An Encyclopedia of Horticulture. 



255 



PITTA (the native name of the plant in Chili). Syn. 

 Pourretia. Obd. Bromeliacew. A j^enus (eifjlit or ten 

 species) of stove or greenhouse, perennial lierljs, natives 

 of Chili and Peru. Flowers showy, blue, yellow, or white, 

 solitary, disposed in a simple or pyramidal - branched, 

 terminal raceme ; sepals free, oblong or lanceolate, loosely 

 imbricated ; petals free, connivent in a tube at the base, 

 spreading- above, rather broad. Leaves either at the 

 base or tip of the stem, clustered, spiny-serrate. The 

 two species here described — jn-obably tlie only ones in 

 cultivation — thrive in a compost ot lo.am and peat. 

 Propagation is easily effected by suckers, or by seeds 

 when procurable. 

 P. Altensteinll (.\Uenstein's). A synimyni ipf I'itcairnia 



AUeiushinii. 

 P. caerulea (bhie). A synonym uf J'. WIkjIcL 

 P. glgas (giant). /(. whito m- losisculoureil, disposed in erect 

 s|)iki's, from l»ft.' to 30ft. in height. I. tuttbil, lineai'-lanceo- 

 late hoary s|jiny-tnotheil, mealy. white beneath. New (irenaila, 

 1881. An extraordinary species. (11. 11. \6i\, Tt ; till.. May 6, 

 1882.) It is very uncertain to wliat genus this plant really 

 belongs, as the flowers have not been seen by any specialist. 

 It lias tile foliage of an Agave. 

 P. grandiflora (large-flowered). A synonym of I'ileainiia fer- 



ni!ii,i,a. 

 P. heterophylla (variable-leaved). \ synonym of I'itcairnia 



hfteivj'liiiUa, 

 P. longifolia (long-leaved). A synonym of J'itcairr.ia lietero- 



ph'jlla. 

 P. maidlfolia (Indian Corn-leaved). A synonym of I'itcairnia 



luaifli/t'tia. 

 P. sulpburea (sulphur-coloured). A synonym of I'ileainiia 



IWiidluildi. 



P. Tlrescens (greenish). A synonym of I'ileainiia ciiesceiu. 



P. WarcewiczU (Warcewicz's). A synonym of I'itcairnia 



atrnnilicii.':. 

 P. Whytel (Whyte's). fl. of a peculiar metallic greenish- 

 blue colour, with bright orange anthers, disposeii in a large, 

 pyramidal panicle, on a t:dl scape. Autumn. (. tufted, 

 crowded, recurved, elongately subulate, remotely spinescent. 

 A 3ft. Chili, 1867. A handsome plant, (juite hardy in the 

 South of England. (B. Jl. 5732.) .Sv.N. I', arrulra. 



FYCITIDIA. Small bodies, very like perithecia {see 

 Perithecium) in general appearance and form, .only 

 tlioy are usually smaller, paler, and thinner walled ; and 

 the spores in them, instead of being inclosed in asei, 

 are situated, singly or in chains, on the tips of small 

 branches of mycelium that arise from the inner surface 





X 20 



Fici. 329. PiiOMA HERBARUM (Pyrnidial Stage of PU'o/tpora herha- 

 rum)— a, Pycnidia in transverse section, x 20, one opened ; 

 b, Coniilia still on the Stalks, x 400 ; c, Conidia free after 

 falling off the Stalks, x 400. 



of the wall of the Pycnidium (see Fig. .'iljil). The spores 

 are called stylospores, because of being produced at the 

 tips of these slender, rod-like branches, like a shjluti, or 

 pen. A reference to Pleospora, of which I'lioma is a 

 Pycnidial form, will help to render clearer the relation 

 of this form of fruit to the perithecia. 



FYCNODORIA. Included under Pteris (which see). 



PYCNOPTERIS. Included under Nephrodium. 



PYCNOSTACHYS (from pijknos, dense, and staclnjs, 

 a spike ; referring to the dense flower-spikes). Syn. 

 Ecliiiwstachijs. Ord. LahiatiE. A small genus (six species) 

 of erect-growing, stove, annual or perennial herbs, natives 

 of tropical or sub-tropical Africa and Madagascar. 

 Flowers in whorls, which are disposed in dense, terminal 

 spikes : corolla blue, with an esserted, detracted tube, 

 two-lipped, the upper lip foar-toothod, the lower entire 

 and concave ; calyx ovoid-campanulato, equal, with five 



Fycnostachys — continuecL. 

 subulate-spinose teeth. Nutlets almost round, smooth. 

 Leaves stalked, linear - lanceolate to broadly ovate, 

 coarsely toothed. Only two species have been intro- 

 duced to our gardens. For culture, see Ocimum. 



P. cssrulea (I)lue). fi., corolla blue; calyx sessile: spike from 

 lin. to 2mi. Ion;;. August. /. sessile, iiblong or linear-lanceolate, 

 2in. to 3in. long, acute, .slender, deeply serrated, entire, and 

 narrowed at base, glandulose beneath. .Stem over 1ft. high, 

 tetragonal. Madagascar, 1825. Annual. (11. I-:. F. 202.) 



P. urticifolia (Nettle-leaved), fl. bbui ; up]>er lip of corolla 

 erect, with four incurved lobes; lower one concave; spike ter- 

 minal, ovate, arununate, large, thyrse-like. August. I. ovate, 

 acuminate, truncate or very obtuse at base, sub-cuneate, long- 

 stalked, deeply serrated, pubescent beneath, h. 3ft. Africa, 

 1862. Perennial. (IS. M. 5365.) 



PYG.a:BA BUCEFHALA. 



Buff-tip Moth. 



PYGMaiUS. Pigmy; dwarf. 



PYKNOS. This term, used in Greek compounds, 

 signifies thick, close, dense, compact ; c.;/., riiniorephaUis, 

 thick-headed. 



PYRACANTHA. See CratEsg-us Pyracantha. 



PYRALIS {Ilijpe.u,} ROSTBALIS (Hop Snout 

 Moth). This insect is common in the southern districts 

 of England, where the larva? feed on the leaves of the 

 Hop, frequently doing a great deal of harm to them. 

 The moths, when at rest, have the wings folded hori- 

 zontally, and assume the form of the tireek letter delta 

 (^). They have long palpi, projecting forwards, and 

 the group may be recognised by this peculiarity, whence 

 they are called Snout Moths. The front wings are 

 greyish-brown, darker towards the base, paler along the 

 front margin and across the terminal half of the wing, 

 and a dark line runs from the tip, diverging from the 

 rear margin. The hind wings are uniform brownish. 

 The spread of wings is a little over lin. The larva; are 

 rather slender, tapering in front, pale green, with narrow, 

 white lines lengthwise ; they have six i^rue legs and eight 

 prolegs or olaspers. When full-fed, they spin slight 

 cocoons in leaves drawn a little together, and there 

 become pupa?. 



Remedies. Hand - picking the larva;, and the leaves 

 inclosing pupiu, and burning all surface rubbish with 

 the pupa3 in it, is the most ett'ectual remedy. Beating 

 the Hops (taking care not to injure the plants) and 

 jarring the Hop-stakes, so as to cause the larva; to fall 

 on to sheets, is efficacious ; the larva; being afterwards 

 burnt. Syringing the plants with any of the usual 

 insecticides, by means of a garden engine, is also of 

 use. 



FYKAMIDAIi. Pyramid-shaped; more frequently 

 used, however, to denote conical ; e.r/., a Carrot. 



PYRBNA. The stone caused by the hardening of 

 the endocarp in drupaceous fruits. 



PYRENOMYCETES (from pijren, a kernel or 

 stone of fruit, and inijkes, a, Fungus). A very large 

 group of Fungi, so named because they produce, in 

 the processes of reproduction, small, hard, dark bodies 

 (perithecia and pycnidia), in which certain forms of 

 spores are protected. The Pijrenomijcetes form one of 

 three families, into which a very large order of Fungi, 

 called Aseotnijcetes, is divided. This order is charac- 

 terised by the mode of origin of a form of spore, re- 

 garded as the most highly developed of the various kinds 

 produced in them. These spores are produced from a 

 portion of the protoplasm, or living substance, contained 

 in certain long, cylindrical, thin-walled cells, called asci. 

 In each ascus (see Fig. ',VMi) there are usually eight 

 spores formed, but the number varies, in different Fungi, 

 from two to an indefinite number in each, thoxigh con- 

 stant in each species. In most Ascomycetons Fungi, the 

 asci grow crowded together, cither alone or intermixed 

 with slender filaments (paraphyses) (see Fig. 330) ; and, 



