ABACA, or Manila hemp, is the fiber of M usa textilis, 

 a native of the Philippine Islands, where it is grown for 

 commerce. The plant is like the banana in general 

 habit of growth, although it is seed-bearing. It is 

 propagated by seeds or suckers or root-cuttings. When 

 two to five years old it is at maturity, reaching a height 

 of 6 to 15 feet and a diameter of trunk of 6 to 15 inches. 

 The fiber is derived from the thick sheathing leaf -stems, 

 the stems being cut between the flowering and fruiting 

 stages. After seed-bearing, the top or "plant" dies and 

 new suckers or shoots spring from the roots. The first 

 stalks may be cut as early as twenty months after plant- 

 ing, and the plantation is cut over about once in eight 

 months until it becomes unproductive, 

 which will be fifteen to forty years. New 

 stalks continue to arise as the old ones 

 are cut. The fiber, as found in the mar- 

 ket, is coarse and stiff and 6 to 12 feet 

 long. In the better grades it is very 

 strong. The fruit of M usa textilis is not 

 edible. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric. II, p. 

 286, and I, p. 126. 



ABELIA (bears the name of Dr. Clark 

 Abel, physician and author in China, 

 d. 1826). Caprifoliacese. Ornamental 

 plants, cultivated chiefly for their hand- 

 some flowers. 



Shrubs: Ivs. opposite, short-petioled, 

 small or medium-sized, entire or dentate: 

 fls. in 1- to several-fld. cymes, axillary or 

 terminal on short branchlets, sometimes 

 forming panicles at the end of the 

 branches; sepals 2-5, conspicuous, per- 

 sistent; corolla tubular or campanulate, 

 5-lobed; stamens 4, paired ; ovary 3-celled, 

 only 1 cell fertile; style elongated: fr. 

 1 -seeded leathery achene crowned by the 

 persistent calyx. More than 20 species in 

 E. and Cent. Asia, 1 on the Himalayas 

 and 2 in Mex. For a key to all the 

 species, see Render, Synopsis of the 

 genus Abelia (in Sargent, Plant Wilson- 

 ianaj, I, pp. 122-129). The genus is some- 

 times united with Linnsea. 



The abelias are small or medium-sized 

 bushy shrubs with deciduous or persist- 

 ent foliage and rather small but numer- 

 ous flowers varying from white to pink 

 or purple; after the flowers have fallen, 

 the persistent usually purplish sepals are 

 attractive. The recently introduced A. 

 Graebneriana and A. Engleriana are 

 probably the hardiest; A. triflora, A. chinensis and 

 A. grandiflora are hardy as far north as Philadelphia: 

 the last-named is sometimes grown in sheltered sit- 

 uations as far north as Massachusetts, and, even if 

 partly killed back, the young shoots flower profusely 

 the same season; A. floribunda is hardy only south of 

 Washington, D. C. 



The cultivation of abelias presents no special diffi- 

 culties. They do best in sunny, sheltered positions and 

 prefer a well-drained soil enriched by peat or leaf- 

 mold. A. floribunda is sometimes grown in pots and 

 kept during the winter in the cool greenhouse; in this 

 case a sandy compost of loam and peat or leaf-mold 

 will be a suitable mixture. 



Propagation is usually by greenwood cuttings in 



58. Abelia grandiflora. (X H) 



summer under glass; also by cuttings of ripened wood 

 taken in fall. Seeds are not often obtainable; they are 

 sown in spring and germinate after a month or two; 

 the seedlings begin to bloom usually in their third year. 



A. Sepals 2. 



Graebneriana, Rehd. Shrub, 4-10 ft.: Ivs. deciduous, 

 ovate to oblong-ovate, acuminate, l%-2 in. long, 

 remotely serrate, usually finely ciliate and hairy on 

 midrib beneath, sometimes with scattered hairs above: 

 fls. usually few at the end of short branchlets along 

 last year's branches; sepals J^in. long, oblong; corolla 

 campanulate, 1 in. long, pink with yellow throat. 

 Summer. China. 



Engleriana, Rehd. (Linnsea Engler- 

 iana, Graebn.). Shrub, 3-6 ft.: Ivs. 

 deciduous, ovate to elliptic-ovate, acute 

 or acuminate, about 1 in. long, with 

 few small teeth: fls. in few-fld. clusters 

 in the axils of fascicled Ivs. along last 

 year's branches, rosy purple or rosy 

 pink, a little over J^in. long. Summer. 

 China. Similar to the preceding but 

 smaller in every part, flowering more 

 profusely and therefore handsomer. Has 

 proved hardy at the Arnold Arboretum. 



AA. Sepals varying from 2 to 5 on the same 

 plant and often partly connate. 



grandifldra, Rehd. (A. chinensis X uni- 

 flbra. A. rupeslris, Hort., not Lindl. A. 

 rupestris var. grandifldra, Andr6. A. 

 unifldra, Hort., not Turcz. Unn&a, 

 Spaethiana, Graebn. L. Perringiana, 

 Graebn.). Fig. 58. Lvs. ovate, rounded 

 or attenuate at the base, acute, %-lJ^ 

 in. long, serrate, shining above, nearly 

 glabrous, half-evergreen : fls. in terminal, 

 loose panicles, white flushed pink, cam- 

 panulate, %in. long; stamens not ex- 

 serted. Of garden origin. Gt. 41 : 1366. 

 Gn. 76, p. 528. J.H. III. 8:77. One of 

 the hardiest and most free-flowering 

 abelias; it flowers continuously from 

 June to Nov. 



AAA. Sepals 5. 



chinensis, R. Br. (A.rupestris, Lindl.). 

 Shrub, 3-6 ft.: lys. ovate, rounded at 

 the base, Y\-\Yz in. long, serrate, hairy 

 on the midrib beneath and sometimes 

 with scattered hairs above, deciduous: 

 fls. in terminal dense panicles, funnel- 



. 



form, white, J^in. long; sepals oblong, Kin. long; sta- 

 mens exserted. Summer. China. B.R. 32:8. Gn. 27, 

 p. 424. P.F.G. 2:201. G. 8:143. A . rupestris \s some- 

 times considered a distinct species, but the differences 

 are very slight. 



trifl&ra, R. Br. Shrub, to 10 ft., branchlets with 

 reflexed hairs : lys. lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 1 }- 

 2% in. long, ciliate and sparingly hairy on both sides 

 or nearly glabrous, entire or occasionally on vigorous 

 shoots with a few coarse teeth, half-evergreen: fls. in 

 terminal clusters, fragrant; sepals linear, hairy, \&a. 

 long; corolla tubular with spreading limb, white flushed 

 pink, %in. long. Summer. Himalayas. P.F.G. 3:91. 

 Gn. 10:29. G.C. II. 16:34. G. 29:483. R.H. 1870:511. 

 J. F. 3, pi. 319. A very handsome species; after the 



(171) 



