352 



COLEUS 



COLLOMIA 



shrub. 2-3 ft. high: stems pubescent: Ivs. cordate, coarsely ere- 

 nate. lower ones 7 in. long: fls. blue, in racemes which contain as 

 many as 18 forking cymes with about 10 fls. in each. B.M.7672. 



L. H. B. 



519. Coleus Blumei 



Verschaffeltii. 



COLIC-EOOT. Aletris farinosii. 



COLLAKDS. A kind of kale. In the south, :i form of 

 the plant known as Georgia Collards is much grown for 

 domestic use and the southern market. The plant grows 

 to 2-3 ft. high and forms no head, but the central Ivs. 

 often form a kind of loose rosette. These tender Ivs. 

 are eaten as a pot-herb, as all other kales are. Fig. 295, 

 page 199, shows a Georgia OoUard, although the rosette 

 is not well marked. The seeds may be started in a 

 frame under glass, or in a seed-bed in the open. As far 

 south as the orange-belt, they are usually started in 

 February and March, in order that the plants may ma- 

 ture before the dry , hot weather. Farther north they are 

 started in July or August, and the plants are ready for 

 use before cold weather. Transplant to rows 3K— 1 ft. 

 apart, and 3 ft. apart in the row. Till as for cabbage. 



Young cabbage plants are sometimes eaten as "greens" 

 tinder the name of Collards ; and cabbage seeds are sown 

 for this specific purpose. In the north, where heading 

 cabbages can be raised, Collards of whatever kind are 

 not greatly prized. L H. B. 



COLLiNSIA (after Zaccheus Collins, American phi- 

 lanthropist and promoter of science, Philadelphia, 1704- 

 1831). Hcrophularidcew. About 18 species of hardy an- 

 nuals from California and western North America, not 

 far removed botanically from Pentstemon and Chelone. 

 They are free-flowering and of the easiest culture. 

 They may be sown outdoors in the fall in well-drained 

 soil, and will bloom earlier than if sown in spring. 

 Their fls., borne in midsummer, range in color from 

 white through lilac and rose to violet, with clear, bright 

 blue also, at least on one lip of the fl. There is no yel- 

 low. All those described below have fls. in whorls. 

 Lvs. opposite, rarely in whorls of 3, entire, or toothed, 

 the lower lvs. rarely 3-cut. 



A. Fl. -stalks very sliort, giving the clusters a dense 



appearance. 



B. Corolla strongly declined: throat as wide as long. 



bicolor, Benth. Fig. 520. Height 1ft., hairy, glabrous, 

 or sticky : stems weak and bending : lvs. more or less 

 toothed, and oblong or lanceolate, sessile, opposite or in 

 3's : fls. typically purple and white, with 5 or 6 well 

 marked color varieties. Var. &lba, Hort. (Fig. 521 ), has 

 pure white fls., or the lower lip greenish or yellowish. 

 Var. multicolor, Voss. (C. multicolor, Lindl. & Past.), 

 has variegated fls., the same fl. being white, lilac, rose 

 or violet on either lip or both. Var. multicolor marmo- 

 T^a, Hort., has the lower lip white, sutfused lihic, and 

 upper lip light lilac, spotted and striped carmine. 

 Calif. B.M. 3+88. P.M. 3:195. -This is the most widely 

 distributed and variable species, and the one on which 

 the genus was founded. California, mostly in moist 

 ground. 



BB. Corolla less strongly declined; throat much longer 

 than broad. 



bartsisefdiia, Benth. Height 1^ ft. : sticky and some- 

 what glandular, rarely hairy : lvs. from ovate-oblong to 

 linear : fls. purplish or whitish : seeds not wrinkled. 

 Calif. 

 A\. Fl. -stalks % irt. long or inore, giving the clusters 

 a looser look. 



v^ma, Nutt. Height about 6 in.: lvs. ovate or oblong, 

 or the lowest rounded and slender-stalked, and the up- 

 per ovate-lanceolate and partly clasping: whorls about 

 6 fld.: fl. -stalks longer than the fls.: throat of the co- 

 rolla as long as the calys lobes ; lower lip bright blue; 

 upper lip white or purplish: seeds thick, not flattened, 

 oblong, arched. Moist woods, western New York and 

 Penna. to Wis. and Ey. B.M. 4927. 



grandiJldra, Dougl. Height 4-12 in. : Ivs. thickish.the 

 lowest roundish and stalked; whorls 3-9-fld. : fl. -stalks 

 ibout as long as the fls. : lower lip deep blue or violet; 

 upper lip white or purple : throat of the corolla sac-like, 

 is broad as long, or as long as the upper lip : seeds 

 loundish, smooth. Shady hills of Calif. \y_ j^_ 



COLIINSONIA (after Peter Collinson, the friend of 

 Linnseus and .Tohn Bartram, a most interesting man). 

 Litbii)ta\ Horse-balm. Horse-weed. Stone-root. 

 A genus of 4 species confined to Atlantic N. Amer. 

 Hardy perennial herbs with large, odorous, ovate, ser- 

 rate, mostly long-stalked lvs., thick roots, and simple or 

 panicled, naked, terminal racemes of yellow or whitish 

 fls. The following is of the easiest culture and may be 

 obtained from dealers 

 in native plants : 



Canadensis, Linn. 

 Height 2-4 ft.: lvs. 4-9 

 in. long, broadly ovate to 

 oblong : racemes pani- 

 cled : calyx in fl. 1 line, 

 in fr. 4 or 5 lines long: 

 corolla lemon - yellow, 

 ~" "/"IP JIS lemon - scented, }4 in. 



S' "jjr^, 'Pi long. Rich woods, Can- 



~"iV 'fhy^ ' adatoWis., and south to 



Florida. 



520. 521. Collinsia bicolor. 



Collinsia bicolor. var. alba (X K). 



C0LL6MIA. This genus is included by Gray in Gilia, 

 which see. CoUomia is derived from kolla, glue, from 

 the large quantity of mucus in the outer covering of 

 the seed. When these seeds are placed in water, the 

 mucous matter dissolves and forms a cloud about them. 

 This cloud, according,to Lindley, "depends upon the 

 presence of an infinite multitude of exceedingly delicate 

 and minute spiral vessels lying coiled up, spire within 

 spire, on the outside of the testa, and the instant water 



