AND GENEKAL HORTICULTUKE. 



121 



DAT 



of Yucca, and are increased by suckers. 

 Introduced in 1830. 



Date. Ciiinese. A name given by foreign resi- 

 dents in the northern provinces of China to 

 the fruit of a Zizyphus, allied to or probably 

 an improved variety of Z. Jujuba. 



Date Palm. See PhcEnix. 



Date Plum. See Diospyros. 



Dati'sca. A very graceful herbaceous perennial 

 of the Nat. Ord. Datiscacew, closely allied to 

 the Begonias, well suited for a collection of 

 hardy, fine-leaved plants, and also as isolated 

 specimens. Flowers yellow, in long, loose 

 axillary racemes. Native of Crete and west- 

 ern Asia. 



Datisca'ceae. A small natural order closely 

 allied to the Begonias. The plants consist of 

 a few species which are scattered over North 

 America, northei'n India, Siberia, the Indian 

 Archipelago and southern Europe. There are 

 but three genera, Datisca, Tetrameles and Tri- 

 cerastes, and these comprise but four species. 



Datu'ra. Jamestown "Weed, Thorn Apple, Dev- 

 il's Trumpet. An alteration of the Arabic 

 name tatorah. Nat. Ord. Solanacece. 



Strong growing ornamental annuals, shrubs, 

 or trees. The flowers of some of the annual 

 species are large, veiy showy, and sweet- 

 scented, D. ceratocnulon, white, tinged with 

 purple, D. Chlorantha fl. pi., double yellow, 

 and D. Meteloides (Syn. D. Wrightii), bluish- 

 violet or white are the most genei'ally culti- 

 vated species, and are very showy border 

 annuals. The shrubby species are best 

 known as Brugmansias, under which name 

 they are here described. D. Stramonium, 

 commonly known as Thorn Apple, and in 

 some sections as Jimson Weed, is a coarse- 

 growing, troublesome weed, that seems to 

 delight in filthy door-yards. The seeds and 

 stems of the Datura are powerful narcotic 

 poisons, and many deaths have resulted from 

 eating the seeds. They are sparingly used in 

 medicine, and the dried root is sometimes 

 smoked as a remedy for asthma. 



Daubento'nia. Named after AT. Daubenton, a 

 celebrated naturalist. Nat. Ord. Leguminosce. 

 A genus of green-house evergreen shrubs, 

 chiefly remarkable for their curious, quadran- 

 gular seed pods, which are three to four inches 

 long, stalked, pointed, and furnished with 

 wings along the angles. Their red or yellow, 

 flowers, I'esembling the Laburnum, are borne 

 on short axillary racemes. They are natives 

 of Texas and Buenos Ayres. Propagated by 

 seeds and cuttings of ripened young shoots. 

 Inti'oduced in 1820. Syn. Sisbania. 



Daube'nya. In honor of Dr. Daubeny, Pro- 

 fessor of Botany in the University of Oxford. 

 Nat. Ord. Liliacece. 



A genus consisting of two species of yellow 

 flowering bulbs from the Cape of Good Hope. 

 They are very dwarf, the flower stalks being 

 from three to six inches high, upon which is 

 borne an umbel of small showy flowers. They 

 are of easy culture, in a dry, warm situation, 

 and with slight protection they will endure 

 our winters. The safer way is to treat them 

 the same as Gladiolus. Propagated by offsets. 



Da'ucus. Carrot. From daw, to make hot; 

 in allusion to its supposed effect in medicine. 

 Nat. Ord. UmbellifercB. 

 For description of this genus, see Carrot. 



DEC 



Dava'lUa. Hare's-foot Fern. Named after 

 Edmund Davall, a Swiss botanist. Nat. Ord. 

 PolypodicecB. 



A fine and extensive genus of tropical Ferns. 

 They have scaly, creeping rhizomes, which are 

 covered with close brown hair, which feature 

 has given rise to the name of Hare's-foot 

 Fern. The genus is well marked by natural 

 features, and is one of the most elegant to be 

 found in our green-houses. Propagated by 

 division of roots and by spores. Intro- 

 duced in 1699. Acrophorus, Humata, Lmcos- 

 tegia, Microlepia, Stenoloma, etc., are included 

 in this genus by some botanists. 



Davidso'nia. Queensland Plum. Named after 

 the discoverer of the plant, who found it in a 

 sugar plantation. Nat. Ord. Saxifragacew. 

 D. pruriens (Syn.pungens), the only introduced 

 species, is a noble looking and desirable orna- 

 mental plant, with leaves nearly two feet long. 

 In the young state the leaves are of a bright 

 red color, from which they pass to a deep 

 green. It produces a succulent edible fruit 

 and is one of the most interesting plants in 

 Queensland. It was introduced from Austra- 

 lia in 1877. 



Davie'sia. Named after Rev. Hugh Davies, a 

 Welsh botanist. Nat. Ord. LeguminosoB. 



Handsome green-house evergreens from 

 New Holland. Like all other plants from that 

 country, they require a bountiful supply of air 

 on all favorable occasions through the winter, 

 and in summer they are much better placed 

 in the open air, so that they are slightly 

 shaded from the mid-day sun. Some of the 

 species have a sub-scandent habit, which, with 

 their densely-filled, drooping spikes of yellow 

 and red flowers, gives them a very graceful 

 appearance. Propagated by cuttings from 

 well-ripened side shoots. Introduced in 1792. 



Dawn Flower. Blue. A popular name for 

 Ipomaa Learii. 



Day Flower. See Commelyna. 

 Day Lily. See Funkia and Hemerocallis. 

 Deadly Nightshade. A common name for 

 Atropa Belladonna. 



Dead Nettle. A common name for the genus 

 Lamium, a few species of which have become 

 naturalized in this country to such an extent as 

 to be troublesome. Natives of Europe. 



Dead-wort. Sambucus Ebulus. 



Dealbate. Covered with a very opaque white 



powder. 



Decai'snea. Named in honor of Joseph 

 Decaisne , a distinguished French botanist, 

 1807-1882. Nat. Ord. Berberidacece. 



One of the most remarkable of Indian dis- 

 coveries. With the habit of an Araliaceous 

 plant it exhibits the characters of the Ber- 

 beridacesB and Lardizabalaceae. D.insignis,the 

 only species, is an elegant tx-ee with greenish 

 flowers borne in terminal racemes It is a 

 native of the humid forests of Sikkim and 

 Bhotan, whence it was introduced in 1883. 



Deciduous. Falling off. Leaves which are 

 shed annually are said to be deciduous; as 

 are also trees that annually lose their leaves. 

 So also the calyx and corolla of Cntciferm. 



Deciduous Cypress. Taxodium distichum. 



Declinate. Bent downwards. 



