458 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING. 



Solidago continued. 



S. speciosa (showy).* fl.-heads rather large, somewhat crowded 

 in numerous erect racemes, forming an ample, pyramidal or 

 thyrsiform panicle; ray florets about five, ample. October. 

 I. thicki.sh, rough, with smooth margins, oval or ovate, slightly 

 serrated; lower ones 4in. to 6in. long (in the larger forms), 

 contracted into a margined petiole ; uppermost ones oblong- 

 lanceolate. Stem stout, smooth, 3ft. to 6ft. high. 1817. A hand- 

 some species. 



S Vlrsaurea. Common Golden Rod. fl.-heads crowded ; ray 

 floretf ten to twelve, spreading. July to September. I. linear- 

 or lanceolate-oblong, lin. to 4in. long, obscurely toothed, obtuse 

 or acute. Stem erect, sparingly branched, h. 4m. to 2ft. North 

 America, Europe (Britain), Ac. (Sy. En. B. 778.) The variety 

 cambrica (Sy. En. B. 779) is a dwarf form, found on rocky 

 mountain ledges. 



SOLITARY. Growing singly. 



SOLLYA (named after Richard Horsman Solly, 1778- 

 1858, a vegetable physiologist and anatomist). OBD. 

 PittosporecB. A small genus (two species) of ornamental, 

 greenhouse, evergreen twiners, confined to Australia. 

 Flowers blue, nodding, on slender pedicels, in terminal, 

 loose, few-flowered cymes, or rarely solitary; sepals small, 

 distinct ; petals spreading from the base, obovate ; anthers 

 connivent in a cone round the pistil. Leaves narrow. 

 The species thrive in well-drained, peaty soil. Propa- 

 gated by cuttings, inserted in sand, under a glass. 

 S. Dmmmondi (Drummond's). A synonym of S. parviflora. 

 S. heterophylla (variable-leaved).* Australian Bluebell Creeper. 

 fl., petals four to five lines long ; cymes terminal or leaf-opposed, 

 drooping, usually four to eight-flowered, but sometimes with 

 twelve or more flowers. July. 1. varying from ovate-lanceolate 

 to ovate-oblong, and liin. to 2in. or more long, to lanceolate or 

 oblong-linear, and lin. to IJin. long, obtuse or slightly acuminate, 

 quite entire, usually narrowed into short petioles, h. 6ft. 1830. 

 (B. M. 3523 ; B. B. 1466.) 



S. h. angustifolia (narrow - leaved). 1. narrow lanceolate. 

 Branches less twining than in the type. (B. R. 1840, 3, under 

 name of S. linearis.) 



S. linearis (linear). A synonym of S. heterophylla angustifvlia. 

 S. parviflora (small-flowered).* fl. blue, small, solitary or two 

 or three in a cyme, on very fine, filiform pedicels ; petals about 

 lin. long. July. fr. iin. to jin. long, tapering to both ends. 

 I. lanceolate or oblong-linear, the larger ones often above lin. 

 long, but in some specimens all under iin., very shortly petiolate, 

 and thinner than in S. heterophyUa. 1833. SYN. S. Drummondi 

 (R. G. 261, f. 1). 



Sonclms continued. 



lanceolate or oblong-linear, the larger ones often above lin. 

 ig, but in some specimens all undei 

 and thinner than in S. heterophyUa. 



S. salicifolia (Willow -leaved). Most probably a garden variety 

 of S. heterophylla. 



SOLOMON'S SEAL. Beo Folygonatum multi- 

 florum. 



SOLOMON'S SEAL, FALSE. See Smilacina. 



SOMMERFELDTIA. A synonym of Drepanocnrpus. 



SONCHUS (from Sogchos, the ancient Greek name 

 used by Theophrastus). Sow-thistle. Including Atalan- 

 thus. OBD. Composite. A genus comprising about 

 twenty-four species of greenhouse or hardy, annual or 

 perennial herbs, sometimes shrubby at base. Flower- 

 heads yellow, mediocre or rather large, irregularly corym- 

 bose-paniculate or sub-umbellate, rarely solitary; invo- 

 lucre conical after flowering, the bracts in many series, 

 imbricated ; receptacle flat, naked ; florets all ligulate ; 

 pappus bristles copious. Leaves radical or alternate, 

 the cauline ones often auricnlate-amplexicaul, entire, 

 toothed, pinnatifid, or dissected. 8. arvensis (Corn Sow- 

 thistle), 8. oleraceus (Hare's Lettuce, Milk Thistle), and 

 S. palustris, are included in the British Flora. 8. oleraceus 

 was formerly used as a potherb. Few of the species 

 boast of any horticultural merit. The four shrubby 

 species described below are sometimes grown in con- 

 servatories, on account of their elegant foliage. They 

 thrive in common soil, and may bo increased by cuttings, 

 inserted in sand, under a glass. 



S. gummifer (gum-bearing).* fl,-heads few, in an irregular, 

 glabrous corymb ; involucral scales blackish slightly aDnresied 

 acuminate. Summer. 1. glabrous, pale beneath ; sub radical 

 ones pinnatifid, the lobes triangular, slightly toothed, acuminate, 

 the terminal one lanceolate-oblong; cauline leaves auricled^ 

 rinded amplexicaul. h. 2ft. to 1ft. Canary Islands, 1861. 



S. Jacquini (.Tacqnin's).* Lachuza de Pastor ; Pastor's Lettuce. 

 fl.-heads deep golden-yellow, 2in. to 3in. in diameter ; involucral 

 bracts appressed, slightly woolly, obtuse. March. I. crowded, 

 6in. to 12in. long, 2in. to 3in. broad, spreading and recurved, 

 cordate and haif-amplexicaul, oblanceolate, pinnatitid to or 

 beyond the middle, denticulate and ciliate : lobes triangular, 

 acute, h. 1ft. to 2ft. Canary Islands, 1882. A stout, erect, 

 slightly-branched herb, with a woody stem below, sparingly 

 clothed here and there with patches of snow-white wool. 

 (B. M. 6142.) 



S. pinnatus (pinnate), fl.-heads in a corymbose, branched 

 panicle ; involucral scales appressed, glabrous, acuminate, linear 

 or scarcely lanceolate. Summer. I. glabrous, pinnatipartite ; 

 lobes linear-lanceolate, slightly toothed or entire, the terminal 

 one elongated, h. 3ft Madeira, 1777. 



S. radicatus (long-rooted), jl.-iieads in a glabrous, irregular 

 corymb ; involucral scales blackish, the outer ones broadly ovate, 

 the inner ones linear-lanceolate. Summer. I., radical ones some- 

 what lyrutely pinnatipartite, glaucous beneath, with ovate, 

 obtuse, .slightly toothed lobes, the terminal one obtusely tii- 

 angular ; cauline leaves auricled, rounded, amplexicaul. h. Hi. 

 Canary Islands, 1780. (B. M. 5211.) 



SONERILA (from Sootli-So-neri-ila, the Khasseo nama 



for one of the species). OBD. Melastomacece. A genua 



comprising about fifty-three species of stove herbs or 



small shrubs, of variable habit, glabrous, hairy, or slightly 



paleaceous, caulescent or stemless and scapigerous, natives 



of mountainous parts of the East Indies. Flowers often 



rosy, disposed in scorpioid racemes or spikes; calyx 



glabrous or bristly, with an oblong, turbinate, or cam- 



panulate tube, and a three-lobed, short, often dilated 



limb ; petals three, ovate, obovate, or oblong, acute, 



acuminate, or obtuse ; stamens three, equal (very rarely 



six, the alternate ones smaller). Leaves equal or di- 



morphous, frequently membranous, entire or serrulated, 



three to five-nerved. Several ornamental species havo 



been introduced. They require a damp atmosphere, and 



should be allowed partial shade. A compost of fibrous 



peat, broken small, with a little chopped sphagnum, some 



sand, and small pieces of charcoal or- crocks, intermixed, 



is most suitable. Propagation may be effected by seeds, 



which ripen freely; or by cuttings, inserted singly in 



small pots, during spring, and placed beneath a bell- 



glass, in a propagating house. All flower in the summer. 



S. Bcnsonl (Benson's).* fl. rose-purple ; stamens six ; anthers all 



yellow, not produced at the base ; peduncle upwards and 



raceme hairy. 1873. "This plant seems exactly S. speciosa. 



The change of habitat and forcing in rich soil in an English 



stove may have developed the three stamens usually suppressed 



in the genus (?)" (C. B. Clarke). (B. M. 6049.) 



S. elegans (elegant), of Hooker. A synonym of S. speciosa. 



S. grandlflora (large-flowered), fl. mauve ; petals nearly fin, 



long, elliptic ; racemes dense-flowered ; peduncles short, ter- 



minal. I. crowded on the branchlets, lin. to 2in. long, oblong 



or elliptic, narrowed at both ends, acute, glabrous, bristly- 



serrated. Stems very woody below, branching round, h. 1ft. 



1856. (B. M. 5354.) 



S. margaritacea (pearl-spotted).* fl. rose-coloured, eight to ten 

 in a corymb ; peduncles red, terminal, generally surrounded at 

 base by a whorl of sub-sessile leaves. I. opposite, oblong- or 

 ovate-lanceolate, acute or acuminate ; veins oblique, parallel, 

 very dark glossy-green above, with oval, white, margaritaceous 

 spots, arranged in single lines or series, between them ; under 

 surface pale, the veins red-purple. Stems rather weak and sub- 

 procumbent, Sin. to lOin. long, rich scarlet. 1854. (B. M. 5104; 

 F. d. S. 1126.) The variety argentea has leaves surfaced with 

 silvery-grey ; in marmorata, they are banded with silvery-grey. 

 S. m. Henderson! (Henderson's).* fl. bright lilac-rose, abun- 

 dantly produced, with prominent, lemon-yellow, arrow-shaped 

 anthers. I. ovate, flat, dark olive-green, studded over the whole 

 surface with pearly-white spots, h. bin. to Sin. 1875. A com- 

 pact and free-flowering plant. (F. M. n. s. 159; I. 11. n. 8. 

 230 ; R. G. 897.) 



S. orbiculata (round-leaved). A synonym of S. speciona. 

 S. speciosa (showy), fl. mauve ; petals |in. long, round-elliptic, 

 acute ; raceme often sub-paniculate, with eight to fourteen 

 flowers, and very hairy. I. 2in. to 3in. long, ovate-elliptic, acute, 

 glabrous or nearly so, denticulated or slightly serrated ; petioles 

 lin. to 2in. long. Stem nearly or quite glabrous below, ending in 

 a long peduncle, villous upwards, h. 9in. to 12in. 1856. (B. M. 

 5026 ; F. d. S. 2442.) SYNS. S. elegans (B. M. 4978), S. orbiculata. 

 S. stricta (erect), fl. rose-purple, small ; petals obovate. I. iin. 

 to lin. long, lanceolate or elliptic, narrowed at each end, with 

 scattered, lax hairs. Stem Sin. to 7in. high, erect, often 

 branched, more or less puberulo-pubescent, and also with long, 

 lax, spreading hairs. 1848. (B. M. 4394.) 



