824 



COFFEE PEA 



COLCHICUM 



COFFEE PEA. A western name for chick pea, 

 Cicer arietinum, which is used as a substitute for coffee. 



COFFEE-TREE: Gymnocladus. 



COHOSH: Actxa. The blue cohosh is Caulophyllum. 

 COHUNE: Attalea Cohune; it is a source of oil. 

 COIR: Fiber of coconut, which see. 



COIX (an old Greek name). Graminese. Tall, broad- 

 leaved, branched grasses with bead-like inflorescence, 

 one of them grown in gardens. 



Plant loose-growing: at the end of each peduncle is 

 an indurated, globular, or oval, hollow bead, developed 

 from a If .-sheath; from an orifice at the tip projects 

 the staminate spike: pistillate fls. inclosed in the bead, 

 the styles projecting. Species about 3, E. Indies, the 

 following widely distributed in all tropical countries. 



Lacryma-J&bi, Linn. JOB'S TEARS. Fig. 1025. Annual, 

 2-4 ft.: the beads or "tears," pearly white to lead-color, 

 containing the seed, are about Kin. long. Dept. Agric., 

 Div. Agrost., 20:14. Cult, for ornament and as a 

 curiosity. The hard bony frs. are used as beads and 

 made into necklaces, to which are attributed marvelous 

 properties. Var. aftrea zebrina, has yellow-striped 

 blades. A. S. HITCHCOCK. 



COLA (native name). Sterculiaceae. COLA. Also 

 called Kola, Korra, Gorra. One species is much grown 

 in the tropics for the stimulating cola nut. 



The genus consists entirely of plants with unisexual or 

 polygamous fls. in axillary or terminal clusters: calyx 

 4-5-cleft; petals none: fr. of 4-5 leathery or woody 

 oblong carpels. Probably about 40 species, of Trop. 

 Afr. trees chiefly interesting for the cola nuts, which 

 are said to sustain the natives in great feats of endu- 

 rance. The tree grows on the east coast of Afr., but is 

 very abundant on the west coast, and is now cult, in 

 the W. Indies. Within the tropics the trade in this nut 

 is said to be immense. It has become famous in the 

 U. S. through many preparations for medicinal pur- 

 poses and summer drinks. The seeds are about the 

 size and appearance of a horse-chestnut, and have a 

 bitter taste. Although repeatedly intro. to Kew, Eng- 

 land, the plant never flowered there until 1868. 



Colas require a rich, well-drained soil. Those intro- 

 duced into the West Indies and other parts of America, 

 especially C. acuminata, thrive best on a sandy loam. 

 The trees are grown from seeds, which are large and 

 fleshy, keeping well for some weeks after ripening. As 

 the tree is difficult to transplant, the seeds may be 

 planted singly in small pots, and the young trees kept 

 growing thus until wanted for permanent planting. 

 Propagation may also be effected by cuttings of ripe 

 wood, which should be placed in bottom heat, and 

 treated in the usual way. (E. N. Reasoner.) 



acuminata, Schott & Endl. About 40 ft. high in Afr., 

 resembling an apple tree: Ivs. alternate; petiole 1-3 in. 

 long; blade 4-6 in. long, 1-2 in. broad, leathery, with 

 prominent ribs below; older Ivs. entire, obovate, acute; 

 younger Ivs. often once or twice cut near the base 

 about half way to the midrib : fls. yellow, 15 or more in 

 axillary and terminal panicles, about J^in. across, with 

 a slender green tube and a showy yellow 6- or 5-cut 

 limb, which is a part of the calyx: fr. 5-6 in. long. B.M. 



N. TAYLOR.f 



COLAX (Greek, parasite). Orchiddcese. Epiphytic 

 orchids, much like Lycaste. 



Pseudobulbous : fls. in an upright raceme, arising 

 from the base of the new shoot; sepals and petals simi- 

 lar, the lateral sepal forming a distinct foot with the 

 base of the column; lip 3-lobed, clawed, with a trans- 

 verse hairy process; pollinia4. A Brazilian genus of 2 

 species. 



jugosus, Lindl. (Maxillaria jugbsa, Lindl. Lycdste 

 jugosa, Benth.). Pseudobulbs ovoid, 2-3 in. long, 

 2-lvd.: lys. 5-9 in. long, lanceolate: raceme 2-3-fld.; 

 fls. 2-3 in. across; sepals white, obtuse, oval-oblong; 

 petals white, obovate-oblong, spotted and barred with 

 violet-purple; lip white, shorter than petals, the side 

 lobes streaked vio- 

 let-purple, the mid- 

 dle lobe semi-circu- 

 lar, with numerous 

 pubescent keels, 

 streaked and 

 blotched violet- 

 purple. B.M. 5661. 

 I.H. 19:96. 



C. trlpterus, Rolfe. 

 Ovary 3-winged; disk 

 of lip bearing a broad 

 fleshy callus. Brazil. 



GEORGE V. NASH. 



COLCHICUM 



(from Colchis, a 

 country in Asia 

 Minor, where the 

 genus is most plen- 

 tiful). Liliacese. 

 MEADOW SAFFRON. 

 AUTUMN CROCUS. 

 Autumn flowering, 

 rarely spring-flow- 

 ering, bulbous 

 plants with crocus- 

 like blossoms. 



Leaves either all radical, or 

 radical and cauline, sometimes 

 ciliate, appearing in early spring 

 and usually dying down by June : 

 fls. various colored, very beau- 

 tiful; perianth tubular, vary- 

 ing from purple to white (there 

 is 1 yellow-fld. sort), the limb 

 6-parted; stamens 6, inserted on 

 the perianth; ovary 3-celled, 

 many-ovuled: caps, ovate-ob- 

 long in most of the species, the 

 seeds globose. A difficult genus, 

 very much confused botanically, 

 but horticulturally well known 

 and popular. They are narcotic 

 poisons. J. G. Baker, Jour. Linn. 

 Soc. 17. 1880. G. B. Mallett, in 

 Flora and Sylva, 1:108, 1903, 

 has an excellent horticultural 

 account of the genus. 



Colchicums are most charming and interesting plants 

 of easy culture. The bloom comes in August and Sep- 

 tember, at a season when the herbaceous beds begin 

 to lose their freshness, and, although individual flowers 

 are fugacious, others follow in quick succession, thus 

 prolonging the time of flowering. Opening, as they do, 

 without foliage, some help is required from the greenery 

 of other plants; for this purpose any low-growing, not 

 too dense kind, may be used, such as the dwarf arte- 

 misias, sedums, or Phlox subulata. Colchicums are 

 most effective in masses, which can be established by 

 thick planting, or as the result of many years' growth. 

 They can be grown in rockwork, in beds, or in grass 

 which is not too thick nor too often mown; they will 

 thrive in partial shade, but succeed best in an open 

 sunny border. They should be planted in August or 

 early September, in deep well-enriched soil, a light 

 sandy loam, with the tip of the long bulbs 2 to 3 inches 

 below the surface; some protection should be given in 

 winter. They remain in good condition for many years, 

 and should not be disturbed unless they show signs of 

 deterioration, fewer flowers and poor foliage. Then 



1025. 



Coix Lacryma-Jobi. 

 (XH) 



