ACANTHUS 



ACER 



195 



£5. The Acanthus decoratioa of an 

 architectural column. 



It is supposed that acanthus leaves afforded the sug- 

 gestion for the fohage decoration on the capital of the 

 Corinthian and other columns. Fig. 85 shows the con- 

 ventionalized decoration, and Fig. 86 the form of leaf 

 of .-l. spitiosiis. The leaves of .1. mollis were probably 

 also involved in variations of decoration. 

 A. Lvs. spiny. 

 Caroli-Alexandri, Hausskn. Nine to IS in. : lvs. few, 

 radic;d, in a lax rosette, lanceolate, spiny, 16 in. long, 



3-314 in- broad: spike 

 dense; fls. white or 

 .suffused rose - color. 

 Summer. Greece. 



spinosissimus,Desf. 

 Fig. 87. Lvs. dark 

 green, pinnately 

 parted ; spines glist- 

 ening, whitish: fls. in- 

 frequent, rosy, sessile: 

 autimm; spikes loose, 

 pilose or glabrescent: 

 spines of the bracts recurved. S. Eu. Grows 3-4 feet. 

 Perringi, Siehe. About 1-1 3-i ft. high: lvs. sessile, 

 5-6 In. long, lanceolate tapering, deejjly toothed and 

 spiny: fls. very profuse, rosy red, its bracts spiny. 

 Mts. of Turkey in Asia. June. — Suitable for alpine gar- 

 den. Doubtfully hardy where summers are hot and dry. 

 spinosus, Linn. Fig. 86. Lvs. lanceolate, pinnatifid, 

 pubescent; spines short, whitish: fls. smaller than in the 

 last, purplish, summer; .spikes dense, slightly villous. 

 B.M. 1808. Gn. 8:147. 



montanus, T. Anders. Lvs. pinnatifid or sinuate- 

 spinose, 1 ft. or more long, olive-green, the lobes spine- 

 pointed: fls. rosy white in a long spike. Trop. Afr.- 

 Greenhouse. 



AA. Lvs. not spiny. 

 mollis, Linn. Fig. 88. Lvs. 2x1 ft., cordate, sin- 

 uately pinnatifid, mostly radical: fls. summer; spikes 

 loose, pubescent. Gn. .52, p. 239. — Also recommended 

 as a window plant. Var. latifolius, Hort. (A. hitiffilius, 

 Hort. .4. lusildnicus, Hort.) is larger and hardier. Gn. 

 1, p. .303. 



longifolius, Poir. Lvs. radical, longer and narrower 

 than in A. mollis, bright green: fls. purple, June. 



Daknatia. 



A. drbdreus, Forsk. 

 Evergreen prickly shrub 

 attaining a height of 

 nearly 20 ft. N. E. 



_ „ Trop. Afr. G.C. III. 



.^t■^"a\*-^'f •^ VW^WB&< 31:222.— .4. carduifi- 

 .5v?.^^5^V. '!,< ■- i'^^i*'- '<"«. .Unn.= BIepharis 

 ^ ^~ " ■ " ' carduifolia. — A, hispdn~ 



icus, Hort. 2 ft.: lvs. 

 large, deeply cleft, shin- 

 ing green: fis. white. 

 Aug. Spain. Perhaps 

 A. niger, Mill. — .4. ilici- 

 fdlius (Dilivaria ilici- 

 folia, Juss. ). Smooth 

 greenhouse sub -shrub 

 with lvs. resembling 

 Ilex aquifolium, the Eu. 

 Holly. Prop, by cut- 

 tings under glass. E. Asia. — A. niger. Mill. Lvs. not .spiny, sinu- 

 ate, glabrou?: fls. purplish white. Portugal. t^ TA-vin-a + 



ACER (cla.ssical Latin name). Aceracex. Maple. 

 Native and foreign trees cultivated chiefly for shade 

 and for the ornamental foUage. 



Trees, rarely shrubs: lvs. opposite, petioled, simple 

 and mostly palmately lobed, or 3-.t foliolate, decidu- 

 ous, rarely evergreen : fls. small, polygamous or ditecious, 

 in racemes, panicles or corymbs; petals and sepals .5, 

 rarely 4, rarely sepals connate and petals wanting; flisk 

 usually annular, conspicuous, rarely lobed or wanting; 

 stamens 4-10, mostly 8; styles 2, usually more or less 

 connate: fr. consisting of 2 long-winged, compressed 

 nutlets (samaras), each containing 1 seed. — About 110 



80 Acanthus spinosus. From drawing 

 by John Ruskin. 



species in N. Amer., Asia, 

 especially Cent, and E. 

 Asia, Europe and N. Afr. 

 Monogr. by Pax in 

 Engler, Pflanzenreich IV, 

 fam. 163 (1903), quoted 

 below as fax; see, also, 

 Rehder, The Maples of 

 E. Continental Asia, in 

 Sargent, Trees and 

 Shrubs, ,1:175 (190.5), 

 and Koidzumi, Revisio 

 Aceracearum Japonica- 

 rum in Jour. College of 

 Science, Tokyo, 32, Art. i 



1 (1911), both with many XA^ti 

 plates. Monogr. of the 

 garden forms by Graf 

 Schwerin in Gt. 1893; see 

 also G.C. II. 16:75. 



The maples are hardy 

 ornamental trees or 

 shrubs, with handsome 

 large foliage which, in 

 some species, shows a 

 remarkable tendency to 

 vary in shape and color- 

 ing. Numerous garden 



forms are in cultivation, gy. Acanthus spinosissunus.(XH) 

 Though the flowers are 



small, they are quite attractive in the early-flowering 

 species as in A. ruhrum and A. saccharum, since they 

 appear in great profusion ; in some species the young 

 fruits assume a bright red color, particularly in A. 

 talaricum, A. ginnala, A. pseudoplataniis var. eryth- 

 rocarpum, and .1. ruhrum. The maples are among 

 our most ornamental and valuable trees for park and 

 street planting. Nearly all assume a splendid color 

 in autumn, especially the species of North America 

 and Eastern Asia, which surpass by far the European 

 maples. Many species are valuable timber trees, and 

 some American species, especially A. saccharum, pro- 

 duce sugar. For purposes of shade, the common 

 sugar maple is best and most popular. The Norway 

 maple makes a very dense and round head, and is ex- 

 cellent for lawns,, but it is too low-headed for the 

 streets. A. picium is similar, but smaller in every part.. 

 The silver maple, .4. saccharinum and its vars., is also 

 popular where quick-growing trees are desired. The 

 Japanese maples of the Paknata section are among the 

 most striking and showy 

 exotic small trees, and 

 are adapted for fine 

 grounds and for growing 

 in pots. 



The maples are not 

 part icular as to soil ; some 

 species, as A. monspes- 

 sulanum and A. cam- 

 pesire, prefer drier situa- 

 tions, while A. sa'cchari- 

 num and .4 .ruhrum prefer 

 moist situations, the lat^ 

 ter growing well even in 

 swampy soil. Most of 

 the species are hardy in 

 the northern and middle 

 states; among the hard- 

 iest are A. Negundo, A. 

 saccharum (Figs. 89, 90), 

 A. saccharinum, A. ruh- 

 rum, A . nigrum, A . penn- 

 sylvanicum, A. spicntum, 

 A. platanoides, A. talari- 

 cum. 



Propagation is by 88. Acanthus moUis. (XK) 



