902 



LEPACHYS 



LEPTOSYNE 



or wholly brown-purple. The plants in the trade are 

 mostly margined with yellow or have about half of each 

 color. Gn. 51:1104. R.H. 1854:421. Var. totU8-pur- 

 pareus, Hort. D.M.Andrews, is "a variety with dark 

 orange-brown rays, almost black." 



AA. Rays oblong-UinceoUite. rrry much longer than the 

 disk. 

 pinnita, Torr. & Gray. Slender, 3-5 ft. high: Ivs. 

 with a-7 Ifts., which are lanceolate, sparsely serrate, 

 sometimes lobed, the uppermost run together: rays yel- 

 low, often 2 in. or more long. Western N. Y. to la., 

 south to La. B.M. 2;il(l. j, g, Cowen. 



LEPlDIUM ( from Greek for little scale ; alluding to 

 the small Hat pods). Cruciferw. Cbess. Peppekgrass. 

 Perhaps 100 species of small herbs (sometimes under- 

 shrubs) in mauy parts of the world, with very small 

 white fls. There are about 20 native species, mostly 

 western, and several introduced vvcedy species. The fo- 

 liage and pods have an aromatic pt-ppery flavor. The 

 foliage of some species is used as salad, and the pods 

 are sometimes fed to tame birds (whence the name 

 "Canary grass"). There are no species of much orna- 

 mental value. 



sativum, Linn. Garden Cress. Annual, 1-2 ft., glau- 

 cous when in flower and fruit, glabrous: rts. small and 

 inconspicuous, in an elongating raceme : pods nearly 

 circular, bifid at the apex, winged: Ivs. exceedingly va- 

 rious, but usually the radical ones pinnately dividetl and 

 subdivided, the central eauline ones 2-3-cleft nearly to 

 the base and the segments entire or toothed, the upper- 

 most simple and entire. W. Asia, but widely dissemi- 

 nated as a cult, plant, and sparingly run wild in the 

 northern part of the U. S. and Canada. — Under cultiva- 

 tion the foliage varies immensely. The curled sorts 

 have Ivs. as finely cut as curled parsley. On Australian 

 Cress, which is a golden-lvd. form, there are sometimes 

 on the same plant broad spatulate, ragged-edged Ivs., 

 cut Ivs., and simple linear Ivs. For culture, see Cress. 



Other Lepidiums are soraetiiues eaten, but are not in the trade 

 and are of little importance. One of these is the common L. 

 Virpinicum. Linn., wild in the U. S., and known as Pepper-grass. 

 Others are the Chilean JL. Chilense, Kunze, and the Oceanic L. 

 piscidiu7n, Forst. i. L. H. B. 



LEPTACTlNA (Grevk. grncefiil rays; referring to the 

 star-like aspectof the flower). A\so wntten Leptactinia . 

 Hitbidceif This includes a shrub from western tropical 

 Africa which should rank among the finest tall hothouse 

 shrubs in cultivation that have large white flowers. 

 The fls. have a slender tube, 4 in. long, and 5 narrow 

 spreading lobes, each 5H in- long and recurved for one- 

 third of their length. As many as 4 fls. are borne at the 

 top of each branch, in the axils of the highest pair of 

 Ivs. The plant might be compared to a giant-flowered, 

 loose-clustered Ixora. It is not yet advertised in 

 America, but seems worthy of a trial in some of our best 

 conservatories. 



The genus contains G species, all tropical African 

 shrubs, important generic characters being the large 

 calyx lobes, very long corolla tube, 5 included stamens, 

 style branches free or connate, large, lax stipules, and 

 clustered inflorescence. 



Minnii, Hook. Branching shrub, 6 ft. high: Ivs. 5H 

 in. long, 2% in. wide and larger in proportion, oval, 

 ■wavy-margined, obtuse, with globose green bodies be- 

 tween the insertions of the Ivs., which are stipules: 

 calyx tube 3 lines long, lobes 1 in. or more long, leafy; 

 corolla silky within, lobes lanceolate; stamens 5, in- 

 cluded: style hairy above, 2-branched. B.M. 7367. 



LEPTOStPHON. Now referred to Gilia. 



LEPTOSPfiRMUM (Greek, slender seed). MyrtAcea. 

 This genus includes some Australian shrubs, which are 

 cult, outdoors in S. Calif., and under glass in the North 

 only by a few persons who are expert in the culture of 

 heaths and other hardwood Cape and Australian plants. 

 They have great numbers of small white, yellowish or 

 pinkish fis. about 14 in. across, with 5 petals, which are 

 roundish and clawed. Franceschi reports that they 



stand drought well in California. The genus has about 

 20 species, chiefly Australian, and has not been mono- 

 graphed since 1866, in vol. 3 of Flora Australiensis. 

 Shrubs or small trees: Ivs. small, rigid, entire, alter- 

 nate, nerveless or 1-3-nerved: fls. white, sessile, soli- 

 tary or 2-3 at the ends of short branchlets or in the axils 

 of the Ivs.: fls. usually white; stamens numerous. The 

 young shoots are often silkv. 



Leptospermum bullatum {see Ij. scoparinm l)elow 1 is 

 an exceptionally giMjd pot-plant for those who can grow 

 heaths. It is lietter than Z. tecijafH/n. Cuttings taken 

 from well-ripened wood in the fall or from young growth 

 in summer root freely uuder the treatnieni given Erica. 

 For a potting, use two parts leaf-mold and one ■>f sand. 

 Plunge the pots outside during the summer in the full 

 sunlight. The plants make a straggling growth, unless 

 trimmed into shape. By fall they will be covered with 

 buds, but it is impossible to force them into bloom for 

 Christmas. Keep the plants in a cool house with Ericas 

 or Azaleas until the latter part ..f February or March. 

 and then give them a little more heat, say 55° to Ii0°. 

 The plants will soon be a mass of white flowers. L. hiil- 

 latum does not grow rapidly, but, like Epacris, as it 

 grows older it makes fine specimens. It has toueh foli- 

 age, stands much hard usage, and when in bloom attracts 

 plant-buyers. It deserves greater popularity. 



A. Ovary usually lO-celted. 

 IsBvigitum, F. Muell. Tall shrub, attaining 20-30 ft., 

 glabrous and somewhat glaucous: Ivs. varying from 

 obovate oblong to oblong-cuneate or narrow-oblong, ob- 

 tuse, mostly 6-9 lines long, but sometimes 12 or more, 

 3-nerved: calyx glabrous; capsule slightly protruding 

 above the calvx tube. B.M. 1304 {asFabricia lopngala). 

 G.C.IL25:816; 111.9:45. 



AA. Omry nsualhj 6-celled. 



B. Calyx tube glabrous. 



C. Lvs. flat or u-ith recurred margins, obtuse or scarcely 



pointed {except in the large variety). 



flav^scens, Smith. Lvs. varying from narrow-oblong 



or linear-lanceolate to broadly oblong or even obovate, 



usually less than 6 lines long, attaining 9 lines in the 



largest forms. Var. commtine, Benth and Muell. Lvs. 



narrow, «-» lines long: fls. middle-sized. B. M. 2695. 



Var. obov&tum, V. Muell. Lvs. broadly obovate to obo- 



vate-oblttng. under ti lines long. Cult, in Europe under 



glass. Var. grandifldrum, Benth. & Muell. Lvs. rather 



larger: fls. larger than in any other variety. L.B.C. 



6:514. 



CC. Lvs. flat or concave, sharp-pointed, narrow 

 or small. 

 Bcop&rium, Forst. Attaining 10-12 ft. : lvs. ovate to 

 linear-lanceolate or linear, mostly under 6 lines long. 

 Otherwise, almost exactly as in flavescens. B.M. 3419. 

 L. juniperinum, a narrow-leaved form, is considered 

 synonymous by the botanists, but is kept distinct in the 

 trade, as also is L. bullcttum, Hort., which is perhaps 

 the only Leptospermum cult, in the North. J.H. 111. 

 30:435. L. scoparium, var. i^randiildruni, Hort., Gn. 51 :- 

 1120, is one of the most desirable forms. It is said to 

 be of relatively easy culture, with compact habit, tin- 

 branches spreading in all directions. — Excellent plants 

 for the amateur, but very slow-growing. 



BB. Calyx tube more or less densely clothed with 



silky or woolly hairs. 



lanigerum, Smith. Lvs. varying from obovate-oblong 



to elliptic or narrow-oblong, normally 6 lines long. A 



form with lvs. narrower, 6-12 lines long, and large fls., 



is pictured in B. M. 1810. L.B.C. 8:701. I.H.32:.570. 



G. C. II. 12:427, Gn. 19:266, and 27, p. 145. -Extremely 



variable. Long cult, abroad, but not adv. in America. 



H. D. Darlington and W. M. 



LEPTOSYNE (Greek, slenderness). Compdsitw. 

 This includes some yellow-fld. composites, with much- 

 divided foliage like Cosmos. They are 7 species of 

 herbs and subshrubs, all from California except L. Ari- 

 zonica. They are the representatives of Coreopsis on 

 the western side of the continent, but have mostly pis- 

 tillate rays and always a ring on the tube of the disk- 



