3520 



WOODWARDIA 



WYETHIA 



this species, is really distinct and never roots; it is 

 apparently not in the trade. 



orientalis, Swartz. Fig. 4007. Lvs. 4-8 ft. long, 12- 

 18 in. wide, with lanceolate pinnae and sinuate pinnules; 

 veins uniting freely. Japan and Formosa. 



BB. Veins free between the sori and the margin. 



virginica, Smith. Fig. 4008. Lvs. arising singly from 

 a long creeping rootstock; If.-blades 12-18 in. long, &-9 

 in. wide on stout stalks; pinnae linear-lanceolate, 4-6 in. 

 long, cut nearly to the rachis into oblong lobes. Canada 

 to Mich., Ark., and Fla. Better separated as a dis- 

 tinct genus, Anchistea, on account of its slender long- 

 creeping rootstock, from which the Ivs. arise at intervals. 



W. spinuldsa, Mar. & Gal. (W. paradoxa, Wrightj. Resembles 

 W. radicans but has narrower fronds, and veinlets perfectly free 

 from sorus to the margin. Vancouver Isl. to Mex. 



L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



R. C. BENEDICT.! 



WORMS. Under the names of "worms," "snails," 

 and "caterpillars," various odd fruits of leguminous 

 plants are grown as curiosities. The pods are often put 

 in soups as a practical joke, not for their edible qualities. 

 The plants chiefly grown for this purpose are Scor- 

 piurus yermiculata, Linn., S. subvillosa, Linn., S. muri- 

 cata, Linn., S. sulcala, Linn., Medicago scutellata, Mill., 

 and Astragalus hamosus, Linn. The last is the one 

 usually known as "worms." The picture, Fig. 4009, 

 shows species of Scorpiurus, chiefly S. vermiculata 

 (beneath) and S. subvillosa (above). All these various 

 plants are annuals of the easiest culture. They are 

 practically unknown in this country, although offered 

 by seedsmen. See Caterpillars. L_ jj g 



WORMWOOD (Artemisia Absinthium}. Fig. 4010. 

 An erect hardy herbaceous perennial, native of middle 

 and western Europe and the countries that bound the 

 Mediterranean, and sometimes found in waste places 

 as an escape from American gardens, having angular 

 rather shrubby stems 2 to 4 feet tall, which bear abun- 

 dant much-divided hoary leaves of intensely and per- 

 sistently bitter flavor, and panicles of greenish or yel- 

 lowish flower-heads. The seed, grayish and very small, 

 retains its vitality for about four years, but is usually 

 sown soon after harvesting. The tops and leaves, 

 gathered and dried in July and August when the plant 

 is in flower, are officially credited in America with 

 aromatic, tonic, and, as its name implies, anthelmintic 

 properties, although now, for no apparent reason other 

 than caprice of practice, they are less popular with the 

 profession than formerly. In domestic medicine they 

 are employed as mentioned and as a diuretic; locally 

 as a fomentation or as a decoction with vinegar to 

 ulcers, sprains, and bruises. In the dry state they are 

 occasionally placed among clothing as a moth-repel- 

 lant. Formerly wormwood was used by brewers to 

 embitter and preserve liquors, but at the present time 

 it finds its most extensive use as the principal ingredient 

 in absinthe, in the manufacture of which peppermint, 

 angelica, anise, cloves, and cinnamon are also ingredi- 

 ents. According to Blythe, the green color of this 



4009. Pods known as "worms" and "caterpillars," sometimes 

 grown for curiosity and as surprises. 



liquor is due not to wormwood but to the chlorophyl of 

 spinach, parsley, or nettles. The plant may be grown 

 without trouble in light dry rather poor garden soil 

 from seed which, owing to its small size, should be 

 started where it may not be washed out or packed 

 down by rain. When large enough to set out, 

 the few specimens necessary to furnish a family 4> , 

 supply should be placed not closer than 15 *&> 

 inches each way the first year. If alternate We 

 plants be removed with a good ball of earth 5$^ 

 early in the following spring and planted 30 

 inches apart, they will be sufficiently close 

 together and the transplanted ones should 

 suffer from no check. Ripened cuttings taken 

 in March or October may be used for prop- 

 agation. Clean cultivation and slight annual 

 dressings of manure are the only other requi- 

 sites. In the middle western states there are 

 several localities where wormwood is grown 

 for export. 



Wormwood is used very extensively in the 

 manufacture of certain medicines. The oil is 

 produced largely in southern Michigan, and 

 Wisconsin supplies 

 a large acreage. 



M. G. KAINS. 



WUfiRTHIA: Ixia. 

 W. elegans, Regel, is 

 Ixia columellaris. 



WULFENIA 

 (named for F. X. 

 Wulf en, 1778-1825). 

 Scro phularia cese. 

 Hardy perennial 

 glabrous or slightly 

 pilose herbs, suit- 

 able for the border 

 or rock-garden. 



Leaves nearly 

 radical, petioled, 

 crenate : peduncles 

 scape-like, simple: fls. racemose at the top of the scape 

 or spicate, solitary at the axils of the bracts, nodding, 

 blue; calyx 5-parted, segms. narrow; corolla-tube 

 exserted, cylindrical, limb 4-lobed, erect-spreading; 

 stamens 2: caps, acute, septicidally and loculicidally 

 dehiscent, 4-valved. About 8 species. Eu. and Asia. 



Amherstiana, Benth. Lvs. obovate-oblong or obo- 

 vate-spatulate, 2-5 in. long, coarsely crenate or lobulate, 

 narrowed at base and subpinnatifid; petioles M-1H in. 

 long: scapes 5-10 in. long, slender; racemes long, many- 

 fid. : corolla Hin- long. Himalayas. G.W. 9, p. 375. 



carinthiaca, Jacq. About 9 in. high: Ivs. oblong or 

 oval-oblong, doubly crenate, slightly lobed, narrowed 

 at base, radical few, 3-8 in. long: scape 1-2 ft. long; 

 raceme dense, spike-like, at length elongated: corolla- 

 tube J^in. long, limb shorter, upper segms. bifid, lower 

 somewhat crenate. Mountains of Carinthia. 



W. corddta, Greene=Synthyris reniformis. 



F. TRACY HUBBARD. 



WYETHIA (named for N. J. Wyeth, North Ameri- 

 can botanical collector). Composite . Hardy perennial 

 herbs, probably adapted to the wild-garden or border. 

 Caudex stout: sts. usually simple, 1-headed: Ivs. radi- 

 cal or alternate, entire: heads large, heterogamous; 

 ray-fls. pistillate, in 1 row, disk-fls. perfect and fertile; 

 involucre hemispherical, 2-3 rows of bracts: corolla 

 yellow, rays ligulate, spreading, entire or minutely 2- 

 toothed. About 7 species, N. Amer. W. mdllis, Gray. 

 Plant floccose-woolly when young, more or less glabrous 

 when old, 1-3 ft. high, bearing solitary or few heads: 

 Ivs. oblong or ovate, base rounded, truncate or cuneate: 

 rays 10-15, over 1 in. long: achenes minutely pubescent 

 at summit. Nev. and Calif. B.M. 7772. 



4010. Wormwood. (XM) 



