



280 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



curra (dandy), fl. pale straw-colour or waxy white, fragrant, 

 lively green, about 6in. long; bulbs about liin. long. Demerara, 

 72. Very curious, and with a compact habit. (G. C. n. a. vii., 



Catasettun continued. 



C. Naro (nose-like-lipped), fl. white, purple ; sepals oblong-lanceo- 

 late, complicate, equal to the ascending lanceolate petals ; lip 

 hemispherical, drawn out into an abrupt ovate fleshy blunt ap- 

 pendage at the apex, lacerated at the base ; spikes short, erect. 

 August. A. 2ft. Mexico, 1843. 



C. ochraceum (reddish-yellow), fl. yellow ; sepals and petals 

 ovate, secund; lip cucullate, entire, smooth, contracted into a 

 short, broad, blunt, fleshy beak at the apex. Brazil, 1844. 



C. Russellianum (Russell's).* /. greenish; lip membranous, 

 inflated in front, contracted at the mouth, the inner margin 

 drawn out, undulated and fringe-crested in the disk. July. 

 I. broad, lanceolate, h. 3ft. Guatemala, 1838. 



C. saccatum (pouched).* fl. very large and extraordinary ; sepals 

 and petals spotted with rich purple ; lip bright yellow, thickly 

 covered with crimson spots ; it is bored, as it were, in the middle, 

 by a narrow opening, which leads into a deep chamber or sac, 

 which is not observed till the back of the lip is turned up. 

 March. Demerara, 1840. (L. S. O. 41.) 



C. scurra 



1.1 



1872. Very 



p. 304.) 



C. tabulare (table-form ed-lip). fl. pale green. Guatemala, 1843. 

 C. trldentatnm (three-toothed), fl. yellowish-brown ; two inner 



sepals spotted ; lip galeate, three-toothed. April. Trinidad, 



CATCHFLY. See Silene. 

 CATECHU. See Areca Catechu. 



CATERPILLARS, WEB FORMING. See Haw 

 thorn Caterpillars. 



CATESB2EA (founded by Linnaeus, in honour of his 

 contemporary, Mark Catesby, author of " Natural History 

 of Carolina"). Lily Thorn. OED. Rubiacece. Stove ever- 

 green glabrous shrubs, bearing supra-axillary, simple 

 spines. Flowers axillary, solitary; corolla funnel-shaped, 

 with a very long tube, gradually widening and dilated to 

 the throat, and a four-parted limb. Leaves small, oval, 

 usually in fascicles. These are very ornamental plants 

 while in flower. They grow best in a mixture of light 

 turfy loam and peat. Cuttings will root in April, if 

 planted in sand, and plunged in heat, with a bell glass 

 placed over them. Insects often infest these plants and 

 considerably impair their beauty ; therefore, necessary 

 precautions should be taken. 



C. latlfolia (broad-leaved).* /. pendulous; tube of corolla very 

 long, obconical at the apex ; pedicels one-flowered. June. I. ob- 

 ovate, shining, convex, rather shorter than the spines, h. 4ft. to 

 5ft. West Indies, 1823. (B. R. 858.) 



C. parviflora (small-flowered), fl. erect ; corolla with a tetragonal 

 tube, about four lines long, sessile among the leaves. June. 

 I. ovate, stiff, with revolute margins, mucronate. h. 4ft. to 5ft. 

 Jamaica, 1810. 



C. spinosa (spiny), fl. pendulous ; corolla pale yellow, 3in. to 6in. 

 long. May. 1. ovate, acutish at both ends, rather longer than 

 the spines, h. 10ft. to 14ft. Bahama Islands, 1726. (B. M. 131.) 



CATHA (a name of Arabian origin). OED. Celastrinece. 

 A monotypic genus. Flowers small; cymes short, axil- 

 lary, dichotomously branched. Leaves opposite, petio- 

 late, lanceolate, leathery, serrated. For culture, see Ce- 

 lastrus. 



C. ednlis (edible). Cafta or Khat. fl. white, h. 10ft. Yemen, 

 Arabia. The green leaves of this tree are eaten with avidity 

 by the Arabs, and possess nearly the same qualities as opium. 

 Greenhouse or cool conservatory. SYN. Celastrus edulis. 



CATHARTIC. See Purgative. 



CATHCARTIA (in honour of J. F. Cathcart, Esq., 

 B.C.S., Judge of Tirhoots). OED. Papaveraceae. A very 

 pretty herbaceous biennial, thriving well in any light rich 

 soil, if the situation is sheltered and sunny. Increased by 

 seeds, which it produces freely. 



C. Villosa (hairy). /. rich yellow, with numerous brown anthers, 

 about 2in. across. June. I. vine-shaped, Sin. across, densely 

 villose. h. 1ft. Sikkim- Himalaya, 1850. (B. M. 4596.) 



CATKIN. A deciduous spike, consisting of unisexual 

 apetalous flowers. An amentum. 



CATMINT. See Nepeta. 



CATOBLASTUS (from kato, beneath, and - blastos, 

 growth, in allusion to the aerial roots). Om>. Palmce. A 

 small genus of two or three stove Palms, closely allied to 

 Iriartea, but differing from that genus in the male and 

 female flowers being borne on separate spikes, the males 

 having a small rudimentary ovary in addition to the nine 

 to fifteen stamens ; whilst the females have scarcely any 

 rudimentary stamens. Trees having, in their native habi- 

 tats, trunks from 30ft. to 50ft. high, distinctly marked 

 with circular scars, supported, a short distance above the 

 level of the ground, upon a tuft of aerial roots, and bearing 

 a crown of pinnate leaves. The undermentioned is the 

 only species in cultivation. For culture, see Iriartea. 

 C. prsemorsus (bitten off).* I. impari-pinnate ; leaflets simple. 



Venezuela, 1850. SYN. Iriartea prcemorsa. 



CATOFSIS (from kato, beneath, and opsis, appearance). 

 OED. Bromeliacece. A small genus of stove herbaceous 

 plants, formerly included under Tillandsia (which see for 

 culture). 

 C. nitlda (shining), fl. white, remotely disposed in rather long 



slender spikes ; corolla deeply three-parted ; scape cylindrical. 



1. few, Ungulate, convolute, forming below a hollow tube, which 



is swollen or ventricose at the base ; very shining dark green. 



Jamaica, 1823. SYNS. Tillandsia nitida and Tussacia nitida. 



(H. E. F. 218.) 

 CAT'S TAIL. See Typha. 



CAT'S-TAIL GRASS. See Phlenm. 



CAT THYME. See Teucrium Marum. 



CATTLEYA (named in honour of William Cattley, 

 Esq., of Barnet, Herts, a famous patron of botany, and one 

 of the most ardent collectors of rare plants of his day). 

 OED. OrchidecB. A magnificent evergreen genus, which 

 occupies the first rank in the estimation of Orchid-growers, 

 both on account of the great size of the flowers often 7in. 

 or Sin. across and also from their rich and varied colours. 

 In addition to these qualifications, they are, with one or 

 two exceptions, extremely easy to manage. This genus has 

 much in common with Lcelia, from which it is technically 

 distinguished by possessing four pollinia or pollen masses, 

 instead of eight. The flower-scape, which is enclosed in a 

 sheath, rises from the top of the pseudo-bulb, a single spike 

 sometimes containing nine perfect flowers, and occasionally 

 many more, which last a considerable time in beauty. 

 They vary considerably in size ; for, whilst some species 

 make pseudo-bulbs only some 2in. or 3in. long, others reach 

 as many feet in height, forming, in a natural state, huge 

 masses several yards in diameter. They all form pseudo- 

 bulbs, which are more or less stout in the different species, 

 and usually bear a single, dark green, coriaceous leaf upon 

 the apex. One division of the genus produces two leaves 

 upon the summit of the pseudo-bulbs, and sometimes, but 

 more rarely, three are developed. Generally speaking, how- 

 ever, the largest-flowered species are to be found among 

 those with single leaves. We have now many varieties 

 which have been produced by hybridising, and these, both 

 for size of flower and the marvellous beauty of their mark- 

 ings, may vie with the choicest of the introduced kinds. 

 Many of these plants thrive best when attached to a block 

 of wood with a little sphagnum suspended from the roof; 

 pot culture, however, for those which attain any consider- 

 able size, will be best, as they will not only if grown in this 

 manner produce the finest blossoms, but will require less 

 care and attention at the hands of the cultivator. For pot- 

 ting material, use good fibrous peat from which all the gritty 

 part has been well beaten ; add to this some chopped living 

 sphagnum, and some clean, sharp silver sand. Thorough 

 drainage is most essential ; and, in potting, let the plant sit 

 upon the top of the soil, which should be elevated somewhat 

 above the rim of the pot, in order to carry the water away 

 quickly. Cattleyas like a genial, moist atmosphere, and an 

 abundant supply of water during the growing season, which 

 should be administered from the watering can ; for, in the 

 case of those plants grown in pots, it has been frequently 

 remarked that, where regularly syringed, they neither grew 



