AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



237 



LASTREA. See Nephrodium. 



LATANIA (its native name at Mauritius is Latanier). 

 Bourbon Palm. OED. Palmce. A small genus (three 

 species have been described) of very handsome stove 

 palms, natives of the Islands of the Mauritius. Flower- 

 spikes branching, sheathed in incomplete spathes, pro- 

 ducing males and females on different plants. Stems 

 marked with circular scars, and bearing at the summit a 

 tuft of fan-shaped leaves. The species thrive in a compost 

 of two parts of rich loam and one of peat, to which may 

 be added a small quantity of sand. The drainage must 

 be at all times perfect. Propagated by sowing seeds in 

 a compost similar to that mentioned above, and placing 

 in a moist, gentle heat. 



L. aurea (golden). A synonym of L. Verschafeltii. 

 L. borbonica (Bourbon). See Livistona chinensis. 

 L. Commersonii (Commerson's).* 1. cuneate-flabellate, very 

 deeply incised, gracefully recurved ; segments margined with a 

 reddish-chocolate-coloured band, and edged with fine teeth-like 

 spines ; petioles long and smooth, of a deep chocolate-red. Stem 

 smooth and slender, h. 7ft. Mauritius and Bourbon, 1778. A 

 very handsome and distinct species. SYN. L. rubra. 

 "L. glaucophylla (glaucous-leaved). A synonym of L. Lod- 



digesii. 



L. Loddigesii (Loddiges').* I. bright green, with a glaucous hue, 

 palmate, plaited, from 2ft. to 4ft. from point of attachment to the 

 margin, split down about one-third their length into broad 

 segments ; petioles from 2ft. to 8ft. in length, stout, spreading, 

 very glaucous-green, slightly tinged with red in young plants. 

 h. 10ft. Round Island, 1823. A very large and handsome species. 

 SYN. L. glaucophylla. 



L. rubra (red). A synonym of L. Commersonii. 

 L. Verschaffeltii (Verschaffelt's).* 1. flabellifprm and roundish, 

 very deeply incised, erect, but somewhat spreading, deep glaucous- 

 green ; ribs of a golden colour ; petiole smooth, of an orange tint, 

 from 2ft. to 4ft. long. Stem stout. A. 7ft. Rodriguez Island. 

 SYN. L. aurea. (I. U. 1859, 229.) 



LATERAL. Fixed near or upon the side of any- 

 thing. 



LATERALS. The side-shoots that emanate right 

 and left of the leading branch or shoot. 



LATHR2E A (from lathraios, hidden ; on account 

 of the species being found as if hidden under trees 

 and shrubs). OED. OrobancTiacece. A small genus 

 (three species) of half-hardy, leafless, herbaceous plants, 

 one being found mostly in Western Europe, another 

 broadly dispersed over Europe and Asia, and the third 

 a native of Japan. Flowers white, yellowish, bluish, or 

 tinged with pink, short or long-stalked, ebracteolate ; 

 racemes densely spike-formed or loose and few-flowered. 

 Scales on the branchlets sterile, shortly imbricated ; those 

 on the scapes erect and scattered. For culture, see 

 Orobanche. 



L. squamaria (scaly).* Toothwort. H. flesh-coloured or slightly 

 bluish, streaked with purple or dark red, numerous and nodding, 

 in a dense spike, or sometimes shortly stalked ; corolla half as 

 long again as the calyx. Early spring. Flowering stems erect, 

 Sin. to 12in. high, with a few fleshy scales. Rootstock fleshy, 

 creeping, covered with close-set thick scales. Asia and Europe 

 (Britain), on roots of trees. Plant pale rose-colour. 



LATH7RTTS (Lathuros was the old Greek name for 

 the Pea, used by Theophrastus). Including Platystylis. 

 Orobus, too, is included, by Bentham and Hooker, under 

 Lathyrus; but, as the species are so well known in 

 gardens as Orobus, it is kept distinct in this work. 

 ORD. Leguminosw. A genus comprising, according to 

 some authorities, 170 species (which are, however, 

 reduced to 100 by Bentham and Hooker) of, for the 

 most part, hardy climbing herbs, dispersed over various 

 parts of the globe, chiefly in temperate climates or in 

 mountain ranges within the tropics. Flowers blue, 

 violet, rose, white, or yellow, often showy, on axillary, 

 elongated peduncles, solitary or racemose. Leaves pin- 

 nate, with one to three pairs of leaflets. As a rule, 

 the species are exceedingly ornamental and very desir- 

 able plants. They are of easy culture, thriving in 

 almost any moderately good garden soil. Propagated 



Lathyrus continued. 



by divisions, made early in spring, in the case of perennial 

 species; or by seeds, sown at the same season, in an 

 open border. 



L. amphicarpos (double-fruited). Earth Pea. fl. pink, tinged 

 with blue ; peduncles one-flowered, longer than the leaves. 

 Summer. I. with one pair of lanceolate leaflets ; tendrils simple ; 

 stipules semi-sagittate. Stems winged, diffuse, h. 6in. to 12in. 

 Syria, 1680. A very singular hardy annual, having underground 

 stems, which are whitish, and bear flowers and legumes abso- 

 lutely perfect, and resembling those on the stems above ground, 

 except that the flowers are smaller, and do not expand. 

 (S. B. F. G. 236.) 



Ik Armitageanus (Armitage's). A synonym of L. tnagel- 

 lanicuy. 



L. cirrhosus (tendrilled). fl. rosy-pink ; peduncles many-flowered, 

 longer than the leaves. Summer. I. with two or three pairs of 

 alternate, elliptic, mucronulate leaflets ; stipules semi-sagittate, 

 linear, acute. Stems tetragonal, winged. Pyrenees, &c., 1870. 

 Annual climber. (R. G. 628.) 



L. cyaneus (blue). /. blue, pink ; peduncles few-flowered, longer 

 than the leaves. May and June. I., leaflets two or three pairs, 

 approximate, linear-lanceolate, acute ; stipules equal in length 

 to petiole, h. 1ft. Caucasus, 1823. SYN. Platystilis cyaneus. 

 (S. B. F. G. 239.) 



L. grandlflorus (large-flowered).* fl. rose-coloured, very large, 

 with an emarginate vexillum ; peduncles two or three-flowered, 

 longer than the leaves. June to August. I. with one pair of 

 large, ovate, obtuse, waved leaflets; stipules small, semi- 

 sagittate. Stems tetragonal, winged. South Europe, 1814. 

 Annual climber. (B. M. 1938.) 



L. heterophyllus (variable-leaved), fl. large, with the standard 

 wings flesh-coloured, and the keel whitish ; peduncles six to eight- 

 flowered. July to September. I. with one or two pairs of lanceo- 

 late, mucronulate leaflets ; petioles winged at the base ; tendrils 

 branched. Stem erect, rigid, winged. Europe, 1731. Perennial 

 climber. 



L. magellanicus (Magellan).* Lord Anson's Pea. /. bluish- 

 purple; peduncles long, many-flowered. June to September. 

 I. with one pair of ovate or ovate-oblong leaflets ; stipules broad, 

 cordately-sagittate, broader than the leaves; tendrils trifid. 

 Straits of Magellan, 1744. A strong-growing, handsome perennial. 

 SYN. L. Armitageanus. (S. B. F. G. ser. ii. 344.) 



L. latifolius (broad-leaved). A synonym of L. sylvestris platy- 

 phyllus. 



FIG. 376. PORTION OF FLOWERING STEM OF LATUYRUS 

 ODORATUS. 



