1824 



LASTREA 



LATHYRUS 



the lower pinnae not reduced; segms. with mucronate 

 teeth. Eu. Var. argfcta is native and wild in Calif., and 

 is often considered a distinct species. 



lepida, Moore. Lf. -blades 1J^ ft. long, 6-7 in. wide, 

 ovate, bipinnatifid or bipinnate, the lower 4 or 5 pairs 

 slightly smaller: indusia hairy. Of greenhouse origin. 



Other species cult, under the name Lastrea, as L. aristata and L. 

 Rlchardsii, belong to the genus Polystichum, which see. 



L. M. UNDERWOOD. 

 R. C. BENEDICT^ 



LATANIA (East Indian name). Palmacese. Tall, 

 spineless palms, with solitary robust annular trunks. 



Leaves ample, terminal, long-petioled, suborbicular, 

 palmately flabelliform, plicately multifid; segms. 

 smooth or spiny on the margins; rachis short; petiole 

 3-sided, concave above; ligule shell-shaped; sheath 

 short : spadices many feet long, compressed at the base 

 and branches, sheathed with incomplete sheaths; 

 staminate-fld. branches cylindrical, digitately arranged 

 at the ends of the branches, very densely clothed with 

 imbricated bracts; pistillate portion somewhat twisted, 

 few-fld., sheathed with very broad dentate bracts; 

 staminate fls. in tiny pits and half-exserted beyond the 

 bracts, the perianth smooth and shining; pistillate fls. 

 larger: drupe globose, obovoid or pear-shaped, yellow. 

 Three species of fan palms from the Mascarene Ms. 

 L. borbonica is one of the dozen commonest trade names 

 among palms, but the seeds offered under this name are 

 said to be almost invariably those of Livistona chinensis. 

 Lalania borbonica of the botanists is properly Latania 

 Commersonii, which has 3-seeded frs., while those of 

 Livistona chinensis are 1-seeded. Allied genera are dis- 

 criminated under Hyphsene. G.C. II. 25:75. 



Latanias are essentially wannhouse palms and require 

 moderate shading through the greater part of the 

 year, and also an abundance of water. A well-drained 

 and rather light compost is most suitable for them, and 

 if the soil at the time of repotting is of the same tem- 

 perature as the house in which the plants are grown, 

 there will be less risk of a check to the delicate root- 

 lets. They should have a night temperature of not less 

 than 60 to 65. As they grow very freely, it is advan- 

 tageous to plant out if possible. Propagate by imported 

 seeds sown over strong bottom heat. Bone-meal is a 

 good fertilizer for these palms. L. Commersonii is a 

 particularly striking palm, the leaf-stems being quite 

 long, smooth, and colored bright crimson, as are also the 

 ribs of its fan-like leaves, this coloring being especially 

 bright on the young foliage. L. Loddigesii is the strong- 

 est grower of the genus, the leafstalks reaching a length 

 of about 8 feet, usually chocolate-colored and quite 

 glaucous, the leaves thick and leathery and their ribs 

 reddish while young, though never developing such 

 bright tints as those of the preceding species. L. Ver- 

 schaffeltii is also very attractive, though possibly a little 

 more delicate than the other two, its leafstalks being 

 long and rather slender, and orange-yellow in color, the 

 ribs of the leaflets also yellow and the leaves themselves 

 of a light shade of green. (W. H. Taplin.) 



A. Lvs. glaucous. 



Loddigesii, Mart. (L. glaucophylla, Hort.). About 50 

 ft. in nature, cult, specimens 10-20 ft. : Ivs. 3-5 ft. long, 

 very glaucous, primary veins slightly tomentose 

 beneath, tinged with red, especially in young plants; 

 segms. 2 ft. long, less than 3 in. wide, unequally acumi- 

 nate, the edges spiny in young plants; petioles 3-4^ ft. 

 (or more) long, tomentose, entire in the mature, spiny 

 in the young plant: spadix 3^-4 ft. long: drupe pear- 

 shaped, 3-angled, 2}/ in. long, 1% in. thick. Mauritius. 



AA. Lvs. not glaucous. 



B. Petiole densely tomentose, with.an orange margin. 

 Verschaffeltii, Lem. (L. aurea, Duncan). Wild speci- 

 mens 40 ft.; about half this in cult.: Ivs. pale green, 

 t. long, the segms. 2J^ ft. long, above 2 in. wide, 



acuminate, the entire margins and veins slightly 

 tomentose beneath; petioles 5-8 ft., densely tomentose, 

 with entire, orange margins, spiny in young plants: 

 spadix 4-8 ft. long: drupe slightly 3-angled, 2 in. long, 

 \Yi in. wide. Isl. Rodriguez. I.H. 6:229. G.C. III. 

 31:152. 



BB. Petiole red, slightly tomentose. 



Cdmmersonii, Gmel. (L. riibra, Jacq. L. borbdnica, 

 Lam., not Hort.). Lvs. 5-5J/2 ft. long, dark green above, 

 paler beneath; segms. lanceolate, acuminate, 2 ft. long, 

 3/~3^ in. wide, their margins entire, spiny in young 

 plants, veins and margins tinged with red; petiole 46 

 ft., slightly tomentose, the margins smooth, spiny in 

 young plants: spadix 3-6 ft. long: drupe globose, 1^- 

 1% in. diam. Mauritius. Not A.F. 4:567 and 7:127, 

 A.G. 13:141; 15:389 and 19:557, V. 9:199, G. 2:459, 

 all of which are Livistona chinensis. 



L. erticta and L. variegata are trade names. Any specimens in 

 cult, will probably be found to be varieties of some of the above. 



N. TAYLOR.f 



LATKELEA (hidden, Greek, alluding to habitat). 

 Orobanchacese. TOOTHWORT. Root-parasities without 

 green herbage, sometimes sown or encouraged in shrub- 

 beries where their host-plants grow. 



Allied to Orobanche, but the calyx with 4 broad 

 short teeth or lobes rather than with 2 or 4 pointed 

 sepals, and the fls. not regular: low herbs, brownish, 

 flesh-colored or bluish, bearing many small fls. in scaly 

 racemes or spikes, the sts. usually simple and erect; 

 stamens 4, in 2 pah's, with 2-celled anthers: caps. 

 1-celled, opening by 2 valves. ^Species 5. Eu., Asia, 

 Japan. In N. Amer., the family is represented by Oro- 

 banche (the broom-rape), Conopholis (squaw-root or 

 cancer-root), Epifagus or Leptamnium (beech-drop), 

 Aphyllon or Thalesia, Fig. 231, Vol. 1, by some united 

 with Orobanche, and Boschniakia of the far Northwest. 

 They are scarcely horticultural subjects, although some 

 of the species seem to establish themselves readily when 

 planted where there are proper hosts. 



Two species are more or less recorded in horticultural 

 literature. L. Clandestine, Linn. (Clandestlna rectiflora, 

 Lam.), Eu., has very many densely crowded sts. 4-6 in. 

 high, from densely interlaced rhizomes: fls. pale gray- 

 purple or violet, darker purple on the lower lip, 2 in. 

 long and erect in racemes 3-5 hi. high. Grows on willow 

 and poplar, and other hosts. G.C. III. 35:292, 293, 

 showing a group established on roots of beech and 

 willow. G. 36:242. A showy species. L. Squamdria, 

 Linn. (Squamaria Orobanche, Scop.), Great Britain 

 to Russian Asia: pale rose-color, with flesh-colored or 

 faintly bluish fls. which are streaked with purple or 

 dark red: rootstock scaly, fleshy, creeping: fls. many, 

 nodding, short-stalked or in a dense spike. On roots of 

 hazel. L. H. B. 



LATHYRUS (name used by Theophrastus for some 

 leguminous plant) . Legumindsse. Annual and perennial, 

 climbing and upiight herbs and shrubby plants with 

 pinnate leaves, half-sagittate stipules and showy 

 papilionaceous flowers. 



Stems flat or winged, in some species: Ivs. equally 

 pinnate, ending in a tendril or in a point; Ifts. 2 or 

 several; stipules leafy, large and prominent, half -sagit- 

 tate : fls. solitary or racemose, on long axillary peduncles; 

 calyx oblique-campanulate, 5-parted, the upper teeth 

 often shorter; corolla dark blue, violet, rose, white or 

 yellow, or a union of these, the standard large, broadly 

 obovate or roundish, notched, with a short claw, the 

 wings falcate-obovate or oblong, the keel shorter than 

 the wings, incurved, obtuse; stamens diadelphous 

 (9 and 1) or monadelphous below; ovary 1-celled, 

 the pod several-seeded; style curved, usually twisted, 

 flattened, hairy along the inner side: pod flat or terete, 

 2-valved, dehiscent. A genus according to the Index 

 Kewensis, of more than 200 species, occurring in the 

 northern hemisphere, Amer., Eu., Asia, and in Afr. and 



