AND GENEEAL HORTICULTUBE. 



501 



Z. 



ZAL 



Zala'cca. Said to be the name of this genus in 

 the Moluccas. Sometimes spelled Salacca. 

 Nat. Ord. PahnacecB. 



A genus composed of seven or eight species 

 of stemless Palms, natives of Assam and the 

 coast of Burmah and Malacca, mostly growing 

 in large masses in wet places, and forming 

 dense tufts, rendering the jungles almost im- 

 passible. They have long, pinnate leaves, 

 which, being A'ery coriaceous, render them 

 good subjects for decorative purposes. 



Zaluzia'nskia. Named after Dr. Adam Zaluzi- 

 ansky, a botanist of the seventeenth century. 

 This is now given as the correct name of thie 

 genus Nycterinia. 



Zatnia. From zamia, loss ; in allusion to the 

 barren appearance of the male flowers. Nat. 

 Ord. CycadacecB. 



An extensive genus of very beautiful and 

 remarkable plants, intermediate between the 

 Ferns and Palms. They are natives of the 

 West Indies, Central America, the Cape of 

 Good Hope and southeastern Africa, where 

 they frequently constitute a conspicuous 

 feature in the vegetation. These extraordi- 

 nary plants are remarliable for their bony 

 fronds or leaves, which are for the most part 

 ai'med with spines or sharp angles. The spe- 

 cies, Z. horrida, has thorns several inches in 

 length and as hard as horn. Several of the 

 species are known in cultivation and are 

 objects of much interest. They require a hot- 

 house, and should be grown in sandy loam. 

 Rapid progress in growth is material to the 

 perfect development of the leaves, and this is 

 only secured by heat and moisture. They 

 may be propagated by suckers, but these, 

 with all other Cycads, are now largely imported 

 by firms in New York and other large cities, 

 mostly from Central America, and thus plants 

 are obtained at once from their native habitat 

 that would take many years to grow by the 

 slow processes of artificial propagation. 

 When received they are, of course, in a dor- 

 mant state, without roots or leaves, and 

 should be placed in partially damp moss, in a 

 temperature of 70 degrees, until they begin to 

 grow. 



Zante Currant. This is not a Currant as is 

 generally supposed from its name, but rather 

 a Grape, the fruit of a variety of Vitis Vinifera, 

 commonly called Black Cornith or Zante 

 Currant. It is a seedless Grape, produced in 

 long, slender bunches; a native of the 

 Levant. 



Zante--wood. The wof>d of Chloroxylon Swieti- 

 ana and Rhus Cotinus. 



Zanthorhi'za. See Xanthorhiza. 



Zanthoxy'lum. See Xanthoxylum. 



Zapa'nia. A name applied to that section of 

 the genus Lippia, in which are placed those 

 species which have a flattened calyx and 

 capitate flowers. They are creeping, Verbena- 

 ceous plants, producing an abundance of 

 flowers in umbels in August and September; 

 natives of South America. 



Zauschne'ria. Californian Fuchsia. Hum- 

 ming-bird's Trumpet. Named in honor of 



ZEB 



M. Zauschner, a German. Nat. Ord. Ona- 

 gracecB. 



Z. California, the only known species, is a 

 hardy, herbaceous plant, native of California. 

 It is of branching habit, and produces large 

 racemes of Fuchsia-like flowers, bright crim- 

 son and very showy. It makes a handsome 

 pot plant, and is also very showy in the bor- 

 der. Propagated by division or from seed. 

 Introduced in 1847. 



Ze'a. Maize, Indian Corn. Linneeus named 

 this genus from zao, to live ; in reference to 

 the nutritive properties of the plants. Nat. 

 Ord. GraminaceoB. 



Indian Corn, Zea Mays, is unquestionably 

 an American plant, having been found under 

 cultivation by the Indians on the discovery 

 of the New World. It is said to grow wild in 

 some of the West Indian Islands and in Cen- 

 tral and South America. There is only one 

 ascertained species, although numerous va- 

 rieties have been produced. The many varie- 

 ties are so distinct in their general habit of 

 growth, size and shape of the kernel as to 

 raise the question of their being distinct spe- 

 cies, which, however, is not probable. We 

 know of no other plant that so readily adapts 

 itself to circumstances, or one that will so 

 completely change its habit of growth in so 

 short a time. The writer once brought a few 

 ears of Corn from near Quebec, the farthest 

 point north that Corn is known to ripen. 

 The stalks from which the ears were taken 

 were not three feet high, yet each produced 

 two small ears of very hard Corn of excellent 

 quality. This seed was sown in central New 

 York at the same time and under the same 

 conditions as other Corn, only in a separate 

 field. This crop came to maturity in less than 

 sixty days after planting, ready for the har- 

 vest. The next year the best seeds of the crop 

 were sown, in confidence of similar results ; 

 but, on the contrary, it adapted itself to the 

 climate, and took the same length of time to 

 grow and ripen as the common sorts, and it 

 also grew to as great a height, which was 

 fully two feet higher than it grew the first 

 year. From that fact it is easy to see what 

 great changes may be brought about by culti- 

 A'ation. The varieties known as Sweet or 

 Sugar Corn are best suited for use in the un- 

 ripe state. They have been greatly improved 

 in the past twenty years by careful selection, 

 and thousands of acres of these kinds are 

 grown for canning, particularly the variety 

 Icnown as Stowell's " Evergreen." Z. Japon- 

 ica variegata is a beautifully striped white and 

 green variety and is unsurpassed as a " Varie- 

 gated Grass." It requires exactly the same 

 culture as the ordinary Maize ; though, being 

 variegated, its growth is weakened, and, under 

 the same conditions, it grows one-third lower 

 than the ordinary green sorts. It can be used 

 with fine effect for the " back row " or " centre " 

 of large beds in massing. 



Zebra Grass. See Eulalia Zebrina. 



Zebra Plant. A common name for Calathea 

 Zebrina. 



