312 



APONOGETON 



If.-blade floating, oblong-lanceolate, round-based, par- 

 allel-veined, 3-6 in. long. Cape of Good Hope. B.M. 

 1293. F.R.I: 463. P.G.4:106. G.W.5:195. Gng.2:25. 

 A charming and interesting plant. In a protected 

 pool, especially if it can be covered in winter, the plant 

 is hardy in the N., blooming nearly all summer. 

 Removed to tubs in the fall, it blooms nearly all winter; 

 or it can be grown permanently in tubs or deep pans in 

 the house. Requires about 2 ft. of water, or out-of- 

 doors it may have twice that depth. Prop, chiefly by 

 seeds, but fls. should be pollinated and kept above 

 water at least 24 hours afterward, and seeds not be 

 allowed to become dry Var. Lagrangei, Hort. (A. 



236. Aponogeton fenestraiis, the lace-leaf plant. Known 

 to gardeners mostly as Ouvirandra. 



Lagrangei, Hort.), is a rare and beautiful variety, with 

 violet bracts and Ivs. violet beneath. It props, slowly. 

 R.H. 1895:380. 



fenestraiis, Hook. f. (Ouvirandra fenestraiis, Poir.). 

 LA.CE-LEAF. LATTICE-LEAF. Fig. 236. Lvs. oblong, 6-18 

 in. long and 2-4 in. broad, reduced to skeletons, float- 

 ing just under the surface of the water: fls. small, con- 

 sisting of 6 stamens, 3 pistils and 2 white petal-like 

 bodies, numerous, in 2 spikes each about 2 in. long, 

 which are united at the base, and borne on the top of a 

 scape a foot or so long. Madagascar. A.F. 7:67. A.G. 

 15:169. B.M. 4894. Gt. 1863:387. G.M. 38:830. 

 Gn. 30, pp. 344, 345. Mn. 6, p. 231. F.S. 11:1107. 

 I.H. 8:300. G.W. 10:595 (var. major). The Ivs. are 

 merely a tracery of nerves and cross-veins, but despite 

 their lace-like delicacy they can be handled with con- 

 siderable roughness. The venation of the lace-leaf 

 plant is like that of the common aponogeton, and now 

 and then a If. occurs in which the spaces between the 

 veins are partly or wholly filled with green matter. 

 There is another species with skeletonized Ivs. (A. Ber- 

 nierianus), but the open spaces are smaller and the 

 plant is less desirable for cult. 



The lace-leaf plant can be grown in a tub in a warm 

 greenhouse. For some unknown reason the plant seems 

 rarely to succeed in a jar or glass aquarium. Some 

 cultivators think that the water must be changed every 

 day, but this is not necessary. If conferva; appear, 

 introduce a few tadpoles and snails; these will devour 

 the green scum, and help to keep the plant in good 

 health by furnishing oxygen. See Aquarium. The 

 plant should be potted, and plunged not more than 18 

 in. below the surface of the water. For potting soil use 

 a rich compost, such as is recommended for water-lilies. 

 The water should be kept clean and sweet, and a 

 temperature of 65-70 pro- 

 vided. Avoid direct sun- 

 light. In Madagascar the 

 streams often dry up, and 

 the tubers carry the plant 

 over the dry season. In 

 imitation of nature some 

 cultivators take the tubers 

 out of the soil, and leave 

 them on a shelf in a hot- 

 house during the month of 

 Feb. It is doubtful whether 



237. Aporocactus flagelliformis. 



APPLE 



this is necessary. Potting should be done while the 

 plant is in active growth, not dormant. Prop, by divi- 

 sion. The lace-leaf is cult, in all the finest collections 

 of aquatics, and is prized as a curiosity. 



A. angustifdlius. Ait. (A. capensis, Perry). Like A. distachyus. 

 but much smaller: fls. small, white. S. Afr. A. Bernierianun, 

 Hook, f., differs from A. fenestraiis in having smaller open space* 

 in the Ivs., and pinkish 4-parted spikes. A. Dinteri, Engl. <t Kr. 

 Tuber globose: floating Ivs. oblong, rounded or somewhat emargin- 

 ate at base, long-nerved, not lace-like: inflorescence 2-spiked, yel- 

 lowish. German S. W. Afr. G.W. 14 : 059. .-1 . Ilinckclinnui. 

 Hort. Allied to A. fenestraiis, but rhizome larger and not creeping: 

 Ivs. pale green, less lasting. Madagascar. G.C. III. 40:270. A. 

 monostctchyus. Linn. f. (A. natans, Engl. & Kr.) Lf. linear-oblong 

 infl. in 1 spike, pink. India, Austral. G.W. 9:62. 



L. H. B. 



WM. THICKER. 



APOROCACTUS (Greek, impenetrable and cactus). 

 Cactacex. A very slender vine-like creeping, clambering, 

 or hanging cactus, sending out aerial roots: fls. rather 

 small, slender, somewhat irregular, bright red: fr. small, 

 globose, reddish, setose. Three species recognized, the 

 one below and A . flagriformis, Lem., and A. leptophis, 

 Britt. & Rose. Only one appears to be in cult. These 

 plants are commonly referred to Cereus. 



flagelliffirmis, Lem. (Cereus flagellifdrmis, Mill.). 

 RAT-TAIL CACTUS. Fig. 237. Sts. about J^in. diam., 

 branching: ribs 10-12: fls. 2-3 in. long. Trop. Amer. 

 This is commonly hybridized with other species. It is a 

 well-known window-plant. It is easily grown and is a 

 great favorite with people who know little about cacti. 

 It is often grafted on other cacti and worked into vari- 

 ous fantastic designs. It is rather a 

 a free bloomer, and with proper 

 care a most charming plant can be 

 obtained. j. N. ROSE. 



APOSERIS. An alpine com- 

 posite, now included in the genus 

 Hyoseris, which see. 



APPLE. Rosacex. The fruit and 

 tree of Pyrus Malus, one of the 

 rosaceous group. The name is also 

 applied, with qualifications, to 

 many other edible fruits, as may- 

 apple, pond-apple, rose-apple. 



The apple is native to south- 

 western Asia and adjacent Europe. 

 It has been cultivated from time 

 immemorial. Charred remains of 

 the fruit are found in the prehis- 

 toric lake dwellings of Switzerland 

 (Fig. 238). Now widely cultivated 

 and immensely variable, the apple 

 is grown in every temperate climate, and is probably 

 the most important commercial pomological fruit. 



The apple has come apparently from two original 

 stems. All the common apples are modifications of 

 Pyrus Malus (see Pyrus), a low round-headed tree, with 

 thick and fuzzy irregularly dentate, short - stemmed 

 leaves and fairly compact clusters of woolly-stemmed 

 flowers. The crab-apples are derived chiefly from 

 Pyrus baccata, commonly known as the Siberian crab. 

 This species is probably of more northern or eastern 

 origin than the other. It is of smoother and more 

 wiry growth, with narrower and thinner essentially gla- 

 brous long-stemmed leaves, and more open clusters of 

 glabrous-stemmed flowers. The apple is small and 

 hard, and the calyx-lobes fall at maturity, leaving the 

 eye or basin of the fruit smooth and plain. Hybrids 

 between these species apparently have given the race of 

 large-fruited crab-apples, of which the Transcendent and 

 Hyslop are examples. The race known to pomologisls 

 as Pyrus prunifoha is perhaps a hybrid group. Certain 

 apples are native to North America. Two species, 

 Pyrus iocnsis and P. coronaria, are of interest to the 

 pomologist. The former is the prairie-states crab, and 

 is the more promising. In characters of growth, leaves 



238. Apple remains 



from the 

 Swiss lake dwellings. 



