2750 



POLYSTICHUM 



POMEGRANATE 



BB. Pinnules scarcely auricled. 



10. Richardii, Hook. Lf.-blades 9-18 in. long, ovate- 

 deltoid, with 12-15 pairs of pinnae; pinnules deeply 

 toothed, texture coriaceous. New Zeal. 



11. amabile, Blume. Lf.-blades 1 ft. or more long, 

 6-9 in. wide, with a lanceolate terminal pinna and 3-6 

 pairs of lateral ones; pinnules sub-rhomboidal, the 

 upper and outer portions sharply spinulose serrate. 

 India, Japan, and E. Indies. 



AAAA. Lvs. more than 

 twice pinnate in 

 the lower pinnae. 



12. c a p e n s e , J. 

 Smith (P. coridceum, 

 Swartz). Stalks scat- 

 tered, 1-2 ft. long: 

 If.-blades 1-3 ft. long, 

 leathery, sub -deltoid, 

 the segms. lanceolate 

 and bluntly lobed, the 

 teeth not mucronate. 

 S. Afr., S. Amer., and 

 New Zeal. 



3121. Polystichum Tsus-sinense. (Small plant.) 



13. aristatum, Swartz. Stalks scattered, 12-18 in. 

 long, scaly below: If.-blades 1-2 ft. long, 9-12 in. wide, 

 3-4-pinnatifid, the lower pinnae largest; texture firm, 

 glossy; sori in 2 rows near the midrib. Japan to Ceylon 

 and Austral. 



14. vjirium, Presl. St. partly creeping: Ivs. lJ^-2 ft. 

 long, 9-12 in. wide, narrowly triangular, 3-pinnate in 

 lowest pinnae, somewhat leathery. Japan, China. 

 Similar to P. capense. . L . M UNDERWOOD. 



R. C. BENEDICT.! 



POMADERRIS (Greek, lid and skin, said to allude 

 to the membranous covering of the capsule). Rham- 

 nacese. Shrubs, more or less covered with hoary or 

 ferruginous stellate tomentum. The Victorian hazel, 

 P. apetala, is included here. 



Leaves alternate: fls. numerous, in small cymes 

 usually forming terminal or axillary corymbs or pani- 

 cles; calyx-tube adnate to the ovary, limb 5-parted, 

 deciduous or reflexed; petals 5 or wanting; stamens 5, 

 the filaments elongated and often suddenly attenuate 

 and inflexed at the top; ovary more or less inferior: 

 caps, small, the upper portion protruding above the 

 calyx-tube, 3-valved. About 22 species confined to 

 Austral., New Caledonia and New Zeal. Several spe- 

 cies have been cult, in England at different times but 

 P. apetala seems to be the one most commonly cult. 

 Prop, by cuttings of half-ripened shoots. 



apetala, Labill. Shrub or small tree, 6-15 ft. high, 

 rarely more: Ivs. 2-4 in. long, oblong-ovate, obtuse or 



subacute, irregularly crenulate: panicles 3-7 in. long, 

 terminal and axillary; calyx-tube short, stellate-tomen- 

 tose; petals wanting: caps, obtuse, sparsely stellate- 

 tomentose. Austral, and New Zeal. Cult, in Calif, for 

 ornament. Von Mueller in his "Select Extra-Tropical 

 Plants," says it is "a tree attaining a height occasion- 

 ally of 60 ft., but mostly smaller. The foliage is 

 devoured with avidity by pasture animals, often in 

 preference to ordinary good feed." 



P. mcciniifdlia, Reiss, an Australian species with ovate or nearly 

 orbicular Ivs., cream-colored fls. in ovoid terminal panicles and with 

 broad petals, has been cult, in England. G.C. III. 35:339. 



F. TRACY HUBBARD. 



POMEGRANATE is the vernacular of Punica Grana- 

 twn, a small tree of southern Asia, grown both for orna- 

 ment and for its edible fruit (Fig. 3122). See Punica. 

 It is somewhat grown in the open in the southern 

 states, and also as a pot- or tub-plant in greenhouses 

 in the North. 



The natural habit of the pomegranate is of rather 

 bushy growth, but by careful training a. tree 15 to 20 

 feet may be produced. This, however, seems possible 

 only in the southern sections of the United States. A 

 great many shoots spring from the base of the plant; 

 these should be cut out, as it is contended that they 

 withdraw the nutriment which should go to the fruit- 

 bearing stems. The branches are slender, twiggy, nearly 

 cylindrical, somewhat thorny. The leaves are lanceo- 

 late, long, narrow, glossy green and with red veins. 

 The flowers have a red thick fleshy calyx, crowned with 

 bright scarlet crumpled petals and numerous stamens. 

 The fruit is globular, topped with a crown-like calyx, 

 and the interior consists of numerous seeds enveloped 

 in a bright crimson or pink-colored pulp, seeds being 

 arranged in segments, separated by a thin skin, and 

 very acid in the typical variety. A cooling acescent 

 drink, known as granadine, is made from the pulpy 

 seeds, with the addition of water and sugar. This is 

 much used in the South, and in certain parts of Europe, 

 and is especially grateful in fevers. This plant will suc- 

 ceed as far as the 35th degree of latitude north, but 

 during extreme cold periods, the plants are sometimes 

 injured by cold in that latitude. For higher latitudes 

 it should be cultivated in tubs, and given a con- 

 servatory during winter. For some sections of the 

 South it is used for hedges. The fruit begins to ripen 

 about September and can be kept for several weeks. 



The pomegranate is multiplied by hardwood cut- 

 tings planted in open ground during February, or by 

 layers and also by softwood cuttings during summer. 

 As the plant forms many shoots, these are often used, 

 as they usually are provided with rootlets. In Florida, 

 Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and some of the other 

 southern states, pomegranates are grown commer- 

 cially and are shipped to the northern and eastern 

 markets. There is a growing demand for the fruit of 

 the pomegranate. 



The pomegranate is 

 supposed to have been 

 introduced into south- 

 ern Europe by the 

 Carthaginians, whose 

 Latin name of "Puni- 

 cus" was thus given 

 and derived. A refer- 

 ence is also found in 

 the sacred scriptures. 

 Theophrastus des- 

 cribed it 300 years 

 before the Christian 

 era, and Pliny con- 

 sidered it one of the 

 most valuable fruits, 

 both as to its beauty 



and medicinal proper- 3122. Pomegranate, in lengthwise 

 ties. The bark of the section. ( x Yd 



