2612 



PHYSOSTEGIA 



PHYTEUMA 



cult., blooming in midsummer and later. The clumps 

 should be frequently divided. 



denticulata, Brit. (var. denticulata, Gray. Draco- 

 cephalum denticuldtum, Ait.). A lower and more slender 

 plant with crenulate denticulate or obscurely serrate Ivs. 

 and more slender or loosely fid. spikes: Ivs. few near the 

 infl., so that the latter is as if long-peduncled. Pa. to 

 111. and far south. B.M. 214. WILHELM MILLER. 



L. H. B.f 



PHYSOSTELMA (Greek, bladder girdle, referring to 

 the shape of the scales of the crown). Asclepiadacese. 

 Twining glabrous shrubs: Ivs. opposite, leathery, shi- 

 ning: fls. large, umbelled; sepals small, narrow; corolla 

 cup-shaped, lobes very short; coronal processes 5, very 

 large, ovoid-oblong, obtuse, adnate to the anthers; 

 column tips inappendiculate : fr. long, smooth follicles; 

 seeds comose. About 5 species, India, Malaya. 



Wallichii, Wight (Hdya campanulata, Blume). 

 Lvs. 3-5 in. long, elliptic-oblong, acuminate; nerves 

 reticulate; petiole J^in. long: cymes globose, 3-4 in. 

 diam.; peduncle stout; corolla pale yellow, lobes apic- 

 ulate. India, Malaya. B.M. 4545. J.H. III. 49:461. 

 J.F. 1:70. Cult, in Great Britain. The treatment 

 given to hoyas is suitable for this plant. 



PHYSURUS (Greek, bladder and tail; from the purse 

 or pouch-like spur). Orchidacese. Of the type of Good- 

 yera and Anoectochilus, and cultivated for the foliage. 

 By late authors, the name Erythrodes is used for these 

 orchids for nomenclatorial and botanical reasons. 



Stem simple, erect, leafy: lys. petiolate, ovate to 

 lanceolate: fls. small, in -a terminal raceme; petals and 

 dorsal sepals cohering, galeate; lateral sepals free; label- 

 lum spurred, strongly concave above the entrance of the 

 spur and abruptly contracted, middle lobe spreading or 

 recurved; column short. About 40 species, native of 

 the warm regions of Asia and Amer. The American 

 species have their Ivs. mostly spotted. 



querceticola, Lindl. (Goodyera querdcola, Chapm.). 

 St. ascending, 6-12 in. high : Ivs. ovate or oblong-ovate, 

 thin, on slender petioles, spotted with silver-gray: 

 spike densely fld.; sepals and petals oblong, obtuse; 

 labellum concave, ending in a broadly ovate, acuminate 

 and recurved point; spur pouch-like. Aug. Low shady 

 woods, Fla. and westward. Under the new nomencla- 

 ture this species becomes Erythrodes querceticola, Ames. 



P. vdlidus, Rolfe. Lvs. elliptic-lanceolate, about 5 in. long: 

 scape stout, bearing an elongated dense spike about 6 in. long: fls. 

 small, whitish. Peru. HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



PHYTELEPHAS (Greek, elephant plant; referring 

 to the hard white seeds which can be worked like ivory). 

 Palmacese. Low unarmed pinnate palms. 



Stems stout, erect or prostrate and rooting: Ivs. 

 terminal, elongate, pinnatisect; segms. numerous, the 

 upper opposite, the lower alternate or fascicled, linear- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, midrib strong: spadices pedun- 

 cled, scaled, male pendulous, female erect; spathes 2, 

 complete, elongate: fls. dioecious; male minute, perianth 

 lacking, stamens numerous; female very large, sepals 3, 

 petals 5-10, 2-3 in. long, rather fleshy, staminoids 

 many, ovary subglobose : fr. a collection of 4-6 drupes, 

 forming a large cluster. About 15 species, S. Amer. 



macrocarpa, Ruiz & Pay. IVORY-NUT PALM. 

 Caudex about 6 ft. high, creeping, rooting: Ivs. 15-20 

 ft. long, erect, beautifully arched, pinnate, rich dark 

 green; the pinnae very long. Colombia and Venezuela. 

 B.M. 4913, 4914. Gn. 24, p. 468. G.M. 57:9. This 

 species furnishes the "vegetable ivory" of commerce. 

 Sometimes known as "negro's head." 



F. TRACY HUBBARD. 



PHYTEUMA (old Greek name, meaning simply "a 

 plant," used by Dioscorides for some mignonette-like 

 herb). Campanulacese. HORNED RAMPION. Hardy 

 herbaceous perennials, used for borders and alpine 



gardens; not much known in this country except by 

 fanciers and those who grow rock-garden plants and 

 alpines. 



Low or tall, with st.-lvs. alternate, and radical Ivs. 

 larger and long-petioled, sometimes very narrow and 

 grass-like : fls. mostly blue or purplish, varying to white, 

 usually in dense terminal heads or spikes, sometimes 

 somewhat umbellate, the fl.-bud long and curved; 

 corolla opening more or less with 5 very narrow segms. 



2938. Phyteuma comosum. A tufted alpine plant growing 

 in a crevice. ( X Ji) 



(sometimes remaining closed); stamens 5, free from 

 corolla, filaments more or less dilated at base, anthers 

 free and distinct; styles 2-3-cleft, often protruding, the 

 lobes very narrow: fr. a caps, crowned by the calyx- 

 teeth, laterally dehiscent. Species about 40, Eu. and 

 adjacent Asia, mostly in the mountains, sometimes at 

 great elevations. 



The flowers in phyteuma are mostly shades of blue, 

 more or less purple, rarely white. There are two forms 

 of inflorescence, the globular and the long-and-narrow, 

 the former being the more interesting. The showy 

 feature of P. comosum, at first glance, seems to be a 

 group of colored and much elongated pistils; but these 

 pistil-like bodies are really corollas w r hich usually show 

 slits at their inflated base and are narrowed above into a 

 very slender tube from which the style and stigmas are 

 much exserted. In this species the corolla does not open, 

 but in the others it finally splits at the top, making a 

 spreading or wheel-shaped flower. The plants usually 

 seed freely and may also be propagated by division, 

 which is best performed in spring after growth begins. 

 They thrive in ordinary garden soil in either rock- 

 garden or border. In an account of the cultivated 

 species, Correvon (Gn. 63, pp. 39-41, 58) distinguishes 

 three cultural groups: (1) the mural or wall species, 

 comprising only P. comosum; '(2) the rock-loving species, 

 comprising P. Carestise, P. Charmelii, P. confusum, P. 

 globulariaefolium, P. hemisphsericum, P. humile, P. 

 pauciflorum, P. serratum, P. Sieberi, P. Scheuchzeri; 

 (3) the open-ground species, as P. austriacum, P. betoni- 

 csefolium, P. canescens, P. Halleri, P. limonifolium, P. 

 Michelii, P. orbiculare, P. ' scorzonerifolium, P. spica- 

 tum. The rock-loving species (2) require rock fissures in 

 full sun, without damp, little soil and that only of leaf- 

 mold and sand. The open-ground species (3) are those 

 of woods and pastures and are easy to grow in gardens. 



The botanical account following is mainly derived 

 from DC. Prod. 7:450 and Koch, Syn., Flor. Germ., 

 with considerable additions in descriptions from Cor- 

 revon. There is likely to be some confusion in the 

 species and the forms known in cultivation. 



