NEPETA 



NEPHROLEPIS 



2131 



betonicaefolia, C. A. Mey. Upper Ivs. green on both 

 sides, notched at base, and cordate: bracts a half 

 shorter than the calyx: fls. pedicelled in dense heads: 

 racemes simple, short; calyx elongate, villous, hardly 

 dilated. Caucasus. 



Veitchii, Duthie. Perennial, herbaceous: whole 

 plant covered with minute rather hispid hairs: st. 

 1-1^2 ft- high: Ivs. narrowly oblong, lanceolate, 1-2 

 in. long, acute, cordate at base, crenate-dentate, 

 rugose; the lower stalked, the upper without petioles: 

 fls. in distant whorls; corolla light blue, about 1J^ in. 

 long, with a long narrow deflexed tube. W. China. 

 G.C. III. 40:334. A recent intro. Handsome. 



cc. Fls. sessile. 



Mussini, Spreng. Diffuse: branches many, ascend- 

 ing: Ivs. green above, whitish below: racemes un- 

 branched; bracts much shorter than the calyx: Ivs. 

 small, heart-shaped, blunt, deeply notched: corolla 

 blue, darker spotted. Caucasus, Persia. R.H. 1891 : 

 300. B.M. 923 (N. longiflora). Gn. 72, p. 563; 74, p. 

 413; 78, p. 518. A. C. HoTrEs.f 



NEPHELIUM (an ancient name transferred from 

 the burdock, because of some similarity in the rough 

 fruits). Sapindacese. Oriental tropical trees, some of 

 them prized for their fr.; species more than 30. Four 

 frs. prized in the Orient have been referred to this 

 genus, the litchi, longan, rambutan and pulassan, the 

 last one not having a general reputation. Recent 

 botanists, however, separate these into the genera 

 Euphoria, Litchi and Nephelium. The characters of 

 separation are: Euphoria. Fr. tubercled with rugose, 

 flattened, sometimes indistinct tubercles; aril free; 

 embryo straight, radicle at the base of the seed: petals 

 present; sepals imbricate: includes the longan or long- 

 yen (E. Longana, Lem. Nephelium Longana, Cambess. 

 See Euphoria). Litchi. Fr. tubercled with angular 

 prominent tubercles; aril free; embryo straight, radicle 

 at the base of the seed: petals wanting; sepals valvate, 

 small: includes the litchi (Litchi chinensis, Sonn. 

 Nephelium Litchi, Cambess. See Litchi). Nephelium. 

 Fr. echinate-muricate, sometimes smooth; aril adnate 

 to the seed; embryo curved, the radicle near the apex 

 of the seed: petals wanting, in some species present; 

 sepals valvate, small. 



The three species mentioned above may be dis- 

 tinguished by the Ivs. as follows: The longan has 

 usually 4 pairs (2-5) of Ifts., coriaceous, strongly veined, 

 acuminate but more or less obtuse at point, 2-4 in. or 

 more long; the litchi has usually 3 pairs of Ifts., coria- 

 ceous, indistinctly veined, glaucous beneath, obtusely 

 acuminate, 2-5 in. long; the rambutan has usually 2-3 

 or more pairs of Ifts., chartaceous, strongly veined, often 

 obtuse, 3J^-7 in. long; the midrib is somewhat raised 

 above, impressed in the two preceding species. The 

 longan is offered both in S. Fla. and S. Calif. It is said 

 to have been intro. in Calif, probably 25 years ago; it is 

 also reported that the litchi and Alectryon excelsum 

 have been sold for the longan. L, jj. B. 



The rambutan, pulassan and longan. 



The rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum, Linn.) and 

 the pulassan (N. mutabile, Blume) are commonly cul- 

 tivated in the Malay archipelago, where they appear to 

 be indigenous. The longan (N- Longana or Euphoria 

 Longana), said by De Candolle to be a native of India, 

 is considerably hardier than the first two, and is found 

 as far north as southern China, where it is rather 

 extensively grown. 



The rambutan is seen in almost every garden about 

 Singapore and Penang, and its fruit is one of the most 

 delicious of the region. The tree, which grows to a 

 height of 35 or 40 feet, is erect and stately in appear- 

 ance, with compound leaves composed of five to seven 



pairs of oblong leaflets about 4 inches long. It is com- 

 monly stated that there are eight or ten varieties of the 

 rambutan, but these appear to differ very little from 

 one another, and are rarely propagated by grafting or 

 layering. The fruits are produced in terminal clusters 

 of not more than ten or twelve, and individually are 

 the size of a small hen's egg, oval in form, and covered 

 with soft fleshy spines % inch in length. The color is 

 bright crimson, occasionally greenish or shaded with 

 orange. The pericarp is thin and leathery; to eat the 

 fruit the basal end is torn off, exposing the whitish, 

 translucent juicy pulp or aril, which, with a slight pres- 

 sure on the apical end of the fruit, slides into the mouth. 

 The flavor is acidulous, somewhat suggesting the grape, 

 and generally considered by Europeans very pleasant, 

 though not equal to that of its relative, the litchi. An 

 oblong flattened seed nearly 1 inch in length is inclosed 

 by the aril. 



The pulassan is often confused with the rambutan, 

 which it greatly resembles, but is distinguished by the 

 shorter blunt spines and the aril separating more 

 readily from the seed. The flavor is sweeter and gen- 

 erally preferred to that of the rambutan. 



It is not known that either of these species has ever 

 fruited in tropical America, their culture being limited, 

 practically speaking, to southern Asia. They are usu- 

 ally grown from seed, but layering and grafting are 

 often used to perpetuate choice seedlings. The gootee 

 method, described under Litchi, is successful. 



The longan, called by the French "ceil de dragon," 

 or dragon's eye, greatly resembles the litchi except in 

 its smaller size and inferior flavor. It ripens later than 

 the litchi and is very popular among the Chinese, quan- 

 tities of the fruit being sold in Hong Kong and Canton 

 during late summer. It has been introduced to the 

 United States and planted in both Florida and Cali- 

 fornia, where it fruits abundantly and appears to 

 thrive, when grown in locations which are protected 

 from severe frosts. The fruits, which are produced in 

 large terminal clusters, are Y^ inch in diameter, spheri- 

 cal, with a thin leathery pericarp and whitish, gelatin- 

 ous pulp or aril inclosing a shiny brown seed the size of 

 a bean. The flavor is generally considered rather insipid. 

 As a stock on which to bud the more tender litchi the 

 longan may have considerable value, although its growth 

 is rather slow. j\ w. POPENOE. 



NEPHRODIUM. A name used by some botanists, 

 especially in England, for species of Dryopteris, which 



see. 



NEPHROLEPIS (Greek, kidney scale, alluding to 

 the shape of the indusia) . Polypodiaceae. SWORD FERN. 

 A group of tropical and subtropical ferns. 



Leaves pinnately divided; pinnae articulated or 

 jointed, the veins free-forking, the sori on upper forks 

 of the veins and with kidney-shaped indusia which are 

 attached inwardly. Four species are m more or less 

 common cult. Of these, N. exoltata is the most impor- 

 tant as it is best adapted to general cult, and also it 

 has given rise to a large number of important horti- 

 cultural varieties. It is, perhaps, safe to say that this 

 species and its varieties constitute the most important 

 single species of fern in cult, for house purposes. The 

 three other species have each given rise to a few vari- 

 eties but none of them is well adapted to house con- 

 ditions, so that they are mainly confined to green- 

 houses. 



In the index that follows most of the names belong 

 to varieties of N. exaltata, or more accurately to varie- 

 ties of N. exaltata var. bostoniensis, but in the trade they 

 are counted as species and are given specific names. 

 Technically N. elegantissirna should have a much longer 

 name if its true relationship were to be indicated. To 

 illustrate, ekgantissima is a variety of Piersonii, which 

 is a variety of bostoniensis and this a variety of the 



