1096 



ECHINOCEREUS 



ECHINOPS 



EE. Ribs 11 or 13. 



F. Plants in small clusters: central spines sometimes 

 solitary. 



26. conglomerates, Forst. Sts. clustered, colum- 

 nar, somewhat tapering above, reaching a height of 1 ft. 

 and 2 in. diam., light green: ribs 12-13, strongly undu- 

 late, tubercled above: radial spines 9-10, glossy, 

 spreading, the lower pair the longest, base yellow; 

 centrals 1-4, the lowest straight, porrect, reaching a 

 length of 1^4 in. and more, somewhat stronger than the 

 rest. N. Mex. 



FF. Plants often 200 in a single mound: centrals never 

 single. 



27. stramineus, Riimpl. (Cereus stramineus, Engelm). 

 Clustered in thick, irregular bunches: sts. ovoid to 

 cylindrical, 4-8 in. long, 1^-2^ in. diam.: ribs 

 11-13: radial spines 7-10 (usually 8), horizontally radi- 

 ate, straight or slightly curved, -subulate, sharp, round 

 or the long lower ones angled, transparent white, 

 tolerably equal in length, about ^-%in. or the lower 

 ones sometimes longer and reaching a length of 1J^ 

 in.; centrals 3-4, much longer, stronger, twisted, angled, 

 straw-yellow to brownish, when young reddish trans- 

 parent, the upper ones shortest and spreading upward, 

 the lower ones porrect or depressed: fls. lateral, 2 3^-3 J^ 

 in. long, bright purple-red or deep dark red, to scarlet: 

 fr. ellipsoidal, about 1 % in. long, covered with numerous 

 spines, purple-red. Texas to Ariz, and N. Mex. 



Horticultural names are: E. paucispina, no doubt a mutilation 

 of paucispinus. E. polycephalus. E. sanguineus. E. Schlenii= 

 E. Scheeri (?). E. tuberdsus, Rumpl.=Wilcoxia. E. Utihri. 

 E. UsptndMi. Q jj THOMPSON. 



J. N. RosE.f 



ECHINOCHLOA (Greek, echinos, a hedgehog, 

 chloa, grass). Gramineae. Annual grasses with narrow 

 inflorescence of several thick spikes. Sometimes grown 

 for grain and forage, but scarcely horticultural subjects. 

 Spikelets as in Panicum; glumes hispid-spiny, 

 mucronate, the sterile lemma more or less awned. 

 Species about 12, in the warm regions of both hemis- 

 pheres. Regarded by many botanists as a section of 

 Panicum. E. Crusgalli, Beauv., barnyard grass, is a 

 common weed in cult. soil. The spikelets are usually 

 long-awned, the panicle 4-10 in. long, green or purple. 

 Dept. Agric., Div. Agrost. 7:82. 



frumentacea, Link (Panicum frumentdceum, Roxbg.). 

 JAPANESE BARNYARD MILLET. Closely allied to E. 

 Crusgalli, but differing in the compact, somewhat 

 incurved, appressed spikes, of nearly awnless spikelets: 

 culms 1-4 ft., erect. Cult, in S. E. Asia for the seed 

 which is used for food. Occasionally cult, in U. S. for 

 forage. Sometimes known as "billion-dollar grass." 



A. S. HITCHCOCK. 



ECHINOCf STIS (Greek, hedgehog and bladder; from 

 the prickly fruit). Syn. Micrdmpelis. Curcurbitdcese. 

 WILD CUCUMBER. WILD BALSAM-APPLE. A profuse 

 native annual vine which is a favorite for home arbors; 

 the other species not generally cultivated, except per- 

 haps the perennial-rooted megarrhizas. 



Most of the species are annual herbs, with branched 

 tendrils and pahnately lobed or angled Ivs. : fls. small, 

 white or greenish, dioecious, the campanulate calyx 

 5-6-lobed and the corolla deeply 5-6-parted; stamens 

 in staminate fls. 3; ovary 2-celled, with 2 ovules in each: 

 fr. fleshy or dry, more or less inflated and papery, 

 opening at the summit; seeds flattened, more or less 

 rough. The species are about 25, in the warmer parts 

 of the western hemisphere, about 10 of them in the W. 

 U. S., and 1 in the eastern states. The eastern species 

 (E. lobata) is one of the quickest-growing of all vines, 

 and is therefore useful in hiding unsightly objects 

 while the slower-growing shrubbery is getting a start. 

 Cogniaux, in DC. Mon. Phan. vol. 3, 1881, makes 

 three sections of this genus, and this plant the sole 



representative of the second section, or true Echino- 

 cystis, because its juicy fr. bursts irregularly at the top, 

 and contains 2 cells, each with 2 flattish seeds. The 

 Megarrhiza group (kept distinct by some) is distin- 

 guished by its thick perennial root, large turgid seeds 

 and hypogeal germination. 



lobata, Torr. & Gray. Lvs. wider than long, deeply 

 5-lobed, slightly emarginate at the base: tendrils 3-4- 

 branched: staminate fls. small, in many-fid, panicles 

 longer than the Ivs.; calyx glabrous: fr. egg-shaped, 

 sparsely covered with prickles. New Bruns. and Ont. 

 to Mont, and Texas, growing in rich soil along rivers 

 and in low places. A.G. 14:161. R.H. 1895, p. 9. G.C. 

 III. 22:271. G.W. 10, p. 499. Sometimes becomes 

 a weed. 



fabacea, Naudin (Megarrhiza calif ornica, Torr.), is 

 sometimes grown in fine collections and botanic gar- 

 dens. It is a tendril-climber, reaching 20-30 ft. in its 

 native haunts: Ivs. deeply 5-7-lobed: fls. monoecious, 

 greenish white, the corolla rotate: fr. densely spinose, 

 globose or ovoid, 2 in. long; seed obovoid, nearly or 

 about 1 in. long and half or more as broad, margined by 

 a narrow groove or dark line. S. Calif. Odd in germina- 

 tion (see Gray, Amer. Journ. Sci. 1877, and Structural 

 Botany, p. 21). L. H. B.f 



ECHINOPANAX (Greek, hedgehog and panax, re- 

 ferring to the prickly nature of the plant). Aralidcese. 

 Ornamental shrub, but rarely grown; very handsome 

 on account of the large foliage and scarlet fruits. 



Deciduous, prickly throughout: Ivs. alternate, long- 

 petioled, palmately 5-7-lobed, with serrate lobes, with- 

 out stipules: fls. greenish white, in umbels forming 

 terminal panicles; calyx-teeth indistinct; petals 5, 

 valvate; stamens 5, with filiform filaments; styles 2, 

 connate at the base: fr. a compressed drupe. One 

 species, Pacific N. Amer., Alaska to Calif., and Japan. 



This is a strikingly handsome shrub with its large 

 bright green palmately lobed leaves and scarlet fruits 

 late in summer. Little known in cultivation; it will 

 succeed best in moist and cool places and in partial 

 shade. Propagation is by seeds and by suckers and 

 probably also by root-cuttings. 



h6rridum, Decne. & Planch. (Fdtsia horridum, Benth. 

 & Hook. Panax horridum, Smith). Shrub, to 12 ft.: 

 sts. densely prickly: Ivs. roundish-cordate, prickly on 

 both sides, pubescent below, 5-7-lobed, lobes incisely 

 lobulate and sharply serrate, 6-12 in. long: infl. tomen- 

 tose: fr. scarlet, M m - long. July, Aug.; fr. Aug., Sept. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



ECHINOPS (Greek, like a hedgehog; alluding to the 

 spiny involucral scales). Composite. GLOBE THISTLE. 

 Coarse thistle-like plants, with blue or whitish flowers 

 in globose masses, sometimes used in the wild garden. 



More or less white-woolly herbs: Ivs. alternate, 

 sometimes entire, usually pinnate-dentate or twice 

 or thrice pinnatisect, the lobes and teeth prickly: fls. 

 in globes; the structure of one of the globes is very odd; 

 each fl. in the globe has a little involucre of its own, and 

 the whole globe has one all-embracing involucre; fls. 

 perfect and fertile (or sterile by abortion), corolla regu- 

 lar and no ray-fls.; pappus of many short scales form- 

 ing a crown : achene elongate, 4-angled or nearly terete, 

 usually villous. About 60 species, from Spain and 

 Portugal to India and Abyssinia. 



Globe thistles are coarse-growing plants of the easi- 

 est culture, and are suitable for naturalizing in wild 

 gardens and shrubberies. An English gardener with 

 an eye for the picturesque (W. Goldring) recommends 

 massing them 'against a background of Bocconia cor- 

 data, or with such boldly contrasting yellow- or white- 

 flowered plants as Helianthus rigidum or Helianthus 

 multiflorus. The best species is E. ruthenicus (form of 

 E. Ritro). A few scattered individuals of each species 

 are not so effective as a condensed group of one kind. 



