SIPHOCAMPYLIS 



SKIMMIA 



3171 



KB. and approximate red fls. Colombia. J.F. 2:142. S. Orbigni- 

 druif. A. DC., is herbaceous; has ternate, ovate^acuminate, short- 

 pet ioled Ivs. and numerous red-and-yellow fls. in the upper axils. 

 Bolivia. J.F. 4:425. .5. rugdsiu, A. DC., has pendulous branches, 

 ovate-rotund coriaceous and rugose Ivs., the corolla with lanceolate, 

 acute lobes and the caps. 10-angled. Peru. H.U. 3, p. 368. 



SIPH6NIA: Herea. 



SISYRINCHIUM (an old Greek name first applied to 

 some other plant). Iridacex. SATIX FLOWER. BLUE- 

 EYED GRASS. RUSH LILY. Hardy or half-hardy peren- 

 nials, usually with fibrous roots, sometimes used in the 

 hardy border. 



Stems simple or branched, 2-edged or winged: Ivs. 

 grass-like. Lanceolate or terete: fls. small, fugacious, in 

 umbellate clusters from a usually 2-lvd. spathe, blue or 

 yellow, perianth nearly flat or bell-shaped, segms. 6, 

 nearly alike: caps, globular, 3-angled. About 150 

 species, all American, mostly in moist fields and sandy 

 places and along shores. The species are of easy cult, 

 in any good garden soil. They are very little known 

 as horticultural subjects. 



A. Fls. yellow. 



B. St. leafless. 



calif 6rnicum, Dry. (Marica calif arnica, Ker-Gawl.). 

 A half-hardy perennial: st. 1J^ ft. high, 2 lines through, 

 broadly winged : Ivs. many, shorter than the St., about 

 1 oin. broad: spathe 3-^6-fld.: segms. of perianth yellow, 

 lined with brown, J^in. long: caps, oblong. Calif, to 

 Ore. B.M. 983. Swampy grounds. 



BB. St. If. -bearing. 

 c. The st. slightly 2-edged. 



tenuifdlium, Humb. & Bonpl. A half-hardy peren- 

 nial: roots fleshy, fibrous: st. M~l ft- high, often 

 branched low down: Ivs. subterete or narrowly linear: 

 spathes 3-4-fld.: segms. of perianth pale yellow, J^in. 

 long. Mountains of Mex. B.M. 2117; 2313. 



striatum, Smith (S. lutescens, Lodd. Marica striata, 

 Ker-Gawl.). Perennial, 1-3 ft.: sts. compressed-ancipi- 

 tal. leafy: Ivs. ensiform, glaucous, radical equitantly 

 imbricate toward their base, cauline remote, clasping: 

 fls. in sessile fascicles laxly and closely disposed along 

 the fiexuous rachis, yellow, darker striate at center, 

 about 3|-i in. across; perianth-segms. cuneate-ligulate, 

 the outer ones twice as broad as the inner, blades 

 rotately spreading, obtuse and mucronate. Chile and 

 Argentina. B.M. 701. L.B.C. 19:1870. Gn. 70, p. 202. 

 R.H. 1910, p. 457. 



cc. The st. broadly winged. 



convolutum, Xocca. A tender perennial : root fibrous, 

 slender: st. about 1 ft. high, usually forked: Ivs. linear: 

 spathes 3-4-fld.: segms. of perianth yellow, veined 

 with brown, J^in. long. Trop. Amer. 



AA. Fls. purple, blue, or white. 



B. St. terete. 



grandiflorum, Douglas (S. Douglasii, A. Dietr.). A 

 hardy perennial: root-fibers slender, long: st. simple, 

 about 1 ft.: Ivs. short, sheathing the lower part of the 

 st.: fls. 2-3, cernuous; perianth-segms. bright purple, 

 rarely white. %in. long. May, June. N. W. U. S. 

 B.M. 3509. B.R. 1364. G. 2:100; 5:559. This is pos- 

 sibly the handsomest species in the trade. Var. album, 

 Hort., is also offered and is equally desirable. 



BB. St. flat. 



c. Spathes equal in length. 



graminoides, Bicknell (S. dnceps, Wats., not Cav.). 

 A hardy perennial: st. winged, about 1 ft. high, usu- 

 ally terminating in 2 unequal branches, subtended by a 

 If.: Ivs. nearly equaling the St., grass-like, 1-3 lines 

 wide: spathes about 1 in. long, 2-4-fld.; pedicels longer 

 than the spathes: fls. blue, %-%in. across. April- 

 Jane. E. U. S. B.B. 1:453. 



201 



cc. Spathes very unequal in length. 



angustifolium, Mill. (S. dnceps, Cav. S. bermudi- 

 anum, Authors). A hardy perennial: root-fibers long: 

 st. about 1 ft. high, 1J/2 lines through, with 2-3 clus- 

 ters on long-winged peduncles: Ivs. linear, shorter than 

 the st., 1-1 Yi lines wide: spathes 1-4-fld., about 1 in. 

 long: pedicels about 8 lines long. May- Aug. Maine 

 to Va., west to Colo. Var. bellum, Hort. (<. bettum, 

 Wats.). Sts. more narrowly winged, usually without 

 any If. below the fork: spathes shorter: pedicels longer. 

 Calif., New Mex. 



mucronatum, Michx. Hardy perennial similar to the 

 last: sts. narrowly winged: spathes usually purple- 

 tinged, not gibbous; outer bract with the margins 

 united a little above the base, %-2% in. long, the inner 

 J-%in. long: perianth violet (rarely white): caps, 

 straw- or greenish yellow. W. Mass, to Va. and Mich. 

 B.B. (ed. 2) 1 :544. F . W . BARCLAY. 



F. TRACY HuBBARD.f 



SITOLOBIUM (name refers to the grain-like fruc- 

 tification). Polypodiacex. Under this name one fern is 

 still listed, but the group now forms a section of Dick- 

 soniaor Dennstaedtia characterized by prostrate rhizome 

 and a cup-shaped nearly spherical involucre placed at 

 the base of the depression of the lobes. The fern in 

 question is Denns&dtia cicutaria, Moore (Sitolobium 

 cicutarium, J. Smith. Dicksonia cicutaria, Hook. & 

 Baker), a W. Indian species with bipinnate Ivs.: lower 

 pinnae 12-18 in. long and 6 in. broad, with deeply cut 

 linear-acuminate pinnules, the segms oblong-deltoid 

 and deeply cut. 



SIUM (from Sion, old Greek name used by Dios- 

 corides). UmbeUifers. Glabrous herbs, including one of 

 economic value, S. Sisarum or skirret (which see), the 

 roots of which are used as a vegetable: Ivs. pinnate, the 

 pinna? dentate: umbels composite, terminal or lateral; 

 involucres and involucral bracts numerous: fls. white; 

 calyx-teeth acute; petals inflexed: fr. ovate or oblong, 

 laterally compressed or constricted at the junction of 

 carpels. About 4 species, northern hemisphere, also 

 one species in S. Afr., apt to be subaquatic. 



Sisarum, T.inn. SKTRRET. Plant, 3-4 ft. high, tuber- 

 ous-rooted: Ivs. pinnatisect; segms. oblong-acute, ser- 

 rate: involucre 5-lvd., reflexed. E. Asia. 



latifolium, Linn. WATER PARSXTP. Sts. 3-5 ft. high, 

 angular, furrowed and erect: Ivs. pinnate; Ifts. oblpng- 

 lanceolate, evenly serrate, pointed: umbels terminal; 

 involucral Ivs. many, lanceolate. Ditches and rivers, 

 England. Like Ferula and certain other umbelliferous 

 plants, it is valued more for its stately habit and hand- 

 some foliage than for its fls. p\ TRACY HUBBARD. 



SKIMMIA (Japanese, Skimmi, meaning a hurtful 

 fruit). Rutacex. Ornamental woody plants grown 

 chiefly for the bright red berries and the handsome 

 foliage. 



Evergreen glabrous shrubs: Ivs.. alternate, short- 

 petioled, entire, dotted with translucid glands: fls. 

 perfect or dioecious, the staminate fragrant and in large 

 panicles; sepals and petals 4-5; stamens 4-5; style with 

 2-5-lobed stigma; ovary 2-5-loculed: fr. a drupe with 

 2-4 1-seeded stones. Four species from the Him- 

 alayas to China and Japan. 



The skimmias are densely branched, usually low 

 shrubs with medium-sized generally oblong acute leaves, 

 small white flowers in terminal panicles and showy 

 bright red, rarely black, berry-like fruit. They are 

 tender, not being reliably hardy as far north as Wash- 

 ington, D. C. S. Fortunei is somewhat hardier than 

 S. japonica. Handsome shrubs for borders of ever- 

 green shrubberies and especially valuable for planting 

 in cities, as they belong to the best smoke-enduring 

 evergreen shrubs; they are particularly beautiful when 



