THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Geodonun continued. 



lanceolate; scape leaves short. A. 6in. to 12in. India, 1800. 

 (B. R. 675.) 



G. fucatum (painted). /. sub-campanulate ; sepals pink, linear- 

 oblong, acute ; lip ovate, concave, emarginate, entire ; scapes 

 radical, erect, clothed, recurved at apex. July. I. oblong- 

 lanceolate, acute, plicate, long. h. 1ft. Ceylon, 1832. (B. R. 1687.) 



GEOFFRJEA (named after Dr. M. E. F. Geoffroy, 

 of Paris, 1672-1731, author of a Materia Medica). 

 Bastard Cabbage-tree. STN. Geoffroya. OBD. Legumi- 

 nosce. A genus comprising four species of stove ever- 

 green thorny or unarmed trees, natives of tropical 

 America. Flowers yellow, often foetid, in simple ra- 

 cemes. Seeds edible. Leaves alternate, impari-pinnate ; 

 leaflets alternate or sub-opposite. Geoffraaas thrive in 

 a compost of loam and peat. Propagated by cuttings, 

 made of ripened shoots, and inserted in sand, under a 

 bell glass, in heat. 



G. spinulosa (spinulose). fl., racemes forming a spreading 

 panicle. I., leaflets ovate, obtuse, pubescent, and reticulated 

 beneath ; petioles winged. Branches covered with a spongy 

 bark. Trunk unarmed. Brazil. 



G. superba (superb), fl. yellow, in simple racemes the length 

 of the leaves, fr. about the size and form of a walnut, having 

 a greenish-yellow downy rind, a fleshy pulp, and a hard nut, 

 inclosing a single seed. I. closely resembling those of the 

 Tamarind-tree, shining and puberulous above, but glaucous and 

 paler beneath, h. 24ft. Brazil. A magnificent tree. 



GEOFFROYA. See Geoffraea. 



GEONOMA (from geonomos, skilled in agriculture ; 

 the allusion is obscure). OBD. Palmece. A genus of 

 about a hundred species of very elegant dwarf-growing 

 stove palms. Flowers monoecious, disposed on simple 

 or branched spikes. Fruit a small, dry, oval berry. 

 Leaves entire, or more or less pinnately divided, usually 

 of a pale green colour. The present genus is allied to 

 Chamcedorea, but is less useful for decorative purposes. 

 Geonomas thrive in a compost of two - thirds spongy 

 peat and one of loam, with the addition of a little sand 

 or charcoal. A plentiful supply of water is needed 

 " indeed, many of them grow best when plunged in a 

 tank; and should any of them fall into bad health, if 

 stood in a tank of water, with a little extra heat, they 

 will speedily recover." They should be confined to the 

 stove, as the constitution of the plants will not admit 

 of their being employed in a permanent manner for 

 indoor decoration ; but they may be occasionally used for 

 the dinner table. Nearly all the species are exceedingly 

 handsome, especially in a young state. Propagated by 

 seeds and suckers only. 



G. arundinacea (reed-like). I. dark green (brown when young), 

 bilobed. Stems ceespitose, cane-like. (G. C. 1872, p. 78.) 



G. binervis (two-nerved). I. pinnate, pendent, 2ft. to 4ft. long ; 

 pinnae decurrent at base, tapering to a tail-like point, 6in. to 12in. 

 long, dark green ; petiole clothed with a network of rough brown 

 fibres. Stem slender. Nicaragua. 



G. Carder! (Carder's).* I. pinnate, strongly ribbed ; pinnae un- 

 equal, iin. to 24in. broad, upper part confluent into a broad 

 bflobed apex ; petioles flat on the upper, rounded and asperous 

 on the lower, face. Columbia, 1876. 



G. congesta (crowded).* 1. 1ft. to 2ft. long, either entire or 

 with a bifid apex, or divided into broad segments, widening 

 upwards ; 6in. to Sin. across at the apex ; petioles sheathing at 

 base. Stem moderately thick. Costa Rica. 



G. elegans (elegant).* 1. 1ft. long ; terminal pinnae broad, bifld ; 

 two lateral pairs broad, decurrent ; bright pink when young ; 

 petioles sheathing at base. Stem slender, reed-like. Brazil. 



G. ferruginea (rusty). 1. arched, pinnate, 1ft to 2ft. long, about 

 Sin. broad ; terminal one bifid ; two lateral pairs broad, sessile ; 

 petioles and stems slender. Brazil. 



G. Ghiesbreghtiana. See Calyptrogyne Ghicsbrcghtiana. 



G. gracilis (slender).* /. pinnate, arching, with long linear 

 pinna?, dark green. A graceful species, resembling Cocos Wed- 

 deliana. Brazil, 1874. 



G. macrostachys (large-spiked). 1. 1ft. to IJft. long, usually 

 divided into three pairs of broad segments, ending in tail-like 

 points, deep red when young ; petioles light brown, sheathing at 

 the base, tomentose. Stem slender. Brazil, 1823. 



G. magnified (magnificent). I. 2ft. to 3ft. long, 9in. to 12in. broad, 

 plaited, unequally pinnate ; apex deeply bifid ; petioles blackish, 

 sheathing. Stem somewhat stout Chipias. 



base, gra( 

 9in. wide, 



Geonoxna continued. 



G. Martiana (Martius').* 1. 1ft to 2ft. long, 2in. across at the 

 radually increasing to the deeply bifid apex, where it is 

 e, reddish-crimson when young ; petioles sheathing at base, 

 long. Stem rather stout. Costa Rica. An extremely beau- 

 tiful palm, the mature colour of the leaves being a deep metallic 

 green. There is a fonn known as Seemannii sometimes grown. 

 G. Porteana (Forte's).* I. pinnate, 1ft. to 2ft. long, arched ; 

 pinnae sessile, distant, 6in. to Sin. long, 2in. broad ; apex deeply 

 bifid. ,Stem smooth, slender. New Grenada, 1853. An elegant 

 species. 



G. procnmbens (procumbent).* I. pendent, 2ft. to 4ft. long, pin- 

 nate ; pinnae pendent, about 1ft long, Iin. to 2in. broad, very deep 

 Stem stout. Described as one of the most beautiful palms 

 whole genus. 



G.pnmlla (dwarf).* I. broad, deeply cleft at the apex; petioles 

 slender, terete. Tropical America. A pretty dwarf -growing species. 



G. Schottiana (Schott's).* I. pinnate, 1ft. to 3ft. long ; pinnae 

 long, tapering to a tail-like point ; petioles sheathing at base, 

 long, arching. Stem slender. Brazil, 1820. 



G. nndata (wavy). I. arching, irregularly pinnate, 2ft. to 3ft. 

 long ; pinnae plaited, dark green, terminal pinna deeply bifid ; 

 petioles sheathing, clothed with rough fibrous tissue at base. 

 Stem stout, 9in. to 12in. in circumference. Venezuela, 1850. 



G. Verschaffeltii (Verschaffelt's). See Calyptrogyne Ghies- 

 breghtiana. 

 Other species sometimes seen in cultivation are : princeps and 



Spixiana. 



GEORCHIS. Included under Goodyera (which see). 



GEORGINA. A synonym of Dahlia (which see). 



GEOTHERMOMETER. A thermometer for deter- 

 mining the temperature of the earth. 



GERANIACE2E. A natural order of herbs, shrubs, 

 or sub-shrubs, rarely arborescent. Flowers often showy ; 

 sepals five, imbricate, one of them sometimes spurred ; 

 petals five, unguiculate, imbricate or valvate in bud. 

 Leaves opposite or alternate, usually palmately veined and 

 lobed, often stipulate. There are about twenty genera 

 and 750 species, dispersed through the temperate and sub- 

 tropical regions of the whole world, but especially abound- 

 ing in South Africa. The species possess astringent and 

 aromatic properties; many of them are fragrant, while 

 others have a musky odour. The members of the tribe 

 Oxalidece abound in oxalic acid, and some have edible 

 tubers. Well-known genera are : Erodium, Geranium, 

 Pelargonium, and Tropceolum. 



GERANIUM (Geranion, the old Greek name used 

 by Dioscorides, derived from geranos, a crane; referring 

 to the long beak which terminates the carpels). Crane's 

 Bill. OBD. Geraniacece. A genus containing a hundred 

 species of hardy herbaceous plants, rarely shrubs, dis- 

 persed through the temperate regions of the whole world. 

 Flowers equal; sepals and petals five, imbricate in bud; 

 stamens ten, rarely five ; inflorescence cymose. Leaves 

 opposite or alternate, stipulate, dentately or palmately 

 (rarely pinnately) lobed or dissected. The genus is re- 

 presented in Britain by eleven species, some of which 

 are thoroughly well worth growing as ornamental border 

 plants. One of the commonest of them, the Dove's Foot, 

 G. molle, is found almost everywhere in waste places 

 and on dry lawns. Geraniums thrive in almost any 

 common garden soil, but prefer a well-drained one. They 

 are excellent subjects for growing on rockwork, banks, 

 or borders. Propagated by divisions, or by seeds. 



The host of garden plants popularly known as Show, 

 Fancy, Scarlet, Tricolor, &c., Geraniums, belong to the 

 genus Pelargonium (which see). 

 G. albanum (Albanian), /.purple; petals emarginate ; peduncles 



two-flowered, elongated, hispid, May. I. kidney-shaped, seven- 



lobed ; lobes trifid ; lobules three-toothed. Stem flaccid, simple. 



h. 1ft. Tauria, &c., 1820. SYN. 0. cristatum. 

 G. anemonoefolium (Anemone-leaved).* /. purplish-red, large ; 



peduncles two-flowered, opposite, erect, smooth. May. 1. smooth, 



palmately five-cleft, with bipinnatifldly-cleft segments, upper ones 



three-parted. Stern suffruticose. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Madeira, 1778. 



Half-hardy shrub. See Fig. 96. (B. M. 206.) 

 G. argenteum (silvery).* /. pale red, with darker stripe", large ; 



petals emarginate ; peduncles almost radical, two-flowered. June 



and July. 7. all almost radical, on long petioles, hoary or silky on 



both surfaces, five to seven-parted, with trifld lobes and linear 



