2562 



PETASITES 



PETREA 



PETASITES (Greek, a broad-brimmed hat; referring 

 to the large broad leaves). Composite. Hardy peren- 

 nial herbs much like the common coltsfoot (Tussilago 

 Farfara), having large leaves of the same general shape, 

 but the flowers range from purple to white, not yellow, 

 and are borne in corymbs instead of singly. They are 

 rather coarse and weedy, but the big felty Ivs., appearing 

 after the very early leafless scapes, make a good cover 

 for rough or unoccupied places. 



The genus is widely distributed in north temperate 

 and subarctic regions. The number of species is about 

 20; the essential character of the genus (as distin- 

 guished from Tussilago) is that the heads are nearly or 

 quite dkecious, and rayless or with very short and mostly 

 not showy rays; also the fact that the scapes usually 

 have many heads instead of one. The Ivs. are orbicu- 

 lar or reniform, always with a deep heart-shaped base 

 and the scapes are covered with scales like a coltsfoot, 

 but sometimes the lower ones are more leafy. 



japonicus, F. Schmidt. Lys. large, 33^-4 ft. across, 

 radical: peduncle with 2 or 3 linear bracts: fl. -heads in a 

 fastigiate thyrse. Isl. of Sachalin. B.M. 8032. Var. 

 giganteus, Hort. Lvs. orbicular, margin wavy: fl.- 

 heads densely clustered. Gn.M. 10:180. The stalks 

 are eaten as a vegetable after being boiled, and are also 

 preserved in salt or sugar. The fl.-buds, which appear 

 in Feb., are used as a condiment, as they have a slightly 

 bitter but agreeable flavor. The plant has been adver- 

 tised in Amer. since 1900 by several dealers. Grows as 

 high as a man, and is useful for bold effects in the sub- 

 tropical garden. 



fragrans, Presl. WINTER HELIOTROPE. SWEET COLTS- 

 FOOT. Height 8 in.: Ivs. appearing during or after 

 anthesis, orbicular, margined with small cartilaginous 

 teeth, glabrous above, pubescent and green below: 

 heads fragrant, the marginal fls. of the female heads 

 in the form of short rays; fls. small, varying from pale 

 lilac to purple. Medit. region. Gn. 23, p. 113; 53, p. 

 328; 62, p. 58. Has the merit of blooming in winter 

 and its fls. have a delightful vanilla-like odor. A few 

 sprays are desirable for cutting during winter. The 

 plant also differs from the common coltsfoot in having 

 darker colored and evergreen foliage. It is suitable for 

 carpeting shrubberies and for dry banks of stiff clay 

 where choicer subjects will not thrive. Like most 

 others of the genus, it spreads rapidly by underground 

 runners. 



palmatus, Gray (Narddsmia palmata, Hook.). Height 

 6-24 in.: Ivs. orbicular or somewhat kidney-shaped, 

 deeply 7-11-cleft beyond the middle, and the lobes 

 sharply dentate, green and glabrous above, densely 

 white-tomentose beneath: heads fragrant, 4-6 lines 

 across, the marginal fls. of the female heads in the form 

 of short rays, whitish. E. Asia, N. Amer. B.B. 3:469. 

 Blooms from April to June, its fls. varying from nearly 

 white to pale blue or purplish. It is found in rich dark 

 swamps or sphagnum bogs from Newfoundland to 

 Alaska and south to N. Y., Wis., and Calif. It has 

 been offered by dealers in native plants. 



omcinalis, Moench (P. vulgaris, Desf.). Height 16 

 in.: Ivs. 3 in. to 3 ft. diam., reniform or orbicularly cor- 

 date, white-hairy below: fls. purplish, appearing before 

 the Ivs. in March-May, borne in cylindric panicles. Eu., 

 N - Asia ' WILHELM MILLER. 



L. H. B.f 



PETIVERIA (named after James Petiver, 1665- 

 1718, an apothecary and botanist of London). Phy- 

 tolaccacese. Shrubby herbs: Ivs. alternate: fls. small, in 

 axillary and terminal racemes, solitary or in 2's; 

 perianth herbaceous, conical at base, 4-parted, segms. 

 subequal, lanceolate, spreading; stamens inserted at 

 the base of the perianth on a hypogynous disk, either 4 

 alternate with the segms. of the perianth or 5-8 placed 

 without order; ovary 2-celled. About 2 species, S. 



Fla. to Paraguay. The genus has been recently mono- 

 graphed by Hans Walter in Engler's Pflanzenreich, hft. 

 39 (IV. 83). P. allidcea, Linn. (P. octdndra, Linn. P. 

 alliacea var. octdndra, Moq.). GUINEA-HEN WEED. 

 Half -shrubby, perennial: sts. 2-3 ft. high: Ivs. alternate, 

 ovate, entire, membranaceous, attenuate at both ends, 

 pellucid-dotted: inil. erect in a lax raceme; fls. rose or 

 white. Mex. to Brazil. An ornamental stove plant 

 probably not now in cult. 



PETREA (Robert James, Lord Petr6, 1710-1742, a 

 patron of botany who had the finest collection of exotic 

 plants in Europe). Sometimes spelled Petrxa. Verbe- 

 nacex. Tropical American woody plants, one of which 

 is a choice blue- or purple-flowered climber. 



Twining or arborescent shrubs: Ivs. opposite, 

 leathery, pinnate- veined: fls. violet, purple or bluish, in 



2878. Petrea volubilis. 

 From a cluster 7 or 8 inches long. 



long terminal racemes; calyx with 5 scales in the throat; 

 calyx-lobes colored during anthesis but often becom- 

 ing green and rigid in fr.; corolla usually a little more 

 intensely colored; limb 5-cut, oblique, the tube short 

 and cylindrical; stamens 4, didynamous; ovary imper- 

 fectly 2-loculed; locules 1-ovuled: fr. included in calyx, 

 indehiscent, 2-celled and 2-seeded or 1-seeded by 

 abortion. Species about a dozen, Mex., W. Indies to 

 Brazil. 



Petrea is well adapted to be grown with other stove 

 climbers. The plants do well when trained to a balloon- 

 shaped or flat wire frame, to pillars, or carried near the 

 roof, where they add greatly to the beauty of the 

 house. When it is intended to plant them out in the 

 border, the first point to be considered is the drainage in 

 the pot. This is best effected by placing a layer of brick 

 rubbish of about 4 to 5 inches. This will keep the com- 

 post from becoming sour or stagnant in the pot. For 

 a compost, use turfy loam four parts, turfy peat one 

 part, well-decayed cow-manure one part, with admix- 

 ture of a liberal quantity of sharp gritty sand. By the 

 end of January the temperature may be increased to 

 about 62 for night with 10 to 15 higher by day. Just 

 as soon as they show renewed vigor they will not stand 

 to become dry at the roots. They will want a good 

 syringing over and under the foliage every morning on 

 bright days. Give enough ventilation to keep the air 

 pure and sweet. In midsummer they need some shade 

 if only during the most powerful sunshine. When they 

 are well established, they will be benefited by liquid 

 manure once a week. For midsummer the tempera- 

 ture may be allowed to run up 80 or 85 with sun, and 

 a night temperature of 70. They are easily propagated 

 from shoot-cuttings placed in a brisk bottom heat and 



