HELICONIA 



HELIOPHILA 



1451 



often dehiscing, 3-loculed, 3-seeded fr. : fls. in clusters 

 below the Ivs., subtended by bracts after the way of 

 Musa; sepals 3, linear, free or somewhat joined to the 

 corolla; corolla short-tubed; stamens 5; staminodium 

 1: Ivs. large and striking, often beautifully marked: 

 ets. arising from a strong rootstock. — Perhaps 35 species 

 in Trop. Amer., various of which have been intro. into 

 cult., but the following are the only ones appearing in 

 the American trade. Many species are being described 

 from trop. Asia, and there is doubt about the Ameri- 

 can nativity of the genus. Some writers consider the 

 Old World species as of the genus Heliconiopsis, which 

 in the absence of evidence is not maintained here. 

 Per the botany of this very much perplexed genus, see 



1800. Helicodiceros muscivorus. ( X %) 



Griggs, Bull. Torrey Club 30:640-664. Baker, Ann. 

 Bot. 7:189-200. K. Schumann in Engler's Pflanzen- 

 reich, hft. 1 (1900). H. N. Ridley, G.C. III. 44:13. 



A. Bracts of the infi. ovate-acuminate, deeply boat-shaped. 



Bihai, Linn. {H. carihka, Lam.). Balisiek. Wild 

 Plantain. Becoming 10-1.5 ft. tall, banana-hke: Ivs. 

 oval or oblong-oval, long-petioled, transversely ribbed, 

 the blades 3-5 ft. long: blossom-sheaths very large, 

 scarlet and black, tlie fls. red or orange. W. Indies and 

 south. B.R. 374. L.B.C. 3:252.— A most striking 

 plant, often seen in glasshouse collections. It is natu- 

 ralized in the Old World trojiios, and is the parent of 

 many horticultural forms, of which the next two are 

 almost surely examples. 



afireo-striata, Bull. Perhaps a form of the preceding: 

 Ivs. beautifully striped along both midrib and trans- 

 verse veins with golden yellow: sts. striped with yellow 

 and green: If.-Umb oval-acuminate not decurrent: fr. 

 }^in. long, obconic, orange. I. H. 29:464; 42, p. 289 

 (where a list of the best kinds will be found). S.H. 

 2, p. 1.33. F.R. 3:493. G.Z. 26, p. 123.— Very hand- 

 some. The best-known kind. Ridley considers this 

 distinct from H. Bihai, but says he knows no native 

 country for the species. • 



illustris, Bull. (H. riibro-striata, Hort.), is of the 

 general style of the last, but the rib and veins are 

 marked with pink and the If.-bases are .somewhat 

 decurrent. Var. rubricafilis, Ilort., has more red, the 

 petiole being bright vermilion; fr. red about ,'4 in. lo;ig. 

 R.H. 1896:36 (where a review is made of the species). 

 R.B. 21, p. 69. Gn. .52, p. 3.59. G. 20:369; 29:431. 

 G.W. 2, p. 115; 7, p. 389. 



AA. Bracts of infi. lanceolate-acuminate, not boat-shaped. 



Micholitzii, Ridley. A very large plant forming 

 large tufts: sts. 2 ft. or more tall, 3 in. across, pale green, 

 marbled with gray; Ivs. pale green, blade about 3 ft. 



long and about 1 ft. wiile: infi. about 12 in. long on a 

 hairy peduncle: rachis yellow, dotted with green: fls. 

 14 or more in each bract, the latter long-acuminate, 

 white; sepals and petals acute, brownish; stamens 

 slender, anthers linear: fr. orange, pear-shaped. New 

 Ireland. — May not be a true Hehconia. 



angustifolia, Hook. (//. bicolor, Benth.). Dwarfer, 

 whole plant not over 4 ft. tall: Ivs. long and narrow, 

 13^-23i ft. long, 3-6 in. wide, green: peduncle erect, 

 glabrous; fls. yellowish green, 6-10 in each glabrous 

 red bract. S. Amer. B.M. 4475. 



H. inslgnis, Hort., intro. by F. .Sander & Son in 1912, is of 

 uncertain botanical origin. It is described as "with dark bronzy- 

 green Iva." and may be some form of H. metallica. Planch., which 

 is described as daric shining green and purple bencatll when young. 

 B.Sl. 5315. — H. Lehmannii variegata, Hort., advertised by Royal 

 Palm Nurseries, is of doubtful botanical position. It is described 

 as "a stocky, broad-lvd. plant, somewhat resembling a miniature 

 banana, with Vvs. striped with creamy yellow, and having yellow 



^t'-" N. TAYLOR.t 



HELICOPlrtLLUM {spiral leaf; lateral segments of 

 the pedati,sect leaves sometimes twisted). Aracese. 

 Nine or ten arisa?ma - like . herbs of western Asia and 

 delta of the Nile, of which one species may appear in 

 collections; very httle planted in the coolhouse, or in 

 the ojien in mild chmates with some protection. 



Tuberous-rooted herbs, with radical Ivs. and fls. 

 appearing together: scape shorter than Ivs., bearing a 

 single inflorescence : spathe with an oblong tube and an 

 erect or more or less hooded limb; spadix tailed, mostly 

 included or short, the middle part with neutral fls.; 

 apetalous; stamens 2; ovary 1, 1-celled, 2- or 4-ovuled: 

 fr. an ovoid or globose berry. H. Alberti, Regel, is a 

 stemless plant with a dark maroon-purple spathe 7 in. 

 long: spadix 5 in. long, the appendix protruding and 

 blackish purple: Ivs. of young plants simple, oblong- 

 lanceolate; of mature plants oddly divided, the "blade 

 hastate, acuminate, undulate, concave at the base, 

 with 2 lateral spreading horn-like horizontal basal 

 lobes, and between them 2 long linear erect ones that 

 are nearly as long as the blade, and face it; these front 

 lobes have each on the outer margin below the middle a 

 curved horn-hke process." E. Bokhara. B.M. 6969. 

 G.C. III. .36, suppl. Oct. 29. — Blooms in late spring, 

 and requires protection. L. H. B. 



HELIOCEREUS (sun and cereus). Cacldcese. Pro- 

 cumbent plants with weak stems clambering over rocks 

 and bushes. 



Branches strongly angled ; ribs usually 3 or 4, bearing 

 clusters of spines from all the areoles: fls. diurnal, large 

 and showy, with a short tube; petals elongated; sta- 

 mens long and numerous, declined; ovary and fr. 

 spiny. — The four species known aU come from Mex. 

 The species of this genus readily hybridize with species 

 of Epiphyllum (Phyllocactus) and other related genera, 

 giving rise to many horticultural varieties. 



speciosus, Brit. & Rose (Cereus specibsus, Cav.). 

 Sts. freely branching at base, 1 in. diam., with a few 

 aerial roots: spines in fascicles of 5-8, needle-like: fls. 

 appearing from the older growth of the sts., in. diam., 

 remaining open for several days, purple-red: fr. l}^-2 

 in. long. 



amecaensis, Brit. & Ro.se (Ccreu.1 amecacnsis, Hee.se). 

 A recent introduction similar to the above, but with 

 perfectly white fls. It is not common in this country ,_ 

 but is common in Eu. j. N. Rose. 



HELIOPHILA (Greek, sun-loving; grows in the open 

 country of the Cape). Crucifcrse. This genus includes 

 a blue-flowered half-hardy annual that grows mostly 

 a few inches high and is sometimes advertised in cata- 

 logues of flower seeds. 



Helioijhila contains about 80 species of annual and 

 subshrubby perennials, natives of S. Afr. The trans- 

 versely twice-folded cotyle<lons are an important char- 

 acter of the genus: other important generic characters 



