ONCIDIUM 



ONION 



1135 



broadly obovate; middle lobe broadly obovate or subreni- 

 form, undulate, notched in front. Spring and summer. 

 Brazil. B.M.3568. B.R. 23:1994; 28:4 (as O. longlfulium). 

 40. triqudtrum, R.Br. {Ci/tnhidium triquetrnm, Swz. 

 J'JfHtJriidrinti truinetnim , Swz.). Paeudobulbs none: 

 Ivs. tV'W, 4-0 in. long, triqui'trous and grooved: scape 

 aliuut as long as the Ivs., purplish, bearing a raceme of 

 10-12 medium-sized tls. : sepals broadly lanceolate, the 

 lower pair united, piirplish green; petals ovate, white, 

 tinged with green ami spotted with purple; labellum 

 cordate-ovate, constricted near the middle, white spotted 

 with purple; crest orange. Autumn. Jamaica. B.M. 

 3393. 



A supplementary list of synonyms and imperfectly known 

 kinds advertised in Amerit!a: O. aiisiferum, Reichb. f. Sepals 

 imd petals ohlong-obovate, free, crisp; labellum with ligiilate 

 lateral lobes and a reniform, emarginate middle lobe, golden 

 yellow, with 2 dark brown bars at the base, tiaecid. The sepals 

 and petals are greenish, with yellow tips.— O. Baldevidma:, 

 Reichb. f. {O. Balderramse, Reichb. f.). Panicle ample: dorsal 

 sepals rounded, clawed, crisp, yellowish olive-brown with a 

 yellow border; lower sepals longer clawed, cuneate-oblong, 

 unicolored; petals oblong, short-clawed, crisp, nearly compli- 

 eate. smaller than the sepals, yellow, with brown blotches; 

 labellum hastate, ligulate, obtuse. Summer. Colombia.— O. 

 Bictoniense, Hort. ex-Lindl.=Odontoglossum Sp.— O. F6rster- 

 inauni. — O.fuscdtwm, Reichb. f. = Wiltonia Warszewiczii.- O. 

 Qardncri, Lindl. (O. Gardnerianum, Hort.). Resembles O. 

 •crispum and O. Forbesii. Fls. lemon-yellow, spotted and barred 

 with chestnut-brown on the sepals and petals; labellum broad, 

 yellow, margined with the same color; all segments undulate, 

 crisp. Brazil. G.C. II. 1«:86. P.M. 1880:401. This is probably 

 O. eurtum, Lindl., which should be referred to this species.— 

 O. Qeertidnum, C. Morr. (O. csesium, Reichb. f.). A species 

 probably based on a variety of O. reflexum.— O. Qravesidnmn, 

 Rolfe. Pseudobulbs broadly oblong-compressed, 3 in. long: Ivs. 

 elliptic-oblong, 4 in. long; panicle large, branching: fls. 2 in. 

 across, yellow, spotted with bro^vn; dorsal sepals spatulate; 

 lateral sepals lanceolate-oblong, united at base; petals obo- 

 vate, wider than the sepals; labellum pandurate, with small 

 spatulate lateral lobes and a broadly orbicular-ovate, undulate 

 middle lobe. Brazil. R.B. 21:78. G.C. III. 11:651. Near 0. 

 erispum. — O. hastdtum, Lindl. Sepals and petals yellow, 

 spotted with brown; labellum pale yellow. Mex.— O. lancifb- 

 Hum. Lindl. (O. sessile, Lindl. & Paxt.). Pseudobulbs oblong: 

 Ivs. short, pale green: panicle much branched and bearing a 

 large number of fls.: -sepals and petals large, obtuse, yellow, 

 spotted with cinnamon-brown at the base; labellum large, of 

 the same color. Ecuador.— O. Ldvenderi.— O, Lawrencidnum, 

 Reichb. f . =Brassia Lawrenciana.- O. mnr)nuin, Reichb. f. 

 A species with numerous small yellow fls. borne in pjinicles.- 

 O. obryzdtum, Reichb. f. & Warse. Fls. goldfii yellow, spotted 

 with brown, borne in a much -branched panicle. Peru. Said to 

 be an elegant winter-flowering orchid. — O. lieichenbachu,hmd\. 

 Colombia.- O. rbseitm, Beer.=Coehlioda rosea,— O. rupestre, 

 Lindl. Pis. numerous, in a branched panicle 2 ft. high, brilliant 

 yellow, spotted with brown. Peru. Said to be desirable. — O. 

 Russellidnum, Lindl. = Miltonia Russelliana.— O. sarcddes, 

 Lindl. Pseudobulbs subcylindrical, 3 in. long, 2-3-lvd.: Ivs. 

 lanceolate: panicle branched, many-fld.. slender: fls. large, 

 yellow, spotted with brown ; sepals free, obovate ; petals 

 larger, clawed, obovate-spatnlate, repand; labellum with small 

 serrate lateral lobes; middle lobe large, emarginate, undulate. 

 Brazil. I. H. 21:165. Near O. ampliatum. — O. Sckilleridnum. 

 Reichb. f. Trop. Amer.- O. Schlimii, Linden. A large, 

 rampant species, with yellow fls. marked with brown, about 

 1 in. in diam. Nov. Cent. Amer.— O. spaculdtum. — O. stel- 

 ligerum, Reichb. f . Sepals and petals oblong-ligulate. stellate, 

 yellowish, with many brown dots ; labellum with short, obtuse- 

 angled lateral lobes, a narrow isthmus, and a cordate, rotund, 

 cuspidate middle lobe, pale yellow, with a darker callus. 

 Mex. Near O. hastatum.— O. Volvox, Reichb. f. Venezuela.— 

 O. Warszeivlczii, Reichb. f. Pseudobulbs rounded, compressed: 

 Ivs. 1 ft. long, thin: scape stout, with an 8-13-fld. panicle: fls. 

 yellow, with purple spots and the middle of the labellum blood- 

 red; upper sepals lanceolate, acute, crisp; lower pair oblong, 

 shorter than the labelhim, united; petals oblong, much wider 

 than the dorsal sepals; labellum with auriculate lateral lobes 

 and a reniform bifid middle lobe. Colombia.— O. Weltoni, 

 Hort.=Miltonia Warszewiczii. Heinrich Hasselbring. 



ONGOBA (Arabian, oukob ; name of a North African 

 species). Bixdeete. Shrubs or small trees of tropical 

 and subtropical Africa, sometimes spiny. Lvs. alternate, 

 without stipules : fls. terminal, solitary, white, large 

 for this order, bisexual; sepals and petals 5; stamens 

 very numerous, inserted, in many rows on a tieshy wing 

 beneath the ovary; filaments filiform; anthers linear, 

 2-ceIled, attached to the base, erect, opening at the sides; 

 stigma dilated, notched: ovary free, 1 -celled; style cylin- 

 drical: berry leathery, pulpy within; seeds 

 used as ornaments by the natives. 



Krausai&na, Planch. A branching shrub without 

 thorns, the older branches having a rough ash-colored 

 bark: lvs. elliptic-obloug, obtuse or subacute, entire, 2 

 in. long, with midrib, pinnate and netted veins, some- 

 what pale on under side: peduncles terminal or opposite 

 the lvs., 2-3 in. long: fls. erect, .solitary, more than an 

 in. across, white ; sepals roundish and very concave; 

 petals twice as long, spreading, with narrow claws, 

 cuneate at base, broadly obovate, with scattered, woolly 

 hairs; anthers pointless; stigma 5-6-rayed : ovary hairy. 

 Procurable in S. Calif. — This makes a very fine pot- 

 plant in a greenhouse temperature, flowering in spring. 

 It is also useful for subtropical bedding. Prop, from 

 ripewood ciittings, also from seeds. Give the plant a 

 sunny position, and plenty of water while new growth 

 is making. ]vi, g, Coulston and H. A. Siebrecht. 



ONCOSPtRMA (Greek, tumor-shaped seed). Pitl- 

 mCtrea'. Stoloniferous palms, with low, very spiny 

 trunks: lvs. equally pinnate; Ifts. ensiform-acuminate, 

 entire, equidistant or somewhat clustered, the veins 

 scaly beneath; rachis convex on the back, with a blunt 

 keel above: fr. small. Oncosperma differs from Eu- 

 terpe in the small, acute sepals: stamens 0-12, the an- 

 thers erect; albumen ruminate. Species 6. Trop. Asia. 



!asciculitum» Thwaites. Caudex at length 30-40 ft. 

 high, 5-G in. in diam. : lvs. 18 ft. long; pinnte fascicled, 

 12-18 in. long, 1-2 in. wide, lanceolate, long-acuminate, 

 the tips drooping; sheath 2% ft., armed and scurfy: fr. 

 globose, black-purple, H in. in diam. Ceylon. 



Jared G. Smith. 



ONION. Plate XXII. All the Onions of common or 

 general cultivation are forms of one variable species. 

 Allium Cepa. This plant is probably native to south- 

 western Asia, but it has Iteen domesticated so long and 

 has varied so much that its aboriginal form is not 

 well understood. It was grown by the ancient Egyp- 

 tians. It is grown primarily for its bulbs, but the 

 leaves are sometimes used as seasoning and in stews 

 Under long-continued cultivation and selection, the 

 bulbs have developed into large and shapely organs. 

 Now and then the bulb does not develop and the neck 

 (or stalk just above the bulb) remains relatively thick: 

 such onions are "scullions." Seeds from poorly selected 

 or deteriorated stock may be the cause of scullions: 

 they are to be considered as reverted or run-down 

 forms. Sometimes scullions result from very w-et soil, 

 whereby the plants grow too much to top. Seeds grown 

 in the South or in a long-season climate tend to pro- 

 duce plants in short-season regions that do not "bot- 

 tom" before caught by frost. 



The Onion is one of the hardiest of vegetable garden 

 plants. In the southern climates it is grown largely as a 

 winter crop. In the northern states and Canada the 

 seeds are sown or the bulbs planted as soon as the 

 ground can be fitted in the spring. It is always best, if 

 possible, to prepare the ground in the fall in order that 

 the seeds may be sown on the first approach of warm 

 weather. When Onions are grown from seeds, it is 

 essential that the ground be fine and loose, and all sur- 

 face stones and litter removed. The seeds are small and 

 do not germinate quickly. The young plants are surface 

 feeders. If the seed is sown late or if the ground is 

 droughty, the plants will either perish or make no 

 headway. Land which is foul with weeds should not be 

 planted to Onions, for the young Onion plants cannot 

 withstand such competition. In the old-fashioned 

 gardens, it was the custom to plant Onions in short 

 rows crosswise of raised beds, as in Fig. 1528. This 

 entailed an endless amount of small hand labor and 

 usually resulted in the expenditure of more time and 

 effort than the Onions were worth. The better method 

 is to grow the plants in long rows which are far enough 

 apart to admit of the use of a wheel hoe. Fig. 1529. 

 Even when a small quantity of Onions is desired, it 

 is better to place them all in one row than to have 

 many short rows. With the best of land and manage- 

 ment, and with the use of wheel hoes, more or less 

 finger work will be necessary in order to bring the crop 

 to full perfection. The seed may be sown thick in the 

 home garden, and as the young plants begin to crowd , they 

 should be thinned. The plants taken out in the second 



