472 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



SPICE BUSH. See Lindera Benzoin. 

 SPICILLARIA. A synonym of Petunia (which 



gee). 



SPIDER FLOWER. A common name for Cleome. 



SPIDER ORCHIS. See Ophrys aranifera. 



SPIDERS. The true Spiders are very helpful to 

 gardeners, inasmuch as they live upon insects, and 

 destroy multitudes of the hurtful kinds. The larger 

 Spiders, such as the "Garden Spider" (Epeira did- 

 demata), live on the smaller Moths and the larger Flies, 

 and the smaller Spiders aid largely to destroy the 

 swarms of Aphides. Spiders vary much in habits. 

 Many of them (e.g., Lycosa, Salticus) spin no webs, but 

 hunt their prey; while others spread webs, often of 

 great complexity and beauty, in which to catch their 

 food, while they lie concealed in a retreat close at 

 hand, ready to rush upon every insect that touches the 

 web. Gossamer is the work of many small, dark 

 Spiders, belonging to the genera Linyphia, Neriene, and 

 Walckencera. 



Bed Spider is not a true Spider, but a Mite of 

 microscopic size, which spins a thin web over the sur- 

 faces of leaves, and often materially injures plants 

 by sucking out the sap from the leaves. See 

 Tetranyclius telarius. 



SFIDERWORT. A common name for Tradescantia 

 and other plants. 



SFIELMANNIA. A synonym of Ofbia (which see). 



SFIGEIiIA (named in honour of Adrian Spiegel 

 [Latinised Spigelius], 1578-1625, Professor of Anatomy 

 and Surgery at Padua, and a botanical author). STNS. 

 Canala, Coslostylis. OED. Loganiacece. A genus com- 

 prising about thirty species of stove, greenhouse, or 

 hardy, glabrous, scarcely pilose, or stellate-tomentose, 

 annual or perennial herbs, rarely sub-shrubs, natives of 

 tropical and North America. Flowers red, yellow, or 

 purplish, elongated or small, in unilateral, many or few- 

 flowered spikes; calyx five-parted, the segments narrow; 

 corolla tubular or salver-shaped; lobes five, valvate, at 

 length spreading; stamens five, affixed to the tube. 

 Leaves opposite, often membranous, penniveined or rarely 

 three or 'five-nerved, connected by stipules or by a trans- 

 verse membrane. The three species introduced are pretty 

 plants, but are not often seen in cultivation. The Indian 

 Pink, Pink Boot, or Worm Grass, of the shops, is the 

 produce of S. marilandica. A compost of loam and peat 

 is most suitable for these plants. 8. anthelmia may be 

 propagated by seeds, and the other two species by 

 cuttings. 



S. anthelmia (worm-killing). Pink Root of Demerara. A. of a 

 purplish-white ; corolla slender, Jin. long ; spikes one to four in 

 the upper axils. July. I. scarcely petiolate ; lower ones opposite ; 

 uppermost ones quaternately whorled, ovate-oblong, acuminate 

 at both ends. h. lift. Guatemala to Brazil, 1759. Stove annual. 



S. marilandica (Maryland).* Indian Pink; Maryland Pink 

 Root ; Worm Grass, fl. red outside, yellow within ; corolla 

 IJin. long, the lobes lanceolate ; spikes simple or forked, short. 

 July. I. sessile, ovate-lanceolate, acute. Stems simple and erect 

 from a perennial root. h. 6in. to 18in. North America, 1694. A 

 showy, Tiardy plant. (B. M. 80 ; B. M. PL 180 ; L. B. C. 930.) 



S. splendens (splendid).* /. bright scarlet, upwards of 1m. long ; 

 corolla cylindnc, slightly inflated upwards ; spikes several towards 

 the apex of the stem, elegantly recurved. July. I. 4in. to 5in. 

 long, contracted into a short petiole, obovate-oblong, acuminate, 

 slightly hairy, h. lift. Mexico and Guatemala, 1860. A beautil 

 ful, stove perennial. (B. H. 1862, 65 ; B. M. 5268 ; R. G. 481.) 



SFIGNEL. See Meum athamanticum. 



SPIKE. An inflorescence in which the flowers are 

 sessile along a simple, undivided axis or rachis. 



SFIKELET. A secondary spike; the term is espe- 

 cially applied to the small, terminal collection of florets 

 in grasses. 



SPIKENARD, or NARD. See Nardostachys. 



SPIKENARD, PLOUGHMAN'S. See Baccharis. 



SFILANTHES (from spilos, a spot, and anthos, a 

 flower; in allusion to the original species having yellow 

 florets and a brown disk). Sometimes spelt Spilanthu*. 

 Including Acmella. ORD. Composite. A genus of about 

 a score species of annual or rarely perennial herbs, in- 

 habiting warm regions. Flower-heads yellow or white, 

 with a yellow disk, often long-stalked, heterogamous. 

 Leaves opposite, often toothed. The species have no 

 garden value. 8. oleracea (Para Cress) is cultivated in 

 the tropics as a salad plant, and is now and then met 

 with in botanical collections. 

 S. orocata. See Verbcsina crocata. 



SPILANTHUS. See Spilanthes. 



SPILOSOMA MENTHASTRI. This insect, 

 generally known as the White Ermine Moth, is one of 

 the commoner of the Bombycidae, at least in the larval 

 stage. The larvae are found in autumn on almost every 

 low plant, including all kinds of cultivated herbs, 

 They reach a length of over lin., are stout in form, 

 and are covered thickly with hairs of a brown or 

 nearly black colour, but show a paler line down the 

 middle of the back. In late autumn, they are com- 

 monly seen crawling on roads, on walls, and, in fact, 

 everywhere, in the search for safe retreats in which to 

 become pupae. In summer, the moths emerge. The 

 fore wings are rather rounded, and reach about Ifin. in 

 expanse. They are creamy-white, with about thirty 

 small black spots on each, forming four very irregular, 

 curved rows ; the hind wings are pure white, and bear 

 three or four small black spots ; the head and thorax 

 are white, the abdomen orange-yellow, with a row of 

 black spots down the middle, and also down each side; 

 the body is thick and clumsy. 



Remedy. Hand-picking is the most effectual, as the 

 larvae are easily detected; but they seldom do serious 

 harm; and they may even be regarded as occasionally 

 useful, since they feed on troublesome weeds. The 

 "White Ermine" has allies which feed almost wholly 

 on weeds, viz., the " Buff Ermine " (S. lubricipeda), 

 which is buff-colour, with small, dark spots, and a dark, 

 oblique cross-bar; the "Water Ermine" (S. Urticos), 

 with the wings white, with two black dots ; and the 

 " Muslin Moth " (Diaphora mendica), of which the female 

 has semi-transparent white wings, and the male is smoke- 

 coloured; the wings show black spots in both sexes. 



SPINACH (Spinacia oleracea). An annual, culti- 

 vated for its leaves, which are cooked and served as 

 a vegetable. It may be raised in any quantity from 

 seed, which should be sown successionally through the 

 summer, where the plants are intended to remain. 

 Spinach prefers a deep, rich soil, and a rather moist 

 situation, through the summer; for the winter crop, a 

 drier and rather warm position should be selected. The 

 first sowing may be made at the latter end of February, 

 or early in March, according to the weather and the 

 state of the ground. To maintain a supply, a sowing 

 should be made about every fortnight, or at longer 

 intervals, if there is but little demand for the leaves, as 

 in dry weather the plants soon run to seed. Sow in 

 drills lin. deep, and about 1ft. apart. In May, and the 

 two following months, single drills between rows of Beans 

 or Peas may be sown with good success, as here partial 

 shade is provided, and no injury is caused to the other 

 crops, if the ground is good, Spinach being such a quick- 

 growing subject. When the ground is dry, watering is 

 of great advantage, or it may be newly turned up with 

 a fork, and the seeds steeped about four hours in water, 

 then sown at once. In order to obtain good-sized leaves, 

 the plants should be thinned to 4in. or Gin. apart, so 

 soon as they are large enough. In picking, the largest 

 leaves should be selected, particularly during winter and 

 early spring, when but little now growth is made. 



