AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



125 



Pieris continued. 



quite entire, 2in. to 4in. long, rounded at base, downy when 

 young. Branches downy. h. 20ft. to 40ft. Nepaul, 1825. Half- 

 hardy tree, poisonous to goats, densiflara is a dense-flowered 

 variety, introduced from Assam in 1879. 



P. pbiilyreaefolia (Phillyrea-leaved). fl. white ; corolla ovoid ; 

 racemes solitary, axillary, loosely four to twelve - flowered. 

 January to March. 1. oblong or lanceolate - oblong, obtuse, 

 glandular-serrate near the apex. Stem alternately leafy and 

 bracted. h. 1ft to 2ft. West Florida, 1842. Greenhouse or 

 half-hardy shrub. (B. R. xxx. 36, under name of Andromeda 

 phiUyrecefolia. ) 



PIERIS. See Cabbage Caterpillars. 



PIGAFETTA (name not explained by its author). 

 ORD. PahnoB. A genus comprising three species of tall 

 palms, with robust trunks prickly above, natives of the 

 Malayan Archipelago and New Guinea. Flowers polygamo- 

 mono3cions, spirally disposed ; spadices panicnlately much 

 branched, the peduncle and primary branches forming a 

 tubular, incomplete spathe. Fruit globose or oblong, 

 one-valved, one-seeded. Leaves terminal, pinnatisect; 

 segments opposite and alternate, lanceolate, acuminate, 

 with the margins recurved at base ; petioles slightly 

 terete, unarmed or prickly. P. elata, the only species 

 in cultivation, is a very elegant palm. It requires cul- 

 ture similar to Metroxylon (which see). 



P. elata (tall), fl., spadices long, with pendulous branches. Jr. 

 globose, with a solitary, depressed, blackish seed. I. spreading 

 and drooping, very similar to those of Cocos ; petioles thick, with 

 long bristles, which become spiny with age. Trunk of very hard 

 wood, erect, simple, naked, annulate. Celebes. SYNS. Hyospathe 

 elata (of gardens), Metroxylon elatum. 



Pilea continued. 



rarely two or three, and female of three, segments ; cymes 

 solitary in the axils, sometimes densely capitnliform, 

 sometimes loosely paniculate-branched, sessile or pe- 

 dunculate. Leaves opposite, entire or toothed, three- 

 nerved or nerveless. The species are mostly weeds. The 

 one most commonly grown is P. microphylla, which, as 

 well as the others described, is West Indian and Tropical 

 American, and thrives in a compost of loam and leaf 

 mould. Propagated by seeds, by cuttings, or by divi- 



Fio. 148. MUSHROOM (Agaricus campestris), showing 

 Regular Convex Pileus. 



PIGEON BERRY. See Phytolxcca decandra. 

 PIGEON PEA. x.- Cajanus Indians. 

 PIG-XUT. A common name of Carya porcina 

 (which see). 



FIG-BOOT. See Sisyriiichium. 



PILEA (from pilos, a cap ; alluding to the shape of one 

 of the perianth segments). Stingless Nettle. SYNS. Adike, 

 Dubreuilia. ORD. Urticacece. Anl extensive genus (about 

 160 species) of stove, annual or perennial herbs, rarely 

 shrubby at base, sometimes creeling or diffuse, broadly 

 scattered over the tropics, but not found in Australia. 

 Flowers monoecious or dioecious ; ! male perianth of four. 



P. microphylla (small-leaved).* Artillery or Pistol Plant. 

 /., cymes sub-sessile, contracted. Summer. I. obovate, quite 

 entire, with a bluntish point, minute. Stem much-branched, 

 herbaceous, h. bin. 1793. SYN. P. mtueosa. 



P. muscosa (musky). A synonym of P. microphylla. 



P. pubescens (downy), /..cymes corymbiform-paniculate, often 

 3m. in diameter, long-peduncled. I. large, ovate, pointed or 

 bluntish at the top, coarsely serrate, entire at base, three-nerved, 

 2in. to 3in. long. Stem herbaceous, with branches Sin. to 12in. 

 long. SYN. Urtiea involucrata (B. M. 2481). 



P. retienlata (netted), fl., spikes axillary, simple, rarely 

 branched, often leafy at top. I. opposite, rarely alternate, 

 ovate or oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, crenate-serrate, Sin. to 

 6in. long. Stem 2ft to 3ft. high, suffrutescent or herbaceous. 

 1793. SYN. Urtiea reticulata. (B. M. 2567.) 



PIIiEANTHUS (from pilos, a cap, and anthos, a 

 flower; in allusion to the flower being inclosed in a 

 one-leaved involucre). ORD. Myrtaceas. A genus com- 

 prising two or three species of greenhouse, evergreen, 

 Heath-like shrubs, glabrous except the flowers, and 

 limited to West Australia. Flowers in the 

 upper axils, forming leafy corymbs ; calyx tube 

 turbinate or campanulate ; lobes ten, spread- 

 ing, petal-like, entire; petals five, exceeding 

 the calyx, spreading, shortly ciliated ; brae- 

 teoles scarious, inclosing the bud. Leaves 

 mostly opposite, linear-terete or triquetrous. 

 The under-mentioned species requires culture 

 similar to Calythrix (which see). 



P. limacis (Limax-like). fl. white, on pedicels shorter 

 than, or slightly exceeding, the leaves ; calyx tube 

 silky-pubescent. April. 1. linear-clavate, semi- 

 terete, very obtuse, nearly Jin. long, smooth or 

 glandular-tuberculate and slightly ciliated, h. 2ft 

 to 3ft. 1824. 



PILEATE. Cap-like ; having a pileus. 



PILEUS (from pileus, a cap). The name given to 

 the broad, expanded part in Mushrooms and allied 

 groups of the larger Fungi. It is very frequently, 



Flo. 149. MARASMIUS OREADES, showing Umbonate Pileus. 



e.g., in the common Mushroom, shaped like an inverted 

 saucer, or a shallow skull-cap (see Fig. 148), but 

 shows a considerable diversity of shape in different 



