LASTHENIA 



LATHYRUS 



887 



LASTH£NIA (name of a woman who was a pupil 

 of Plato). Compdsitcp, Low, slender annuals with nu- 

 merous inch-wide yellow flowers in early summer. 



glabrita, Lindl. (i. Calif6rnica, Lindl. HomoUgyne 

 glabrdta, Bartl.). The plant cult, under this name is 

 likely to he Baeria gracilis, vibicb see. Height 1 ft.: 

 Ivs. much longer than in J}, gracilis, strongly keeled, 

 not hairv, or rarely pubescent: involucre enlarged be- 

 low the Hower. Calif. B.M. 3730. B.R. 21:1780 & 1823. 



LASTBfiA (C. J. L. Delastre, Austrian botanist). A 

 name commonly iised in England for species of Dry- 

 opteris. Also spelled Laslnva. On the basis of priority 

 it has no claim to recognition, as it was established by 

 Borv, in 1824, while we have Nephrodium, 1803; Aspid- 

 ium', 1801; Tectaria, 1800; Polystiehum, 1799, and Dry- 

 opteris, 1763. 



The following additional species of Dryopteris (Vol. 

 1, p. 508) are in the American trade under the name Las- 

 trea {the combinations are for Dryopteris, notLastrea) : 



A. Lowest pimuB reduced to auricles: texture thin. 



s^ncta, Kuntze. Lvs. 6-9 in. long, 1-2 in. wide on 

 short slender stems; lower pinnie very much reduced; 

 under surface glandular. West Indies. 



paliistris, Kuntze. Lvs. 2-3 ft. long, 8-12 in. wide, 

 on long straw-colored stems; lower pinnae reduced, the 

 ui>per 1*4 in. wide, cut down to the rachis into linear-ob- 

 long lobes. Brazil. 



mont^na, Kuntze. Lvs. lJ^-2 ft. long, 6-8 in, wide; 

 lower pinnffi greatly reduced to mere auricles; upper 

 pinn» 1 in. wide, cut into close blunt lobes. Eu., west- 

 ern N. America. A variety crist&to-grdcile is also cult. 



AA. Lower pinnee scarcely reduced : texture firm. 



rigida, Kuntze. Stipes stout, densely scaly : lvs. 

 1-1 >2 ft. long, 4-6 in. wide, oblong lanceolate, the lower 

 pinnae not reduced; segments with mucronate teeth. 

 Eu. Var. argita in Calif. 



16pida, Moore. Lvs. IK ft. long, 6-7 in. wide, ovate, 

 bipinnatifid or bipinnate, the lower 4 or 5 pairs slightly 

 smaller: indusia hairy. Of greenhouse origin, native 

 country unknown. 



Other species cultivated under the name Lastrea, as L. aris- 

 tata and L. Hictiardsi, belong to the genus Polystiehum, which 

 ^**- L. M. Underwood. 



LATANIA (East Indian name). Palmdcecp. Three 

 species of fan palms from the Mascarene Islands. L. 

 Borbonica is one of the dozen commonest trade names 

 among palms, but the seeds offered under this name are 

 said to be almost invariably those of Livistona Chinen- 

 sis. Latania Borbonica of the botanists is properly 

 Latania Commersonii, which has 3-seeded fruits, while 

 those of Livistona Chinensis are 1-seeded. Latanias 

 are tall, spineless palms, with solitary robust annular 

 trunks : lvs. ample, terminal, long-petioled, suborbicu- 

 lar, palmately flabelliform, plicately multifld; segments 

 smooth or spiny on the margins; rachis short; petiole 

 3-sided, concave above; ligule conchoidal; sheath short; 

 spadices many feet long, compressed at the base and 

 branches, sheathed with incomplete sheaths: staminate- 

 fld. branches cylindrical, digitately arranged at the ends 

 of the branches, very densely clothed with imbricated 

 bracts : pistillate portion somewhat twisted, few-fld., 

 sheathed with very broad dentate bracts: staminate fls. 

 half-exserted beyond the bracts, the perianth smooth 

 and shining: pistillate fls. larger: drupe globose, obo- 

 void or pear-shaped, yellow. Allied genera are discrimi- 

 nated under Hypluene. 



A. Lvs. glaucous. 

 Ldddigesii, Mart. (L. glaucophylla , Hort.). Lvs. 3-5 

 ft. long, very glaucous, primary veins slightly tomentose 

 beneath, tinged with red, especially in young plants; 

 segments 2 ft. long, less than 3 in. wide, unequally acumi- 

 nate, the edges .spiny in young plants; petioles 3-4K ft. 

 (or more) long, tomentose, entire in the mature, spiny in 

 the young plant: drupe pear-shaped, 3-angIed, 2K in. 

 long, 154 in. thick. Mauritius. 



AA. Lvs. not glaucous. 

 B. Petiole densely tomentose, with an orange margin. 

 Verschalf^ltii, Lomaire {L. aiirea, Duncan). Lvs. pale 

 green. 4^2-;") ft. lung, the segments 2% ft. long, above 

 2 in. wide, acuminate, the entire margins and veins 

 slightly tomentose beneath ; petioles 5-8 ft., densely 

 tomentose, with entire orange margins, spiny in young 

 plants: drupe slightly 3-angled, 2 in. long, 1% in. wide. 

 Isl. Rodriguez. I.H. 6 : 229. 



BB. Petiole red, slightly tomentose. 



C6mmersonii, Gmel. {L. rubra, Jacq. L. Bdrbonica, 

 Lam., nut Hurt.). Lvs. 5-5J4 ft. long, dark green above, 

 paler Ijeueath ; segments lanceolate, acuminate, 2 ft. 

 long, 3i4-oJ2 in. wide, their margins entire, spiny in 

 young plants, veins and margins tinged with red; peti- 

 ole 4-6 ft., slightly tomentose, the margins smooth, 

 spiny in young plants : drupe globose, lK-1% in. in 

 diam. Mauritius. Not A. P. 4:567 and 7:127; A.G. 13:141; 

 15:389 and 19:557; V. 9:199, all of which are Livistona 

 Chinensis. Jared G. Smith. 



Latanias are essentially warmhouse palms and require 

 moderate shading through the greater portion of the 

 year, and also an abundance of water. A well-drained 

 and rather light compost is most suitable for them, and 

 if the soil at the time of repotting is of the same tem- 

 perature as the house in which the plants are grown, 

 there will be less risk of a check to the delicate root- 

 lets. L. Commersonii is a particularly striking palm, 

 the leaf-stems being quite long, smooth, and colored 

 bright crimson, as are also the ribs of its fan-like 

 leaves, this coloring being especially bright on the 

 young foliage. L. Loddigesii is the strongest grower 

 of the genus, the leafstalks reaching a length of about 

 8 ft., usually chocolate-colored and quite glaucous, the 

 'eaves thick and leathery and their ribs reddish while 

 young, though never developing such bright tints as 

 those of the preceding species. L. Verschaffeltii is also 

 very attractive, though possibly a little more delicate 

 than the other two, its leafstalks being long and rather 

 slender, and orange-yellow in color, the ribs of the leaf- 

 lets also yellow and the leaves themselves of a light 

 shade of green. 



L. erecta and L. variegata are trade names, the former 

 being advertised by Saul, 1893; the latter by Pitcher & 

 Manda, 1895. Any specimens in cult, will probably be 

 found to be varieties of some of the above. 



W. H. Taplin. 



LATHYETJS (name used by Theophrastus for some 

 leguiniiiuus jiliint). LegHmlnbsa.'. A genus of about 100 

 siH'cics. ocrurring in the northern hemisphere and in 

 South Aiuerica, consisting of annual and perennial, 

 climbing and upright herbs with pinnate lvs., half-sag- 

 ittate stipules and showy, papilionaceous flowers. 



The genus is best known by the Sweet Pea. Most 

 other forms are perennial, although some of these 

 are cultivated as annuals. AH are free-growing plants, 

 so independent in their ways that they require a place 

 to grow by themselves, apart from other plants of like 

 habit or size. Hence they are to be grown alone, on trel- 

 lises or against walls, or allowed to form a wild tangle 

 among strong shrubs. The chief value of the annuals 

 is for cut-flowers, though their part in the garden is not 

 to be ignored. As a temporary screen in summer for 

 shutting out unsightly objects, they are valuable, or for 

 quickly covering trellises or rough places otherwise 

 unsightly. 



The perennials are of comparatively easy cultivation, 

 succeeding in any garden sail. The annuals are more 

 exacting in their requirements, demanding a moderately 

 rich garden soil, abundant moisture, coolness and depth 

 for their roots, and open sunlight. All are grown from 

 seed, sown very early in the open to secure the required 

 coolness for the roots. The perennials are propagated, 

 in addition, by division, special varieties being in- 

 creased by cuttings in the fall, after the flowering sea- 

 son, or in spring, from old plants stored in the green- 

 house. The roots of perennials are long and fleshy, and, 

 when once established, continue for years without atten- 

 tion. 



Orobus niger and vernus are common garden names, 

 but Benthara & Hooker make Orobus a subgenus of 



