1478 



HERPESTIS 



HESPERETHUSA 



sparingly toothed, sessile: fls. pale blue, about J/^in. 

 long or less, the corolla only obscurely 2-lipped. Other 

 native species with 2-lipped corolla are H. ampkxicaulis, 

 Pursh, blue; H. rotundifolia, Pursh, white or pale blue; 

 H. nigrescens, Benth., whitish or purplish. L. jj. B. 



HERPETOSPERMUM (name refers to some char- 

 acter of the seeds). Cucurbitacese. Two annual tendril- 

 climbers, one from the Himalaya region and one from 

 China, allied to Abobra, but differing in the usually 

 racemose sterile fls. and the long-tubular calyx. Lys. 

 long-petioled, ovate, nearly entire or angled: tendrils 

 bifid: fls. rather large, yellow; corolla broadly cam- 

 panulate, very deeply parted, the segms. elliptical and 

 entire; stamens 3, included, inserted on calyx-tube, 

 the filaments short and free: fr. medium-size, broadly 

 oblong and 3-angled, costate, more or less 3-valved. 

 H. grandiflorum, Cogn., from China, has been cult, 

 abroad: Ivs. broadly ovate-cordate, more or less 

 angular, 4-5 in. long: staminate fls. 3-6 at the apex of 

 a 3-5-in. peduncle, with large golden - yellow petals; 

 pistillate fls. solitary or in pairs, short-stalked, slightly 

 smaller than the staminate: fr. about 2K in. long, 

 densely hairy and greenish, 7-8-ribbed. H. caudigerum, 

 Wall., the other species, has very lightly crenulate ovate 

 Ivs. to 6 in. long: staminate fls. usually on twin pedun- 

 cles, one single-fld. and one 5-10-fld.; pistillate fls. on 

 stout peduncles less than 1 in. long: fr. sparsely hairy, 

 about 3 in. long. L H. B. 



HESPERALOE (Latin, western Aloe). Liliacese, 

 tribe Yuccese. Acaulescent plants with filiferous leaves 

 like many yuccas, but ephemeral diurnal greenish or 

 red flowers, recalling those of the true aloes. Culti- 

 vated somewhat in the open in warm dry regions, but 

 elsewhere under glass. Treatment much as for agaves. 



Leaves outcurved, soft-pointed, with coarse marginal 

 threads: infl. usually few-branched; fls. oblong; fila- 

 ments slender, attached to base of perianth; pistil with 

 ovoid ovary, slender style and small stigma: caps. 

 3-celled, 6-valved, rugose, beaked; seeds thin, flat and 

 smooth. Two species from Texas to Mex. 



parviflSra, Coult. (H. yuccsefblia, Engelm. Aloe 

 yuccsefblia, Gray. Yucca parvifldra, Torr. Y. parvi- 

 folia, Hemsl.). Cespitose: Ivs. concave, striate on back, 

 1 in. x 3-4 ft., green: infl. 3-4 ft. high, glabrous and 

 somewhat glaucous; fls. nodding, rosy, 1^ in. long; 

 style exserted: caps, round, 1 in. long. S. W. Texas. 

 Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 13:1, 85. With more bell- 

 shaped fls. 1 in. long, and scarcely protruding style it is 

 var. Engelmannii, Trel. (H. Olngelmannii, Krauskopf). 

 G.C. II. 18:199. B.M. 7723. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 

 13:1. 



funifera, Trel. (H. Davyi, Baker. Yucca funifera, 

 Koch. Agave funifera, Lem.). Larger: infl. 6-8 ft. 

 high; fls. purplish green, 1 hi. long; style scarcely pro- 

 truding: caps. 1-2 in. long. N. Mex. The source of 

 Zamandoque fiber, one of the kinds of "Tampico 

 temp." WILLIAM TRELEASE. 



HESPERANTHA (Greek, evening flower). Iridacex. 

 Bulbs, sometimes grown indoors. 



These plants belong to the Ixia tribe and are much 

 inferior to ixias for general cult., but have fragrant fls., 

 opening at evening ; the style is short with long subulate 

 branches, and the spathe-valves are green rather than 

 brown. The genus is still more closely allied to Geis- 

 sorhiza, and differs in having shorter style and longer 

 style-branches and spathe-valves always green instead 

 of sometimes brownish above. The corms are ^in. 

 thick or less: Ivs. 2-5, narrow and distichous: fls. 2-10 

 in a lax, distichous spike; perianth rotate and a cylindri- 

 cal tube; inner segms. white; outer ones red outside; 

 stamens inserted on the throat. Species about 40, 

 in Trop. Afr. and the Cape, mostly the latter. For cult, 

 see Ixia and Bulbs. 



A. Foliage hairy. 



pilosa, Ker. Corm globose: Ivs. 2, linear, erect, 

 strongly ribbed, 3-6 in. long: st. slender, erect, 6-12 

 in.: outer segms. claret-red or green. B.M. 1475 (outer 

 segms. speckled with color). 



AA. Foliage not hairy. 



falcata, Ker. Corm conic: Ivs. 2-4, lanceolate, 

 spreading, 2-3 hi. long: st. slender, 1 ft. or less, simple 

 or forked: outer segms. claret-red. B.M. 566 (as 

 Ixia falcata). 



graminifolia, Sweet. Corm globose: Ivs. 3-5, linear, 

 erect, 4-6 in. long: st. slender, 1 ft. or less, simple or 

 rarely forked: outer segms. reddish brown or reddish 

 green outside. B.M. 1255 (as Geissorhiza setacea). 



L. H. B. 



HESPERETHUSA (from Latin Hesperethusa, one 

 of the Hesperides). Rutaceae, tribe Citrese. A slender, 

 spiny tree or shrub: Ivs. persistent, pinnate: fls. 4- 

 merous; stamens 8, free: frs. small, 4-celled, a single 

 seed in each cell but with no pulp- vesicles; seeds hard 

 and rounded, cotyledons epigeous in germination: the 

 first foliage-lvs. simple, opposite. Only 1 species is 

 now recognized. 



crenulata, Roem. (Limonia crenulata, Roxbg. L. 

 acidissima, Auct., not Linn.) NAIBEL. Fig. 1825. Lvs. 

 5-9-foliate, the Ifts., winged petiole and broadly winged 

 segms. of the rachis crenate-margined: fls. small, 

 white, fragrant, 4-merous; ovary 4-celled, 1 ovule in 

 each cell: frs. small ( l A- l /ftn- diam.), globose, dark- 

 colored when ripe, containing 1-4 hard smooth seeds 

 imbedded in a scanty very bitter pulp which is not 

 composed of pulp-vesicles: cotyledons epigeous in 

 germination, remaining smaU, caducous: first foliage- 

 lvs. simple, opposite, ovate, crenate-margined. 111. 

 Roxbg. PI. Corom. 1:60, pi. 86. Talbot, For. fl. Bom- 

 bay, p. 198, fig. 121. This plant is usually but erro- 

 neously called Limonia acidissima, Linn., which name 

 was originally applied to the wood-apple, Feronia 

 Limonia, Swingle, which see. The genus Limonia is 

 invalid and hence the oldest valid name for this plant 

 is the one used here. A handsome spiny shrub or small 



tree with beautiful light 

 green foliage, native to 

 dry hills in Ceylon, India, 

 Burma and Indochina. It 

 is easily grown under 

 greenhouse conditions and 

 should be better known 

 as an ornamental. The 

 frs. are sometimes used as 

 a condiment in India and 

 Arabia; they are bitter, 

 not sour. The tree has a 

 vigorous root-system and 

 is deserving of trial as a 

 stock on which to graft 

 citrous fruit 

 trees. In the 

 greenhouses of 

 the Dept. of 

 Agric. at Wash- 

 ington, D. C., it 

 has been found 

 to grow readily 

 when grafted 

 on grapefruit 

 (Citrus grandis), lemon 

 (Citrus Limonia) and on 

 the tabog (Chsetosper- 

 mum glutinosa) and it is 

 probable that it could 

 be used as a stock for 

 these and other species. 

 WALTER T. SWINGLE. 



1825. Hespere- 

 thusa crenulata. 

 (XM, fruit X%) 



