250 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Leontopodium continued. 



a foot ; in reference to the flower-heads resembling the 

 foot of a lion). Lion's Foot. OED. Composites. A genus 

 comprising five species of tufted woolly perennial herbs, 

 of which three (probably varieties of one) inhabit the 

 mountains of Europe, and extra-tropical Asia, and the 



)ICM ALPINUM. 



others are natives of the Andes of South America. Flower- 

 heads small, in dense cymes at the apices of the 

 branches; floral leaves involucrate, clustered. Leaves, 

 radical ones sub-spathnlate ; cauline ones alternate, entire. 

 L. alpinum, the only species in cultivation, is a pretty 





 FIG. 390. FLOWER-HEAD OP LEOXTOPODIUM ALPI.NUM. 



hardy plant, which is largely collected for sale by the 

 peasants in Switzerland, &c., under the popular title of 

 Edelweiss. It succeeds in firm, well-drained sandy soil, 

 on exposed parts of rockwork. New plants may be raised 

 from seeds, annually, or the old plants may be divided, 



Leontopodium continued. 



in spring. Seeds ripen but sparingly in this country in 

 moist seasons, but are more freely produced when the 

 summers are favourable. They must be kept in a dry 

 place throughout the winter. 



L. alpinum (alpine).* Edelweiss, fl.-heads terminal, enveloped 

 in woolly bracts. June and July. I. white, woolly ; lower ones 

 lanceolate, narrowed into the stalk ; cauline ones sessile, linear- 

 oblong, h. 6in. Alps, 1776. See Figs. 389 and 390. (B. M. 1858, 

 under name of Gnaphalium Leontopodium.) 



LEOPARD MOTH. This insect is widely diffused 

 in England, but is seldom very abundant. The moths, 

 both male and female, have the ground colour white, 

 semi-translucent on the wings, scattered thickly with 

 blue-black roundish spots. The hind wings have the 

 spots less distinct. The antennae, in both sexes, are rather 



Fio. 391. LEOPARD MOTH (ZEUZERA .<ESCULI) FEMALE. 



short ; in the female (see Fig. 391), they are thread-like, 

 but in the male they are pectinate at the base on each 

 side. The larva (see Fig. 392) is whitish, with black 

 glossy spots, and has a blackish plate on the seg- 

 ment next the head. It feeds on the wood in the in- 

 terior of the stems and branches of Pear, Apple, and 

 Plum-trees ; but the trees seem to suffer very little from its 

 attacks, and Newman even remarks that the infested trees 

 seem to bear larger crops of fruit than the healthy ones. 

 The pupae may be found in the galleries bored by the 

 larvae ; they move readily along by means of rings of small 

 spines on the hinder parts of the body. The moths appear 



FIG. 392. CATERPILLAR OF LEOPARD MOTH. 



about midsummer, and may be found on the tree trunks. 

 The males are attracted by light, e.g., to gas lamps. If 

 desired, the larvae may be killed in their burrows either 

 by pushing down a strong wire, or by injecting a solution 

 of soft-soap or tobacco-water. It has also been re- 

 commended to force fumes of sulphur or tobacco-smoke 

 into the burrows. See also Insects. 



LEOPARD'S BANE. See Doronicnm. 



LEOFOLDINIA FULCHRA. See Cocos Wed- 

 deliana. 



LEPANTHES (from lepis, a scale, and anthos, a 

 flower; scales flower-shaped, including the stem). OED. 

 Orchidece. A genus comprising about forty species of 

 stove epiphytal orchids, natives of the Andes of South 

 and Central America, the West Indies, and Mexico. 

 Allied to Pleurothallus. Flowers very small ; peduncles 

 often clustered; sepals spreading; petals small; lip often 

 adnate to the base of the column, two-lobed. The two 

 species described below are those best known to cultiva- 

 tion. For culture, see Pleurothallus. 



