2138 



XEHIXE 



NERIUAI 



IV. Segms. hardly or stiglitli/ crinptd. 

 4. p&dica, Hook. f. BiiU> tjlobo.'se, about 1 in. diam.: 

 l\-s. 4-li, (;l:'>'i'i'i'*. ^-*' i". lonu, .siiboioot, apiK'ariiig 

 with the tls. : umbels 4-t)-Hil., the other kinds beinu S-'->0- 

 fld.: fls. white, keeled pink above: segnis. oblaneeolate, 

 thin, scivrcely erisped; staniei\s deoHned, the IJ louf^est a 

 httle shorter tlian the iH'rianth-segnis. t)n);inal tiabitat 

 indoubt. H.M..V.>m. U H, mi3, p. 4,")t). l-'.S. 23:21111. 

 Cin. 21 :21X). \'ar. Elwesii, Baker (.V. Elwcsii, Leiolill.), 

 hiis niueh broader brijilit jireen more persistent ilis- 

 tinetly veined Ivs. with a prominent midrib: lis. more 

 oompaet and pedieels stouter; scgnis. pale ro.se with a 

 darker kivl, thicker and more wavy. Var. &lba, Ilort., 

 fls. snow-white. 



r,. Bowdenii, W. Wats. Bulb variable in size, the 

 largest bottli^shaped and 1'2 in. diam. and 2 in. long, 

 freely producing offsets: Ivs. ' 2^1 ft. long and 1 in. or 

 less broad, glos.sy green, slightly channeled, obtvise: 

 scape nearly cylindrical, 12-lS in. hmg, bearing a loose 

 ty-12-fld. umbel 9 in. across, the trigonous pedieels 2 

 in. long; fls. large, rose-i)ink with keels darker; segms. 

 2-3 in. long and ' 2in. wide, reeiu'ved and sliglitly wavy. 

 Cape Colony. B.M.S117. G.C. III. :3(i:3(w. Gn. 77, 

 p. 570. F.8.R. 3 : 120. — .\s grown at Kew, the plants are 

 practically leafless when in fl. Var. pallida, Hort. (N. 

 y'etlchii, Hort.), is pale in color (blush-white): fls. 2}4 

 in. across, with recurved segms. Gn. 7.5, p. 484. G.M. 

 54:742. G.C. III. 58:132. 



BB. Outer Jt.'i. opening after the inner ones. 



6. undulata, Herb. Bulb ovoid, to 1 in. diam., the 

 coverings membranaceous and pale: Ivs. 4-6, linear, 

 appearing with the fls., bright green, 12-18 in. long 

 and '2'"- or less broad: peduncle slender, 12-18 in. 

 long, bearing a centrifugal 8-12-fld. umbel: fls. pale 

 pink, perianth, J^in. or less long; segms. oblaneeolate, 

 ver>- narrow and much crisped. Kalahari region and 

 coast region, S. Afr. B.M. :5()9 (as Amaryllis undulata). 

 Gn. 76, p. 136. Var. mijor, Tratt. Perianth-limb larger, 

 less crisped. 



7. h&milis, Herb. Bulb ovoid, to 1'^ in. diam., the 

 coverings membranaceous: Ivs. about 6, ai)pearing with 

 the fls., hnear, bright green, chanmded on the face, 

 about 1 ft. long and 32™- broad: scape or peduncle 

 often smaller than in the other kinds, J^-lJij ft. high: 

 fls. bright pink or ro.se-red, 10-20 in an umbel, the 

 perianth J4in. or less long; segms. oblaneeolate, acute, 

 crisped; stamens declined, the 3 longer about a-s long 

 as .segms. Coast region, S. Afr. B.M. 726 (as Anuinjl- 

 lli humilis). Gn. 21:200. Var. splendens, Hort., is 

 presumably the best form of this species. Fls. purple- 

 crim.son. 



The foUouinK names arc mostly important hybrids which in 

 many cases are more popular than the species: A''. amdbUis (N. 

 purlica r .v. humilis), rosy, dark-striped. Var. i/randiflira, Hort. 

 Van Tubergen, has larger fls. — X. cdiidida, Hort. Pure white, the 

 fls. l.S-20. each about 2 in. diam., the scKins. undulate; hardly di.s- 

 tiniiniishablc from .V. flexuo.<<a var. alba. Offered abroad. ^.V. 

 criJtpa, Hort. Thorburn, scarlet. ^.V. eiegann (.V. flcxuosa X N. 

 samiensis %'ar. rfjHcaj, pink. Var. carmindUi. cerise. Var. cxriilca, 

 shadcfj blue. — .V. esrcilUaH, .Moore (M. fiexuosa X N. humilis var. 

 major), carmine rosy, dark-striped. — ;V. exciUens major tariiiflora, 

 Hort.=N. Bowdenii. — S. (lalminii, Hort., is an erect-flowering 

 form of the sarniensis group, with larse brinht pink fls. "keeled 

 throuuhout with red;" fis. about 10 in an umbel, each 2 in. across. 

 — .V. l/ri,/lockii <S. curvifolia X N. flcxuosa var. pulchclla). One 

 of the oldest hybrids in cult. Raised by Wm. Herbert. The others 

 in thii- hat are more modern. — .V. jap/mica, Mifi.==Lycoris radiata. 

 — A. M fjuiimbankti (S. sarniensis x X. cur\-ifolia var. FotherKillii). 

 — .\. tjBrirnii f.V. pudica x .\. sarniensis var. Piantii). Var. 

 crruUyi, Van Tuberjten, pale violet, tinged blue.— A^. Umlifldra, 

 Hort. \ an rubcrgcn, not accounted for by Baker. Fls. bright red 

 in pec. — A. ZorwJifcT, Hort.. is a garden hybrid between N. pudica 

 and r». samiensts var, corusca. nr aj 



WiLHEi-M Miller. 



L. H. B.t 

 NERIUM (ancient name for oleander, supposed to 

 hi: from Greek n/rrox, "moist," alluding to the places in 

 which it grows wildj. Apocyruicex. The oleanrlor is 

 an old-fashioned evergreen shrub known to everybody, 

 and c-ultivatcd everywhere in southern countries. In 



the North the oleander is a common hou.se plant, being 

 grown in tubs for smnmer decoration, and ranking in 

 popularity with sweet bay iuid hyilrang(^a. 



(.)l('anders are erect glabrous shrubs: Ivs. in whorls of 

 3, r:u-ely 1 or 2, narrow, leathery, transversely featlier- 

 veined: fls, showy, rose-red, white or yc^llowish, in 

 terminal cymes; calyx with many glands inside at the 

 b;ise; eorolhi-tube (•ylindric;d at the b;i.se; throat bell- 

 sh;ii)ed ami containing 5 wide or narrow teeth; lobes 

 twisted to the right; anthers 2-tailed at the base and 

 tapering at the apex into a long thre;id-like appendage; 

 stylo 1; ovaries 2, fonning pods; seeds twisted. — Spe- 

 cies^ probably 3, with varieties. IVIedit. region to Japan. 



The (common species, so very widely cultivated, is 

 A'. Oleander. It attains 7 to 15 feet, "and blooms in 

 summer, the flowers being salver-shaped, tive-lobed 

 when single, 1 ' 2 to 3 inches across, and commonly 

 pink or white, though the colors range from white 

 through creamy white, blush, rose and copjier-color, to 

 crimson and dark purple, with v;iriegated forms. It is 

 of easy culture, and is well adapted to city conditions. 

 The chief troubles are scale and mealy-bug. The scale 

 should be sponged olT; the mealy-bug is easily dislodged 

 by the ho.se. Sometimes a plant forms buds which 

 open poorly or not at all. This is often due to the 

 imperfect ripening of the wood. The flowers are borne 

 on the growth of the year, which should be well ripened 

 in June in order to set many strong buds. For this pur- 

 po.se give the plants jilenty of light and air, and water 

 more sparingly when the vegetative growth seems to 

 be finished. After flowering, give the plants less water. 

 Protect them from frost in winter; keep them, if neces- 

 sary, in a light shed. In April, pnme back the old wood 

 which has borne flowers and give more warmth and 

 water. The ripened leading shoots can be rooted in a 

 bottle of water. Oleanders are jjoisonous, and some 

 persons have tiled from carelessly eating the flowers. 

 Cattle have been killed by eating the foliage. It is said 

 that in California the oleander is immune from the 

 depredations of the gopher. — Oleander.^ in the East (H. 

 A. Siebrecht) : The following method of oleander culture 

 has been pursued by the writer with success. Propa- 

 gation is perfonned after the flowering period. Good- 

 sized cuttings are taken, and every one grows. When 

 rooted, the cuttings are potted in small pots and kept 

 barely alive over the winter. They will need scarcely 

 more attention than geraniums until February or 

 Mar(;h, or whenever growth becomes more active. Later 

 in the spring, the young oleanders are planted outdoors 

 in the open ground, in good rich loam or garden soil. 

 (This is sometimes done with ivies or evonymus, but 

 the comm(m method is to plunge the pots outdoors 

 during summer.) Take up the oleanders in September, 

 pot them and bring them indoors for their second 

 winter. The following spring the plants will bloom; but 

 they will not be shapely. The time has now arrived to 

 train them, either as bush jjlants or crown standards. Top 

 them at whatever height, is tlesired, say 2 or 3 feet, and 

 the plants will make good crowns the same season (i.e., 

 their second summer). Do not allow the plant to bloom 

 the following sjjring (which is its third spring), and 

 the result will be a fine specimen in full flower for the 

 fourth .summer. — Oleanders in California (Ernest 

 Braunton) : Oleimflers are much grown in southern 

 California, and would bo extremely popular were it not 

 for black and other scales, which seem to prefer them 

 to evei-ything else. We have five colors here, perhaps 

 all of the same species — white, light pink, dark pink, 

 scarlet and bulf. Most of these colors, if not all, can be 

 had in both single and double forms. The %vriter has 

 never sticn an oleander more than 20 feet high, but he 

 thinks they will grow larger. One Los Angeles man 

 pl.anted the red variety twenty-seven years .ago for 

 sidewalk tr(;es. (For this purpose, if cleaned of scale 

 when necessary, the oleander is one of the very best.) 

 The trees are heavily pnmed and topped every third 



