500 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



XIP 



is common on all the south Florida Keys as a 

 spreading shrub, sometimes with stout, nearly 

 prostrate stems ten or twelve feet long, and 

 eight or ten inches in diameter at the ground. 



Xi'phion. A genus of Iridacew scarcely differing 

 from Iris except in the character of the root- 

 stocli, which is a bulb instead of a rhizome. 

 They are natives of the Mediterranean region, 

 Abyssinia, etc., and include several old gar- 

 den favorites. X. Sisyrinchium has been con- 

 sidered the type of a distinct genus {Gynand- 

 iris) ; it has been in cultivation since the days 

 of Gerarde, who calls it Spanish Nut and says 

 that it " is eaten at the table of rich and de- 

 licious persons in sallads or otherwise." X. 

 latifolium (Iris xiphioides) is the English Iris 

 of florists and old writers. 



Xylophy'lla. A genus of Euphorbiacea now in- 

 cluded under Phyllanthus. 



YUL 



Xylo'steum. A genus now included under Lo* 

 nicera. 



Xyrida'ceae. A small natural order of peren- 

 nial, rush-like herbs, growing often in watery 

 places. It includes two species, Abolbodaeind 

 Xyris, and less than fifty species. 



Xy'ris. Yellow-eyed Grass. From xyros, 

 acute ; the leaves terminate in points. Nat. 

 Ord. Xyridace.ce. 



A genus of curious plants, mostly indige- 

 nous, though some are natives of tropical Asia 

 and Africa. They are all sedge-lilce plants, 

 with narrow radical leaves, and small flower- 

 heads terminating the simple scapes, the 

 yellow petals being very fugacious. They are 

 of no special interest. X. operculata, intro- 

 duced from Australia in 18u4, is the most 

 showy species and is generally cultivated as 

 a green-house perennial. 



Y. 



Yam. The common name of the large, tuber- 

 ous roots of several species of Dioscorea, 

 used as food. See Dioscorea. 



Yang-Mae. Myrica Nagi, a sub-acid, esculent 

 fruit of Japan and China, somewhat resem- 

 bling the fruit of the Arbutus. It is probably 

 identical with 31. integrifolia. 



Yard Grass. A common name for the genus 

 Eleusine. It is also known as Crab Grass. 

 See Eleusine. 



Yarrow. See Achillea millefolium. 



Yaupon. The name of a tea or drink made 

 from the leaves of the Hex Cassine by the 

 North Carolina Indians. 



Yellow Berries. The dried, unripe berries ot 

 Rhamnus infectorius, imported from the south 

 of Europe for the use of dyers. 



Yellow-eyed Grass. The common name of the 

 genus Xyris, a curious rush-like plant, com- 

 mon in New Jersey and southward. See 

 Xyris. 



Yellow Iris. Iris Pseudo-acorus. 



Yellow Jessamine of the Southern States, is 

 Gelsemium sempervirens. 



Yellow Poccoon. See Hydrastis. 



Yellow Pond Lily. See Nuphar. 



Yello^v Rattle. See Rhinanthus Crista-galli. 



Yellovr Rocket. Barbarea vulgaris. 



Yellow Root. See Hydrastis and Xanthorhiza. 



Yellow Star of Bethlehem. Gagea lutea. 



Yellow Star-flower. Sternbergia lutea. 



Yello'w Sultan. Centaurea suaveolens. 



Yellow Trefoil. Medicago lupulina. An excel- 

 lent fodder plant when mixed with grasses. 



Yellow Weed. Dyer's. Reseda luteola. 



YelloTw Wood. Cladrastis tinctoria, or Virgilia 

 lutea, a small and handsome deciduous tree, 

 with showy white flowers drooping from the 

 ends of its branches, common on rich hill- 

 sides, from Kentucky southward. 



Yew. See Taxus. 



Youth and Old Age. A popular name of the 

 Zinnia, which see. 



Youth-wort. An English name for Drosera 

 rolundifolia. 



Yu'cca. Adam's Needle, Spanish Bayonet, Bear 

 Grass. Yucca is the name of the plant in 

 Peru. Nat. Ord. Liliacece. 



An extensive genus of evergreen plants, 

 closely allied to Draccena and Cordyline, with 

 leaves somewhat like the Aloe. Y.Jilamentosa, 

 popularly called Adam's Needle, is common 

 from Virginia south v/ard to Mexico and Cen- 

 tral America, and is a beautiful plant for 

 cemetery or lawn decoration. Many of the 

 species are hardy enough to withstand our 

 winters North, and are desirable plants, as 

 well for the flowers as the foliage. The flow- 

 ers are produced on an erect, branching spike, 

 often six feet high, proceeding from the heart 

 of the plant. It is not uncommon for a single 

 spike to furnish three hundred blossoms, 

 which are ci-eamy white and very showy. 

 The half-hardy or tender species may be 

 grown in pots or tubs and kept dormant 

 through the winter in a cellar or room free 

 from frost. They grow freely in any soil, 

 preferring a light, sandy one. Y. aloifolia va- 

 riegata is one of the most beautiful of our 

 green-house, ornamental-leaved plants. Its 

 propagation, which is by cuttings, is slow, 

 and hence it is always a scarce and expensive 

 plant. Y. filamentosa variegata somewhat re- 

 sembles it in its young state, and has occa- 

 sionally been sold for it ; but it is far inferior. 

 Most of the herbaceous species of the genus 

 seed freely, and are thus rapidly increased. 

 The bruised roots of all the Yuccas were for- 

 merly used very extensively by the natives 

 on the Pacific slope as a substitute for 

 soap, and at the present time it is not an 

 uncommon sight to see the semi-civilized 

 Indian and her Mexican half-sister still using 

 this vegetable soap, which they call " Amole," 

 in the Mexican villages, and as far north as 

 Utah. 



Yulan. Magnolia conspicua. 



