PHOTIXIA 



2595 



2921. American mistletoe. Phora- 

 dendron flavescens. 



short spikes or catkins: berries amber-white, globular, 

 small. It is collected for Christmas greens (see Greens, 

 Christmas). The Old World mistletoe is Viscum; see also 

 Loranthus. (Trelease, Phoradendron, 1916.) 



The phoradendrons are not cultivated. There are 

 about 100 species of them, all American, largely tropi- 

 cal, but a few in the 

 western states. The 

 oak mistletoe of Cali- 

 fornia is P. vittosum, 

 Nutt. A related genus 

 is Arceuthobium (or 

 Razoumofskya), ex- 

 tending across the 

 continent of North 

 America, but too 

 small, or even minute, 

 to have decorative 

 value. 



PHORMIUM 



(Greek, basket; refer- 

 ring to one use to 

 which this fiber plant 

 /* is put). Ltiiaceae. 

 NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 

 Very stout rigid per- 

 ennial herbs prized 

 in subtropical gar- 

 dening, and in New 

 Zealand used for 

 fiber. 



Leaves all radical 

 from a short and 

 stout branched 

 fleshy-rooted rhizome, long-ensifonn, equitant, yield- 

 ing an exceedingly tough fiber: scape tall and leafless, 

 with caducous bracts, short-branched toward top: fls. 

 dull red or yellow, in a terminal panicle, on jointed 

 pedicels; perianth tubular and curved, of 6 segms. con- 

 nate at base, the 3 inner ones long and spreading at 

 tip; stamens 6, exceeding the segms.; ovary oblong and 

 3-angled and 3-celled, bearing a slender decimate st yle : 

 caps, oblong or narrower, loculicidal, bearing many 

 compressed black seeds. Species 2, in New Zeal, and 

 Norfolk Isl. These plants are popular outdoor sub- 

 jects in Calif, and climates of like mildness, making 

 very bold lawn clumps. In regions of cold winters, they 

 are known as greenhouse tub-plants or as subjects for 

 planting out in summer in subtropical bedding. They 

 are prop, by seeds or division; if by the latter method, 

 it is well that they be planted outdoors in sandy soil 

 in May and divided in September. 



For certain combinations and in places where it can 

 have plenty of moisture, Phormium tenax is a valuable 

 plant, having a very distinct and unusual character all 

 its own. The type is easier of cultivation than the 

 variegated kinds. Much better results can be secured 

 by raising the typical form from seeds than by division. 

 Seed sown in February and grown on rapidly will make 

 good plants for bedding purposes the spring of the fol- 

 lowing year. The seedlings may be either planted out or 

 grown in pots : in the latter case, give a rich compost and 

 plenty of water after the plants have taken hold. With 

 good treatment one may expect at the end of a year and 

 a half a well-furnished specimen 3 to 3^ feet high in a 

 6-inch pot. If one can afford room in a wannhouse, so 

 much the better. The variegated forms require partial 

 shade and uniform moisture; they do not come true 

 from seed. (J. F. Cowell.) 



A. Lvs. to 9 ft. long (in the wild), deep green, glaucous 

 beneath, usually margined with a colored line. 



tenax, Forst. NEW ZEALAND FLAX. Fig. 2922, 

 Robust: Ivs. attaining 9 ft., 2-5 in. wide, flat above, 

 dark green, margin and keel bright red or brownish: 



scape 5-10 or even 15 ft. high, terete and glabrous, 

 reddish purple, bearing numerous fls. which are usually 

 dull red but varying almost to pure yellow; perianth 

 1-2 in. long: caps, stout, erect or inclined, 2-4 in. long. 

 B.M. 3199. Gn. 26, p. 397; 50, p. 369; 70, p. 99; 73, 

 p. 123. G. 33: 553; 36: 554. F.E. 18:288. G.L. 27:219. 

 A.F. 13:748. R.H. 1848:5. V. 13:340. Var. atropur- 

 pureum, Hort., has reddish purple foliage. R.H. 1877, 

 p. 389. Var. atropurpureum variegatum, Hort., a "veri- 

 table fountain of white, purple and rose-color." Var. 

 atropurpureum nanum, Hort., is a dwarf form. Var. 

 nigro-pictum, Hort. (P. purpureum nigro-limbatum, 

 Hort.). Lvs. deep green, with a narrow margin of 

 blackish purple, which becomes broader and more dis- 

 tinct toward the base, making in mature plants a zigzag 

 line which outlines the 2-ranked habit of the Ivs. Var. 

 variegatum, Hort., Ivs. striped creamv yellow and white. 

 R.H. 1878, p. 86. G.C. III. 29:169/Var. Veitcnianum, 

 Hort. (var. Veitchii and P. Veitchianum, Hort.), broad 

 creamy white stripes on a light green ground. A.F. 5 : 39. 

 The type and varieties all have the red margin. Var. 

 Powersco&rtii, Hort., differs from the type in narrower 

 and more rigid Ivs.; said to be hardier and freer-bloom- 

 ing. G.W. 1907, p. 3. P. tenax is a most useful fiber 

 plant in New Zeal., ranking in economic importance in 

 the native flora only below the main timber trees. 



AA. Lvs. to 6 ft. long, pale green, seldom glaucous or 

 margined. 



Cookianum, Le Jolis (P. Colensoi, Hook. f. P. 

 Forsterianum, Col. P. Hookeri, Gunn.). A smaller 

 plant and less rigid: Ivs. 2-5 ft. long, the apex usually 

 much less split than in P. tenax: scape 3-7 ft. high, 

 more slender, green, with smaller panicle: perianth 

 1-1% in- long, yellower than the above: caps, long, 

 pendulous, terete and twisted, 4-7 in. long. Var. 

 variegatum, Hort., has yellowish white stripes. F.M. 

 1874:112. G.Z. 19:113. P.fldccidum, Hort., is presuma- 

 bly a form of this species. WILHELM MILLER. 



L. H. B.f 



2922. Phormium tenax. 



PHOTINIA (Greek, photeinos, shining; alluding to 

 the shining foliage). Including Heteromeles and Pour- 

 thisea. Rosacese, tribe Pbmese. Ornamental woody 

 plants, grown for their attractive flowers and fruits and 

 the evergreen species also for their handsome foliage. 



Deciduous or evergreen shrubs or trees: Ivs. alternate, 

 short-petioled, stipulate, usually serrate: fls. in corymbs 

 or short panicles; petals 5, orbicular; stamens 10-20; 

 styles 2, rarely 3 or 4, connate at the base: fr. a small, 

 1 t-seeded pome with persistent calyx and with the 

 top of the fr. rounded and hollow. About 30 species, 

 nearly all in E. and S. Asia, only 2 in Calif, and Mex. 



