2114 



NARTHECIUM 



NATIVE PLANTS 



The genus is close to Tofieldia in having a persistent 

 perianth, simple racemes, and grass-like Ivs.; resem- 

 bles Simethis in the bearded filaments and simple 

 style. The perianth is firmer than in most liliaceous 

 plants and shows an approach to Juncaceae, with which 

 many botanists associate it. Some botanists call this 

 genus Abama and assign it to the family Melanthacese. 



calif ornicum, Baker. Lvs. iris-like; basal ones 

 ^g-^in. broad; cauline Ivs. 2-3 in number, short: 

 raceme 3-5 in. long, loose: sts. 18-20 in. high: fls. 30-40, 

 yellowish green: caps, of paper-like texture, slender at 

 top, 3-valved, when ripe a bright salmon-color; seeds, 

 including the points or tails, J^in. long. Swamps, Calif. 

 Intro, by dealers in native plants in 1888 or 1889. 



M. B. COTJLSTON. 



NASEBERRY: Sapoditta. 



NASTURTIUM (classical Latin name of some cress, 

 referring to its pungent smell: nasus, nose, and tortus, 

 distortion). Crutiferse. The name Nasturtium is used 

 for two very different groups of plants. As a flower- 

 garden name, it is used for plants of the Tropseplacese 

 (see Trppseolum) . It has also been used for certain cru- 

 cifers, including the water-cress and horse-radish; but 

 as a generic name it is now replaced, mostly by Radicula, 

 which see. 



NATAL PLUM, a handsome shrub (Carissa grandi- 

 flora, of the family Apocynacex), originally from South 

 Africa, is cultivated in southern Florida and southern 

 California for ornament and for its scarlet edible fruits 

 the size of a plum. Fig. 2451. It is considered one of 

 the best hedge plants in South Africa, and is some- 

 times used for this 

 6urpose in the 

 nited States. See 

 Carissa. 



The Natal plum 

 is a large shrub, 

 eventually attain- 

 ing to 15 or 18 ft., 

 much branched 

 and spreading, and 

 armed with stout 

 bifurcate spines: 

 foliage dense, 

 glossy green in 

 color; Ivs. oppo- 

 site, ovate-acute, 

 mucronate, thick 

 and leathery, 1-2 

 in. long: fls. star- 

 shaped, fragrant, 

 about 2 in. across 

 and borne in small 

 terminal cymes; 

 calyx composed of 

 5 oblong-acute 

 lobes about J^in. 

 long; corolla sal- 

 verform, with a 

 slender tube about 

 %in. long and 5 

 oblong-obovate 

 lobes twice the 

 length of the tube 

 and twisted to 

 the left in bud; 

 stamens 5, in- 

 serted upon the tube; style clavate; ovary superior, 

 2-celled, with several ovules in each cell. 



The plant blooms most abundantly in early spring, 

 but produces a few scattering flowers throughout the 

 year; their waxy texture and fragrance are suggestive 

 of the jasmine. The fruits, most of which ripen in 



2451. Natal plum. Carissa grandiflora. 



summer, are ovoid or elliptic in form, commonly 1 to 2 

 inches long, with a thin skin inclosing the firm granular 

 reddish pulp toward the center of which are several 

 thin papery almost circular seeds, sometimes as many 

 as twenty or more. The fruit is very attractive in 

 appearance, but is not generally relished when eaten 

 out of hand; its flavor suggests the raspberry or cran- 

 berry, and when stewed it yields a sauce which greatly 

 resembles that made from the latter fruit. It is also 

 used for jelly and preserves. It is not of commercial 

 importance in the United States, but is frequently 

 planted in gardens for ornament and fruit. It seems 

 well adapted to cultivation in both Florida and Cali- 

 fornia, withstanding several degrees of frost without 

 injury, and being somewhat drought-resistant. Among 

 seedlings, however, there is great variation in produc- 

 tiveness, so that vegetative means of propagation must 

 be used to perpetuate good varieties. Firminger states 

 that grafting on Carissa Carandas renders the species 

 more productive. 



When used as a hedge-plant it withstands shearing 

 admirably, but yields little fruit under these con- 

 ditions. Its growth is compact and low, and it has the 

 interesting habit of branching dichotomously. It suc- 

 ceeds on a variety of soils, from the lightest sand to 

 heavy clay or adobe, and when left to itself will form a 

 shapely attractive bush. 



Seeds are easily germinated by planting in pans of 

 light sandy loam. They should be as fresh as possible 

 and barely covered with soil. Cuttings, when planted 

 directly after removal from the parent bush, do not root 

 very readily, but a method has been discovered by 

 Simmonds whereby nearly every one will grow: this 

 consists in notching young branchlets while still 

 attached to the plant, making a cut half way through 

 the stem 3 or 4 inches from the tip; the branchlet is 

 then bent downward and allowed to hang limply 

 until the end of the second month, when a callus will 

 have formed on the cut portion, and the cutting may be 

 removed and placed in sand under a lath shade, requir- 

 ing another month to strike roots. The plant is also 

 easily propagated by layering, and it is not difficult to 

 bud, using the common method of shield-budding, 

 essentially the same as practised with the avocado. 

 Late spring is the best time to do the work. 



Another species of Carissa in cultivation and which 

 is sometimes confused with C. grandiflora is C. bispinosa 

 (C. arduina). This can be distinguished from C. grandi- 

 flora by the much smaller size of the flowers, which are 

 only ^uich broad, with the corolla-segments much 

 shorter than the tube, and by the oblong-obtuse fruit 

 which is only ^inch in length and contains one or two 

 instead of many seeds lanceolate in outline. 



Carissa Carandas, a species common in India, where 

 it is known as karaunda, has also been introduced to 

 this country. It is distinguished from the above two 

 by the corolla-lobes being contorted to the right instead 

 of to the left (as stated on page 664), by the oblong or 

 elliptic-oblong leaves with rounded or obtuse tips, and 

 by the spines being simple in place of bifurcate. Its 

 fruits are % to 1 inch long, containing three or four 

 seeds, and are much used in India for pickles and pre- 

 serves, p. W. POPENOE. 



NATHUSIA (Gottlob Nathusius, 1760-1838, Prus- 

 sian plantsman). Oleaceae. Four trees of India and 

 tropical Africa seldom cult., for which see Schrebera. 



NATIVE PLANTS. The desire for native and 

 natural plants is one of the dominant notes of the 

 present time. It is not strange that wild plants are not 

 appreciated in a new country. The first necessity of 

 civilization is to fell the trees that ground may be 

 tilled and habitations be built. The necessities of life 

 are imported; the literature is exotic; the plants are 

 transported from other lands. In Europe the condi- 



