1S42 



LEPTOCHILUS 



LEPTOSPKRMUM 



toris, but formerly classifiini uiidrr Acrosfichum. The 

 Ivs. !uv piniiatoly (liviilitl: the sporanni;! arc borne very 

 oKvsr together st> lliiil jit nialiinly they iijipear entirely 

 to cover llie baeks of the fertile Ivs. 



alienus, Swartz (AcrAslicImm alitnum, Swart/,)- 

 Sterile Ivs. 1-2 ft. long, triaiiguhir, with the upiier 

 pinna- (li-eiirnMit. anil the lower at least sinuate or even 

 ineis<>l: fertile Ivs. smaller, with narrow pinniv, the 

 up|>er ihviirrent . Cuba and Mex. to Brazil. 



nicotianaefdUus, C. Chr. (Acriistichuni nicoliana'- 

 fdliiim. Swiirtz). Sterile Ivs. with ;{-7 pinna' whieh are 

 6-12 in. long ami 2-3 in. wide, with nearly entire edges; 

 fertile Ivs. smaller, with '.i-7 pinnic 3-4 in. long, 1 in. 

 wide. \V, In.lies to Brazil. r. c. BENEDiCT.t 



LEPTOCHLOA (slender and grass, from the Greek, 

 refi'rring to the slemler spikes). GratMnex. Annual or 

 pen-nnial grasses with rather showy infloresoence, one 

 sjH'eies oeea.sionally growii for ornament . 



Plants with Hat blades and slen<ler unilateral spikes 

 arranged along a main a.\is: spikelets 2- to several-fid. 

 — S|)Ocies about 12, in the wanner regions of both 

 hemispheres. Differs from Chloris and other genera 

 of the tribe Chloridea-, in having racemosely arranged 

 spikes with sevcral-fld. spikelets. 



virg&ta, Bcauv. Erect, glabrous, ustially glaticovis 

 jH'rt-nnial, 2-4 ft.: spikes numerous, 3-11 in., on an axis 

 ;J-t) in. long; spikelets 3-6-fld.; florets awnless or with 

 an awn shorter than the body. Trop. Amer. — Has he(>n 

 advertised under the name of Chloris grdcilis. A pleas- 

 ing grass with feathcrj' infl. suitable for borders in the 

 'south' A. S. Hitchcock. 



LEPTOCODON {slender bell, from the shape of the 

 flowers). Canipanulaccse. Twiner, suitable for the 

 greenhouse. From Cainpanumaca it differs in bearing 

 a dehiscent caps, rather than a fleshy berry, and froiri 

 Codonopsis in having a tubular ujiwardly iiiM:ilcil 

 rather than mo.stly campanulate corolla. The single 

 species is L. grdcilis, Hook. f. & Thorn. (Codnnoims 

 griicilis. Hook. f. Campanumka gracilis, Hort.), of 

 Sikkim (India): glabrous slender perennial with alter- 

 nate and opposite long-stalked ovalc-erenate Ivs.: 

 corolla 1-1}^ in. long, blue, tubular-curved, shortly 

 5-lobeil. the calyx very deeply ,")-lobed; stamens .5, free;, 

 with as many glands intervening; fls. terminal and oiijk)- 

 site the Ivs., .single on .slender peduncles. l H. B. 



LEPTODACTyLON: Gilia. 



LEPTODERMIS (Greek, leplos, thin and derma, 

 skin, meinbrune, referring to the thin membranous 

 bractlets connate into a tube.) Ruhiacea-. Low shrubs 

 with small foliage, and small tubular white or i)ur- 

 plish flowers in usually few-flowered clusters appear- 

 ing during summer and fall when few shrubs are in 

 bliK)m. 



Slender-branchefl, with opposite small entire stipu- 

 late Ivs.: fls. in axillary hea<l-like clusters; calyx 

 .S-toothed, persistent; corolla tubular-funnelforin, with 

 J>-lobi-<l limb; stamens 4, included; ovary inferior, 

 h-ff\\ii\; style slender, .Vparterl at the apex: fr. a caps., 

 the outer wall siilitling to the base into . 5 valves, the inner 

 net-hke, eIose<l, enveloping the seed. — About 10 spe- 

 cies in China and Himalayiis. Interesting for botanical 

 collection.'* as one of the few wf)ody representatives of 

 Kuhiacetf; which are hardy north. A few species have 

 \nfn rr-eently intro. from China, of which tlic ffillow- 

 ing has provwl fairly hardy at the Arnold Arboretum, 

 but apfx-ars to be short-hveri. Proj). by greenwfiod- 

 cutting.s in summer and by seeds. 



obl6nga, Bunge. Shrub, to .'5 ft.: Ivs. oblong or ellip- 

 tic-f)val,e, acute, narrowed at the base into the short 

 petiole usually scabrid, 34-?4'n. long: fls. in sessile, 

 denw; and few-fld. clusters; corolla slender, tubular, 



with oblong-lanceolate spreading lobes, puberulous 



outside, violet-purple, 5.iin. long; style exceeding the 

 hairy moulli. N. China. July-Oet. 



Alfred Rehdeh. 



LEPTOL^ELIA. Hybrid of Leplotcs hicolor (seed 

 parent) and Latia ciiiiinliariiia, known as Leptolslia 

 Veiichii. 



LEPT6PTERIS (Greek, cut fern, alluding to the filmy 

 texture of tlie Ivs.). Osnnindiici:c. About greenhou.se 

 ferns with sjiorangia like tho.se of O.snumda but with 

 filmy Ivs. like those of Hymenophyllum. Tliei-e spoi angia 

 grow on the backs of the Ivs. as in ordinary ferns, A 

 group of beautiful ferns which require ,si)ecial cult. All 

 are from the Australasian region. Allied to Todea. 



superba, Presl, With an erect woody st, 12-18 in. 

 high; Ivs. 2-4 ft. long, (i-10 in, wide, tripinnatifid, 

 pinnai close togetlicr, narrow, reduced below. New 

 Zeal. R. c. Benedict. 



LEPTOSIPHON (name alludes to the slender flower). 

 PotcinimincccT. A genus founiled by Bentham, but now 

 made a section or subgenus in Gilia. L. densiflbrus, 

 Benth. {(1. densifibra, Benth.), is a common garden 

 annual, by some now separated as Lindnlhiis densi- 

 flbrus, Benth., native in C'alifornia. Lepldsi-phon 

 aitrcus and L. hybridus arc accounted for under Gilia 

 micrantha (p. 1337). 



LEPTOSPERMUM (Greek, slender seed). Myrlacex. 

 Ornamental \voo(|-\' jilants grown chiefly for their 

 copiously produced flowers and also for the neat myrtle- 

 like foliage. 



Evergreen shrubs or small trees: Ivs. alternate, small, 

 rigid, entire, nerveless or 1-3-ncrved: fls. short-stalked 

 or sessile, solitary or 2-3, axillary or at the end of short 

 branchlets; sepals short and broad; petals roundish, 

 clawed, spreading; stamens many; ovary inferior, 

 inclosed in the calyx-tube, 3-10-celled; style short: fr. 

 a loculicidal caps., usually protruding above the calyx- 

 tube; seeds numerous, linear, or few and compressed 

 and winged. — There are about 2h species mostly in 

 Australia, few in New Zealand and in the Malay 

 Archipelago. 



The Icjitospermums in cultivation are upright shrubs 

 with slender branches densely clothed with small rigid 

 foliage and covered in spring with numerous white, 

 rarely pink or carmine flowers ' 2 to '■^i inch across; the 

 capsules are small and insignificant. They are cultiva- 

 ted somewhat outdoors in California, or in the North in 

 the greeidiouse and treated like heath and other Cape 

 and Australian hardwood i)lants. Planted outdoors 

 they stand drought well and L. Isvigatum has been 

 employed by the hun<lred thou.sands in the reclama- 

 tion <>( the moving sands on the San Francisco promon- 

 tory where the (iolden G.ite Park is now established. 

 I''or greeidiouse cvdtiu'e, L. seoparium var. bullatum 

 is an exception.allv good plant for those who can grow 

 heaths. It is far better than L. Lrrigatum. 



C'uttings taken from well-ripened wood in the fall 

 or from the young growth in summer root freely under 

 the same treatment given erica. For a potting soil, use 

 two parts leaf-mold aixl one of sand. Plunge the pots 

 outside (huing the summer in the full simlight. The 

 j)lants make a straggling growth, unless trimmed into 

 shape. By fall they will be covered with buds, but it is 

 impossible to force them into bloom for Christmas. 

 Keep the plants in a cool house with ericas or azaleas 

 until the latter ])art of February or March, and then 

 give them a little more heat, say .").')'' to 60°, The plants 

 will soon be a mass of white flowers, L, seoparium var. 

 bullatum does not grow rapidly, but, like epacris, .as it 

 grows older it makes fine specimens. It has tough foli- 

 age, stands much hard usage, and when in bloom 

 attracts plant-buyers. It deserves greater popularity. 



