SYMPHYTUM 



SYMPLOCOS 



3295 



softly hispid; petioles decurrent: fls. sky-blue; buds 

 pinkish; calyx 5-parted almost to the base, segms. 

 triangular-lanceolate; corolla-tube angled, constricted 

 at the middle, upper part somewhat campanulate, 

 mouth 5-cleft. Caucasus. G.C. III. 50:127. Closely 

 related to S. officinale, may be a hybrid. 



BB. Calyx not divided to the middle. 

 caucasicum, Bieb. Perennial, 1-2 ft. high, branched, 

 softly pilose-hirsute, grayish: st. erect: lower Ivs. 



3754. Skunk cabbage tSymplo carpus foetidus), as 

 the hoods come up in spring. ( X h) 



oblong, attenuate to the petiole; upper Ivs. narrowly 

 and shortly decurrent: fls. paniculate-corymbose, blue; 

 calyx viscidulus and setulose; corolla tubular-funnel- 

 form, lobes shortly and broadly ovate. Caucasus. 



AA. St. simple or nearly so: fls. generally few. 



B. Lvs. nearly glabrous. 



cordatum, Willd. Perennial: st. simple, glabrous: 

 Ivs. rather glabrous, subrptund-cordate, acuminate, 

 radical long-petioled; cauline short-petipled; upper- 

 most sessile, ovate-lanceolate: fls. yellowish white, in 

 short, recurved racemes; calyx somewhat 5-parted, 

 lobes lanceolate; corolla funnelform-tubular. Hungary. 



BB. Lvs. hispid. 



grandiflorum, DC. Perennial, about 1 ft. high: st. 

 rather simple, base glabrate, otherwise reflex-spread- 

 ing, hispid: lower Ivs. long-petioled, subcordate-ovate, 

 acute, decurrent along the petiole; uppermost Ivs. 

 opposite, oval, decurrent on the st.: fls. yellowish white, 

 in a few-fld. raceme; calyx lobed below the middle, lobes 

 linear; corolla-lobes broad and obtuse. Caucasus. 

 G.W. 7, p. 294. p. T^CY HUBBARD. 



SYMPLO CARPUS (Greek, referring to the aggre- 

 gate fruit). Aracese. Spathyema is the older name, but 

 the other is retained by the "nomina conservanda" list 

 of the Vienna rules. SKTTNK CABBAGE. A hardy swamp- 

 loving perennial herb which pushes up its hooded 

 spathes in very early spring or even before the first of 

 January in favored situations. 



Spadix globose or oblong, entirely covered by fls., the 

 ovaries of which are embedded in the spadix; perianth 

 of 4 hooded sepals; anthers 2-celled; style pyramidal, 

 4-sided; ovary 1-loculed, with a solitary, suspended, 

 anatropous ovule: berries in large heads, 1-seeded. 

 Only one species. See Krause, in Engler's Pflanzen- 

 reich, hft. 37 (IV. 23 B), 1910. 



The spathes are 3 to 6 inches high, usually grow in 

 clumps, and the variation in their coloring is a never-fail- 

 ing delight. They are mottled with purplish brown and 

 greenish yellow, the former color sometimes becoming 

 bright red, the latter ranging from dark green to bright 

 yellow. These spathes are produced several weeks 

 before the leaves appear, and they inclose odd flowers 

 which are described below in detail. Just when the skunk 

 cabbage flowers is a matter of some debate; the sta- 



mens are generally out in February or March. The hoods 

 retain their beauty for months. In April or May they 

 decay and the strong-growing leaves soon attain a height 

 of 1 to 3 feet and a breadth of 1 foot or more. AH parts of 

 the plant give a strong skunk-like odor, but only when 

 bruised. Skunk cabbage is offered by dealers in hardy 

 plants, as also by collectors. Its hardiness and bravery 

 have been celebrated by outdoor writers from Thoreau 

 to the present day. The question of its pollination has 

 been much discussed. It was long supposed to be polli- 

 nated by the action of the carrion flies which are 

 attracted by its odor. However, Trelease has shown 

 that the bees are busy with the pollen while the plant 

 is in flower and that the carrion flies mostly come 

 later. 



fcetidus, Linn. (Spathyema f&tida, Nutt.). SKUNK 

 CABBAGE. Fig. 3754. Lvs. numerous, 1-3 ft. long, 1 ft. 

 wide, ovate, strongly nerved: spathe preceding the Ivs., 

 colored as describea above: fr. ripe Aug., Sept. Nova 

 Scotia to Minn., south to Fla. and Iowa; also in Asia. 

 B.M. 836 (as Pothos fattida); 3224. V. 23". 186. A.G. 

 14:367. WILHELM MILLER. 



SYMPLOCOS (Greek, symplocos, entwined or con- 

 nected, the stamens being connate at the base). In- 

 cluding Hopea and Lodhra. Styracacese. Ornamental 

 woody plants grown chiefly for their attractive flowers 

 and fruits. 



Deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs: Ivs. alternate, 

 entire or serrate, exstipulate: fls. perfect or sometimes 

 polygamous, in terminal or axillary racemes or pani- 

 cles, rarely solitary; calyx 5-lobed, imbricate, corolla 5- 

 lobed or 5-parted, often split almost to the base, 

 rarely consisting of 2 whorls ; stamens numerous, rarely 

 few, usually connate at the base, and often more or 

 less adnate to the corolla; style filiform; ovary 25- 

 loculed, inferior: fr. a drupe with a long 1-5-seeded 

 stone. About 285 species, widely distributed through 

 the tropical regions except Afr. ; only a few outside the 

 tropics. Monograph by Brand in Engler's Pflanzen- 

 reich, hft. 30 (IV. 241), 1907. Several species have 

 medicinal properties; S. tinctoria yields a yellow dye. 



Of the numerous species only S. paniculata which is 



3755. Symplocos paniculate. (XH) 



