ERYSIMUM 



ERYTHRINA 



547 



1880, p. 412. — Woolson, Passaic, N. J., keeps the names 

 separate. His plants of E. riipesfre have "citron-yellow 

 fls." £!. ruprestre is "more spreading." 



ochroleilcum, DC. [E. Ehfe'ti-cum, DC). Height 4-12 

 in.: stems yellowish, creeping: Ivs. entire or the upper 

 with a few short, sharp teeth. Spain. J. W. Manning's 

 plants of E. Rhfeticum he considers same as E. piil- 

 chellum. They "grow C in. high, and have bright yellow 

 fls. in May." Woolson's plants ot E. ochroleiic urn, ^^ from 

 the Alps of Jura," have pale yellow fls. -^r^ jyj^ 



ERYTHfiA (one of the Hesperides, Daughterof Even- 

 ing). Palmiiceie, tribe Coryphem. Spineless palms with 

 solitary robust caudices, ringed at the base, clothed 

 above with dead leaf-sheaths. Leaves terminal, the 

 younger ones tomentose, orbicular, flabellately many- 

 parted, the lobes lacerated at the apex, intermingled 

 with fibers, infolded; rachis short; ligule long; petiole 

 stout, smooth or spiny along the margins; spadices 

 long, white tomentose: branches stout; spathes many, 

 sheathing the peduncle, thick-coriaceous, densely to- 

 mentose; bracts and bractlets distinct; fls. pale: fruit 

 globose, small. Species 2. Southern California. 



This small group of American palms includes two 

 species only, as far as known at present, these being E. 

 armata, which is known locally as the "Blue Palm," and 

 E. ednlts, the latter commonly known as the "Guada- 

 lupe Palm," from the fact that it has only been found in 

 a wild state on the island of Guadalupe, off the coast of 

 southern California. The plants in question belong to 

 the fan-leaved section of palms, and bear much resem- 

 blance to Brahea, the segments of the leaves being 

 adornopd with whitish filaments. In the gardens of Santa 

 Barbara, California, the Erytheas are planted out, and 

 in a few years form very handsome trees, but in less 

 favored latitudes they may be cultivated in the same 

 manner as Kentias or Latanias, flourishing in a night 

 temperature of 60° when grown in a rich and open soil 

 and abundantly supplied with water. 



armita, Wats. (Brahea anndta, Wats.). Blue Palm. 

 Tall and slender, 40 ft. high : Ivs. very glaucous; peti- 

 ole narrow, deeply channeled, margined with numerous 

 stout, more or less hooked, slightly spreading spines; 

 segments 30— iO, sub-lacerate at the apex, slightly filif- 

 erous. Lower California. G.C. HI. 20:425. 



^dxdis, S. Wats. (Brahea ^dHlis,'Wend\.). Stem 30 ft. 

 high, 15 in. thick, with thick, corky bark; sheaths fibrous, 

 at length glabrous ; petioles stout, 1 in. wide, plano- 

 convex, unarmed on the acute margins, fibrous-pubes- 

 cent or glabrate above ; ligule 2-3 in. long, densely 

 silky-tomentose ; blade 3 ft.; segments 70-80, at first 

 tomentose, lacerate at the apex and fibrous on the edges. 

 California. R.H. 1893, p. 297, and 1897, p. 77. G.C. IH. 

 13:507; 22:157. Jared G. Smith and W. H. Taplin. 



ERYTHRfflA (Greek, red,- alluding to the fls. of some 

 species). OenfiandcefE. This includes two hardy plants 

 with bright, deep rose fls., one of which is a rockery 

 plant from the Azores, the other a Californian annual 

 which deserves general cultivation. The flowers have 

 slender green tubes an inch long, and a spreading limb 

 of 5 oblong lobes, each half an inch long. The style of 

 E. veniista is curious. Though longer than the stamens, 

 it does not stand above them, but bends down and stands 

 off at one side. The genus has possibly 30 widely scat- 

 tered species, and no near allies of garden value. These 

 plants bloom in summer and autumn. 



Of E. diffusa, J, B. Keller writes: "A light, sandy 

 loam, in a protected nook of the rockery, with partial 

 shade, is required for this charming little alpine plant. 

 It must be planted in a well sheltered position, and re- 

 quires protection from sun and severe frost in winter, 

 but the little plant is well worth all the extra care we 

 may have to expend on it in winter. Prop, by cuttings, 

 seeds or division." 



Massoni, Sweet (E. diffusa, Woods). Height 4 in.: 

 stems ascending, tufted, not branched above, 1-3-fld.- 

 fls. lateral. Azores. Annuals in Azores, biennial in 

 western Europe.— The plant cult, under this name is 

 considered perennial by our nurserymen. 



veniista, Gray. Height 6-10 in. : stems erect, 4-angled, 

 cymosely branched, as many as 14-fld.: Ivs. }i-l in. 



long, oblong or ovate oblong, very blunt: corolla l«tbt's 

 said to be yellow at the base, but in the picture the fls. 

 have a white eye. Calif. B.M. 6396. -The largest flow- 

 ered species. 



ERYTHRlNA (from Greek for red). Legumindstr. 

 Coral Tree. Herbs, shrubs or trees, with large and 

 showy papilionaceous fls., represented by 25-30 species 

 in tropical countries. Lvs. pinnately 3-foliolate, with 

 glanduliform stipules. Fls. mostly red and in dense ra- 

 cemes; calyx 2-lipped; standard free or very nearly so; 

 tenth stamen free, or united only half its length: fr. a 

 slender, more or less twisted pod. Plants usually spiny ; 

 very rapid growers. Erythrinas are much prized gar- 

 den plants. Some of them, particularly the herbaceous 

 kinds, are frequently planted out in the summer. In 

 the house they demand an intermediate temperature. 

 Give rich soil and frequent waterings. In the woody 

 species, aim to have well-ripened wood for flowering, 

 for the bloom is produced on wood of the preceding 

 year. The herbaceous species are propagated by di- 

 vision of the rootstock; also by cuttings from shoots 

 springing from the old roots. Woody species prop, by 

 cuttings of growing wood. All species prop, by seeds, 

 whenever these are obtainable. 



A. Herbaceous species (or treated as such). These die 

 down at the end of the season, and the roots may 

 be stored after the manner of Dahlias. It is best 

 to start the roots before planting them out, particu- 

 larly in the N. In their native countries, these 

 species are more or less woody. 



Criata-galli, Linn. (E. laurifdlia, Jacq.). Common 

 Coral Tree. Bushy and woody, sometimes developing 

 a very short trunk, but the flowering branches dying 

 back after blooming, the stronger branches coming an- 

 nually or periodically from near the root : stem and 

 petioles somewhat spiny: Ifts. ovate-oblong or lance- 

 oblong, acuminate, entire: fls. large, brilliant crimson, 

 the keel nearly as long as the down-folding standard, 

 the wings rudimentary. Braz. B.M. 2161. — Runs into 

 many forms, varying in the shade of red, some of them 

 with variegated lvs. South of Washington, stands out 

 of doors if protected. In the North the fleshy roots are 

 taken up and stored. Valuable for summer bloom. Fls. 

 in large, terminal racemes. Madame Belanger is a popu- 

 lar garden form. 



compflcta, Bull. Of very compact habit : fls. rich 

 crimson. Probably a form of the last. 



specidsa, Andr. Bush-like, reaching 8-12 ft., but usu- 

 ally cut back as E. Crista-galti is : stems and lvs. 

 prickly: Ifts. broad and more or less 3-Iobed, pointed, 

 veiny: fls. in pubescent racemes, rich crimson. W. Ind. 

 B.R. 9:750. — Stem green, very prickly. 



herb&cea, Linn. Stems several and herbaceous, from 

 a very thick root, 2—4 ft. high, the flowering ones nearly 

 leafless : Ifts. ovate to hastate : petioles long, more or 

 less prickly: fls. 2 in. long and very slender, deep scar- 

 let, in loose racemes 1-2 ft. long: seeds scarlet. N. Car. 

 to W. Ind. Common on Gulf coast of Ala. and Miss. 

 B.M. 877.-E. Bidwillii, Lindl., is a beautiful hybrid of 

 this species and E. Crista-galli (the latter the pollen 

 parent), with herbaceous shoots and an ascending vex- 

 illum. B.R. 33:9. 



aa. Wood}! or tree-lihe species. Greenhouse plants, or 

 planted in the open in S. Calif, and S. Fla. 



Hume^na, Spreng. (E. Cdffra, Hort.). Often tree- 

 like and 30 ft. or more, the stem and petioles very spiny: 

 petioles long: Ifts. rhomboid-ovate, acuminate: pedun- 

 cles axillary and strictly erect, longer than the lvs., 

 white-warty: fls. verticillate-spiked on the ends of the 

 peduncles, long and slender, deflexed, brilliant scarlet 

 fading to purple. S. Afr. B.M. 2431. B.R. 9:736. 



Corallodfindron, Linn. Cobal Tree. Tree, prickly: 

 Ifts. ovate-rhomboid: calyx teeth obsolete; standard 

 erect, linear-oblong, scarlet: seeds scarlet, usually with 

 a black spot. W. ind. 



Other Erythrinas have been introduced into S. Calif. : 

 E. Bogoteusis, said to grow 50 ft. higb, from Colombia; 

 E. i}isig)ns, Todaro. of unknown habitat. 100 ft.; E^ 

 ridr»m, Todaro, 100 ft., of unknown habitat. 



L. H. B. 



