URCEOLINA 



aa. Fls. yellow. 



pendula, Herb. ( U. aiirea, Lindl. ) . Bulb about IK in. 

 through: lvs. 1-2 to a stem produced after the fls., ob- 

 long, acute, 1 ft. long by 4-5 in. broad: scape about 1 ft. 

 long: fls. 4-6, bright yellow tipped with green. Andes 

 of Peru. B.M. 5464. G.C. III. 12:211. 



P. W. Barclay and Robert Cameron. 



URERA (meaning not obvious). Urticacece. About 

 18 species of shrubs and small trees, rarely subshrubs, 

 native to tropical regions, with alternate lvs., entire or 

 variously cut, palmately or pinnately nerved, and nu- 

 merous small fls. borne in cymes which are often re- 

 peatedly forked. DC. Prod. vol. 16, part 1, pp. 88-98 

 (1869). The following has been offered in America as 

 an ornamental greenhouse shrub. 



URSINIA 



1885 



2622. At the left, Eucha 



grandiflora ; next, Urceolina pendula ; at the right, the hybrid 

 Urceocharis Clibrani. All half size. 



alceaBiolia, Gaud. ( Vrtica Oaracasana, Jacq.). Tree 

 or shrub: lvs. broadly ovate, acuminate, basal sinus 

 wide and open, crenate-dentate: fls. dioecious, in regu- 

 larly dichotomous cymes ; male cymes 4-6 times dichoto- 

 mous, stinging or not, rose-colored: female fls. many 

 times dichotomous, the fls. solitary or in 3's. Trop. 

 America. ^r, M. 



URGlNEA (from the name of an Arabian tribe in 

 Algeria). Liliaceae. The Sea Onion, known to drug 

 stores by the name of Squill, and to gardens as Urginea 

 maritima, is a bulbous plant native to the Mediterranean 

 region, which grows 2 or 3 ft. high and has a long ra- 

 ceme of small, whitish, 6-parted flowers. The raceme is 

 often m ft. long and contains 50-100 or more fls. each 

 % in. across. It has the same style of beauty as Orni- 

 thogalum pyramidale but unfortunately it is only half- 

 hardy. As an ornamental plant it is little known in 

 America. The name seems not to appear in American 

 catalogues, but the Dutch bulb-growers offer the bulbs 

 in at least 5 sizes. A plant erroneously called Sea Onion 

 is Ornithogalum eaudatum. There is considerable dif- 

 ference of opinion as to when the Sea Onion blooms, 

 but the plant is generally considered an autumn bloomer, 

 and it is clear that the leaves appear after the flowers. 

 In England the plant is said to have flowered as early 

 as July and August. Baker writes that the lvs. appear 

 in winter. Some English cultivators say the lvs. appear 

 as early as October and November ; others say not until 

 spring. The plant grows near the seashore and inland, 

 in dry sandy places from the Canaries to Syria. It is 

 also found in South Africa, which is unusual, as the 

 North and South African species of any genus are not 

 usually identical. 



The proper name of the Sea Onion is Urginea Scilla. 

 The plant is closely related to the genus Scilla, but in 

 the opinion of the undersigned it is much closer to Or- 

 nithogalum, especially in habit, inflorescence and color 



of flowers. The seeds of Urginea are numerous in each 

 Iocule (in the Sea Onion 10-12), strongly compressed 

 and winged; in Ornithogalum and Scilla they are not 

 compressed or winged aud in Scilla they are solitary or 

 few in each Iocule. Urginea is a genus of 40 species of 

 bulbous plants native to the eastern hemisphere. Typi- 

 cally, the species have narrow or lorate lvs. which fol- 

 low the fls., and racemes of numerous whitish, rarely 

 pale yellow or rosy fls., each segment of which is keeled 

 with green or purplish. Monographed by J. G. Baker in 

 Latin in Journ. Linn. Soc. 13:215 (1873). At that time 

 Baker recognized a total of 24 species, but in Flora 

 Capensis 6:462 (1896-97) he describes 27 species from 

 South Africa alone. 



The bulbs of Urginea are collected in large quantities in 

 the Mediterranean region forthe drug trade. They some- 

 times attain a maximum weight of 15 pounds. The bulbs 

 contain about 22 per cent of 

 sugar and are used in Sicily 

 in the manufacture of whis- 

 key. Squills have emetic 

 and cathartic properties. 

 Syrup of squills is a popu- 

 lar croup medicine. The 

 bulb, as it appears in the 

 wholesale drug market, has 

 been deprived of its outer 

 scales and cut into thin 

 slices, the central portions 

 being rejected. 



Scilla, Steinh. ( U. mari- 

 tima, Baker). Sea Onion. 

 Squill. Height 1-3 ft.: 

 bulb 4-6 in. thick : lvs. ap- 

 pearing after the fls., lance- 

 olate, somewhat fleshy and 

 glaucous, glabrous, l-\% 

 ft. long, 2-4 in. wide above 

 middle : racemes 1-1K ft. 

 long, \-l% in. wide, 50- 

 100-fld.: fls. K in. across, 

 whitish, with the oblong 

 segments keeled greenish 

 purple. Autumn. Cana- 

 ries to Syria, S. Africa. 

 B.M. 918 (as Ornithogalum Squilla). ^y_ jj_ 



TJRSINIA (John Ursinus, of Regensburg, 1608-1666 

 author of "Arboretum Biblicum"). Comp6sita>. Here 

 belongs the hardy annual known to the trade as Spheno 

 gyne speciosa. It grows about a foot high, has finely 

 cut foliage and yellow or orange flower-heads lK-r 

 across. The heads have about 22 rays. Both yellow and 

 orange-colored flowers are sometimes found on the same 

 plant. When well managed it blooms all summer. It is 

 supposed to be a native of the Cape. It has been in 

 cultivation since 1836 but was not correctly described 

 until 1887. It is much praised by connoisseurs, though 

 it is not known to the general public. It seems to have 

 enjoyed a longer continuous period of cultivation than 

 many other showy composites, in which the Cape is 

 wonderfully rich, particularly in subshrubby kinds. In 

 Flora Capensis, vol. 3 (1864-65), Sphenogyne and 

 Ursinia are treated as separate genera, the distinctions 

 being as follows: the akene is cylindrical in Spheno- 

 gyne, but obovate or pear-shaped in Ursinia, distinctly 

 tapering to the base: the pappus is uniseriate in the 

 former, biseriate in the latter, the inner series consist- 

 ing of 5 slender white bristles. In the course of time 

 these distinctions have been dropped and Sphenogyne 

 included in Ursinia. 



Ursinia is a genus of about 60 species, all native to 

 S. Africa. One species, U. annua, is also found in 

 Abyssinia. The species are annuals, perennials or sub- 

 shrubs : lvs. alternate, serrate, pinnatifid or usually 

 pinnatisect: rays the same color on both sides or pur- 

 plish brown beneath : involucre hemispherical or 

 broadly campanulate: akenes often 10-ribbed. For fur- 

 ther particulars, see Flora Capensis, vol. 3. There are 

 said to be many other desirable species besides the fol- 

 lowing: 



pulchra, N. E. Br. (SphenSgyne speeidsa, Knowles 

 & Westc). Annual, 1-2 ft. high, with lvs. bipinnately 



