LENS 



LEONTODON 



1839 



L£NS (ancient namo of tht' k'ntil). Lcguminbsse. 

 The lentil is one of the imporlaiit food plants of the 

 human race, although little prown in North America. 



Closely allied to Vicia, from which it is distinfjuished 

 chiefly by the 2-ovuled ovary and 1-2-seedeil pod, 

 \'icia usually having more than 2 seeds. Low erect or 

 partially climbing herbs: I vs. pinnate, the terminal 

 1ft. sometimes ending in a bristle or tendril, the Ifts. 2 

 to many pairs and entire: fls. small, bluish white, 

 racemose or soUtary, papilionaceous; calyx-lobes 

 nearly equal and elongated; standard broadly obovate 

 or nearly orbicular; wings oblique, obovate, partially 

 adhering to the short keel: pod compressed, 2-valved, 

 1-2-seeded; seeds lenticular. — Species about a half- 

 dozen, in the Medit. region and W. Asia, apparently 

 only one of economic importance. 



esculenta, Moench (Hrvum Lens, Linn. \">cia 

 Litis, Coss. & Germ.). Lentil. Annual, much- 

 branched, 1-1 J 2 ft. high: Ivs. with numerous oval or 

 oblong-oval Ifts., ending in a tendril: fls. small, white 

 or pale blue, axillary, in [lairs: pods short and broad, 

 verj' flat, and containing 2 flat seeds rounded in outline 

 and convex on both sides. S. Eu. — The lens of the 

 astronomer and phy.sicist was named because it was 

 shaped like one of these seeds. Some varieties have 

 gray seeds, others red. Esau sold his birthright to 

 Jacob for a mess of red pottage made of lentils. The 

 seeds are used chiefly for soups and stews. They are a 

 coarser and cheaper food than fresh peas and beans, and 

 about as palatable as split peas. Lentils rank amongst 

 the most nutritious of vegetables. They are also of the 

 easiest cult., but the seeds are often destroyed by a 

 weevil. There are many cult, varieties. The seed is 

 usually sown in drills in March, 18-30 in. apart. The 

 heaviest crops are produced on rather dry sandy soils. 

 The plants need no special care between seedtime and 

 harvest. The seeds keep better in the pods than after 

 being threshed. The herbage makes good fodder. See 

 Cyclo. Amer. Agric, Vol. II, p. 308. L H. B. 



LENTIL: Lens. 



LEONOTIS (Greek, lion's ear, which the flowers are 

 supposed to resemble). Lahidlse. Lion's Ear. Lion's 

 T.\iL. This includes a tender shrub with scarlet-orange, 

 gaping flowers, cultivated outdoors in southern Florida 

 and southern California.; and it is an excellent winter 

 bloomer under glass. 



Annual or perennial herbs, coarse and tall: Ivs. 

 opposite, petiolate, ovate: fls. white or yellow in very 

 dense axillary whorls; calyx 8-10-ribbed, the tube 

 arched and funnel-shaped; corolla-tube as long as 

 calyx; upper lij) long and concave, outside hairy; lower 

 lip deflexed, the 3 lobes nearly equal; stamens 4, 

 arched, did>'namous; style 2-lobed. — Species about 20 

 in Trop. and S. Afr., one more widely dispersed. 



Leoniirus, R. Br. Branched perennial with hairy 

 sts., shrubby, 3-6 ft. high: Ivs. 2 in. long, lanceolate or 

 oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, coarsely serrate, narrowed 

 at the base, pubescent: corolla more than thrice as long 

 as the calyx, red-yellow or orange-red, 1 J^l Ji in. long, 

 pilose, the upper lip large and the lower small ; stamens 

 not exsertcd. S. Afr. B.M. 478 (as Phlomis Lennurus). 

 R.H. 1857, p. 548. Gn. 53, p. 400. G.C. II. 19:186; 

 111.43:139. J.H. III. 53:255. G.W. 7, p. 100; 13, p. 

 14. G. 8:22; 13:313; 36:65. R.II. 1913, p. 92. Var. 

 globdsa nana, is a dwarf form, not exceeding 2J^ ft. 

 in all, and with a regular and rounded habit of growth. 

 It is said that L. Leonuru.t has become a menace in S. 

 Afr., with laws to provide for its destruction. In the 

 North, Leonotis cuttings shoulii be started in early 

 spring, the young plants transplanted to the open in 

 May and thereafter frequently pinched to make a sym- 

 metrical instead of a straggling bush, and if the plants 

 do not flower before frost, they can b(^ cut back, lifted 

 and brought into a cool greenhouse to flower in Nov. or 



Dec. A southern enthusiast says that they are a.s easy 

 to cult, as a geranimn. There is a white fl<l. form. 



L. djjsophylhi, Benth., has orange-yellow fta., and differs from L. 

 Leonurus also in the broader Ivs. and longer calyx-teeth. K. Afr. 

 B.M. S404.— /.,. nepetxjdha, H. Br. Annual, 1 H-6 ft., with 4- 

 angled St.: Ivs. ovate, round-toothed; bracts apinescent: fls. yellow 

 or orange-red, in distant-globose bur-like whorls; corolla 1 in. long. 

 Many tropics; reported aa a showy plant in Porto Rico. 



WiLHELM Miller. 

 L. H. B.t 



LEONTICE (Greek, lion's foot; referring to the shape 

 of the leaf). Including /fonjdrdia. Berber idacex. Lion's 

 Leaf. Hardy herbaceous perennials, chiefly Asian, of 

 low growth anfl distinct appearance. 



Tuberous: Ivs. pinnate or pinnatisect, on the st. 

 small or none: fls. yellow, racemose or in a somewhat 

 dichotomous cyme; sepals petal-like, 3-9; petals 6, 

 often reduced to small nectaries; stamens 6, free: 

 carpel 1, becoming a bladdery nearly or quite inde- 

 hiscent caps. — Species perhaps a dozen, S. Eu. to Cent. 

 Asia. Likely to be advertised with Dutch bulbs. These 

 plants have a turnip-shaped conn or rhizome about 2 

 in. thick, and bear yellow fls. in early spring. Bongardia, 

 now included in Leontice, has only one species. 



A. Petals reduced to scales or nectaries. 

 B. Lvs. liince lernately cut. 

 Leontopetalum, Linn. Height 1-1 J^^ ft.: Ifts. ovate 

 or obovate, rarely subcordate: panicle large, dense, 

 leafy. Italy and the Orient. — Root used in the Holy- 

 land, against epilepsy. 



BB. Lvs. digitately cut. 

 c. Raceme dense, conical. 

 Albert!, Regel. Sts. several, .stout, each giving off 

 2 subradical Ivs. which are undeveloped at flowering- 

 time: lvs. finally on stalks 4-5 in. long, digitately 

 5-parted; Ifts. pale green, glaucous, elliptic; nerves 

 prominent and parallel beneath: scape 6-8 in. high, 

 robust; raceme as many as 18-fld.; fls. nearly 1 in. 

 across, ochre-yellow, streaked reddish brown on back; 

 petals shorter than the stamens. Turkestan. B.M. 

 6900. Gt. 1881:1057. 



cc. Raceme loose, oblong. 

 altaica, Pall. Lvs. not from the root, digitately cut, 

 only 1 If. on each fl.-st., the If. having 3 primary 

 divisions, each of which is petioled and has 5 Ifts., 2 

 of which are smaller than the rest; Ifts. elliptical: infl. 

 a raceme, bearing large, more or less roundish leafy 

 bracts; fls. mostly erect, having 6 showy, oblong, not 

 overlapping, entire parts supposed to be sepals, the 

 petals small, yellow, erect, shorter than the anthers. 

 S. Russia, Altai, Siberia. B.M. 3245. 



AA. Petals large and prominent. 



Chrysogonum, Linn. {Chri/sdgonum Dioscoridis, 

 Rauw. Bongdrdia Raitwolfii, C. A. Mey). Of the sub- 

 genus Bongardia. Lvs. all from the root, pinnate; Ifts. 

 .3-8 pairs, or some of the Ifts. in whorls of 3-4, wedge- 

 shaped, 3-fid. with a conspicuous triangular crimson 

 mark at the base of each: infl. a panicle, bearing min- 

 ute, linear bracts; fls. drooping, having 6 showy, wedge- 

 shaped, crenate parts, 3 of which should possibly be 

 considered petals, and the other 3 inner sepals, since 

 there arc 3 small, greenish lobes outside which are like 

 an ordinary calyx, and should, perhaps, be called the 

 outer calyx. B.M. 6244. F.C. 3:98. B. 1:.50. 



WiLHELM Miller. 



LEONTODON (Greek, lion's tooth). Compdsitse. 

 A rather weedy group of hardy perennials little grown 

 in Amer. and not unlike the hawkweeds. They are 

 scapose herbs with clustered, basal lvs. much pinnati- 

 fid, scapose, with many-fld. he:ids of rather showy yel- 

 low fls.: involucre ovoid or oblong, its br;icts in 1 or 2 

 series; p;ippus of plumose bristles, differing in this 

 from Hicracium, its nearest horticultural relative. 



