1002 



DICENTRA 



DICHORISANDRA 



1257. Dicentra formosa. 

 (XH) 



the plant will continue to be attractive as a foliage 

 mass till late summer. 



BB. Racemes compound. 



eximia, Torr. Stemless, glabrous and somewhat 

 glaucous, 1-2 ft., from a scaly rootstock: ultimate lf.- 

 segms. broadly oblong or 

 ovate, the Ivs. being ter- 

 nately parted: scape about 

 equaling the Ivs. ; fls. rose or 

 pink, heart-shaped, taper- 

 ing to a neck, inner petals 

 ?-otruded. Rocks of W. N. 

 . and mountains 

 to Ga. Var. multi- 

 pinnata, Hort., has 

 Ivs. more finely cut, 

 making a very 

 handsome foliage 

 plant. 



formdsa,Walp. Fig. 1257. 

 Stemless, with a fleshy and 

 spreading rootstock: Ivs. 

 very long - stalked, biter- 

 nately compound, the 

 segms. cleft or pinnatifid.: 

 scapes about 2 ft., some- 

 what exceeding the Ivs., 

 naked; fls. in a terminal 

 cluster of short and bracted 

 racemes, rose-purple, the 

 corolla ovate-cordate, the 

 petals all united to above 

 the middle, the inner petals 

 scarcely protruding. Cent. 

 Calif, to Brit. Col. A.F. 

 21:459. Mn. 8:17. B.M. 

 1335 (as Fumaria formosa). 



AA. Fls. chiefly white. 



canadensis, Walp. (Dielytra canadensis, Don). 

 SQUIRREL-CORN, from the scattered little tubers 

 resembling grains of maize. Fig. 1258. Stemless, 

 fragile: Ivs. finely cut, glaucous, the segms. linear and 

 abruptly pointed: raceme simple, few-fld.; fls. white, 

 tipped with rose; corolla merely heart-shaped, the 

 spurs being short and rounded; crest of the inner petals 

 conspicuous, projecting. Nova Scotia to Mich., to 

 N. C. and Mo. and Neb., but chiefly northward in the 

 vegetable mold of rich woods. B.M. 3031. 



Cucullaria, Bernh. (Dielytra Cucullaria, Don). 

 DUTCHMAN'S-BREECHES. Fig. 1259. Easily 

 told from D. canadensis by its loose, 

 granular cluster of tubers, forming a 

 bulb-like body: Ivs. finely cut, little or 

 not at all glaucous: racemes simple, few- 

 fid.; fls. white, tipped creamy yellow; 

 corolla not heart-shaped, the spurs longer 

 and divergent; crest of the inner petals 

 minute. Nova Scotia to Ga. and Mo., and 

 also along the Columbia River (the west- 

 ern form differing in having shorter and 

 rounded spurs). I.H. 6:215. Mn. 6:41. 

 A.G. 13:516. B.M. 1127 (as Fumaria 

 CucuUaria). 



AAA. Fls. yellow. 



chrysantha, Walp. GOLDEN EARDROPS. Pale and 

 glaucous, with leafy sts. 2-3 ft. high: Ivs. bipin- 

 nate, 1 ft. or more long, segms. narrow: infl. thyr- 

 soid paniculate; fls. numerous, as many as 50 in a 

 thryse, erect, golden yellow; corolla linear-oblong; 

 outer petals hardly larger than the inner, the tips 

 soon recurving to below the middle, all distinct. Dry 

 hills of the inner Coast range. Calif. B.M. 7954. F.S. 

 8:820 (as Capnorchis chrysantha). Rare in cult. 



D. toruldsa, Hook. f. & Thorns., of the Himalayan region, has 

 been intro. abroad. It is an annual climber, 10-10 ft.: Ivs. attrac- 

 tively cut: fls. 6-8 together, yellow: fr. red. L H B t 



DICHORISANDRA (compounded of Greek words 

 referring to the division of the stamens into two 

 series). Commelinaceae. Tropical perennial herbs, 

 with handsome foliage, often beautifully variegated, 

 and rich blue flowers borne in thyrse-like panicles. 



Stems simple or branched, erect or partially scandent, 

 the Ivs. sheathing at the nodes: Ivs. entire, sessile or 

 petiolate, mostly long : sepals 3, distinct, ovate or oblong, 

 green or colored, not equal; petals 3, distinct, wider 

 than the sepals; stamens 6 or 5; ovary 

 sessile, 3-celled: fr. an ovate-3-angled 3- 

 valved caps., few -seeded. About 30 

 species in the American tropics. 



The dichorisandras are usually handled 

 as warmhouse subjects, although some of 

 them may be plunged in the open ground 

 south of Philadelphia. D. thyrsifiora is a 

 satisfactory plant of unusual and interesting appear- 

 ance, which requires little attention when once well 

 established, and may be relied upon to flower regularly 

 year after year. It needs careful repotting every year 

 at first until a good-sized pot (say 8-inch) is well filled 

 with roots. It then throws up a strong shoot each 

 year about 5 or 6 feet high, unbranched, and with per- 

 haps 8 or 9 leaves near the top. The handsome thyrse 

 of blue flowers gives a color that is rare in the green- 

 house. This plant may be the only representative of 

 its interesting order in a private collection. It is will- 

 ing to be crowded into the background, where its bare 

 stem is hidden, and where the light may be poorest. 

 The stem dies down in the winter time, when water 

 should be gradually withdrawn. Water should be 

 given liberally during the growing season. Of the 

 foliage plants of this genus, D. mosaica is commonest. 

 It is dwarfer, and does not flower so regularly. (Robert 

 Shore.) 



A. Foliage not variegated. 



thyrsiflSra, Mikan. Simple or nearly so, stout, 

 3-6 ft. : distinguished by its large Ivs., which are lanceo- 

 late, narrowed into a distinct petiole, glabrous, 6-10 in. 

 long, 2 in. wide, green on both sides: st. about 3 ft. 

 high, scarcely branched, robust, glabrous: racemes 

 subpanicled, pubescent; petals dark or light blue; 

 sepals glabrous, blue or somewhat herbaceous. Brazil. 

 B.R. 682. L.B.C. 12:1196. P.M. 3:127. G. 27:569. 

 J.H. III. 43:262. 



AA. Foliage variegated. 

 mosaica, Lind. (D. musdica, Koch & 

 Lind.). St. erect, simple, stout, spot- 

 ted : distinguished by its large, broadly 

 elliptical Ivs., which are roundish at 



1258. Leaf of 



Dicentra canadensis. 



Squirrel-corn. 



