SEDUM 



SEEDS AND SEEDAGE 



3133 



violet, %in. across, in dense, terminal, globose cymes; 

 sepals lanceolate; petals oblong-lanceolate. Cent. Eu. 

 B.M. 118. Suitable for edging and rockeries, but the 

 fls. are comparatively rarely produced. Var. B6rderi, 

 Hort., equals S. Tdephium var. Borderi. 



63. stellatum, Linn. Annual, glabrous: sts. erect, 

 3-4 in. high, branched at the base: Ivs. of the barren 

 shoots in a rosette, suborbicular, crenate, flat| cauline 

 alternate or rarely opposite, petioled, nrlvn* long, 

 obovate, crenate: fls. reddish or purplish, in lax, few- 

 fld., terminal cymes; sepals lanceolate; petals lanceo- 

 late. S. Eu. Probably rare in cult. 



S. Adolphii, Hamet. Perennial: fl.-sts. erect, robust, branched: 

 Ivs. alternate, sessile, obovate, lanceolate, or broadly obovate, 

 Ji-1 % in. x 6-7 lines, flat, entire: fls. in a rather dense corymbose 

 cyme; sepals broad-deltoid; petals ovate-lanceolate. Mex.-pS. 

 dlbidum, Hort., is offered in the trade as a form growing 6 in. high, 

 with white fls. S. aUanUndes, Rose. Perennial, 8-12 in. high, 

 woody below: Ivs. almost at right angles to the St., terete, clavate 

 and somewhat bowed, glaucous: fls. greenish white, in an open 

 terminal panicle; sepals ovate, acute; petals lanceolate, acute. Mex. 

 S. atrosanguineum, Hort., is offered in the trade. S. bellum, 

 Rose (S. farinosum, Rose, not Lowe). Perennial plants, at first 

 forming dense elongated rosettes: fl.^st. weak, ascending or spread- 

 ing: Ivs. flat but thickish spatulate: infl. a broad open cyme; petals 

 white, spreading, lanceolate. Mex. In its wild state this species 

 grows on cliffs among mosses. It has been in cult, in Washington 

 since 1906, and deserves a place in every good succulent collection. 

 S. Braitnii, Hort., is offered. S. Brinrnii, Hort., is offered in the 

 trade. S. caldbricum. Ten., is a name without description applied 

 to some Italian species which is offered in the trade. S. coaAneum 

 Hort., not Royle, is a name mentioned in horticulture; possibly it 

 is S. stoloniferum var. coccineum. S. Cdckerdlii, Brit. Perennial, 



5 in. or less high, glabrous, branched: basal Ivs. not known; cauline 

 lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, J^-l in. long, sessile, acute: fls. 

 white, subsessile, in cymes which are %-2j4 in. diam.; sepals 

 nearly linear; petals linear - lanceolate to linear -oblanceolate; 

 anthers and styles pink. New Mex. This species is in cult., but 

 cannot be placed in the key owing to lack of sufficient data. S. 

 crassifdlium, Hort., is offered in the trade. S. cristagdUi, Hort., is 

 offered. S. cruentum, Hort., is offered in the trade. S. dirersi- 

 Jdlium, Rose. Perennial: barren shoots short; fls.-sts. elongated, 

 weak: Ivs. of barren shoots flattened ovate, small, rough, somewhat 

 recurved: fls. pale yellow, terminal, solitary, short-peduncled; 

 sepals obtuse; petals ovate, acute or even apiculate. Mex. 

 S. Douglasii, Hook., grows 4 in. high: Ivs. lanceolate, J-i-Hin- long, 

 acute, and has yellow fls.; probably not in cult. S. Durgidum, 

 Hort., is offered in the American trade as a compact grower and 

 bright green; not known botanically. S. Eichldmii, Hort., is 

 offered hi the trade. S. glaitcum var. aitreum, Hort., is offered as a 

 golden yellow variety; not placed satisfactorily. S. grandifldrum, 

 Hort., is offered as a strong grower with yellow fls. S. himal&i- 

 cum, Hort., is offered as a form with rich yellow fls.; not known 

 botanically. 5. Mairednum, Hort., is offered as growing 4 in. high: 

 fls. yellow. S. muralis, Hort., is said to have dark Ivs. and white 

 fls. with a pink center; not known botanically. S. niteum, Hort., is 

 offered in the trade. S. pdllidum, Bieb. Perennial, glabrous or 

 glandular-pubescent above: sts. usually branched: Ivs. semi-terete, 

 linear, rather obtuse: fls. white or rose in a lax branched scorpioid 

 cyme; sepals triangular, acute: petals puberulent, cuspidate. Asia 

 Minor, Persia, and India. Closely allied to S. hispanicum. This is 

 the true species but the name has also been applied to several other 

 plants and it is uncertain which form is in cult. S. pdllidum var. 

 rdseum, Hort., is in the trade but cannot be satisfactorily identified. 

 5. pminaium, Brot. Perennial, glaucous, pruinose: barren 

 .shoots 6-8 in. long, trailing and ascending; fl.-sts. erect, 1 ft. high: 

 Ivs. in many rows, sessile, more or less terete, glaucous, tips often 

 Tose-pink, about ?.iin. long, linear-oblanceolate, aristate: fls. bright 

 yellow, J-2in. across, in an umbellate, many-branched, flat-topped 

 cyme; sepals oblong, acute; petals oblong, obtuse. Eu. Closely 

 .allied to S. rupestre and included in it by some authorities. S. 

 rarifltrrum, N. E. Br. Perennial: sts. numerous, decumbent, up to 

 in. long, glabrous: Ivs. alternate, flat above, slightly convex 

 beneath, ? 4-1^2 in. long, linear, acute, green: fls. white, in a lax 

 2-3-branched infl.; sepals spreading, linear, acute; petals oblong- 

 lanceolate, acuminate. China. S. retromrum, Hort., is offered in 

 the trade. S. Semperrimm, Hort., not Ledeb.=Cotyledon Sem- 

 pervivum. S. sexemifidum, Hort., is offered in the trade; perhaps 

 an error for sexifidum which is a synonym of S. hispanicum. S. 

 spathulfitum. Hort., is a trade name of a species said to grow several 

 feet high, botanically unknown. S.speciosum, Hort., is still offered 

 in the trade, but is unknown botanically. Var. ritbrum, Hort., is 

 offered in the American trade as growing 6 in. high and having dark 

 red fls. in July. Var. splendens, Hort., is offered as a form growing 



6 in. high, with deep red fls. S. tectdrum, Scop.==Sempervivum 

 tectorum. S. turkestanum, Hort., is possibly a trade error for 

 turkestanicum which is a variety of S. Ewersii. S. undulatum, 

 Hort., is offered in the trade, p TRACT HTJBBARD.f 



SEEDS AND SEEDAGE. A seed is a ripened 

 embryo, and its integuments and storage supplies, 

 resulting from fertilization in the flower. Seedage is a 

 term used to include all knowledge respecting the 

 propagation of plants by means of seeds or spores. The 



3591. Seed-like fruit 

 of hop-tree. 

 (Natural size) 



word was first used, so far as the writer is aware, in 

 1887. It is equivalent to the French semis, and is com- 

 parable with the words graftage, layerage, and cut- 

 tage. See Spores. 



In general literature and common speech, a seed is 

 that part of the plant which is the outcome of flower- 

 ing and which is used for propagat- 

 ing the species. In the technical or 

 botanical sense, however, the seed 

 is the ripened ovule. The seed con- 

 tains an embryo, which is a minia- 

 ture plant. The embryo has one or 

 more leaves (cotyledons), a bud or 

 growing-point (plumule) and a short 

 descending axis (caulicle) . From the 

 caulicle or stemlet, the radicle or 

 root develops. This embryo is a 

 minute dormant plant. Each em- 

 bryo is the result of a distinct pro- 

 cess of fertilization in which the 

 pollen of the same or another flower 

 has taken part. The ovule is contained in the ovary. 

 The ripened ovary is the seed-case or pericarp. The 

 pericarp, with the parts that are amalgamated with 

 it, is known technically as the fruit. In many cases 

 there is only one seed in the fruit; and the seed and 

 its case may adhere and form practically one body. 

 Many of the so-called seeds of horticulturists are 

 really fruits containing one or few seeds. Such are 

 the seeds of beet, lettuce, and sea-kale. The winged 

 seeds of elms, hop-tree (Fig. 3591), and ashes are really 

 fruits containing a single seed. Acorns, walnuts, but- 

 ternuts, and chestnuts are also fruits; so are grains 

 of corn, wheat, and the "seeds" of strawberry. The 

 keys of maple are double fruits, with two seeds (Fig. 

 3592). Beans and peas are true seeds; the fruit part is 

 the pod in which they are borne. Seeds of apples and 

 pears are also true seeds, the fruit being the fleshy part 

 that surrounds them. 



Germination is the unfolding and the growing of the 

 dormant or embryo plant. The first visible stage in 

 germination is the swelling of the seed. Thereafter the 

 integument is ruptured, and the caulicle appears. 

 When the caulicle protrudes, the seed has sprouted; 

 and this fact is taken as an indication that the seed is 

 viable (Fig. 3593). Germination is not complete, how- 

 ever, until the young plant has made vital connection 

 with the soil, has developed green assimilative organs 

 and is able to support itself (Fig. 3594). See, also, 

 Figs. 5395 and 3596. Seeds that have sufficient life to 



3592. Natural planting of maple seeds. 



sprout may still be too weak to carry the process to 

 complete germination. The ide_al test for the viability 

 of seeds is to plant them in soil in conditions that some- 

 what nearly approach those in which they are finally 

 to be planted. This test eliminates the seeds which 

 are very weak and are not able to grow under ordinary 



