LOROPETALUM 



LOVE-IN-A-MIST 



1917 



bescent: Ivs. ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 

 rounded 'and oblique at the base, glaucescent below 

 and hairy on the veins, ciliate, 1-2 in. long: fls. in clus- 

 ters of 4-5; petals strap-shaped, %-l in. long, white, 

 yellowish or greenish white. March, April. Cent, and 

 S.E.China. B.M. 7979. G. C. II. 19:152; III. 15:343. 

 Gn. 65, p. 255. J.H. III. 18:235. R.H. 1904, p. 571. 

 I.T. 2:58. G. 26:69. ALFRED REHDER. 



LOTUS (an old Greek name). Legumindsae . Herbs 

 and subshrubs, grown for the yellow, purple, rose- 

 colored or white flowers. 



Plants glabrous, silky or hirsute: Ivs. with 3-5 Ifts. 

 crowded at the apex of the petiole and commonly 2 

 joined to the st. and resembling stipules: fls. mostly pea- 

 shaped, often in axillary few-fld. umbels, rarely solitary; 

 standard broad, contracted at base; wings obovate; 

 keel incurved or inflexed, beaked; calyx-lobes longer 

 than the tube; stamens 9 and 1, connate but free from 

 the petals: pod oblong or linear. Species 80-100, 

 largely in the Medit. region, but also in S. Afr., Temp. 

 Asia and Austral. By some botanists, the genus 

 Hosackia (which see) has been united with Lotus, but 

 it differs in having usually more Ifts., short calyx-teeth, 

 obtuse keel. One lotus (L. corniculatus) has become 

 established in N. Amer. Lotus nigricans of cult, is 

 Kennedya nigricans. 



Lotus meant several things to the ancients: (1) 

 the Greek lotus, a leguminous plant on which horses 

 fed. This was probably what we call tc-day Lotus cor- 

 niculalus, the common bird's-foot trefoil of temperate 

 regions. (2) The Cyrenean lotus, an African shrub, the 

 fruit of which was eaten by certain North African tribes 

 who were called lotus-eaters. The fruit was said to be 

 honey-sweet, the size of an olive and in taste like a date. 

 This was probably Zizyphus Lotus, a prickly shrub 

 whose fruit is, however, considered inferior to that of 

 the common jujube, Zizyphus saliva. Other conjectures 

 have been: Celtis australis, a tree which has a small, 

 sweet berry; Nitraria tridentata, a thorny desert shrub 

 whose succulent fruit has a stimulating quality, and 

 Rhamnus Lotus, another North African plant. Euro- 

 pean lotus is a name for Diospyros Lotus, a kind of 

 date plum which is cultivated in southern Europe, but 

 the fruit is hardly edible. (3) The Egyptian lotus or 

 sacred lily of the Nile. This is Nymphsea Lotus, which, 

 like the Hindu lotus, has rose-colored as well as white 

 flowers. American cultivators at the present time 

 almost universally consider that the true Egyptian 

 lotus is Nelumbium speciosum, now called Nelumbo, 

 but Nelumbium speciosum is not a native of Egypt. (4) 

 The Hindu and Chinese lotus, also called the sacred or 

 Pythagorean bean. This is Nelumbo indica, better 

 known as Nelumbium speciosum. The name lotus was 

 doubtless used for other water-lilies, particularly the 

 blue-flowered Nymphsea cserulea. 



A. Lvs. thread-like: fls. odd, scarcely pea-shaped. 



Bertholetii, Masf. (L. peliorhyncus, Hook. L. pelyor- 

 ensis, Hort.). CORAL GEM. Small, much-branched, 

 slender bush, with a "silvery hue: Ifts. whorled, 8-9 

 lines long: fls. 1J^ in. long, in loose clusters of about 20 

 toward the end of the branches, short-pedicelled, scar- 

 let or crimson fading to orange; standard recurved like 

 a horn; keel acuminate, longer than the wings. Cape 

 Verde, Canaries. B.M. 6733. R.H. 1895:308; 1914, 

 p. 185. G. 25:255. G.L. 27 : 169. Peliorhyncus means 

 "bruised or discolored nose." This name, however, is 

 apparently more recent than L. Bertholetii. Grown 

 chiefly in hanging-baskets; in S. Calif, it is much used 

 for sunny rockeries. Prop, by division or cuttings. The 

 odd long-pointed fls. make this an interesting and 

 showy species. Var. atrococcineus, Hort., is an easily 

 grown greenhouse plant for baskets, differing from the 

 species in its darker-colored glossy deep scarlet black- 

 spotted fls. 



mascaensis, Burch. A recent species from Teneriffe: 

 similar to L. Bertholetii in foliage, but more compact and 

 bushy, with shorter branches: fls. pure shining canary- 

 yellow, produced freely. M.D.G. 1912:253. 



AA. Lvs. not thread-like: fls. pea-shaped. 

 B. Fls. yellow. 



corniculatus, Linn. BIRD'S-FOOT TREFOIL. BABIES' 

 SLIPPERS. Perennial, prostrate or ascending, a few in. 

 to 2 ft. high, glabrous or hairy: Ifts. obovate or ovate, 

 ^in. long, the 2 stipular ones broader and very oblique: 

 fls. yellow, often tinged bright red, 5-10 in an umbel; 

 calyx-lobes about as long as the tube. Temperate 

 regions and Austral.; run wild at certain places in U. S. 

 and Canada. Var. fldre-pleno has showy double fls. 

 A hardy trailer for covering dry banks and rockwork, 

 blooming all summer and autumn. Also grown for 

 forage. 



BB. Fls. pink or white. 



australis, Andr. Perennial, diffuse, sometimes sub- 

 shrubby, glabrous or pubescent: Ifts. narrower than in 

 L. corniculatus, and the stipular ones less dissimilar, 

 but varying from obovate and under Hin. long, to 

 linear and 1-1 M i n - long: fls. usually pink, but varying 

 from white to purple-red. Austral. B.M. 1365. L.B.C. 

 11:1063 and B. 5:211 (as L. albidus). 



BBB. Fls. normally dark purple or dark red. 

 c. Lfts. linear-lanceolate. 



Jacobaeus, Linn. Perennial, subshrubby: Ifts. few, 

 narrow and long-acuminate: fls. about 3 in a flat- 

 topped cluster, dark purple, almost black. Cape Verde. 

 B.M. 79. Treated as a tender annual bedding plant: 

 blooms for a long season. A yellow-fld. form is men- 

 tioned. 



cc. Lfts. obovate to elliptic. 



Tetragon61obus, Linn. (Tetragondlobus edulis, Link. 

 T. purpiireus, Moench). WINGED PEA. Annual trailer: 

 Ifts. 3, broad-ovate: fls. solitary or twin, purplish 

 cardinal-red: pods 4-sided, 2-3 in. long, somewhat 

 fleshy at first; seeds yellowish, nearly globular or some- 

 what flattened. Medit. region. B.M. 151. Tetra- 

 gonolobus was once considered a separate genus, 

 largely because of the 4 leafy wings of the pod. Grown 

 chiefly for food, the pods being eaten when young 

 and the seeds, when roasted, substituted for coffee. 

 Seeds are sown in drills in April. The plants require 

 no special care except water during drought. 



WILHELM MILLER. 



L. H. B.f 



LOURYA (Jules Louis Charles Boys de Loury). 

 Lili&cese; by some referred to Hsemodoraceae. An 

 aspidistra-like plant of recent intro.: perennial herb 

 with creeping rhizome: Ivs. basal, lengthened and 

 stalked: fls. in dense heads or spikes at the surface of the 

 ground; parts of perianth ovate, becoming spreading; 

 at the throat a corona; anthers 6, sessile. One species: 

 L. campanulata, Baill. Rootstock stout, subterranean: 

 Ivs. 1-2 ft. long, oblong-lanceolate, tapering at both 

 ends: fls. basal, larger and more showy than those of 

 Aspidistra and in longer spike, pale yellow (white?) 

 with purple center, broadly campanulate, the 6 lobes 

 broad: fr. blue, 1 in. long. Cochin-China: a very worthy 

 plant. B.M. 7482. G.C. III. 33:107. R.H. 1889, p. 129. 

 It looks like Curculigo, but differs botanically in hav- 

 ing basal ovules and in the characters of stamens, the 

 filaments being united in a dark purple membrane which 

 nearly closes the tube, the anthers small and erect. 



L. H. B. 



LOUSEWORT: Pedicularis. 

 LOVAGE: Levisticum. 



LOVE-IN-A-MIST: Nigella. Love-lies-bleeding: Amarantua 

 caudatus. 



