834 



COLUMNEA 



COMANDRA 



species of which half a dozen mostly red- or orange- 

 fld., are cult, abroad and may be known to a few 

 fanciers at home, but are not advertised by the 

 dealers. They are warmhouse evergreens requiring the 

 treatment of Trichosporum (^Eschynanthus) . 



Schiedeana,Schlecht. The best known species. It has 

 handsome scarlet fls. 2 in. long, sometimes varie- 

 gated with yellow. It is an herbace- 

 ous climber from Mex. B.M. 4045. 

 P.M. 9:31. 



gloriosa, Sprague. Fig. 1039. An 

 epiphytic perennial herb: Ivs. ovate 

 or ovate-oblong: fls. axillary, solitary, 

 scarlet and yellow. Costa Rica. B. 

 M. 8378. 



C. gldbra, Oerst, var. major. Fls. scarlet; 

 stamens white. Costa Rica. C. magnified, 

 Klotzsch & Hanst. Corolla bright scarlet; 

 tube inflated about the middle. Costa Rica. 

 G.C. III. 43:66. C. Oerstedidna, Klotzsch. 

 Epiphytic undershrub or herb: fls. scarlet. 

 Costa Rica. B.M. 8344. N TAYLOR>f 



COLUTEA (Koloutea, ancient Greek 

 name). Legumindsae. BLADDER 

 SENNA. Shrubs grown chiefly for 

 their attractive yellow or brownish 

 red flowers and the ornamental 

 bladder-like pods. 



Deciduous, with alternate, odd- 

 pinnate Ivs. : Ifts. many, rather small; 

 stipules small: fls. papilionaceous, in 

 axillary, few-fld., long-peduncled ra- 

 cemes, yellow to brownish red; calyx 

 campanulate, 5-toothed ; standard 

 suborbicular with 2 swellings above 

 the claw; 9 stamens connate, 1 free: 

 pod inflated, bladder -like, many- 

 seeded. About 15 species in the 

 Medit. region to Abyssinia and Hima- 

 layas. Ornamental free - flowering 

 plants of rapid growth, with pale 

 green or glaucous foliage and yellow 

 or brownish red fls. during summer, 

 followed by large, usually reddish- 

 colored and decorative pods. They 

 grow in almost any soil, but prefer 

 a tolerably dry and sunny position; 

 not quite hardy N., the hardiest being 

 C. arborescens. Prop, by seeds sown 

 in spring or by cuttings of mature 

 wood inserted in fall in sandy soil; 

 rarer species and varieties are some- 

 times grafted on C. arborescens in 

 spring under glass. 



A. Fls. yellow: pod dosed at the apex. 



arborescens, Linn. Fig. 1040. Shrub, to 15 ft. : Ifts. 

 9-13, elliptic, dull green, mucronulate, usually slightly 

 pubescent beneath, 3^-1 in. long: fls. 3-8, about %in. 

 long; wings nearly as long as the keel, flat. June- 

 Sept. S. Eu., N. Afr., N. B.M. 81. Lvs. have 

 cathartic properties. Var. crispa, Kirchn. Dwarf, 

 with crisped Ivs. Var. bullata, Rehd. (C. buUata, Hort.). 

 Dwarf and compact: Ifts. 5-7, obovate or nearly orbicu- 

 lar and somewhat bullate. 



cilicica, Boiss. (C. longialata, Koehne. C. melano- 

 calyx, Hort., not Boiss.). Shrub: Ifts. bluish green, 

 usually 11, oval or broadly ovate, rounded or truncate 

 and mucronulate at the apex, ^-%in. long: fls. bright 

 yellow, 3-6, about %in. long; wings longer than the 

 keel. June-Aug. Asia Minor. G.C. III. 16:155. 



AA. Fls. orange-yellow or brownish red; wings shorter 



than the keel. 



media, Willd. Shrub, to 10 ft.: Ifts. 7-13, obovate, 

 grayish green or glaucous, H~%m. long, nearly gla- 



brous: fls. 3-6, orange or reddish yellow, the standard 

 with brownish markings: pod closed at the apex. June- 

 Sept. Probably hybrid of garden origin between C. 

 arborescens and the following, often cult, under the 

 names of the following species. 



orientalis, Mill. (C. cruenta, Ait.). Shrub, to 6 ft.: 

 Ifts. 7-11, obovate, glaucous, thickish, H-J^m. long, 

 nearly glabrous: fls. 3-5, reddish yel- 

 low or brownish red : pod open at the 

 apex. June-Sept. S. E. Eu., Orient. 

 Often cult, under the name of C. hale- 

 pica or C. istria. 



C. brevialata, Lange. Shrub, to 4 ft.: Ifts. 

 usually 11, oval, H-Juin. long: fls. 2-6, yellow ; 

 wings much shorter than keel. S. France. C. 

 grdcilis, Freyn & Sintenis. Lfts. usually 11, 

 obovate, Ji-J-^in. long: fls. 2-5, yellow, with 

 the wings almost as long as the keel. Turk- 

 estan. C. istria, Mill. (C. halepica, Lam. C. 

 Pocockii, Ait.). To 4 ft.: Ifts. glaucous, small 

 and numerous: fls. yellow, 

 nearly 1 in. long; wing longer 

 than the keel. C. nepalensis, 

 Hook. Similar to C. arbor- 

 escens: racemes drooping. B.M. 

 2622. B.R. 1727. Tender. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



COLVILLEA (after Sir 

 Charles Colville, governor 

 of Mauritius). Legumi- 

 nbsx. Showy - flowered 

 tropical tree, a worthy 

 rival of the royal poin- 

 ciana, which is closely 

 allied, but easily distin- 

 guished, especially by its 

 round and full, not flat, 

 legume. 



Colvillea has drooping 

 racemes, 1% ft. long, 

 densely crowded with per- 

 haps 200 fls. of curious 

 shape and of a splendid scarlet; the fls. 

 open at the st. end of the pendent 

 dense raceme, and display masses of long 

 showy yellow stamens; the unopened fls. 

 are about the size and shape of a filbert, 

 and these are gradually smaller towards 

 the end of the raceme. Only 1 species, 

 characterized by its large, oblique, colored 

 calyx, having 4 segms., the standard be- 

 ing the smallest instead of the largest part; wings very 

 long, narrow, erect, obovate: pod 2-valved. -^Supposed 

 to be a native of E. Afr., but discovered in 1824 by 

 Bojer on the west coast of Madagascar, where a single 

 tree was cult, by the natives. It flowered there in 

 April or May. Its cult, is similar to that of cesalpinia. 

 Prop, in the S. only by seeds. Not common in cult, 

 outside of botanic gardens and fanciers' collections. 



racemdsa, Bojer. Tree, 40-50 ft. high, with the 

 general aspect of Poinciana regia but with a thicker 

 trunk and ampler foliage: branches very long and 

 spreading: Ivs. about 3 ft. long, alternate, remote, 

 twice pinnate, with 20-30 pairs of pinna? which are 

 opposite, 4 in. long, and have 20-28 pairs of Ifts., each 

 Yiya.. long: keel very small, almost covered by the 

 wings; free stamens 10, 3 inserted below the standard, 

 2 under the wings, 1 under the keel, and 4 under the 

 ovary. B.M. 3325-6. WILHELM MILLER. 



COMANDRA (name alludes to the hairs in the fl.). 

 Santalacex. Perhaps a half-dozen leafy herbs or sub- 

 shrubs, one in Eu., and the others in N. Amer., more 

 or less parasitically attached to the roots of other 

 plants, one or two of which may be of interest to 

 horticulturists. Lvs. alternate, almost sessile: fls. 

 whitish or greenish, small, perfect, in terminal cymes or 

 umbellate panicles; calyx 4-5-cleft, lined or constricted 



