PLECTRANTHUS 



PLEIONE 



2713 



and bluish. Trop. Afr. P. chiradzulinsis. Baker. About 3 ft. high, 

 with slender branches: Ivs. petioled, toothed not unlike those of 

 the common nettle: fls. in terminal loose panicles 6 in. long, long- 

 lipped and light blue; fls. in winter. Trop. Afr. P. ciliatu*, E. Mey. 

 St. covered with purple hairs: Ivs. broad, bright green above, 

 purple-red beneath: fls. white with purple spots. S. Afr. Intro, 

 into Italy. Said to be a showy autumn- and winter-flowering 

 plant with a compact habit. P. Coppinii, Neck. A quick-growing 

 species with root-tubers and also aerial ones produced in the axils 

 of the branch-nodes. Trop. Afr. This species is cult, and the pro- 

 duce sold for food in the Soudan. P. crdssus, N. E. Br. A stout 

 subshrub, covered with velvety hairs: Ivs. ovate, 3-6 in. long, short- 

 petioled, crenate, upper surface rich velvety green, under surface 

 gray with prominent reticulate venation: fls. in stout erect terminal 

 panicles 1 ft. or more long, purple-blue. Trop. Afr. B.M. 8030. 

 Gn. 73, p. 629. P. Mahdnii, N. E. Br. Sts. 3 ft. high: Ivs. ovate, 

 34 in. long, petiolate, the lower cuneate, the upper cordate at the 

 base, toothed: racemes 38 in. long, loosely many-fld. ; fls. rather 

 small, violet-blue. Trop. Afr. B.M. 7818. P. saecatus, Benth. 

 Subshrubby and rather succulent, with horizontally spreading 

 branches about 1 ft. long: Ivs. 2-3 in. long, ovate, coarsely toothed: 

 racemes erect, simple, lax-fld. ; corolla large, pale blue. Natal. 

 B.M. 7841. Intro, into English botanic gardens and said to be a 

 very ornamental species with probably the largest fls. of the genus. 



F. TRACY HUBBARD. 



PLECTRONIA (Greek, cockspur; referring to the 

 spines). Rubiacex. Woody plants sometimes cultivated 

 in warm regions for the ornamental flowers. They 

 are more or less spiny and have somewhat funnel- 

 shaped 5-parted fls., with reflexed segms. valvate in 

 the bud, and a hairy or naked throat ; calyx obovate or 

 oblong; stamens 5, in the throat; style short; stigma 

 subcapitate, of 2 approximate lamellae: berry oboyate- 

 oblong, compressed, didymous, 2-stoned; stones inde- 

 hiscent, 1 -seeded. About 150 species of shrubs or 

 small trees, found in the Old World, mostly in the 

 tropics. 



spindsa, Klotzsch. Very spiny S. African shrub, 

 5-8 ft. high: Ivs. fasciculate, oval or obovate, obtuse, 

 entire, 1-1 % in. long: racemes or panicles shorter 

 than the Ivs.: peduncles axillary, 5-12-fld.; corolla- 

 tube shorter than the limb; throat naked. Intro, into 

 S.Calif. 



PLEIOCARPA (Greek, many fruits). Apocynacex. 

 Glabrous shrubs or small trees, grown under glass for 

 the bloom: Ivs. opposite or ternate, leathery: fls. in 

 sessile axillary and often opposite clusters, very rarely 

 in compact panicles or false umbels; calyx small, 

 glandular; sepals 5, almost or quite free, obtuse or 

 acute; corolla salver-shaped, tube slightly widened 

 below the mouth, lobes 5, overlapping to the left; 

 carpels 2-5, distinct: fr. fleshy, berry-like mericarps, 

 leathery when dry, 1- or 2- (rarely 3-) seeded. About 

 10 species, Trop. Afr. P. miUica, Benth. Shrub 5 ft. 

 high : Ivs. opposite, elliptic or oblong, 3-6 in. long, thinly 

 coriaceous: fls. in dense axillary, globose clusters; 

 sepals ovate; corolla pure white, tube cylindric, % to 

 Min. long, lobes ovate or oblong. B.M. 8343. G.C.III. 

 49:242. Cult, in botanic gardens abroad. The plant 

 likes heat and moisture and about the same treatment 

 as given ixoras. 



PLEIOGYNIUM (Greek, many and wives, meaning 

 not clear). Anacardiaceae. Tree recently intro. by the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture for experimental pur- 

 poses. Lvs. odd-pinnate; Ifts. ovate, wedge-shaped at 

 base: fls. dioecious, in numerous axillary racemes, those 

 with male fls. as long as the Ivs., those with female fls. 

 shorter: petals obovate; stamens 10; ovary in female 

 fls. 5-10-12-celled: drupe somewhat compressed, broad- 

 top-shaped. One species, Queensland, Austral. P. 

 Soldndri, Engl. Tree, 40-60 ft. high: trunk occasionally 

 very thick, 2-3 ft. diam. : Ifts. 7-9, obliquely ovate or 

 oblong, obtuse, 2-3 in. long, entire: fls. sessile, densely 

 clustered in short axillary racemes, rarely panicles; 

 petals 5, spreading. Queensland. The timber when 

 first cut is soft, but afterward becomes hard and tough. 

 Possibly may be used as stock for less hardy anacar- 

 diaceous fr.-bearing trees. Its adaptabilities in N. 

 Amer. are not yet known. 



PLEI6NE (from Greek mythology: Pleione, mother 

 of the Pleiades). Orchidaceae. A small group of orchids 

 related to Ccelogyne, and requiring similar treatment. 

 Pseudobulbs soon dying: Ivs. thin, deciduous, falling 

 usually after the pseudobulbs are matured: fls. large, 

 brightly colored, one or two borne on short scapes, pro- 

 duced from base of pseudobulbs. About 13 species 

 (Pfitzer & Kranzlin, Fjngler's Pflanzenreich, hft. 1907), 

 of the mountains of India, extending to elevations where 

 snow and frost are not uncommon. Few are cult, in Amer. 

 maculata, Lindl. Pseudobulbs round, flattened, 

 depressed at the top, forming a fleshy ridge around the 

 summit: Ivs. lanceolate, from inflated sheaths: fls. pre- 

 ceding the Ivs., on short peduncles; sepals and petals 

 lanceolate, spreading, white; labellum funnel-shaped, 

 with 5-7 fringed lamellae extending the entire length of 

 the labellum side lobes streaked with purple, middle 

 lobe ovate, wavy, white, spotted with purple and yellow. 



The Ivs. fall in Sept.; 

 fls. hi Nov. B.M. 

 4691. F.S. 14:1470. 

 F. 1851:97 (all as 

 Caelogyne maculata). 

 Var. Bermdnica was 

 once offered by Wm. 

 Mathews. 



praecox, D. Don (P. 

 Wallichiana, Lindl. 

 &Paxt.). Fig. 3067. 

 Pseudobulbs flask- 

 shaped, depressed, 

 dull green, warted 

 and covered with a 

 network of the old 

 split sheaths: Ivs. 

 broadly lanceolate, 

 plicate: fls. large, on 

 short peduncles; 

 sepals long, lanceo- 

 late, spreading, pink; 

 petals similar but 

 narrower; labellum 

 trumpet -shaped, in- 

 distinctly lobed, pink, 

 white and yellow in 

 the throat; disk with 

 longitudinal fringed 

 lamellae, margin dentate-fimbriate. Oct., Nov. B.M. 

 4496. B.R. 26:24. P.M. 6:25 (all as Coelogyne Wal- 

 lichiana). G. 32:743. J. 1.2:153. 0.1914:72. 



lagenaria, Lindl. & Paxt. Pseudobulbs clustered and 

 depressed, as in the other species, dull green, mottled 

 with brown: fls. about 4 in. across, rose-lilac; sepals 

 and petals narrowly lanceolate; labellum convolute, 

 crisp on the margin, pale lilac, blotched with yellow 

 and deep crimson in the throat and having several yel- 

 low crests. Aug.-Nov. Himalaya Mts. B.M. 5370. 

 F.S. 23:2386. I.H. 14:510 (all as Ccdogyne lagenaria). 

 Gn. 51, p. 64. O. 1914, p. 77. 



Reichenbachiana, T. Moore. Pseudobulbs 5-8- 

 grooved, flask-shaped but suddenly contracted at the 

 top: scape 1-2 hi. long, closely sheathed; sepals and 

 petals linear-oblong, pale purple to white; labellum 

 nearly white, middle lobe white with few pale purple 

 spots, with 3 crests; margin ciliate-toothed. Autumn. 

 Rangoon. B.M. 5753. 



P. Hookeriana, T. Moore. Pseudobulbs seldom over 1 in. high: 

 Ivs, small, produced with the fls.: fls. 2-2 Yt in. across, rose-purple; 

 lip lighter; throat pale yellow. Sikkim. O. 1914, p. 75. P.humilis, 

 D. Don. Pseudobulbs 1-lvd. : Ivs. up to 8 in. long, IJ^in. wide: 

 scape 1- or rarely 2-fld.; fls. nodding; sepals lanceolate, somewhat 

 acute, white, 1 J^-2 in. long; petals similar, white, obovate from 

 a cuneate base; lip emarginate, the disk yellow, brown-spotted. 

 Trop. Himalayas. J.F. 2:158. B.M. 5674. P. pogonioides, Rolfe. 

 Fls. terminal, showy, rosy red with a whitish disk; sepals and petals 

 somewhat connivent, oblong-lanceolate, about 1)4 in. long; lip 

 large, convolute around the column. China. B.M. 8588. P. 

 SchiUeri&na, Pfita. & Kranrl. Pseudobulbs 2-lvd.: fls. yellow, with 



3067. Pleione prsecox. 



