350 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Codiaeum continued. 



genus of stove evergreen shrubs. Male flowers: calyx 

 membranous, three to six (often five) parted, reflexed, 

 imbricate; petals five, scale formed, shorter than the 

 calyx, and alternating with as many glands ; stamens 

 numerous. Female flowers : calyx five-cleft ; petals absent. 

 Ovarium girded by five hypogynous scales at base, three- 

 celled, a single ovule in each cell. Among ornamental- 

 foliaged plants, few, if any, are more useful or beautiful 

 than the different varieties of this genus, several of which, 

 besides having magnificently-coloured leaves, are very 

 remarkable on account of their singular form. Excepting 

 Dracsenas, no similar class of plants are more easily cul- 

 tivated than Codiaeums; and, as they are available for use 

 all the year round, no stove, however small, should be 

 without, at least, one or two varieties. When required for 

 table decoration, they should be grown with single stems. 

 The best way to obtain these is to take off the tops of any 

 strong leading shoots, and form them into cuttings. They 

 may be struck by placing singly in small pots, and 

 covering with bell glasses, in strong, moist heat, where they 

 will soon emit roots, without losing any of the leaves 

 attached at the time they were inserted. When fairly 

 struck, they should receive a little air, by tilting the glass, 

 gradually affording more till they bear full exposure. The 

 most useful sizes for table decoration are from 1ft. to 

 18in. high ; and, as using the plants for this purpose often 

 causes them to lose their lower leaves by 

 the time they reach such a height, the tops 

 may be again taken off and put in as cut- 

 tings. They must be grown in a very moist 

 atmosphere, and be well attended to by 

 watering and syringing, or red spider is sure 

 to appear. This pest and thrips are the two 

 worst enemies to contend with in growing 

 Codiseums, and no pains should be spared to 

 rid the plants of them so soon as they 

 are seen, as they quickly commit irrepar- 

 able damage. The most effective remedy 

 for -thrips is to dip the heads of the plants 

 in strong tobacco water, which destroys the 

 insects, and also their eggs. For spider, 

 there is nothing so effectual as hand- washing, 

 with a soft sponge and soap water. Insects 

 increase most rapidly when the air of the 

 house becomes too dry, or the plants suffer 

 from want of water at the roots. Besides 

 being of so much value for table decoration, 

 and the embellishment of rooms generally, 

 Codiseums are equally serviceable for fur- 

 nishing conservatories and other cool houses 

 during the summer and autumn months a 

 time when such fine-foliaged plants may be 

 employed with good effect. When used in 

 this way, they must be gradually hardened 

 before venturing to place them out of stove 

 heat, as they are very susceptible to cold, 

 and sudden changes cause their leaves to 

 fall off. The soil best suited is fibry loam, 

 with the addition of a good sprinkling of 

 sand, to keep it open and porous. In this, 

 with due attention to their requirements as 

 to water, &c., they will grow very freely 

 Plants required for large specimens, either 

 for decoration or exhibition purposes, should 

 be encouraged to make plenty of side 

 branches, pinching the end of the leading 

 shoot, if they do not start freely without; 

 but, generally, they require very little assistance, as their 

 natural growth is bushy and regular. In order to bring 

 out to the fullest extent the rich markings of the leaves, 

 it will be necessary to subject the plants to plenty of 

 light, by placing on pans, or inverted pots, BO as to raise 

 them above others they may be growing amongst. One 

 great advantage in growing Codiaeums is that they can be 



Codiaeum continued. 



confined to small pots, and kept to a limited size, if 

 desired, for a great length of time. The temperature most 

 suitable for winter is one ranging from 60deg. to TOdeg., 

 according to the state of the weather. All the under- 

 mentioned have probably originated from two or three 

 species, and they are now generally classed by catalogue 

 compilers under the erroneous generic term of Croton, from 

 which genus the present one is not only distinct, but it 

 belongs to a different section of Euphorbiacece. 



The majority of the innumerable forms cultivated in 

 gardens may be referred to 0. pictum. Scarcely more 

 than three or four species exist, and about these all the 

 Codiaeums may be grouped as seedling forms or sports. 

 C. albicans (whitish).* I. broad-lanceolate, 12in. to 15in., Ion?, 

 2in. to Sin. broad ; ground-colour dark shining green, beautifully 

 variegated with ivory-white; under side slightly tinted with 

 crimson. A dense-growing variety. 

 C. angustifolium (narrow-leaved). A synonym of C. angugtis- 



gimum. 



C. angustissimum (narrowest).* 1. drooping, linear, 12in. to 

 18in.long, Ain. to Jin. broad, channelled, bluntish at the apex, 

 tapering at the base ; upper surface dark shining green ; margins 

 and midrib golden-yellow ; under surface similar, but paler. 

 Polynesia. SYN. C. angustifolium. 



C. aucubaefolium (Aucuba-leaved).* I. dark shining green, above 

 with yellow or somewhat crimson blotches ; 6in. to Sin. long, 

 2in. to 2Jin. wide, three to four times longer than the stalk, 

 oblong-acuminate, tapering at the base ; midrib and veins green, 

 or slightly tinged with pink. Polynesia, 1868. 



FIG. 487. CODIJEUM BARON FRANCK SEILLTERE. 



C Baron Franck Seillidre.* I. very close together, thick and 

 leathery, from lOin. to 15in. long, and from 2iin. to SJin. 

 broad, graceful, curved at the tip, of a brilliant green, light 

 pink underneath when adult ; the large nerves are of a pale 

 yellow, but soon become ivory-white, as does also the petiole. 

 Stem robust, green. Plant extremely vigorous. In the young 

 specimens, the costa, besides being large, is very frequently 

 irregular ; but in adults, it is invariably straight ; the lateral 

 nerves are of a very beautiful white, and the contrast of 



