3440 



VELTHEIMIA 



VERATRUM 



VELTHEIMIA (named for the Count of Veltheim, 

 1741-1801). Lilidcex. Greenhouse and half-hardy 

 tunicate bulbous perennials; spring and summer. 



Leaves radical, several, oblong or strap-shaped, 

 rather thick, herbaceous, lower longer than the upper, 

 sheathing the base of the simple leafless scape: fls. 

 showy, pendulous, densely grouped in a terminal 

 raceme or spike; perianth tubular, cylindrical, persist- 

 ent, lobes 6, very short, tooth-like; stamens 6; ovary 

 sessile or subsessile, oblong, 3-celled: caps, membra- 

 nous-scarious, the 3 angles strongly dilated and wing- 

 like, loculicidally. 3-valved. Three species, S. Afr. 

 They are easy of cult, and are but little known in Amer. 



A. Lvs. green, 2-3 in. broad. 



viridifdlia, Jacq. Lvs. oblong-lorate, wavy-margined, 

 finally 1 ft. long: scape mottled with purple: raceme 

 very dense, 3-6 in. long, 25-30-fld.: fls. IJ^-IH in- 

 long, yellow or reddish, with greenish tips. L.B.C. 



3908. False hellebore. Veratrum viride. Showing the handsome foliage of early spring 

 when the leaves are about a foot high. 



13:1245. B.M. 501 (as Aletris capensis). G.C. III. 

 49:164. Gn. W. 22:117. G.W. 5, pp. 112, 454. 



AA. Lvs. glaucous, 1 % in. broad. 

 glauca, Jacq. Lvs. oblanceolate-lorate, acute, glau- 

 cous: scape less stout: fls. "yellow or bright red," 

 according to Baker. B.M. 1091 (fls. white, dotted red 

 toward the tips); 3456 (fls. reddish purple, dotted yel- 

 low above). F< TRACY 



VELVET BEAK: Stizolobium. V. Tree: Gynura aurantiaca. 



VENiDITJM (name not explained by its author). 

 Compdsitse. Annual or perennial herbs, grown for 

 ornament. 



Rays female: receptacle honeycombed, mostly nude: 

 involucral scales in several rows, the outer narrower 

 and herbaceous, inner scarious: achenes glabrous, 

 dorsally 3-5-winged or -ridged, the lateral ridges 

 inflexed, the medial straight, narrower; no hairs from 

 the base of the achene: pappus either none or of 4 very 

 minute, unilateral scales. Eighteen species, S. Afr., 7 

 of whick are annuals. By Hoffmann (Engler & Prantl, 

 Pflanzenfamilien) united with Arctotis. 



The following account of V. calendulaceum of the 

 gardens as a garden plant is adapted from Gn. 21, page 

 405. It is a graceful single-flowered composite which 



flourishes under the ordinary treatment accorded half- 

 hardy annuals, making a compact rounded mass 2 feet 

 high and 3 feet wide. "There is considerable diversity in 

 its seedlings both as regards habit and the size, shape 

 and shading of its blossoms, and careful selection in 

 seed-saving is needful in order to secure the best forms. 

 It is admirably adapted for cutting, as the flowers open 

 and shut as regularly as when on the plant." This 

 species has also been treated as a greenhouse perennial, 

 continuing to bloom until near midwinter. The flower- 

 heads are fully 2 inches across. 



decurrens, Less. Diffuse canescent perennial, 1-2 ft. 

 long: Ivs. mostly lyrate, the terminal lobe ovate or 

 roundish, sinuate-lobed or repand, at first cobwebbed, 

 afterward nude and punctate above, white-tomentose 

 beneath; petiole 2-2 H i&- long, amply eared at base, 

 the ear decurrent along the st. The type does not 

 seem to be cult, but the following variety is offered as 

 a half-hardy garden annual with dark-centered sun- 

 flower-like golden yellow heads 

 1-2 % in. across: 



Var. calendulaceum, Harvey (V. 

 calendulaceum^ Less.), differs in 

 having the petioles not eared at the 

 base or with only a small ear. R.H. 

 1857, p. 123. Gn. 21, p. 405. G. 

 5:345. Opinions differ as to its 

 merits, and it is variable in quality. 

 Some consider it coarse and weedy. 

 In pots it does well ; for spring bloom, 

 sow in Aug. to Oct. in a frame in light 

 soil and prick off into pots; if well 

 grown it is very free-flowering. 



WILHELM MILLER. 



VENUS' FLY-TRAP: Dionya musci- 

 pula. V. Hair: Adiantum Capillus-Veneris. 

 V. Looking-Glass : Specularia Speculum. 

 V. or Venice Sumach: Cotinus Coggygria. 



VERATRUM (ancient name of 

 hellebore). Liliacese. FALSE HELLE- 

 BORE. Hardy perennial herbs grown 

 in the border. 



Rhizome stout: sts. erect, stout, 

 leafy base thickened but not truly 

 bulbous: Ivs. usually broad, plicate- 

 veined, contracted to a broad sheath : 

 fls. purplish, greenish, or whitish, 

 numerous in a terminal panicle, 

 polygamous; perianth persistent, broadly campanu- 

 late or explanate, segms. connate at the base especially 

 in the female fls.; stamens 6; ovary ovoid, apex very 

 shortly 3-lobed: caps, septicidally splitting in to 3 carpels. 

 About 18 species, Eu., Asia, Russia, and N. Amer. 



Veratrums are striking habit plants, of easy culture 

 in moist shady positions. In the open sunlight or in 

 dry ground the foliage is liable to burn and decay 

 prematurely. They may be propagated by division or 

 seeds: 



A. Fls. whitish or greenish. 

 B. Perianth-segms. crisped-dentate. 



album, Linn. EUROPEAN WHITE HELLEBORE. A 

 hardy perennial 3-4 ft. high : root short, fleshy : Ivs. green, 

 plicate ; radical Ivs. 1 ft. long, oblong, 5-6 in. wide, firm in 

 texture: panicle 1-2 ft. long, dense: fls. whitish inside, 

 greenish outside; segms. oblong-spatulate, crisped- 

 dentate; pedicels almost none. June, July. Eu., N. 

 Asia. 



BB. Perianth-segms. serrulate or entire. 



viride, Linn. AMERICAN WHITE HELLEBORE. INDIAN 

 POKE. Fig. 3908. A hardy perennial, 2-7 ft. high: root- 

 stock 2-3 in. long: Ivs. plicate, acute, the lower oval, 

 about 1 ft. long, the upper gradually smaller: fls. yel- 

 lowish green; segms. oblong or oblanceolate, ciliate, 

 serrulate; pedicels 1-3 lines long. July. N. Amer. 



