1204 



FATSIA 



FEIJOA 



highly distinct. A perfect specimen is figured in Gar- 

 dening 5: 133, where W. R. Smith says of F. papyrifera: 

 "This plant produces the beautiful substance known as 

 rice paper; it grows to 10 ft. high, with a st. 4 in. diam., 

 full of white pith Hke the elder; in a full-grown speci- 

 men the pith is about 1 in. diam. It is divided into 

 pieces 3 in. long, and by the aid of a sharp instrument 

 is unrolled, forming the thin, narrow sheets known as 

 rice paper, greatly used by the Chinese for drawing 

 figures of plants and animals, and also for making arti- 

 ficial fls. Until about 18.50 the source of this substance 

 was unknown to scientists. The Chinese, on inquiry, 

 gave very fanciful figures and descriptions of it. . . . 

 It is destined to be a people's plant, as J4'ii- of the root 

 will grow and form a good plant the first season. It 

 has survived most winters for the past 5 years in 

 Washington, D. C." 



As associates in groups of bold-habited plants, F. W. 

 Burbidge (On. 45, p. 321) suggests Polygonum sacha- 

 linense, ChantSFrops FoHunci and Rodgersia podo- 

 phylla. For contrast with feathery and cut-leaved foli- 

 age, he suggests bamboos, aucubas, cut-leaved maples 



ings. Var. Mdseri, Hort., is regarded as an improved, 

 more compact-growing variety which originated with 

 Moser of Fontainebleau. Intro, into Amer. by Mon- 

 tarioso Nurseries, Santa Barbara, Calif. 



' WiLHELM Miller. 



N. TAYLOR.t 



FEDIA (application doubtful). Valerianaceie. One 

 glabrous branching annual of the Medit. region, some- 

 times grown as an ornamental and also as a salad 

 plant. Lvs. entire or dentate: fls. red, small, in more or 

 less dense terminal cymes; peduncles thick and fistular; 

 corolla with an elongated tube and a 2-hpped limb, 

 irregular at the base; stamens 2; style entire or 2-.3-fid. 

 F. Cornucbpise, DC. (Valeriana Cornucapise, Linn.), 

 a variable species, usually with purplish sts., grows 

 10-16 in. high: lvs. nearly all radical, oval-oblong, shin- 

 ing green. It is sometimes known as African valerian. 

 The lvs. are eaten as salad, being related to corn-salad. 

 The plant seems not to be in the American trade. 



FEIJOA. 



Selloiviana, 



1478. Fatsia japontca. 



and various ivies. Fatsia may be grown in the temper- 

 ate house in the North, outdoors southward. It is 

 easily grown and propagated. The species are unarmed; 

 the very spiny plant sometimes referred to this genus 

 as F. horrida, is treated under Echinopanax, which see. 

 Siebert and Voss declare that most of the plants sold as 

 Fatsia japonica are Aralia spinosa. These plants like 

 shade. Full sunlight for an hour or two in early morning 

 is enough. They should have a shelter-spot, where the 

 wind will not whip their foliage. 



papyrifera, Benth. & Hook. (Aralia papyrifera, Hook. 

 Tetrapanax papyriferum, Koch.). Height 5-7 ft. (accord- 

 ing to Franceschi, 20 ft. in the open ground in S. Calif.) : 

 branches and young lvs. covered with stellate, more or 

 less deciduous down: mature lvs. reaching 1 ft. long, cor- 

 date, .5-7-lobed; lobes acute, serrate; sinus very deep: fls. 

 inconspicuous, white, in sessile, globose clusters . Formosa. 

 B.M. 4897. A. F. 7:385. Gng. 5:133. Gn. 45, p. 321. 



japonica, Decne. & Planch. (Aralia japdnica, Thunb., 

 not Hort.? A. Siiboldii, Hort.). Fig. 1478. Lvs. 

 downy at first, finally shining green: fls. in umbels. 

 Japan, China. — Abroad are cult, forms with white or 

 golden margins and a form reticulated with gold mark- 



The Feijoa, or Pineapple Guava (Feijda 

 Berg, family Myrtacese) is indigenous to 

 western Paraguay, southern Brazil, 

 Uruguay, and parts of Argentina, 

 where it is common in the forests, 

 and the fruit is highly esteemed by 

 the natives though not cultivated. 

 It was introduced to southern 

 '"'■■ Europe in 1890, and is grown along 



the Riviera, both in France and 

 Italy. From the former country 

 it was introduced to the United 

 States about 1900, and is becoming 

 widely planted in California. Its 

 distribution in other countries is 

 very limited. 



Feijoa is of 2 species. It is the 

 Orthostemon of Berg, not of 

 Robert Brown. F. ohovata, Berg 

 (O.'obovatus, Berg), is considered 

 by Nicdenzu to be a variety of F. 

 Sellowiana. It is a white-tomentose 

 shrub, with bisexual showy fls.; 

 petals 4, spreading ; stamens numer- 

 ous, in many series, colored; ovary 

 4-celled, bearing a thickish style; 

 pedicels 1-fld., at the ends of the 

 branches or becoming lateral. The 

 other species is F. Schenckiana, 

 Kiaersk., of Brazil, described first in 

 1891. The genus is closely alUed to 

 Psidium, but is distinguished by the 

 albuminous seeds and stamens suberect in the bud. 



The plant grows to an ultimate height of 15 feet. Its 

 leaves are similar in form and appearance to those of 

 the olive, but larger, the upper surface glossy green, 

 and lower surface silvery gray, forming a contrast that 

 makes the shrub effectively ornamental. This effect is 

 much heightened by its flowers which are produced in 

 late spring and are 1}^ inches in diameter, composed 

 of four cupped petals, white outside and purplish crim- 

 son within, surmounted by a tuft of crimson stamens 

 1 inch long. The oval or oblong fruits, 2 inches in 

 length and 1 ? a inches in thickness, ripen in autumn and 

 early winter. The skin is dull green, with sometimes a 

 touch of crimson on the cheek; it incloses a layer of 

 whitish, granular flesh, which surrounds a quantity 

 of translucent, melting pulp, containing twenty to 

 thirty seeds. The flavor bears a pronounced resem- 

 blance to that of the pineapple, this being enhanced by 

 the fact that the seeds are so small that they cannot 

 be felt in the mouth. While commonly eaten fresh, the 

 fruit may be cooked in several ways, crystallized, or 

 made into jam or jelly. 



The feijoa does not seem to thrive under strictly 

 tropical^onditions, preferring a climate such as that 



