64 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



MOUNTAIN ASH. 



AMERICAN 



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 Onerous 

 falcata. 



AMERICAN SWAMP LILT. See Saururus 

 cernnns. 



AMERICAN WHITE OAK. See Quercus alba. 



AMERICAN WILD BLACK CURRANT. See 

 Ribes floridum. 



AMERICAN WILD RED RASPBERRY. See 

 Rubns strigfosus. 



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



in allusion to the little attention the plant requires ; name 



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



ORD. Leguminosce. Ornamental, evergreen, stove shrubs, 



with alternate, stalked, ovate, somewhat cordate, simple 



leaves. For culture, see Anona. 



A. Browne! (Browne's).* fl. white, sweet-scented; peduncles 

 axillary, ten-flowered, glabrous or puberulous. May. I. ovate, 

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

 1793. Requires a trellis or other support. 



A. strigulosum (strigulose). fl. white ; racemes axillary, soli- 

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

 cordate, obtuse, clothed with adpressed hairs on both surfaces ; 

 branches and petioles clothed with light brown, dense, short 

 hairs, h. 6ft to 10ft. Trinidad, 1817. 



AMERIMNUM. A synonym of Amerimnon 



(which see). 



AMHERSTIA (commemorative of Countess Am- 

 herst, a zealous promoter of natural history, particularly 

 botany). OED. Leguminosce. 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. nobilis (noble).* /. of a fine vermilion colour, diversified with 



rllow spots, large; racemes long, pendulous, axillary. May. 

 large, impari-pinnate, - * -*' - 



h. ml. to 40ft. " 



, bearing six to eight pairs of leaflets. 

 India, 1837. The flowers are, unfortunately, 

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

 which period, 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. Leguminosce. 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 heat. 



A. Zygomeris (two-jointed-podded).* fl. yellow, splashed with 

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

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

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

 full of pellucid dots ; branches and petioles pubescent, h. 8ft. 

 Mexico, 1826. 



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

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

 Composite. This well-known everlasting is closely allied 

 to Qnaphalium, from which it differs principally in habit. 

 Receptacle 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), fl. -heads about lin. across, of a silvery 



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



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



I. oblong-lanceolate ; radical ones in a tufted rosette. Stems 



winged hence the specific name. h. IJft. to 2ft. New Holland, 



1822. See Fig. 77. 

 A. a. grandiflorum (large-flowered).* fl.. heads purer white, 



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



comes true from seed, is a great acquisition. 



AMMOCHARIS. See Brunsvigia. 



AMMODENDRON (from ammos, sand, and dendron, 

 a tree ; in reference to its natural habitat). OED. Legu- 

 minosce. A small, neat, hardy evergreen, silky shrub, 

 having the petioles hardening into spines; an excellent 

 subject for shrubberies. It thrives in an ordinary soil, 

 with good drainage, and is propagated by layers and 

 seeds. 

 A. Sieversii (Sievers').* fl. purple, disposed in racemes. June. 



1. bifoliolate ; leaflets lanceolate, silky-white on both surfaces. 



A. 2ft. to 4ft. Siberia, 1837. 



AMMYRSINE. See Leiophyllum. 

 AMOMOPHYLLUM. See Spatliiphyllum. 



FIG. 77. INFLORESCENCE OF AMMOBIUM ALATUM. 

 AMOMUM (from a, not, and momos, impurity; in 

 reference to the quality of counteracting poison). OBD. 

 Scitaminece. Stove, deciduous, herbaceous perennials, 

 chiefly aromatic, formerly used in embalming. Flowers 

 produced close to the ground, in spikes or clusters, brae- 

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

 late, entire. For ctdture, see Alpinia. 

 A. angustifolinm (narrow-leaved).* fl. sometimes of a uniform 

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

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

 naked, from 3in. to 8in. in length ; spike capitate. July. I. linear- 

 lanceolate, h. 8ft. Madagascar. 



A. Cardamomum (Cardamom).* fl. brownish ; lip three-lobed, 

 spurred ; scape compound, flexuous, procumbent. August, h. 8ft. 

 East Indies, 1823. 



A. Danielli (Daniel's), fl.. 4in. across ; outer sepals fine red ; the 

 spreading labellum whitish, tinged with rose and yellow ; scape 

 short, arising from the bottom of the stem. I oblong-lanceo- 

 late, 9in. long. h. 2ft. Western Africa. 



A. grandiflorum (large-flowered). /. white, numerous, clc . 

 short. June. I. elliptic-lanceolate, pointed, h. 3ft. Sierra 

 1795. 



