726 



CEROPTERIS 



OESTRUM 



887. Ceropteris calomelanos. 



chestnut-brown stalks; pinnae somewhat regularly 

 pinnatifid on both sides below. Mex. to Peru. By 

 some considered a var. of G. calomelanos. Var. argyro- 

 phylla (G. argyrophylla, Hort.) is silvery on both sides. 



8. tartarea, 

 Link (Gymno- 

 grdmma tatarica, 

 Desv. G. tatarica, 

 Hort.). Lvs. 9-18 

 in. long, 2-5 in. 

 broad, with closely 

 set pinnae, taper- 

 ing gradually to 

 a point; pinnules 

 scarcely divided 

 or cut, mostly 

 merely crenate. 

 Trop. Amer. from 

 Mex. southward. 



BBB. Segms. fan- 

 shaped or wedge- 

 shaped. 



9. pulchella, 

 Link (known 

 only under the 

 generic name, 

 Gymnogramma; 

 belongs in Cerop- 

 teris). Lvs. 6-12 



in. long, 4 in. wide, the lower pinnae much the largest; 

 pinnules imbricated; texture rather thin. Venezuela. 

 Var. Wettenhalliana, Moore (G. Wettenhallidna, 

 Hort.), is a garden variety, with pale sulfur-yellow 

 powder. L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



R. C. BENEDICT.! 



CEROXYLON (Greek, wax and wood, i.e., wax-tree). 

 Palmacese. WAX-PALM. Tall palms with ringed stems 

 and pinnate leaves. 



Spineless, the trunk covered with wax: Ivs. clustered 

 at the top, 15-20 ft. long when full grown, equally 

 pinnate; pinnae long, rigid, sword-shaped, bases re- 

 curved and tips pointed, dark green above and glau- 

 cous beneath, the petiole very short and sheathed: fls. 

 mostly unisexual, on spikes nearly or quite covered by 

 the simple spathe; fl. -parts 3; stamens 9-15: seed as 

 large as a hazel-nut, round, bony, inclosed in a soft or 

 crumbling integument. Perhaps 4 or 5 species in the 

 Andes of Colombia and Ecuador. 



andicolum, HBK. (Iridrtea andicola, Spreng. I. 

 Klopstdckia, Hort. Klopstdckia cerifera, Karst. 

 Beethovenia cerifera, Engl.). The celebrated wax-palm 

 of the Andes, and a good greenhouse subject: said to 

 reach nearly 200 ft. : trunk slender, swollen at the mid- 

 dle: Ivs. 6-8 in., the crown, the under sides silvery- 

 scurfy. The waxy covering of the trunk gives it a 

 marble-like and columnar appearance. The wax, used 

 as an ingredient in the making of candles, is an article 

 of commerce. It is said that Diplothemium caudescens 

 (Ceroxylon niveum, Hort.) is sometimes sold for the 

 wax-palm by plant dealers. C. femigineum, Regel, is 

 probably referable to Iriartea. It appears not to be 

 in the trade. C. andicolum is a free grower under cult., 

 and is a very ornamental subject. It thrives in a 

 warm moist house, and the seeds also germinate well 

 under similar conditions. L H B 



CESPEDESIA (named in honor of Juan Maria 

 Cespedes, priest of Bogota). Ochnacese. Tall handsome 

 glabrous trees, sometimes grown in the juvenile state 

 in hothouses. 



Leaves alternate, large, coriaceous, mostly obovate 

 to lanceolate and narrowed at base, entire, or crenate: 

 fls. yellow, showy, in large terminal bractless panicles; 

 sepals 5, small and deciduous; petals 5; stamens 10 to 



many: fr. a 5-valved caps.; seeds very small. Species 

 probably 6-10, in S. Amer. and Panama. 



discolor, Bull. Lvs. large, lanceolate, drooping, hand- 

 somely colored on young growths in bright brown or 

 tan tinted with rose and veined with yellow. Gn. W. 

 20:618. A comparatively recent intro. to cult, in 

 England. L. H. B. 



CESTRUM (old Greek name). Incl., Habrothdmnus. 

 Solanacese. Greenhouse shrubs (or low trees) some 

 of them with a climbing habit, and grown in the open 

 in southern California and elsewhere South. 



Leaves alternate and entire, usually rather narrow: 

 fls. tubular, in axillary or terminal cymes, red, yellow, 

 greenish or white, often very fragrant; corolla salver- 

 shaped or somewhat trumpet-shaped, the long tube 

 often enlarged at the throat, 5-lobed, exceeding the 

 bell-shaped or tubular 5-toothed calyx; stamens mostly 

 5, all perfect, attached in the tube: fr. a scarcely 

 succulent mostly reddish or blackish berry, derived from 

 a 2-celled stipitate ovary and seeds few or reduced to 

 1. Probably 150 species, in Trop. and Subtrop. Amer. 

 They are much grown in warm countries, where they 

 bloom continuously. For a monograph of the West 

 Indian species (about 20) see O. E. Schulz, in Urban, 

 Symbols, Antillanae, vi, p. 249-279 (1909-1910). 



Cestrums are among the most useful of bright- 

 flowering shrubby greenhouse plants, and they may 

 be grown either as pot-plants, or planted against the 

 back wall or supports of a greenhouse, where, if given 

 a light position, they will produce an abundance of 

 flowers from January to April. The Mexican species 

 will do well in a winter temperature of 45 to 50, but 

 the species from Central America require stove tem- 

 perature. They are propagated by cuttings taken in 

 February or early in March and inserted in sand in a 

 warm temperature, keeping them somewhat close until 

 rooted, when they should be potted in a light soil, after 

 which they may be grown in pots, shifting on as often 

 as required, or planted out in the open ground toward 

 the end of May in a sunny position, where, if kept 

 pinched back to induce a bushy growth and attention 

 is paid to watering, they will make fine plants by the 

 first of September. They should then be lifted and pot- 

 ted in a light rich soil and kept close and shaded for a 

 few days, and then transferred to their winter quarters. 

 After flowering, the plants should be given a rest for 

 a month or six weeks, gradually reducing the supply 

 of water to induce the leaves and wood to ripen, after 

 which they should be cut well back, the old soil shaken 



888. Cestrum elegans. ( X 1 A) 



off, and the roots trimmed back, and then either 

 potted again or planted out for the summer. While 

 in the greenhouse, oestrums are very subject to the 

 attacks of insects, especially the mealy-bug. (E. J. 

 Canning.) 



A. Fls. red. 



elegans, Schlecht. (Habrothdmnus elegans, Brongn.). 

 Fig. 888. Tall and slender, half-climbing, the branches 

 pubescent: Ivs. ovate, lanceolate, long-acuminate, of 

 medium size, pubescent beneath: fls. red-purple, swollen 



