AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



25 



Parnassia continued. 



free or adnate at the base to the ovary; lobes five, 



spreading, imbricate ; petals five, spreading, marcescent, 



entire or fimbriate ; scape angular, one-flowered. Leaves 



radical, petiolate, ovate-reniform or oblong; petioles 



dilated at base. Parnassias succeed in a moist, peaty 



Eoil or spongy bog. Propagated by divisions, or by seeds. 



P. asarifolla (Asarnm-leaved). JL white ; petals five, abruptly 



contracted into a claw at the base. Summer. L, radical ones 



kidney-shaped ; cauline ones somewhat cordate - orbicular. 



h. 6in. North America, 1812. An extremely pretty plant, with 



larger leaves and flowers than the British species. 



p. carollnlana (Carolinian). JL white, netted with green or 



purple and having a greenish tint ; petals almost sessile. July. 



L radical ones somewhat orbicular, cauline ones ovate, sessile. 



A.' 6in. North America (in swampsX 1802. (B. M. 1459 ; R. G. 



824.) 



P. fimbrlata (fringed). JL white ; petals obovate, nnguiculate, 

 fringed at the base. July. L, radical ones kidney-shaped, 

 cucullate at the base; cauline ones cordate. A. 6m. North 

 America. The leaves of this species are remarkably hollowed 

 out at the base close to the lateral ribs, which are connected 

 with one another by a common base, like the divisions of a 

 pedate leaf, and have, consequently, a very elegant appearance. 

 P. zmbicola (cloud-inhabiting). JL white, solitary, lin. to IJin. 

 in diameter; staminodes yellow, three-lobed ; peduncle four- 

 angled, 6in. to 12in. high. Summer. L, radical ones petiolate, 

 elliptic, sub-cordate; cauline ones solitary, sessile, elliptic. 

 Himalayas, 1882. (B. M. 6609.) 



P. palustris (marsh-loving). Common Grass of Parnassus. 

 JL white, marked with greenish, pellucid veins ; petals almost 

 sessile, somewhat emarginate. Summer. I., radical ones 

 cordate, cauline ones stem-clasping. A. 6in. Northern hemi- 

 sphere (Britain). An elegant bog plant. (Sy. En. B. 565.) 

 P. parviflora (small-flowered). JL white, with pale purple or 

 green netted veins ; petals sessile. July and August. I., radical 

 ones ovate, cauline ones sessile. A. 6in. North America, 1820. 

 PARNASSUS, GRASS OP. See Parnassia 

 palustris. 



PAROCHETUS (from para, near, and ochetus, a 

 brook ; referring to the habitat of the genus). ORD. 

 Leguminosce. A monotypic genus. The species is an 

 elegant, hardy, prostrate, herbaceous plant; it is most 

 desirable for the rock garden, and for choice borders in 

 warm positions, and in light vegetable soil. Propa- 

 gated by divisions, or by seeds. 



P. communis (common). Shamrock Pea. /. of a bsautiful blue, 

 rather large, having a slightly acute keel ; disposed on solitary 

 or axillary peduncles, or in umbels of two or three. L digitately 

 trifoliolate. and resembling those of the Shamrock ; leaflets 

 truncate, dentately-serrated. A. 2in. to Sin. 1820. Cold and 

 temperate Himalayas, <fcc. (F. d. S. 1575.) 



PARONYCHIA (old Greek name used by Dio- 

 scorides, and derived from paronychia, a whitlow, for 

 which it was thought to be a cure). Nailwort ; Whitlow 

 Grass. ORD. IllecebraceaB. A genus of about forty spe- 

 cies of small, annual or perennial, mostly hardy herbs, 

 often caespitose, natives of the Mediterranean region, 

 North Africa, Arabia, America, and Angola. Flowers 

 small, in cymose heads or fascicles, often hidden by the 

 large, white, scarious bracts ; perianth five-parted. Leaves 

 opposite, oblong-lanceolate or subulate, flat, or very 

 rarely with recurved margins, entire ; stipules usually 

 large, scarious, shining. Th6 Arabe, or Algerian Tea 

 (Paronychto argentea, Lam., and P. nivea, DC.), is used 

 in catarrh, phthisis, and to promote digestion. Scarcely 

 any of the species are worth growing, except, perhaps, 

 the following. They thrive in a light, sandy soiL Pro- 

 pagated by seeds ; the perennials also by divisions. 

 P. argentea (silvery). Jl. whitish, axillary and terminal, 

 crowded ; bracts white and shining, acuminate. L ovate, slightly 

 glabrous, sub acute ; stipules broader, but shorter, than the 

 leaves. South Europe, 1869. A free-growing and very dwarf 

 plant, forming neat, compact patches Ift. or more in diameter. 

 The large, silvery stipules, and the numerous, scarious bracts of 

 the same colour, have a good effect. 



P. scrpyllifolia (Thyme-leaved). JL in dense heads at the tips 

 of the shoots, surrounded and completely hidden by silvery, 

 scarious bracts. Summer. I. sub-orbicular or obovate, ciliate. 

 Stems prostrate. South Europe. This makes a pretty covering 

 for beds, or 'amongst taller-growing plants, and is much used in 

 carpet-bedding. 

 PARONYCHIEJE. A tribe of Illecebraceat. 



VoL in. 



PARROT-BEAK PLANT. See Clianthns. 

 PARROTIA (named after F. Parrot, 1792-1812, a 

 German naturalist and traveller). ORD. Hamamelideas. 

 This genus comprises a couple of species of hardy trees 

 or shrubs, the one inhabiting Kashmir, the other Northern 

 Persia. Calyx-tube bell-shaped, and the border divided 

 into five or seven lobes; corolla wanting; stamens five 

 to seven; styles two. Leaves oblong or orbicular, de- 

 ciduous, crenate; stipules large, deciduous. P. persica, 

 under cultivation, is a beautiful, hardy shrub or email 

 tree, whose chief attraction lies in the fine autumnal 

 tints of its leaves. The most suitable situation for it is 

 against a wall, where it will need no protection, and 

 almost any soil will suit it. Both species may be pro- 

 pagated by seeds, or by layers. 



P. Jacquemontiana (Jacquemont's). JL small; calyx seg- 

 ments narrow, oblong or linear ; involucral bracts obovate, Jin. 

 long. 1. 2in. to 3in. in diameter, blunt ; petioles iin. long. A. 

 6ft. to 12ft. Kashmir. A gregarious bush, closely resembling a 

 hazel. (B. F. F. 28.) 



P. persica (Persian).* Iron-tree. JL chiefly conspicuous for 

 the numerous, spreading stamens. 1. ovate-oblong, of a deep 

 green in summer ; in autumn, they assume at the tip a glowing 

 crimson colour, in the centre a rich orange or yellow, while 

 the base retains its green hue. A. 10ft Persia, 1848. (B. M. 

 5744.) 



PARROT'S BILL. See Clianthus puniceus. 



PARRYA (named after Captain W. E. Parry, 1790- 

 1855, the Arctic navigator). Including Neuroloma and 

 Pachyneurum. ORD. Crueiferos. A genus comprising 

 half-a-score species of hardy, low, glabrous or pilose 

 herbs, with thick perennial roots, all Arctic, or natives 

 of the highest mountains of Northern Asia. Flowers 

 white, rose, or purple, racemose, rarely on solitary 

 scapes, usually showy ; sepals erect ; petals nnguiculate, 

 spathnlate; scape naked or leafy. Pod compressed. 

 Leaves linear or spathulate, entire or sinuate-toothed, in 

 one species pinnatifid. Parryas thrive in any garden 

 soil. Increased by division. 

 P. arabidifloram (Arabis-flowered). JL purple ; petals oborate ; 



pedicels scarcely longer than the calyx ; scapes simple. May. 



L sub-radical, somewhat fleshy, lanceolate. A. 6in. Siberia, 

 A'euroloma arabidijlora. 

 le, borne in corymbs ; anthers 



pedicels scarcely longer than the calyx ; scapes simple. May. 

 L sub-radical, somewhat fleshy, lanceolate, h. 6in. Si 

 1800. STNS. He*perit arabidijlora, Xeuroloma arabidijlora. 

 P. arctlca (Arctic). JL pale purple, borne in corymbs ; anthers 

 oval ; peduncles quite smooth. May and June. I. almost all 

 quite entire, h. 3in. Arctic America, 1820. 



P. integerrima (entire-leaved), ft. beautiful purple, about the 

 icemes at first corymbose, 

 spathulate, quite entire ; 



size of those of Cardamine pratensit ; racemes at first corymbose. 

 April and May. L. radical ones rather 



cauline ones few. A. 6in. Siberia, 1827. 

 P. nudicaulis (naked-stemmed). /. lilac, lin. across, six to eight 

 in a corymb on a leafless stem ; petals obcordate. Early summer. 

 L all radical, petiolate, elliptic-oblong, acute, entire or toothed, 

 2in. to 3in. long. Arctic regions. 1883. A beautiful little rock- 

 work plant. 



PARSLEY (Carum Petroselinum). A hardy biennial, 

 said to have been introduced into this country from 

 Sardinia in 1548; it has become naturalised in some 

 localities. Hooker, in the "Student's Flora," asserts 

 that it is " only known as a cultivated plant or an 

 escape," but De Candolle, in his " Origine des Plantes 

 Cultivees," believes it to be truly wild in the Mediter- 

 ranean region. The leaves are in great demand for 

 garnishing, and also for flavouring in numerous culinary 

 preparations. Parsley, for one or both of these pur- 

 poses, is in daily request throughout the whole year, 

 and the crop is, in consequence, a most important one, 

 a continued supply being maintained only by devoting 

 considerable attention and forethought to its culture. 

 In some gardens, Parsley will, from some unaccountable 

 cause, very rarely succeed ; and in others, where it 

 usually grows freely, it is not uncommon to find a sow- 

 ing, or a whole crop, suddenly die away without, 

 apparently, any satisfactory reason. This causes much 

 inconvenience, and should be prevented, if possible, by 

 sowing somewhat frequently, so that, in the event of a 

 failure occurring, a supply from the succession may 

 soon be forthcoming. 



