80 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Feristrophe continued. 



white, lin. long. Winter. I. Sin. to 5in. long, lanceolate or 

 oblong-lanceolate, long-acuminate, attenuated into the petiole, 

 glabious on both surfaces, h. 2ft. to 4ft. India. (B. M. 5566.) 

 P. speciosa (showy).* fl., corolla externally pubescent, with a 

 very long, curved, remarkably twistetl, pale purplish tube ; lips 

 two, elliptical - oblong, both of a deep, rich carmine-purple. 

 Winter. I. opposite, petiolate, ovate, somewhat acuminated, the 

 lower and larger ones sub-cordate and slightly crenate. Stem 

 and old branches ash-colour, h. 4ft. India, 1826. (B. 74; 

 B. M. 2722 ; L. B. C. 1915, under name of Justicia speciosa.) 

 PERISTYLIS. Included under Habenaria. 

 PERITHECIUM (from peri, around, and thekion, 

 a receptacle ; inasmuch as it surrounds the receptacle for 

 the spores). The name given to certain bodies formed, 

 in the processes of reproduction, in a large group of 

 Fungi, the Pyrenomycetes (which see). The Peri- 

 thecia vary a good deal in form, and in mode of group- 

 ing together; but they are always small, and are usually 

 flask-shaped. They may be almost free from the myce- 

 lium, or may be imbedded in it, and, in the latter case, 

 the wall is hardly distinguishable from the mass in 

 which it lies. When free, the wall is often rather 

 brittle, but moderately strong, and is formed of squarish 

 or rounded cells, usually dark brown or black. The 

 Perithecia may be scattered about singly, or crowded on 

 specialised bodies. When mature, each usually contains 

 several long, transparent cells of uniform width, or 

 widened upwards (asci), and in each ascus there are 

 generally eight spores, less often from two to six, or an 

 indefinite number, for reproduction. These escape 

 through a narrow neck, in which is a circular pore, or 

 the aperture may be a long slit ; or there may not be 

 an aperture, the Perithecia bursting ultimately. Inter- 

 mixed with the asci iu many are numerous slender fila- 

 ments, as long as the asci. They are the paraphyses, 

 and their presence or absence is of consequence in dis- 

 tinguishing the genera in the group. 



FERITOMA (from peritome. a cutting round about ; 

 referring to the base of the calyx). STN. Atalanta (of 

 Nuttall). OBD. Capparidece. A small genus of hardy, 

 North American, annual herbs, now included, by the 

 authors of the " Genera Plantarum," under Cleome. Calyx 

 four-fid, cut round at the base; stamens six. Capsules 

 stalked. Leaves compound, generally three to five- 

 foliolate. For Culture of P. aurea, see Cleome. 

 P. aurea (golden), fl. yellow ; petals oblong-elliptic, sub-sessile. 

 July and August. I. three to five-foliolate ; leaflets oblong- 

 lanceolate, acute at both ends, entire, h. 1ft. 1840. The proper 

 name of this plant is Cleome lutea. (B. R. xxvii. 67.) 



PERIWINKLE. See Vinca. 



FERNETTYA (named after A. J. Pernetty, 1716- 

 1801, who accompanied Bougainville in his voyage, and 

 was author of "A Voyage to the Falkland Islands"). 

 ORD. EricacecB. A genus comprising about fifteen species 

 (the number is inordinately multiplied by some authors) 

 of hardy, or nearly hardy, rigid, very glabrous, hispid, 

 or ciliated shrubs, some small ; one is a native of the 

 mountains of Tasmania and New Zealand, another is 

 Brazilian, and the rest inhabit the mountains of Western 

 America, from Tierra del Fuego to Mexico. Flowers 

 white or rose-colour, small, nodding, solitary in the 

 axils, or disposed in axillary or terminal racemes ; calyx 

 five-parted, not changing in the fruit, persistent ; corolla 

 urceolate or globose, shortly five-lobed, the lobes re- 

 curved; pedicels curved, bracteate and bibracteolate. 

 Fruit a globular berry, varying considerably in colour 

 and size, generally about the size of a pea. Leaves 

 usually small, alternate, short-stalked, serrated, penni- 

 nerved, coriaceous, hard, persistent. The species best 

 known in cultivation are those described below. For 

 culture, see Gaultheria. 



P. ciliaris (ciliated), fl. white; peduncles glandular. June. 

 L ovate-lanceolate, acute, having the margins denticulated and 

 ciliated with bristles. Branchlets setose. A. 2ft. Mexico, 1849. 

 Half-hardy. (G. C. n. s., x. 39.) 



Fernettya continued. 



P. furens (maddening).* fl. white, in almost sessile, solitary, 

 many-flowered, axillary racemes ; lobes of corolla spreading, 

 rather obtuse. March. L alternate, lijn. long, ovate-lanceolate, 

 rarely sub-obovate, with serrated margins ; petioles red. Chili 

 A low, moderately-branched shrub. (B. M. 4920.) 

 P. muoronata (mucronate).* Prickly Heath, fl. white ; pedicels 

 axillary, bracteate, about equal in length to the leaves. May to 

 July. I. ovate, cuspidate, denticulate, serrulate, stiff, shining on 

 both surfaces. A. 6ft. Magellan, 1828. (B. R. 1675.) SYN 

 Arbutus mucronata (B. M. 3093; L. B. C. 1848). A considerable 

 number of handsome seedling varieties have been produced from 

 this species, varying in the size and colour of the berries, these 

 ranging from almost black to nearly white. Perhaps the finest 

 forms nave been raised by Mr. L. J. Davis, Hillsborough, 

 co. Down. 



P. m. angustifolia (narrow-leaved). A form with narrower 

 leaves than the type. (B. M. 3889; B. R. 1840, 63, under name of 

 P. anyuxtifoUa.) 



P. Pentlandi (Pentland's). fl. white, }in. long, ovate-globose, 

 solitary, axillary, drooping; pedicels red. June. Jr. a berry, 

 about the size of a large pea, dark blue-purple. I. crowded or 

 sparse, Jin. long and under, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, acute, 

 serrulate, very coriaceous, shining. Branches and branchlets 

 angled, setulose or glabrous, leafy. Andes, 1875. A rigid, 

 branched, small shrub. (B. M. 6204.) 



P. pilosa (pilose).* fl. white ; corolla ovate, with blunt, revolute 

 teeth. May. I. ovate-elliptic, ciliately serrulated, coriaceous, 

 without mucro, and callous at the point. Stem pilose, procum- 

 bent. A. 6in. Mexico, 1839. SVN. Arbutus pilosa. (B. M. 3177.) 

 FERNETTYA (of Scopoli). A synonym of Canarina. 

 FERONIA. A synonym of Thalia (which see). 

 FERONOSPORA. A genus of minute Fungi, 

 belonging to the '' White Moulds," one of the groups 

 included among the mildews. There are many species 

 in the genus, and all of them are parasitic on plants, 

 i.e., they grow in and upon living plants. They prefer 

 the leaves and young stems at least they are most 

 conspicuous upon these but they run through all parts, 

 from roots to seeds, though showing themselves usually 

 only on the younger green organs. They are confined 

 to herbs as their hosts, except in one or two cases, e.g., 

 P. sparsa, on leaves of Roses. Some of them grow on 

 cultivated herbs in gardens, and are frequently most 

 injurious to these plants. Several of the more destruc- 

 tive species are briefly described below; but a short 

 account of the general structure and modes of repro- 

 duction characteristic of the genus must first be given. 

 We select as a type Peronospora nivea, which is 

 very common upon the leaves, stems, and roots of wild 

 Umbelliferce, and also upon the garden Carrot, Parsley, 

 and Parsnip. A portion of a leaf attacked by this 

 Fungus may be recognised by its yellowish-green colour 

 above, passing into brown. The lower surface of the 

 patch bears a white coating, which, under the micro- 

 scope, is seen to consist of erect, branched stalks of 

 very small size. These stalks emerge through the 

 stomata of the leaf. Each is forked once or twice, and 

 bears, towards the tip, from one to four horizontal 

 branches, each forked once, twice, or thrice, and ending 

 in straight, short branchlets. Each of the latter bears 

 on its tip a small cell, called a conidium (see Fig. 

 91, a, b). On tracing the erect stalks downwards into 

 the leaf, they are found to arise as branches from an 

 abundant mass of filaments (mycelium) of a Fungus. 

 This mycelium is spread through all parts of the plant, 

 lying in the intercellular spaces, or boring through the 

 cell-walls, and drawing nourishment from the contents' 

 of the cells by means of numerous minute suckers 

 (haustoria). The host-plants are soon destroyed by the 

 Fungus, and the diseased parts either dry up, or, if 

 fleshy, e.g., roots and tubers, they become soft, rotten, 

 and pulpy. Reproduction is effected by means of the 

 conidia and of oospores. The conidia do not at once 

 reproduce the Fungus, but, when placed in water, their 

 contents divide (see Fig. 91, b), into five or six small, 

 egg-shaped masses, or zoospores, each furnished with 

 two hairs (cilia), which they can move, and thus they 

 can swim in water, e.g., in a dewdrop or raindrop. After 



