1312 



PHCENIX 



PHORMIUM 



8. pdmila, Hort. Stem slender, graceful, 6-10 ft. : Ivs. 

 10-16 ft. long, recurved, drooping; Ifts. 8-12 in. long, 

 4-ranked. Gt. 20, p. 173 (description). Fla. Farm. & 

 Fr. Gr. 1898:67. 



9. Canari^nsis, Hort. (P. thmis, Verseh. P. Jiibce, 

 Webb). Resembling P. ilactylifera, but more slender 

 and graceful in all its parts: Ivs. more numerous. Ca- 

 nary Islands. R.H. 1888:181. G.C. III. 15:405. V. 

 19:.51. Gng. 5:215. Gn. 57, p. 255. R.H. 1893, pp. 126, 

 127. — Var. macrocirpa is cult, in Florida. 



10. Bylv^stris, Roxb. Stem solitary, stout. 25-40 ft. 

 high, clothed with persistent petiole bases: Ivs. 10-15 

 ft., glabrous; petiole spiny; segments 1-2 ft., fascicled, 

 2-t-ranked, rigid, light green. Very close to P. dactyl- 

 ifera and perhaps the origin of that plant. India. I.H. 

 10:351. V. 16:101. F. 1872, p. 29. Gn. 54, p. 117. G.C. 

 III. 10:105.-A hybrid of P. sylfestris and Canarien- 

 sis secured by E. H. Hart is highly praised by Ameri- 

 can connoisseurs. 



11. daotyllfera, Linn. (P. cycadifdlia. Hort.). Date- 

 palm. Fig. 1764. Stem tall, erect : Ivs. glaucous, 

 arcuate-ascending ; Ifts. linear-lanceolate acuminate, 

 strongly complicate, the lower 4-ranked, the upper 2- 

 ranked, irregularly and remotely aggregate: fr. cylin- 

 drical-elliptical, 1-2 in. long. Arabia, N. Afr. R.H. 1893, 

 p. 127.— Var. excfilsa is cult, in Florida. See Bate. 



P. dmnilsa. Hort. Saul, 1803. Of "dwarf habit." Seems 

 unknown to botanists.— P. glanca. cult, by H. Nehrling, is a 

 name not in the texts.— P. Natalensis and var. variegata are 

 offered by Reasoner, but no description is available. — P. San- 

 deriana. Presumably introduced within recent years by San- 

 der & Co., St. Albans, Eng. — P. spiJuUdsa, Hort. Saul, 1893, is 

 an obscure name.— P. tomenlf/sa, cult, by H. Nehrling, is an 

 obscure name. Jared G. Smith. 



1766. American 



PHOLIDOTA (Greek, scale and ear; the scales of the 

 unopened raceme are said to recall the rattle of a 

 snake). Orchiddceoe. A small genus containing about 

 20 species, natives of India, S. China and the Malay 

 Archipelago. Mostly of the habit of Ccelogyne, with 

 creeping rhizomes and pseudobulbs consisting of a sin- 

 gle internode. Fls. small, short-pedicelled, in slender 

 racemes, each with a large bract; sepals and petals short, 

 broad; labellum excavated or sac-like ; column very 

 short, winged around the top. For cultivation, use 

 strong, light, rich potting material, broken pots, old dry 

 cow manure, plenty of drainage. Do not allow to be- 

 come very dry. Temperature, 55-65°. 



imbric&ta, Lindl. Pseudobulbs oblong sulcate: Ivs. 

 oblong-lanceolate, plicate, 6-12 in. long: raceme long- 



peduncled, 3-8 in. long: lis. small, rather crowded on 

 the raceme, white or yellowish, with a shade of violet. 

 Feb.-May. India. B.R. 14:1213; 21:1777. L.B.C. 

 20:1934. 



Chin^nsis, Lindl. A small creeping epiphyte. Pseu- 

 dobulbs cespitose, 1-2-Ivd.: Ivs. oblong-undulate, acu- 

 minate, fls greenish white, in drooping racemes not 

 more than 2-3 in. long; sepals ovate; petals linear; la- 

 bellum oblong, recurved. — This plant has long been 

 known from Chinese drawings. 



Wm. Mathews and Heinrioh Hasselbrino. 



PHORADtNDKON Uaviscens, Nutt., is the Mistletoe 

 of eastern North America. Fig. 176B. It is parasitic on 

 deciduous trees, as far north as New Jersey and .south- 

 ern Indiana and extending southwards to Florida and 

 Texas. F.E. 3:590. It makes dense bunches 1-3 ft. 

 across, with thick oval or obovate yellowish green ever- 

 green Ivs. The forking twigs are terete, and break 

 easily at the base. The fls. are dioecious, borne in very 

 short spikes or catkins: berries amber-white, globular, 

 small. The plant is collected for Christmas greens (see 

 Greens, Christmas). The Old World Mistletoe is Vis- 

 cum. 



PHOEMIUM (Greek, phormos, basket; referring to 

 one use to which this fiber plant is put). Lilidcea^. New 

 Zealand Flax. The New Zealand Flax, Phormliim 

 tenaj-, is a tender herbaceous plant, 3-6 ft. high, with a 

 tuft of 2-ranked, sword-shaped Ivs. and panicles of 6- 

 lobed fls. varying from red to orange. It is a choice 

 plant for conservatory decoration and for siibtropical 

 bedding. It is a very formal plant, its lines being 

 strong, stately and rather stiff, — perhaps too much so in 

 immature specimens. The genus is easily distinguished 

 by its fls., which are erect, numerous, panicled, the 

 perianth with a top-shaped tube, and the somewhat 

 incurved segments loosely connivent above. Phormium 

 belongs to the tribe of which the day-lilies (Hemero- 

 callis and Punkia) are representatives in the northern 

 hemisphere and the poker plants ( Kniphofia) in the 

 southern, its nearest ally being the Australian Bland- 

 fordia with fls. of similar colors but pendulous and with 

 stamens afiixed at the middle of the tube instead of at 

 the apex, as in Phormium. Phormiums have a short, 

 thick rhizome and clusters of thickened fibrous roots. 

 There are three species, all from New Zealand. The 

 common species, P. tenax, is the tallest plant and gen- 

 erally has redder fls. than P. Cookianum. The rarest 

 species, P. Bookeri (not in trade), differs in having 

 Ivs. which bend back until they reach the ground. 



Phormiums are perhaps too slow of propagation to be 

 ranked among the few most popular plants for subtropi- 

 cal bedding, but they are esteemed choice subjects by con- 

 noisseurs. They are a prominent feature of many fine 

 establishments in California. When Phormiums are to 

 be prop, by division G. W. Oliver recommends that they 

 be planted outdoors in very sandy soil during May and 

 divided during September. ^_ jj. 



For certain combinations and in places where it can 

 have plenty of moisture Phormium tenax is a valuable 

 plant, having a very distinct and unusual character all 

 its own. The type is easier of cultivation than the 

 variegated kinds. Much better results can be obtained 

 by raising the typical form from seeds than by division. 

 Seed sown in Feb. and grown on riipidly will make good 

 plants for bedding purposes the sjiriti^' of tlic following 

 year. The seedlings maybe either plaiifi d nut or grown 

 in pots; in the latter case give a rich compost and 

 plenty of water after the plants have taken bold. With 

 good treatment one may expect at the end of a year and 

 a half a well-furnished specimen 3-3>$ ft. high in a 

 6-in. pot. If one can afford room in a warm house, so 

 much the better. The variegated forms require partial 

 shade and even moisture; they do not come true from 

 seed. J. p. CowELL. 



a. Lvs. SS in. wide, split at apex. 

 tfinax, Linn. New Zealand Flax. Pig. 1767. Ro- 

 bust: lvs. attaining 4 ft. or more, 2-3 in. wide, dark 

 green, margin and keel bright red or brownish; scape 

 5-7 ft. high, much overtopping the lvs.: fls. typically 



