POLEMONIUM 



DD. Height 1 ft. or less: Ifts. fewer, 5-15. 



r6ptans, Litm. Slender, weak and diffuse but never 

 creeping; foliage not viscid or glandular: )l.s. light 

 blue, K in. across, in a sort of loose panicle. Open 

 woods, "N. Y. to Ala., west to Mo. and Minn. Apr., May. 

 B.::M. 1887. — Said to be an easy prey to snails, especially 

 in winter, when they attack the rootstocks. 



Var. Himalay^num, Baker {P. {/ravdiflhrnm, Hort., 

 not Benth. P.c(vrnleiim. var. ijrandiftbrKiii , J.W. Man- 

 ning). Fls. IK in. across, lilac-blue or darker, the 

 rounded lobes nearly K in. across; calyx and axis of 

 panicle very hairy. Himalayas. Described in G.C. HI. 

 1:766. 



AA. Color of fls. yellowish or flesh color. 

 B. Fls. salmon or flesh color. 



c&meum, Gray. Rather stout, 1-2 ft. high: Ifts. 5-15, 

 often lii in. long : tls. fading to purplish, 1-lM in- 

 across. Mountain woods, Calif. — Offered by Pilkington, 

 Oregon, 1892, but probably not in cult. now. Closely 

 allied to P. reptuns. 



BB. Fls. yellowish. 



pauci!ldrum, Wats. Height 1-2 ft.: ifts. 16-24, about 

 1 in. long: fls. tubular, the tube 1-1:?4 in. long, much 

 longer than the lobes. Mex. — The color is said to be 

 a good clear yellow, tinged red outside, but they are 

 probably only cream-colored at best. Offered by J. W. 

 Manning in 1892, but subsequently dropped. 



F. W. Barclay and W. M. 



POLIANTHES (name discussed below). Amaryl- 

 licl()ce<v. Tuberose. Every one knows the waxy white 

 Tuberose, a single flower of which will scent a whole 

 house. It belongs to a genus of one, or at least of very 

 few, species. It is placed in the sub-family of which 

 the Century Plant (Agave) is the type, but differs in 

 not having thick, fleshy spiny leaves. From its near- 

 est allies (Prochnyanthes, Beschorneria, Doryanthes) 

 it is distinguished as follows: perianth white; tube 

 long, narrowly funnel-shaped, curved; segments short, 

 subequal; stamens affixed at the middle of the tube, 

 not exserted: ovary 3-celled, free at apex: stigmas 3, 

 ovate, falcate: fr. crowned by the persistent perianth; 

 seeds flat. Baker, AmaryllideSB, 1888. 



The name Polianthes was given to the Tuberose by 

 Linnjeus in 1753 in his Species Plantarum, which is usu- 

 ally taken as the beginning of nomenclature. Unfor- 

 tunately he wrote "Polyanthes" in an earlier work, 

 published in 1737. This was probably a slip of the 

 pen. Many writers have changed the spelling to Polyan- 

 thus, supposing that Linnseus had in mind the idea of 

 "many-flowered," from po?(/s and antlios. Others have 

 supposed he derived it from polls, a city. It seems 

 probable, however, as Bentham and Hooker suggest, 

 that Linnseus had in mind polios, "shining," "white," 

 which is much more applicable to the Tuberose than 

 are the other derivations. Consult Polyanthus for other 

 meanings of the word Polyanthus, 



The name "Tuberose" is derived from tuberosa, this 

 plant being the tuberous hyacinth as distinguished from 

 the bulbous hyacinth. The name therefore is tuber-ose, 

 not tube-rose. 



tuberdsa, Linn. Tuberose. Figs. 1868, 1869. Root- 

 stock tuberous: basal Ivs. 6-9 to a stem, linear, 1-1>2 ft. 

 long, spotted red-brown on back : stem 2-3 ft. high, with 

 8-12 reduced Ivs.: fls. l>2-2>^ in. long, borne in pairs in 

 a lax spike; segments K-/4 in. long. Mexico. B.5l. 1817. 

 B.R. 1:63. R.H. 1882, p. 429. F. 1881, p. 27. Gn. 47, 

 p. 330. 



'^Polyanthus mamlata" figured in Blanc's catalogue is, 

 judging from the pietvire, a species of Agave of tlie section 

 JIanfreda, and not Polianthes tnaciilata. Von Martius. Von 

 Martlus' name is not accounted for by Baker, but according 

 to the original description it is a plant with a tuber- like 

 bulb: stem 1-2% ft. high: Ivs. laneeol.ate or obovate-laneeolate, 

 marked with round or elliptic spots: fls. sessile, in a simple 

 spike, greenish yellow, spotted purple. It is probable that P. 

 macnlata of Von Martius belongs to another genus. ^_ ]yj_ 



There are only two objections to the Tuberose: its 

 odor is too powerful for many people, and, like the 

 calla lily, it has funereal associations. Hence fashion has 



POLIANTHES 



1385 



deserted it, at least in America. Nevertheless 6,000,000 

 bulbs a year are now grown in America, and a fifth of 

 them (1,200,000) are used in this country. The Tuber- 

 ose is more popular than ever in Europe. It will always 

 be a standard florists' flower, for the people love it, 

 whatever fashion may decree. 



1867. Polemonium caeruleum. 



Tuberoses in the Home Garden.— AlthoMgh every 

 florist has Tuberoses and they are cheaper now than 

 ever, thousands of people like to have a Tuberose grow- 

 ing in their own garden. The bulbs are best procured 

 in spring and planted outdoors after all danger of frost 

 is over. The common tall-growing double sort is pre- 

 ferred for this purpose, largely because the fls. open 

 better during the unfavorable dry weather which we 

 often have in October. Cover the bulb about an inch 

 with fine, light soil. A bulb planted out June 1 will 

 bloom in late summer or fall. Before frost conies take 

 up the bulbs and store them over winter in a rather 

 warm (50° F.) , dry place where no frost will touch them. 

 If kept moist and cool during winter the bulbs are likely 

 to rot at the center. Sound tubers will always be green 

 at top or show some sign of life at the growing point. 

 The others are not worth planting. Tn the far North 

 where the season is short, Tuberose bulbs may be 

 started indoors about the middle of May, the tubers 

 being placed on a laj'er of damp moss. 



Historical Sketch. — The first date of interest in the 

 history of a garden favorite is usually the time when 

 live plants first reached European gardens and showed 

 signs of popularity. The Tuberose reached Europe some 

 time before 1530. Though a native of Mexico, it came 

 to Europe from India and, like many other tropical 

 American plants of high importance, it was long sup- 

 posed to be native to the Orient. Thus as late as 1629 

 Parkinson calls it Hyacinthus Indicus. The plant was 

 brought to Europe by a Catholic priest, and the priests 

 refused all applications for bulbs until 1594. The first 



