1370 



PLATYCLINIS 



PLATYSTEMON 



small, pale j-ellow fls. : sepals and petals obovate; la- 

 bellum cuneate-rotund, auriculate at the base. Summer. 

 Philippines. l.H. 25:323 {as Dendroch Hum glumaceum) . 

 G.F. 2:485. 



Cobl)i&.na, Hemsl. (De-ndrocluhim Cobbiclnum, Reichb. 

 f. ). Lvs. oblong-lanceolate: tls. in a zigzag raceme, pale 

 yellow, with an orange lip; sepals and petals triangular- 

 oblong ; labellum cuneate-f an- shaped, retuse. Nov., 

 Dec. Philippines. Heinrich Hasselbring. 



1849. 

 Platycodon grandiflorum. 



PLATYCODON (Greek, 

 plafys, broad, and kodon, 

 bell; referring to the 

 shape of the flower). 

 Ca mpanuldcece . A mono- 

 typic genus of very handsome 

 hardy herbaceous perennials, with 

 blue or white bell-shaped flowers; 

 hence the name " Chinese " or "Jap- 

 anese Bellflower." This plant was 

 first placed in Campanula by Jac- 

 quin and later, by Schrader, in 

 Wahlenbergia; and it is still some- 

 times cult, under these names. In 

 1830 it was given a new genus 

 (Platycodon) by A. DeCandolle. It 

 is distinguished from Campanula 

 by its broadly cup-shaped flowers, 

 the stamens dilated at the base, and 

 the capsule opening at the top and 

 not at the sides. From Wahlenber- 

 gia it differs in the valves of the 

 capsule being opposite to the calyx- 

 lobes instead of alternate with 

 them Several supposed species have been described at 

 different times, but there seems to be no doubt that the 

 genus is distinctly monotypic and that all forms can be 

 referred as forms of the type P. {/randiflorion , which 

 has been widely distributed and therel)y grt-atly modi- 

 fied. It has been found in a wild state from Dahuria to 

 Manchuria, in China, in Siberia, Corea and Japan. 



Platycodon requires a medium sandy loam, and does 

 not succeed in either extremely stiff or sandy soils. It 

 is particularly sensitive to ill-drained soils. Under suit- 

 able soil conditions it is perfectly hardy and will even 

 stand considerable neglect. It is desirable to keep the 

 stems tied during the season, for if once allowed to fall 

 they can never be raised without breaking. In autumn 

 the old stems should not be cut away, but the ])lant al- 

 lowed to die off naturally; otherwise the crown may be 

 injured. It can be propagated (dther by division or by 

 seeding, the latter being more surely successful and 

 therefore preferatile; besides, a greater variety of flow- 

 ers is obtained in this way. More care and skill are 

 necessary in propagation by division, because of the 

 fleshy rootstock. It is best accomplished in sjiring, 

 when the plant is breaking into new growth. 



grandifldnim, DC. (Campdnula grand i flora, Jacq. 

 Wuhlenbergia grandiflora, Schrad.). Chinese or Jap- 

 anese Bell-flower. Balloon Flower. Fig. 1849. 

 Plant 1-2 ft. high, forming a dense, branching bush of 

 upright habit: lvs. lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, gla- 

 brous, unequally toothed: fls. large and open, attaining 

 3 in. in diani., produced from tips of branches, inflated 

 in the bud, hence sometimes called "balloon flower"; 

 corolla 5-lobed, blue, pale blue-white, or variegated. 

 June, July. G.C. III. 28:223. J. H. III. 30:123. F.S. 22: 

 2332. B.M. 252.-Var. dlbum. A white-flowering 

 form. Var. autumnale. Later-flowering form from 

 Manchuria. Gn. 45, p. 4(i2. R.H. 1848 :.3G1 ; 18.-3: 

 547. 



Var. Jap6nicum (P. Jap6nicum, Hort.) is of 

 stronger and bushier growth and freer-flowering. 

 The flowers average 23^ in. across; the inner and 

 outer lobes alternate with one another, giving the 

 flower the appearance of a 10-pointed star. — This va- 

 riety was flrst procured by Dreer in 1895 from Leonard 

 Lille, Lyons, France, who offered it as a novelty that 

 season. It proved to be a first-class and desirable sort 

 and has been tested by Dreer since, who considers it 

 one of the good hai'dy perennials. 



Var. Mariesi (P. 3fdriesi, Hort.). Recently introduced 

 into England from Japan by Maries, and supposed to be 

 identical with var. glattcum of Siebold. It does not ex- 

 ceed 1 ft in height: growth stouter and more compact: 

 lvs. thicker than in the type: fls. are as large or larger 

 than the type and varying in color from deep purplish 

 blue to pale blue or lavender and white. G.C. III. 14:163. 

 G.M. 37:35. J.H. III. 35:29. Gn. 27:483; 45:904. -Var. 

 semi-plenum. Fls. semi-double, and varying in color 

 from purple to white ; said to have been developed 

 fi"om var. aJbitm. Var. striatum. A garden form with 

 blue or white fls., striped with white or blue. 



Arnold V. Stubenracch. 



PLATYCRATER (Greek, plafys, broad, and crater, 

 bowl; alluding to the broad, enlarged calyx of the ster- 

 ile fls.). Saxifrugdcpoe. A monotypic genus allied to 

 Hydrangea. The species is a prostrate shrub, with op- 

 posite serrate lvs. and white, comparatively large fls. in 

 long-peduncled, loose cymes, the marginal ones sterile 

 and with enlarged calyx; petals 4; stamens numeroiis: 

 fr. a 2-celled many-seeded dehiscent capsule. It is not 

 hardy north, and of little decorative value. It thrives 

 best in rather moist, porous soil and partly shaded po- 

 sition and is easily prop, by seeds, greenwood cuttings 

 under glass, or layers. 



argilita, Sieb. & Zucc. Prostrate shrub: lvs. oblong 

 to oblanceolate, cuneate at the base, acuminate, glabrous 

 except on the veins beneath, thin, light green, 3-6 in. 

 long: cymes 3-10-fld., on a 1-2-in. long peduncle: fls. 

 slender-pedicelled, the sterile ones apetalous, 1 in. 

 across, with broad, obtuse sepals; fertile smaller, with 

 lanceolate sepals half as long as the oblong-ovate petals. 

 July. Japan. S.Z. 1:27. Gt. 15:516. — Useful for rock - 

 work in greenhouses. Alfred Rehder. 



PLATYLOMA is a name for ferns of the genus Pclhia 

 which have a narrow indusium and a broad soi-us. For 

 Platyloiiui Bridgetiii and P. falcata, see PellcKU. 



PLATYSTfiMON (Greek words referring to the dihtted 

 filaments). Papaverdcece. Cream Cups. A half-hardy 

 annual growing about a foot high and bearing 0-i>etaled 

 pale yellow fls. 1-1/^ in. across. This plant is improp- 

 erly called California Poppy in some catalogues. It is 

 inferior to the common and California poppies \n hardi- 

 ness, in strength and variety of color, and in size of fls., 

 but it is interesting botanically in four respects: (1) It 

 is unique in the po]){)y family in its fruit, which is not 

 a capsule but is composed of numerous carpels that 

 separate at maturity into linear parts, which are monili- 

 form (i.e., compressed at intervals like the links of a 

 necklace), each joint containing a single seed. (2) It is 

 remarkalde for the dilation of the filaments of the an- 

 thers, which are numerous and separate. (.3) It is one 

 of the few abnormal nu>mbers of the poppy family with 

 entire lvs. (4) The petals are not shed quickly, as in 

 the common poppies, but they wither and remain closed 



