1832 



L.\YERS 



LECYTHIS 



In the rjiso of vinoj«, a caiu- inny bo laid horizontally in 

 a sh.'dlow tri'nch, covorinK a few iiirlics to iiuiucc root- 

 iii(t. aiut loavini; a iuhIo or two cxiuiscd for growth, anil 

 !^) on lo tin- iMul, as shown liy Fij;. '.'IJ'.'. After yotui); 

 shix>tj; an' wrll startinl from tho inicovcix'd buds, the 

 eiirtli may 1h> tilUHl in to the lovol of tlic pround lino. 



In Fir. '2V2,i is shown what is ofton called the sori)en- 

 tino layer, in whieh the cane is bent. ))arts being eov- 

 onti and the intervals left above the uround. It is held 

 that by this means the tendency of the sap to flow to the 

 oxlri'mity and there make the strongest giinvth, is over- 

 come, and even rooting secured the whole length 

 of the cane. This method is often used willi quick- 

 growing vines like clematis and wistaria, from 

 which it is jxissible to secure u succession of 

 layers from the annual growth in spring and 

 early siminier. 



The "tips" of black raspberries are layers of a 

 special kind. In this case, the cane bcntls over 

 and takes root at its end, thereby jiroviding a 

 natural means of propagation. Many plants pro- 

 duce stolons, or shoots springing from the crown 

 and having a .strong tendency to take root at 

 joints or tij); tliis attribute is .sometimes indicated 

 in the name of the plant, as Cornus xloloiiifira. 



\\\ of the foregoing operations arc more readily 

 successful in the more moist situations; more suc- 

 cessful in the nearly saturated atmos))here of the 

 southern states, for instance, than in the compara- 

 tively dry conditions of the prairie states. 



S. C. Mason. 



LAYIA (Thomas Lay. naturalist in the Beechey voy- 

 age). Compdinia-. Annual herbs with yellow or white 

 flowers in spring or early summer. 



Leaves chiefly alternate, all entire or some, particu- 

 larly the lower, [linnatcly toothed or lobed: fls. about 

 1-1 J-^ in. across, and the rays distinctly 3-toothed; 

 ray-fls. 8-20; disk-fls. fertile, their tubul.ar corollas .'i- 

 toothed. — .Vbout 13 W. .\merican .s])ecics. The species 

 described below are diffu.se, much-branched and about 

 a foot high. For general cult, they are probably 

 inferior to Madia degana, which 

 has a similar habit and is dis- 

 tinguished by the blood-colored 

 spot at the base of the rays. It 

 is probable that for best results 

 they should be started early 

 indoors, and transplanted out- 

 doors in May. Easy to grow. 



464. — Perhaps the best of the genus. Var. alba, Hort., 

 is a pure white form. 



platyglossa, (iray. Tidy Tips. Some of the upper Ivs. 

 pinnatifid: rays light yellow, commonly w-hite-tipped; 

 pappus of stout, awn-like bristles which are upwardly 

 scabrous. CaUf. B.M. 3719. 



BB. Plants not hairy or at most minutely pubescent. 

 Cal\ig\6ssa,C,n\y(('alUgl6ssa Douglasii,llQok. &Arn.). 

 Achenes villous-pubescent or partly glabrate: rays yel- 

 low, white-tipped; pappus of 10-18 very unequal and 

 rigid awl-shaped awns. Central 

 Calif. B.K. 18.50 (erroneously as 

 Oxyura chrysanthemoidcs) . — Per- 

 haps not cult, outside of botanic 

 gartlens. 



Douglasii, Hook. & Arn. (L. 

 chrysaiUhcnio'iilcs, Gray. Oxyura 

 chrysantlunin'iilis, DC). Achenes 

 wholly glabrous, broader : 



2122. A horizontal multiple layer. 



A. Rays entirely while. 

 glanduldsa, Hrwk & Am. Whitk Daisy. One-half 

 to 2 ft. tall, the st. hispid, .sometimes glandular: Ivs. 

 1-1^2 in. long, 2-3 lines broad, lini^ar, the upper ones 

 all entire: rays 8-13, whit/- or sometimes tinged with ro.sc'. 

 B.M. 68.56. Brit. Col and Idaho U> Mex.— Cultivated 

 in California and very desirable on account of its 

 pure white rays. 



AA. Rays yellow, sometimes tipped white. 

 B. Plants hairy. 

 elegans, Torr. & Gray. Tir>Y Tips. All the upper Ivs. 

 entire: ray.s 10-12, yellow, rarely white-ti()ped; pappus 

 white or whitish, its copious villous hairs much shorter 

 than the awn-«hape<l bristlr^s, which are long plumose 

 below the middle. This and the next h.ave a few small, 

 scattered, stalkcl glands which are wanting from the 

 IsHt two. Calif. Gn. 31, p. 46.5. G. 30:.567. G.W. 17: 



21-J. b^.p. 





pappus none. Fls. yellow, only the tips of the rays 

 white. A confused species. 



L. ya'llarthokles. Hook. & Arn. Branching rather freely, hispid, 

 S in. or more high: heads rather large; rays orange-yellow. G.C. 



"'•^'^"- N.TAYLOR.t 



LEAD PLANT: Amorplta canescens, 



LEADWORT: Plumbago. 



LEATHER FLOWER: Clematis Viorna. L. Jacket: Eucalpyius 

 punrlatti. L. Leal: Chamiodaphne. L. Wood: Dirca palustris; also 

 Cunlla. 



LEBIDIEROPSIS (Greek; like LeUdicra, a related 

 genus now included in Cleistanthus). Enphorbiacese. 

 The genus contains but 1 species, a tree once catalogued 

 in S. Fla., probaby not now in cult, in Amer. Lvs. 

 altern.ate, simple, entire: fls. small, in axillary clusters; 

 calyx of staminate fls. valvatc; petals small; stamens 5, 

 filaments united; ovules 2 in each of the 3 cells of the 

 ovary: seeds globose, cotyledons thick and flat. 



orbicularis, Muell. Arg. (Cleistdntkus collinus, Benth.) . 

 Lvs. l'/2r^ in. long, 1 ' 2-3 in. wide, leathery, broadly 

 ovate or elliptic, tip rounded or retuse, glaucous be- 

 neath, .5-8 pairs of nerves: fls. silky, 3-6 in a cluster; 

 Cetals fleshy, narrow: seeds 2 lines thick, chcstnut- 

 rown. India. — Variable in If.-form and hairiness. 



J. B. S. Norton. 



LECYTHIS (Greek for an oil-jar, from the shape of 

 frs.). Lecythidacese. One of a group of interesting Trop. 

 American genera, comprising Couroupita, Grias, .Jap- 

 arandiba, Bertholletia. The sjjecies of Leeythis are 

 shrubs or trees, one or two of which have been grown 

 under gla.ss abroad for their showy red fls. L. Zabucajo, 

 Aubl., yields the excellent .sapucaya nuts, resembling 

 Br:izil-nuts and superior to thdn. L. Ollaria, Linn., the 

 monkey-jKit, yields a regi,il;ir urn-shaped fr. or box 

 with a lid or cover. Leeythis is of perh.aps 40 species, of 

 the habit of Couroupita but fls. .smaller, in Trop. S. 

 Amer.: lvs. alt.ernati^, coriaceous, entire or serrate: fls. 

 usually large, in panich^s or racemes; calyx v\-ith a 

 turbinate tube anrl 4 or 6 segms.; petals Usually 6, 

 sometimes 4, nearly ecjual; st;imens many, united "in a 

 hood-shajied body with the fertile anthers bene;ith: fr. 

 leathery or wo<jdy, odd, globose or cup-shaped or um- 

 sh;ipe(l with .an operculum; seeds few, often large. 

 Nonr; of the species seems to be of horticultural impor- 

 tance witliin our range. 



