ARC 



ARC 



than in the other sorts, they have always a bet- 

 ter effect as evergreens. 



ARCTOTIS, a genus comprising herbaceous 

 plants andshrubb) perennials of the exotic kind 

 tor the green-house. 



It belongs to the class and order Syngenesia 

 Pohjgamia Necessaria, and ranks in the natural 

 order of Corymbiferce. 



The characters are : that the calyx is com- 

 mon, roundish, imbricate; lower scales more 

 lax, subulate; middle ovate; inmost oblong, 

 scariose, rounded, and concave at the end : the 

 corolla compound, radiate ; corollulcs herma- 

 phrodite; very many in the disk; females ligu- 

 late, near twenty, longer than the diameter of 

 the disk proper, of the hermaphrodites fun- 

 nel-shaped ; border quinquefid ; ends reflex, 

 equal; of the females ligulate, lanceolate, very 

 finely three-toothed ; tube vtr, short : the sta- 

 mina of the hermaphrodites consist of five ca- 

 pillary filaments, very short : the anthera cylin- 

 dric, tubular, five-toothed, the length of the 

 corolla: thepistillum of the hermaphrodites is a 

 germ scarcely visible : the style cyhndric, a little 

 longer than the corolla ; the stigma simple; of 

 the females the germ ovate, four-cornered, vil- 

 lose, crowned with its proper calycle : the style 

 filiform : the stigmas ovate, oblong, thickish, 

 erect ; no pericarpium : the calyx unchanged ; 

 no seeds in the hermaphrodites ; in the females 

 solitary, roundish, villose, crowned with a ca- 

 lycle, usually of five leaves : leaflets ovate, 

 spreading : the receptacle villose, or chaffy and 

 flattish. 



The species of most importance are : 1. A. 

 calendulacea, Marigold-flowered Arctotis ; 2. A. 

 dentata, Five-leaved Arctotis ; 3. A. acaulis, 

 Dwarf Arctotis; 4. A. tenuljblia, Small-leaved 

 Arctotis; 5. A. grandiflora, Great-flowered Arc- 

 totis; 6. A. planiaginea, Plantain-leaved Arc- 

 totis; 7. A. angustifolia, Narrow-leaved Arcto- 

 tis; 8. A. aspera, Rough-leaved Arctotis; 9. A. 

 paradoxa, Chamomile-leaved Arctotis. 



The first has the peduncles villose, beset with 

 red bristles, before and after flowering time nod- 

 ding : the ray yellow, purplish underneath, 

 twisted during the night : the corollules of the 

 disk black on the outside, and with black an- 

 theroe : the outer scales of the calyx spreading, 

 subulate, very short, hispid. It is annual. 



There are several varieties of this species. 



The second species has the stem branching : 

 the leaves alternate, somewhat rigid and villose : 

 the pinnas recurved : the peduncles long, one- 

 flowered : the flowers small, with the ray purple 

 beneath. It is annual, and flowers in July. 



The third is a low plant, the flower-stem 

 jrarely exceeding six inches in height j but the 

 4 



flowers, which are yellow, are large and 

 fine ; thev come out in April, and continue to 

 July. ' 



The fourth species has the stems herbaceous 

 and few, not much branched : the leaves fili- 

 form or linear, rather fleshy and naked : the pe- 

 duncles very long, solitary, naked and filiform : 

 the bractea minute and filiform : the calyx im- 

 bricate, scariose above : the ray yellow. It is 

 perennial. 



The fifth has the ray very large ^ the petals are 

 straw-coloured, with a tinge of red underneath, 

 yellowish above near the base, with a very dark 

 purple mouth. It is biennial, and flowers from 

 March to May. 



The sixth species has the leaves tomentose 

 underneath : the disk barren. It is perennial, 

 and flowers from June to August. 



The seventh has the florets of the disk barren, 

 and the receptacle very woolly. 



There are varieties of it with leaves scarcely 

 broader than those of Lavender. 



The eighth has the stem stiff, perennial and 

 villose, with purple streaks : the leaves white un- 

 derneath : the corollas of the ray yellow, with 

 red streaks beneath and fertile: those of the 

 disk barren. 



There is a variety of this with handsome 

 orange-coloured flowers, displaying themselves 

 from July to September. 



In the ninth species the chaffs are elongate, 

 coloured, almost the length of the ray ; whence 

 the flower has the appearance of a double one. 



Culture. — All the annual sorts are capable of 

 being raised by sowing the seeds in the spring; in 

 pots of light fresh earth, plunging them into a 

 very moderate hot-bed. The plants, when well 

 rooted, should be gradually inured to the free 

 air. When the season is dry, water will be fre- 

 quently necessary. They likewise require to be 

 frequently removed into other pots. As they 

 never grow healthy if kept too much in the 

 house, when the weather is suitable they should 

 always be exposed to the open air. They may 

 also be propagated by slips from the roots. 



The shrubby sorts are propagated by cuttings 

 from the young shoots, which should be planted 

 in pots or beds of light fresh mould in the sum- 

 mer months, being occasionally watered and 

 shaded until they become perfectly rooted, which 

 is generally in six or eight weeks ; when they 

 must be carefully removed into other separate 

 pots, and preserved in the open air as lony; as the 

 weather permits, being shaded from the sun, 

 and watered when necessary. During the win- 

 ter the protection of a very dry green-house will 

 be requisite for all the sorts ; but these should be 

 placed as much exposed to the mild air as pos- 



