RENANTHERA 



RESEDA 



1505 



Stdriei, Reichb. f. Stem slender, climbing, 10-12 ft. 

 high: Ivs. alternate, oblong to linear-oblong: panicle 

 about 1 ft. long and nearly as broad: tts. 25^-3 in. long; 

 petals and dorsal sepal erect, linear-spatulate, orange- 

 red, mottled with crimson; lateral sepals pendulous, 

 obovate-s])atulate, undulate, crimson with large blood- 

 red l)lotches; labellum very small. Philippines. B.M. 

 7537. Gn. 53, p. 119. G.M. 39:G59. 



Ldwei, Reichb. f. ( V(hi<la Lbwei, Lindl.). Fig. 2086. 

 Stems veii^ long, climbing, somewhat branched: Ivs. 

 rather crowded, strap-shaped, 2-3 ft. long: racemes 

 from the upper axils, G-12 ft. long, bearing 40-50 lis.: 

 fls. of two kinds, the lowest pair tawny yellow with 

 crimsoQ spots, the others larger, pale yellowish green, 

 irregularly blotched with reddish bi-own; sepals and 

 petals lanceolate, acute, undulate, on the lowest pair 

 shorter, blunter and more fleshy. Borneo. B.M. 5475. 

 I. H. 11:417. R.H. 1868:110; 1884, p. 343. F.S. 21:2256. 

 Gt. 37, pp. 108, 109. Gn. 11, p. 524; 16, p. 354, 355; 32, p. 

 197. G.C. II. 20;657; III. 27:3.-A very remarkable 

 orchid. Heinkich Hasselbking. 



RESfiDA (from the Latin to calm ; said to allude to 

 supposed sedative properties). Resedhcece. Migno- 

 nette. The family Resedaceae includes between 60 and 

 70 species of small, not showy plants, mostly herbs, 

 widely distributed in warm -temperate regions. These 

 species fall into 6 genera, of which only Reseda is cul- 

 tivated to any extent. This genus contains 53 species 

 (Muller, DC. Prodr. 16, pt. 2), most of which are native 

 to the Mediterranean basin, Arabia and Persia. They 

 are herbs (sometimes partially woody at the base) with 

 alternate, simple or compound Ivs., and terminal spikes 

 of inconspicuous perfect ilowers. The flowers have 4-7 

 small greenish toothed or cleft petals and 8-40 small 

 stamens; pistil 1, ripening into a 3-6-horned capsule 

 that opens at the top at maturity (Fig. 2087), and con- 

 tains several to many seeds. Only one species, the 

 common Mignonette [R. odorata), is generally known, 

 but two or three other species are sometimes grown. 

 Two other species are occasional weeds in the East,— 

 R. Luieola, Linn., the Dyer's Weed, 1-2 ft. tall, with 

 entire Ivs., 4 or 5 greenish petals of which the lowest 

 one is entire; and R. littea , Linn., with pinnatifid Ivs. 

 and petals usually 6. 



A. Lvs. entire or only notched. 

 odord,ta, Linn. Common Mignonette. Figs. 1401, Vol. 

 II, 2087. Branching annual herb, at first upright but 

 becoming wide-spreading and more or less decum- 

 bent: lvs. spatulate or oblanceolate, mostly obtuse, usu- 

 ally entire but sometimes notched: fls. yellowish white, 

 in spicate racemes that become loose and open with age, 

 very fragrant. N. Africa, Syria. B.M. 29. Gn. 55, p. 

 409. — Much grown for its strong and agreeable fra- 

 grance. It has been greatly modified under domestica- 

 tion. The following garden names seem to belong to 

 this species: amellorata, compacta, eximia, gigantea, 

 grandiflora, muUiflora , pumila. Var. suffruticdsa, 

 Edw., is woody at the base. B.R. 

 3:227. Forty to 50 named varieties 

 of R. odorata are in the trade. See 

 Mignonette. 



glailca, Linn. Glabrous and some- 

 what glaucous perennial, less than 1 

 ft. tall, with many spreading stems : 

 lvs. narrow"- linear, entire, or 2- 

 toothed near the base: petals 5 or 6, 

 the upper ones 3-lobed ; stamens 

 about 14. Pyrenees. — Recommended 

 for dry places, as a border plant. 

 See p. 737. 



AA. Lvs. usually prominently lobed 

 or pinnatifid. 

 dlba, hinu. (R. suffruticdsa, hoef.). 

 White Upright Mignonette. Pig. 

 2088. Straight - growing erect gla- 

 brous annual or biennial plant, 1-3 ft., weedy: lvs. nu- 

 merous, long-stalked, deeply and irregularly pinnatifid, 

 the segments usually linear and sometimes toothed: fls. 

 white, in a very long, slimier spike. S. En. G.C. III. 

 20:45.— A good plant for growing as an ornamental sub- 



ject in the flower border with other plants. It bears 

 many spikes on tall branches, making it a conspicuous 

 plant. Treated as a half-hardy annual. Odor not 

 pleasing. 



crystallina, Webb. Glabrous, sparingly branched, 

 somewhat glaucous annual: lvs. usually 3-parted, or the 

 lowest ones entire: fls. deep yellow, in racemes. Canary 

 Islands. — Has been offered as a garden annual. 



L. H. B. 



2087. Pod of Reseda 

 odorata (X 2). 



2086. Renanthera Lowei. 



Notes on Reseda odorata. — In the 

 improvement of the Mignonette less 

 attention has been paid to the individ- 

 ual flower than to the spike as a whole. 

 What the florist has desired is as 

 large a spike as possible. The color 

 and form of the flower and habit of the plant were sec- 

 ondary in importance when compared to size and abun- 

 dance of spikes. Under such circumstances we can ex- 

 pect comparatively little change to have taken place in 

 the individual flower. In fact, we find that all the floral 

 parts, with the exception of the color and size of the 

 anthers, have changed little. In the double-flowering 

 varieties, the character of the flower has been changed 

 by the replacement of the stamens with petal-like organs. 

 In some cases traces of the anthers still remain. These 

 double varieties are usually characterized by the sraall- 

 ness of their spikes, the pungency of their odor (being 

 in some cases even unpleasant), and the tendency of the 

 flowers to produce monstrosities. In the more improved 

 varieties, and especially in those plants that have been 

 highly fed, the size of the flowers is sometimes con- 

 siderably larger than in the average specimen. The 

 average size of the individual flowers is undoubtedly 

 larger in improved varieties than in the unimproved va- 

 rieties ; this increase in size is no peculiarity of the 

 petals alone, but is shared by all parts of the plant 

 alike. 



The peculiar and characteristic fragrance for which 

 the Mignonette is chiefly cultivated has undergone 

 marked changes during the improvement. It is stated 

 by some writers that the odor of the old garden form 

 was sweeter than that of the more improved forms. 

 This seems to be true. All questions of odor, however, 

 must be left to the discrimination of the individual ob- 

 server. The old garden form has a sweet, pleasant odor, 

 which is not so strong as that of the improved varieties 

 but has a more penetrating and yet a light and agree- 

 able quality. It reminds one somewhat of the wild 

 sweet-scented blue violets. Philip Miller compared it 

 to the odor of ripe raspberries. The odor of such im- 

 proved varieties as Allen Defiance, White Diamond, 

 Urania, etc., is heavy, strong and less delicate than 



