AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



303 



PAR 



obtained ; and then these doubled sheets were 

 attached to one another to form rolls of any 

 desired length. Papj-rus was so generally 

 used even in the later Roman period that 

 Cassiodorus, says a recent writer in the Revue 

 Horticole, wrote an epistle congratulating the 

 whole human race upon the fact that the im- 

 port duty laid upon it by Theodoric had been 

 decreased. In the time of Xerxes an immense 

 number of Papyrus cables were manufactured 

 in Egypt for use in his fleets and in his bridge- 

 building enterprises. The stems were like- 

 wise used for ornamenting the Egyptian 

 temples and crowning the statues of their 

 gods. It is usually cultivated as an aquatic, 

 and may be grown in a pot of rich loam, if 

 kept standing in a pan or tub of water. It 

 forms a very prominent and intereeting plant 

 in an aquarium or a warm sheltered corner of 

 the sub-tropical garden. It is easily propa- 

 gated by division of the creeping rhizomes. 

 The stems of P. corymbosus, form the Indian 

 matting, of which large quantities are impor- 

 ted. This genus of sedges has been replaced 

 under Cyperus, by Bentham and Hooker. 



Paraca'ryum. From para, beside, and karyon, 

 a nut ; in reference to the position of the nut- 

 lets. Nat. Ord. Baraginacece. 



A genus of hardy biennial or perennial 

 hei'bs, natives of southern Europe and central 

 Asia. Several species of Cynoglossum and 

 Omphalodes are now included under this 

 genus. 



Paradisa Liliastrum. This is given as the cor- 

 rect name of Anthericum Liliastrum. 



Paradise. Grains of. A common name applied 

 to the seeds of Amomum Melegueta. 



Paradise Nut. The fruits of BerthoUetia excelsa. 



Paraguay Tea. See Hex Paraguariensis. 



Para Nuts or Brazil Nuts, are the fruits of 

 Bertholletia excelsa. 



Parasite. A plant which obtains its nourish- 

 ment directly from the juices of some other 

 plant to which it is attached. 



Parasol. Chinese. Sterculia platanifolia. 



Parchment Bark. Pittosporum crassifolium. 



Parda'nthus. Blackberry Lilj-. From pardos, 

 a leopard, and anthos, a flower ; referring to 

 the spotted flowers. Nat. Ord. Iridacem. 



P. Chinensis, the only species, is a hand- 

 some, hardy herbaceous plant, with orange - 

 colored flowers, spotted with purple. It has 

 branching flower stems, and continues to pro- 

 duce its lily-like flowers for several weeks. 

 The seed-pods have the appearance of a 

 Blackberry, whence the common name. The 

 seeds will not drop for a long time after the 

 branches have been cut, and, when dried, are 

 useful to mix with grasses, in arranging dried 

 bouquets. It was introduced originallj- from 

 China and Japan, about 1825, but is now found 

 naturalized on East Rock, New Haven, on Long 

 Island, and many places southward. It is 

 easily propagated by seeds or division of the 

 roots in spring. 



Parenchyma. The soft cellular tissue of plants, 

 like the green pulp of leaves. 



Pariera Brava. A name given to Cissampelos 



Pariera. 

 Pariera Brava. White. A common name in 



Cayenne for AhxUa rufescens. 



PAR 



Parietal. Growing to the walls or interior sur- 

 faces of any ovary. 



Parina'rium. From Parinari, the native name 

 of the plant in Brazil. Nat. Ord. Rosacea. 



A genus of shrubs or trees, natives of 

 Australia, the Pacific Islands, tropical Africa, 

 Brazil, and Guiana. But few of the species 

 are in cultivation. P. excektum, the Guinea 

 Plum, and P. macrophyllum, the Gingerbread 

 Plum, are noble plants bearing large terminal 

 bunches of flowers, but, owing to their size, 

 they are seldom found in cultivation except 

 in botanic gardens. 



Pari-pinnate. Equally or abruptly-pinnate. 



Paris. From par, equal ; alluding to the regu- 

 larity of the parts. Nat. Ord. LiliacefE. 



Herbaceous perennials with creeping rhi- 

 zomes, natives of Europe and temperate and 

 mountainous Asia. P. quadrifolia (H»n'b- 

 Paris) sends up a simple stem a foot liigh, 

 bearing at its summit four whorled, large 

 oval, acute leaves, and a single terminal large 

 green flower. The leaves and stem were 

 formerly used in medicine, and the juice of 

 the berry is considered poisonous. 



Paris Daisy, Chrysanthemum frutescens. 



Pari'tium. From pariti, the Malabar name of 

 one of the species. Nat. Ord. Malvacem. 



P. elatum, the only species of this genus, is 

 an evergreen tree found only in Cuba and 

 Jamaica, where it is called Mountain Mahoe. 

 It affords the beautiful lace-like inner bark 

 called Cuba Bast, formerly only used for tying 

 around bundles of Havana cigars, and once 

 extensively used by nurserymen and gardeners 

 for tying up trees and plants, more particu- 

 larly in budding. It is not so valuable, how- 

 ever, for this purpose as the more recently 

 introduced tying material known as Raffle. 

 This genus is now placed under Hibiscus, 

 which see. 



Pa'rkia. Named in honor of Mungo Park, the 

 celebrated African traveler. A small but 

 widely spread genus of LeguminoscB, found in 

 Africa, India, Java, Surinam, and Brazil. P. 

 Africana, the African Locust tree — Netta, or 

 Nutta, of the negroes— is a large tree, bearing 

 bi-globular heads of scarlet flowers at the end 

 of long stalks, followed by clusters of flat, 

 leathery pods, containing a number of seeds 

 enveloped in a farinaceous pulp, from which 

 an agreeable beverage is made. 



Parkinso'nia. Named in honor of John Parki7i'- 

 son, author of "Theatrum Botanicum," pub- 

 lished in 1629. Nat. Ord. Leguminosce. 



An ornamental spiny shrub, common to 

 Lower California and Mexico. It is groAvn in 

 the West Indies for a hedge plant, and called 

 Jerusalem thorn. 



Parlor Gardening. In parlor gardening, or 

 the keeping of plants in private rooms, one 

 of the most essential things, for satisfaction 

 to the owner, is to start with young, healthy 

 plants, rather than old matured specimens. 

 One of the most common errors in keeping 

 plants in rooms is that of keeping the temper- 

 ature too high. Very few plants suitable for 

 the parlor grow well in a temperature of less 

 than 50 degrees at night. To be sure, there are 

 quite a number of plants grown in private 

 rooms, that require a much higher temper- 

 ature ; but to have satisfactory results, the 

 two divisions should be kept in separate 



