PERICOME 



PERISTERIA 



2553 



thus forming a bell-shaped cup: disk-fis. sticky, the 

 anthers much exserted: achenes villous and ciliate. 

 There are only 2 known species, both of W. N. Amer. 

 The genus is of little horticultural importance and is 

 offered only by dealers in western native plants. The 

 showy golden yellow fls. are not unattractive. 



caudata, Gray. Lvs. opposite, long-petioled, triangu- 

 lar-hastate with crenate or entire margins, the apex and 

 sometimes the basal lobes long, caudate-acuminate: 

 heads many, the fls. conspicuously longer than the 

 involucre. Rocky canons in the mountains, Colo, to 

 New Mex. and Ariz. Useful in dry or exposed places. 



N. TAYLOR. 



PERILLA (said to be a native name in India; by 

 others, a Greek and Latin proper name). Labiates. 

 Herbs, one of which is sometimes grown for the col- 

 ored foliage. 



Erect, with opposite Ivs. and small fls. in whorls of 



2 that are aggregated into axillary and terminal simple 

 or panicled racemes: calyx bell-shaped, 5-toothed, much 

 enlarged and gibbous in fr.; corolla short-tubed, the 

 tube not exceeding calyx, limb oblique and somewhat 

 unequally 5-lobed; stamens 4, erect and separate; disk 

 represented by a large gland; style 2-parted. Two or 



3 species, Himalaya region to China and Japan. The 

 plant known in gardens as P. nankinensis is distinct by 

 the color of its foliage. The Ivs. are a dark wine-purple, 

 with a bronzy luster. These colors are more or less 

 toned with green, especially in young plants. It is an 

 annual herb, growing about 1^ ft- high. It is con- 

 siderably used in subtropical beds and for the back of 

 ribbon borders. It is sometimes planted next to a dusty 

 miller or other white-lvd. plants for the sake of contrast. 

 The foliage has an odor suggesting cinnamon. In 

 Japan the perilla is of economic importance for the 

 production of oil. 



Perillas need a sunny or at least half-sunny position. 

 They thrive under the treatment given half-hardy 

 annuals. Sow the seeds thinly and cover nearly an inch. 

 Avoid planting too closely; leggy specimens are unat- 

 tractive, and the plant has a tendency to become weedy. 

 The flowers are inconspicuous and produced in autumn. 

 Before the introduction of the coleus, this plant was 

 much used as an ornamental flower-garden plant, but 

 in our warmer summers it is displaced by the more 

 brilliantly colored and free-growing forms of that plant. 



frutescens, Brit. (Ocimum frutescens, Linn. P. 

 ocymmdes, Linn. Mentha perilloides, Willd.). The 

 typical form has Ivs. green on both sides and is worth- 

 less for gardens. Annual : Ivs. opposite, rarely speckled 

 with brownish purple, only slightly wrinkled, base 

 wedge-shaped or narrow; bkde broadly ovate or round- 

 ish, pointed or blunt, hairy or not, dentate or variously 

 cut at the margin. In the wild, it is a coarse often 

 shaggy plant, 2-4 ft. high, with Ivs. 3-6 in. long, petioles 

 1-3 in. long: racemes 3-8 in. long; corolla white or red- 

 dish, 2 lines long; fruiting calyx about J^in. long. 

 Himalayas, Burma, China, Japan. B.M. 2395. 

 Sparingly run wild. Following are new combinations. 



Var. nankinensis, Bailey (P. nankinensis, Decne. 

 P. ocymmdes var. nankinensis, Voss). Slightly hairy, 

 rarely glabrous: Ivs. dark purple-brown, with a bronzy 

 luster; base wedge-shaped (rounded in strong-growing 

 specimens); blade ovate, acute, coarsely and deeply 

 saw-toothed, margin wavy. Seedlings are sometimes 

 green. R.H. 1852:60; 1879, p. 272. Forms of this 

 variety are: (1) Var. laciniata, Bailey (P. laciniata, Hort. 

 P. nankinensis foliis atropurpureis lacinidtis, Hort.), 

 has Ivs. cut nearly to the middle, foliage undulate, 

 wrinkled or crisped. Colors said to be more intense. 

 Intro, about 1872. P.O. 2:77. (2) macrophylla, Bailey 

 (P. nankinensis macrophylla compdcta, Hort.), is a 

 large-lvd. form characterized by its almost "bell- 

 shaped" form. The Ivs. are wavy-fringed. Habit com- 

 pact. (3) Var. elatior, Bailey (P. nankinensis macrophylla 



eldtior, Hort. Benary) , is a taller form of var. macrophylla. 

 (4) Var. variegata, Bailey (P. nankinensis foliis varie- 

 gdtis, Hort.), differs in having the foliage spotted with 

 white. (5) Var. microphylla, Bailey (P. nankinensis 

 microphytta nigricans, Hort.), is a small-lvd. form intro. 

 about 1899. WILHELM MILLER 



L. H. B.f 



PERIPLOCA (Greek, around, and to twine; alluding 

 to the twining habit). Asclepiadacex. Ornamental 

 vines grown for the handsome glossy foliage and the 

 fragrant flowers appearing in 

 summer. 



Twining or upright decidu- 

 ous or evergreen shrubs, 

 glabrous, with milky juice: 

 Ivs. opposite, entire, without 

 stipules: fls. in axillary or 

 terminal cymes; calyx 5- 

 lobed; corolla 5-parted, bear- 

 ing inside at the base a 5- or 

 IWobed crown; stamens 5, 

 with very short filaments and 

 with the anthers connected 

 at the apex and villous; style 

 short, with broad stigma: fr. 

 consisting of 2 follicles, con- 

 taining numerous, small, 

 winged seeds. About 12 

 species from S. Eu. to Trop. 

 Afr., China and E. India. 



The periplocas in cultiva- 

 tion have dark green and 

 glossy leaves and dull-colored 

 fragrant flowers followed by 

 long and slender pods. P. 

 sepium has proved perfectly 

 hardy as far north as Mas- 

 sachusetts and P. grseca is 

 hardy north to New York, 

 and can be grown even in 

 Canada when trailing on the ground and somewhat 

 protected during the winter. They thrive in any well- 

 drained soil and prefer sunny positions; they are well 

 suited for covering arbors, trelliswork and trunks of 

 trees. Propagation is by seeds or by greenwood cut- 

 tings hi summer under glass; also by layers. 



graeca, Linn. SILK-VINE. Deciduous shrub, twi- 

 ning to 40 ft. : Ivs. petioled, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, dark green and glossy above, 13^-^t in. 

 long and 1-2 hi. broad: fls. hi loose, long-peduncled 

 cymes, brownish purple inside, greenish at the margin 

 and outside, 1 hi. across; corolla-lobes oblong, spreading, 

 villous; crown with 5 slender thread-like incurved gla- 

 brous appendages: follicles narrow, about 4 in. long. 

 July, Aug. S. Eu., W. Asia. B.M. 2289. B.R. 803. 

 L.B.C. 14:1389. Gn. 34, p. 78. A vigorous and high- 

 grqwing climber with handsome dark green and shining 

 foliage remaining unchanged until late hi fall. Under 

 the name of P. angustifolia a narrow-lvd. form is some- 

 tunes cult., which is P. graeca var. angustifolia, Jag. The 

 true P. angustifolia, Labill., is synonymous with P. 

 Isevigata, Ait., from the Canary Isls. and N. Afr., with 

 persistent Ivs. and pubescent appendages of the crown. 



sepium, Bunge. Fig. 2870. Lower and slenderer 

 than the preceding species: Ivs. lanceolate, long-acumi- 

 nate, dark green and glossy above, paler beneath, 2- 

 3H in. long and J^-%in. broad: fls. hi few-fid, cymes, 

 similar to those of the preceding species, but smaller, 

 about Min. across and with revolute corolla-lobes: fol- 

 licles 4-5 hi. long. June, July. N. China. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



PERISTERIA (Greek, dove, from the form of the 

 column and wings). Orchidacex. A group of stately 

 South American pseudobulbous wannhouse orchids. 



Leaves large, plicate, unfolding successively: fl.- 



2870. Periploca sepium. 



