SEQUOIA 



SEREN^A 



IGGl 



stroyed. The famous Calaveras grove, which is his- 

 torically and scientifically of the most interest of any 

 Big Tree group, was in 1899 bought by a lumberman 

 who expects to convert the trees into timber unless ho 

 "gets his price" from the state of California, the gen- 

 eral go\rernment or some public-spirited association. 

 Some fine Sequoias are in the Sequoia and General 

 Grant national parks, but private timber claims hold 

 many of the best trees here, and sawmills are now at 

 work in this region. 



The resistance offered by this wonderful species to 

 fire, old age and decay is uni((ue', but it reproduces 

 itself with extreme difficulty. The seeds, even under 

 favorable circumstances, have a very low vitality, and 

 one seldom finds a single young tree in the Sequoia 

 giganiea groves, excepting on the south fork of the 

 Kaweah and on the branches of Tule river. The pres- 

 ervation of these magnificent trees is a matter of the 

 utmost interest, especially to Americans. Some of them 

 appear, from an examination of the stumps, to have 

 lived not less than 4,000 years. Muir estimates the age 

 of some living trees at 5,000 years; one observed by 

 Asa Gray, 24 feet in diameter, was about 1,600 years old. 

 There is an extensive and rapidly increasing literature 

 of the Sequoias not only in English, but in other 

 languages. 



The present condition (1901) of the nomenclature of 

 the famous California "Big Tree " is unfortunate. Ac- 

 cording to a strict interpretation of the Rochester Code, 

 Decaisne's name, S. glgantea, must be discarded, be- 

 cause in 1847 Endlicher named the Coast Redwood 

 Sequoia gigantea, thus preventing that term from use 

 again in the same genus. This being admitted, botan- 

 ists would certainly have to take Seemann's S. Welling- 

 tonia (185.5), were it not for Dr. Winslow's suggestion 

 in 1854 that " if the tree is a Taxodium let it be Taxodium 

 Washingfonianum; if a new genus, Washingtoniana 

 Californica." This appeared in the "California Farmer," 

 and is open to the criticism that it lacked technical pro- 

 cedure in description. It is only upon Dr. Winslow's 

 letter to the "California Farmer" that Sudworth and 

 others base their Sequoia Washingtoniana. Rejecting 

 this, Sargent and most continental authorities prefer jS. 

 Wellingtonia. The retention of S. gigantea, however, 

 by an exception to the Rochester rules, would seem to 

 involve fewer difficulties than the acceptance of either 

 of the newer names. Charles Howard Shinn. 



SERADELLA. See Serradella. 



SERAPIAS (ancient name of an orchid derived from 

 Serapis, an Egyptian divinity). Orchiddcece. Terres- 

 trial herbs with the habit of Orchis. Four or 5 species 

 are known from the Mediterranean region. Sepals con- 

 nivent in the form of a helmet; petals included, small; 

 labellum not spurred, with erect lateral lobes and a 

 larger undivided middle lobe; poUinia with a common 

 viscid disk; rostellum laterally compressed. The fol- 

 lowing species are among the best known. 



Keep the plants partially dry during winter months. 

 Give plenty of water when in vigorous growth. Pot 

 them in leaf-mold, loam and sand. 



Lingua, Linn. Stem erect, up to 1 ft. high, bearing 

 several narrow, acute Ivs.: sepals lanceolate, green- 

 ish or purplish; labellum much longer; lateral lobes 

 rounded, erect, middle lobe oblong-lanceolate, acumi- 

 nate, smooth, red. Mediterranean region. B.M. 5868,B. 



cordigera, Linn. Resembles the preceding species in 

 habit: labellum brownish red, middle lobe ovate, acumi- 

 nate, subcordate at the base, pilose. Mediterranean 

 region. B.M. 5868, A. R.H. 1892:390. G.C. II. 20:341. 



S.elongata,'n.OTt. Brown; liplarge; littleknown to botanists. 

 Heinrich Hasselbring and Wm. Mathews. 



SERENJBA (after Sereno Watson, distinguished 

 American botanist). Also written Serenoa. Paltndcece. 

 Low, spineless, cespitose palm with creeping branched 

 caudex clothed with the fibrous bases of the leaf-sheaths : 

 Ivs. terminal, orbicular, coriaceous, deeply plicate-multi- 

 fid, glaucous beneath, with narrow bifid infolded seg- 

 ments; rachisnone; ligule short; petiole plano-convex, 

 dentate on the margins: spadix long, tomentose, the 



flexuous rachis covered with deeply obliquely fissured, 

 tubular sheaths, the spreading branches branched, the 

 alternate branchlets very slender: spathes many, sheath- 

 ing the peduncle: bractlets minute: fls. white: fr. ovoid, 

 black, an inch long. Species 2. Florida to S. Carolina. 

 serruiata, Ilook. f. Saw Palmetto. Fig. 2320. Stem 

 creeping, branching, 4-8 ft. long: Ivs. 2-4 ft., circular in 

 outline, fan -shaped, shorter than the slender, spiny- 

 edged petiole; segments slightly cleft at tlie apex, with- 

 out thread-like filaments: spadix densely tomentose, 

 shorter than the Ivs.: drupe black, %-% in. long. 



2320. A Florida scene, with Serenaea serrulata in fore- 

 ground and Palmettoes in the background. 



arbor6scens, Sarg. Tree, 30-40 ft. high, with 1 or 

 several stems : Ivs. semiorbicular, truncate at base, 

 yellowish green above, bluish green below, 2x2 ft., 

 divided nearly to the base into narrow linear-lanceo- 

 late lobes. — Discovered by P. W. Reasoner in 1887. 

 First described 1899. Differs from above in arborescent 

 habit, tnore elongated spadix, much smaller fls. and 

 smaller, globose fruit and seeds. Southwestern Fla. 



Jabed G. Smith. 



The Saw Palmetto is the native creeping fan-leaved 

 palm. Those who are clearing land in Florida con- 

 sider it a nuisance. It is, however, of great interest to 

 northern tourists, many of whom like to take home a 

 small Florida palm in a pot or tub. This species does 

 very well in pots, though it is of slow growth. Relatively 

 speaking, it is very hardy, as it will stand a tempera- 

 ture of 10° F. The leaves of the Saw Palmetto, both 

 fresh and dried, are sent north in great quantities for 

 Christmas decoration. The "crowns" are also largely 

 used for the same purpose and deserve a greater popu- 

 larity. Crowns are whole tops cut off; they have no 

 roots, and only a part of the stem. They give the effect 

 of the whole plant and are therefore much more desir- 

 able for some purposes than single leaves. They will 

 last for weeks, if kept moist, in the shade and free from 

 drafts. Crowns 3-5 ft. high are considerably used for 

 large decorations at Christmas, Palm Sunday and Easter. 



E. N. Reasoner. 



In clearing the land for the writer's garden one large 

 clump of the Saw Palmetto was purposely retained. At 

 present it makes a striking appearance, somewhat weird 

 and grotesque. The fertilizer which the plant received 

 has improved it wonderfully. Good specimens attain a 

 height of about 8 feet. There is a variety showing a 

 glaucous tone which grows near the coast and which is 

 very beautiful. It seems to be difficult to transplant. 



