THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Freycinetia continued. 



F. Banksii (Banks'). /., spikes cylindrical, 3m. to 4in. long, 

 surrounded by white, fleshy bracts, fr. 6in to Sin. long, and 6in. 

 to Sin. in circumference, of a rich brown hue when ripe, edible. 

 New Zealand. (B. M. 6028.) 



FIG. 36. FRETCINETIA CUMINGIANA. 



p. Cumlnglana (Cuming's). This has shorter, ascending or 

 horizontally spreading leaves (not arching, as in F. Banksii). It 

 is, moreover, a more slender grower. See Fig. 36. 

 FREZIERA (named after A. F. Frezier, 1682-1773, a 

 French engineer and traveller in Chili, who published an 

 account of his travels in 1716). STN. Erotewm. OBD. 

 TernstromiacecB. A genus containing a dozen or more 

 species of evergreen shrubs, with small axillary flowers, 

 natives of tropical America. None are worthy of special 

 mention. 

 F. theoides (Tea-like). A synonym of Clcyera theoides. 



FRIESIA (named after Elias Magnus Fries, M.D., 

 1794-1878, a celebrated cryptogamic botanist). OBD. 

 TiliaceoB. This genus, now included under Aristotelia, 

 contains but a single species, a very ornamental green- 

 house evergreen shrub, and an excellent plant for grow- 

 ing against the wall of a conservatory. It thrives freely 

 in a mixture of turfy loam and peat. Increased by cut- 

 tings, which root readily in sandy soil. 



F. peduncular!* (peduncled). fl. white ; pedicels axillary, 

 spreading, one-flowered, somewhat nodding. September. I. op- 

 posite, lanceolate, serrated, h. 3ft. to 6ft. Van Dieman's Land, 



FRINGE FLOWER. See Scb.izantb.us. 



FRINGE-TREE. See Chionantlius. 



FRITILLARIA (from fritillus, a chess-board ; refer- 

 ring to the chequered flowers of some species). Fritillary. 

 Including Rhinopetalum and Theresia. OBD. Liliacece. 

 A genus comprising upwards of fifty species of hardy, 

 bulbous plants. Flowers drooping, terminal or axil- 

 lary, campanulate ; perianth of six divisions, each with 

 a nectar-bearing hollow at the base on the inside; style 

 three-groved or trifid. Stems leafy. The usual mode 

 of propagation is by offsets that are naturally developed 

 by the plants when left undisturbed. Some of the free- 

 growing species produce many more of these than the 

 small slender ones. Seeds are ripened freely by some 

 species, but not by all of them in this country. If desired, 

 these may be sown when ripe, in pans of sandy soil, and 

 the seedlings allowed to remain for the first year, the 

 young plants being impatient of root disturbance. It 

 takes from four to six years to grow them from seed to 

 a size sufficiently large for flowering. AH small offsets 

 should be collected when the old bulbs are being lifted 

 or replanted. If they are placed in lines, a short dis- 

 tance apart, in a piece of prepared ground, flowering 

 specimens may be more quickly obtained. Fritillarias 

 are best suited for positions in the mixed flower border, 

 arranged according to their several heights. They should 

 have a rich, well-drained soil, as anything like stagnant 

 water near the bulbs, especially with the small-growing 

 species, proves destructive. It is not advisable to lift 

 the bulbs oftener than every three or four years, if it 

 can be avoided, and then they should be replanted with- 

 out delay, and surrounded with some new soil. A dress- 

 ing of manure, to established plants of Crown Imperials, 

 just after growth commences, is beneficial, as a number 

 of roots proceed from the flower-stem just above the 

 bulb. The latter should be planted at least 4in. to 6in. 

 below the surface, and from lft. to 2ft. apart. Fritil- 



FIG. 37. FLOWERING STEMS OF FRITILLARIA AUREA. 



