FLOWER - DE - LUCE 



FliOWER-DE-LUCE. The origin of tlie Fleur-.ie-lis 

 of the French coat of arms is not linown. By some it is 

 supposed to represent the head of a spear, by others the 

 flower of a lily. It has also been derived from the 

 points of a crown and from several animal forms, as 

 bees and toads. Apparently the Iris has nothing to do 

 with the heraldic Fleur-de-li.s. This name as applied 

 to Iris is of later origin and of a purely botanical sig- 

 nificance, referring chiefly to /. Germaiiiea. See under 

 ••Fleur," Larousse, Dictionaire du XIX Sifecle, 8:450. 

 H. Hasselbring. 



FLOWER-FENCE, BARBADOES. Poiiiciava piil- 



FLOWER-OF-AN-HOUR. Hibiscus Triomim. 



FLOWERING MAPLE. See Ahutilon. 



FLY POISON. See Zijgadenus. 



FOLIAGE PLANTS. A term used to designate plants 

 wliic'h are grown for the general effect of their foliage 

 ratlicr than for their flowers. The terra is indefinite. 

 In some cases, and more correctly, it is used for plants 

 \vM\ unique or interesting leaves — usually colored — as 

 coleus. Rex begonia, peperomia, calathea, f arfugium. In 

 other cases it is used to designate plants of full foliage 

 and graceful habit, — plants which are prized for their 

 general habit quite as much as for the characters of the 

 individual leaves. Of this latter class, ferns, palms, 

 grevillea, screw pine, araucaria are leading examples. 

 The latter class contains the most popular commercial 

 subjects, and they are much used in room and table 

 decorations. The plants are often rented for use in 

 temporary decorations. For the culture of Foliage 

 Plants, refer to the various genera. 



FONTANfiSIA (after Uind Louiche Desfontaines, 

 prominent French botanist, 1752-1833, director of the 

 botanical garden at Paris). OleAcew. Ornamental de- 

 ciduous shrubs, with opposite, rather narrow, entire Ivs. 

 and whitish fls. in short, terminal panicles. They re- 

 tain tlic fuliat;e unchanged until late in fall, and are well 

 adaptcil fur shrubberies, growing in any good garden 

 soil. /•'. FiiiiKiiei is nearly hardy North, F. pliilli/rcco- 

 idis only half-hardy. Prop, readily by greenwood cut- 

 tings under glass in early summer ; also by layers, by 

 grafting on privet, and by seeds. Two species from 

 W. Asia and China. Glabrous shrubs, with slender, 

 quadrangular branches : fls. perfect ; calyx lobes and 

 petals 4 ; stamens 2, exceeding the petals : fr. a flat, 

 winged nutlet. 



Fbrtunei, Carr. (F. Califdrnica, Hort.). Shrub, to 

 15 ft.: Ivs. lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 

 shining, quite entire, 2-4 in. long: fls. in axillary and 

 terminal clusters, forming a narrow, leafy panicle : fr. 

 broad, oval or ovate, K-X in. long. May, June. China. 

 R.H. IS.ig, p. 43. — Sometimes united with the following, 

 to which it is superior by its more vigorous growth, the 

 darker and larger foliage, and by the greater hardiness. 



phillyraBOldes, Lab. Shrub, to 10 ft. : Ivs. ovate-lanceo- 

 late or narrow-elliptic, mostly with rough, minutely den- 

 ticulate margin, 1K-2X in. long; fls. almost like the 

 former. W.Asia. L. B.C. 14:1308. Var. angustifdlia, 

 Rehder (F. niigustifdlia, Dipp.). Lvs. narrow-lanceo- 

 late or oblong-laneeolate. Alfred Rehder. 



FORAGE PLANTS are treated only incidentally in this 

 work, as they belong to agriculture rather than to hor- 

 ticulture. They are mostly grasses and leguminous 

 plants, and have a very large special literature, much of 

 which can be obtained free from the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Write to the Divi- 

 sion of Publications. 



FORBIDDEN FRUIT. See CUriis Decumaiia and 

 G.F. !I:1G3. 



FORCING. The word Forcing is variously used. 

 Properly, it should designate the growing of plants 

 outside" their usual or normal season. This distin- 

 guishes Forcing from the ordinary purpose of the glass- 

 house, which is to imitate the usual season in which 



38a 



FORCING 



595 



plants grow. For example, begonias are not forced: we 

 endeavor to protect them and to give them the season 

 and the conditions under which they grow in the wild. 

 Carnations when flowered in the winter are forced, be- 

 cause we transpose their seasons. Chrysanthemums 

 blooming in October and November are not forced: they 

 are only protected. Sometimes the word Forcing is used 



838. House constructed without rafters. 



in a very special sense, to denote the production of flowers 

 from bulbs or tubers in a very short time under the 

 influence of a very high temperature. Thus, the lily-of- 

 the-valley may be placed in a temperature of 90° or 

 above, and the large buds be forced to throw out their 

 flowers before the plant obtains a firm foot-hold on the 

 soil. 



A Forcing-house is a building in which plants are 

 forced; but the term has come to denote a simple glass- 

 house in which plants are grown only for sale, in dis- 

 tinction from private conservatories, or more elaborate 

 structures which are used for the display of plants. 

 See Greenhouse. 



The Forcing industry in America is very large. Here- 

 tofore it has confined itself mostly to Cut-Flowers (which 

 see), but jiot-plants, vegetables and fruits are receiving 

 more and more attention. The staple forced flowers are 

 the rose, carnation, violet, lily-of-the-valley, and various 

 bulbs. These are treated under their respective names. 

 Of vegetables, the most important Forcing species 

 is lettuce. This is followed by tomato, cucumber and 

 radish. Other vegetables are of very minor importance 

 as Forcing products. The growing of fruits under glass 



839. Even span Forcing-house. 20 ft., wide, 

 heated by steam. 



is receiving increasing attention in this country. Very 

 little of this fruit-raising is really Forcing, however, 

 since the glass inclosure is iised chiefly to protect the 

 plants and to enable better care to be given : the fruit 

 does not ripen much ahead of its normal season. Of this 

 category are glasshouse grapes. Strawberries are really 

 forced, however, the whole period of vegetation and 

 bloom being greatly forwarded. Much attention is now 

 given by florists to the Forcing of hardy plants ; and 

 this is one of the most delightful of horticultural opera- 

 tions for the amateur. Many of our native plants can 

 be forced with the greatest satisfaction, but the busi- 

 ness is usually confined to imported stock of florists' 

 plants. 

 The Forcing-house should be of the simplest construe- 



