1382 



PODOLEPIS 



POGONIA 



ing in a rigid point or awn, the claws of the inner ones 

 narrow and glandular: ravs longer than the disk-fls., 

 3-4-lobed. R.H. 1857, p. 263. 



AA. Color of rays purple or lilac. 



gracilis, Grah. Often exceeding 1 ft.: involucral 

 bracts obtuse: claws narrow, glandular: rays entire or 

 2-lobed, >^ in. long: pappus not thickened upwards. B. 

 M. 2904 (disk-fls. mostly purple, some yellow). 



W. M. 



PODOPH'S'LLUM ( from Tournefort's anapodophylliim , 

 duck's-foot-leaf ; from a fancied resemblance in the foli- 

 age). Berberid&cece. May Apple. Mandrake. Nearly 

 every American boy knows of a colony of Mandrakes and 

 has eaten May Apples. The "apples" are yellowish, egg- 

 shaped fruits' about 2 in. long, and have a rather mawk- 

 ish taste. The leaves are very distinct, being shaped 

 like a round shield with 5-7 lobes. Mandrakes have two 

 kinds of Ivs., the big solitary ones, and the smaller ones 

 in pairs. The large centrally peltate leaves have no 

 flower underneath. The flowers are nodding white wax- 

 like cups which spring from the fork of the stem. They 

 have a rather unpleasant smell. There is a white butter- 

 fly which comes at nightfall and probably pollinates the 

 May Apples. One sometimes finds Mandrake blossoms 

 that seem to be double, but just as he is about to pick 

 the extra petals, a butterfly flies away. 



Some parts of the Mandrake plant are emetic and poi- 

 sonous. Extract of Podophyllum is common in drug 

 stores. Mandrakes are common in rich woods and copses 

 throughout the eastern United States. A colony of them 

 is most desirable for a wild garden. They are ofi'ered by 

 several dealers in hardy herbaceous perennials. They 

 are of easy culture, requiring deep, rich soil and partial 

 shade. They are useful only for spring effects, how- 

 ever, as the foliage dies down by midsummer or before. 

 Later- growing vigorous perennials, as Polygonaintn 

 giganteum, may be associated with a planting of Man- 

 drake, to occupy the ground in the later part of the 

 season. P. Emodi requires a moister situation, and 

 some prefer a peaty soil for it. Prop, by division or 

 by seed. What we call tlie Mandrake is not the Man- 

 drake of Old World history and romance, for which see 

 Mandragora. 



Podopliyllnm is a genus of four species, — one Ameri- 

 can, one Hiin;il;iyan and two fx'om China. Hardy per- 

 ennial herbs: sepals (J, petal-like; petals 6-9; stamens 

 as many or twice as many as the petals; 

 pistil 1 (rarely several): berry with 

 many seeds, which are inclosed in 

 fleshy arils. 



A. Fruits yellowish. 



peltitum, Linn. May Apple. Man- 

 DKAKE. Fig. 8:{7, Vol. 11. Height 1-1^ 

 ft. : Ivs. dark green, nearly 1 ft. across, 

 5-7-lobed. each lobe 2-cleft: fls. about 2 

 in. across. Also called Wild Lemon and 

 Hog Apple. B.M. 1819. Gn. 21, p. 127. 

 D. i;il. B.Fi.2:92. Nature's Garden 186. 

 — Blooms in April and fruits in May. 



AA. Fruits deep red. 

 Embdi, Wall. Lvs. 3-5 - lobed : fls. 

 white or pale rose: fr. large as a hen's 

 etrg, lirilliaiit red. Himalayas. G. C. 

 n. 1H:241. — The foliage is a tine bronzy 

 red in early spring. 



F. W. Barclay and W. M. 



PODOSTlGMA (Greek words referring 

 to I hi- fact that tin- stigma has a foot or 

 stalk). Asrlepiaddecd-. This inchales a 

 half -hardy tuberous - rooted perennial 

 herb whicli grows a foot higli or less 

 in low pine barrens from N. C. to Fla. 

 and bears in summer small greenish 

 yellow fls. The genus is closely allie<l 

 to Asclepias, and is distinguislied by 

 having th(! hoods remote from the an- 

 thers at the base of the long column, 

 ■while in Asclepias the hoods are ap- 



proximate to the anthers. See Chapman's Flora of the 

 southern U. S. and Gray's Syn. Flora of N. Amer. 



pub6scens, Ell. Lvs. opposite, linear-lanceolate, nearly 

 sessile : peduncles terminal and axillary, umbellately 

 several-fld. The only species.— Adv. by Gillett in 1881, 

 but presumably not hardy north. 



POGONIA (Greek, beard ; alluding to bearded label- 

 lum). Orchiddcecp. A genus of hardy terrestrial or- 

 chids: mostly small, perennial herbs, with erect slender 

 stems: fls. solitary or in racemes ; sepals and petals 

 free, erect or ascending; labellum sessile, with broad 

 base, spurless, with longitudinal ridges. Pogonias are 

 delicate plants requiring care in planting. The wood- 

 land species should have rich leaf-mold, with deep 

 shade; the swamp species require peat or suitable light, 

 rich soil, moist yet not wet. All the species are prefer- 

 ably planted in spring. 



A. Sepals and petals nearly equal in length. 

 B. Lip crested. 

 opMoglossoides, Ker. Stem 8-15 in. high, slender, 

 1-3-lvd. : lvs. 1-3 in. long, lanceolate Oi ovate: fls. soli- 

 tary or in pairs, fragrant, pale rose, subtended by a fo- 

 liaceous bract. June, July. In meadows and swamps, 

 U. S. and Japan. B.R. 2:148. G.P. 10:485. V. 2:269; 

 11:229. — This seems to be the only species that can be 

 grown with success. It thrives in wet moss in boxes of 

 sphagnum. Usually it is better to transplant from the 

 wild each year than to attempt to propagate the plants. 

 Sometimes they can be colonized in wet meadows. 



BB. Lip not crested. 

 p^ndula, Lindl. Root tuberous, sometimes clustered: 

 stem ,3-8 in. high, bearing 2-8 small ovate lvs. and 1-7 

 pale purple fls. Aug., Sept. Rich woods, Canada to 

 Fla. and west. B.R. 11:908. B.B. 1:467. 



AA. Sepals longer than the petals. 

 C. Stem bearing single leaf. 

 divaric^ta, B. Br. Stem 1-2 ft. high, slender, bearing 

 a solitary fl. : fl. 1 in. long; sepals dark; petals flesh- 

 colored; lip as long as petals, greenish, veined with 

 purple. July. Swamps, N. J. to Fla. B.B. 1:468. 



cc. Stem bearing whorl of lvs. at the top. 

 verticilld.ta, Nutt. Stem 8-15 in. high, bearing whorl 

 of 5 obovate sessile lvs. at its summit: fl. solitary, ter- 



1862. Royal Poinciana — Poinciana regia. 



