CALATHEA 



CALATHEA 



623 



the petiole, upper part oval or terete. Cent. Amer. 

 Gt. 686. One of the finest and most beautiful mem- 

 bers of the genus. 



27. rufibarba, Fenzl. Habit erect, densely tufted: 

 growths with 3-7 Ivs. 13^-4 ft. long; blades linear- 

 lanceolate, 6-12 in. long, rich shining green, suffused 

 with purplish red below, undulate, acute; petiole %- 

 2 l /2 ft. long, terete above the sheath; sheath extending 

 from 2-10 in. of the base of the If., dull red heavily 

 spotted with green. Probably Brazil. B.M. 7560. 

 Densely hairy in all its parts. 



28. Lindeniana, Wallis (C. lAndenii, Wallis & Andre). 

 Lvs. elliptic-oblong, short-acuminate (12 in. or less 

 long), deep green above with an olive-green zone either 

 side of the midrib, and beyond which is a darker zone 

 of green, the under side counterfeiting the upper side, 

 but with purplish zones. Brazil. I.H. 18:82. By 

 some considered to be a form of C. ruseo-picta. 



29.- princeps, Regel (Mardnta princeps, Lind.). 

 Lf. elongated or elliptical-lanceolate, 7-10 in. long, 

 3-3 y% in. broad, light green above, with broad black- 

 green, flaming, broken band along the middle nerve, 

 violet-purple below. Amazon. 



30. Legrelliana, Regel. Lf. 

 elliptical, pointed, 5-6 in. long, 

 2-33^ in. broad, above shining 

 green, with broad, white, flam- 

 ing, broken middle band along 

 the middle nerve and numerous 

 broken white linear small bands 

 between the side nerves; lower 

 surface whitish gre'en and 

 marked with red and green. 

 Colombia, Ecuador. A neat species. 



BB. Lf .-blades larger, mostly upwards of 



12 in. long. 

 c. Under side of Ivs. green (red in juvenile 



states of Nos. 34 and others and in 



No. 37 and perhaps No. 45}. 



31. crotalifera, Wats. RATTLESNAKE 

 PLANT. Lvs. oval, abruptly acute at 

 each end, 1^-2 ft. long, and 10-12 in. 

 broad, yellowish green, with a white- 

 margined midrib, paler underneath; 

 petiole 2-3 ft. long, curved, sheathing: 



peduncles 1 or 2, 8-10 in. high, bearing distichous 

 yellow-fld. spikes. Guatemala. Offered in Fla. The 

 spikes suggest the rattle of a rattlesnake (Crotalus) 

 whence the specific name. 



32. Alluia, Lindl. Habit erect: growths bearing 4-10 

 Ivs. 2-4 ft. long; blade 1-2 ft. long, elliptic, arching in 

 upper half, light green above, pale silvery gray below, 

 margins slightly undulate; petiole erect, often as much 

 as 2 ft. long, green, striped with dull red on each side, 

 the sheath extending up to within 2-3 in. of the apex, 

 where it becomes terete. W. Indies. Alluia is a native 

 Carib name. 



33. leopardina, Regel (Mardnta leopardina, Bull). 

 Habit strong and vigorous, quickly forming a large and 

 fine specimen: growths bearing 3-7 erect or spreading 

 Ivs., often as much as 5 ft. high, and arching over at 

 the tip; blade to 20 in. long, elliptic, slightly oblique, 

 acute, slightly undulate, and glabrous in all parts, 

 upper side rich green in the adult stage; in the juvenile 

 stage the Ivs. are dark olive-green in the center, with 

 an irregular outer band of paler green, forming a com- 

 plete zone between the dark green center and margin; 

 under side light green; petiole 1-4 ft. high, rigid, 

 erect; sheath extending from one- third to one-half the 

 length of the petiole, upper part terete, glabrous, 

 shining light green. Brazil. A near ally of C. Chant- 

 rieri, but not so brightly colored in the markings of 

 the If. 



738. Calathea zebrina. 



34. Chantrleri, Hort. (Mardnta Chantrieri, Andr6). 

 Habit strong and vigorous, erect, spreading and arch- 

 ing above: growths bearing 3-4 Ivs. and reaching as 

 much as 6 or 7 ft. high in the adult stage; blade elliptic, 

 glabrous; in the juvenile stage the larger part of the 

 upper side of the If. is a pale yellowish green with a 

 dark green irregular band running around the margins 

 and along the midrib, the under side is rich purplish 

 red, in the adult stage the color on both sides of the 

 If. is all lost and becomes a rich dark green, the inter- 

 mediate stages of development are marked by a gradual 

 loss of the light yellowish green on the upper side and 

 purple-red of the lower and the gradual encroachment 

 of the dark green color which predominates in the 

 adult stage; petiole 13^-5 ft. long, downy when young, 

 glabrous when old, spreading out- 

 ward; sheath extending from one- 

 half to three-fourths of its length, 

 upper part terete. Brazil. A near 

 ally, if not a variety of the older 

 C. leopardina, Regel. 



cc. Under side of Ivs. in shades of 

 purple or red (or perhaps 

 green in No. 45). 



35. ornata, Koern. (Mardnta 

 ornata, Lind. M. regdlis, 

 Hort.) . Habit vigorous, erect, 

 spreading with age: growths 

 bearing 1^4 Ivs.; blade ellip- 

 tic or elliptic-cordate, acute, 

 1-3 ft. long, rich shining green above 

 (in the adult stage), dull purple-red 

 below, the Ivs. in the juvenile stage all 

 beautifully striped between the prin- 

 cipal veins with rose or pink, which in 

 the intermediate stage changes to 

 white and disappears entirely in the 

 adult; petiole erect spreading with age, 

 often as much as 4 ft. long and thick in pro- 

 portion; sheath extending from one-third to 

 one-half its length, upper part terete, slightly 

 downy, especially in the lower part. Guiana 

 to Ecuador. F.S. 4:413-14 The forms this 

 plant assumes during the different stages of 

 its development have been distinguished by 

 some nurserymen who have distributed them 

 under separate names, C. regalis, C. majestica, 

 and C. roseo-striata all being stages of the one plant. 

 To add to the confusion they are also known in the 

 trade under the generic name of Maranta. The plant 

 known as C. albo-lineata or Maranta albo-lineata, has 

 been referred by some authors to this species, but it 

 has no near affinity and is a different plant from 

 C. ornata, C. imperialis or C. Sanderiana. 



36. imperialis, Hort. (Mardnta imperialis, Hort.). 

 Habit vigorous,- erect, spreading in the adult stage: 

 growths with 2-7 Ivs. 6 in. to 5 ft. long; blade as much 

 as 2 ft. long when adult, elliptic-ovate, acute, entire, 

 shiny green above, rich purple-red below; petiole 

 stout, erect or spreading, dull green; sheath developed 

 about half its length, upper part terete. One of the 

 best species for decorative effect. This species presents 

 a striking dissimilarity between the juvenile and adult 

 stages of growth. The juvenile stage is much the better 

 for horticultural purposes as the Ivs. are then striped 

 with bright rose or pink between the principal lateral 

 veins. This color gradually changes as the plant grows 

 stronger and becomes vigorous, the stripes on the 

 lower Ivs. first becoming white and gradually disappear- 

 ing on the Ivs. that are developed after the plant 

 reaches the adult stage, until a stage is reached when 

 all the color and stripes on the upper side of the Ivs. 

 are lost and the Ivs. are a rich shining green color. 

 The high color is again developed as soon as the plant 

 is disturbed at the roots either for prop, or by injury. 



