178 



ABUTILON 



ACACIA 



10. pleniflorum, N.E. Br. Lvs. green, glabrous both 

 sides, the mjddle lobe slightly narrowed at its base 

 and half again as long as the undivided part of the 

 blade: fls. double. Perhaps of hybrid origin, with A. 

 pictum a probable parent. 



BE. Lf. -blades 5-7-lobed, the middle lobe always more or 

 less narrowed at its base. 



11. striatum, Dicks. A Guatemalan species perhaps 

 not in cult, in its original form: middle lobe of if. 

 usually at least twice as long as undivided part of 

 blade and twice longer than broad, green: calyx some- 

 what less than 1 in. long, the lobes about twice as long 

 as tube, brown-pubescent; corolla 1% in. or less long, 

 orange, conspicuously dark crimson-veined. B.M. 

 3840 (as Sida picta). Var. Th6mpsonii, Veitch. Fig. 

 67. Lvs. variegated with yellow, not pubescent; first 

 exhibited by Veitch & Sons in 1868; said to be from 

 Jamaica; perhaps not in general cult, at present. Var. 

 spurium, Lynch. Lvs. variegated with yellow, thinly 

 pubescent above but thickly pubescent beneath with 

 fine hairs, the calyx white-pubescent: corolla light 

 reddish orange with redder veins; probably of garden 

 origin. The cult, forms of this species-group are imper- 

 fectly understood, particularly those passing as A. 

 Thompsonii. In England, the form usually known as 

 A. Thompsonii, and used for bedding, is the var. spu- 

 rium. In N. Amer. several different things are called A. 

 Thompsonii, some of them not variegated and at least 

 one of the variegated forms having double fls. The 

 Fig. 67 is inserted to distinguish the plant originally 

 distributed as A. Thompsonii, and to which the name 

 should be restricted. Probably some of the A. Thomp- 

 sonii forms belong in the general A. hybridum group. 



67. Abutilon Thompsonii as originally pictured in Florist and 

 Pomologist, 1869, p. 21. Inserted to show the plant to which the 

 name Thompsonii should be applied. 



The confusion between the Brazilian A . pictum and the 

 Guatemalan A . striatum is reduced by N. E. Brown, G. C. 

 1910 (2) pp. 427 and 488. 



12. hybridum, Hort. Under this name have been 

 placed the many garden forms and hybrids, most of 

 which have many of the features of the A. slriatum 

 group. A . Darwinii has been one of the parents in some 

 of them, as in A. rosseflorum, and Golden Fleece (Gn. 

 53:300), both of which are recorded as offspring of 



Darwinii and Boule de Neige. Other varieties referable 

 here are Fireball, Golden Bell, Gold Ball, Savitzii, Sou- 

 venir de Bonn, Caprice, Boule de Neige (Snowball). 

 Fig. 68 shows one of the forms of this garden group, 

 passing sometimes erroneously as A . Thompsonii. 



A. arbdreum. Sweet. Lvs. cordate, tomentose: fls. pale yellow. 

 Peru. A. Bed/ordidnum, St. Hil. Lvs. lobed: fls. yellow with 

 red: very tall. Brazil. A. escutentum, St. Hil. Lvs. cordate, 

 acuminate, toothed, tomentose: fls. purple, solitary. Fls. said to be 

 cooked and eaten by natives in Brazil under name of Bencaode 

 Deos. A. globifldrum, Don. Fls. large, cream-colored. Mauritius. 

 A. integtrrimum. Hook. & Jackson, Index Kewensis. (Sida 

 integerrima, Hook. B.M. 4360.) Lvs. entire, cordate, tomentose 

 below: fls. large, yellow, flaring. Colombia. A. pxonixjOtrum, 

 Walp. Fls. rather small pink. Brazil. A. pulchellum, Sweet, 

 and A. ptikhrum, Don. =Plagianthus pulchellus. L H B 



ACACALLIS: Aganisia. 



ACACIA (from word meaning a point or thorn, refer- 

 ring to the stipules often spinescent). Legumindsx, 

 tribe Mimbsex. Trees or shrubs grown out-of-doors in 

 warmer parts of the United States and some of the 

 species as cool greenhouse plants for the showy yellow 

 bloom. 



Leaves bipinnate or reduced to phyllodia with ver- 

 tical edges (i.e., If .-like petioles): fls. regular, orange- 

 yellow, occasionally lemon-yellow or white, in cylindri- 

 cal spikes or globular heads, solitary, or in pairs or 

 clusters, or in axillary racemes; sepals and petals 5, 4 

 or 3, free or united; stamens many, long: pod a legume, 

 opening by two valves (occasionally indehiscent) : 

 funicle of the seed filiform or ending in club-shaped 

 aril, either twice encircling the seed or simply bent 

 back upon itself. (The difference between Acacia and 

 Albizzia lies in the stamens, which are free in the 

 former and united at base in the latter.) A very large 

 genus (said to be 450 species) dispersed throughout the 

 tropical parts of the earth and even pushing their way 

 into parts of the temperate zones. The phyllodine series 

 is confined almost entirely to Australia and the Pacific 

 Isls., while the bipinnate series is scattered over the 

 warm parts of the remainder of the globe. The number 

 of species reported from Amer. is large (about 70), of 

 which at least 30 are Mexican. Acacias are said to be 

 natives of the following states: Ariz., Ark., Calif., Fla., 

 Okla., Kan., La., Mo., Nev., New Mex. and Texas. 

 Those in the following account are Australian, unless 

 otherwise stated. This list will undoubtedly be modi- 

 fied as botanists segregate the other genera from the 

 Mimoseso group. Acacias vary greatly under cult., the 

 variation affecting infl., size and shape of If., and even 

 the funicle. One should not expect to determine an 

 unfamiliar species without Ivs., fls. and fr., with its 

 seeds in place. 



Other species interesting because of their ant-inhabited 

 thorns are described under Bull-horn Acacias. Other 

 species referred to Acacia are to be found under Albizzia. 



Acacias are quick-growing plants and are short- 

 lived. Various kinds have been known to grow from 11 

 to 12 feet in four months and 25 feet in six years. These 

 trees are thus in their full maturity at thirty years of age, 

 and shortly afterward begin to deteriorate. While they 

 may thus be used as street trees to secure immediate 

 effects, more permanent trees should also be planted to 

 take their places. The leaves of some species are used 

 in cookery, the flowers of A. Farnesiana for perfumery, 

 the bark of various species for tanning; A. Senegal 

 furnishes most of the gum arabic of commerce; a drug 

 or medicine is made from the wood of A. Catechu; a soap 

 or hair- wash from A. concinna; several are used as 

 forage plants, others for dyes, and still others for fiber. 

 Many of them have scented wood, others make fine 

 furniture wood, and are used for cabinetwork and 

 fence-posts or fuel, still others for street trees (as A. 

 melanoxylon and A. dealbata), and all are more or less 

 ornamental. The Ark of the Covenant, as well as the 

 furniture of the Tabernacle, are said to have been made 



