230 



AGAPANTHUS 



AGAVE 



136. Agapanthus 

 umbellatus. 



with 150-200 dark blue fls. Dwarf forms: Var. minor, 

 Hort., very small, with slender narrow Ivs. (Viva., or 

 less broad) and deep blue fls. which are 1 in. or less long; 

 var. Mooreanus, Hort.. 1> ft., Ivs. short and upright, 

 fls. dark blue, and as large as in A. umbellatus itself; 



hardy ; var. Leicht- 

 linii, Hort., \Y 2 ft,, fls. 

 bright hyacinth-blue in 

 a very compact umbel. 

 Variegated forms: Var. 

 variegatus, Hort., Ivs. 

 white with sparse green 

 stripes, rather small; 

 var. aureus, Hort., 

 Ivs. striped yellow. 

 White-fld. forms: Var. 

 albidus, Hort., fls. pure 

 white, rather small but 

 many, the Ivs. usually 

 not persisting; var. Saintpa&lii, 

 Hort., apparently similar to last: 

 fls. smaller than in A. umbellatus. 

 Blue-fld. forms of usual habit: Var. 

 pallidus, Hort., fls. pale porcelain- 

 blue; var. Weillighii, Hort., fls. 

 lavender with indigo-blue lines and 

 margins; var. Saundersonianus, 

 Hort., fls. dark blue; var. atrocseril- 

 leus, Hort., fls. dark violet; var. 

 prsecox, Hort. (var. minimus, Lindl. 

 A. prkcox, Willd.), is an earlier 

 form, blooming in June or even 

 earlier and by some regarded as a 

 distinct species, the Ivs. narrower than in the type, 

 fls. smaller and 30-40 in the umbel, pale blue, with 

 narrow perianth segms., and the peduncle or scape 

 short; var. flfire pleno, Hort., a double-fld. blue form, 

 the fls. long-lasting. Very recent introductions are: 

 Var. globosus (A. globbsus, Bull), a dwarf -growing 

 form, producing dense globular umbels on long scapes, 

 the fls. about 1 in. across, the outer segms. lilac-blue 

 shaded white and the inner ones emarginate and darker, 

 the Ivs. deciduous; var. insignis (A. insignis, Bull), 

 tall, the basal part of the arching Ivs. milk-white, the 

 fls. very numerous on long slender pedicels and droop- 

 ing in the very large umbel, pale lavender. Gn. 64, p. 

 67. G.M. 46, p. 423. G.W. 1903, p. 529, 531; var. 

 caulescens (A. caulescent, Spreng.), fls. blue, lighter 

 inside, long-pediceled and the outer ones nodding, the 

 root with thickened fibers; intro. by Carl Sprenger 

 of Naples. Gt. 50:1487. L. H. B. 



AGAPETES (Greek agapetos, beloved or lovable, 

 referring to the beauty of the plant). Eric&cex, sub- 

 family Vaccinifftdese. Shrubs sometimes cultivated for 

 their handsome flowers and attractive foliage. 



Evergreen plants, often epiphytic and with the sts. 

 thickened at the base: Ivs. alternate, or irregularly 

 whorled, short-petiqled or sessile, entire or slightly 

 toothed: fls. in axillary fascicles or short racemes, 

 rarely solitary; calyx-tube turbinate, with 5-lobed 

 limb; corolla tubular to campanulate, with 5, usually 

 curved lobes; stamens 10, with short filaments, anthers 

 produced into 2 long beaks opening at the apex by a pore 

 or slit; ovary 5-celled, inferior: fr. a juicy or dry berry 

 with many seeds. About 30 species from the southern 

 Himalayas to N. Austral., chiefly in the humid mountain 

 forests at elevations of 3,000-6,000 ft. 



The several species in cultivation are highly ornamen- 

 tal shrubs with handsome lustrous foliage and showy 

 usually scarlet or bright red clustered flowers. They 

 are sometimes grown in warm greenhouses in Europe, 

 but apparently none of them is in the Ainerican trade. 



They grow best in a porous soil consisting of peat, 

 leaf-mold, fibrous loam and plenty of sand; the smaller 

 kinds are suitable for growing in baskets on account of 



their epiphytic nature. Out-of-doors they could be 

 grown only in warmer temperate regions, in localities 

 in which the air possesses sufficient humidity and in par- 

 tial shade. 



Propagation is by cuttings of half-ripened wood 

 under glass in the warm greenhouse. 



A. buxifolia, Nutt. Branches and calyx hairy: Ivs. obovate- 

 cuneate, crenately serrate, glabrous, about 1 in. long: fls. axillary, 

 1-2, cylinclric, bright red with spreading lobes. Himalayas. B M. 

 5012. G.C. III. 27:197. 4. glAbra, Clarke (Thibaudia glabra, 

 Griff.). Glabrous: Ivs. oblong-lanceolate, rounded at the base, some- 

 times elliptic, obscurely crenate, about 5 in. long: fls. several, axil- 

 lary, tubular, ventricose below the middle, J^in. long, white, green- 

 ish toward the apex, pink at the base. Himalayas. Gn. 10. p. 539. 

 A. macrdntha, Benth. & Hook. (Thibaudia macrantha, Hook.). 

 Plant glabrous: Ivs. lanceolate, long- acuminate, 3-4 in. long: 

 fls. in 2-3-fld. clusters, outside of the axii.s, pendulous, urceo- 

 late, 5-ribbed, 2 in. long, yellowish white, marked with red wavy 

 transverse lines. E.India. B.M. 4566. F.S. 6:646. J.F. 1:95. 

 G.C. III. 15:501. R.H. 1852:81. R.B. 26:181. 4. Moorei, Hemsl. 

 Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, usually whorled at the end of the branches, 

 entire, glabrous, 2-3 H in- long: fls. in short axillary, 6-9-fld. ra- 

 cemea, cylindric, scarlet or orange-red, 1 H in. long, lobes reflexed, 

 narrow, yellow within. Himalayas. B.M. 7928. A. settgera, D. 

 Don (Thibaudia setigera, Wall. ). Lvs. oblong or lanceolate, about 

 4 in. long, usually whprled: fls. in lateral clusters, deep red, usually 

 hairy, 5^in. long; pedicels and calyx hairy. Himalayas. Wight Icon. 

 1180, 1181 (as Vaccinium verticillatum and V. Wallichianum). 

 A. specioaa, Hemsl. Glabrous: Ivs. ovate-oblong, subcordate at the 

 base, slightly serrulate, 3 1 in. long: fls. 3-6, axillary, cylindric-ur- 

 ceolate, 5-ribbed, deep crimson, 1 l /i in. long. Probably from 

 Burma. G.C. III. 41: 237. A. mriegata, D. Don (Thibaudia pul- 

 cherrima, Wall. A. pulcherrima, Bcnth. & Hook.). Tall shrub, 

 glabrous: Ivs. elliptic-lanceolate, 6-8 in. long: fls. on the old wood 

 in many-fld. dense clusters, cylindric-campanulate, 5-angled, pale 

 red marked dark red, 1 in. long. Himalayas. B.M. 4303. F.S. 3, 



pt ' 7:1 ~ 2 ' ALFRED REHDER. 



AGARIC0S. A genus of fleshy fungi, considered under Mush- 

 room. 



AGARiSTA: Leptosyne. 

 AGATRffiA: Felicia. 



AGATHIS (agathis, glome; the flowers in clusters). 

 Pinacex. Tender Australian dioecious conifers, allied 

 to Araucaria, yielding dammar resin. 



Leaves coriaceous, not needle-like, usually broad, 

 petioled or almost sessile, opposite or alternate: cones 

 axillary, ovate or globular, composed of persistent, 

 bractless scales. Distinguished from pines and firs by 

 the broad-parallel-veined Ivs. Not uncommon in bo- 

 tanic garden collections where they are grown in the 

 temperate house. 



robusta, Hook. (Dammdra robusta, C. Moore. D. 

 Brdwnii, Hort.). Branches somewhat verticillate, hori- 

 zontal: Ivs. broad, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, short- 

 stalked, 3ty-4 in. long, 2-3 in. wide: cones oval, 3-4 in. 

 long, 2-3 in. wide: tree reaching 130 ft. in Austral. 

 Cult, in Calif. 



australis, Salisb. (Dammdra australis, Lambert.). 

 The KAWRI PINE. Tree, 120-150 ft.: Ivs. sessile, linear 

 oblong, rarely elliptic, alternate, or opposite on the 

 branchlets, lJ^-2 in. long, J^-J^in. wide: staminate 

 catkins solitary: cones almost spherical, 2-3 in. 

 diam. New Zeal. G.F. 2:583. Lambert, Pinus 2:44. 

 -^-Cult. outdoors in Calif., but not very successfully. 

 Kawri gum, much used in the manufacture of varnish, 

 is the partly fossilized resin of A. australis. It is found 

 5-6 ft. below the surface of the ground, in the northern 

 part of New Zeal., where there were vast forests of 

 this tree in ages past. 



orientalis, Lambert. Fig. 137. Tree, 100 ft.: Ivs. 

 opposite or alternate, entire, coriaceous, glaucous, 2-4 

 in. long, \]/2 in. wide, sometimes a little falcate: staminate 

 catkins 2 in. long: cones globular or turbinate, solitary, 

 peduncled, and axillary. E. Indies. Lambert, Pinus 

 2:43. B. M. 5359. Cult, outdoors in Calif, and in 

 greenhouses elsewhere. Both this and the preceding 

 intro. by Franceschi of Santa Barbara, Calif, (as Dam- 

 mara orientalis.) fj. TAYLOR. 



AGAVE (Greek, agauos, admirable). Amaryllidacese. 

 Important decorative and economic plants from hot 



