1662 



SEREN^A 



SHALLOT 



Clumps of Saw Palmettos often consist of 10 to 20 

 low stems and end in hundreds of widespread, many- 

 fingered leaves. They are the hiding-place of many 

 small birds, rabbits and even rattlesnakes. 



H. Neheling. 

 SEKENOA. See Serencea. 



SERICOCARPUS (Greek, silken fruit). Compdsitcf. 

 A genus of 5 species of perennial herbs from north- 

 western United States closely allied to Aster and scarcely 

 distinguishable from the section Biotia of that genus. 

 The akenes are not so strongly compressed as in Aster. 

 The flower-heads have white rays and pale yellow disks 

 which sometimes become purplish. S. rigidis, Lindl., 

 was offered in 1881 in the eastern states by western col- 

 lectors, but it is doubtful if any member of the genus is 

 in cultivation. 



SERlSSA (from the Indian name). Buhidceoe. A 

 single species from southeastern Asia, a tender shrub 

 of moderate growth with small, opposite, nearly sessile 

 Ivs. and rather small, jasmine-like white fls. which are 

 sessile in the leaf -axils or terminal : corolla funnel- 

 shaped, 4-6-lobed, the lobes 3-lobed; stamens inserted 

 on the corolla-tube; style shortly 2-cleft: fr. subglo- 

 bose, 2-celled, 2-seeded. 



foetida, Lam. {S. Japdnica, Thunb.). The young Ivs. 

 are ill-smelling if crushed. Summer. B.M. 3C1. — Of- 

 fered by importers of Japanese plants. Var. varieg§ita 

 has yellow-margined Ivs. Offered in 1895 by Pitcher & 

 Manda. F. w. Barclay. 



SERPENT GOURD. See Trichosanthes. 



SERRADELLA is an annual leguminous plant which 

 is valuable as a fodder plant on dry and sandy sterile 

 soils. It may be used for pasture or for hay. It is 

 sometimes cut twice in a season. Sometimes it is sown 

 with winter rye. The plant is figured in Bulletin 2, 

 Div. of Agrostology, U. S. Dept. Agric, where Jared 

 G. Smith says: "At the Pennsylvania station the yield 

 from two cuttings was 113/.2 tons of green forage. It 

 does not require lime, and is often used as a green ma- 

 nure to bring up the value of sterile fields. The for- 

 age, which is much relished by cattle and sheep, has 

 about the same feeding value as red clover." 



The scientific name of Serradella is OrvitJiopns safi- 

 vus. The generic name means "bird's foot," referring 

 to the clusters of long, claw-like pods. The genus con- 

 tains about 7 species of slender, low-growing annuals 

 with pink, white or yellow fls. which are too minute to 

 have any horticultural value. Lvs. odd-pinnate; Ifts. 

 numerous. \y_ ]y[_ 



SERVICE -BERRY is Amelanchier 



SERVICE-TREE. See Sorhus. 



SESAME. See Sesamum. 



SfiSAMTJM (Greek name taken by Hippocrates from 

 the Arabic). Pedal idcew. A genus of annual herbs 

 from India and Egypt, allied to Martynia, with solitary, 

 axillary flowers. The only species of importance is 

 S. Indicum, which has been extensively cult, in Asia 

 and Africa from ancient times. The seeds are sold in 

 America under the name of Bene. They yield about 

 half their weight of oil -of - sesame (known also as 

 benne-, gingili-, or teel-oil), which is odorless and does 

 not easily become rancid. This oil is universally used 

 in India for cooking and anointing. Large quantities of 

 oil and seed are imported from India to Europe for the 

 manufacture of soap and adulteration of olive-oil. Also 

 cult, in northern states as a medicinal herb, the miici- 

 laginous leaves being used in dysentery and diarrhoea 

 of children. The oil of Sesamum, however, which is 

 expressed from the seeds is in large doses a laxative. 



Indicum, Linn. {S. orientdle, Linn.). Lvs. variable, 

 .3-5 in. long, oblong or lanceolate, the lower often 3- 

 lobed or parted: corolla pale rose or white, 1 in. long, 

 tubular, 5-cleft, the 2 lobes of the upper lip shorter. 



July. B.M. 1G88. — White- and black-seeded varieties 

 have been known for at least two centuries. Runs wild 

 in the extreme South. ^V. M. 



SETARIA (sefa, a bristle; referring to the bristles be- 

 low the spikelets). Gramineoe. Hackel places the num- 

 ber of species at 10, but Scribner and Merrill describe 28 

 species from North America alone (under the genus name 

 Chffitochloa). Warmer countries of the world. Includes 

 several weedy species, the foxtail grasses, S. glaiica, S. 

 viridis, and others, and the foxtail millets. The culture 

 of Millet dates from prehistoric times. At present it is 

 raised extensively in parts of Asia as a food plant. In 

 the United States, Millet is raised for fodder. There 

 are several groups of varieties grown here, Common, 

 Gerraan, Golden Wonder (all of which belong to Se- 

 taria Italica), and Hungarian Grass, which is referred 

 to S. Italica, \&Y. Germanica. New Siberian Millet is 

 probably a distinct variety. The "Japanese Millets" be- 

 long to Setaria Italica, while the "Japanese Barnyard 

 Millets" belong to Panicum Crus-galli. 



Spikelets, as in Panicum, awnless, but provided at 

 base with a cluster of rough bristles which extend be- 

 yond the spikelets. The bristles persist on the axis 

 after the spikelets have fallen. Inflorescence a dense, 

 cylindrical, spike-like panicle, which becomes quite com- 

 pound in some of the cultivated varieties. The seed is 

 inclosed in the flowering glume, which is usually finely 

 transversely wrinkled, a character which distinguished 

 the fruit from other similar grasses. The generic name 

 of these grasses is confused. By some they are referred 

 to Ixophorus, and by others, more recently, to Chaeto- 

 chloa. 



Itilica, Beauv. Common Millet of the United States 

 but not of Europe, which is Paniciim miliaceum. An 

 annual : culm 3-5 ft. high: spike yellow or purple; 

 bristles 1-3, often shorter than the spikelet. Thought 

 to have been derived from S. viridis. Gn. 12, p. 69. 



Var. Germdnica, Richt. {Panicum Germ dnicum, ilill. 

 Setdria Germanica, Beauv. S. macrochata, Schult). 

 Hungarian Grass or Millet. A smaller form more 

 nearly approaching the wild S. viridis : bristles much 

 longer than the spikelets. 



macrostichya, HBK. {S. Alopecurus, Fisch. S. alo- 

 pecuroides, var. nigra of the trade). An erect or as- 

 cending perennial : spike slender, tapering at apex: 

 bristles 1 or sometimes 2, 3^-1 in. long; spikelets one- 

 twelfth in. long; first glume one-third to one-half, sec- 

 ond two-thirds to three-fourths as long as, and third 

 glume equaling the spikelet; first glume inflated about 

 the base of the spikelet. Texas to S. America. 



mdgiia, Griseb. A coarse stout grass resembling 

 Common Millet. Spike 14. in. thick, as mttch as a foot 

 long, tapering above and below : bristles 1-3, scarcely 

 3^ in. long: spikelets one-twelfth in. long, elliptical; 

 first glume one-third as long as, second and third equal- 

 ing the spikelet; flowering ghime smooth. Marshes of 

 Gulf states to Central America. j^_ g_ Hitchcock. 



SHAD-BUSH. Consult Amelanchier. 



SHADDOCK. See Citrus and Pomelo. 



SHADE TREES. See Trees. 



SHADING. See Greenhouse, page 696. 



SHAGBARK. See Hickory. 



SHALLOT is Allium Ascalonicnm, Linn., native of 

 Syria. It is grown chiefly for the small oblong-pointed 

 gray bulbs, which are used in cookery for flavoring; 

 the leaves are sometimes eaten in a green state. The 

 bulbs are of mild flavor. Shallots are little known in 

 North America. They are grown as garlics are (see 

 Garlic), the bulbs or cloves being separated and 

 planted early in spring in any good garden soil. Each 

 bulb produces several, all cohering by the base. The 

 mature bulbs are 2 in. or less long and only about half 

 that in diameter. The leaves are snuill, terete and 

 hollow. The plant is hardy. The bulbs will keep sev- 

 eral months or even a year. Small onions are some- 

 times sold as Shallots. l_ jj_ b_ 



