PRIMULA 



PRITCHARDIA 



umbel: bracts linear-subulate: fls. rose; calyx narrowly 

 campanula te, split nearly to the middle, with lanceolate 

 acute lobes; corolla-tube cylindrical, the limb flat, and 

 about Y-$&. across, with triangular-obcordate, deeply 

 emarginate lobes, the lobules divaricate: caps, cylin- 

 drical, much exceeding the calyx. Japan. 



200. suffrutescens, Gray. Rhizomatous, part above 

 ground branched and woody: plant not farinose, gla- 

 brous: Ivs. about 1 in. long including the petiole, 

 cuneate-spatulate, obtuse, leathery, top 5-7-toothed, 

 long-narrowed toward the base to a winged petiole 

 which is scarcely distinguishable from the blade: scape 

 4-5 in. high, bearing a many-fld. umbel: bracts lanceo- 

 late, acuminate: fls. reddish purple; calyx campanulate, 

 split almost to the middle, glandular-puberulent, with 

 lanceolate, acute lobes; corolla-tube pale, gradually 

 broadened toward the throat, the limb J^-%in. across, 

 with obcordate, emarginate 'lobes. Calif.; alpine. 

 R.H.S.39:181. L. H. B. 



PRINGLEA (personal name). Cruciferx. Perennial 

 herb with a long stout rhizome and forming a head of 

 Ivs.. in which it resembles Brassica oleracea: scape thick, 

 simple, with a strict fr .-bearing raceme: fr. a 1-celled 

 silique. One species from Kerguelen Land. P. 

 antiscorbutica, Hook. f. KERGUELEX'S LAND CAB- 

 BAGE. Lvs. broadly obovate-spatulate, 3-6 in. long: 

 peduncle arising from the rhizome, beneath the foliage, 

 2-3 ft. long, leafy, bearing a dense raceme 6-12 in. 

 long: sepals oblong; petals none: fr. shortly oblong or 

 oblong-lanceolate. R.H. 1913, p. 14. Intro, into botanic 

 gardens abroad. Valuable as a remedy for scurvy. 



PRINOS: Ilex. 



PRINSEPIA (after Macaire-Prinsep, botanist at 

 Geneva, Switzerland). Including Plagiospermum. 

 Rosacex, subfamily Pritnese. Woody plants, chiefly 

 grown for their early-appearing flowers and bright green 

 dense foliage. 



Deciduous shrubs: branches with axillary spines: 

 pith lamellate: Ivs. alternate, petioled, entire or ser- 

 rulate; stipules small, lanceolate: fls. 14 in the axils of 

 last year's branches or in axillary racemes; calyx with 

 cup-shaped tube and broad and short lobes imbricate 

 in bud; petals 5, spreading, suborbicular, clawed; 

 stamens 10 or many, with short filaments; ovary supe- 

 rior, 1-celled, the style inserted near the base, with 

 capitate stigma; ovules 2: fr. a drupe with a smooth or 

 slightly fissured stone. Three species on the Hima- 

 layas and in X. E. Asia to X. W. China. The edible frs. 

 are gathered in their native countries. 



The two prinsepias in cultivation are low spiny 

 slender-branched shrubs with narrow bright green foli- 

 age and white or yellow flowers appearing with the 

 leaves in early spring along the branches of the previous 

 year and followed by purple or black cherry-like drupes 

 which, however, so far have been produced only spa- 

 ringly in cultivation; possibly the flowers, though appar- 

 ently perfect, are functionally dioecious or they need 

 insects for fertilization, which are wanting at the very 

 early flowering time of this shrub. The shrubs have 

 proved perfectly hardy at the Arnold Arboretum, only 

 the flowers suffer sometimes during cold weather; they 

 are among the earliest shrubs to burst into leaf and are 

 conspicuous by their bright green foliage when most 

 other shrubs are still bare. They seem to grow best in 

 a sunny and open position and in well-drained soil. 

 Propagation is by seeds sown after maturity or strati- 

 fied and sown in spring or by greenwood cuttings under 

 glass; also by layers. 



sinensis, Oliver (Plagiospermum sinense, Oliver). 

 Fig. 3192. Shrub, to 6 ft. or taller, nearly glabrous: 

 younger branches light gray, older brown, with short 

 axillary spines about %in. long: Ivs. slender-petioled, 

 ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, long-acuminate, cuneate 



at the base, sometimes broadly so, entire or sometimes 

 sparingly serrulate, finely cifiate, otherwise glabrous, 

 bright green above, paler beneath, 2-3 in. long: fls. 1^4, 

 on pedicels about Kin. long, bright yellow, %-%in. 

 across; sepals triangular ovate; stamens 10: fr. subglo- 



bose or ovoid, 



3192. Prinsepia sinensis. 

 (XJi) 



across, purple, juicy; stone 

 ovoid, compressed, rugose. 

 April, May. N. E. Asia. M. 

 D. 1903:1. I.T. 5:182. H.I. 

 16: 1526. R.H. 1907, pp. 418, 

 419. Besides being an orna- 

 mental shrub this species 

 may be worth while growing 

 for its cherry-like edible frs. 

 which have a pleasant acid 

 taste. 



unifldra, Batalin. Shrub, 

 to 4 ft., with slender spread- 

 ing light gray branches: 

 spines about %in. long: Ivs. 

 short-petioled, linear-oblong 

 to narrow-oblong, acutish or 

 obtuse at the apex, cuneate 

 at the base, entire or remotely 

 serrulate, dark green above, 

 paler beneath, glabrous, 1-2 

 in. long: fls. 1-3, on pedicels 

 about K m - long, white, J^- 

 %in. across; stamens 10: fr. 

 about J^in- across, black, 

 with bloom ; stone ovoid, com- 

 pressed, rugose, about H m - 

 long. April, May. N. W. 

 China. This and the preced- 

 ing species are closely related 

 and form a distinct subgenus 

 chiefly characterized by fas- 



cicled fls. with only 10 stamens, while P. utilis has the 

 fls. in axillary racemes and many stamens. 



P. ittilis, Royle. Shrub, to 5 ft-: spines 1-1 H in. long, usually 

 leafy: Ivs. elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, entire or serru- 

 late, 1M 4 in. long: fls. pedicelled, in axillary racemes, white, 

 about Jiin. across: fr. purple, Vz~Jiin. across, edible. Himalayas. 

 Apparently not in cult, in this country and probably not hardy 

 north of Washington, D. C. ALFRED RfiHDER. 



PRIONIUM (Greek saw, referring to the leaves, 

 which have serrate edges). Juncacese. Tender aquatics 

 growing in great masses in running water. 



Stem erect, woody, from a repent rhizome: perianth 

 rigid, cleft to the base, segms. ovate, subequal; sta- 

 mens 6; ovary sessile, globose, 3-celled; ovules usually 

 few, often 2 in a cell: caps, rigid, 3-valved; seeds usually 

 only 1 to a cell. One species in S. Afr. This is one of 

 the few plants of the rush family having the Ivs. 

 crowded at the top of an erect woody st. &-6 ft. high. 

 This plant may be grown in a pot placed in a pan of 

 water, and, if desired, may be plante_d out for the sum- 

 mer in a wet position. Prop, by division. 



Palmita, E. Mey. St. stout, often forked, 2^4 in. 

 in thickness, reaching a length of 5-6 ft.: Ivs. linear, 

 rigid, glabrous, 3-4 ft. long, in a dense rosette at sum- 

 mit of st.: infl. a large, dense, terminal panicle on long 

 peduncle; perianth and bracts H m - long. B.M. 5722. 

 G.W. 11, p. 390. p. TRACT HuBBARD.f 



PRITCHARDIA (W. T. Pritchard, British consul at 

 Fiji in 1860). Polmocex, tribe Corypheie. Spineless fan 

 palms from islands of the South Pacific; also in Cuba if 

 Colpothrinax is included. 



Trunk usually ringed, crowned at the summit by a 

 large cluster of spreading plicate^flabelliform Ivs.: 

 spadix at first erect, ultimately drooping at the fruiting 

 stage: fls. hermaphrodite, small, green; ovary 3-cor- 

 nered or 3-lobed, narrowed into a strong style; corolla 

 with persistent tube and deciduous segms. ; embryo sub- 

 basilar. About 14 or 15 species; by some, Washing- 



