MANETTIA 



MANFREDA 



1983 



MANETTIA (Xavier Maiietti, of the botanic garden 

 at Florence, born 1723). Rubiacesc. Twining plants 

 sometimes grown under glass for the ornamental 

 flowers. 



Glabrous or villous graceful climbers, evergreen: Ivs. 

 stalked, usually long-acuminate: fls. small or rather 

 large, axillary, solitary or in short corymbs or panicles, 

 white, yellow or red; caly.\-lobes 4, rarely .'), short or 

 long, narrow or broad; corolla-tube short or long, terete 

 or angled, straight or curved, glabrous or pilose within: 

 limb 4- (rarely 5-) lobed, the lobes usually short and 

 erect or recurved, valvate; stamens 4 or 5, inserted at 

 the orifice or in the throat of the corolla ; disk annular or 

 cushion-like; style filiform, the stigma entire or bifid: 

 fr. an obovoid or turbinate 2-grooved 2-celled dehiscent 

 many-seeded caps. — Perhaps 40 species, in warmer parts 

 of Amer. 



This genus includes the common manettia vine, M. 

 hicolw and M. inflata, which have scarlet tubular 

 flowers an inch or more long, with five spreading yellow 

 tips. They are twining plants and are often trained to 

 pillars and trellises both indoors and out, as they bloom 

 more or less the year round. They can also be trained 

 into a bushy form. The manettia vine is a rather old- 

 fashioned plant, and generally easy of culture. It is 

 fairly satisfactory as a cool conservatory vine, but is an 

 easy prey to red-spider and mealy-bug. The flowers 

 are short-lived, and not the best for cutting. Some 

 gardeners prefer it to cupheas or Jacobinia penrhosiensis. 

 Manettias are propagated by cuttings of young growth 

 inserted in sand with bottom heat. For summer use the 

 vines should have a sheltered but sunny position. 



Manettias are very useful as roof-plants, or for grow- 

 ing on rafters and pillars. They may also be grown into 

 specimen jilants trained on a wire trellis. They may be 

 rooted in a temperature of 60° to 65°. Put them in 

 sand about 1 inch apart, shading them from the sun. 

 Roots will soon form, when they may be potted, singly, 

 in small pots, in two parts loam, one of leaf-mold, and 

 one of sand. When the plants have gripjied the soil, 

 pinch out their points to encourage them to break. 

 Put a few thin stakes around the pot to which to tie 

 the shoots until they are large enough to be trained in 

 their permanent position. Never allow the plants to 

 become pot-bound, until the desired size of pot is 

 attained, and be careful that the shoots do not get all 

 tangled up, as it would be difficult to separate them, 

 when it is desired to train them on a trellis, or in some 

 other desirable position. Loam two parts, equal parts 

 sand, and flaky leaves, a small part of well -rotted 

 manure, is a good potting medium, for all future pot- 

 tings. The night temperature should never be less than 

 55°. In summer, the plants that are grown on a trellis, 

 in pots, may be placed outdoors on a bed of ashes, until 

 the middle of Sejitember. Syringe manettias freely, as 

 this keeps red-spider in check. Other insect pests may 

 be kept down by fumigating with hydrocyanic gaa as 

 advised for other plants. (George F. Stewart.) 



A. Corolla of practically the same color throughout. 



glabra, Cham. & Schlecht. {M. cordifolia, Hort., not 

 Mart.). Glabrous, much branched, woody below: Ivs. 

 cordate-ovate-acuminate, verj' short-petioled, glabrous 

 ai)d shining: fls. single on elongated solitarj' peduncles, 

 crimson; corolla 1}^^ in. long, clavate-funnel-shaped, 

 quadrangular; limb 4-parted, the short scgms. deltoid 

 and revolute; disk cushion-shaped; stamens conspicu- 

 ously exserted. S. Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argen- 

 tina. B.M. .3202. B.R. 1866. P.M." 2:267. B. 2:S7(aU 

 as M. cordifolia). The true M. cordifolia, Mart., appar- 

 ently not in cult., is pubescent, with spreading corolla^ 

 lobes and included stamens. 



micans, Poepp. & Endl. Handsome, differing from 

 Al. glabra in larger fls. which are borne several together 

 on short axillarj' branches ; the coroUa^lobes spreading, 

 and anthers nearly sessile; and the petioles shorter: fls. 



bright red-orange. Andes region, Peru and Bolivia to 

 Argentina. B.M. 5495. 



coccinea, Willd. Probably not in cult., and its posi- 

 tion apparently doubtful: twining: Ivs. oval or ovate, 

 long-acuminate, tapering to base: fls. scarlet (pinkish?), 

 on rather stout bracted peduncles; corolla salver- 

 shaped, the 4 lobes pointed and spreading-reflexed, the 

 throat closed with yellow hairs and stamens included; 

 disk hollow and adnate to calyx- 

 tube; sepals apparently 8. Mex. to 

 Colombia. B.R. 693. 



miniata, Lem. Twining, some- 

 what white-hairy: Ivs. oval-elliptic, 

 thick, the b;xse long-attenuate and 

 apex acute or subacuminate, gray- 

 ish pilose above: fls. solitary or twin, 

 long-peduncled, cinnabar-red shad- 

 ing to rose; corolla funnel- 

 shaped, hairy, the lobes 4, 

 pointed, spreading ; stamens 

 included. Probably Andean, 

 and very likely not now in 

 cult. F.S. 4:317. 



2318. Manettia inflata. 



(XH) 



AA. Corolla yellow at apex. 



bicolor, Paxt. Twining, 



glabrous: Ivs. nearly sessile, 

 lanceolate, slightly glaucous, 

 acuminate : fls. single on short 

 axillary peduncles; corolla 

 Jlin. long, little .swollen at 

 base, red below and yellow 

 toward the top, the short 

 lobes spreading-reflexed; 

 calyx-lobes erect or spread- 

 ing; style exserted. IJrazil. 

 P.M. 10:27. 



inflata, Sprague (M. bicohr, 

 Hort., m part). Fig. 2318. 

 Recently separated from the 

 cult. M. bicolor: differs in its leafy reflexed calyx-lobes, 

 the corolla swollen at base, more coarsely hairy, and 

 the yellow part of corolla much smaller; anthers not 

 apiculate; style (in long-styled plant) about as long as 

 corolla-tube. Paraguay and Uruguay. B.M. 7776 (as 

 M. bicolor). G.C. III. 36:384. l. h. B. 



MANFREDA ("named after an ancient writer on 

 simples whose work is in the Parisian library"). Ama- 

 rylliddces; tribe Agavoidesc. Acaulescent bulbous plants, 

 of somewhat the aspect of Polyanthes, but with nearly 

 straight usually solitary flowers; closely allied to Agave, 

 and requiring similar culture. 



Leaves thin, lance-oblong, usually denticulate, dying 

 in winter: infl. a raceme; fls. nocturnal, greenish or 

 purplish white, tubular with spreading limb and pro- 

 truding style and stamens. Chiefly Mexican. Mono- 

 graph by Rose in Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 8, Part I, 

 1903. The Ivs. of most species are wavy or crisped at 

 the margin. 



A. Lvs. pubescent. 



maculata. Rose (Polidnthes maculala, Mart. Agave 

 pubesccns, Regel & Ortg. A. brachystachys pubescens, 

 Terr.). Lvs. brown-spotted: infl. 3 ft. high; fls. subses- 

 sile, 1}4 in. long; tube much longer than segm.; stamens 

 long-exserted. S. Mex. Amoen. Bot. Monac. 19:13. 



AA. Lvs. glabrous. 



B. Stamens little exserted. 



maculdsa, Rose {Agave maculbsa, Hook. A. maculata, 

 Engclm.). Fig. 2319. Lvs. somewhat glaucous, mot- 

 tled: infl. 3 ft. high; fls. subsessile, 2 in. long; tube some- 

 what longer than segm. ; filaments in the throat. 

 Texas. B.M. 5122. Bull. Soc. Tosc. Ort. 3. p. 308. 



