1842 



LEPTOCHILUS 



LEPTOSPERMUM 



teris, but formerly classified under Acrostichum. The 

 Ivs. are pinnately divided; the sporangia are borne very 

 close together so that at maturity they appear entirely 

 to cover the backs of the fertile Ivs. 



alienus, Swartz (Acrostichum alienum, Swartz). 

 Sterile Ivs. 1-2 ft. long, triangular, with the upper 

 pinnae decurrent, and the lower at least sinuate or even 

 incised; fertile Ivs. smaller, with narrow pinnae, the 

 upper decurrent. Cuba and Mex. to Brazil. 



nicotianaefolius, C. Chr. (Acrdstichum nicotianse- 

 fdlium, Swartz). Sterile Ivs. with 3-7 pinnae which are 

 6-12 in. long and 2-3 in. wide, with nearly entire edges; 

 fertile Ivs. smaller, with 3-7 pinnae 3-4 in. long, 1 in. 

 wide. W. Indies to Brazil. R. c. BENEDICT.! 



LEPTOCHLOA (slender and grass, from the Greek, 

 referring to the slender spikes). Graminese. Annual or 

 perennial grasses with rather showy inflorescence, one 

 species occasionally grown for ornament. 



Plants with flat blades and slender unilateral spikes 

 arranged along a main axis: spikelets 2- to several-fld. 

 Species about 12, in the warmer regions of both 

 hemispheres. Differs from Chloris and other genera 

 of the tribe Chloridese, in having racemosely arranged 

 spikes with several-fld. spikelets. 



virgata, Beauv. Erect, glabrous, usually glaucous 

 perennial, 2-4 ft. : spikes numerous, 3-6 in., on an axis 

 3-6 in. long; spikelets 3-6-fld.; florets awnless or with 

 an awn shorter than the body. Trop. Amer. Has been 

 advertised under the name of Chloris gracilis. A pleas- 

 ing grass with feathery infl. suitable for borders in the 

 South - A. S. HITCHCOCK. 



LEPTOCODON (slender bell, from the shape of the 

 flowers). Campanulacese. Twiner, suitable for the 

 greenhouse. From Campanumaea it differs in bearing 

 a dehiscent caps, rather than a fleshy berry, and from 

 Codonopsis in having a tubular upwardly inflated 

 rather than mostly campanulate corolla. The single 

 species is L. gracilis, Hook. f. & Thorn. (Codondpsis 

 gracilis, Hook. f. Campanumaea grdcilis, Hort.), of 

 Sikkim (India) : glabrous slender perennial with alter- 

 nate and opposite long-stalked ovate-crenate Ivs.: 

 corolla 1-1 }/2 in. long, blue, tubular-curved, shortly 

 5-lobed, the calyx very deeply 5-lobed; stamens 5, free, 

 with as many glands intervening; fls. terminal and oppo- 

 site the Ivs., single on slender peduncles. L H. B. 



LEPTODACTYLON: Gilia. 



LEPTODERMIS (Greek, leptos, thin and derma, 

 skin, membrane, referring to the thin membranous 

 bractlets connate into a tube.) Rubiacese. Low shrubs 

 with small foliage, and small tubular white or pur- 

 plish flowers in usually few-flowered clusters appear- 

 ing during summer and fall when few shrubs are in 

 bloom. 



Slender-branched, with opposite small entire stipu- 

 late Ivs.: fls. in axillary head-like clusters; calyx 

 5-toothed, persistent; corolla tubular-funnelform, with 

 5-lobed limb; stamens 4, included; ovary inferior, 

 5-celled; style slender, 5-parted at the apex: fr. a caps., 

 the outer wall splitting to the base into 5 valves, the inner 

 net-like, closed, enveloping the seed. About 10 spe- 

 cies in China and Himalayas. Interesting for botanical 

 collections as one of the few woody representatives of 

 Rubiaceae which are hardy north. A few species have 

 been recently intro. from China, of which the follow- 

 ing has proved fairly hardy at the Arnold Arboretum, 

 but appears to be short-lived. Prop, by greenwood- 

 cuttings in summer and by seeds. 



oblonga, Bunge. Shrub, to 3 ft. : Ivs. oblong or ellip- 

 tic-ovate, acute, narrowed at the base into the short 

 petiole usually scabrid, %-%in. long: fls. in sessile, 

 dense and few-fld. clusters; corolla slender, tubular, 



with oblong-lanceolate spreading lobes, puberulous 

 outside, violet-purple, %in. long; style exceeding the 

 hairy mouth. N. China. July-Oct. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



LEPTOL&LIA. Hybrid of Leptotes bicolor (seed 

 parent) and Lselia cinnabarina, known as Leptolselia 

 Veitchii. 



LEPTOPTERIS (Greek, cut fern, alluding to the filmy 

 texture of the Ivs.). Osmundacese. About 6 greenhouse 

 ferns with sporangia like those of Osmunda but with 

 filmy Ivs. like those of Hymenophyllum. These sporangia 

 grow on the backs of the Ivs. as in ordinary ferns. A 

 group of beautiful ferns which require special cult. All 

 are from the Australasian region. Allied to Todea. 



superba, Presl. With an erect woody st. 12-18 in. 

 high; Ivs. 2-4 ft. long, 6-10 in. wide, tripinnatifid, 

 pinnae close together, narrow, reduced below. New 



Zeal - R. C. BENEDICT. 



LEPTOSIPHON (name alludes to the slender flower). 

 Polemoniacex. A genus founded by Bentham, but now 

 made a section or subgenus in Gilia. L. densifldrus, 

 Benth. (G. densifldra, Benth.), is a common garden 

 annual, by some now separated as Lindnthus densi- 

 fldrus, Benth., native in California. Leptdsiphon 

 aureus and L. hybridus are accounted for under Gilia 

 micrantha (p. 1337). 



LEPTOSPERMUM (Greek, slender seed) . Myrtacex. 

 Ornamental woody plants grown chiefly for their 

 copiously produced flowers and also for the neat myrtle- 

 like foliage. 



Evergreen shrubs or small trees : Ivs. alternate, small, 

 rigid, entire, nerveless or 1-3-nerved: fls. short-stalked 

 or sessile, solitary or 2-3, axillary or at the end of short 

 branchlets; sepals short and broad; petals roundish, 

 clawed, spreading; stamens many; ovary inferior, 

 inclosed in the calyx-tube, 3-10-celled; style short: fr. 

 a loculicidal caps., usually protruding above the calyx- 

 tube; seeds numerous, linear, or few and compressed 

 and winged. There are about 25 species mostly in 

 Australia, few in New Zealand and in the Malay 

 Archipelago. 



The leptospermums in cultivation are upright shrubs 

 with slender branches densely clothed with small rigid 

 foliage and covered in spring with numerous white, 

 rarely pink or carmine flowers % to % inch across; the 

 capsules are small and insignificant. They are cultiva- 

 ted somewhat outdoors in California, or in the North in 

 the greenhouse and treated like heath and other Cape 

 and Australian hardwood plants. Planted outdoors 

 they stand drought well and L. l&vigatum has been 

 employed by the hundred thousands in the reclama- 

 tion of the moving sands on the San Francisco promon- 

 tory where the Golden Gate Park is now established. 

 For greenhouse culture, L. scoparium var. bullatum 

 is an exceptionally good plant for those who can grow 

 heaths. It is far better than L. Isevigatum. 



Cuttings taken from well-ripened wood in the fall 

 or from the young growth in summer root freely under 

 the same treatment given erica. For a potting soil, use 

 two parts leaf -mold and one of sand. Plunge the pots 

 outside duiing the summer in the full sunlight. The 

 plants make a straggling growth, unless trimmed into 

 shape. By fall they will be covered with buds, but it is 

 impossible to force them into bloom for Christmas. 

 Keep the plants in a cool house with ericas or azaleas 

 until the latter part of February or March, and then 

 give them a little more heat, say 55 to 60. The plants 

 will soon be a mass of white flowers. L. scoparium var. 

 bullatum does not grow rapidly, but, like epacris, as it 

 grows older it makes fine specimens. It has tough foli- 

 age, stands much hard usage, and when in bloom 

 attracts plant-buyers. It deserves greater popularity. 



