AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



65 



Amomum continued. 



A. Grannm Paradisi.* Grains of Paradise, fl. white, tinged 

 with yellow and rose. I. elliptic-lanceolate, long-pointed. Stems 

 d dull purplish-red above from the long, 

 A. 3ft West Africa. 



very red at base, and di 

 sheathing leafstalks. 



A. Melegueta (Melegueta). 



Grains of Paradise, ft. paie pink, 

 othed lip. 

 A. 1ft. to 2ft. 



solitary, with an orbicular, irregularly toothed lip. May. I. 

 narrow, linear-elliptic, distichous, sessile. A. 1ft to 2ft Sierra 

 Leone, 1869. Habit creeping. 



A. sceptrum (sceptre), ft. bright rose purple, large, sub-erect ; 

 the most conspicuous portion is the lip, wnich is 2Mn. in diameter ; 

 flower-scapes bin. high. January. I. i 

 A. 5ft. to 6ft. Old Calabar, 1863. 



> . 



narrow, oblong-lanceolate. 



A. vitellinnm (yolk^f -egg-coloured). /. yellow; lip oblong, 

 obtuse, toothed ; spike oblong, sessile, rather loose. April 



. 

 rather loose. Ap 



J. oval. A. 2ft. East Indies, 1846. Plant stemless, glabrous. 



AMORFHA (from a, not, and morphe, form; incom- 

 plete formation of the flowers). Bastard Indigo. OED. 

 Leguminosce. A. handsome genus of hardy deciduous shrubs 

 with very graceful impari-pinnate leaves, and many pairs of 

 leaflets, which are full of pellucid dots. Racemes spicate, 

 elongated, usually in fascicles at the tops of the branches ; 

 corolla without wings and keel; vexillum or standard 

 ovate, concave. They are well adapted for small shrub- 

 beries, requiring a sheltered situation, and thrive well 

 in common garden soil. Increased by layers, or cuttings, 

 taken off at a joint, and planted in a sheltered situa- 

 tion early in autumn ; these should be allowed to remain 

 undisturbed till the following autumn. Amorphas produce 

 an abundance of suckers, from which they may be readily 

 propagated. 

 A. canescens (hoary)." The Lead Plant ft. dark bine. July. 



1., leaflets ovate-elliptic, mucronate. A. 5ft. Missouri, 1812. 



Whole plant clothed with hoary hairs. 



%frnticosa (shrubby).* The False Indigo. ft. very dark 

 uish purple. June. I., leaflets elliptic-oblong ; lower ones dis- 

 tant from the stem. A. 6ft. Carolina, 1724. Shrub glabrous, or 

 a little villous. There are several varieties, having mucronate, 

 emarginate, or narrower leaflets, but all with purple flowers. A 

 host of names, representing the merest forms of A. fruticosa, are 

 to be found in nurserymen's catalogues. Amongst them are : 

 caroliniana, crocea, crocea-lanata, dealbata, frayrans, glabra, her- 

 bacea, nana, pubescent, &c. These differ so slightly from the type 

 and from each other, that it is impossible to distinguish them. 

 AMORPHOPHALLUS (from amorphos, deformed, 

 and phallos, a mace ; alluding to the inflorescence). STN. Py- 

 thion. -Including Proteinophallus. OED. Aroidece (Aracece). 

 A very remarkable genus, closely allied to Arum, but dis- 

 tinguished therefrom by "their spreading, not convolute, 

 spathes ; by their anthers opening by pores, not by longitu- 

 dinal slits ; by the numerous cells to the ovary ; and by the 

 solitary, erect ovules, those of Arum being horizontal." 

 A soil consisting of two-thirds good rich loam, with the 

 additional third of sweet manure, thoroughly rotted, suits 

 them well. Other essentials are plenty of pot room, a 

 genial atmosphere, and a temperature ranging from SSdeg. 

 to 65deg., or even VOdeg. They require to be kept dry, 

 and warm in winter, as nothing is more fatal to them than 

 cold or damp. Beneath a shelf or stage in the stove is an 

 excellent spot for them, or they may be stored in sand, 

 and kept free from frost. They are difficult to increase ; 

 the conns of most of them are of great size, and rarely 

 make offsets. Efforts should consequently be made to 

 induce the plants to seed whenever practicable. All the 

 species are strikingly effective in sub-tropical bedding. 

 For fertilising and growth of seedlings, see Arum. 

 A. campanulatus (bell-shaped). Similar to A.. Rivieri, but the 

 flowers are brown, red, and black, and the scape is neither so 

 stout nor so tall. A. 2ft. India, 1817. SYN. Arum campanulatum. 

 A. grandls Oarge). fl., spathe green, white inside; spadix 



purplish. A. 3ft Java, 1865. Stove species. 

 A. Lac our 11 (Lacour's).* I. pedatisect, the ultimate segments 

 lanceolate, yellow-spotted; petioles transversely mottled with 

 yellow markings. Cochin China, 1879. Greenhouse. The correct 

 name of this species is Pseudodracontium Lacourii. 

 A. nivosus. See Dracontium asperum. 

 A. Rivieri (Rivier's).* fl., spadix, spathe, and scape, reaching 

 3ft. or more in height, appearing before the leaves ; scape stout 

 and strong, of a deep green colour, speckled or dotted with rose ; 

 spadix projecting, deep red ; spathe of a rosy -green colour. 

 March to May. I. solitary, decompound, 40in. to 50m. across, on 

 tall marbled petioles. Cochin China. This is, perhaps, the most 



Amorphophallus continued. 



useful species of the genus. SYN. Proteinophallus Rivieri See 

 Fig. 78. 



FiO. 78. AMORPHOPHALLUS RIVIERI, Foliage and Inflorescence. 

 A. Titanum (Titan's).* ft., spadix 5ft high, black purple ; spathe 



nearly 3ft. in diameter, campanulate m sha. . 

 deeply toothed edges. The deeper portion of the interior is pale 

 greenish, but the flmb is of a bright black purple hue ; the outside 

 is pale green, smooth in the lower portion, but thickly corrugated 

 and crisp above; scape about lift long, green, marked with 

 small whitish orbicular spots. I. the divided blade covers an area 

 of 45ft in circumference. West Sumatra, 1878. As will be seen 

 from the above, this extraordinary plant is of gigantic propor- 

 tions, and, in size of the flowers, eclipsing nearly all others in the 

 vegetable kingdom. SYN. ConophaUus Titanum. 

 AMORPHOUS. Without definite form. 

 AMPELOPSIS (from ampelos, & vine, and opsis, 

 resemblance ; resembling the Grape Vine in habit, and to 

 which it is closely allied). STN. Quinaria. OED. Ampe- 

 Udece. A genus nearly allied to Vitis. Calyx slightly five 

 toothed ; petals concave, thick, expanding before they fall ; 

 disk none. Fast growing and ornamental climbing, hardy 

 deciduous shrubs, of very easy culture in common garden 

 soil. Cuttings, having a good eye, may be taken in Sep- 

 tember, and pricked either under handlights in sandy soil 

 on the open border, or in pots stood on the stage or shelf in 

 a greenhouse ; they root readily, and will be fit for trans- 

 planting early in the spring. Or cuttings made from the 

 young soft wood, expressly grown for the purpose, in spring, 

 root freely in gentle heat. This applies especially to 

 A. tricuspidata. They are also easily increased by layers. 

 Most of the species will thrive with equal vigour in almost 

 any position, however exposed. 



A. aconitifolia (Aconite-leaved).* I palmisect, with pinnatifid 

 segments. China, 1868. A slender and very elegant free-growing 

 species, with long reddish branches. There are two or more 

 varieties. SYNS. A. lucida, A. triloba, A. tripartita, and Vitis 

 dissecta. See Fig. 79. 



A. bipinnata (bipinnate). fl. green, small ; raceme stalked, twice 

 bifid. Berries globose. June. I. bipinnate, smooth ; leaflets deeply 

 lobed. A. 10ft Virginia, 1700. 



A. hederacea (Ivy-leaved). Synonymous with A. quinquefolia. 

 A. japonica (Japanese). Synonymous with A. tricuspidata. 

 A. Incida (shining). Synonymous with A. aconitifolia. 

 A. napiformis (turnip-like).* Greenish. China, 1870. See Fig. 80. 



A. quincmefolia (five-leaved).* Virginian Creeper, ft. greenish 

 purple ; raceme corymbose. June. I. palmate,_with thn 



iree and five 



leaflets^ smooth on'both surfaces ; leaflets stalked, oblong-acumi- 

 nated, mucronately toothed ; autumnal tint red. North America, 

 1629. SYN. A. 



