AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



311 



PED 



A genus of plants popularly known as 

 Louse-worts. P. sylvatica and P. pahistris, 

 indigenous to Great Britain, were formerly 

 supposed to produce in sheep eating them the 

 disease which gave name to the genus ; but 

 there is no good reason for such belief. Some 

 of the species are beautiful little plants, with 

 very regular, finely cut leaves. P. Canadeiisis, 

 the Wood Betony, is a rather showy, native 

 perennial, with spikes of greenish-yellow and 

 purple flowers, common in open woods and on 

 banks, flowering from May till July. P. lan- 

 ceolata is brighter in color, from one to three 

 feet high, and is found in swamps from Con- 

 necticut to Virginia and Wisconsin. It flowers 

 during August and September. 



Pedilan'thus. From pedilon, a slipper, and 

 anthos, a flower. Nat. Ord. Euphorbiacece. 



A small genus of curious plants, i-esembling 

 in habit and general appearance the Euphorbia, 

 to which genus they may be referred for culti- 

 vation. 



Peduncle. A flower-stalk, whether of a single 

 flower, or of a flower cluster. 



Peg-wood. A name applied to Comus sanguinea, 

 and Euonymus Europceus. 



Pelargo'nium. Stork's bill. From pelargos, a 

 stork ; referring to the beak-like formation of 

 the seed-pod. Nat. Ord. Geraniaceoe. 



A very extensive genus of green-house ever- 

 green-shrubs, and a limited number of bien- 

 nials and annuals. They are mostly natives 

 of the Cape of Good Hope ; a few occur in 

 Australia, one in the Canary' Islands and one 

 in Asia Minor. The Scarlet kinds are popu- 

 larly called Geraniums, though very different 

 from the genus of that name, when viewed in 

 a botanical sense. The greater number of 

 kinds cultivated in the green-house and garden 

 are hybrids, which are produced with great 

 facility in this genus. The number of varieties 

 already produced, embracing a great range of 

 form and color, is truly astonishing, and every 

 year adds to the number new varieties in some 

 respect superior to any before inti-oduced. 

 The improvements in the foliage even has 

 been almost as marked as in the flower. We 

 have now a sufficient number of varieties with 

 ornamental foliage to constitute a distinctive 

 feature in the green-house, and which are use- 

 ful to the florist in making up his bouquets, 

 baskets, and ornamental designs All this 

 is due to the untiring zeal of the florist. We 

 caainot follow up the history of the introduc- 

 tion of these choice hybrids, but must be 

 content with giving a brief account of the 

 species to which the various classes belong. 

 All the species noted are natives of the Cape 

 of Good Hope, unless otherwise mentioned. 

 The Fancy and Show Pelargoniums, strictly 

 green-house varieties, and unsuitable for the 

 border, are descendants of P. grandiflorum, 

 introduced in 1794. One of the hybrids was 

 called "Lady Washington," which gave the 

 whole class the popular name, " Lady Wash- 

 ington Geraniums." Some division of this 

 class also have the distinctive appellation of 

 French Pelargoniums, probably because they 

 had their origin with the French hybridists. 

 As specimen plants for green-house or con- 

 servatory decoration, these have decided 

 merit. There ai-e few cultivated plants that 

 make a more beautiful display, when they 

 receive the care and attention they need. P. 



PEL 



inquinans, Scarlet Pelargonium, is one of the 

 parents of that large and important class now 

 known as Bedding, Scarlet, or Zonal Gera- 

 niums, and formerly very generally called Fish 

 and Horseshoe Geraniums, and of which we 

 now have an immense variety of double and 

 single, embracing every shade of scarlet, 

 crimson, rose, carmine, violet, white, etc. 

 This species has a splendid habit, being dwarf 

 and compact, the flowers are intense scarlet, 

 of good form and substance ; it has large reni- 

 form, indistinctly zoned leaves, soft to the 

 touch, and exhaling, when rubbed, an aromatic 

 odor, which is unpleasant to most persons. 

 P. zonale, Zonal Geranium, or Horseshoe 

 Geranium, so-called from a dark, discolored 

 zone on the surface of the leaf, is a smaller 

 species than the preceding, and has the leaves 

 more strongly marked. The petals of the 

 flower are narrower, and of a deep carmine 

 color. A variety of this, P. marginatum, is 

 the well-known Silver-leaved Geranium. All 

 the "Tricolors," such as Mrs. Pollock, Sunset, 

 Golden Tricolor, etc., have originated from 

 the above few species. It must not be sup- 

 posed that all these beautiful colors, both in 

 foliage and flower, have been produced hastily, 

 or that they are in the true sense hybrids. 

 Persistent cross fertilization of the many 

 varieties, that has been carried on for the 

 last thirty years, has given us the rare sorts 

 enumerated in florists' catalogues. We think 

 it is not to be doubted, however, that some 

 of the " Tricolors " are simply "Sports." P. 

 peltatum is the Ivy-leaved Geranium. Of this 

 species there are two varieties that were 

 introduced in 1701, and from these have 

 sprung many beautiful sorts, which grow 

 rapidly and flower freely. From their grace- 

 ful, trailing habit they are useful for window 

 gardening and rustic work. Many of the Ivy- 

 leaved have handsome double flowers. Of 

 the species, besides those noted above, we 

 will briefly mention P. echinatum, introduced 

 into England in 1797, but mostly lost sight of 

 until recently, except in collections of old 

 plants. It is, indeed, an entirely distinct spe- 

 cies, and one of the best for general cultiva- 

 tion for cut flowers. The foliage is covered 

 with a white, silvery down ; the lower petals 

 of the flowers are pure white, and the upper 

 ones marked or blotched with dark purple or 

 maroon. In their habitat several variations 

 in color appear, but are all of the same general 

 character. P. capitatum is the popular Rose 

 Geranium, which was introduced in 1690. P. 

 quercifolium is the larger Oak-leaved Geranium, 

 introduced in 1774. P. graveolens is the Lemon- 

 scented Geranium ; P. vitifolium is the Balm- 

 scented Geranium, receiving its specific name 

 from the resemblance of its leaves to those of 

 the Vine ; P. fragrans is the Nutmeg-scented 

 Geranium, introduced in 1731 ; P. tomentosum 

 is the Pennyroyal Geranium ; P. gratum is the 

 Citron-scented Geranium ; P. odorata is the 

 Apple-scented Geranium. Between some of 

 the above species hybrids have been produced, 

 but we cannot ti'ace them with any degree of 

 confidence, and therefore make no mention of 

 them. 



Pelecy'phora. Hatchet Cactus. From pelaky- 

 phoros, hatchet-bearing, referring to some 

 fancied resemblance in the tubercles to a 

 hatchet. Nat. Ord. Cactacea. 



