2712 



PLATYLEPIS 



PLECTRANTHUS 



lateral not reflexed in the middle, narrower petals, 

 and a lip not constricted in the middle. Mascarene 

 Isls. Both species have been intro. at Kew Gardens, 

 but probably are not in general cult. Storehouse 

 plants. F. TRACY HUBBARD. 



PLATYLOMA is a name for ferns of the genus Pellxa 

 which have a narrow indusium and a broad sorus. For 

 P. Bridgesii and P. falcata, see Pellsea. 



PLATYSTEMON (Greek, broad, thread; referring to 

 the broadened filaments). Papaveracese. Low annual 

 herbs generally branched at the base, sometimes grown 

 in flower-gardens. 



Stems erect or decumbent, glaucescent: Ivs. alter- 

 nate or subopposite, linear- or oblong-lanceolate: fls. 

 usually erect and solitary; sepals 3, ovate, caducous; 

 petals 6, sometimes more, yellowish white or yellow or 

 white, caducous or rarely persistent; stamens numerous; 

 ovaries 6-20, distinct: fr. at maturity many carpels 

 totally distinct or slightly joined, carpels moniliform. 

 About 60 species natives of the Pacific Coast according 

 to Fedde (Engler's Pflanzenreich, hft. 40. IV: 104), or 

 1 species according to Gray and a large number of 

 American authors. Platystemon grows wild through- 

 out Calif., except in the mountains, and is said to 

 prefer a loose soil. 



calif ornicus, Benth. (P. leiocdrpus, Fisch. & Mey.). 

 CREAM-CUPS. Lvs. appearing opposite, sessile, ligu- 

 late-linear: petals light yellow, cream-color or white: 

 carpels linear, moniliform, sometimes hispid. B.M. 

 3579. B.R. 1679. B.2:65. Gn. 30, p. 313. G. 34:397. 

 P. leiocdrpus, Fisch. & Mey., is the smooth-fruited 

 form and is considered by some to be a distinct species, 

 but is said by Gray in the Synoptical Flora to be "a 

 mere state." F.C. 2:76. B.M. 3750. P. calif ornicus 

 is frequently improperly called the California poppy 

 but the true California poppy is Eschscholtzia calif ornica. 



F. TRACY HUBBARD. 



PLATYSTIGMA (Greek, broad stigma) . Papaveracex. 

 Low slender California annuals with pale yellow fls. 

 less than 1 in. across. They are among the few plants 

 of the poppy family with entire Ivs. They are closely 

 allied to Platystemon, but differ in having the filaments 

 scarcely dilated, 3 stigmas instead of many, and the fr. 

 a caps, which is 3-valved at the apex. Fls. commonly 

 trimerous; stamens numerous, free; stigmas not con- 

 fluent. Four species from Calif, and Ore. P. lineare^ is 

 the only one with thick stigmas and also differs in its 

 tufted habit, the others having leafy and branching 

 sts. B.M. 3575, with pale yellow fls.; in B.R. 1954 it is 

 shown with 3 white petals alternating with yellow ones. 

 Platystigmas seem not to have been offered in Amer. 

 By Fedde the species are referred to other genera. 



PLATYTHECA (Greek, broad anther-cells). Treman- 

 dracese. Small shrub, somewhat heath-like, suitable 

 for greenhouse culture. 



Leaves whorled: fls. 5-merous, numerous, borne 

 toward the end of the branches, light purple, about 1 

 in. across, center marked with a red star; stamens dis- 

 tinctly in 2 rows, anthers continuous on the same plane 

 as the filament, with 4 parallel cells; disk inconspicuous: 

 caps, loculicidally dehiscent, 4-valved. One species. 

 Austral. Platytheca belongs to a small beautiful and 

 distinct family of Australian shrubs, composed of 3 

 genera, of which Tetratheca is the dominant type. The 

 Tremandra family resembles the Polygala family in 

 the structure of the caps., but differs in the regularity 

 and estivation of the fl. ; it resembles the Pittosporacese 

 in having a very small embryo immersed in copious 

 albumen, and particularly the genus Cheiranthera in 

 having anthers which open by a pore at the top. The 

 three genera of Tremandracea? are distinguished from 

 one another by the anthers; Tremandra differs from the 



other two in having the anthers jointed with the fila- 

 ments; in Platytheca the anthers have 4 cells all in 

 the same plane; in Tetratheca the anthers are 2-celled 

 or 4-celled, with 2 cells in front of the 2 others. 



galioides, Steetz (P. verticilldta, Baill.). Lvs. linear, 

 %in. long, about 10 in a whorl, hairy. Said to bloom in 

 June. P.M. 13:171 (as Tetratheca verticillata) . G.C. 

 III. 44:290. This plant deserves to be better known. 

 Cuttings of half-ripened wood root freely under a bell- 

 glass in a shaded house at 60. Cuttings rooted in 

 February or March will make good plants in 5-inch 

 pots in one year. In summer keep them plunged out- 

 side, but covered with shaded sash. By trimming 

 frequently they will make well-shaped plants, needing 

 no supports. Kept in a coolhouse (45) during winter, 

 they will be covered with bloom in March and April. 

 The fls. last but a short time, but the plant is so free 

 that it is always covered with the blue bloom. 



H. D. DARLINGTON and WILHELM MILLER. 



PLECTOCOMIA (Greek, plaited hair; application 

 obscure). Palmacese. Six species of East Indian climb- 

 ing pinnate palms which fruit once and then die. 



One of the most interesting species is P. khasyana, 

 which is figured in B.M. 5105 under the erroneous 

 title of P. assamica. This species <has a slender st. 

 60-80 ft. long, and about as thick as a man's arm, being 

 slightly thicker above than at the base. The Ivs. attain 

 30 ft. and are pinnate only in the lower half, the rest of 

 the If. being a long whip-like extension of the rachis of 

 the If. A singular feature of this palm is the device by 

 which it climbs. This consists of a series of compound 

 spines shaped like a downward-pointing human hand, 

 the back of the hand being yellow and the 5 or 6 fingers 

 composed of brown spines. These organs are scattered 

 all along the lower side of the flattened rachis. They 

 hook on the branches of trees and thus enable the palm 

 to climb for light. Probably all the species possess 

 these flagelliform Ivs. and remarkable spines. The 

 whip-like If .-tips may act as tendrils. The genus is little 

 known to cultivators. It is allied to the rattans (Cala- 

 mus), which also are climbers. 



elongata, Mart. & Bl. Lvs. large; Ifts. 1-1 ^ ft. x 2 in., 

 sparsely white powdery beneath, with 3 very slender 

 parallel nerves or costse: fr. 1 in. diarn., villous. Pe- 

 nang, Sumatra, Java. Offered in 1890, but never much 

 cult, in Amer. and probably not outside of botanic 

 garden collections. 



PLECTRANTHUS (Greek, spur flower; alluding to 

 the swollen base of the corolla-tube). Labiatse. Herbs 

 and subshrubs, bearing rather small flowers ranging 

 from blue and purple to lilac; sometimes planted for 

 ornament in warm countries. 



Inflorescence various; calyx 5-toothed, the teeth equal 

 or variously 2-lipped; corolla-tube exserted, swollen 

 behind at the base; limb 2-lipped; stamens 4, filaments 

 toothless, free: nutlets ovoid or oblong, smooth or 

 minutely punctulate. About 120 species from the 

 tropical and subtropical regions of Afr. and Asia to 

 Japan, Austral., and Polynesia. The genus is closely 

 allied to Coleus, being distinguished by having the 

 stamens free instead of united at the base into a tube, 

 which is distinct from the corolla. In other respects the 

 genus has wide limits of variation. Sometimes called 

 cockspur-flower. Prop, by cuttings which root easily. 



fruticdsus, L'H6r. South African shrub, 3-4 ft. high: 

 Ivs. 4 in. or more long, petiplate, broadly ovate, doubly 

 dentate: racemes laxly panicled; whorls about 3-6-fld.; 

 fls. blue; pedicels l^A in- long; corolla-tube spurred 

 above the base; fruiting calyx declinate. Said to be an 

 elegant shrub; a specimen reported at Los Angeles is 

 4 ft. high and 6 ft. through. 



P. albocxriileus, N. E. Br. A tall branched herb with broadly 

 ovate Ivs. 2-t in. long- racemes crowded, spike-like; corolla white 



