AR.4J.LA. 



ARAUCARIA 



345 



high, with 3 quinately pinnate divisions; Ifts. oval or 

 o\'atc, rounded or narrowed at the base, acuminate, 

 finely serrate, 2-5 in. long: umbels 2 or 3; fls. greenish. 

 May, June. Newfoundland to N. C, west to Mo. B.B. 

 2:506. — Rootstock employed medicinally; properties 

 similar to those of sarsaparilla. 



A. japiinicfi, Thunb.=Fatsia japonica. — A. pnpyrffera, Hook.= 

 Tetrapanax papyriferum. — A. pcntaphyUa. Tlnmb.=«Acantho- 

 panax pentaphyllum. — A. quinquefdlia, Depne. & Planch. ^Panax 

 quinquefoliurn. — A. Sieboldii, Hort.^Fatsia japonica. — A. trifdlia^ 

 Decne. & Planch. =Panax trifoliuni. (See also Ginseng.) 



Alfred Rehd^.r. 



ARATICU: Anitona and RoUinia. 



ARAUCARIA (Chilean name). Including Cohimbea 

 and Eutacta. Pirtdces\ Large South American and 

 Pacific Australian evergreen trees (about a dozen 

 species), grown in their juvenile state in greenhouses 

 and windows and often used in summei for lawn deco- 

 ration ; they are very decorative pot-plants. 



Tall strict or widely branching conical trees: Ivs. 

 small, scale-like and stiff, clothing all the branches 

 imiformly and usually closely imbricated: fls. mostly 

 dia'cious, the stamina te terminal and solitary or disposed 

 in fascicles; anthers 6-8-celled; pistillate fls. in ovoid 

 or globose heads that become large woody cones with 

 only 1 seed underneath each scale. — The South Ameri- 

 can species (Cohunbea) have scarcely winged cone- 

 scales, the cotyledons 2, and the germination hypogeal 

 (cotyledons remaining below groimdl; the Australian 

 and Pacific species (Eutassa) have winged scales, coty- 

 ledons 4, and germination epigeal. 



Araucarias are probably the most prized pot ever- 

 greens in cultivation. They are much used in house 

 decoration, particularly at Christmas time, as they are 

 not only attractive but will stand much hard usage. 

 .1. excelsa (Fig. 300) is the one commonly seen in resi- 

 dences. Propagation is by seeds and cuttings, as given 

 under A. excelsa below. Symmetrical plants are secured 

 from the leading shoots. Side shoots are likely to make 

 misshapen specimens, as seen in Fig. 301. The arau- 









m. 





','% 



w 



nv 







300. A good specimen of Araucaria excelsa. 



carias need cool treatment. The temperature should 

 not be above 60° at night. If kept too crowded or not 

 given sufficient fight, they become ragged and strag- 

 gling, a.s in Fig. .302. In summer the plants should be 

 protected from direct burning sun. 



The species thrive in the open in southern Florida 

 and in parts of California. A. imhricnta is the hardiest. 

 It is rarely .seen in greenhouses. A. Biituillii is 



^^ 





301. Unsymmetrical Arau- 

 caria excelsa, growa from a 

 side shoot. 



apparently the second hardiest, and also one of the 

 best species for all purposes. A. excelsa and its allies 

 are about as hardy in southern Florida as crotons and 

 acalyphas. 



The commonest species in greenhouses is A. excelsa. 

 It is grown on an enormous scale in many nurseries for 



decoration as 



V-**-^^., '"fC window or 



■^^^ J^\-' table plants. 



'"" \\'hcn raised 



from seed the 

 plan t s grow 

 1 a p i d 1 y and 

 the branches 

 are invariably 

 disposed in tiers with wide 

 internodes, often as much as 

 2 feet separating each tier 

 of branches. Such plants are 

 of little use for ordinary dec- 

 orative work and recourse 

 is made to plants raised from 

 cuttings. This practice has 

 grown up as it is found that 

 plants raised from cuttings assume a dwarf compact 

 habit, with the tiers of branches placed close together, 

 and that they do not grow into large specimens until 

 many years old. The plants for stock purposes are 

 usually raised from seed, and when they have formed 

 some three to six tiers of branches the tops are taken 

 out and put in as cuttings in light sandy compost in a 

 close house or case at a temperature of about 60° F. 

 They are kept shaded from hot sun and damped over 

 frequently until rooted. The stock plants are kept 

 growing and soon break out into new growth in the 

 axils of each of the upper branches. These are all 

 "leader" growths, and when long enough they each 

 furnish a suitable cutting which is treated in the same 

 way as the primary growth or leader. After each of 

 these has been removed for stock, the stem of the stock 

 plant is cut off to the next tier of branches, which in 

 turn will furnish another set of cuttings and so on until 

 the plant is reduced to the bottom layer of branches, 

 when it is discarded and another stock obtained again 

 from seed. It should be pointed out that the branches 

 themselves may be rooted as cuttings, but they always 

 retain their flat asymetrical shape and are useless for 

 stock purposes. (See Fig. 301.) 



aurea, 3. 

 Balansse, 4. 

 Bidwillii, 6. 

 braziliana. 7. 

 cotumnuris. 3. 

 compacta. 5. 

 Cookii, 3. 



INDEX. 



Cunninghamii, 2. 

 elegans, 4, 5, 7. 

 exceUa, 1. 

 glauca, 1, 2, 3. 

 Goldieana, 5. 

 gracilis, 7. 

 imbricata, 8. 



platifolia, 8. 

 polymorpha, 5. 

 Ridolfiana, 7. 

 robusta, 1. 

 Rulei, 5. 

 virgata, 1. 



A. Ia!s. (or most of Ihem) awl-like, at least 

 at apex. 



1. excelsa, R. Br. Norfolk Island Pine. Figs. 

 300-303. Plant light green: branches frondose, the 

 Ivs. curved and sharp-pointed, rather soft, Ja'-J/^in. 

 long, and densely placed on the horizontal or drooping 

 branchlets. Norfolk Isl. F.R. 2:411. — The commonest 

 species in this country, being much grown as small pot 

 specimens. A blue-green form is cult, as var. glaftca, 

 (or A. glauca). It is a form in which the ti|)s of the 

 growths are white when young; hii-s recently been intro. 

 under the name of "Silver Star." It is a most beautiful 

 plant and sure to have a great future as a market plant. 

 There is also a strong-growing, large variety, with very 

 deep green foliage, var. robusta, Hort. Var. virgata, 

 Hort., primary branches with no secondary branches, 

 or very short ones. In its native wilds A. excelsa 

 reaches a height of over 200 ft. and a diam. of even 9 or 

 10 ft. The solid, globular cones are 4 or 5 in. diam. 



