker and spread beyond 

 control. 



Abe'lia. After Dr. Abel, physician to the embas- 

 sage of Lord Amherst to China. Nat. Ord. 

 Caprifoliacece. 



A small genus of green-house shrubs, found 

 in India, China, Mexico, and Japan. They are 

 of a slender branching habit, bearing opposite 

 leaves and terminal bunches of tubular rose- 

 colored or dark crimson fiowers. A. rupestris, 

 a native of China, is of dwarf habit, and flow- 

 ers profusely in autunm or winter. The 

 flowers are in compact clusters, very fragrant. 

 A. rupestris grandiflora, a seedling of Italian 

 origin, has larger flowers, and the whole plant 

 is more robust. A. floribunda, a Mexican 

 species, has dark-colored flowers, produced 

 from the axils of the leaves. All the species 

 are increased by cuttings. Introduced in 

 18il. 



Abelmo'schus esculentus. The modern botan- 

 ical name for Okra. See Hibiscus. 



Abe'ria. A genus of Flacourtiacece, consisting of 

 a few species, mostly natives of tropical Af- 

 rica, the Cape, and Ceylon. The fruits of A. 

 Caffra, the Kei apple of the Cape, are of a 

 golden-yellow color, about the size of a small 

 apple, and are used by the natives for making 

 a preserve. They are so exceedingly acid 

 when fresh, that the Dutch settlers prepare 

 them for their table as a pickle, without vin- 

 egar. The plant is also much grown for 

 hedges ; being densely clothed with strong, 

 dry spines, it forms an impenetrable fence. 



Aberrant. Something which differs from the 

 customary or usual structure, or deviates 

 from the natural or direct way. Also, a group 

 of plants which stands intermediate, as it 

 were, between two other groups ; e. g., Fuma- 

 riacecB, Avhieh are by some regarded as an 

 aberrant group of PapaveracecB. 



ATjies. Spruce, Fir. The classical Latin name, 

 Nat. Ord. Coniftrce. 



An extensive genus of hardy evergreen trees. 

 Most of the species are ornamental, and are 



ABR 



extensively planted for hedges around large 

 grounds, or for single specimens on the lawn. 

 A. excelsa, the Norway Spruce, is the most 

 commonly planted, and is one of the most 

 graceful and popular species. A. alba is the 

 White Spruce; A. baWimea, the Balsam Fir; 

 and A. nigra, the Black or Double Spruce. 

 The correct name of A. Canadensis, the Hem- 

 lock Spruce, is Tsuga Canadensis, which see. 

 A. Douglasii, syn. Psetidotsnga Douglasii, is a 

 noble species, common west of the Eocky 

 Mountains. It attains a height of two hun- 

 dred feet, and a diameter of ten feet, and is 

 entitled to a place among the "great trees" 

 of California. 



Abnormal. Opposed to the usual structure. 

 Thus, stamens standing opposite to petals are 

 abnormal, it being usual for stamens to be 

 alternate with petals if equal to them in num- 

 ber. Leaves growing in pairs from the same 

 side of a stem, as in Atropa Belladonna, and 

 flower stalks adherent to the midrib of a 

 bract, as in Tilia, are also abnormal. 



Abo'bra. Its Brazilian name. Nat. Ord. Cu- 

 curbitacece. 



A. viridiflora is a very pretty climber, suita- 

 ble for planting out during summer. Foliage 

 dark green and gloss}^ ; flowers insignificant, 

 but the small scarlet fruit makes the plant 

 very effective. Root tuberous, perennial. 

 Keep during winter like the Dahlia. 



Abortive. Imperfectly developed ; as abortive 

 stamens, which consist of a filament only ; 

 abortive petals, which are mere bristles or 

 scales. 



Abro'ma. From a, privative, and broma, food ; 

 unfit to be eaten. Nat. Ord. Sterculiacece. 



Handsome, free-flowering species of easy 

 culture, growing readily in common loam, and 

 propagated by seeds or offsets. The flowers 

 are in terminal or axillary clusters, yellow or 

 purple. A. sinuosa, from Madagascar, intro- 

 duced in 1884, is a very pretty plant of slender 

 habit. The bark of A. augusta, a native of the 

 East Indies, furnishes a veiy strong white 

 fiber, used in the manufacture of cordage that 

 is not liable to be weakened by exposure to 

 wet. Of easy culture ; propagated by seeds 

 or cuttings. Introduced to cultivation in 1770. 



Abro'nia. Sand Verbena. From abros, deli- 

 cate ; referring to its iuvolucrum. Nat. Ord. 

 Nyctaginnre(v. 



These charming annuals are natives of Cal- 

 ifornia. A. iiinbellata, introduced in 1826, is a 



