292 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Hardy 



Centaurea continued. 



C. pulchra (beautiful), fl.-heads bright purple, globose; outer 

 scales of involucre drawn out into an ovate, pectinately ciliated, 

 scabrous appendage ; middle bristle longer, stiffer and shining. 

 August. I. sessile, glabrous, pinnate ; lobes linear, acute, entire 

 or a little toothed. Stem branched, furrowed, h. 1ft. Cashmere, 

 1838. Half-hardy. (B. R. 26, 28.) 



C. raguslna (Ragusan).* fl.-heads yellow; involucre ciliated. 

 June, July. I. downy with silvery hairs, pinnatifid ; segments 

 obtuse, egg-shaped, quite entire, outer ones largest. A. 2ft. 

 Candia, 1710. Half-hardy perennial. (B. M. 494.) 



C.rnthenloa< 



shaped, obtuse 



sharply serraU , 



1806. Hardy perennial. 

 C. suaveolens (sweet-scented).* Yellow Sultan, fl.-heads yellow, 



sweet-scented; involucre round, smooth. July. I., lower ones 



broad, somewhat spathulate, toothed ; upper ones lyrate at base. 



h. IJft. Levant, 1683. Hardy annual. (S. B. F. G. i. 51.) 

 C. uniflora (one-flowered), fl.-heads purple, roundish, terminal, 



nearly sessile among the upper leaves. Summer. I. small, white 



and downy ; lower ones oblong-lanceolate, toothed ; 



lanceolate, entire. A. 9in. to 15in. South Europe, 1 



perennial. 



CENTAURY. See Erythrsea Centaurium. 



CENTAURY, AMERICAN. A common name for 

 the species of the genus Sabbatia. 



CENTOTHECA (from kentein, to prick, and theke, a 

 receptacle ; in allusion to the retrorse hairs of the upper 

 florets). ORD. Gramineae. A genus containing two or 

 three species, distributed over tropical Africa and Asia, 

 and the Pacific Islands. It is a somewhat near ally of 

 Melica. A compost of well-drained loam and leaf soil is 

 best. Propagated by seeds, sown in spring. 



C. lappacea (bur-like). Bur. Inflorescence paniculate ; spikelets 

 hi branched racemes, many-flowered, green ; pedicels hispid. I. 

 sessile, lanceolate, acute, glabrous, 5in. to 6in. long, about tin. 

 broad. A. 2ft. India, Java, &c. Greenhouse. 



CENTRADENIA (from 

 kentron, a spur, and aden, a 

 gland ; referring to a spur-like 

 gland on the anthers). SYN. 

 Plagiophyllum. ORD. Melas- 

 tomaceae. Stove evergreens. 

 Flowers pink or white ; racemes 

 few-flowered, axillary. Leaves 

 opposite, unequal, ovate or 

 lanceolate, entire, membranous, 

 three-nerved. They thrive in 

 a compost of one part sandy 

 loam, and two parts rough peat. 

 Cuttings of side shoots should 

 be inserted in February. C. 

 grandifolia makes an elegant 

 table ornament, and cut sprays 

 of it last in perfection a con- 

 siderable time. 



G. divaricata (severed), fl. white, 

 few, terminal. Central America, 



C. 



/.pink. November.' 

 1856. (B. M. 5228.) 

 C. rosea (rosy).* fl. pink ; racemes 

 sub-corymbose,ternrinal. January. 

 1. ovate-lanceolate, unequal-sided. 

 A. 1ft. Mexico, 1840. (B. R. 29, 

 20.) 



CENTRANTHUS (from 

 kentron, a spur, and anthos, a 

 flower; in reference to the co- 

 rolla being furnished with a 

 spur at the base). ORD. Vale- 

 rianetB. Ornamental herba- 

 ceous plants. Flowers red or 

 white, unilateral along the 

 branches of the panicle, which is corymbose. Leaves 

 undivided or pinnate. All the species are excellent for 

 borders, growing in common garden soil, or on walls or 



(laree-leaved).* 

 r. h. 2ft. Mexico, 



FIG. 401. CENTRANTHUS MA- 

 CROSIPHON, showing Habit 

 and Single Flower. 



Centranthns continued. 



rockwork; and are readily increased by seeds, which, 

 for show annuals, should be sown in March. 



C. angustlfolius (narrow-leaved), fl. red, lin. long ; spur one- 

 half shorter than the tube of the corolla. May to July. I. linear- 

 lanceolate, quite entire. A. 1ft. to 2ft. South Europe, 1759. 

 Hardy perennial. SYN. Valeriana angustifolia. (S. F. G. 29.) 

 C. Calcltrapa (Caltrops-like). /. white, tinged with red, rather 

 panicled. Slay to July. I., radical ones ovate, entire, or lyrate ; 

 upper ones pinnatifid. A. 6in. to 1ft. South Europe, 1683. Hardy 

 annual. SYN. Valeriana Calcitrapa. (S. F. G. 30.) 

 C. macrosiphon (large-tubed).* fl. rosy-carmine, rather larger 

 than those of C. ruber. July. I. glaucous. A. 2ft. Spain. An 

 annual, of compact habit. See Fig. 401. (P. F. G. 67.) Of this 

 there is a white-flowered variety. 



C. ruber (red).* Red Valerian. /. red ; spur one-half shorter than 

 the tube ; cymes dense, forming a handsome corymbose panicle. 

 Summer. I. ovate or lanceolate ; upper ones unequal at the base, 

 toothed a little. A. 2ft. to 3ft. Europe (Britain). Perennial. 

 There are several forms, including a wnite-flowered variety, of 

 this species. 



CENTRONIA (from kentron, a spur, in allusion to the 

 spurred anthers). ORD. Melastomacem. A genus of highly 

 ornamental shrubs, from Mexico, New Granada, Guiana, 

 and Peru. There are nine species ; in all probability, that 

 described below is the only one now in cultivation. A 

 compost of sandy peat and leaf mould suits them well. 

 Propagated by cuttings of half-ripened shoots, inserted in 

 peat and sand, under a bell glass. 



C. li|nnmttu. (blood-coloured). /. deep purplish-red, too much 

 tinged with violet to thoroughly agree with specific name ; in 

 panicles, large. I. shortly stalked, elliptic-obovate, five-nerved, 

 reddish-brown beneath, deep green above. A. 8ft. Ocafia, 1852. 

 Greenhouse. SYN. Calyptraria hcemantha. 



CENTROPOGON (from kentron, a spur, and pogon, 

 a beard; in reference to the fringe which envelops the 

 stigma). ORD. Campanulacece. Ornamental greenhouse 

 or stove herbaceous perennials. The most popular member 

 of this genus is a hybrid between C. fastuosus and Sipho- 

 campylos betulcefolius, and known as C. Lucyanus. From 

 its flowering naturally during the dead of the winter, it is a 

 most desirable plant ; and it is more particularly this to 

 which the cultural remarks refer. The ready way this 

 plant admits of increase is much in its favour, as amateurs 

 will find no difficulty in propagating it. Any young shoots, 

 about Sin. or 4in. long, form good cuttings, and, if taken 

 off with a heel, root with more certainty, although others 

 rarely fail if placed in sharp sandy soil, close around the 

 edge of the pot, and then kept close under a bell glass 

 or propagating box, in a temperature ranging between 

 60deg. and 70deg. They delight in a light, loose, rich vege- 

 table soil, such as fibry peat, or leaf mould and loam in 

 equal proportions. Being rather moisture -loving subjects 

 when growing freely, it is necessary to afford them a fair 

 amount of drainage, and to add sufficient sand when potting 

 to keep the soil open and porous. During the early spring 

 months, a cool stove is the best situation for them, but with 

 the advent of summer a pit or frame is the most suitable. 

 Here they should be plunged in a bed of gently fermenting 

 leaves, or other material answering the same purpose, and 

 receive a slight shade for an hour or two during the hottest 

 part of the day. So favoured, and by shutting up imme- 

 diately after giving a good syringing early in the afternoon, 

 their growth will be rapid and clean. To insure maturation 

 by the winter, it is a good plan to withdraw the lights in 

 the forenoon during the early parts of September, at the 

 end of which month they should be transferred to their 

 winter quarters in an intermediate house or cool stove, til] 

 they begin to show blossom, when any warm greenhouse or 

 conservatory will suit them, if the temperature does not 

 recede below 50deg. In either of these places, it is always 

 advisable to keep them as dry at the roots as possible, 

 without allowing them to flag ; for these, like many other 

 plants, will endure much more cold when in this state 

 than with the soil wet, in which condition they soon 

 look miserable, and often die outright. Old plants, cut 

 down, shaken out, and repotted, make grand specimens ; 

 but for general decorative purposes those struck in spring 



