108 



ASPARAGUS 



sending up new shoots. If the bed is well made in the 

 beginning, the Asparagus need not be disturbed for eight 

 or ten years. However, at the end of that time it is well 

 to take the plants up and fill the beds with fresh soil 

 and manure. 



In the spring, when the sun gets high, the Asparagus 

 houses are shaded with a light coating of white lead, 

 whiting and kerosene oil. This is absolutely necessary, 

 as the summer sun would in a very short time burn the 

 tops of the vine. The vine flowers in the fall, and only 

 on strings that have been matured six months or more. 



The vine alone is not the only source of profit. When 

 the plant is a year old, a few of the most nearly perfect 

 sprays may be taken without injuring its growth. These 

 are very desirable in the market. There is, of course, 

 some waste in working up the Asparagus to be shifted, 

 bat, on the whole, it is very slight. The different forms 

 in which it is sold utilize by far the greater part of it. 



Insects destroy the shoots and sprays. This is pre- 

 vented to a great extent by insect powder. The cut- 

 worms do the most damage. About the only way to get 

 rid of them is to pick them off the strings during the 

 night, as they generally seek shelter under the thick 

 clusters of the plant at daylight. There are many draw- 

 backs ingrowing Asparagus, among which are expensive 

 houses, the slow growth of the plants (which makes it 

 necessary to wait at least two years before receiving 

 any return from the expenditure) , injury from insects, 

 and the great amount of labor involved in looking after 

 the houses. William H. Elliott. 



ASPASIA (Greek personal name, of little significance 

 here). Orchiddeem, tvihe Vdndece. Pseudobulbous ; Ivs. 

 sub-coriaceous : racemes radical : perianth spreading : 

 lateral sepals free, the upper one connate at the base of 

 the petals : labeUum concave : column semi -terete : 

 poUinia 2. Eight or 10 Trop. Amer. species. The genus 

 is closely allied to Odontoglossum. 



epidendroides, Lindl. Lvs. linear-lanceolate : racemes, 

 with about 4 lis. ; erect : sepals and petals streaked with 

 brown; labellum white, dotted with violet-purple. Pan- 

 ama and Colombia. Oakes Ames. 



ASPEN. See Popuhts. 



ASPEEfiLLA (diminutive of asper, rough). Sjti.,As- 

 prill'i. Gnnnini'iv. Perennial grasses, with looser and 

 more slender terminal spikes than Elymus. Spikelets 

 usually in pairs, on short pedicels, empty glumes wanting 

 or appearing as simple rudiments in the lowest spikelets 

 of each spike. Species 4. N. Amer., Siberia, New Zeal. 



Hystrix, Humb. Bottle -brush Grass. Spikelets 

 stand out at right angles, suggesting brushes used for 

 cleaning bottles. A native grass, growing in woodlands 

 and on the borders of thickets ; sometimes used for 

 lawn decoration. p^ q Kennedy. 



ASP£RULA (roughish : referring to lvs.). SuUhcew. 

 Mostly dwarf, hardy herbs, for borders, rockeries and 

 shady places, with square stems, whorled lvs. (some of 

 the lvs. are really stipules), and many small, 4-parted 

 fls., produced freely from May to July. The commonest 

 species is A. odorata, the Waldmeister of the Germans, 

 which is used in their Maitrank, or May wine, and in 

 summer drinks. The dried lvs. have a hay-like fra- 

 grance, lasting for years, and are often kept with 

 clothes. The plant occasionally escapes from gardens. 

 A. JierapJiyJla, with its delicate, misty spray, is used 

 with sweet peas and other cut-flowers that are inclined 

 to lo<ik luin).y. ()tlii'r iil^iits for this purpose are Gyp- 

 sniihilii iiiniii-iil'ilii . Sl'ilir,^ hitlfolia, and several Gali- 

 unis, all <if wliii-li have small, abundant fls. in very loose 

 panicles on long, slender stems. In half -shaded and 

 moist soil, Asperulas grow very luxuriantly until late 

 fall. In dry and sunny places they soon become stunted, 

 and die down before the season is over. Prop, by divi- 

 sion and by seeds. 



A. Plants perennial : fls.wJute. 

 E. Corollas 4-lobed. 



odOT^ta, Linn. Sweet WooDRnpp. Fig. 157. Habit 

 erect or ascending : height 6-8 in. : lvs. usually in 

 whorls of 8, lanceolate, finely toothed or roughish at the 



ASPHODELINE 



margin ; corollas campanulate : seeds rough. Eu. and 

 Orient. — Increases rapidly, and is used for carpeting 

 shady places, and for edgings. 



hexaphylla, All. Plant-stem glabrous : habit ascend- 

 ing, slender : height 1-2 ft. : lvs. in whorls of 6, linear, 

 acute, rough : corollas tuhular-funnel shaped ; panicles 



157. Asperula odorata, 



very loose : fls. larger than the bracts : seeds smooth. 

 Italy, Hungary, Pyrenees on high passes and dry mt. 

 sides. — Well grown specimens may be 3 ft. in diam. and 

 nearly as high. 



BB. Corollas often 3-lobed. 



tinctdria, Linn. Dyer's Woodruff. Habit procum- 

 bent unless supported : height 1-2 ft. : lvs. linear ; 

 lower ones in C's, middle ones in 4's, uppermost ones in 

 2's : bracts ovate ; fls. reddish on outside : roots large, 

 creeping widely, reddish. Dry hills and rocks of Eu. 

 aa. Plants annual : fls. blue. 



orientUis, Boiss. & Hohen. (A. asiirea and A. setosa, 

 Jaub. & Spach. A. azurea-setosa and A. setosa -azurea, 

 Hort. ). Height 1 ft.: lvs. in whorls of 8, lanceolate, 

 bristly : fls. longer than the bracts. Eu. and Orient. 



N. 1:124. 



J. B. Keller and W. M. 



ASPHODEL. See Asphodeline and Asphodeliis. 



ASPHODELtNE (name modified from Asphodelus). 

 Lili:'ii-ete. Hardy herbaceous plants, distinguished from 

 Asphodelus by their erect and leafy sts. They have 

 long racemes of yellow or white fls. in June and July. 

 All the older species were described under Asphodelus. 

 In 1830, Reichenbach made the new genus Asphodeline 

 for A. lutea and others. The only species advertised in 

 America is A. htfeus, biit all those described below are 

 likely to be in cult. Honog. by J. G. Baker in Journ. 

 Linn. Soc. 15: 273-278 (1877). ^ jj^ 



The culture of Asphodeline lutea is simple. Any soil 



will suit. Partial siiade is allowable, but fls. are often 



better in the sun. Prop, readily by division. 



A. Stems leafy np to the raceme. 



B. Pis. yellow. 



liltea, Reichb. {Asphddehis liiteus, Linn.). True As- 

 phodel of the ancients, or King's Spear. Height 2-4 

 ft. : roots thick, fleshy, stoloniferous: lvs. 3-12 in. long: 

 margins rough : racemes 6-18 in. long, 3 in. wide : bracts 

 large, membraneous, persistent. Italy, Mauritania and 

 Algeria to Tauria and Arabia. B.M. 773. L.B.C. 12:1102 

 as A. Tauricus. — The best species. 

 EB. Fls. white. 



Tailrica, Kunth. Height 1-2 ft. : roots slender : lvs. 

 .3-9 in. long; margins membranaceous: raceme 6-12 in. 

 long, l>2-2 in. wide: bracts 9-12 lines long. Caucasus, 

 Tauria, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece. G.C. III. 21 : 175. 



aa. Stems leafy only a third or half the way to the 



B. Fls. white 

 globiJera, J. Gay. Heigl 

 C'appadocia. 



leeme demise. 



-3 ft. : capsule globose 



