AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



253 



Leschenaultia continued. 



L. arcuata (arched). A synonym of L. linarioides. 

 L. Baxter! (Baxter's). A synonym of L. formosa. 

 L. biloba (two-lobed).* /. blue ; corymbs few-flowered ; segments 

 of corolla cuneated, deeply two-lobed, with a mucrone between 

 them. June to August. 1. linear-obtuse. Stem branched, h. 1ft. 

 1840. Shrub. SYNS. L. Drummondi, L. grandiflora. (B. R. 1841, 2.) 

 The form major is a very desirable one, being somewhat larger, in 

 all its parts, than the type. 



L. chlorantha (greenish-flowered), fl. similar to those of L. for- 

 mosa, but pale green in colour ; the two upper connivent lobes of 

 the corolla are acuminate, and more or less recurved. I. Jin. to 

 in. long. A low, diffuse, much-branched shrub, with the habit 

 of L. formosa, of which it is probably only a variety. 

 L. Drummondi (Drummond's). A synonym of L. biloba. 

 L. formosa (handsome).* /. scarlet, axillary, solitary, bractless, 

 drooping ; upper lip of corolla rounded, entire ; lower ones tri- 

 partite. June to September. 1. linear, h. 1ft. 1824. Shrub. 

 SYNS. L. Baxteri, L. multiflora (L. B. C. 1579), L. oblata. (B. M. 

 2600 ; B. B. 916.) 



L. grandiflora (large-flowered). A synonym of L. biloba. 

 L. laricina (Larch-like), fl. scarlet; corymbs three to five- 

 flowered ; corolla having the tube hairy inside at the bottom ; 

 segments spreading, two-lobed. June to August. I. filiform, 

 compressed, apiculate. Stem branched, h. 1ft. 1844. Shrub. 

 SYN. L. splendens (under which name it is figured in B. M. 4256). 

 L. linarioides (Toadflax -like), fl. yellow, terminal ; corolla large, 

 with three broad spreading bifid segments and two smaller entire 

 ones. August. I. scattered, filiform. Stem branched. 1844. 

 Shrub. SYNS. L. arcuata (B. M. 4265), Sccevola grandiflora. 

 L. multlflora (many-flowered). A synonym of L. formosa. 

 L. oblata (oblate). A synonym of L. formosa. 

 L. splendens (splendid). A synonym of L. laricina. 



LESPEDEZA (named after D. Lespedez, once 

 Governor of Florida, and a great patron of botany). 

 ORD. Leguminosce. This genus comprises about twenty- 

 five species of annual or perennial herbs, shrubs, or sub- 

 shrubs, distributed over North America, temperate Asia, 

 the mountains of the East Indies, and the Archipelago, 

 and also in Australia. Flowers purplish, rose or white, 

 borne in axillary clusters or racemes, or terminal panicles ; 

 calyx lobes nearly equal, or the upper two shortly united ; 

 standard orbicular, obovate or oblong, narrowed into a 

 claw; wings free; keel obtuse or beaked. Leaves 

 pinnately trifoliolate, rarely one-foliolate ; leaflets en- 

 tire, exstipellate ; stipules free. Several species have 

 been introduced; but, except L. bicolor, they are but 

 rarely seen in cultivation. 



L. bioolor (two-coloured), fl. rosy-purple, numerously produced 

 in long pendulous branched panicles. I. glabrous, with oblong 

 leaflets, h. 4ft. to 6ft. North China and Japan. SYN. Desmo- 

 dium penduliflorum. (B. M. 6602.) 



L. reticulata (netted), fl. violet ; peduncles few-flowered. I., 

 leaflets varying from oval-oblong to linear, whitish-downy beneath, 

 with close-pressed pubescence. North America. There are 

 several varieties, the principal of which are : 



L. r. angustifolia (narrow-leaved), fl. closely clustered on 

 straight branches. I. crowded ; leaflets narrowly oblong or linear, 

 often silky. 

 L. r. divergens (diverging), fl. loosely panicled. I., leaflets 



oval or oblong. 



L. r. sessiliflora (sessile-flowered), fl. principally on peduncles 

 much shorter than the leaves. 



LESSER MAY BUG. See May Bugs. 

 LESSERTIA (named after Benjamin de Lessert, of 

 Paris, 1773-1847, author of "Icones Plantarum"). ORD. 

 Leguminosae. This genus comprises about thirty species 

 of greenhouse herbs or sub-shrubs, natives of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. Flowers pink or red, rarely white, in axillary 

 pedunculate racemes ; vexillum sub-orbiculate, spreading 

 or reflexed, naked within ; claw short ; wings oblong ; 

 keel upright or incurved, obtuse, often shorter than the 

 vexillum. Leaves impari-pinnate ; leaflets entire, exsti- 

 pellate. Probably the species here described is the only 

 one now in cultivation. It thrives in a loam and peat 

 compost. Propagated by seeds, or by divisions, in spring. 

 L. perennans (enduring), fl. with a pale base and red or purple 

 apex, numerous, drooping ; racemes longer than the leaves, loose, 

 elongated, pedunculate. August. L, leaflets oval, silky beneath, 

 pubescent above, h. 1ft. 1776. Herbaceous perennial. (B. M. 6106.) 



IiETTSOMIA. Now included under Freziera. 



LETTUCE (Lactuca saliva). The Lettuce is a hardy 

 annual, which has been extensively cultivated in this 

 country since, and most likely long previous to, 1562. 

 Botanists agree in looking upon the garden Lettuce as 

 a cultivated race which has originated from L. scariola. 

 The old Greeks and Romans cultivated the Lettuce as a 

 salad plant (Theophrastus mentions three varieties), and 

 in the Orient it was, perhaps, grown at a still more remote 

 period. There are two distinct types, termed respectively 

 Cabbage and Cos varieties. The latter may have been 

 introduced from the Greek Archipelago or the Levant, 

 as it derives its name from an island there, originally 

 known as Cos. Cabbage Lettuces are distinguished by 

 their broad, rounded leaves, forming a low, spread- 



FIG. 394. CABBAGE LETTUCE. 



ing head nearly close on the ground (see Fig. 394). Cos 

 varieties grow upright, and the leaves are more of an 



FIG. 395. Cos LETTUCE. 



oblong shape (see Fig. 395). Lettuces, especially good 

 Cos varieties, are very popular, and amongst the most 

 useful of salading plants. To insure crisp, thoroughly- 

 blanched hearts, it is necessary, with some sorts, to close 

 the outer leaves together, and tie them. There are others 

 which overlap, and do not require this attention to secure 

 the desired end. Acres of land are devoted to the first 

 spring crop in the neighbourhood of large towns, the 

 demand for a supply of Lettuces being very great at this 

 season. There are few gardens in which some are not 

 grown according to requirements, and, practically, none 

 in which a few would not be acceptable. 



Cultivation. Lettuces are in request nearly all the year 



