DRACOCEPHALUM 



DRAGON PLANTS 



1071 



anther-cells divaricate. Forty species in Eu. and Asia 

 and very sparingly in N. Amer. 



Sandy loam, moderately rich, and a rather moist, 

 partially shaded situation will suit these plants best. 

 In a sunny dry border they are never very showy; 

 the flowers are of short duration, and are seldom at 

 their best except in very moist seasons. Propagation 

 is by division or seeds. The species described below 

 are erect-growing. 



A. Lvs. entire, not cut in any way. 

 Ruyschiana, Linn. (Ruyschiana spicata, Mill.). 

 Perennial, 2 ft.: sts. slightly pubescent: Ivs. linear- 

 lanceolate, glabrous: bracts ovate-lanceolate, entire: 

 whorls in somewhat interrupted spikes; fls. 1 in. long, 

 purplish blue or purple; anthers villous. Siberia. Var. 

 japonicum, Hort., has white fls. shaded with blue, and 

 is a distinct improvement. G.C. 11.12: 167. According 

 to Vilmorin, this species has been sold as D. altaiense 

 (see D. grandiflorum). 



AA. Lvs. deeply 3-5-cleft. 



austriacum, Linn., has the habit of the above, and 

 belongs to the same subgenus Ruyschiana, but the 

 Ivs. are divided and more distinctly revolute at the 

 margin. About 1-1 K ft- high: fls. blue, 1J^ in. long 

 and more: perennial. July, Aug. Eu., Caucasus. 



AAA. Lvs. cut only at the margin', mostly crenate. 

 B. Whorls crowded together into spikes or heads. 



grandifldrum, Linn. (D. altaiense, Laxm.). Peren- 

 nial, about 1 ft. high: root-lvs. long-stalked, oblong, 

 notches at base; st.-lvs. few, short-stalked, ovate, not 

 notched at base, the uppermost still more rounded: 

 whorls in spikes 2-3 in. long, the lowest whorl usually 

 at some distance: fls. 2 in. long, blue. June, July. 

 Siberia. B.M. 1009. P.M. 13:51. 



specie sum, Benth. Allied to D. grandiflorum, but 

 st. pubescent instead of pilose above: root-lvs. more 

 broadly heart-shaped, and all Ivs. pubescent beneath 

 instead of nearly glabrous, and wrinkled: fls. purplish to 

 deep purple. June, July. Himalayas. B.M. 6281. 



BB. Whorls distant, in long racemes. 



Moldavica, Linn. (Molddvica punctata, Moench). 

 Lvs. lanceolate, inciso - crenate, the floral ones nar- 

 rower and pectinate: fls. in few-fld. loose clusters; 

 corolla 2 or 3 times as long as calyx, blue or white. 

 European annual, 1-2 ft., sparingly run wild in N. 

 Amer. Eu., N. Asia. 



R&prechtii, Regel. Perennial: dwarf or compact, 1- 

 1^2 ft.: Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, incised and toothed: fls. 

 rosy purple or lilac, about 1 in. long, in axillary clusters. 

 Turkestan. Gt. 1018. 



nutans, Linn. Perennial, 1 ft.: Ivs. ovate-crenate, 

 the floral ones oblong-lanceolate and more nearly 

 entire: fls. blue. May-July. N. Asia. Mn. 4:137. 

 B.R. 841. Var. alpina, Hort., is advertised. 



D. canartense=Cedronella triphylla. D. canfscens, Linn.= 

 Lallemantia. D. virginidnum, Linn.=Physostegia. 



WILHELM MILLER. 

 L. H. B.f 



DRACONTITJM (derived from the Greek word for 

 dragon). Aracese. Greenhouse or hothouse plants, grown 

 more for curiosity than for beauty. 



Herbs with long-petioled Ivs.: petioles verrucose; 

 blades deeply 3-parted, these again parted: spathe 

 oblong, convolute below; spadix short-stalked, short, 

 cylindric, free, densely many-fld.; fls. perfect, with a 

 perianth: fr. a 2-3-celled berry, each cell 1-seeded. 

 About a half-dozen species in Trop. Amer. Cult, as 

 for Amorphophallus. 



asperum, Koch (Amorphophallus nivbsus, Lem.). 

 Petioles up to 9 ft. long and over 1 in. thick, roughened 

 toward base with small warts conjoined in series, 

 marked with large livid green and brown spots; blades 



up to 3 ft. broad, 3-parted, the divisions bipinnate, 

 the ultimate segms. oblong to lanceolate: peduncles 

 4 in. or more long; spathe up to 10 in. long; spadix 

 1^-2 in. long. Brazil. I.H. 13, p. 14; 12:424. 



GEORGE V. NASH. 



DRACUNCULUS (Latin, a little dragon). Ardcex. 

 Odd tuberous plants sometimes grown under glass. 



This plant has interesting dragon-fingered Ivs. and a 

 terrifying odor when in flower. Its tubers are sold by 

 bulb dealers under the name of Arum Dracunculus. 

 The monographer of this order (Engler, in DC. Mon. 



1346. Dracunculus vulgaris. 



Phan., vol. 2, 1879) puts this plant into the genus Dra- 

 cunculus because the ovules are attached to the base of 

 the ovary, while in Arum they are attached to the side. 

 The Ivs. of the true arums are always arrow-shaped, 

 while in Dracunculus they are sometimes cut into finger- 

 like lobes. There are only 2 species. The common one 

 is an entertaining, not to say exciting, plant. It is 

 well worth growing for the experience, though its 

 stench is not quite so bad as that of a helicodiceros, 

 sold as Arum crinitum, which makes any house unbear- 

 able in which it flowers. Nearly all arums are ill- 

 smelling. For cult., see Arum. 



vulgaris, Schott. Fig. 1346. Sheath of Ivs. livid, 

 spotted ; stalks green ; blades with 10 fingers projecting 

 from a bow-shaped base: tube of spathe streaked with 

 purple except at the bottom ; spathe purple all over and 

 much darker along the wavy border. Medit. regions. 

 G.C. III. 47 : 198. WILHELM MILLER. 



DRAGON PLANTS. The dragon arum, dragon root 

 or green dragon, is the native Arissema Dracontium. 

 The dragon plant of Europe is Dracunculus vulgaris. 

 The dragon's head is not an aroid, but a Dracocepha- 

 lum, a genus of mints. False dragon's head is Physo- 

 stegia. The dragon's blood of commerce is a dark red, 

 astringent, resinous secretion of the fruits of a palm, 



