314 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



PEP 



Peppermint. Mentha piperita. 



Pepper-root. See Dentaria. 



Pepper Shrub. See Schinus. 



Pepper Vine. A popular name of Ampelopsis 



bipinnata. 

 Pepper. White, is Piper nigrum with the black 



hu:-;ks removed. 

 Peppervwort. See Lepidium. 

 Peppermint-Tree. A common name for several 



species of Eucalyptus. 



Perennials. Plants which last for several years 

 are termed Perennials. This term is most 

 generally applied to hardy herbaceous plants 

 of this character, when it is necessary to dis- 

 tinguish between those which are perennials, 

 and those which are of only annual or biennial * 

 duration. For a selection of which, see " Her- 

 baceous Plants." 



Perennis. Lasting from year to year. 



Pere'skia. Barbadoes Gooseberry. Named after 

 Nicholas F. Pieresk, a French patron of botany. 

 The generic name is sometimes written Pier- 

 escia. Nat. Ord. Cactacete. 



This genus consists of about a dozen species, 

 and is allied to the Cactus. Some are tree- 

 like and have woody stems, but they are 

 mostly shrubs with fleshy stems, flat leaves, 

 and round branches armed with tufts of 

 spines, and bearing terminal solitary or clus- 

 tered flowers, generally on short stalks. P. 

 aculeata is indigenous in the West Indies, 

 where it is commonly known as the Barbadoes 

 Gooseberry or Gooseberry Shrub. It grows 

 about fifteen feet high, the stem armed with 

 bundles of straight spines, and having trailing 

 branches bearing oblong, elliptical leaves and 

 clusters of beautiful white flowers, and yellow, 

 eatable, and pleasant-tasted fruit, which is 

 used in making preserves, in the same man- 

 ner as the common garden Goo.seberry is 

 used. This species is an excellent subject to 

 graft EpiphyUums, etc., on, and is much used 

 for that purpose. P. Bleo is called Bleo by the 

 natives of New Grenada, where it is indigen- 

 ous. It is a shrub growing eight or ten feet 

 high, with rather soft, fleshy leaves, five or six 

 inches long, of an elliptical form, sharp pointed 

 at the top, and tapering to the base. It bears 

 handsome rose-colored flowers, with ten 

 petals in two series, the inner of which are 

 the largest and deepest colored. The leaves 

 are eaten as a salad in Panama. Propagated 

 by cuttings. 



Perfect. Complete in all the usual parts. 



Perfoliate. When the two basal lobes of an 

 amplexicaul leaf are united together, the leaf 

 completely surrounding the stem, so that the 

 stem seems to pass through the leaf, as in 

 Eupatorium perfoliatum (Bonesetj. 



Perforate. Pierced with holes, or with trans- 

 parent dots resembling holes, as an Orange 

 leaf. 



Pergula'ria. From pergula, trellis-work ; refer- 

 ring to its quick climbing growth. Nat. Ord. 

 AsclepiadacecB. 



A small genus of green-house evergreen 

 climbers, allied to Stephanotis. Some of the 

 species are remarkable for their sweet-scented 

 greenish white flowers. They are natives of 

 the East Indies and Java, but are very little 

 cultivated. 



PER 



Perianth. The calyx and corolla combined; 

 that is to say, when they look so much alike 

 that they cannot be readily distinguished, as 

 in a Hyacinth. 



Pericarp. The shell or rind of all fruits taken 

 as a whole. When it separates into layers, 

 each layer may have a different name, but the 

 whole is still the pericarp. 



Pericladium. The sheathing base of a leaf when 

 it expands and surrounds the supporting 

 branch ; the dilated, sheathing base of some 

 petioles, especially among Umbellifers. 



Periclinium. The involucre of the flower-heads 



of Composites. 

 Periderm, Peridermis. The outer cellular layer 



of bark below the epidermis. 



Perigynous. Growing upon some part which 

 surrounds the ovary, usually the calyx, though 

 sometimes the corolla is also included within 

 the meaning. 



Peri'Ua. Derivation of name unknown. Nat. 

 Ord. LabiaicB. 



A small genus of hardy annuals, natives of 

 China and East Indies. P. ocymoides crispa 

 (syn. P. Nankinensis) has deep purple leaves, 

 and at one time was much used as an orna- 

 mental border plant, but from its somewhat 

 weedy appearance and wonderful productive- 

 ness, it has been pretty generally discarded. 



Periplo'ca. From periploke, an intertwining; 

 referring to the habit of the plant. Nat. Ord. 

 AsclepiadacecB. 



A small genus of hardy deciduous and 

 green-house evergreen twiners, inhabiting 

 southern Europe, Asia, and Africa. P. GrcBca, 

 an ornamental species, has long been 

 known in cultivation, and is verj' common in 

 the hedge-rows of southern Europe. It has 

 purplish flowers, arranged in axillary clusters. 

 The juice of this species is exceedingly 

 poisonous, and is used in the East for 

 destroying wolves. Propagated by layers or 

 cuttings. 



Peri'ptera. From periptera, a shuttlecock; al- 

 luding to the resemblance in the form of the 

 flower. Nat. Ord. Malvacece. 



M. punicea is a pretty little shrub with 

 crimson flowers, introduced from Spain in 

 1814. It grows freely in a compost of loam 

 and peat, and is propagated by cuttings or 

 seeds. 



Periste'ria. From peristera, a dove ; in allusion 

 to the dove-like appearance of the column. 

 Nat. Ord. OrchidacecB. 



A small genus of splendid terrestrial Or- 

 chids. The best known and most beautiful of 

 the species is P. elata, a native of Panama, 

 where it is known as El Spirito Santo, the 

 Holy Ghost Plant ; the reason of this name is 

 obvious on looking at the flower ; the central 

 member exhibits a column, which, with its 

 summit and the projecting gland of the pollen 

 masses, together with the erect wings, bears 

 a very striking resemblance to the flgure of a 

 dove ; hence the English name of Dove Flower. 

 Its flower stem rises from the base of the 

 pseudo-bulbs, and attains a height of from 

 four to six feet, its upper portion, for about 

 one-third of the length, being covered with 

 nearly round, very sweet-scented flowers, each 

 about an inch and a half across, and of a 

 creamy white, with small lilac specks on the 



