PHYGELIUS 



PHYLLANTHUS 



2605 



Hope. B.M. 4881. R.H. 1857, p. 599; 1886, p. 473. 

 F.S. 11:1111. R.B. 25:36. G. 4:607; 35:591. Gt. 

 7:168. G.W. 13, p. 91. A fine subshrub blooming in 

 summer and hardy in protected places as far north as 

 Philadelphia. In the X. it is known as a greenhouse 

 plant. It is excellent for planting out, enduring heat 

 and dry weather as well as geraniums, or even better. It 

 is prop, by seeds and also by cuttings. The cuttings 

 may be taken from the late autumn shoots of outdoor 

 plants. Phygelius is a showy plant, deserving to be 

 better known. 



P. squalis, Harv. Infl. closer, the pedicels much shorter; calyx- 

 segms. lanceolate or nearly oblong rather than ovate or oblong- 

 lanceolate; corolla-tube nearly straight, about equal rather than 

 oblique at apex: described as a handsome shrub with habit of a 

 fuchsia. Transvaal to the eastern region of S. Afr., whereas P. 

 capensis is more of the coast and central region, although reaching 

 the Kalahari. Apparently not in cult. L H B 



PHYLICA (old Greek name, now transferred to 

 these plants). Rhamnacese. Evergreen shrubs, rarely 

 trees: Ivs. alternate, crowded, ovate, lanceolate or 

 linear: fls. small, axillary or in dense crowded heads 

 or spikes; calyx obconical, urceolate or cylindrical, 5- 

 cleft, its limb persistent; petals wanting or bristle-like 

 or cucullate; stamens 5; ovary 3-celled: fr. inferior, 

 crowned by the permanent calyx. S. Afr. Prop, by 

 cuttings of half-ripened shoots. P. plumosa, Thunb. 

 Branches and twigs pubescent: Ivs. linear-lanceolate, 

 smooth above, tomentose beneath with reyolute mar- 

 gins: spike oblong or roundish; bracteples villous, twice 

 as short as the tubular minutely pilose calyx, hairs 

 of the tube reversed, appressed, segms. ovate-lanceolate. 

 S. Afr. G.W. 10, p. 306. P. eriaMes, Linn. Branches 

 fastigiate; twigs thinly pubescent: Ivs. short-petioled, 

 spreading or erectish, linear or linear-subulate: infl. 

 terminal heads on the rather umbellate twigs; fls. small; 

 involucre hemispherical, its scales ovate, foliaceous, 

 cuspidate; calyx turbinate, smooth, longer than the 

 very villous bracteoles, segms. ovate, acute, hirsute; 

 petals concave, cucullate: fr. a smooth caps. S. Afr. 

 G.W. 10, pp. 305, 306. 



PHYLLAGATHIS (Greek, probably alluding to the 

 involucrate head). Melastomace^e. Greenhouse woody 

 plants, with ornamental foliage and attractive flowers. 



Plants with short thick sts.: Ivs. opposite or the 

 terminal solitary, large, petioled, roundish, cordate at 

 the base, entire or denticulate, prominently nerved: fls. 

 crowded into a short-peduncled sometimes involucrate 

 head, rosy, about H m - across; petals 4, rarely 3; sta- 

 mens 8, rarely 6; ovary 4-celled, rarely 3-celled: caps, 

 top-shaped, 4-valved. -Species a half-dozen and more, 

 Malay Archipelago and China. The Ivs. of P. rotundi- 

 folia are praised for their colors, both above and below, 

 their venation, their plaited character, and then- strong 

 shadows and reflected lights. The Ivs. are glossy green 

 above, tinted along the curved nerves with metallic 

 blue and purple; beneath they are a rich coppery red, 

 with the prominent nerves of a brighter color. For the 

 general cult, of melastomaceous plants, consult Mdas- 

 toma and Medinilla. 



These are very ornamental stove perennials. Their 

 cultural requirements from March to the end of sum- 

 mer call for a high temperature. From the end of 

 February and through March the night temperature 

 should stand at 65; this may be gradually increased 

 until it reaches 70 to 75 the middle of May. This 

 high temperature should be held until the autumn, 

 when it may be gradually reduced until the plants are 

 held at about 60 for December and January. As the 

 temperature is raised and the days become longer, 

 increase the syringing, which will provide a moisture 

 that greatly benefits this class of plants. In the spring 

 and summer, they will require plenty of water at the 

 roots. Give ventilation, to keep the temperature at the 

 right mark, but not so as to cause cold drafts to strike 

 the plants, otherwise they may be seriously injured. 



In the spring and summer, the plants will need sha- 

 ding, but not too heavy as it will make the foliage soft. 

 Late in autumn and winter they will stand full sun. 

 Any renewing of the earth or compost or repotting 

 should be done about the middle of February. A 

 good compost to use is a fibry loam four parts, fibry 

 peat one part, well-decayed cow-manure one part, and 

 a moderate quantity of sand to make it open. The 

 plants may be increased by half-ripened wood or by 



leaf-cuttings taken in 

 February or March. 

 For wood cuttings, 

 start a few old plants 

 early and when the 

 growth shows half- 

 ripeness the cuttings 

 may be taken off with 

 three joints and placed 

 in small pots, using a 

 mixture of loam, peat, 

 and sand in equal 

 parts. These pots may 

 be placed in a warm 

 propagating-bed, 

 where they have a 

 bottom heat of 80 to 

 85 and by covering 

 with glass, kept shaded 

 and moist, they will 

 soon root. Leaf -cut- 

 tings may be placed in 

 a warm propagating- 

 bed, inserting the 

 petiole in the sand; see 

 that the under part of 

 the leaf lies flat on the 

 sand. Keep 

 shaded and 

 moist and they 

 will show growth 

 in different parts of the leaf. 

 Another way to root them is 

 when they have pushed out 

 side growth of 2 or 3 inches, 

 cut a piece of the woody 

 stem with the young growth 

 and insert in pots and plunge 

 where they can have bottom 

 heat. After they are rooted 

 and potted, place them where 

 they will get a fair amount of 



2931. Phygelius capensis. 

 (XH) 



light, and keep the atmosphere moderately humid, sha- 

 ding when the sun becomes too strong. Grown on by 

 shifting until they are in 8- or 10-inch pots, they will 

 produce good and satisfactory plants. (J. J. M. Farrell.) 

 rotundifdlia, Blume. St. short and thick, rooting at 

 intervals, 4-sided, dark purple: Ivs. 6 in. or more by 

 4H in-* roundish ovate, abruptly acuminate, denticu- 

 late, 10-ribbed lengthwise, plaited above: floral parts 

 in 3's or 4's, in a many-fid, head: fls. reddish, subtended 

 by dark purple scales. Sumatra. B.M. 5282. 



P. gymidntha, Korth. St. short: Ivs. cordate-ovate, glossy green, 

 ciliate, 7-nerved: fls. pink, in a close head; petals lobed. Borneo. 

 P. hirsiUa, Cogn. Differs in floral characters: calyx-lobes very 

 short and broadly rounded; petals obovate and rounded; ovary 

 adherent to calyx: Ivs. cordate-ovate or broader, with 3 pairs of 

 curving -lighter-colored side veins and also banded crosswise: infl. 

 standing higher than the handsome Ivs. Borneo. I.H. 41:3. 



WILHELM MILLER. 

 L. H. B.f 



PHYLLANTHUS (Greek for leaf-flower, the flowers 

 of some species being apparently borne on leaves). 

 Euphorbiacex. Mostly shrubs, some herbs or trees, 

 often cultivated in greenhouses for their graceful or 

 curious foliage; some species have economic uses for 

 which they are cultivated in tropical lands. 



Leaves small, alternate, entire, usually 2-ranked on 



