AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



39 



Gagea continued. 



included under Ornithogalum. Flowers greenish-yellow, on 

 a scape, in a terminal bracteated umbel. Leaves radical, 

 linear. The species closely resemble each other; but few 

 of them, however, are seen in gardens. For culture, see 

 Ornitliogalum. 



O. lutea (yellow).* Yellow Star of Bethlehem, fl. three or four 

 in a flat raceme, almost contracted into an umbel ; the leaf-like 



bracts as long as the pedicels or longer ; perianth segments yellow, 

 with a green back, very spreading, narrow-oblong. Spring. I. 

 one, or very rarely two, linear, pointed and curved like those of a 



Tulip. Stem slender, rarely 6in. high. Europe and Russian 

 Asia, except the extreme North ; also occurring in several parts 

 of England, and, but rarely, in the Lowlands of Scotland. 

 (Sy. En. B. 1522.) 



G. stenopetala (narrow-petaled). fl. in umbels ; perianth pale 

 yellow, deeply six-parted. March. I., root ones solitary, glau- 

 cous, revolute, linear-lanceolate, acute, strongly three-nerved ; 

 scape leaves opposite, lanceolate, acute, sharply keeled, glaucous, 

 pubescent, and fringed with long hairs. Europe. (S. B. F. G. 

 177, under name of G. glauca.) 



GAGNEBINA (named in honour of P. Gagnebin, a 

 botanical writer of the seventeenth century). OBD. Legu- 

 minosce. An elegant, unarmed, stove evergreen shrub, 

 closely allied to Mimosa (which see for cultivation). 

 G. tamariscina (Tamarix-like). fl. yellow ; spikes crowded at 



the top of the branches, disposed in a kind of racemose corymb. 



I. with about twenty pairs of pinnae, each pinna bearing about 



thirty pairs of leaflets. A. 6ft. Mauritius, 1824. 



GAILLARDIA (named in honour of M. Gaillard, a 

 French patron of botany). OBD. Composites. A genus 

 of very ornamental hardy annual or perennial herbaceous 

 plants, natives of North and extra-tropical South Ame- 

 rica. Flower-heads yellow or purple, 2in. across, single, 

 and supported on naked stalks; ray-florets three to five- 

 toothed, often two-coloured ; receptacle furnished with 

 filiform bristles between the florets. Leaves sometimes 

 pinnatifid, but usually entire or obscurely toothed, lance- 

 shaped and rough ; the cauline ones sessile. There are 

 about eight species, all thriving in a good light friable 

 soil, in masses. Propagation may be effected by cuttings, 

 in autumn or spring ; also by division, in the latter 

 season. In cold localities, the perennial species fre- 

 quently die in winter: in this case, seeds should be sown 

 on a mild hotbed, in February or March. The best 



FIG. 66. FLOWERING BRANCH OF GAILLAJIDIA ARISTATA 

 GRANDIFLORA. 



Gaillardia continued. 



method of propagating the annuals is by cuttings, which 

 are readily obtainable, as these form far superior plants 

 to those procured from seed. 



G. amblyodon (blunt-toothed).* fl.-heads terminal, peduncled; 

 ray -florets deep blood-red, twelve to fourteen, spreading ; limb 

 cuneate-oblong, obtusely three-lobed ; disk-florets short. October. 

 I., radical ones sub-spathulate ; cauline ones semi-amplexicaul, 

 oblong, sub-acute, coarsely toothed beyond the middle, usually 

 contracted below it. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Texas, 1873. Annual. (B. M. 

 6081.) 



G. arlstata (awned).* fl.-heads yellow, with prominent exserted 

 reddish styles in the disk, lin. to 3in. across. Autumn. I. lanceo- 

 late, entire, or remotely toothed, h. IJft. United States, 1812. 

 Perennial. (B. M. 2940.) There are several very handsome 

 varieties of this species ; notably grandiflora (see Fig. 66) (On., 

 Dec. 13, 1884), and grandiflora maxima. 



G. pulchella (neat).* fl.-heads larger than those of the first- 

 named species ; ray-florets crimson, tipped with bright yellow. 

 Autumn. 1. coarsely and sparsely toothed. &.2ft.to3ft. Perennial. 

 (B. M. 1602, under name of G. bicolor.) A new form, named 

 Lorenziana, is very handsome and unique in appearance : the 

 ray and disk -florets develop themselves into tubular funnel- 

 shaped three to five-lobed florets, and form handsome flower- 

 heads, which are admirably adapted for cutting. Another 

 variety, nana, is a fine free-flowering form of good compact 

 habit, and with large flowers, which are reddish-crimson, oor- 

 dered with citron-yellow. 



G. p. picta (painted).* A form with somewhat succulent leaves, 

 and the more or less subulate fimbrillae of the receptacle shorter 

 and stouter. (B. M. 3368, under name of G. bicolor Drum- 

 mondii.) 



The following are me_re garden names for slightly-varying forms 

 of the foregoing species : Bosselari, cnronata, hybrida, Loiselli, 

 Richardsoni, and Telemachi. G. pinnatifida is a species not often 

 seen in cultivation. 



GALACTIA FINNATA. A synonym of Barbieria 

 polyphylla. 



GALACTITES (from gala, galaktos, milk; in allu- 

 sion to the veins of the leaves being milk-white). OBD. 

 Composites. A genus of hardy annual or biennial erect 

 herbs, nearly allied to Cnicus, from which it differs 

 chiefly in the outer florets of the flower-head being sterile 

 and larger than the others, as in Centaurea. Leaves 

 pinnatifid, with spiny - pointed segments, spotted with 

 white above, and covered with cotton - down below. 

 There are three species, all inhabiting the Mediterranean 

 region. They thrive in any common garden soil, and 

 may be propagated by seed, sown in the flower border, 

 in March or April. The species here described is the 

 one best known to cultivation. 



G. tomentosa (woolly), fl.-heads purple, pedunculate. July. 

 h. lift. 1738. This species is remarkable among the thistles for 

 having a milky juice, similar to that so frequently found in the 

 Chicory group. 



GALACTODENDRON (from gala, milk, and den- 

 dron, a tree; in reference to the copious milky juice). 

 Cow-tree. OBD. Urticacece. This genus is now usually 

 referred to Brosimum. It is only met with in botanic 

 gardens. 



G. Utile (useful), the Palo de Vaca, first described by Humboldt, 

 is a native of Venezuela, where it forms large forests, and attains 



a height of upwards of 100ft., with a smooth trunk, 6ft. or 8ft. in 

 On incisions being made 



supply of milky sap, 

 employed by them as a substitute for milk. (B. M. 3723, 3724.) 



diameter. On incisions being made in the trunk, the natives 

 obtain an abundant supply of milky sap, which is extensively 



GALANTHUS (from gala, milk, and anthos, a flower, 

 in reference to the milk-white flowers). Snowdrop. OBD. 

 Amaryllidece. A well-known genus, containing three 

 species of hardy bulbous plants. It is distinguished from 

 Leucoium principally in having the three inner segments 

 of the perianth shorter than the outer. Snowdrops are 

 well-known and general favourites, on account of the 

 modest beauty displayed by their flowers at the early 

 season in which they appear ; hence, no word of recom- 

 mendation is needed to insure their cultivation, which 

 is of the simplest description, as the roots thrive in 

 almost any soil or position outside. When once planted, 

 it is best to let them take care of themselves, as lifting 

 has a tendency to dry the bulbs, which is not desirable 

 if it can be avoided. Snowdrops are cheap and attractive 

 subjects for naturalising in grass, by woodland drives, &c., 



