FILIPENDULA 



FITTONIA 



1239 



is very distinct in its herbaceous habit, pinnate stipu- 

 late Ivs. and indehiscent 1-seeded achenes. 



The meadow-sweets are hardy plants with rather 

 large pinnate or palmately lobed leaves and white, 

 pink or purple flowers in showy terminal corymbs, 

 borne on erect leafy stems rising 1 to 10 feet from a 

 rosette of radical leaves. They bloom in early summer 

 or midsummer and are very handsome border plants. 

 Most of them delight in a rather moist and rich soil 

 and are especially decorative if planted on the borders 

 of ponds and brooklets, but F. hexapetala prefers drier 

 situations and likes full sun, while most of the others 

 also thrive well in partly shaded positions. F . purpurea 

 should be mulched during the winter in the North. 

 Propagated by seeds sown in fall in pans or boxes and 

 kept in the cool greenhouse, or sown in spring; also by 

 division of older plants. 



A. Lfts. numerous, almost alike, small, pinnately lobed. 



hexapetala, Gilib. (F. Filipendula, Voss. Ulmaria 

 Filipendula, Hill. Spiraea Filipendula, Linn.). 

 MEADOW-SWEET. DROPWORT. Fig. 1507. One to 3 

 ft. high, with tuberous rootstock, glabrous: radical 

 Ivs. 6-20 in. long; Ifts. sessile, oblong, pinnately lobed 

 and serrate, 1 in. long: fls. in a loose 

 corymb, white, about %in. across, 

 with usually 6 petals: achenes about 

 12, pubescent, semi-cordate. June, July. 

 Eu., W. Asia and Siberia. Var. fl6re- 

 pleno has double fls., and is common. 



AA. Lfts. few, the terminal one much 

 larger and palmately 3-9-lobed. 



B. Lateral Ifts. 3-5-lobed. 



rftbra, Rob. (Spiraea lobdta, Gronov. 

 Spiraea palmdta, Linn. F. lobdta, 

 Maxim. Ulmaria riibra, Hill). QUEEN 

 OF THE PRAIRIE. Height 2-8 ft., gla- 

 brous: terminal 1ft. large, 7-9- 

 parted, with oblong, acuminate 

 incisely serrate lobes; lateral Ifts. 

 smaller, 3-5-lobed, on the upper 

 Ivs. missing, green on both sides, 

 only pubescent on the veins 

 beneath: fls. pink, in a rather 

 large paniculate cyme: achenes 

 6-10, glabrous. June, July. Pa. 

 to Ga., west to Mich, and Ky. 

 Mn. 2:145. B.B. (ed. 2) 2:249. 

 Beautiful. Var. venusta, Voss. 

 Fls. deep pink or carmine. Var. 

 albicans, Hort. Fls. light pink, 

 or almost white. R.B. 3 : 169. 



palmata, Maxim. (Spiraea 

 palmdta, Pall. Ulmaria palmdta, - 

 Focke. Spirsea digitdta, Willd.). Height 2-3 ft.: Ivs. 

 whitish tomentose beneath or glabrous; terminal Ifts. 

 7-9-parted; stipules large, semi-cordate: fls. pale pink 

 at first, changing to white : achenes 5-8. July. Siberia, 

 Kamchatka and Saghalin. This species is but rarely 

 cult. ; the plant common under the name Spiraea palmata 

 belongs to F. purpurea. 



\ BB. Lateral Ifts. none or few and ovate. 

 c. Achenes usually 5, ciliate: lateral Ifts. none or few. 



camtschatica, Maxim. (Spirsea camtschdtica, Pall. 

 Spiraea gigantea, Hort. Ulmaria camtschdtica, Rehd.). 

 Height 5-10 ft. : Ivs. glabrous or villous beneath, often 

 with rufous veins; terminal 1ft. very large, cordate, 

 3-5-lobed, with broadly ovate, doubly serrate lobes; 

 lateral Ifts. usually none; stipules large, semi-cordate: 

 fls. white. July. Manchuria, Kamchatka. 



purpftrea, Maxim. (Spiraea palmdta, Thunb. Ulmaria 

 purpurea, Rehd.). Height 2-4 ft., glabrous: terminal 

 1ft. very large, cordate, 5-7-lobed, with oblong, acumi- 



1507. Filipendula hexapetala (plant about 2 feet 

 high) . Commonly known as Spiraea Filipendula. Qne 

 of the plants called meadow-sweet. 



nate, doubly serrate lobes; lateral Ifts. none or few, 

 oblong-ovate; stipules narrow: fls. carmine or deep 

 pink, in large paniculate cymes with crimson peduncles 

 and sts. June- Aug. Japan. B.M. 5726. I.H. 15:577. 

 F.S. 18:1851. J.H. III. 51:201. F.W. 1869:33. Gn. 

 W. 23: suppl. June 16. Gn. 17:36. This is undoubt- 

 edly the finest species of this genus. It is also some- 

 times grown in pots and forced. Var. alba, Hort., 

 has white fls. and var. elegans, Voss, white fls., with 

 red stamens and usually several lateral Ifts.; the latter 

 is said to be a hybrid. R.B. 4:7. G.Z. 22:25. 



cc. Achenes about 10: lateral Ifts. present, ovate. 



Ulmaria, Maxim. (Spiraea Ulmaria, Linn. Ulmaria 

 pentapetala, Gilib. U. palustris, Moench). QUEEN OF 

 THE MEADOWS. Height 2-6 ft. : Ivs. glabrous or puberu- 

 lous above, whitish tomentose beneath; terminal Ifts. 

 3-5-lobed, 2-4 in. long, lateral Ifts. smaller, ovate, 

 coarsely doubly serrate: fls. white, in rather dense pani- 

 culate cymes: achenes about 10, semi-cordate, almost 

 glabrous, twisted. June-Aug. Eu., W. Asia to Mon- 

 golia; naturalized in some places in the eastern states. 

 B.B. (ed. 2) 2:249. Var. denudata, Maxim. (F. 

 denuddta, Rydb.). Lvs. green beneath and nearly 

 glabrous. Var. adreo-variegata, Voss, has the 

 Ivs. variegated with yellow. Var. plena, Vosa 

 (var. flore-pleno, Hort.). Fls. double. 



F. angustifdlia, Maxim. (Spiraea angustifolia, Turcz. 

 Ulmaria angustifolia, Rehd..). Similar to F. lobata: fls. 

 white: Ivs. glabrous or whitish tomentose beneath. 

 Dahuria, Manchuria. F. vestita, Maxim. (Ulmaria 

 vestita, Rehd. Spiraea vestita, Wall.). Similar to F. 

 camtschatica, but only 1 ft. high and Ivs. grayish 

 tomentose beneath: fls. white. Himalayas. B.R. 27:4 

 (as S. kamschatica var. himalensis) . 



ALFRED REHDER. 



FINGER-GRASS. Species of Chloris and Panicum. 

 FIORIN: Agrostis stolonifera and A. alba. 



FIR. Strictly, species of the genus Abies, 

 but popularly it includes many trees known 

 to nurserymen and others as 

 Picea, and by some it is applied 

 to Pinus, Larix, and others. 



FIRE-CRACKER, FLORAL: Bre- 



wortia. 



FIRE-ON-THE-MOUNTAIN : Eu- 

 phorbia heterophytta. 



FIRE-PINK: Silene virginica. 



FIRE -PLANT: Euphorbia hetero- 

 phylla. 



FIRE- WEED : Epilobium angusti- 

 folium and Erechtites hieracifolia. 



FISH-GRASS: Cabomba. 



FITTONIA (Elizabeth and Sarah Mary Fitton, 

 authors of "Conversations on Botany," and friends of 

 Robert Brown). Acanthdceae. Low-growing herbaceous 

 perennials, valued for the brilliant variegation made by 

 red or white venation of their large heart-shaped leaves. 



Leaves prominent or rather large, cordate, beauti- 

 fully veined: fls. borne singly in the axils of the over- 

 lapping bracts, which form a peduncled, terminal 

 spike; calyx-segms. linear-bristly; corolla-tube slen- 

 der; hp long, narrow, shortly lobed at the apex; sta- 

 mens 2, affixed near the throat; style filiform, truncate 

 at apex: fr. an ovate-acute 4-seeded caps., some of the 

 seeds likely to be aborted. Species 3, in Peru. Fit- 

 tonias may be grown with philodendron, Cissus dis- 

 color, Episcia cupreata, nephthytis and selaginellas. 

 There is often a bare, unsightly space under the 

 benches that can be transformed into a tangle of 

 tropical creepers by the use of such plants. A board 

 may be placed slanting toward the walks and covered 

 with rotten stumps, chunks of peat, and moss for the 

 plants to run in. The open borders near the walks have 



