3326 



TEYSMANN1A 



THALICTRUM 



minute; calyx cup-shaped, 3-toothed; petals thick; 

 stamens 6; ovary of 3 carpels, rarely 1 or 2, free or 

 slightly coherent: fr. globose or depressed-globose, 

 1-celled, 1-seeded. One species, Sumatra. T. dltifrons, 

 Reichb. f. & Zoll. Lvs. 6-7 x \Y Z ft., folded; petioles 

 carinate dorsally, pbsoletely concave in front, the angles 

 rounded and uncinate-prickly : spathes sheathing the 

 tomentose peduncle: fr. as large as an apple. Sumatra. 



THALIA (named after Johann Thalius, a German 

 naturalist; died 1588). Marantdcese. Perennial marsh 

 or aquatic herbs, some of them hardy, others suitable 

 for the warm- or greenhouse. 



Leaves few, large, long-petioled, often canna-like: 

 panicles terminal; fls. in pairs along the branches form- 

 ing lax spikes, the pairs in a 2-valved spathe; sepals 3, 

 free, equal, membranaceous; petals 3, free or very 

 shortly connate; lobes of the andrcecium petaloid, very 

 irregular; lip broad, crested within; anthers 1-celled; 

 ovary 1-celled, 1-ovuled, stigma 2-lipped: caps, oblong- 

 ovoid or globose. Schumann (Das Pflanzenreich, hft. 

 11) accepts 7 species, in Trop. and warm Temp. America. 



A. Plant covered with a white powder. 



dealbata, Fras. Stemless: petioles 1-2 ft. long: Ivs. 

 canna-like, cordate, ovate, 6-9 in. long: scape terete, 

 3-5 ft. high: panicles erect: spikes erect. June-Sept. 

 Ponds and marshes, S. C. and west. B.M. 1690. G.W. 

 3, p. 620. B.B. 1:455. A stately aquatic; should be 

 placed hi shallow water or in wet soil. 

 AA. Plant not powdery. 



geniculata, Linn. (T. divaricdta, Chapm.). Stemless: 

 petioles longer than in T. dealbata: Ivs. banana-like, 

 1-3 ft. long, oblong-ovate: scape 5-10 ft. high: panicles 

 2-4 ft. wide: spikes zigzag, pendulous. Sept., Oct. 

 Ponds, Fla. This native ornamental-lvd. marsh-plant 

 thrives in garden soil with cannas and like plants. Does 

 well under cultivation in S. Calif. 



T. sanguined, Lem.=Stromanthe sanguinea. 



F. TRACY HuBBARD.f 



THALfCTRUM (ancient name of doubtful origin; 

 perhaps ultimately from Greek thallo, to grow green). 

 Ranunculacese. MEADOW RUE. Interesting plants for 

 the herbaceous border and wild-garden, with fern-like 

 foliage and small flowers in panicles or terminal clusters. 

 Erect perennial herbs: Ivs. ternately compound and 

 decompound: st.-lvs. alternate: fls. dioecious, polyga- 

 mous, or perfect in some species, rather small, generally 



greenish white or 

 sometimes purple 

 or yellow, borne in 

 a panicle or loose 

 raceme; sepals 4 

 or 5, deciduous; 

 petals wanting; 

 stamens many, 

 showy: carpels 

 usually few, 1- 

 seeded. A mono- 

 graph of the entire 

 genus was pub- 

 lished in 1885, by 

 Lecoyer, in Bull. 

 Soc. Roy. de Bot. 

 de Beige, where he 

 describes 69 spe- 

 cies. In 1886 

 Trelease pub- 

 lished a treatment 

 of "North Ameri- 

 can Species of 

 Thalictrum" in 

 Proc. Soc. Bost. 

 Nat. Hist. 23: 293- 

 3789. Thalictrum aquilegifolium. ( X Vt> 304, in which he 



recognized 11 species and 4 varieties north of Mex* 

 His treatment is rather closely followed by Robinson 

 in Gray's Syn. Flora, 1895. All N. American forms 

 were treated by K. C. Davis in Minn. Bot. Studies, 

 Aug., 1900. See also recent studies by E. L. Greene. 

 About 80-90 species are now known, widely distributed 

 in temperate regions, a few in the tropics. 



Many thalictrums are very hardy, and only the more 

 southern forms of those given below are at all tender. 

 These plants are valued for their feathery heads of 

 flowers, contrasting with their handsome stems and 

 leaves, which are often of a purple cast. They are neat 

 and attractive subjects, often conspicuous in the wild 

 but not so much planted as they deserve. The spring- 

 flowering species are mostly inhabitants of woods 

 and groves, and the summer-flowering of low open 

 grounds and swales, but they do well under garden con- 

 ditions. The early ones are small and delicate plants, 

 and the late ones are tall and often commanding. The 

 tassel-like staminate inflorescence of some species is 

 very attractive. Thalictrums may be propagated by 

 seed, or by division of roots in early spring just as 

 growth begins. The division of the roots is more popu- 

 lar than the seed method, as it produces strong plants 

 much earlier. Seed is scarce in some species. Any good 

 loamy soil will suit them, if woll drained. 



INDEX. 



A. Fr. strongly angled and 2-3-winged, usually stipitate. 



1. aquilegifolium, Linn. FEATHERED COLUMBINE. 

 Fig. 3789. Sts. large, hollow, 1-3 ft. high, glaucous: 

 Ivs. once or twice 3-5-parted; Ifts. stalked or the lateral 

 ones nearly sessile, slightly lobed or obtusely toothed, 

 smooth, suborbicular: fls. in a corymbose panicle, 

 dioecious; sepals white; stamens purple or white: fr. 

 3-angled, winged at the angles. May-July. Eu., N. 

 Asia. B.M. 1818; 2025 (as var. formosum). Gn. 47, p. 

 357; 50, p. 117. A.F. 16:1234. J.H. III. 50:203. 

 Gn.W. 23:676 (var. atropurpureum) . G.L. 23:249 

 (var. atropurpureum). G. 32:623 (var. album). G.C. 

 111.47:211 (var. album). A good garden plant and 

 frequently planted; fls. in early summer. The old 

 name T. Cornuti, Linn., may be a synonym of this, and 

 if so it is the older name, being published on a preced- 

 ing page, but T. Cornuti was described as an American 

 plant, while T. aquilegifolium is not. As the descrip- 

 tion and old figure of T. Cornuti do not agree with any 

 American plant, the name may well be dropped. Plants 

 advertised as T. Cornuti are probably T. aquilegifolium 

 or T. polygamum. 



2. dipterocarpum, Franch. Very smooth, rhizome 

 short: st. simple, 2 ft. or more high, angled above: 

 lower and middle Ivs. broadly triangular, 4-6 in. broad, 

 thrice ternately cut; Ifts. subrotund, base slightly cor- 

 date, pale greenish above, glaucous beneath; cauline 

 Ivs. much smaller : panicle narrowly pyramidal: fls. rose, 

 rather large; sepals ovate-lanceolate, long-acuminate: 

 achenes subsessile, compressed, obovate, perceptibly 

 inequilateral, marked on the faces with 3 fuscous nerves, 

 each side rather broadly winged ; wings membranaceous, 

 white. Yunnan, China. G.C. III. 45: suppl. Aug. 3. G. 

 33:111; 36:277. G.M. 51:661. Gn. 72, p. 435. J.H. 

 111.64:95. An excellent plant, much noticed abroad. 



3. Chelidonii, DC. Dwarf and much branched: Ivs. 

 biternate, glaucous beneath and pale green above; Ifts. 

 about 1 in. across, orbicular-cordate, crenate or lobed: 

 fls. 1 in. across ? lilac or purple, in a rigid-branched 

 panicle, the pedicels deflexing in fr. ; sepals elliptic and 



