388 



ARECA 



AREGELIA 



worms. More than seventeen varieties of the nut are 

 known in India alone, where the trade in the nuts 

 (seeds) exceeds $30,000,000 yearly. It is also used 

 extensively for medicinal purposes. 



The cultivation of arecas is not difficult. They must 

 be grown in a tropical house with a day temperature 



of 75 to 85 and a 

 night temperature 

 of not less than 60. 

 Young plants thrive 

 in a mixture of 

 equal parts of peat 

 or leaf-mold and 

 loam, while older 

 plants will do best 

 in a mixture of 

 loam and sand, 

 equal parts, mixed 

 with a liberal 

 amount of well-rot- 

 ted cow- or horse- 

 manure. Water 

 freely, at least every 



367. Areca Catechu. other day As young 



plants, they form 



beautiful decorations and when old are perhaps the 

 most graceful and delicately foliaged palms in culti- 

 vation. G.C. II. 22:427. 



A. Sis. solitary and exceeding 40ft. in adult trees. 

 Catechu, Linn. BETEL NUT. Fig. 367. St. solitary, 

 40-100 ft.: Ivs. 4-6 ft., forming a large crown, but with 

 1 or 2 of the lowest usually pendulous; Ifts. numerous, 

 1-2 ft., upper confluent, quite glabrous: spathe, flat- 

 tened and, smooth in age, become fibrous when old: fr. 

 lJ^-2 in., ovoid, smooth, orange or scarlet. Asia and 

 Malayan Isls. Frequent in American tropics. 



AA. Sts. usually numerous, often forming a ring, usually 

 not over 25 ft. 



B. Young growth red: Ifts. appearing in bunches of 3. 



Ilsemannii, Hort. Resembles a red-stemmed chrysa- 

 lidocarpus: young Ivs. very dark red, becoming green; 

 fronds slender, arching, with curving pinnae: fls. and 

 fr. unknown. Oceanica (?). R.H. 1898:261. (as Linos- 

 podia; Micholtziana). 



BB. Young growth green: Ifls. not in bunches of 3. 



Aliceae, F. Muell. Sts. several from the same rhi- 

 zome, 9 ft. or more high, and slender: Ivs. 3-6 ft. long; 

 segms. acuminate, several confluent, especially at apex, 

 bright shining green on both sides: fls. paniculate, the 

 panicle coming from between the Ivs. Queensland. 



triandra, Roxbg. Trunk 15-25 ft. high, 1-2J^ in. 

 thick, usually several together, and frequently sending 

 out basal offshoots, cylindrical: fronds 4-6 ft. long; 

 segms. with 6 primary nerves about 1 line apart; 

 petiole about 1 ft. long: fls. as in A. Catechu: fr. about 

 as large as an olive, orange-scarlet. India. 



A. dlba, Bory=pictyosperma alba. A. Baiieri, Hook. f.= 

 Rhopalostylis Baueri. B.M. 5735. A. elegantlssimn, Hort. Trade 

 name(?). A. furfurctcea, Hort.=Dictyosperma furfuracea. A. 

 gigantta, Hort.=Pinanga ternatensis. A. grdcilis, Roxbg.=Pin- 

 anga gracilis. A. grdcilis, Tnouars=Dypsis pinnatifrons. A. 

 ordcilis, Giseke=Drymophlo3Us appendiculatus. A. grandifdrmis, 

 Hort.=Trade name(7). A. lultscms, Bory.=Chrysalidocarpus 

 lutescens. A. madagascarihmis, Mart. A rare species, with small 

 trunk and few Ivs. Madagascar.=Dypsis madagascariensis. A. 

 monast&chya, Mart.=Bacularia monostachya. B.M. 6644. A. 

 munli'inn, Hort. B.M. 3874 (as Euterpe). A. Nibung, Griff.= 

 Oncosperma filamentosum. A. olerdcea, Jacq.=Oreodoxa oleracea. 

 A. piimila, Blume=Nenga Wendlandiana. B.M. 6025. A. rit- 

 bra, Hort.=Dictyosperma rubra. -A. ritbra, Bory=*Acanthophoe- 

 nix rubra. A. Sanderidna, Hort. Trade name(?). A. adpida, So- 

 land.=Rhopalostylia sapida. B.M. 5139. A. ipecidsa, Hort. 

 Trade name(?). A. tigiudria, Jack. Oncosperma filamentosa. 

 A. VerschaffiUii, Hort.=Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii. 



N. TAYLOR. 



AREGELIA (named in honor of the botanist, C. yon 

 Regel). Bromeliacex. Epiphytic hothouse plants with 

 the serrate Ivs. arranged in a rosette: fls. in a simple 



dense head among the inner Ivs. of the rosette, which 

 are often colored, violet, blue or white. A genus of 

 about 25 species, inhabiting Guiana and Brazil. The 

 species below are sometimes referred to Nidularum. 

 For cult., see Billbergia. 



A. Length of fl. 1% in. or less. 



tristis, Mez (Nidularium marmoratum, Hort., not 

 Morr. N. trlste, Regel. Karatas tristis, Baker). Lvs. 6- 

 12, from 6-12 in. long and half as broad in the middle, 



nn dappled with brown, somewhat scurfy beneath: 

 . urple: bract-lvs. narrow-linear: fr. oblong, white. 



AA. Length of fl. 1% in. or more. 



B. Lvs. not barred. 

 c. The Ivs. densely scaly. 



Morreniana, Mez (Karatas Morreniana, Ant. 

 Nidularium Morrenianum, Makoy). Lvs. many in a 

 dense rosette, with few very minute spines, not striped, 

 densely scurfy beneath: fls. many, dark purple: bract- 

 lvs. linear-lanceolate. 



cc. The Ivs. free from scales or nearly so. 



Carolina:, Mez (Nidularium Carolinx, Letn. N. 

 Meyendarfii, Regel. Karatas Carolinx, Ant. Guzmania 

 plcia, Hort. Billbergia Carolinx, Beer. B. dlens, Hook.). 

 Lvs. several to many, strap-shaped, rather thick, finely 

 spiny-toothed, 12 in. long, bright green on both sur- 

 faces, the bract-lvs.' bright red: fls. blue-purple, in a 

 short head nestling in the bright If.-cup. B.M. 5502. 

 I.H. 7:245. 



princeps, Mez (Nidularium princeps, Morr. N. 

 spectdbile, Hort. Karatas princeps, Baker. K. Meyen- 

 dorfti, Ant. A. princeps, Mez.). Lvs. 15-20, about 

 10-12 in. long, broadest at the middle, firm, spiny- 

 toothed, lightly glaucous: fls. numerous, violet-purple, 

 surrounded by about 8-10 oval, bright red bract-lvs. 



BB. Lvs. conspicuously barred on the back. 



Binotii, Mez (Nidularium Binotii, Regel. N. Mak- 

 oydnum, Regel. Karatas Bindtii, Ant.). Lvs. 15-20, 

 strong-spiny, scurfy and transversely banded on the 

 back, the inner ones similar in color: fls. many, white. 

 Not to be confounded with Bromelia Binotii. 



spectabilis, Mez (Karatas spectabilis, Ant. Nidula- 

 rium spectdbile, Moore. N. eximinum, Hort.). Fig. 368. 

 Lvs. 10-15 in. long, about 1^2 in- broad, serrulate, 

 barred on the back, the apex rounded, apiculate, with 

 a red apical spot: fls. milky, pale blue at the apex. 

 Brazil. B.M. 6024. GEORGE V. NASH.J 



368. Aregelia spectabilis. (XM) 



