LAPAGERIA 



LAPPULA 



1821 



should have a piece of cotton-wool twisted around them, 

 for if there are any snails nearby, they will be sure to 

 eat the tender tops, which will ruin the plants. A few 

 stakes should be placed around the pot, to which to tic 

 the shoots, until such time as the plants are big enough 

 to train on the permanent trellis. Be sure to tie them 

 in a regular way, as they will be easier untwisted when 

 the time arrives for their removal. — If lapagerias are 

 intended to be planted on a bench or in a border, they 

 should be well established in pots first. Do not fill all 

 the bench or border at once ; it is better to supply only 

 enough material to hist for one season, adding a little 

 each year as they require it. The compost should be 

 same as advised for potting, and it should be in rather 

 a lumpy state, as lapagerias do not thrive in any soil 

 of an adhesive nature. The bench or border should be 

 well drained, so that the water may pass through freely, 

 copious supplies being necessarj' when they are in 

 active growth. After they are well established, treat 

 with manure-water as advised for ixoras. Insect pests 

 may be destroyed by fumigating with hydrocyanic gas 

 in cool weather, and a free use of the sjTinge at all 

 times. (George F. Stewart.) 



LAPEYROUSIA (Jean Frangois Galoup de Lapey- 

 rouse, distinguished PYench naval officer, born 1741). 

 Iridacca?. African bulbs, something like freesias, but 

 with mostly blue or red flowers, produced in summer 

 instead of spring. 



Corm with matted tunics or coverings, flattened at 

 the base: Ivs. usually only 1 or 2 to each st. (sometimes 

 several), very narrow, in some cases nearly terete, 

 distichous: peduncle mostly branched; fls. small, red 

 to white and yellow; perianth-tube subcylindrical, long 

 or short, somewhat dilated upward; segms. nearly 

 equal, spreading, oblong-lanceolate; stamens inserted 

 in the throat; ovary ;3-celled: fr. a small caps., oblong or 

 globose, loculicidal. — Species about 50 in Trop. and 

 S. Afr. By dealers they may be listed under the name 

 of Anomatheca, which Baker has reduced to one of 

 the 3 subgenera of LapejTousia, characterized by having 

 several Ivs. forming a 2-ranked basal ro.sette, accom- 

 panied by a long, branched st. Lajieyrousia is further 

 distinguished from Freesia by having a more slender 

 perianth-tube, with the stamens inserted at the throat 

 instead of below; also by the ovules being more regu- 

 larly superposed instead of crowded together. The 

 species of Lapeyrousia have an egg-shaped or globose 

 corm about J2in. thick, and matted with tunics: Ivs. 

 hnear or sword-shaped: infl. various, often a loose, 1- 

 sided, more or less zigzag spike, as in Freesia; fls. vari- 

 ously colored, 1-2 in. across; perianth-tube long or 

 short; segms. spreafling, 3 larger than the other 3. 



Some of the lapejTousias can be grown outdoors in 

 the North with some winter covering, and are saifl to 

 be quite hardy south of Washington, D. C, if planted 

 deep. These plants will probably never have anything 

 Uke the degree of jiopularity enjoyed by freesias, 

 because of their later season of bloom and lack of fra- 

 grance. Probably the most pf)pular kind is L. cruenta, 

 which grows 6 to 10 inches high, blooming in summer 

 and fall. In a sheltered place and in Ught, porous soil 

 it generally succeeds in the North without any protec- 

 tion, but the bulbs are safer in very severe winters 

 under a covering of litter or straw. The bulbs increase 

 rapidly, and should be divided evcrj' few years before 

 they become too crowded. 



A. Color of fls. chiefly blue or violet. 



corymbdsa, Ker. {Ixia corymhbsa, Linn. Anomatheca 

 (Xtrtjinhdna, Hort.). This belongs to the subgenus 

 Ovieda, having usually 1-2 basal Ivs., while the next 3 

 species belong to the subgenus Anomatheca, having 

 more numerous Ivs. L. corymhosa has 1 basal If. which is 

 spreading, sword-shaped, i-% in. long: infl. a dense 

 flat-toppeil cluster of as many as 15 fls., each about 1 



in. across, with practically regular segms., blue, with a 

 star-shaped white figure near the throat, outlined in 

 black after the fashion of Quedlinburg phlox. S. Afr. 

 B.M.59.5. J.H. III. 32:379. 



AA. Color of fls. red, with 3 darker spots at the base of 



the 3 smaller segms. 



B. Size of fls. 2 in. across. 



grandifldra, Baker (Anomatheca grandifldra, Baker). 

 Lvs. 1 ft. or more long: fls. bright red; stamens as long 

 as the segms.; the 3 style-branches each 2-cut. Zam- 

 besi S. B.M. 6924. — A newer species than L. cruenta, 

 and perhaps destined to greater favor. Corm globose 

 (ovoid in the others here described). 



BB. Size of fls. 1 in. across. 



cruenta, Benth. (Anomatlieca cruenta, Lindl.). Lvs. 

 32^1 ft. long: segms. bright carmine; stamens less than 

 half as long as the segms.; the 3 style-branches uncut. 

 Transvaal, south. B.R. 1369. L.B.C. 19:1857. P.M. 

 1:103. J.H. III. 31:397. 



jiincea, Pourr. (Anomatheca juncea, Ker.). Lvs. 

 strap-shaped (linear in the 2 preceding species), 6-8 in. 

 long: segms. pale red or rosy; stamens half as long as 

 the segms. Coast region, S. Afr. — Less known in cult. 

 than the others. Wilhelm Miller. 



LAPORTEA (Frangois L. de Laporte, entomologist of 

 the nineteenth century). Urticacese. Perennial herbs, 

 shrubs, or trees, a few species of which are sometimes 

 grown in glasshouses for the showy foliage or fruits. 



Leaves alternate, often large and variously colored, 

 mostly dentate: fls. monrecious or dioecious, clustered 

 in loose cymes, small and inconspicuous; sterile fls. 

 with a 4-5-partcd perianth (or separate sepals), 4 or 5 

 stamens, and rudiment of an ovary; fertile fls. with 4 

 sepals or 4-lobed perianth, the 2 outer usually much 

 smaller: fr. an ovate or obUque compressed achene. — 

 Species 40-50, widely scattered, mostly of tropical 

 countries; one L. canadense, reaches {o Canada. They 

 are provided with stinging hairs, and must be handled 

 with caution. The horticultural species are prop, by 

 seeds, and also by cuttings started in heat. The generic 

 name Laportea is retained in the "nomina conservanda" 

 of the International Code as against Urticastrum. 



Three species-forms api)ear to be best known in cult., 

 as follows: L. Schomburgkii, Bull. Ornamental-lvd. 

 plant (usually knowm as var. versicolor) from Polynesia: 

 lvs. large, with fleshy petioles and deciduous herba^ 

 ceous stipules; blade deep green, with purjjlish rib 

 and veins, mottled with gray-green and cream-white, 

 sometimes one-half being creamy white. G.Z. 20, p. 

 145. L. gigas, Wedd. Tree, to 80 ft., India to Austral.: 

 lvs. broadly cordate-ovate, obtuse or short-acuminate, 

 more or less sinuate-toothed, 10-12 in. or more long. 

 L. moroides, Wedd. Slirub or small tree of Queens- 

 land: lvs. broadly ovate, 6-8 in. long and nearly as 

 broad, peltate at base, short-acuminate, prominently 

 toothed: fr. mulbern,--like, purple, borne beneath the 

 crown of lvs. and remaining for nearlv a year. B.M. 

 70.57. Gn. 61, p. 71. Gt. 54, p. 289 (also 49, p. 68 as L. 

 gigas). A showy greenhouse plant, worthy of atten- 

 tion except for the virulently stinging hairs. 



L. H. B. 



LAPPA: .Irdium. 



LAPPULA (diminutive of lappa, a bur). Boragi- 

 nacese. Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, of probably 

 forty species, some of them native in North America. 

 They are related to Myosotis, but lack sufficient horti- 

 cultural character to bring them into the trade-lists. 

 In the older manuals they are known under the name 

 Echinospermum. The four little nutlets are burs and 

 adhere to clothing, and the plants are mostly weedy in 

 aiipearance. The flowers are blue or whitish, small, in 

 spikes or racemes. 



