466 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



OBESIA. A synonym of Podanthes (which see). 



OBLIONKER-TREE. A common name of JZsculus 

 Hippocastanum. 



OBLIQUE. Unequal-sided, or slanting. 



OBLONG. Elliptical, and obtuse at either end ; e.g.. 

 the leaf of some species of Rumex, Sedum, &c. 



FIG. 711. OBOVATE LEAP. 



OBOVATE, or OBOVOID. Inversely egg-shaped, 

 with the broadest end uppermost. An Obovate leaf is 

 shown at Fig. 711. 



OBSOLETE. Hardly evident. 

 OBTUSE. Blunt, or rounded. 



OBVERSE. A term applied in precisely the same 

 manner as Ob (which see). 



OBVOLUTE. Having one part rolled upon another. 



OCELLATED. When a broad round spot of one 

 colour has a different-coloured spot within it. 



OCHNA (from Ochne, the old Greek name, used by 

 Homer, for the Wild Pear, to which the foliage of this 

 genus bears some resemblance). OBD. Ochnacece. A 

 genus comprising about twenty-five species of stove, 

 evergreen shrubs, natives of tropical Asia and tropical 

 and Southern Africa. Flowers yellow, racemose, rising 

 from below the leaves, from the wood of the preceding 

 year; sepals five, coloured; petals five to ten; pedicels 

 articulated. Fruit succulent, of five, ten, or fewer 

 carpels, placed on the enlarged receptacle. Leaves 

 alternate, deciduous, serrulate, rarely entire, coriaceous, 

 shining, thickly nerved. Several species are very orna- 

 mental, but the undermentioned are probably the only 

 ones in cultivation. They thrive best in a compost of 

 sandy peat and fibry loam; plenty of drainage is very 

 essential. Propagated, during summer, by cuttings of 

 half-ripened shoots. 



O. atropurpurea (dark purple), fl., petals yellow ; calyx dark 

 purple, with ovate lobes ; pedicels solitary, one-flowered. I. ovate, 

 acutely denticulate, h. 4ft Cape of Good Hope, 1816. (B. M. 



O. multiflora (many-flowered), fl. yellow, of very short duration. 

 Spring. Jr., receptacle gradually increasing in size, becoming 

 globular in form, about the size of a Strawberry, but less conical, 

 and similar in colour ; upon it are placed the black, seed-like 

 bodies, about the size of Peas, which are really the carpels, and 

 these present a striking contrast with the bright crimson re- 

 ceptacle and calyx. I. narrow, elliptical, bright green, serrated. 

 h. 4ft. to 5ft Sierra Leone, 1820 and 1882. A remarkable and 

 handsome plant. 



OCHNACEX. An order of trees or shrubs with 

 watery juice, sparsely scattered over the whole of the 

 tropical regions (mostly in America). Flowers herm- 

 aphrodite, often large and showy, usually paniculate, 

 rarely axillary and solitary, or fasciculate; sepals four 

 or five, free, imbricated; petals five, rarely four or ten, 

 free, longer than the calyx, deciduous, spreading, sub- 

 sessile, imbricated or convolute. Fruit a drupe or berry. 

 Leaves alternate, stipulate, highly glabrous, simple (in 

 one eenns pinnate), coriaceous, frequently with serrated 

 margins, often thickly nerved ; stipules varying. Some 

 of the species possess tonic properties. The berries of 

 Gomphia Jabotapita are edible. The order contains a 

 dozen genera and about 140 species. The principal genus 

 is Gomphia. 



OCHRACEOUS, or OCHREOUS. Having the 

 colour of yellow ochre. 



OCHRANTHE. A synonym of Turpinia (which 

 see). 



OCHREA. A term applied to a membranous tubular 

 stipule, formed by the consolidation of two opposite 

 stipules, and through which the stem passes. 



OCHROCARFUS (from ochros, yellow, and karpos, 

 a fruit ; alluding to the colour of the fruits). SYN. 

 Calysaccion. OBD. Guttiferae. A genus comprising about 

 half-a-dozen species of stove trees, natives of Asia, tropical 

 Africa, and the Mascarene Islands. Flowers polygamous, 

 disposed in lateral or axillary short cymes or fascicles ; 

 petals four. Leaves opposite or ternately whorled, coria- 

 ceous. The species described below is probably the only 

 one yet introduced ; it thrives freely in a sandy loam 

 compost. Propagation may be effected by cuttings of 

 the ripened wood, inserted, with the leaves intact, in 

 sand, under a glass, in moist heat. 



O. africanus (African), fr. with a brown and thick rind, and a 

 yellow pulp, twice the size of a man's fist, round. I. oblong, 

 acuminated, shining dark green, abounding in a yellow, resinous 

 gum. A. 60ft. Tropical Africa. SYN. Mammea africana. 



OCHROLEUCUS. Whitish-yellow. 



OCHROMA (from ochros, pale ; referring to the 

 colour of the flowers). OBD. Malvaceae. A monotypic 

 genus. The species is a stove evergreen tree. It thrives 

 in a rich sandy loam. Propagated by cuttings of half- 

 ripened side-shoots, inserted in sand, under a bell glass, 

 in heat. 



O. Lagopus (hare's foot), fl. pale brown or yellowish, large, 

 erect ; peduncles solitary, terminal, one-flowered. Capsule more 

 than 1ft. long. I. cordate, five to seven-angled, rather lobed, 

 toothleted, downy beneath, h. 40ft. West Indies, &c., 1802. 



OCHROFTERIS (from ocTiros, pale, and pteris, a 

 Fern ; in reference to the colour of the plant). OBD. 

 Filices. A monotypic genus. The species is an extremely 

 rare and beautiful stove Fern, requiring an abundance of 

 heat and moisture to grow it successfully. It thrives 

 best in a compost of peat and sand, with a little 

 loam added. For general culture, see Ferns. 



O. pallens (pale), sti. 2ft. long, naked, fronds about the same 

 length, about 1ft. broad, deltoid, quail ripinnatifld ; lower pinnules 

 Sin. to 4in. long, 2in. broad, their segments cut down to the rachis 

 below, with bblong, toothed, lower lobes, sori marginal, trans- 

 versely oblong, occupying the apices of the lol>es of the segments ; 

 involucre the same shape as the sorus, formed of the reflexed 

 margin of the frond, with which it coincides in texture, and 

 covering the sorus. Mauritius. (H. S. F. 77B.) 



OCHROSIA (from ochros, pale yellow ; alluding to 

 the colour of the flowers). SYNS. Bleekeria, Lactaria. 

 OBD. Apocynaceas. A genus comprising about a dozen 

 species of stove trees, allied to Cerbera, natives of the 

 Mascarene Islands, tropical Australia, the Malayan Archi- 

 pelago, and the Pacific Islands. Calyx five-parted; 

 corolla funnel-shaped, five-lobed ; cymes pedunculate, at 

 the tips of the branches. Leaves whorled or rarely 

 opposite or scattered, slender, and thickly penniveined. 

 The two species here given are probably the only ones 

 yet introduced. For culture, see Tabernaemontana. 



O. borbonica (Bourbon), fl. white, rather large ; calyx lobes 

 ovate. June. I. three (rarely four) in a whorl, oblong or oblong- 

 lanceolate, obtuse or sub-acute, 3in. to 6in. long, glossy, gin. to 

 liin. broad, often spotted ; margins not revolute. A. 20ft. to 

 40ft Mauritius, Ac., 1782. SYN. O. maailata. (A. B. R. 130, 

 under name of Cerbera undulata.) 



O. elllptica (elliptic-leaved), fl. yellow, in small, dense, corymbose 

 cymes, shortly pedunculate in the uppermost axils, L. elliptic, 

 coriaceous, deep green, usually three in a whorl. Queensland, 

 Ac. 



O. macnlata (spotted). A synonym of 0. borbonica. 



OCIMUM (from Okinxm, the old Greek name used 



by Theophrastus). Basil. Including Becium. SYN. 



Ocymum. OBD. Labiatce. A genus of half-hardy herbs, 



sub-shrubs, or small shiubs, broadly dispersed over the 



