RHEXIA 



RHIPSALIS 



2(29 



AA. St. angled. 

 B. Petals yellow. 



l&tea, Walt. St. becoming much branched, 1 ft. 

 high: Ivs. smooth, serrulate, the lower obovate and 

 obtuse, the upper lanceolate and acute: fls. small, in 

 numerous cymes. July, Aug. Pine-barren swamps, N. 

 C. to Fla. and west. 



BB. Petals not yellow, 

 c. Lvs. 6-10 lines long. 



cilidsa, Michx. St. nearly simple, 1-2 ft. high: Ivs. 

 ovate, sessile or very short-petioled, 3-nerved: fls. 

 violet-purple, 1-1 % in. across, short-pedicelled, in 

 few-fld. cymes; anthers not curved and not spurred at 

 the back. June- Aug. Swamps, Ind. to Fla., west to La. 



cc. Lvs. 1-2 in. long. 



virginica, Linn. Fig. 3376. Roots tuber-bearing: 

 sts. about 1 ft. high, branched above and usually clus- 

 tered, forming a compact, bushy plant: Ivs. sessile, 

 ovate, acute, rounded or rarely narrowed at the base, 

 1-2 in. by J^-l in., usually 5-nerved: fls. rosy, 1-1 ^ 

 in. across, in cymes; petals rounded or slightly retuse; 

 anthers minutely spurred on the back. July-Sept. 

 Sunny swamps, Maine to Fla., west to Mo. B.B. 2:474. 

 B.M. 968. This is one of the prettiest of the small wild 

 fls. When transplanted, it seems to thrive as well in 

 good clay loam as in peaty soils, although it sometimes 

 grows in the latter. F. w BARCLAY. 



F. TRACY HTTSBARD.! 



RHIPIDODENDRON: Aloe. 



RHIPIDOPTERIS (from Greek for division and 

 Pteris for fern). Polypodiacese. A tropical American 

 genus of small ferns formerly classed under Acrostichum 

 which it resembles in having the fertile If. -blades 

 entirely covered with sporangia. It differs in having 

 the sterile Ivs. dichotomously divided into linear lobes 

 unlike any other fern. 



peltata, Schott (Acrostichum peltatum, Swartz). 

 Rootstocks long-creeping: sterile If .-blades 12 in. each 

 way on slender stalks 2-4 in., repeatedly forked into 

 very narrow divisions; fertile If .-blades J^-Min. wide, 

 circular, or somewhat 2-lobed. Mex. and W. Indies 

 to Brazil. A delicate and distinct plant, needing 

 moisture all the year 

 round especially in 

 the air. Avoid un- 

 necessary distur- 

 bances of roots. Use 

 some partly decayed 

 leaf-mold. 



R. C. BENEDICT. 



RHIPSALIS 



(Greek, rhips, wicker- 

 work) . Includes Lep- 

 ismium. Cactacese. 

 Epiphytic plants of 

 rather diverse form, 

 sometimes grown in 

 glasshouse collections 

 of succulents and 

 cacti. 



Flowers very small, 

 usually without tube; 

 stamens and style 

 very short: fr. small 

 naked berries. A 

 genus of about 50 

 species, mostly con- 

 fined to S. Amer. Ex- 

 cludes Hariota and 

 Pf eiff era of C y c 1 o . 

 Amer. Hort. Cult. 



similar to epiphyllum and zygocactus. They are mostly 

 fancier's plants and grown by collectors, for the inter- 

 esting habit and characteristic kinds of branching. 



alata, 15. 

 brachiata, 4. 

 Cassytha, 8. 

 commune, 2. 

 funalis, 7. 

 gracilis, 6. 



gandiflora, 7. 

 ouUetiana, 16. 



INDEX. 



Houlletii. 16. 

 mesembrianthe- 



moides, 5. 

 myosurus, 3. 

 pachyptera, 15. 

 paradoxa, 11. 

 penduliflora, 6. 

 pentaptera, 12. 



pilocarpa, 1. 

 rhombea, 14. 

 rosea, 13. 

 Saglionis, 4. 

 squamulosa, 2. 

 Swartziana, 14. 

 trigona, 10. 

 virgata, 9. 



A. Bracts on ovary with hairs and bristles in their axils. 



1. pilocarpa, Lofgren. Branches terete, the axils 

 bearing 10-15 white bristles: fls. wheel-shaped, 1 in. 

 broad. Brazil. 



AA. Bracts on ovary naked. 



B. Ovary imbedded in the branch. 



c. Edges of joints winged. 



2. squamuldsa, Schum. (Lepismium commune, Pfeiff .). 

 Somewhat branched, reaching a length of 2 f t. : branches 

 very unequal in length, M~l m - thick, triangular, the 

 angles winged: fls. 1-2, from the deep areoles, 5 lines 

 long, greenish without, yellowish within. Brazil, Argen- 

 tina. B.M. 3763. 



cc. Edges of joints not winged. 



3. myosftrus, Schum. (Lepismium myosurus, Pfeiff.). 

 Somewhat branched, a yard long: branches 3-6 lines 

 thick, 3-4-angled, the angles not winged, the terminal, 

 branchlets generally acuminate, often tipped by a pencil 

 of bristles: fls. solitary in the deep areoles, 45 lines 

 long, rosy white: fr. red. Brazil. B.M. 3755. 



BB. Ovary not imbedded in the branch, 

 c. Branches terete, slender. 

 D. The branches of 2 kinds. 



4. Saglidnis, Otto (R. brachiata, Hook. Haribta 

 Saglionis, Lem.). Fig. 3377. Reaching a height of 2 ft., 

 richly branched: long or cereifonn branches J^ 1 ft. 

 long; secondary or fruiting branches oblong-elliptic or 

 shorfr-cylindric, rounded at the ends, spirally or rarely 

 verticillately arranged, sometimes weakly grooved, not 

 more than j^in. long: areoles with very scanty wool and 



3377. Rhipsalis Saglionis. (XK) 



