TETRAMICRA 



TEXAS 



1787 



TETRAMICRA (Greek words, referring to the four 

 small divisions of the anther). Orchidacete. A genus 

 of small terrestrial or epiphytic herbs of slender habit 

 bearing racemes with few pretty fls. produced in spring. 

 The erect stems, which are not pseudobulbous, grow 

 from a creeping rhizome and bear 1-3 fleshy linear Ivs. 

 and a slender but rigid, terminal raceme: sepals and 

 petals nearly equal, spreading; labellum joined to the 

 base of the column; lateral lobes large, spreading or 

 small, auricle-like, middle lobe large, entire, contracted 

 at base, column with 2 wide wings; pollinia 4 perfect 

 and 2 imperfect. Six species in Brazil and West Indies. 

 Culture as for Lralia (p. 872). 



bicolor, Rolfe (Leptdtes bicolor, Lindl.). Lvs. solitary 

 on the short stem, semi-cylindric, with a furrow in 

 front, 3—4 in. long: raceme few-fld., shorter than the 

 lvs.: sepals and petals white, linear-incurved, over 1 

 in. long; lateral lobes of the lip small, folding over the 

 column : terminal lobe oblong - lanceolate, bright rose, 

 with white tip and margins. A pretty plant. B.R. 

 19:1625. A. P. 6:033. Var. glaucophylla, Hook. Lvs. 

 glaucous. B.M. 3734. Heinrich Hasselbring. 



TETRANEMA (name refers to the four stamens). 

 Serophularidcew. A single little Mexican perennial 

 herb, with many nodding purplish flowers crowded on 

 the tops of radical scapes, and grown under glass or in- 

 doors for its profuse bloom. True stem very short or 

 almost none: lvs. crow T ded at the crown or opposite on 

 the very short stem, obovate or oblong-obovate, shal- 

 lowly crenate -dentate: fls. purplish or violet spotted 

 with lighter color in the throat; calyx 5-parted, the seg- 

 ments narrow and acute; corolla long-tubular, 2-lipped, 

 the upper lip emarginate, the lower longer and 3-lobed; 

 stamens 4; stigma capitate: fr. a 2-valved capsule. T. 

 Mexicanum, Benth., is the only species, known as the 

 " Mexican Foxglove" and formerly as Pentstemotl Mexi- 

 canus. The pretty flowers are borne in profusion on 

 the summits of slender purple scapes 6-8 in. high. Al- 

 though essentially a summer bloomer, with good care 

 it may be made to flower most of the year. It is usu- 

 ally regarded as a warmhouse subject, but it makes a 

 good window plant and is easy to grow. Plants con- 

 tinue to bloom year after year. Prop, by seeds. 



L. H. B. 



TETRATHECA (Greek, 4-celled ; referring to an- 

 thers). Treniandrdcete. T, eriei folia is a heath -like 

 Australian shrub which grows about a foot high and 

 bears in July numerous 4- or 5-petaled pink fls., which 

 open only in sunlight. The fls. are borne on slender 

 pedicels and are solitary in the axils. This plant is 

 cult, in S. Calif., having been introduced about 1900 by 

 Mrs. T. B. Shepherd, who recommends it both for out- 

 door culture and for pot culture in the greenhouse, and 

 adds that the fls. are pink or white, %-% in. across. 



Tetratheca is the largest genus of the family Tre- 

 mandracese, of which a short account is given under 

 Platytheca. It is an Australian genus of subshrubs 

 with red or purple flowers. Eighteen species are dis- 

 criminated in Flora Australiensis 1:129 (1863). They 

 vary greatly in foliage, the lvs. being alternate, whorled 

 or scattered, heath-like and entire, or flat and toothed, 

 or reduced to minute scales. Generic characters : sta- 

 mens apparently in a single series, the anthers continu- 

 ous with the filament, 2-celIed, or 4-celled with 2 of the 

 cells in front of the 2 others, more or less contracted 

 into a tube at the top: capsule opening only at the 

 edges: seeds appendaged. 



In European greenhouses all the plants of this family 

 are considered difficult of cultivation. They are treated 

 like :nany other Australian heath-like plants, being 

 potted in fibrous peat and silver sand and watered care- 

 fully at all times. It is said that only soft rain water 

 should be used. They are usually propagated by green- 

 wood cuttings, but in California the seeds are offered. 



ericifolia, Sm. This species is distinguished from its 

 congeners by its lvs., which are mostly verticillate and 

 linear with revolute margins. Heath-like, tender sub- 

 shrub, much branched and diffuse; sepals not reflexed: 

 ovary with 2 superposed ovules in each locule or rarely a 

 single ovule attached below the top of the locules. Very 

 abundant about Port Jackson, N. S. "Wales. yy # j[_ 



TEUCRIUM (Teucer was the first king of Troy). 

 Ijiihidtif. Germander. One hundred or more perennial 

 herbs or undershrubs, mostly of the Old World, four of 

 which are offered in the American trade. Lvs. oppo- 

 site, entire or dentate: fls. mostly purple or pinkish, in 

 whorls forming a terminal interrupted spike; calyx 

 campanulate or tubular, more or less equally 5-toothed, 

 10-nerved; corolla with large lower lip, and the upper 

 lip very small or split so as to 'appear to be wanting; 

 stamens 4, in 2 pairs, exserted through the split or 

 notch in the short upper lip. The Germanders are 

 hardy herbs, with aromatic foliage, suitable for the 

 wild garden or rockwork. They are little known horti- 

 culturally. 



A. Fls. in distinct 2-6-fld. whorls, forming a lax ter- 

 minal inflorescence. 



Chamaedrys, Linn. One to 2 ft. tall, from a decum- 

 bent base, branching, with age becoming woody below, 

 pubescent or villous: lvs. ovate or oblong, petioled, 

 incise-crenate, cuueate at the base, somewhat canescent 

 beneath, the floral ones smaller and scarcely dentate: 

 fls. bright rose, with red and white spots, % in. long, 

 rather showy, in many 2-6-fld. whorls. Europe. — A 

 good border plant for late summer bloom. 



AA. Fls. solitary or not more titan Sat a whorl, form- 

 ing a long terminal spike. 



Canadense, Linn. Erect, 1-3 ft. tall, soft-pubescent 

 or canescent: lvs. oblong -ovate to lanceolate, sharp- 

 serrate: fls. purple to cream-color, the corolla about % 

 in. long, the calyx canescent and the 3 upper lobes ob- 

 tuse. Low ground, eastern states, from north to south. 

 Mn. 8:97. — Offered by dealers in native plants. Use- 

 ful for low grounds and moist borders. In general habit 

 resembles a Stachys. 



AAA. Fls. on opposite axillary 1-fld. peduncles. 



rruticans, Linn. Shrubby, 2-3 ft., w T ide-branching: 

 lvs. ovate, obtuse, entire, white- or brown-pubescent 

 beneath: fls. on 1-fld. peduncles which are shorter than 

 the calyx, blue, forming terminal or lateral clusters. 

 Europe. — Recommended for dry places South. Has a 

 long blooming season. 



bicolor. Smith. Dwarf, herbaceous, glabrous: lvs. 

 ovate, oblong or lanceolate, obtuse, entire or incised, 

 green: fls. blue and white, on axillary 1-fld. peduncles. 

 Chile. -Offered in S. Calif. L. H. B. 



TEXAS, HORTICULTURE IN. Fig. 2492. The climatic 



belts of the state are distinctly marked and extremely 

 different in character, one from another. They may be 

 designated as follows : 



1. The Gulf Coastal Plain. 



2. The East Texas Forest Region. 



3. The Red River Valley. 



4. The Black Waxy Prairies. 



5. The Brown or Chocolate Plains. 



6. The Pecos Valley. 



7. The Rio Grande Valley. 



1. The Gulf Coastal Plain, extending out 50-75 miles 

 from the Gulf of Mexico, varies in altitude from a few 

 feet along the low sandy beach, to 50 and rarely 100 

 feet inland. Its surface in places is timbered with 

 live-oak and pine, but mostly it is a level, black-sandy 

 prairie. The streams are bordered in southeastern 

 Texas with timber and undergrowth of many species, 

 including the grand magnolia, holly, palms and many 

 other beautiful flowering trees, shrubs and perennial 

 herbs. The rainfall in the southwestern extension of 

 this belt is much less than in the eastern, where it 

 averages above 50 inches annually, and the growth and 

 cultural conditions vary accordingly. In trucking, 

 celery, cabbage, strawberries, tomatoes and melons are 

 the leading items. On the southern end of Padre 

 Island, near Brownsville, bananas, oranges and pine- 

 apples are grown to some extent. Figs nourish every- 

 where in the coast country. The canned-fig industry is 

 developing and promises to become very profitable. 

 Dewberries grow to perfection, and wild varieties are 

 marketed in considerable quantities. The Le Conte, 

 Keiffer and Garber pears do better in this region than 

 elsewhere. Some of the Chinese Cling group of peaches, 



