2536 



PELORIA 



PENNISETUM 



2856. Peloria. Lack of spurs in the 

 columbine. (Compare Fig. 2855.) 



(Figs. 2855, 2856.) Peloric forms have been of little 

 significance in horticulture. See Keeble, Pellew and 

 Jones on inheritance of peloria in foxgloves, "New 

 Phytologist," Vol. IX, page 68 (1910). 



PELTANDRA (Greek, referring to the peltate 

 anthers). Aracex. ARROW ARUM. Stemless herbs, 

 being excellent subaquatic plants, their large thick 

 sagittate leaves always adding 

 variety and interest to margins 

 of ponds and to bog-gardens. 



Leaves glossy, arrow-shaped, 

 arising from strong under- 

 ground parts: fls. monoecious 

 and naked, the staminate ones 

 on the upper part of the long 

 spadix, the anthers sessile and 

 imbedded and opening by 

 terminal pores, 

 the 1-loculed 

 ovaries attended 

 by 4 or 5 scale- 

 like bodies or 

 staminodia: 

 spathe usually 

 exceeding the 

 spadix: fr. a 1- 

 3-seeded, mostly 

 leathery berry, 

 borne in large 

 globose clusters. 

 Two species 

 in E. Amer. 

 which have been 

 much confused. 

 Single specimens 

 or clumps are usually most prized. Peltandras are easy 

 to colonize. 



virginica, Kunth (P. undulata, Raf.). Lvs. narrow- 

 sagittate, the basal lobes long and nearly or quite 

 acute: spathe 4-8 in. long, green, convolute around the 

 spadix for its whole length; sterile part of the spadix 

 much longer than the pistillate part: fr. green, 1-3- 

 seeded. In shallow pools or bog margins, New Eng- 

 land to Fla. and west. A.G. 14:111. The root is com- 

 posed of thick cords or fibers. 



sagittaefdlia, Morong (P. dlba, Raf.). Lvs. broader 

 the basal lobes short: spathe white, the upper part 

 expanded and calla-like; sterile part of spadix little, 

 if any, longer than pistillate part: fr. red, 1-seeded. Va., 

 south. Root tuberous. L, jj, g_ 



PELTARIA (Greek, small shield, referring to the 

 roundish form of the pod). Crudferse. Tall glabrous 

 herbs with entire cauline Ivs., sagittate-cordate at 

 base: fls. white, subcorymbose; fruiting pedicels spread- 

 ing or recurved, filiform, without bracts; sepals broad; 

 stamens free, not toothed: silique orbiculate or obo- 

 vate, 1-celled, indehiscent, much compressed, reticu- 

 late. About 4 species, natives of S. Eu., Asia Minor, 

 Syria, and Persia. P. alliacea, Jacq. About 1 ft. high, 

 with entire petals, smooth flat pods, and sagittate- 

 clasping Ivs. This species has the odor of garlic, as its 

 name would suggest. E. Eu. Offered in the trade as a 

 cut-fl. R.H. 1908, p. 131. 



PELTIPHfLLUM: Saxifraga. 



PELTOPHORUM (Greek, shield and bearing, refer- 

 ring to the peculiar stigma). Leguminosse. A few spe- 

 cies of splendid tropical trees, belonging to the same 

 tribe as the gorgeous Poinciana and Caesalpinia. 



Flowers yellow; petals 5, roundish; stamens 10, free, 

 declinate; filaments pilose at base; ovary sessile, 2- to 

 many-ovuled: pod flattish, indehiscent, with narrowly 

 winged margins. Peltophorum is distinguished from 



Csesalpinia and Poinciana by the valvate calyx-segms. 

 of the latter, while the two former have their calyx- 

 segms. strongly imbricated. The peculiar stigma of 

 Peltophorum readily distinguishes it from its close 

 allies, Caesalpinia and Hasmatoxylon (logwood). These 

 genera represent a type of structure widely different 

 from the northern pea-shaped fls., as they have 5 dis- 

 tinct petals which are all about the same size and 

 shape. There is a fine colored plate of a Peltophorum 

 in Bfanco's "Flora of the Philippines," where the 

 golden fls. are nearly 1J^ in. across, a dozen of them in 

 each raceme, and 4 racemes uniting to form a great 

 panicle. Peltophorums have the Mimosa type of foliage. 

 Each If . of P. inerme has 8-10 pairs of pinnae, and each 

 pinna 10-20 pairs of Ifts. The generic name is pre- 

 occupied by Peltophorus, a genus of grasses, and is 

 consequently replaced by some recent authors by the 

 name Baryxylum. 



A. Lfts. %-%in. long, 10-20-pinnate. 

 inerme, Naves (Csesalpinia inermis, Rqxbg. P. fer- 

 rugineum, Benth. Baryxylum inerme, Pierre). Tree, 

 attaining 100 ft., taking its specific name from the 

 dense rusty tomentum which covers the young branches, 

 petioles, and infl. : Ivs. 8-10-pinnate, oblong, obtuse or 

 retuse, oblique at the base, M~/4in. long, shining above, 

 rusty tomentose beneath: racemes 5-6 in. long, in a 

 large terminal panicle; calyx about %m. long; petals 

 obovate, undulate, villous at the base: pod 3-4 in. 

 long, %-l in. wide, 1-3-seeded. Austral., Philippines. 

 Intro, at Santa Barbara, Calif., by Franceschi, but 

 has not been a success there. 



AA. Lfts. YrYfan- long, 20-80-pinnaie. 

 dubium, Taub. (Csesalpinia dubia, Spreng. P. 

 Vogelianum, Walp. Baryxylum dubium, Pierre). A 

 large beautiful tree with rusty tomentose branches, 

 petioles, and infl.: Ivs. 9-18 in. long, 12-20-pinnate, 

 2-4 in. broad; Ifts. 20-30-pinnate, oblique, oblong, 

 obtuse, symmetrical or base unequal, M-M m - l n g> 

 minutely rusty tomentose beneath, becoming glabrate: 

 infl. a broad terminal panicle; fls. in simple or branched 

 racemes; pedicels M~/^ m - long; calyx-tube very short, 

 turbinate; petals broadly obovate, M~M m - long, 

 margin wrinkled; very short-stalked, rusty tomentose: 

 pod 3 in. long, %in. broad, acute at both ends, 2-seeded. 

 Brazil. p. L. RICKER. 



PENIOCEREUS (Latin combination, meaning phal- 

 loid Cereus). Cactacese, Low slender erect plants, grow- 

 ing from very large fleshy turnip-shaped roots: sts. 

 usually 4- or 5-ribbed: fls. large, nocturnal, usually 

 white: fr. ovoid, long-acuminate, bright scarlet, edible. 



Greggii, Brit. & Rose (Cereus Greggii, Engelm.). 

 Slender, branching, 2-3 ft. high, %-l in. diam., from 

 an extraordinarily large tuberous root (often 6-10 in. 

 long and 4-6 in. diam.) : ribs 3-6, acute; spines subulate 

 from bulbous base, very short and sharp, 7-11, 1 or 2 

 being central: fls. white or yellowish, 6-8 in. long: fr. 

 ovate, alternate at base and apex, bright scarlet, 

 fleshy and edible, 1-2 in. long. Borders of Texas, New 

 Mex., Ariz., and southward. j. N. ROSE. 



PENNISETUM (Latin, penna, feather; seta, bristle). 

 Graminese. Mostly stout grasses with bristly spike-like 

 inflorescence, making conspicuous border and lawn 

 plants. 



Spikelets as in Panicum, but surrounded by several 

 bristles that fall with the spikelet. Species about 40 

 in tropical regions, one species cult, for fodder, some 

 of the others for ornament. 



The plumy grass known to gardeners as P. longisty- 

 lum is much used for bedding. It is, perhaps, the 

 finest dwarf grass which is grown chiefly for its flower 

 parts. It sometimes survives the winter at Washing- 

 ton, D. C., but should always be treated as a tender 



