44 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



AgTOstis — contin ued. 

 window vases, &c. They are of easy culture, in ordiuary 

 garden soil. Sow seeds during spring in the open border, 

 in tufts, among ferns, &c., or in pots for decorative pur- 

 poses. 

 A. elegans (elegant), h. 1ft. Eussi.i, 1834. 



;^V'J: 



% 





AIRA (from aim, applied by the Greeks to Lolium 

 temulentam). Hair Grass. Ord. Graminen;. Chiefly 



hardy grasses, of agricultural value. Panicle loose ; spike- 

 let compressed, with two perfect flowers, and sometimes a 

 neuter. Of easy culture, in ordinary garden soil. Sow 

 seeds in spring. 



A. flexuosa (waved).* The Waved Hair Grass, yi. shining brovra ; 

 panicle erect, spreadin.t;, with waved anjndar branches and flower- 

 stalks. I. short. Stem upwards of 1ft high, erect, smouth. 

 England. A very pretty and graceful perennial. 



Fig. 53. Agrostis nebulosa. 



A. nebulosa (cloud).* Cloud Grass, fl. panicles resemble, when 

 developed, a cloud resting over the ground, h. lift. Very light 

 and elegant. Annual. See Fig. 53. 



A. pulchella (pretty).* Dwarter, and with a more rigid habit than 

 A. nebulosa. It is, nevertheless, a most graceful plant, and 

 valuable for bouquet making, and for winter decorative purposes. 

 h. 6in. to 12in. Russia. Annual. 



A. splca-ventl (windward-spiked), ft. panicle large, silky looking, 

 loosely spreading. England. Annual. 



AGBOTIS. Sec Pot-herb Moths and Turnip Moth. 



AIIiAN'TUS (from ailanto, referring to its lofty 

 growth). Tree of Heaven. Ord. Xanthoxylaceai. Tall 

 deciduous trees. The stove species will grow freely in a 

 mixture of loam and peat ; and the best way to increase 

 these is by pieces of the roots, planted in a pot with their 

 points above the ground, and placed in a hotbed, where 

 they will soon make fine plants. 



A. excelsa (tall), fi. whitish green, disposed similar to the 

 following. I. abruptly pinnate, 3ft. long, with ten to fourteen pairs 

 of leaflets coarsely toothed at the base, without glands, h. 66ft. 

 India, 1800. A stove tree. 

 A. glandnlosa (glandulous).* fl. whitish green, disposed in large 

 branched, terminal, fascicled panicles, exhaling a disagreeable 

 smell. August. I. irapari-pinnate ; leaflets coarsely toothed at 

 the base with glands. (The leaves on vigorous young trees are 

 sometimes 6ft. m length.) h. 60ft. China, 1751. This tree grows 

 with grea,t rapidity for the first ten or twelve years, in favourable 

 situ.ations, afterwards its gi'owth is much slower. It is quite 

 hardy, and thrives in almost any soil, though one that is light and 

 somewhat humid, and a sheltered situation, suits it best. It is a 

 very desirable tree for plantations, or to stand singly on lawns, 

 and is easily uicreased by shps of the roots. 



AINSIi.XA (in honour of Dr. Whitelaw Ainslie, 

 author of a work on Indian drugs). Okd. Composita;. 

 Herbaceous perennials, of recent introduction. Although, 

 no doubt, both species will prove tolerably hardy, they 

 should have slight protection during winter. They thi-ive 

 in light rich boU. Propagated by divisions of the root. 



A. aptera (wingless), ft. -head purple, disposed in an elongated 

 spike-like panicle. I. deeply cordate, sinuately toothed ; petioles 

 %\iugless, whence the name. Sikkim Himalayas, 1882. 



A. WalkercB (Mrs. Walker's).* ft. -heads slender, distant, shortly 

 stalked, borne in erect or somewhat nodding racemes ; the 

 white corolla-lobes and the red purple anthers make a pretty 

 contrast, h. about 1ft. Hong Kong, 1875. A very rare and 

 gi-aceful species. 



AIR. Pure atmospheric air is composed of nitrogen, 

 oxygen, and a very small quantity of carbonic acid gas, all 

 of wliich are essential to the growth of plants. Air-giving 

 is a term used by gardeners to lessen the temperature of 

 a greenhouse, or to equalise it with that outside. See 

 Ventilation. 



Fig. 54. AiRA PULCHELLA. 



A. pulchella (pretty).* fl. panicles loose, very delicate and grace- 

 ful. ^ very short, ft. 6in. to8in. South Europe. An elegant plant, 

 with tufted filiform stems. One of the best of dwarf-growing 

 ornamental grasses. See Fig. 54. 



AIB-FIiAITT. See Aerides, also Epiphytes. 



AITONIA (in honour of W. Alton, once Head Gar- 

 dener at Kow). Ord. ileliaceai. A small and rather inte- 

 resting greenhouse evergreen shrub from the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and thriving well in an equal mixture of sandy loam 

 and peat. Young cuttings will root in sand, under a bell 

 glass, with bottom heat. The cuttings must not be put in 

 very close together, and the glass should be wiped frequently, 

 as they are apt to damp off. 



A. capensls (Cape), ft. pink ; petals four, shorter than the pro- 

 jectmg stamens. July. h. 2ft. 1777. 



AIZOON (from aei, always, and soos, alive ; tenacious 

 of life). Obd. Portulacacew. Greenhouse annuals, bien- 

 nials, or evergreen shrubs. Flowers apetalous ; calyx five- 

 cleft, coloured on the inner surface. The under-mentioned 

 species is the oidy one worth growing. It requires no shade, 

 a dry atmosphere, and light sandy soil. Propagated by 

 seeds and cuttings. 



A. sarmentosum (sarmentose). ft. greenish, sessile. Summer. 

 I. opposite, luie.ar-tiliform, ratlier connate, glabrous ; branches 

 rather villous, three-flowered at the apex, the two lateral flowers 

 are bracteatcd, and spring from the sides of the middle one. 

 Sub-shrub, erect, diffuse, glabrous, branched. South Africa, 

 1862. 



AJAVA SEED. See Ptychotis. 



AJAX MAXIMUS. See Narcissus. 



AJOWAN. See Ptychotis. 



AJXTGA (from a, not, and zugon, a yoke; In reference 

 to the calyx being equal, not bilabiate). Bugle. Ord. 

 Labiatce. Hardy annual or perennial herbaceous plants, 

 usually procumbent or ascending, sometimes stoloni- 

 ferous. Whorls two or many flowered, dense, sometimes 

 aU axillary, when the floral leaves conform to those of 

 the stem ; sometimes the superior whorls are approxi- 

 mate into spikes, then the floral leaves are small, and 

 of a different form from the stem ones. .AU the species 

 are of easy cultivation in ordinary garden soil. Perennials 

 increased by divisions, or by seeds sown in the open border, 

 during spring or autumn. The seeds of annual kinds may 

 be sown in the open border in spring, where they are in- 

 tended to remain. 



