PTERIS 



PTEROCARYA 



2853 



12. Wallichiana, Agardh. Lf.-blades tripartite, with 

 the lateral divisions again forked, the central one reach- 

 ing 2 ft. long, with numerous lanceolate sessile opposite 

 pinnules, cut again into numerous narrow lobes H m - 

 wide. India, Japan, and the Philippine Isls. Known 

 also as Campteria Wattichiana. 



AAA. Veins uniting, forming copious meshes. 



13. leptophylla, Swart z. Lf.-blades triangular, 9yl2 

 in. each way, on straw-colored stalks; upper pinna sim- 

 ple, those below pinnatifid to a winged rachis, the low- 

 est similarly bipinnatifid at the base; veins fine: sori 

 not reaching the tips of the segms. Brazil. Known 

 also as Litobrochia leptophylla. 



3253. Pteris cretica var. albo-lineata. One of the 

 standard house ferns. 



Besides those already given, there are a number of forms the 

 exact relationship of which has not been ascertained, and a few 

 forms often listed under Pteris which belong properly under other 

 generic names. These undetermined and transferrable names 

 mentioned in North America are: P. adiantoidts, Hort. ; P. chinensis, 

 possibly a variety of P. semdata; P. geraniaefitlia, see Doryopteris; 

 P. hastata, see Pelisa riridis; P. palmata, see Doryopteris; P. 

 metdUim, Hort.: P. Summersi, Hort.; P. piumosa, Hort.; P. 

 reffina, Hort. 



The following list contains forms of Pteris actually in the Ameri- 

 can trade. It represents the list of forms which are being or have 

 been grdwn by H. A. Dreer, and is arranged in the order of the 

 commercial importance of the varieties named. The writer is 

 indebted to J. C. Clark, of Dreer's, for the information. It will be 

 noted that there are several forms which have not already been 

 described. The numerals are given for purposes of identification and 

 they refer to the numbers of the species described in this article. 



Wilsonii, 2. 



cretica albo-lineata Alexander, 2. 

 cretica puvrardi, 2. 

 Wimsettii Distinction, 2. 

 Wjmsettii Dutrei. 2. 

 Wimsettii Gautherii, 2. 

 Wimsettii grandis, 2. 

 Wimsettii tripartite, 2. 

 Wimsettii Sieboldii, 2. 

 Wimsettii rivertoniana, 2. 

 Wimsettii multiceps, 2. 

 Childsii, 2. 

 flabellata, 6. 

 Grevilleana variegata, Hort. 

 leptophylla argentea, 13. 



P. WiLsonii, Hort. (Fig. 3252), represents about half the total 

 sales. P. Childsii (G. 37:293) is an important form, but it produces 

 no spores, and therefore can be reproduced only by division. P. 

 Wimsettii rirertoniana is a new form intro. in 1915 which shows 

 considerable promise. Numbers of other forms of Pteris may be 

 expected to appear in the trade, L M UxDERWOOD . 



R. C. BENEDICT.! 



Discarded rarieties (by Dreer) 

 biaurita. 



nemoralis variegata, 11. 

 tricolor. 



cretica Drinkwaterii, 2. 

 cretica Harrisonii, 2. 

 longifolia. 

 longifolia Mariesii. 

 metallica, Hort. 

 Summersii, Hort. 

 tremula Smithiana. 

 Wimsettii, 2. 



PTEROCACTUS (wingcactus). Cactaces>. Low cacti, 

 with numerous slender round sts. : fr. a caps.; seeds flat, 

 winged. Three species described, all from Argentina, 

 little cult. P. Kuntzei, Schum. Roots several, tuber- 

 like: branches glaucous: spines 9-12, minute, appressed: 

 fls. yellow, terminal. j, jj. R OSE 



PTEROCARPUS (Greek, wing fruit; the pods are 

 girded by a broad wing). Leguminbsae. Trees or woody 

 climbers without prickles: Ivs. alternate, uneven-pin- 

 nate; Ifts. alternate or irregularly opposite, without 

 stipules: fls. yellow, rarely mixed with violet and white, 

 often showy, in axillary or terminal racemes; calyx 

 turbinate; standard orbicular or broad-ovate, wings 

 obliquely obovate or oblong, keel with its petals 

 resembling or shorter than the wings, free or shortly 

 connate; stamens all connate in a sheath slit above, or 

 both above and below, or the upper one free; ovary 

 sessile or stipitate: pod compressed, indehiscent, 

 orbicular or broad-ovate. About 45 species, natives of 

 the tropics of both hemispheres. The following species 

 may be in cult, in some greenhouses: P. Draco, Linn., 

 growing 30 ft. high, native of Trop. Amer. P. indicus, 

 Willd., "Burmese rosewood," growing about as high, 

 but a native of the E. Indies. P. Marsiipium, Roxbg., a 

 pale yellow-fld. tree reaching a height of 40 ft. Coro- 

 mandel. P. Rohrii, Vahl, from Trop. Amer., which 

 grows to be 20 ft. high. 



PTEROCARYA (Greek, pteron, wing, and karya, nut ; 

 referring to the winged nuts). Juglandaeeae. Orna- 

 mental trees grown for their handsome pinnate foliage 

 and the attractive pendulous racemes of winged fruits. 



Deciduous: branches with lamellate pith; winter buds 

 naked or scaly, more or less stalked arid usually several 

 in each axil, one above the other: Ivs. alternate, exstipu- 

 late, odd-pinnate, with almost sessile Ifts. : fls. monoe- 

 cious, in pendulous catkins, appearing with the Ivs.; 

 staminate catkins rather dense, fls. consisting of 3 con- 

 nate bracts, 1-4 sepals and 6-18 stamens; pistillate 

 catkins slender, the 1-celled ovary inclosed in a connate 

 involucre elongated into a 4-toothed beak; stigmas 2: 

 fr. a small 1-seeded, winged nut, 4-celled at the base. 

 In germination the 4-lobed cotyledons are borne above 

 the ground and become green, while in Juglans and 

 Carya they remaiH inclosed in the nuts. Eight spe- 

 cies: 6 in China, 1 in Japan, and 1 in W. Asia. 



The pterocaryas are handsome trees of rapid growth 

 usually dividing into several stems from the base, 

 with large pinnate leaves, rather inconspicuous flowers 

 appearing with the foliage and adorned in summer and 

 fall with long drooping racemes of winged fruits. They 

 thrive best in rich and moist soil, but grow well also 

 in drier localities. P. froxinifolia and P. rhoifolia are 

 hardy as far north as Massachusetts, but need some 

 protection while young. P. stenoptera is more tender 

 and the other Chinese species have not yet been suffi- 

 ciently tried. Propagation is by seeds sown in autumn 

 or stratified, also by layers and suckers. 



A. Winter buds naked, usually several in each axil. 



B. Fr. with 2 distinct wings, 

 c. Wings of fr. suborbicular: rachis of If. terete, glabrous. 



fraxinifdlia, Spach (P. caucdsica, C. A. Mey. P. 

 Spachidna, Lav.). Tree, to 60 ft., with spreading 

 branches, often rising in several sts. from the ground: 

 young branchlets slightly pubescent: Ivs. 8-15 in. long, 

 Ifts. 11-25, ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, acute or 

 acuminate, serrate, pubescent only in the axils of the 

 veins beneath, 2-4 in. long: stamens 10-16: fr. includ- 

 ing the semi-orbicular wings, ^-^io.. broad, in racemes 

 to 18 in. long. W. Asia. Gn. 34, p. 219; 62, p. 235. G.C. 

 III. 4:381. G.W. 9, p. 10. L.I. 20, 21. Var. duin&sa, 

 Schneid. (P. dumdsa, Lav.). More shrubby: Ifts. 

 smaller, about 2-2 H in. long. Seems more tender. 



