ARC 



ARC 



than in the other sorts, tliey have always a bet- 

 ter effect as evergreens. 



AKCTOTIS, a genus comprising heil)aceo\is 

 plants and shrubby perennials of the exotic kind 

 icr the <;reen-housc. 



It belongs to the class and order Si/ti^e/iesia 

 Polt/gamiu Keceisaria, and ranks in tlis natural 

 order of Cori/miiJ'erce. 



The characters are : that the calyx is com- 

 mon, roundish, imbricate ; lower scales more 

 lax, subulate ; middle ovale ; inmost oblong, 

 scariose, rounded, and concave at the end : the 

 corolla compound, radiate ; coroliules herma- 

 phrodite ; very many in the disk ; females ligu- 

 late, near twenty, longer than the diameter of 

 the disk proper, of the hermaplirodites fun- 

 nel-shaped ; border quincjuclld ; ends reflex, 

 equal; of the females liguhue, lanceolate, very 

 finely three-toothed ; tube very short : the sta- 

 mina ot the hermaphrodites consist of five ca- 

 pillary filaments, very short : the anthera eylin- 

 dric, tubular, five-toothed, the length of the 

 corolla ; the pistillum of the hermaphrodites is a 

 germ scarcely visible : the style cylindric, a little 

 longer than the corolla; the stigma simple; of 

 the f«males the germ ovate, four-cornered, vil- 

 lose, crowned with its proper calvcle ; the stvle 

 filiform: the stigmas ovale, oblonsr, thickish, 

 erect ; no pericarpiuni : the calyx unchanged ; 

 no seeds in the hermaphrodites ; in the females 

 solitary, roundish, villose, crowned with a ca- 

 lycle, usually of five leaves : leaflets ovate, 

 spreadini: : the receptacle villose, or ehaflV and 

 liattish. ' 



The species of most importance are : \. A. 

 cnlendulacea , Marigold-flowered Arclotis ; 2. j1. 

 (Jeiitata, Five-leaved Arctotis ; 3. A. acauUs, 

 Dwarf Arctotis; 4. A. tenu'if'oUa, Small-leaved 

 Arctotis; 5. -4. g>"onf?//?o;-a, Great-flowered Arc- 

 totis ; 6. yl. plaiilaginca, Plantain-leaved Arc- 

 totis ; 7. A. angusliJ'olia,lSii\Tow-\t.avvd Arcto- 

 tis; 9. A. aspna. Hough-leaved Arctotis ; 9. A. 

 paradoxa, C'hamomile-leaved Arctotis. 



The first ha> the peduncles villose, beset with 

 red bristles, before and after flow cring time nod- 

 ding: the ray yellow, purplish underneath, 

 twisted during the night : the corolhdcs of the 

 disk black on the outside, and with black an- 

 therre : the outer scales of the calyx spreading, 

 subulate, very short, hispid. It is annual. 



There are several varieties of this species. 



The second species has the stem branching : 

 the leaves alternate, somewhat rigid and villose : 

 the pinnas recurved : the peduncles lone, one- 

 flowered : the flowers small, with the rav purple 

 beneath. It is annual, and flowers in July. 



The third is a low plant, the fiower-stem 

 rarely exceeding six inches in height j but the 

 4 



flowers, which are yellow, arc large and 

 fine : ihey conje out in April, and continue to 

 July. 



i'he fourth species has the stems herbaceous 

 and few, not much branched : the leaves fili- 

 form or linear, rather fleshy and naked : the pe- 

 duncles very long, solitary, naked and filiform : 

 the braciea minule and filiform : the calvx im- 

 bricalc, scariose above : the ray yellow. It is 

 perennial. 



The fifth has the ray very larire : the petals are 

 straw-coloured, with a tinge ot^ red underneath, 

 yellowish above near (he base, with a very dark 

 purple mouth. It is biennial, and flowers from 

 March to Mav. 



The sixth species has the leaves tomcntosc 

 underneath : the disk barren. It is perennial, 

 and flowers from June to August. 



The seventh has the florets of the disk barren, 

 and the receptacle very woolly. 



There are varieties of it with leaves scarcely 

 broader than those of Lavender. 



The eighth has the stem stifl", perennial and 

 villose, with purple streaks : the leaves white un- 

 derneath : the corollas of the rav yellow, with 

 retl streaks beneath and fertile : those of the 

 disk barren. 



There is a variety of this with handsome 

 orange-coloured flowers, displaying themselves 

 from July to September. 



In the ninth species the chaflfs are eloncate, 

 coloured, almost the length of the ray; whence 

 the flower has the appearance of a double one. 



Culture. — All the annual sorts are capable of 

 being raised by sow iiig the seeds in the sjjrine; in 

 pots of light fresh earth, plunging them info a 

 very moderate hot-bed. The plants, when well 

 rooted, should be gradually inured to the free 

 air. When the season is dry, water will be fre- 

 quently necessary. They likewise retiuire to be 

 frequently removed into other pots. As ihty 

 never grow heallby if kept too much in the 

 house, w hen the weather is suitable they should 

 always be exposed to the open air. They may 

 also be propagated by slips from the roots. 



The shrubby sorts are propatrated bv eutlinns 

 from the young shoots, which should lie planted 

 in pots or beds of light fresh mould in the sum- 

 mer months, being occasionally watered and 

 shaded until they become perfectly rooted, w hich 

 is generally in six or eight weeks; when they 

 must be carefully removed into other separate 

 pots, and preserved in the open air as long as the 

 weather permits, being shaded from lire sun, 

 and watered when necessary. Durini; tlie win- 

 ter the protection of a very dry green-'housc w il^ 

 be requisite for all the sorts ; but these should be 

 placed as much exposed to the inild air as pos- 



