2614 



PHYTEUMA 



PHYTOLACCA 



violet-blue, in globular heads. High Alps. P. Carestise, 

 Biroli, is a thick-set form of P. humile. Probably P. 

 serrdtum is also a form of this species with larger st., 

 somewhat wider Ivs., and calyx glabrous rather than 

 minutely ciliate. Gn. 28:90; 63, p. 40. 



13. Sieberi, Spreng. (P. Charmelii, Sieb., not Vill.). 

 Lvs. cordate, ovate or ovate-lanceolate to ovate-orbic- 

 ular, crenate: bracts ovate, acuminate, sharply ser- 

 rate: fls. deep violet-blue, in globular heads. S. Alps 

 and Apennines. 



ccc. Number of fls. 15 or more. 



14. orbiculare, Linn. (P. confusum, Kerner. P. aus- 

 trlacum, Beck). Rootstock mostly thick, the sts. simple 

 and usually erect, ^-2 ft. tall: Ivs. crenate; root-lvs. 

 cordate or ovate; upper st.-lvs. linear: bracts sub- 

 serrate, spreading or reflexed: fls. purple. Eu. B.M. 

 1466 (as P. cordata). L.B.C. 2 : 122. A very variable 

 species, and widely distributed, from England to 

 mountain pastures on the continent. Correvon keeps 

 P. austriacum distinct, the basal Ivs. having blades 

 longer than petioles, upper Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, and 

 specially by the erect fl.-bracts; also P. confusum, from 

 granitic rocks of the Tyrol, which seems from his 

 description to be a very different plant, with long and 

 grass-like Ivs. and deep violet fls. 



15. Charmelii, Vill., not Sieb. Rootstock thick and 

 brittle: sts. 6-12 in.: Ivs. soft and coarsely serrate: 

 bracts linear-lanceolate: fls. dark blue, in globular 

 heads. Probably a botanical variety of P. Scheuchzeri. 

 Alps. Here probably belongs the cut-lvd. P. comosum 

 in Gn. 19, p. 419; 44, p. 554; and P. orbiculare, Gn. 28, 

 p. 90. 



16. Sche&chzeri, All. Sts. slender and flexile, 4-16 in. 

 tall: Ivs. ovate-elliptical, serrate, the upper ones long 

 and narrow: bracts 18-24 lines long, reflexed or spread- 

 ing: fls. deep violet-blue, in rounded heads, the bracts 

 exceeding the head. S. Eu., in mountains. B.M. 1797. 

 Gn. 63, p. 40. WILHELM MILLER. 



L. H. B.f 



PHYTOLACCA (a hybrid name: Greek, phytos, 

 plant, and French lac, or Italian lacca, lake; referring 

 to the crimson berries). Phytolaccaceae. Ornamental 

 herbs and woody plants; some of them yield edible 

 parts of minor value. 



Shrubs, herbs, or trees, sometimes climbers, with 

 angled or sub terete branches, glabrous or nearly so: Ivs. 

 alternate, sessile or mostly petiolate, acute or obtuse, 

 entire; stipules none: fls. small, borne in erect or nod- 

 ding racemes on spikes which are at first terminal but 

 by further growth of the st. may come opposite the Ivs. ; 

 calyx of 4 or 5 persistent rounded sepals; stamens 

 about 5-30; ovary of 5-16 distinct or connate carpels: 

 fr. a fleshy berry; seeds 1 in each cell. Twenty-six 

 species as denned by Walter in Engler's Das Pflanzen- 

 reich, hft. 39 (IV. 83), published in 1909, distributed 

 in tropical and subtropical regions, mostly in Amer., 

 and a few in Asia and Afr., one species extending to 

 Canada. They are plants of simple requirements in 

 the regions where they grow, and are prop, readily by 

 seeds. P. diolca is a very useful tree for ornament and 

 shade in S. Calif. The common pokeweed (P. ameri- 

 cana) is a familiar wild plant in E. N. Amer.; it is a 

 plant of good habit, vigorous growth, and ornamental 

 berries, and is sometimes placed in back borders and 

 wild-gardens. Related genera in cult, are Ercilla, 

 Rivina, Agdestis. 



A. Stamens and carpels 10. 



americana, Linn. (P. decdndra, Linn.). POKE. SCORE. 

 GARGET. Tall stout bushy perennial herb, reaching 10- 

 12 ft. high, the sts. soft or semi-succulent and smooth, 

 glaucous, and the maturer parts purple-tinged: Ivs. 

 oval-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, gradually narrowed 

 both ways, acuminate, the petiole more or less mar- 



gined: fls. purplish or greenish white, in peduncled 

 simple racemes and borne on stout bracted pedicels; 

 ovary 10-carpelled and green, ripening into a wine- 

 purple berry. Maine through Ont. to Minn., and far 

 southward; naturalized in Eu.; often a weed, particu- 

 larly in clearings and new lands. B.M. 931. Gn. 21, 

 p. 179. G. 7:667. Mn. 1, p. 53. A robust plant with 

 heavy odor, but of good habit and clean. This species, 

 the common pokeberry, is offered by dealers in native 

 plants and its young asparagus-like shoots are some- 

 times used as a pot-herb. Its flattish berries yield a crim- 

 son juice of a very distinct hue, but it has never been 

 fixed for dyeing purposes. Children sometimes make 

 red ink from the berries for amusement. The berries 

 have been used to give color to pale wines, but its use 

 for this purpose is injurious and in Portugal has been 

 prohibited by royal decree. The roots are emetic, 

 purgative, and somewhat narcotic. The word "poke" 

 is supposed to come from the American Indian word 

 pocan, which apparently referred to any plant yielding 

 a red or yellow dye, as pokeweed or bloodroot. In 

 President Folk's campaign his followers wore Ivs. of 

 pokeweed. In collecting young shoots for greens, care 

 must be taken not to include any portion of the root, 

 as this would give a bitter taste and might cause serious 

 illness, as the roots contain powerful drastic principles. 

 Small pieces of the root eaten by mistake for horse-rad- 

 ish or turnip are reported to have caused serious and 

 in some instances fatal cases of poisoning. The seeds 

 are also poisonous. Directions are given in some of the 

 older writings for the cult, of poke for the young shoots, 

 which are eaten early in the season as a substitute for 

 asparagus; but the wealth of other pot-herbs renders 

 this plant unnecessary. It may be increased by seeds or 

 by division of the thick roots. A variegated form once 

 cult, for ornament is shown hi R.H. 1887, p. 16, the Ivs. 

 . light green above often shaded rose and more or less 

 margined white, beneath pale rose to violet. 



AA. Stamens and carpels kss than 10, usually 8. 



esculenta, Van Houtte (Pircunia esculenta, Moq. 

 Phytoldcca Kaempferi, Gray. P. pekinensis, Hance). 

 Somewhat woody, suberect, the sts. thick, green and 

 glabrous: Ivs. short-petioled, broad-elliptic or ovate, 

 the apex somewhat acute or blunt : infl. suberect, loosely 

 racemose, not surpassing the Ivs., the peduncle and 

 rachis glabrous: fls. pedicellate; calyx white, the parts 

 rounded; stamens commonly 8, with white filaments 

 and rose-colored anthers; style recurved: fr. with 8 free 

 carpels. China, Japan. Cult, for the edible Ivs. This 

 name is catalogued in England as "American grape." 



acinosa, Roxbg. Much like the last: peduncles and 

 rachis scabrous: filaments and anthers white; style 

 suberect; calyx-parts green at middle, white on margin, 

 apex acute: Ivs. ovate-oblong, acuminate at apex. 

 China and Japan; spontaneous hi India and said to be 

 cult, for its Ivs. which are edible when cooked. 



AAA. Stamens 20-30; carpels 7-10: fls. dioecious. 



dioica, Linn. (Pircunia diolca, Moq. Phytoldcca 

 populifolia, Salisb. P. arbbrea, Hort.). Evergreen tree, 

 attaining great thickness of trunk and spread of top: 

 branchlets glabrous: Ivs. slender-petioled, glabrous, 

 elliptic or ovate, mostly broadly acute at apex, the mid- 

 nerve extending at the tip: infl. racemose, scarcely sur- 

 passing the Ivs., suberect or pendulous: male fls. with 

 20-^30 stamens, and calyx-parts elliptic and obtuse, 

 white-spotted; female fls. with about 10 staminodia, 

 the calyx parts broad, the ovary globose and 7-10- 

 carpelled : fr. berry-like, the carpels connate at base and 

 free at top. S. Amer., the "umbu" and "bella sombra" 

 of Spanish-speaking people. This species was intro. 

 into Santa Barbara some 40 years ago, and is now well 

 distributed in S. Calif.; there are trees with spread of 

 top of 50 ft. and trunk 6 ft. diam., with buttresses 2 ft. 

 high. It is a tree of astonishingly rapid growth, soon 



