PANICULARIA 



PANSY 



1203 



branches long and spreaJing: spikelets 4-7-fld., 2-3 

 lineslong: flowering glumes 1 line long. North America. 

 — Good for planting in wet places for the margins of 

 aquatic gardens, etc. 



nervita, Kuntze (Glyceria wercdfa, Trin., also Hort.). 

 Nkijveh Mann-i-Gbass. Lower aud more slender (1-3 

 ft. higli], eii'Ct, glabrous: Ivs. much smaller (2-3 lines 

 wide) : ])anicl6 3-8 in. long, greenish, its branches long 

 and spreading: spilielets 3-7-fld., l-W^ lines long; 

 flowering glumes three-fourths of a line long. North 

 America. —A graceful native grass growing in damp 

 ground or shady places. g. jl. WiEGAND. 



FANICUM (old Latin name of Italian millet, Setaria 

 Ilaliea, said to be derived from paniculum, a panicle; 

 alluding to the usual form of the inflorescence). 

 Graminew. An immense genus of grasses scattered 

 over the world, especially in the tropics. Several hun- 

 dred species have been described, while conservative 

 authorities place the number at about 300. Several of 

 our bad weeds belong to this genus, such as crab grass 

 (_P. sanguinale), and barnyard grass {P. Criis-ijalll) , 

 also several food plants, as Indian millet (P. 7niUaceitm), 

 Sjonwa millet (P. fritntentaceitm), and Shama millet 

 {P. colonum). Their importance as forage grasses is 

 very insignificant when the number of species is talien 

 into consideration. This is largely from the fact that 

 the species, as a rule, are not gregarious, and to the 

 fact that they are not well represented in the meadows 

 and prairies of temperate and northern regions. An 

 important forage grass of the warmer regions is, how- 

 ever, guinea grass (P. maximum). Spikelets with one 

 terminal perfect flower, and below this a second flower 

 which may be staminate, neutral or reduced to a glume; 

 therefore 4 glumes, the 2 lower and often the third 

 being empty. The flowering glume is characterized by 

 being of a much firmer texture. 



virg&tum, Linn. An upright grass with stiff culm.s, 

 2-0 ft. high: spikelets in loose, compound panicles, 

 usually more or less purplish, sharp-pointed; first 

 glume half as long as spikelets, 5-7-nerved, second 

 and third glumes of about equal length, 5-7-nerved. A 

 hardy perennial used for ornamental purposes. Native 

 of eastern U. S. K.H. 1890, p. 523; 1890, p. 572. M. 14, 

 p. 215; 29, p. 235; 37, p. 245. 



snlci.tum, Aubl. A tall perennial, 4-6 ft., native of 

 tropical America: Ivs. large, 1 in. or more broad, some- 

 what hairy, conspicuously plicate: panicle narrow, 

 about 1 ft. long, with many ascending branches, bearing 

 short-piMlii'clled spikelets throughout their length, and 

 also scattcrril bristles: spikelets pointed: lower glume 

 one-half, second glume two-thirds the length of third 

 and fourth, all strongly nerved. 



plic&tum. Lam. Called "palm grass" in the South, 

 where it is cultivated for ornament. Native of East 

 Indies. Resembles the preceding, but Ivs. broader and 

 nearly smooth, and panicle larger and more bristly: 

 spikelets similar. R.H. 1802, p. 290; 1896, p. 572. Gn. 

 12, p. 517; 31, p. 487; 37, p. 245.- Woolson, of Passaic, 

 N. J., says it grows 4-6 ft. high in the hardy border 

 and makes a fine stately grass; useful for winter 

 bouquets. A variegated form is figured in F.S. 17:1743 

 unrler tile name foVius nifeo-viltatis. 



Crus-gAUi. Linn. Barnyard Grass. The cultivated 

 form is known as Japan Barnyard millet. The ordinary 

 form is a weed in cultivated soil. The fonn in the trade 

 is used for fodder. Another fonn or closely allied spe- 

 cies (P. frumentaceiim) is used in India for its grain. 

 Panicle made up of numerous dense alternate spikes : 

 spikelets crowded on two sides of a 3-sided axis; sec- 

 ond and third glumes more or less awned. Annual. 



capill&re, Linn. Old Witch Grass. A common 

 native annual grass and weed, recommended for culti- 

 vation on account of its ornamental purple panicle, 

 which is ample and loose, the spikelets being borne on 

 slender hair-like pedicels. R.H. 1890, p. 525; 1890, p. 572. 



mill&ceum, Linn. True Millet. Broomcorn Millet. 

 Spikelets all pedicellate in an umbel-like, drooping pan- 

 icle, each with 3 empty glumes and 1 flower. — A tall an- 

 nual grass (.3—4 ft.) with soft Ivs., grown for fodder, but 

 not in common use in this country. Cultivated from 



1634. Viola tricolor. 



prehistoric times. Grown somewhat extensively in 

 China and Japan, and southeast Russia. Native coun- 

 try unknown, but probably East Indies. More fully dis- 

 cussed in Parmer's Bulletin, No. 101 U. 8. Dept. Agric. 

 What is usually grown in the United States under the 

 name of Millet is i^etitrui Italica and its varieties. 

 P. yanVffd(«m=Oplismenus Burmanni. For P.Germaniciim, 

 see Setaria. a. S. Hitchcock. 



PANSY. The Pansy is everywhere a familiar flower. 

 There is much character in it. The Hower is often 

 likened to a face. It appeals to personal feeling. In 

 fact, the word Pansy is only a corruption of the French 

 pens^e, meaning thought. The old folk-name, heart's- 

 ease, is also associated with the familiar place which the 

 plant has occupied ; it signifies remembrance. The 

 Pansy is one of the oldest of garden flowers. Parkinson 

 mentions it as a flower-garden subject in 1629. When 

 critical study began to be given to the kinds of plants, 

 the Pansy was so dis- 

 tinct from wild species 

 that its specific iden- 

 tity could not be deter- 

 mined with precision, 

 and, in fact, this is the 

 case to the present 

 day. It is generally 

 considered, however, 

 that it has descended 

 from Viola tricolor{ see 

 I'iola), a small peren- 

 nial violet native to the 

 cooler parts of Europe. 

 In its nearly normal or 

 unimproved forms. 

 ■Viola tricolor is now 

 grown in gardens. Fig. 

 1634. It is a most in- 

 teresting plant, be- 

 cause handsome-flow- 

 ered and variable. The 

 flowers of this violet 

 usually have three 

 colors or shades, mostly blue, whitish and yellow, but in 

 the different varieties one of the colors strongly pre- 

 dominates. A form with very small and inconspicuous 

 flowers (var. arvensis) has run wild in many parts of 

 the country. 



Pansies are perennial, but they are grown practically 

 as winter or spring annuals. Commercial growers sow 

 the seeds in fall, aud sell great quantities of the seedling 

 plants before winter sets in. These plants are bloomed 

 in frames or cold greenhouses, or they are planted in 

 the open for spring bloom. Plants are also started in- 

 doors in late winter for spring bloom. Pansies delight 

 in cool, moist weather; hence the American summer is 

 not to their liking, and they usually perish. A new 

 stock of plants is started every year. 



The modern improved Pansies run in strains or fami- 

 lies rather than in definite varieties. These strains are 

 maintained at a high grade by the best cultivation and 

 the closest attention to selection. The seed of the best 

 strains is necessarily expensive, for it represents much 

 human care. The stock usually runs down quickly in 

 other hands. It should be renewed from the seed- 

 breeder each year if the best results are to be main- 

 tained. These fancy and high-bred strains require extra 

 care in the growing. Most of the best strains are of 

 European origin. They are usually known by the name 

 of the breeder. The chief points of merit in the high- 

 bred Pansy are size of flower, brilliancy of coloring, 

 arrangement of colors. The flowers may be self-colored 

 (of only one color) or parti-colored. The parti-colored 

 flowers are of three general types : 2 banner petals and 

 3 central petals of different colors ; petals all margined 

 with lighter color; petals all striped. There are all grades 

 of intermediate differences. The colors which are now 

 found in Pansies are pure white, purple-black, pure yel- 

 low, different shades of blue, purple, violet, red-purple. 

 Pansy flowers are now grown 3 in across. Fig. 1035. 



With the above aecount may be compared Gerard's 

 description of Pansies in 1587. He pictures the Hearts- 

 ease or Viola tricolor with small violet-like flowers, the 



>m^ 



