1920 



LUCUMA 



LUETKl'LV 



length. :uid pnnliurd uiH>n short stems toward the ends 

 of the brjuichos. The flesh is dry and sometimes mealy 

 in textiirw bright oranne-vellow. often likened to the 

 yolk of a himl-hoUtHl ejy;, wliieli it greatly resembles in 

 aiil>oaraniv bvit not in tjiste. Tlie llavor is sweet and 

 Hither eloyinp, to the'noviee at leiu^t, while the aroma 

 is |xH-uliar and somewhat musky. 'l"he seeds are one 

 to three in niunber, oval, about an inch in length, hard, 

 diirk brown ami shining, except on the ventral surface, 

 which is dull, pale browni. The fruits usually retiuiro 

 sevenil davs to soften after being picked from the tree, 

 and as the skin is soft and delicate they do not ship so 

 well :»s those of the niamey sai)ote. This s|)ecies is not 

 put to many different uses, the fruit usually being eaten 

 while fn-sh. The tree is ornamental in ajipeanmce, 

 with bright grtvn, glossy foliage, and rarely grows to a 

 height of mon> than 20 feet. It is usually propagated 

 by seeds, yoimg plants requiring three to five years to 

 come into" bearing. The hard outer husk should be 

 r^'moved from the seed before planting. 



The abiu of tropical Brazil (L. Caii/iilo), greatly 

 rt-scmbles the ti-es in growth and foliage, but is eiusily 

 distingui.shed by its light yellow fruit, with translucent, 

 whitish, rather" juicy flesh, of less cloying flavor than 

 that of the ti-cs. The ablu is very p<)i)ular among the 

 iirazilians, and is commonly cultivated at Rio de 

 Janeiro, Bahia, and other points along the coa-st. The 

 fruits varv from 2 to 4 inches in length, are iisually 

 ovale in form, and have a thii-k, closely adhering .skin, 

 within which lies the soft and melting (Icsh and two or 

 three large oval seeds. It must be fully rijie to be appre- 

 ciated; if cut while still firm, a milky latex exudes which 

 is sticky and objectionable in the mouth, while the 

 fruit has a strong t;uste of tamiin. The same is true of 

 other species. The tree, called ahUro in Portuguese, 

 thrives on a rich clay loam, with an abundance of 

 moisture, and is propagated by seed. 



Little has been done to improve any of the lucuma,s. 

 There is much variation among seeillings, not only in 

 size anil quality of fruit, but in productiveness and 

 other characters as well. The best ones should be 

 selected and jjropagated by some vegetative means, 

 such as budding. F. W. Popenoe. 



LUDDEMANIA: Ltuxidemannia. 



LUDWiGIA (C. G. Ludwig, botanist and botanical 

 author at Leipzig, 170'.)-177:5). Sometimes spelled 

 Ludvigia. Oringraaa-. Herbs, liste<l among aquatics. 



Annual or perennial aquatic or semi-aquatic .small 

 herbs: fis. small and inconspicuous in the axils of the 

 Iv.s., the jjarts u.sually in 4's: fr. a terete ribbed or winged 

 caps. : Ivs. mostly small and entire or very nearly so, 

 usually not distinctly petioleil, alternate or oppo-site, 

 the opposite-lvd. species by .some referred to Isnardia. — 

 Species about 2.'), widely sjireail in warm and temperate 

 regions. The sts. are often creeiiing, sometimes float- 

 ing. The ludwigias have little standing as horticul- 

 tural subjects. They are sometimes useful in bog- 

 gardens, and one is advertised for aquaria. Three 

 names are in the American trade. 



A. Lvs. allKmale. 



altemifdlia, Linn. Seed-box, or RATTt.E-Box. An 

 erect shrub, 2-3 ft. or more tall, in ai)pearance not 

 unlike an ej)ilobium, the root sometimes tuberous: lys. 

 lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, narrowed below, entire 

 or sometimes with mere suggestions of teeth : fis. large 

 for the genus (V^in. across), with yellow ca<lucous 

 petals: caps, large, square in cro.ss-section. Hogs and 

 wet woods in eastern half of U. S. — Interesting, but 

 not showy. 



AA. Lvs. opposile. 



paliistris, Ell. (fKruirdia TpaludriH, Linn.). WATfiu 

 Puiwi.A.SE. Trailing in muddy places or floating on 

 shallow water, rooting at the joints: lvs. oval or oval- 



oblong, narrowe<l into a short iietiole: fis. very small, 

 \isua.liy reddish. — Nova Scotia to Calif, and Mex.; 

 lOu., Asia; offered jus a bog-plant. 



Miilerttii, Mulertt. Lvs. oval to lance-oblong, nar- 

 rowed into short petioles, entire: fis. yellow: fr. oblong, 

 truncate on to]), -'sin. long.— Intro, from S. Amer. by 

 Hugo Mulertt, thenoft'incinnati, and described in "Isis" 

 (published in (iermany) in ISSO or I8SI, and also in 

 the "A(|uarium," Vol. Ill, p]). 13, (U. It is now widely 

 di.stributed amongst growers of aquarium plants. It 

 seems not to have been studied by systematic botanists. 

 It is prized for its graceful habit and because it is ever- 

 green. (Irows well from cuttings and from seeds. 

 INIulertt, now resiiling in (iermany, gives the follow- 

 ing additional information: From the soil coming with 

 rhizomes of nymphea from the Amazon Valley in 

 1S7S this ludwigia made its appearance. At first the 

 I)lants were not considered to be unusual, but it soon 

 became a favorite with customers, and it has now been 

 widely distribute<l among aquarists. In Germany, 

 wlicre it is now frequently jirop. from seed, several 

 varieties have aiipeared, but although they retain the 

 evergreen charjicter they do not develop the graceful 

 shape and brilliant crim.son coloring of the foliage of 

 the type. "The plant wants a shady location with a 

 high temperature in a water-depth of about 15-18 

 in. to display its full character below the water-surface. 

 In a sunny" location, during summer, it grows above 

 water, the foliage then displaying glo.ssy (lark brownish 

 green on top and crimson-purple (or violet-crimson) 

 below. Yellow flowers soon apjiear in the axils of the 

 lvs. and develop into little cajjs. that bear the seeds. 

 If left in the caps., these retain life for or 8 years." 



L. H. B. 



LUEDDEMANNIA (Herr Lueddemann). Or- 

 chidaccx. A small grouji of S. American orchids, allied 

 to Cycnoches, but resembling Acineta in habit and re- 

 quiring treatment similar to the acinetas: sepals oblong 

 and acute, arched; petals cuneate-oblong and acute; 

 ovary pubescent or velvety; fis. handsome, very many 

 on a pendulous peduncle. 



L. Lihmannii, Reichb. f. (Cycnoclies Lehmannii, Reirhb. f.). 

 Lvs. long and petiolcd, acute; pseudobulbs furrowed, nyriform, 6 or 

 7 in. long: fls. 20-.30, wax-lil<c, orange-yellow; sepals oopper-eol- 

 orcd on exterior. Colombia. — L. I'cscatftrei, Rciehb. f. (Cycnoehea 

 Pescatorei, Lindl. & Paxt.). Lvs. lanceolate, glaurovis. leathery: 

 fls. 30-50, about 1 ?;i in. diani., sepals orange-brown; petals and lip 

 deep yellow, the disk hairy: peduncle 3 ft. Colombia. B.M. 7123. 

 — L. Sanderiana, Kranzl.^Laea'na bicolor. — L. triloba, Rolfe. 

 Pseudobulbs and lvs. smaller than in two preceding, the lvs. about 

 1 It. long and the ovoid paeudobulb about 2'i in. long: fls. deep 

 orange-yellow, the peduncle short (about 6 in.); lip marked with 

 chocolate-red; sepals with a crimson flush. Andes. — L. Vyvereana, 

 Sohlecht. AlHed to L. Pescatorei. but lip with a longer daw and 

 different shape, with a smaller basal callus, and a less prominent 

 thickening in middle of the blade. Peru. j^ jj g_ 



LUfeHEA (F. Karl van der Lilhe, Austrian botanist 

 interested in the Cape of Good Hope). Tilificeip. About 

 IG species of trees and tall shrubs from the warmer parts 

 of Amer., with usually toothed lvs. and handsome 

 white or rosy fls. borne in a terminal i)anicle, or some- 

 times in the axils: sepals and petals 5; stamens numer- 

 ous, the outer ones often without anthers; ovary 5- 

 celled: caps, rather woody, loculicidally semi-.')-valveti. 

 A species was intro. into Santa Barbara, some years 

 ago, from Paraguay. It is probably L. dimricMa, Mart., 

 with lvs. oblong or elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, irregu- 

 larly serrate, grayish beneath. Luehea is also spelled 

 Luhea, and the genus of this name of the Verbenacese 

 is a S. African group referretl to Stilbe. 



LUETKEA (after Fr. Luetke, Russian sea captain, in 

 charge of the fourf,h Russian voyage around the world). 

 Syn. Eringyrdn. liomccu-. A prostrate and trailing 

 undershrub, forming dense carpets, with ascending 

 flowering shoots 2-() in. high, small alternate trifid lvs. 

 and small white fls. in upright racemes. It is closely 



