2544 



PEPEROMIA 



PEPEROMIA 



2865. Peperomia Sandersii, usually known 

 as P. arifolia var. argyreia. 



tubers formed at the base: sts. prostrate, creeping and 

 thread-like, or erect and slender, or short thick, and 

 succulent: Ivs. alternate, opposite, or in whorls of 3-4 

 (rarely 5-6), entire, fleshy or membranous, often with 

 pellucid dots, sometimes attractively veined or colored: 

 fls. minute, usually disposed in a dense spike; stamens 

 2; anther-cells confluent; stigma sessile, undivided, 

 often tufted: fr. a small or minute berry, 1-seeded, 



with thin pericarp. 

 Species perhaps 

 500 or more, 

 widely dispersed, 

 but mostly in 

 Amer., from Fla. 

 to Chile and Ar- 

 gentina. Very few 

 are cult. The 

 names of peper- 

 omias are much 

 confused, partly 

 owing to the vast 

 size of the genus, 

 which always in- 

 creases the diffi- 

 culties of discrimi- 

 nation, and partly 

 to the minuteness 

 of the fls. More- 

 over, the duration 

 of many kinds is uncertain, while great numbers are 

 monocarpic, that is, they flower and fruit once and then 

 die. In the following account, the names are those 

 that mostly appear in the trade and in horticultural 

 literature; how far these names may be properly deter- 

 mined botanically is a subject for investigation. 



Peperomias are very attractive and beautiful small- 

 stature glasshouse plants, having particularly a very 

 decorative appearance among other foliage plants. For 

 their general culture they need a warm house. By the 

 end of January they will become active both in root 

 and foliage. From February on they will stand an 

 increase in temperature to about 62 at night; this may 

 be increased until they are having 65 to 70 with an 

 increase of 10 to 15 on bright days. As the sun gets 

 powerful in the spring, they will need shade, or as soon 

 as the foliage shows signs of losing color. In the sum- 

 mer they need a good supply of water, but in autumn 

 and winter they require very careful watering. In 

 spring and summer they profit by frequent light spray- 

 ing. Keep the atmosphere of the house in a moist 

 state, but avoid a stuffy or stagnant condition. In the 

 slow time of winter, they will stand the temperature to 

 be lowered to -about 60 with 10 to 15 increase with 

 sun. Give less spraying and be very careful in giving 

 water during the dark and dull time, otherwise the 

 roots will rot. They can be propagated readily from 

 pieces of the stems or leaves placed hi pans of silver 

 sand and plunged where they will have bottom heat of 

 75 to 80. Do not cover with glass as it tends to make 

 them rot. Keep shaded and be very careful about 

 watering, and they will soon root. When they make 

 sufficient roots, they may be potted up into small pots, 

 using loam four parts, fibrous peat two parts, and 

 enough sand to keep it open. For larger shifts, use a 

 more lumpy mixture of fibrous loam, fibrous peat, and 

 well-decayed cow-manure. By July or August they 

 should get their last shift, until the coming of spring. 

 They will stand full sun by the end of September and 

 through the winter, and this greatly aids in keeping 

 them in good condition at that season. (J. J. M. Farrell.) 



A. Plants for pots or pans, erect-habited. 



B. Lvs. alternate. 

 c. Sts. short or wanting. 



Sandersii, A. DC. (P. arifdlia, Hort., not Miq.). 

 Fig. 2865. Stemless: Ivs. alternate, peltate, 5 x 3K in., 



rounded at base; petioles dark red, 4-8 in. long. Cult, 

 only in the form var. argyreia, Hook., f., which differs 

 from the type in having broad, parallel longitudinal 

 bands of white between the nerves. Brazil. B.M. 5634. 

 F.S. 23:2438. G. 25:197. A.G. 19:17. F.R. 1:637. 

 This plant seems to be the commonest in cult, here, 

 under the name of P. arifolia var. argyreia. However, 

 Casimir DeCandolle thought that this plant is not the 

 true P. arifolia, and he renamed it P. Sandersii (after 

 Wilson Sanders), but the name is often spelled Saun- 

 dersii in trade catalogues. The distinctions which De- 

 Candolle makes are technical. The evident ones are that 

 P. arifolia has a short st. and catkins much longer than 

 the Ivs., while P. Sandersii has no st. and the catkins 

 are about as long as the Ivs. 



Verschaffeltii, Lem. Distinguished from P. mar- 

 morata, which it much resembles, by the Ivs. being 

 alternate, by the basal lobes, which do not overlap but 

 are separated by a notch as in a typical cordate If. A 

 smaller and more delicate but more branched plant: 

 st. short: st., branches, petioles, and peduncles much 

 longer, translucent, and pale rose (not green) : Ivs. heart- 

 shaped at base. Upper Amazon, Brazil. I.H. 16:598. 



tithymaloides, A. Dietr. (P. magnolisefblia, A. Dietr.). 

 Lvs. alternate, subovate, acutish, narrowed at base, 

 2-3 in. long, base acute ; more than 9-nerved; nerves 

 subqpposite; petiole 1 in. long, keeled beneath: st. 

 rooting below. Santo Domingo. Monocarpic (annual 

 or biennial.) 



maculosa, A. Dietr. Lvs. alternate(?), ovate-lanceo- 

 late, bright shining green, very fleshy; petioles beauti- 

 fully spotted with purple. Santo Domingo. A good 

 subject for a pan. Perennial. 



cc. Sts. numerous, long, slender. 



metallica, Lind. & Rod., is distinct from all others 

 here described by its numerous slender unbranched 

 sts. 12-16 in. high, and lanceolate Ivs. It probably 

 belongs in some other genus or family. It was intro. in 

 1892 before the fls. were known and its exact botanical 

 position determined. Lvs. blackish green, painted 

 white down the middle, red-veined below; petioles 

 short, reddish brown. Peru. I.H. 39:157. G.W. 3, p. 

 160. 



BB. Lvs. opposite or in whorls. 



marmorata, Hook. St. short, much-branched, nearly 

 2/2in. thick: Ivs. opposite, ovate-cordate, deeply 2-lobed 

 at the base, the lobes rounded and overlapping. The 

 Ivs. are 3-5 x lj^-2% in., not so broad as P. Sandersii, 

 and less concave. Not advertised, but has been unneces- 

 sarily confused with P. Sandersii. 



latifdlia, Miq. St. 10 in. high, decumbent: Ivs. 

 obovate or obtusely ovate, 5-7-nerved, opposite or in 

 whorls of 3, base acute, glabrous above, pubescent 

 beneath; petiole 7-8 lines long. Hawaii. Monocarpic 

 (annual or biennial). 



AA. Plants for hanging-baskets, drooping. 



nummularifolia, HBK. Delicate creeper, with long, 

 thread-like, rooting sts. and small orbicular Ivs., puber- 

 ulous or glabrate: Ivs. alternate, ciliate, obscurely pal- 

 mately 3-neryed, 3-4 lines diam. Trop. Amer. The 

 above description is from Grisebach. Five other 

 species in the W. Indies have the same habit. P. pros- 

 trdta, Hort., is probably a synonym. It is a stove basket- 

 plant figured in G.C. II. 11:717 and F. 1881, p. 103, 

 with a good-sized petiole. The Ivs. are very small for the 

 genus, and are said not to exceed %in. Lvs. bordered 

 and nerved with greenish white. Annual. Nicholson 

 refers P. prostrata to P. brevipes, and keeps P. nummu- 

 larifolia separate. P. brevipes, C. DC., has Ivs. alternate, 

 orbiculate, younger ones hirsute, older ones glabrate, 

 ciliate, 1-nerved: style none: berry with a very short 

 stipe. Trop. Amer. 



