828 



COLEUS 



COLLETIA 



AA. Other species of Coleus, now and then in cult. (Still 

 other species may be expected to appear in the trade.) 

 thyrsoideus, Baker. Tender shrub, 2-3 ft. high: sts. 

 pubescent: Ivs. cordate-acuminate, coarsely crenate, 

 lower ones 7 in. long: fls. bright blue, in racemes which 

 contain as many as 18 forking cymes with about 10 

 fls. in each. Cent. Afr. B.M. 7672. Considered to 

 have much merit for cult., either under glass, or in the 

 open far S. Winter. 



shirensis, Baker. Perennial herb, densely pubescent, 

 3 ft., much like the above in habit: sts. angular, pale 

 green turning to brown: Ivs. glandular, pungently 

 aromatic, broadly ovate, acuminate, membranous, 

 2-3 in. long, deeply crenate, pubescent beneath but 

 scantily so above: fls; dark blue (also described as light 

 blue), in large erect terminal panicles. Cent. Afr. 

 B.M. 8024. Winter. 



Mahdnii, Baker. Shrub, to 2 ft., pubescent, the 

 branchlets slender: Ivs. petioled, ovate, acute, 2-3 in. 

 long, crenate, membranous, pale and finely pubescent 

 beneath and green and nearly glabrous above: fls. 

 small, purple with golden anthers, in a large graceful 

 panicle. Cent. Afr. Winter. 



Penzigii, Damm. Soft perennial herb, white-hairy: 

 Ivs. ovate, membranous, narrowed abruptly at base, 

 crenate; petiole winged: fls. bright lilac (also described 

 as ashy blue) in a long and lax racemose panicle, the 

 whorls being about 8-fld. Nile Land. L. H. B. 



COLIC-ROOT: Aletris farinosa. 



COLLABIUM (neck and lip, referring to a peculiarity 

 of the fl.). Orchidaceag. Two terrestrial orchids, of 

 Java and Borneo, rarely cult., requiring the treatment 

 given Catasetum. Lf. single, plicate: fls. or clusters 

 racemose, on a tall scape; lateral petals attached to 

 the foot or base of the incurved column; lip at its base 

 encircling the column (whence the generic name); 

 pollinia 2. C. nebulosum, Blume. Sts. fleshy, about 2 

 in. long: If. broadly ovate, acuminate, the petiole 

 rounded: scape about 2 ft., erect; fls. numerous in scat- 

 tered clusters or whorls, spurred, about J^in. long, the 

 lip 3-lobed, white and a little fringed, the sepals and 



1030. Coleus Blumei var. Verschaffeltii. 



petals greenish with reddish margins. Java. C. sim- 

 plex, Reichb. Lf. oblong, acute, wavy, green with 

 darker blotches: fls. racemose at the apex of the scape; 

 lip white; sepals and petals greenish yellow with purple 

 and brown blotches. Borneo. 



COLLARDS. A kind of kale. Probably several 

 somewhat different plants pass as collards, the charac- 

 teristic being that they produce tufts or rosettes of 

 leaves that are removed and used as greens. Usually 

 referred to Brassica oleracea var. acephala. See Brassica. 



1031. Collards. 



In the South, a form of the plant known as Georgia 

 collards is much grown for domestic use and the south- 

 ern market. The plant grows 2 to 4 feet high and 

 forms no head, but the central leaves often form a kind 

 of loose rosette. 

 These tender leaves 

 are eaten as a pot- 

 herb, as all other 

 kales are. Fig. 1031, 

 shows a Georgia 

 collard, with a 

 heavy crown. The 

 seeds of collard 

 may be started in 

 a frame under glass, 

 or in a seed-bed in 

 the open. As far 

 south as the orange- 

 belt, they are usu- 

 ally started in Feb- 

 ruary and March, 

 in order that the 

 plants may mature 

 before the dry, hot 

 weather. Farther 

 north they are 

 started in July or 

 August and the 

 plants are ready 

 for use before cold 

 weather. Trans- 

 plant to rows 3^2 to 4 feet apart, and 3 feet apart in 

 the row. Till as for cabbage. 



Young cabbage plants are sometimes eaten as 

 "greens" under the name of collards; and cabbage 

 seeds are sown for this specific purpose. In the North, 

 where heading cabbages can be raised, collards of what- 

 ever kind are not greatly prized. L f jj_ g 



COLLETIA (Philibert Collet, 1643-1718, French 

 botanist) . Rhamnacese. Odd spiny shrubs grown under 

 glass, and in the open in California and other warm 

 regions. 



Leaves small and simple (or wanting), opposite: 

 branches short, often flattened, arranged in opposite 

 pairs, thickened, spiny (sometimes called Ivs.): fls. 

 small, perfect, yellowish or white, nodding on 1-fld. 

 pedicels, single or fascicled in the axils or beneath the 

 flattened divaricate spines ; calyx bell-shaped or tubular, 

 4-5-parted; petals 4-6 or 0, inserted on the calyx; 

 stamens 4-6; disk joined to calyx-tube, inconspicuous 

 or the margin rolled-in; ovary 3-lobed and 3-celled, 

 standing in the disk, the stigma 3-lobed : fr. a coriaceous 

 dry drupe-like caps. About a dozen species in S. Amer., 

 mostly in the tropical parts. The colletias are said to 

 start readily from cuttings of half-ripened wood, as 

 well as from seeds. They are to be grown as single or 

 detached specimens, because of their oddity. 



cruciata, Gill. & Hook. (C. hdrrida, Hort.). Very 

 curious shrub, 3-4 ft., with elliptic flattened very broad- 

 spiny decurrent branches: Ivs. few, elliptic, entire: fls. 

 small, white, a few together at the base of the spines, 

 borne profusely in spring. S. Brazil, Uruguay. B.M. 

 5033. 



spinosa, Lam. Shrub, to 10 ft., with strong awl- 

 shaped very sharp spines: Ivs. elliptic, small, sessile, 

 serrate, mostly vanishing at blooming time: fls. larger, 

 urn-shaped, borne singly or nearly so beneath the 

 spines. S. Brazil, Uruguay. 



ulicina, Gill. & Hook. Smaller, 3-4 ft.: spines as in 

 C. spinosa, but more numerous, thicker, and hairy: fls. 

 cylindrical, in clusters near tops of the branches. Andes 

 of Chile. 



Ephedra, Vent. Small stiff bush : branches erect, 

 spiny: Ivs. wanting: fls. (in very early spring) sessile at 



