3456 



VERONICA 



VIBURNUM 



Hort., is offered as a pretty trailing species with masses of lilac-blue 

 fls. V. umbilicata spindsa, Hort., is a trade name. V. utriculata, 

 Hort., is a trade name. V. Veitchii, Hort., is a horticultural name. 

 G.M. 54:801. V. verbendcea, Hort., is unknown botanically, but 

 has been offered by Rochester nurserymen since 1894 as a form with 

 Ivs. short-petioled, narrowly elliptic, serrate in the upper half: 

 racemes lateral: fls. blue. V. verbenifolia foliis rariegatis, Hort., is a 

 trade name. V. Wdldsteinii, Hort., is offered in the trade as having 

 spikes of blue fls. appearing in very late summer. V. Whittallii, 

 Hort. , is offered in the trade as having dense hillocks of dark green 

 >liage and spikes of pale blue fls. R TRACy HlJBBARD f 



VERSCHAFFELTIA (Ambroise Verschaffelt, 1825- 

 1886, distinguished Belgian horticulturist; founded 

 L' Illustration Horticole at Ghent in 1854 and intro- 

 duced many choice plants, particuarly palms and other 

 foliage plants). Palmacese, tribe Arecese. A tall palm, 

 spinose throughout or at length spineless. 



Trunks slender, ringed,, arising from above-ground 

 roots : Ivs. terminal, recurved : blade oblong or cuneate- 

 obovate, bifid, plicate-nervea, usually laciniate nearly 

 to the rachis; segms. incised; midrib and nerves strong, 

 scaly; petiole half -cylindrical; sheath long, scaly, 

 deeply split : spadix 3-^6 ft. long, paniculately branched, 

 long-peduncled, recurved, scaly, its rachis long, and 

 branches and branchlets spreading, slender: spathes 2 

 or 3, long, sheathing, the lower persistent, the upper 

 deciduous: fls. very small: fr. globose, smooth, 1 in. 

 long. A genus of only 1 species from the Seychelles. 

 Cult, as in Latania. 



splendida, H. Wendl. Caudex 80 ft. high, 6-12 in. 

 diam., very spiny when young, with many aerial roots: 

 Ivs. 5-8 ft. long; petiole 6-12 in. long, pale green; 

 sheath 2}/-3^ ft. long, white-granular; blade cuneate- 

 obovate, bright green, 4-7 ft. long, 3-5 ft. wide, bifid, 

 deeply incised on the edges. I.H. 12:430; 43. p. 31. 

 F.R. 2:483. R.H. 1869, p. 148. A.G. 22:649. 



V. melanochsetes, H. Wendl.=Roscheria. 



WILHELM MILLER. 



VERVAIN: Verbena. 



VESICARIA (Latin, bladder, referring to the shape 

 of the pods). Cruciferse. Branched annual or perennial 

 herbs, treated as annuals in the garden: Ivs. entire, 

 sinuate or pinnatifid: racemes without bracts: fls. large, 

 rarely small, yellow or purple, variable in form; sepals 

 similar at base or the lateral somewhat saccate: silique 

 globose or inflated, 1-2-celled, many-seeded, valves 

 swollen. About 20 species, widely distributed. The 

 annual species are prop, by seeds, the perennial by 

 division. 



sinuata, Poir. Lvs. softly tomentose, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, narrowed toward the base, sinuate-dentate or sub- 

 entire. Spain. According to DeCandolle the petals 

 finally become whitish. Both seeds and plants of V. 

 sinuata are offered by American dealers, but the plant 

 is not generally known. DeCandolle says it is an annual 

 or biennial, while Koch says it is perennial or sub- 

 shrubby. In the American trade it is considered an 

 early-flowering yellow annual, about 1 ft. high, bloom- 

 ing in May and June. F TRACT HUBBARD.! 



VETCH: Vicia. V., Crown: Coronilla. V., Milk: Astragalus. 



VETIVERIA (Vetiver, the Tamil vernacular name). 

 Graminese. Aromatic perennials with long panicles of 

 numerous slender racemes: spikelets awnless, in pairs, 

 one sessile and perfect, the other pedicelled and stami- 

 nate, the sessile spikelet bearing minute spines. 

 Species 1, with 1 or 2 varieties. V. zizanioides, Nash 

 (Andropbgon squarrbsus, of authors, not Linn. A. 

 muricatus, Retz. V. arundinacea, Griseb.). Fig. 3917. 

 E. Indies, escaped from cult, in the American tropics 

 and in the S. U. S. The rhizome is very aromatic. This 

 is the Khas Khas or Khus Khus grass of India, the 

 vitivert used in perfumery and the Radix Anatheri or 

 R. Vetiverise of the apothecaries. It has been used in 

 medicines and perfumes from prehistoric times. In 

 India the plant is used to make screens, called "Ves- 



saries," which, when kept wet and placed in a current of 

 air, cools and perfumes the atmosphere. The rhizome 

 when laid away among them is said to keep clothing 

 free from moths. For history of this grass, see Kew 

 Bull. Misc. Inform. No. 8, 1906. A. S. HITCHCOCK. 



VIBURNUM (the ancient Latin name). Caprifolia- 

 cese. Ornamental woody plants grown for their attrac- 

 tive flowers, fruits, and foliage. 



Deciduous or sometimes evergreen shrubs, rarely 

 small trees, with opposite stipulate or exstipulate Ivs.: 

 fls. small, in terminal paniculate 

 or mostly umbel-like cymes; calyx 

 with 5 minute teeth; corolla rotate 

 or campanulate, rarely tubular; 

 stamens 5 ; ovary usually 1-loculed : 

 fr. a drupe with a 1-seeded, usu- 

 ally compressed stone. In several 

 species the marginal fls. of the 

 cymes are sterile and radiate; such 

 are V. macrocephalum, V. tomen- 

 tosum, V. Opulus, V. americanum, 

 V. Sargentii, and V. alnifolium, 

 and of the 3 first-named garden 

 forms are known with all fls. sterile 

 and enlarged. About 120 species 

 in N. and Cent. Amer. and in the 

 Old World from Eu. and N. Afr. 

 to E. Asia, distributed as far south 

 as Java. For a key to the 65 

 species known from E. Asia, see 

 Rehder, The Viburnums of East- 

 ern Asia, in Sargent, Trees and 

 Shrubs, 2:105-116. 



The viburnums are upright 

 mostly rather large shrubs or 

 sometimes small trees with usually 

 medium-sized deciduous or ever- 

 green foliage and white or some- 

 times pinkish flowers in showy 

 flat clusters or sometimes in 

 panicles, followed by berry-like 

 subglobose to oblong, red, dark 

 blue, or black fruits. The vibur- 

 nums rank among the most valu- 

 able ornamental shrubs. Besides 

 showy flowers and decorative fruits 

 they possess handsome foliage 

 which mostly assumes a bright 

 fall coloring. The plants are of 

 good compact habit. Most of 

 3917. Vetiveria zizani- the deciduous species are hardy 

 oides. ( x W> North, but V. macrocephalum var. 

 sterile and V. dbovatum are tender; 

 also V. tomentosum, V. Wrightii, V. theiferum, V. 

 cotinifolium, V. nudum, and V. dilatatum are not quite 

 hardy farther north than New England. Of the 

 evergreen species, V. rhytidophyllum is the hardiest and 

 at the same time one of the most distinct and hand- 

 somest species of the genus, with its bold foliage and the 

 large clusters of flowers and fruits; it is hardy as far 

 north as Massachusetts in favorable positions; also V. 

 japonicum stands several degrees of frost, but cannot be 

 relied on north of Philadelphia; V. odoratissimum and 

 V. suspensum are still tenderer. The viburnums are 

 well suited for borders of shrubberies or planting along 

 roads, and the more showy ones are handsome as single 

 specimens on the lawn. They are mostly medium-sized 

 shrubs, 5-10 feet high, but V. Lentago, V. prunifolium, 

 and V. rufidulum sometimes grow into small trees, 30 

 feet high, while V. acerifolium hardly reaches 5 feet. 

 The most decorative in fruit are V. Opidus, V. dilatatum, 

 and V. Wrightii, with scarlet or red berries which remain 

 a long time on the branches. Besides the snowball 

 forms, V. dilatatum, V. tomentosum, V. Sieboldii, V. 

 prunifolium, V. rufidulum, V. venosum, and V. denta- 



