1462 



PSYCHOTRIA 



PSYCHOTEIA (Greek, life -preserving; referring to 

 medicinal properties). Eubiacece. About 500 tropical 

 or subtropical shrubs, small trees or rarely herbs bear- 

 ing small fls. in terminal or rarely axillary, corymbose, 

 paniculate or head-like cymes: Ivs. opposite or rarely 

 whorled: calyx-limb short, various, often 5 -toothed: 

 corolla usually short, 5-, rarely 4-lobed : fr. a drupe 

 with 2 smooth hemispherical stones. Grumilea, which 

 differs only in having ruminate albumen, is included in 

 this genus. 



A. Fls. yellow. 



Cap§nsis, Vatke (Grumilea Capinsls, Sond.). An 

 evergreen shrub or tree with shining Ivs. 3-5xl>4-2 in. 

 and fls. in trichotomous, pedunculate corymbs : stipules 

 coriaceous, broad: pedicels appressed, hairy, bracteated 



Psychotria undata 



at the base; ultimate pedicel bearing a 6-12-fld. umbel: 

 calyx 3^ line long: corolla 3 lines long, yellow: fr. black. 

 S. Africa. Cult, in S. Fla. 



AA. Fls. white. 



unda,ta, Jacq. Fig. 2009. A glabrous shrub; Ivs. 

 papery, elliptical, costate-veiny : stipules large, connate, 

 dimidiate-sheathing, obovate: panicle sessile, trichoto- 

 mous, much exceeded by the Ivs.: fls. clustered, white; 

 corolla-lobes shorter than tube. Bahama, Jamaica. 



P. jasminiflhra, Mast. Shnibby: bark whitish: Ivs. 3 in. 

 long, coriaceous, pale beneath; nerves obsowre: fls. white, 1-1/^ 

 in. long. Braz. G.C. II. 12:201. B.M. 6454. 



F. W. Barclay. 



PTfllEOXYLON (Greek, sneeze-wood). Sapinddcece. 

 P. utile, or Sneezewood, is a forest tree of great value 

 in South Africa. It has been introduced to S. California 

 by Dr. F. Franceschi, Santa Barbara, who sends the fol- 

 lowing notes mainly taken from C. C. Henkel's "Tree 

 Planting in the Transkeian Territories": It is a tree 

 30-.50 ft. high, with a straight trunk 2-4 ft. in diam. and 

 a beautiful crown: wood extremely heavy and hard, 

 strong, tough, close-grained, inelastic, very durable in 

 contact with the ground, easily split; used for piles of 

 bridges and jetties, for trucks and wagons, doors and 



PTERIDIUM 



window frames, fence-posts and lately for engraving. 

 It burns readily even when green. It takes a fine polish 

 like mahogany. Dr. Franceschi writes that the seed 

 possesses short vitality. Of several thousand seeds 

 received from Kew a few years ago not one germinated. 

 Another large consignment was received two years aga 

 from the Cape, but only a few seedlings have been suc- 

 cessfully raised so far. The tree is called Sneezewood 

 because of its pungent odor. 



Generic characters : fls. polygamously dioecious ; sepala 



4, obtuse; petals 4; disk hypogynous, annular, glandu- 

 lar; stamens 4, alternate with the petals ; styles 2, or 

 connate in one: capsule compressed, 2-lobed at apex, 

 cordate at base, 2-celled, 2-seeded. 



titile, Ecklon & Zeyher. Sneezewood. Lvs. opposite; 

 Ifts. 11-17, decreasing, entire: racemes axillary, shorter 

 than lvs.: fls. small, white or yellowish. S. Afr. 



W. M. 



PTARMICA. Included with Achillea. 



FT£LEA (Greek name of the Elm tree, transferred to 

 this genus on account of the similarity of the fruits). 

 Sutdceae. Hop Tree. Ornamental deciduous shrubs or 

 trees with alternate, long-petioled, usually 3-foliolate 

 lvs. and greenish white fls. in loose terminal corymbs, 

 followed by flattened usually broadly 

 winged and nearly orbicular fruits. The 

 one species chiefly cult, is hardy north — 

 if it proves tender, as it sometimes 

 does, it is probably raised from south- 

 ern seed— and is a small, round-beaded, 

 rather loosely branched tree with glossy 

 green foliage, adorned in fall with nu- 

 merous clusters of light green fruits 

 which remain on the branches for some 

 time after the lvs. have fallen. It thrives 

 best in a porous, moderately moist soil 

 and prefers a somewhat shaded position. 

 Prop, by seeds sown in fall; the varie- 

 ties by layers or by grafting in spring under glass or 

 budding in summer on seedlings of the type. 



The genus has 4 or 5 species in North America, south 

 to Mexico. Lvs. estipulate, 3-5-foliolate ; Ifts. entire 

 or crenulate, punctate with pellucid dots: fls. small, po- 

 lygamous, in terminal corymbs; lobes of the minute 

 calyx, petals and stamens 4-5: ovary flattened, 2-celled, 

 with short style: fr. a 2-seeded, indehiscent, small flat- 

 tened nut, furnished usually with a broad thin wing. 

 Bark and foliage are sometimes used medicinallj- and 

 emit (as well as the fruits) when bruised, a strong, pun- 

 gent odor resembling somewhat that of the hop. for 

 which the frs. are said to have been used as a substitute 

 — hence the name Hop Tree. 



trifoli^ta, Linn. Hop Tree. Wafer Ash. Fig. 2010. 

 Shrub or small round-headed tree, attaining 25 ft. : Ifts. 

 3, sessile, ovate to elliptic-oblong, narrowed at both 

 ends, sometimes acuminate, the lateral ones unequal at 

 the base, crenulate or entire, dark green and lustrous 

 above, pale below, glabrous or pubescent when young, 

 3-5 in. long: fls. %-3^ in. across; filaments villous be- 

 low: fr. about 1 in. long, broadly winged. June. N. Y. 

 to Fla., west to Minn. S.S. 1:33, 34. G.C. III. 16:375. 

 Several varieties are in cultivation, of which var. ailrea, 

 Hort. (P. aurea, Hort.),the Golden Hop Tree, with 

 yellow foliage, is the best known. Var. glailca, Kirchn. 

 {'] va.r. pubescens, Fursh). Lvs. grayish green, pvibes- 

 cent when young. Var. m611is, Torr. & Gray (P. vnUlis, 

 Curtis. P. rhombifdlia, Heller). Branchlets, inflor- 

 escence and lvs. beneath pubescent or tomentose. N. C. 

 and Fla. to Ariz. More tender than the northern 

 glabrous form and rarely cultivated. 



P. angustifblia, Bentb. (P. Baldwini, Torr. & Gray). Slirub, 

 attaining 25 ft., with smaller and narrower Ifts., 1-23^ in. long: 

 fls. larger: fr. witli narrower wing, emarginate at the ba.se. 



5. C. to Fla., and Tex. to Colo.. Calif, and Mex.— P. dptera. 

 Parry. Shmb, attaining 15 ft. : Ifts. very small, becoming 1 in. 

 long: corymbs few-fid.: fr. wingless or nearly so. Calif. (i.F. 

 3:333. Both last named species are not hardy north. 



Alfred Rehder. 



PTERlDITIM (Greek, ivith the form of Pferis). Pohj- 

 podi()vea>. A genus of large, teriiately divided ferns 

 commonly known as Bracken or Brakes, with the 



