64 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



AMERICAN MOUNTAIN ASK. See Fyrus 

 americana. 



AMERICAN PLANTS. This term includes Rho- 

 dodendron, Azalea, and several others of similar habit and 

 constitution ; indeed, any hardy, flowering shrubs requiring 

 a moist peat border. 



AMERICAN SPANISH OAK. See Qnercns 

 falcata. 



AMERICAN SWAMP I.ILY. See Saururus 

 cernuus. 



AMERICAN WHITE OAK. See Quercus alba. 



. AMERICAN WILD SLACK CURRANT. See 

 Ribes floridum. 



AMERICAN WILD RED RASPBERRY. See 



Rubus strigosus. 



AMERIMNON (from a, privative, and merinna, care ; 



in allusion to the little attention the plant requires ; name 

 originally applied to the House-leek). Syn. Amerimnum. 

 Obd. Leguminoso). Ornamental, evergreen, stove shrubs, 

 with alternate, stalked, ovate, somewhat cordate, simple 

 leaves. For culture, see Auona. 



A* Brownel (Browne's).* Jl. wliite. sweet-scented ; peduncles 

 axillary, ten-tiowered, j^Iabrous or puberulous. M.ay. I, ovate, 

 somewhat cordate, acvae, glabrous, h. 6ft. to 10ft. Jamaica, 

 1793. Requires a trellis or otlier support. 

 . A. strlgulosum (strigulose). Jl. white ; racemes axillary, soli- 

 tary, three times lonfter than the petioles. May. I, ovate, rather 

 cordate, obtuse, clothed with adi)ressed hairs on both surfaces ; 

 branches and petioles clothed with light bruwn, dense, shurt 

 hairs. Ii. 6tt. to 10ft. Trinidad, 1817. 



AMERIMNUM. A synonym o£ Amerimnon 



(which ,s7>f'). 



/^.OTHERSTIA (commemorative of Countess Am- 

 herst, a zealous promoter of natural history, particularly 

 botany). Oed. Leguminosm. A stove, evergreen tree of 

 almost unsurpassed magnificence and brilliancy, requiring 

 a very high and moist temperature. It delights in a rich, 

 strong loam, and may be propagated by cuttings of the 

 half-ripened wood, inserted in sand, under a glass in 

 bottom heat of about SOdeg. ; also by seeds. 

 A. nobillS (noble).* Jl. of a fine vermilion colour, diversified with 

 yellow spots, large ; rnccmes long, pendiUous, axillary. May. 

 ( large, impari-pinnate, bearing six to eight pairs of leaflets. 

 ii 30ft. to 10ft. India, 1837. The flowers are, unfortunately, 

 somewhat ephemeral, lasting but a few days in perfection, during 

 which i)eriod, however, no object in the whole range of the vege- 

 table kingdom presents a more striking aspect than this tree. 



AMICIA (commemorative of J. B. Amici, a celebrated 

 French physician). Ord. Leguminosm. A pretty, green- 

 house or half-hardy perennial, succeeding in any warm, 

 sheltered spot. Young cuttings will root in sand, under a 

 hand glass, in beat. 

 A ZygomeriS (two-jointed-podded).* ;(. yellow, splashed with 



mnple on the keel ; peduncles axillary, five or six-flowered. 



Autumn. Legumes with two joints. (. abruptly pinnate, with 



two pairs of cuneate-obcordate, mucronato leaflets, which are 



full of pellucid dots ; branches and petioles pubescent, h. Bft. 



Mexico, 1826. 



AMMOBIUM (from ammos, sand, and bio, to live ; in 

 reference to the sandy soil in which it is found). Ord. 

 Composite. This well-known everlasting is closely allied 

 to Gnaphalium, from which it differs principally in habit. 

 Eeceptacle with oblong, pointed, toothed, chaffy scales ; 

 involucre of imbricated leaflets. It may be treated as 

 a half-hardy annual, or as a biennial, if seeds are sown 

 in September and kept in a cool greenhouse during the 

 winter, and this is the best way to grow it. Any moderately 

 good soil suits it. 

 A. alatum (winged), /l.-hmih about lin. across, of a silvery 



whiteness, with tlie exception of the yellow disk florets, very 



numerous, in loose", corymbose panicles. May to September. 



I oblouglanccnliite ; radical ones in a t\ifted rosette. Stems 



winoed-heuce the specific name. /i. lift, to 2ft. New Holland, 



182£ See rig. 77. 

 A. a. grandlfiorum (large-flowered).* ."■■'"«*« Vmev white, 



nearly twice the size of those in the type. This variety, which 



comes true from seed, is a groat acquisition. 



AMMOCHARIS. See BrTinsTl^. 



AMMODENDRON (from ammos, sand, .and dendron, 

 a tree ; in reference to its natural habitat). Stn. Sophora. 

 Ord. Legnminosw. A small, neat, hardy evergreen, silky 

 shrub, having the petioles hardening into spines ; an ex- 

 cellent subject for shrubberies. It thrives in an ordinary 

 soil, with good drainage, and is propagated by layers 

 and seeds. 



A. Sieversii (.Siever.s').* J!, purple, disposed in racemes. June. 

 /. bifuliulate ; leaflets lanceolate, silky-white on both surfaces. 



/(. 2ft. to 1ft. Siberia, 1837. 



AMMYRSINE. See Leiophyllum. 

 AMOMOFHYLLUM. See SpathiphyUnin. 



Fig. 77. Inflorkscence of Ammobium ai.atum. 



AMOMUM (from a, not, and momo!!, impurity ; in 

 reference to tlie quality of coirnteracting poison). Ord. 

 Zinqiheracea:. Stove, deciduous, herbaceous perennials, 

 chiefly aromatic, formerly used in embalming. Flowers 

 produced close to the ground, in spikes or elnstere, brao- 

 teate. Leaves distiolions, sheathing at the base, lanceo- 

 late, entire. For culture, see Alpinia. 

 A. aneustifolium (n.arrow -leaved).* A sometimes of .a uniform 

 chrome-vellow, sometimes crimron, with the labellum of a yellow 

 colour more or less pale, and sometimes entirely crimson ; scape 

 naked, from 3iii. to Sin. in length ; spike capitate. July. I. linear- 

 lanceolatc. A. Bft. Madag.-iscar. 

 A. Cardamomum (Cardamom).* ./f. brownish ; Up threclobed, 

 spnnecl ; scapc^ conipouud, flexuous, procumbent. August. It. Bft. 

 East Indies, lc'23. 

 A Danlelll (Dauicrs). Il 4iu. across : outer sepals fine red ; the 

 spreading labellum whitish, tinged with rose and ye low ; scape 

 short arisiu" from the bottom of the stem. I. oblong-lanceo- 

 late, bin. long. k. 2Aft. Western Africa. 

 A. grandiflorum (laige-flowered). ^«. white, numerous, close; 

 spike short, June. L elliptic-lanceolate, pomted. h. 3ft. Sierra 

 Leone, 1795. 



