IS 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



Acrocliniuui — continued. 

 tubular florets; involucrum many-leaved, imbricated. 

 Leaves numeroua, linear, smooth, acaminated. Stem > 

 numerous, erect. Tlioy tlirive best in a loamy soil, and 

 constitute very neat summer flowering annuals if sown 

 out of doors in patches in June ; they are also useful as 

 winter decorative greenhouse plants if seed is sown in 

 Aur^ust in pots placed in a cold frame. The flower-heads 

 should be gathered when young, if it is desired to preserve 

 them. 



Fro. 21. ACROCiJiMUM KuSEUM, showiiig Habit and Flower-head. 



A, roseuni(ro.sy).* ^. -/it!a(/&- pretty rose, solitary, terminal, on erect, 

 .slender, and gracefully disposed branches. I. linear, acute, h. 1ft. 

 to 2ft. S. \V. Australia, 1854. See Fig. 21. 



A, r, album (roay white).* A very pretty white form of the 

 preceding. 



A. r. grandiflorum (large-fiowercd).* /l.-fwads rose, larger than in 

 the type. 



ACROCOMIA (from ah-os, top, and home, tuft; refer- 

 ring to the position of the leaves). Ord. Palmen: A 

 genus of South American palms, containing about eleven 

 Bpeciea, which are not easily distinguished, but having the 

 following general characteristics : Trunk from 20ft. to 50ft. 

 high, and clad with long prickles. The flowers, which appear 

 in the axils of the lower leaves, are greenish or yellow, 

 and their drupes are much the same colour. Leaves 

 pinnate, with seventy to eighty leaflets on each side of the 

 pinnae. They require a warm greenhouse and rich sandy 

 loam. Increased by suckers. Two species only are in 

 general cultivation. 



A. aculeata (prickly), h. 40ft. West Indies, 1791. 

 A. fusiformis (.spindle-shaped), h. aOft. Trinidad. 1731. 

 A, glol)OSa(g]obnlar). h. 20ft. St. Vincent, 1824. 

 A. horrida (horrid), k. SOft. Trinidad, 1820. 

 A. lasiospatha (liairy spatlied). I. drooping. Trunk ahout 40ft. 



high, smooth and ringed. Para, 1846. 

 A. sclerocarpa (hard-fruited).* A very elegant species bearing a 

 head of spreading pinnate leaves, with the rachi.se.s and petiole.s 

 aculeate, and the leaflets linear, taper-pointed, glaucous unden 

 neath, about 1ft. long. h. 40ft. We.st Indies, 1731. SVN. focus 

 t'lf^siformis. 



A. tenulfolia (fine-leaved). 7*. 30ft. Brazil, 1824. 



ACIROG-ENS. Plants increasing at the summit, as 



Ferns, &c. 



ACRONTCHIA (from akroii, tuft, and onux, a 

 claw; referring to the curved points of the petals). Ord. 

 Ridacece. An ornamental rue-like greenhouse evergreen 

 shrub. Petals and sepals four ; stamens eight, inserted on a 

 disk ; fruit berry-like. It requires ordinary greenhouse 

 treatment. Increased by cuttings in July in sand, under a 

 bull glass. 



A. Cuiiixinghainl(Ounnin^hanrs).* Jl. white, in clusters, resem- 

 bling those of an orange, with an exquisite fragrance. July. h. 7ft. 

 Moreton Bay, 1838. 



ACB.OFERA. <SVf Gong-ora. 



ACROFHORUS. N< . Davallia. 



ACROPHYI.I.UM (from akros, top, and vhxjllon, a 

 leaf: referring to the way in which the leaves are produced 

 at the eummit of the branches, above the flowers). Ord. 



Acrophylliuu — continued. 

 Cunoniacece. Handsome greenhouse small, erect-growing, 

 evergreen shrubs, flowering profusely during the spring 

 months. They require a mixture of fibrous peat, a little 

 loam, and sharp sand ; thorough drainage, an airy situation, 

 and as little artificial heat as possible, are important to its 

 well-being. Re-pot in February, t Propagated by cuttings 

 of the half ripened shoots, which strike freely in a soil of 

 sand and peat, if covered with a hand glass, and placed in 

 a cool house. The roots should not be allowed to get dry, 

 and light syringing during late si)ring and summer will be 

 found beneficial in asF,i3ting to keep down thrips. 



A. verticUlatum (whorled). A synonym of A.venosum. 



A. venosum (veined).* ft. pinki^li white, in dense axillary 

 spikes, which are borne on the upper part of the stems and 

 branches. May and June. I. nearly sessile, oblong, cordate, 

 acnte, serrate, in whorls of threes. A. 6ft. New South Wales. 

 Syn. a. verticUlatum. 



ACROPTERIS. See Aspleuium. 



ACROSTICHUJVE (from akros, top, and stichos, order; 

 meaning very obscure). OWD. Filices. This genus includes 

 Aconiopteris, Chrysodiwm, Egenolfuiy Elaphoglossuin, Gyyn- 

 )iopterits, Olfersia, Photinopteris, Pcecilipterin, Polyhotrya, 

 Uhipidopteris, Soromanes, Stenochlwna, Stenosemia. A 

 large and almost entirely tropical genus ; it includes 

 groups with a wide range in venation and cutting. Sori 

 spread over the whole surface of the frond or upper pinnse, 

 or occasionally over both surfaces. The species having 

 long fronds, are admirably suited for growing in suspended 

 baskets, and the dwarfer sorts do well in Wardian cases. 

 A compost of peat, chopped sphagnum, and sand, is most 

 suitable. For general culture, aee Ferns. 



A. acuminatum (taper-pointed).* rhiz. thick, climbing, fiti 4in. 

 to 6in. long, firm, erect, scaly throughout, barren fronds 1ft. to 

 2ft. long, ift. or more broad, deltoid, bipinnate ; upper pinnrn 

 oblong-lanceolate, slightly lobed, truncate on the lower side at 

 the base, 2in, to 3in. long, Jin. to lin. broad ; lower piimie, 6in. to 

 8in. long, 4in. to 5in. broad, with sevei'al small pinnules on each 

 side; light green, with a firm texture, fertile fronds 1ft. long, 

 deltoid, tripinnate. Brazil. Stove species. Syn. Polybotrya 

 acuminatum. 



A. alienum (foreign), rhiz. woody, sti. 6in. to 18in. long, scaly 

 downwards, barren fronds 1ft. to 2ft. long, often 1ft. broad, the 

 upper part deeply pinnatifid, with lanceolate lobes, the lower 

 part pinnate, with entire or deeply pinnatifid lower pinme, fertile 

 fronds much smaller, with distant narrow linear or pinnatifid leafy 

 pinnse. Tropical America. Stove species. SYfi.Gymiwpteris aliena. 



A. apiifolium (parsley-leaved).* can. stout, woody, erect, sti. of 

 barren fronds 2in. to 3iii. long, erect, densely clothed with tonien- 

 tuni. barren fronds 4in. to 6in. each way, deltoid, tripinnate ; 

 pinuje close, only the lowest pair with pinnatifid pinnules, ulti- 

 mate divisions oblong-rhomboidal, Jin. to ^in. long, the base 

 cimeate, the outer edge slightly toothed, fertile fronds on a 

 slender naked stem 6in. to Sin. loiig, the fronds pauicled with a 

 few distant, .slender, simple, or compound branches. Philippine 

 Islands, 1862. Stove species. Svis. Polybotrya apiifolia. 



A. apodum (stendess).* can. thick, woody, the scales dense, 

 linear, brown, crisped, sti. tufted, very short, or obsolete, ban-en 

 frvitds 1ft. or more long, l^in. to 2in. broad, the apex acuminate, 

 the lower part narrowed very gradually, the edge and midrib 

 densely fringed with soft, short, hrown hairs, fertile fronds much 

 smaller than the barren ones. We.st ludies to Peru, 1824. Stove 

 species. SvN. Elaphoglossum apoduin. 



A appendiculatum (appendaged).* rldz. firm, wooily, barren 

 fronds bin. to 18in. long, 4in. to 8in. broad, .simply pinnate, sti. 3iii. 

 to 6in. long, erect, naked, or slightly scaly ; pinnae 2iu. to 4in. 

 long, ;in. to iin. broad, the edge varying from sub-entire to cut 

 halfway down to the midrib of the blunt lobes, the upper side 

 often ;iuri('led, the lower one obliquely truncate, dark green. 

 fi-rti(r fi-i'itda nanower, on a longer spike, the pinna* roundish or 

 oblong, often distinctly stalked. India, &c., 1824. Stove species. 

 SVN. K'j<it<<lna ii/>j.»iidiriifuta. 



A, aureum (i^oldcn).'^ can. erect, sti. erect, 1ft. to 2ft. long, strong. 

 fronds 2ft. to 6ft. long, 1ft. to 2ft. broad, the uppi^r pinnae fertile, 

 rather smaller than the barren ones, which are usually stalked, 

 ligulate oblong. Sin. to 1ft. long, iin. to 3in. liroad, acute or blunt, 

 sometimes n-tusewitli a nmcro; edge quite entire, base sub-cuneate. 

 Widely distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres, 1815. An 

 evergrti'u aquatir stnve species, requiring abundance of heat and 

 moisture. SVN. Chri/sodium aureum. 



A, auritum (eared).* can. erect, woody, barren fronds with, a 

 stipe 6in. to 9in. long, deltoid, 8in. to 12in. each way, ternate, 

 the centi-al segments deeply pinnatifid, with lanceolate entire 

 lobes ; the lateral ones unequal sided, ^sith lanceolate oblong- 

 lobed lower pinnules, fertile fronds with a stem 12iu. to 18in. 

 long, deltoid, with distant linear piuufe half line broad ; uppet 



