SCILLA 



SCIRPUS 



3119 



linear Ivs. 2-4 in. long: scape seldom 6 in. long, with 

 several small, erect blue fls. in a short, terminal raceme, 

 almost flattened into a corymb: perianth -segms. 

 scarcely above 3 lines long, spreading. Spring. A 

 plant occurring in stony and sandy wastes near the sea 

 in W. Eu., as in Denmark, reappearing farther east on 

 the Rhine and in Sardinia. Hardy. 





3578. Scilla amoena. ( X X) 



S. ariUAris, C. H. Wright. Of robust habit: Ivs. 1 ft. long, 2H 

 in. broad: raceme many-fld. : perianth-segms. white outside with 

 green keel, bright violet edged with white inside. Hab.(?). T. 

 cilicica, Siehe. Bulb bluish violet: Ivs. 4-8 in. long, about J^in. 

 broad at apex: scape slightly taller than Ivs.: pedicels one-half as 

 long as fls. : fls. 2-6, bright blue, often tinged with violet ; filaments 

 white, thread-like. Asia Minor. G.C. III. 44: 194, desc. 



JOHN W. HARSHBERGER. 



SCINDAPSUS (an old Greek name, transferred to 

 these plants). Aracex. Climbing perennials, differing 

 from Monstera in floral characters and in the long- 

 petioled, long-sheathed, ovate-lanceolate, or ovate-acu- 

 minate Ivs. Species about 20 (Engler & Krause, 

 Pflanzenreich, IV. 23B), E. Indies. Scindapsus com- 

 prises one popular and worthy warmhouse plant, that 

 known to gardeners as S. argyrams; also S. aureus, 

 Engler (see Pothos aureus). 



pictus, Hassk. Internodes of the st. 3-4 in. long, 

 2 in. thick: petioles 1^2 in. long; blade 4-6 in. long, 

 2J^-3J4 m - wide, one side half as wide as the other, 

 coriaceous, bright green (drying black), obliquely ovate- 

 cordate. Var. argyraeus, Engler (S. argyrOeus, Hort. 

 Pothos argyr&us, Hort.), is the cult, form, with broad, 

 deeply cordate If .-blades which are spotted and blotched 

 above with silvery white. Celebes, Philippines, Java. 



S. an&malus, Hort.=Monstera acuminata. S. Cuscu&ria, Presl, 

 is sometimes kept separate as Cuscuaria marantif olia. Not known 

 to be in the trade. It is a question whether the Aglaonema com- 

 mutatum sometimes mentioned in horticultural literature is this 

 species or is properly referable to Aglaonema. S. pertiisus, Hort. 

 =Rhaphidophora pertusa. JARED G. SMITH. 



SCIRPUS (Latin for bulrush). BULRUSH. SEDGE. 

 Cyperacea?. A large group of rush-like or grass-like 

 plants inhabiting the whole globe. Flowers perfect, in 

 spikelets which are solitary, clustered or umbellate; 

 scales spirally arranged; perianth of bristles or none, 

 not enlarged in fr., smooth or barbed, persistent; ovary 

 1-loculed, with 1 anatropous ovule; style not thickened 

 at the base, 2-3-clef t : fr . an achene with bristles attached. 

 Only a few species are in cult., and these are all per- 

 ennials (except perhaps the last), suited for shallow 

 water or damp places. The larger are important for 

 use in aquatic gardens. The nomenclature of those in 

 the trade has been very much confused. 



A. Sts. leafy. 



atr6virens, Muhl. Sts. clustered, tall and stout, 2-4 

 ft. high, bluntly triangular: Ivs. long, coarse, and firm, 



3-6 lines wide, spreading: involucre foliaceous: umbel 

 sparingly compound; rays stiff, very unequal; spike- 

 lets ovoid-oblong, acutish, dark greenish brown, in 

 dense heads of 5-25; scales oblong, cuspidate; perianth- 

 bristles 6, downwardly barbed above; styles 3. E. U. S. 

 in mud or damp soil. 



Holoschdenus, Linn. Stiff and rush-like, from stout 

 rootstocks: sts. clustered, slender, cylindrical, 1-3 ft. 

 high: Ivs. 1-2, basal, stiff, erect and narrow, furrowed: 

 bracts several, the larger one appearing as a continua- 

 tion of the st. ; spikelets very numerous and small, closely 

 packed in 1 to several globular, light brown heads, 

 3-5 lines in diam.; scales ovate, mucronate, cihate; 

 perianth-bristles none; styles 2-3-cleft. Eu., Asia. 

 The form in cult is var. variegatus, Hort., with sts. 

 alternately banded with green and yellowish white. 

 Damp or dry soil. 



AA. Sts. with very short basal Ivs. or none. 



B. Rootstocks very stout, creeping: sts. scattered, 3-9 ft. 

 high. 



lacustris, Vahl. GREAT BULRUSH. Sts. terete, smooth, 

 tall, stout, and flexible, 3-9 ft: high: Ivs. reduced to a 

 few basal sheaths: bracts very short, erect: umbel 

 compound, flexuous: spikes in heads of 1-5, oblong- 

 conical, pale brown, 2J^-8 lines long; scales ovate- 

 oblong, obtuse, rarely mucronate; perianth-bristles 

 4-6, downwardly barbed throughout; styles 2-3. In 

 shallow quiet water, N. Amer., Eu., Asia. A com- 

 posite species probably consisting in Eu. and Amer. of 

 several distinct forms, each of specific rank. Typical 

 S. lacustris is a 3-style form common in Eu., not found 

 in Amer. S. Tabernasmontanus, Gmel., is a European 

 2-style form. The horticultural variety of the bitter 

 species, with alternate bands of green and yellowish 

 white, is var. zebrina, Hort. (Juncus zebnnus, Hort.). 

 S. vdUidus, Vahl, and S. occidentdlis, Chase, are 2- 

 styled American species. S. heterochaetus, Chase, is a 

 3-styled American form. The bulrush is very effective 

 as a border plant in aquatic gardens. 



3579. 



Scirpus cernuus. 

 Known to garden- 

 ers as Isolepis 

 gracilis. 



