230 



AtiAPANTHl'S 



A(JAVE 



\ 



V^:il 



136. Agapanthus 

 umbellatus. 



with 150-200 dark him' Hs. Dwarf fornis: Var. minor, 

 Hurt., very small, with slondiT narrow Ivs. ('I'i'i- or 

 Ifss bri>ad> ami deep bluo (Is. whidi arc 1 in. or loss long; 

 var. MooreSnus, Hort., l'., ft., Ivs. short and upright, 

 tis. dark blue, and as large jis in .1. iiiiibcltdlus itself; 



hardv; var. Leicht- 

 linii," Hort., 1'2 ft., As. 

 bright hyaoinlh-bluo in 

 a \(Ty ooniiiai't umbel. 

 \'ariegated forms; Var. 

 variegatus, Hort., Ivs. 

 white with sparse green 

 stripes, rather small; 

 var. atireus, Hort., 

 Ivs. striped yellow. 

 ^^'hite-fld. forms: Var. 

 albidus, Hort., fls. pure 

 white, rather small but 

 many, the Ivs. usually 

 not persisting; var. Saintpa&lii, 

 Hort., apparently similar to last: 

 fls. smaller than in A. umbellnlvn. 

 Blue-fld. forms of usual habit: Var. 

 pallidus, Hort., fls. pale porcelain- 

 blue; var. WeUlighii, Hort., fls. 

 lavender with indigo-blue lines and 

 margins; var. Saundersonianus, 

 Hort., fls. dark blue; var. atrocaerii- 

 leus, Hort., fls. dark violet; var. 

 prsecox, Hort. (var. >ninimiii<, Lindl. 

 A. prs'cox, Willd.), is an earlier 

 form, blooming in June or even 

 earlier and by some regarded as a 

 distinct species, the Ivs. narrower than in the type, 

 fls. smaller and 30-40 in the umbel, pale blue, with 

 narrow perianth segnis., and the peduncle or scape 

 short; var. flora pleno, Hort., a double-fld. blue form, 

 the fls. long-lasting. Very recent introductions are: 

 \ar. globSsus {A. glohosiift, Bull), a dwarf-growing 

 form, producing dense globular umbels on long scapes, 

 the fls. about 1 in. acro.ss, the outer segms. lilac-blue 

 shaded white and the inner ones emarginate and darker, 

 the Ivs. deciduous; var. insignis {A. inaignis, Bull), 

 tall, the basal part of the arching Ivs. milk-white, the 

 fls. very numerous on long slender pedicels and droop- 

 ing in the very large umbel, pale lavender. Gn. 64, p. 

 t)7. G.M. 46, p. 423. G.VV. 190.3, p. 529, 531; var. 

 caulescens (A. cnulexccn.s, Spreng.), fls. blue, lighter 

 inside, long-pediceled and the outer ones nodding, the 

 root with thickened fibers; Intro, by Carl Sprenger 

 of Naples. Gt. 50:1487. L. H. B. 



AGAPETES (Greek agapelos, beloved or lovable, 

 refr-rring to the beauty of the plant). Ericacese, sub- 

 family Vaccirdoides. Shrubs sometimes cultivated for 

 their handsome flowers and attractive foliage. 



EvergrfK^n plants, often epiphytic and with the sts. 

 thickened at the ba.se: Ivs. alternate, or irregularly 

 whorled, short-petioled or sessile, entire or slightly 

 toothed: fls. in axillary fascicles or short racemes, 

 rarely solitary; calyx-tube turbinate, with 5-lobed 

 limb; corolla tubular to campanulate, with 5, usually 

 curved lobes; stamens 10, with short filaments, anthers 

 produced into 2 long beaks opening at t he apex l)y a pore 

 or slit; ovary .T-celled, inferior: fr. a juicy or dry lierry 

 with many seeds. — About 30 species from the southern 

 Himalayas to N. Austral., chiefly in the humid mountain 

 forfsts at elevations of 3,000-6,aj0 ft . 



The several specify in cultivation are highly ornamen- 

 tal shrubs with hand.sfjme lustrous foliage and showy 

 ijwually scarlet or bright red cluHt(Ted flowers. They 

 are sometimes grown in warm greenhouses in Europe, 

 but apparently none of them is in the American trade. 



They grow best in a porous soil consisting of peat, 

 lp4if-mold, fibrou-s loam and plenty of sand; the smaller 

 kinds are suitable for growing in biiskets on account of 



their epiphytic nature. Out-of-doors they could be 

 grown (iidy in wanner temjjerate regions, "in loi^alilies 

 in whi<'h the air po.sses.ses sulhcicnt humidity and in par- 

 tial shade. 



Propagation is by cuttings of half-ripened wood 

 under glass in the warm greenhouse. 



A. buxi/dlia, Nutt. Uranches and ciilyx hairy: Ivs. obovate- 

 cunnalc, crcnately .serralc, glabrous, aliout 1 in. long; fls. axillary, 

 1-2, tylindric, bright red with spreading lobes. Himalayas. B.M. 

 5012. G.C. III. 27:lfl7.— /I. ulMra. Clarke (Thibaudia glabra, 

 Gritf . ). Glabrous: Ivs. oblong-lanceolate, rounded at the base, some- 

 times elliptic, obscurely crenate, about 5 in. long: fls. several, axil- 

 lary, tubular, ventricosc below the middle. Jiin. long, white, green- 

 ish toward the apex, pink at theba.se. Himalayas. Gn. 10. p. 539. 

 —.-1. mnrrdnlha. Benth. & Hook. (Thibaudia macrantha. Hook.). 

 Plant glabrous: Ivs. lanceolate, long-acuminate, 3-4 in. long: 

 Hs. in 2-3-fld. clusters, outside of ttie axils, pendulous, urceo- 

 late, 5-ribbed, 2 in. long, yellowish white, marked with red wavy 

 transver.se line.s. E.India. B.M. 45t)(). K.S. 6:646. J. F. 1:95. 

 G.C. III. 15:501. R.H. 1852:81. R.B. 26:181 — ,4. Modrei. Hemsl. 

 Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, usually whorled at the end of the branches, 

 entire, glabrous, 2-3 Ji in. long: fls. in short axillary, 6-9-fld. ra- 

 cemes, cylindric. scarlet or orange-red. 1 H in. long, lobes reflexed. 

 narrow, yellow within. Himalayas. B.M. 7928. — .4. sellgera, D. 

 Don (Tliihaudia setigera. Wall.). Lvs. oblong or lanceolate, about. 

 4 in. long, usually whorled: fls. in lateral clusters, deep red, usually 

 hairy, %m. long; pedicels and calyx hairy. Himalayas. Wight Icon, 

 llstt, 1181 fas Vaccinium verticillatum and V. Wallichianum). — 

 .4. .spc,-f').sa. Hemsl. Glabrous: Ivs. ovate-oblong, subcordate at the 

 base, slit.htly serrulate, 3-4 in. long: fls. 3-6, axillary, cylindric-ur- 

 ceolate. .'»-ril)hed, deep crimson, 1 1^ in. long. Probably from 

 Burma. (i.C. III. 41: 2:37. — A. mriegala. D. Don (Thibaudia pul- 

 cherrima, Wall. A. pulcherrima, Benth. & Hook.). Tall shrub, 

 glabrous: lvs. elliptic-lanceolate, 6-8 in. long: fls. on the old wood 

 in many-fld. dense chisters, eylindric-campanulate, 5-angled. pale 

 red marked dark red, 1 in. long. Himatayas. B.M. 4303. F.S. 3, 



'' ■ — Alfred Rehdeb. 



AGARICUS. A genus of fleshy fungi, considered under Mush- 

 room. 



AGARfSTA: Leplosyjie. 



AGATHiEA: Feliria. 



AGATHIS (agathis, glome; the flowers in clusters). 

 Pinacesp. Tender Australian dia'cious conifers, allied 

 to Araucaria, yielding dammar resin. 



Leaves coriaceous, not needle-like, usually broad, 

 potioled or almost sessile, opposite or alternate: cones 

 axillary, ovate or globular, composed of persistent, 

 bractless scales. Distinguished from pines and firs by 

 the broad-parallel-veined lvs. — Not uncommon in bo- 

 tanic garden collections where they are grown in the 

 temperate house. 



robtista, Hook. (Dammdra robusla, C. Moore. D. 

 Brownii, Hort.). Branches somewhat verticillate, hori- 

 zontal: lvs. broad, ovate-lanceolate, obtuse, short- 

 stalked, 33-^-4 in. long, 2-3 in. wide: cones oval, 3-4 in. 

 long, 2-3 in. wide: tree reaching 1,30 ft. in Austral. 

 — Cult, in Calif. 



austrSlis, Salisb. (Dammdra austrdlis, Lambert.). 

 The Kawki Pine. Tree^ 120-1,50 ft.: lvs. sessile, linear 

 oblong, rarely elliptic, alternate, or opposite on the 



branchlets, lJ^-2 in. long, 



54in. wide: staminate 



catkins .solitary: cones almost spherical, 2-3 in. 

 diam. New Zeal. G.F. 2:.583. Lambert, Pinus 2:44. 

 — Cult, outdoors in Calif., but not very successfully. 

 Kawri gum, much used in the manufacture of varnish, 

 is the partly fossilized resin of A . auslralis. It is found 

 5-6 ft. below the surface of the ground, in the northern 

 part of New Zeal., where there were vast forests of 

 this tree in ages past. 



orientalis, Lambert. Fig. 137. Tree, 100 ft.: Ivs. 

 opposite or alternate, entire, coriaceous, ghiueous, 2-4 

 in. long, 1 J-^ in. wide, sometimes a little falcate: staminate 

 catkins 2 in. long: cones globular or turbinate, solitary, 

 peduncled, and axillary. E. Indies. Lambert, Pinus 

 2:43. B. M. 53.')9.— Cialt. out(l()ors in Calif, and in 

 greenhouses elsewhere. Both this and the preceding 

 intro. by Franceschi of Santa Barbara, Calif, (as Dam- 

 mara orientalis.) j^ Taylor. 



AGAVE (Greek, agauos, admirable). Amaryllidacesf. 

 Importtint decorative and economic plants from hot 



