12 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



AMA 



Ornamental foliaged plants, of an extremely j 

 graceful and interesting character, producing a J 

 striking effect, whether grown for the decora- 

 tion of the conservatory or the out-door flower J 

 garden. If the seeds are sown early in a warm 

 hot-bed and planted out the last of May or in 

 June, in rich soil, they make exceedingly hand- 

 some specimens for the center of beds, or mixed 

 flower or shrubbery borders. Most of the vari- 

 eties are natives of the East Indies, and were in- 

 troduced into England about 1600. The well- 

 known A. tricolor, or "Joseph's Coat," is one of 

 the most beautiful of ornamental leaved plants. 

 Amaryllis. The name of a nymph celebrated 

 by the poet Virgil. Linn. Hexandria-Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. AmaryllidacecK. 



Bulbous plants, chiefly natives of the Cape of 

 Good Hope and South America, but which have 

 been increased in number tenfold by hybrids 

 and varieties raised in England and on the Con- 

 tinent. Louis Van Houtte, of Ghent, having 

 made a specialty of this plant, has produced the 

 finest hybrids in cultivation. All the kinds are 

 eminently ornamental, and they are all of easy 

 culture, the great secret being to give them al- 

 ternately a season of excitement and a season of 

 repose. To do this effectually, the plants 

 should be abundantly supplied with water and 

 heat, and placed near the glass when they are 

 coming into flower, and water should be with- 

 held from them by degrees when they have done 

 flowering, till they have entirely ceased grow- 

 ing, when they should be kept quite dry and in 

 a state of rest. When in this state they may be 

 placed in any obscure part of a green-house 

 where it is dry, and of a temperature not under 

 forty or fifty degrees. If kept in such a situa- 

 tion during winter, some kinds may be turned 

 out into a warm border in spring, where they 

 will flower; and if the season be fine, they will 

 renew their bulbs in time to be taken up before 

 the approach of frost. The chief value of these 

 plants, however, is to produce flowers in the 

 winter season, which they readily do if they are 

 kept dry and dormant during the latter part of 

 the summer and autumn. Indeed, by having a 

 large stock of these bulbs, a regular succession 

 of flowers may be procured during every month 

 in the year. When the dormant bulbs are in- 

 tended to be thrown into flower, they should bo 

 fresh potted in sandy loam and leaf-mould, and 

 put in a hot-house 01 hot-bed, the heat begin- 

 ning at fifty degrees, and ascending to sixty or 

 seventy degrees; and when the leaves appear, 

 they should be abundantly supplied with water. 

 Where seeds are wanted the watering must be 

 continued, though somewhat less abundantly, 

 after the flowers have faded, till the seeds are 

 ripe ; and when these are gathered, they ought 

 to be sown immediately in light sandy loam, 

 and placed in a frame, or near the glass, in a 

 moist part of the hot-house. If the young plants 

 are potted off as soon as they are an inch or two 

 in height, and shifted frequently in the course 

 of the growing season, they will attain a flow- 

 ering size in from fifteen to twenty months. 

 The pots in which these and all other bulbs are 

 grown ought to be thoroughly drained by a 

 handful or more of potsherds (broken pots) laid 

 in the bottom of each pot, and covered with 

 turfy loam, and the mould used should also be 

 turfy, in order the more freely to admit the pas- 

 sage of water. Our long and warm summers 

 enable us to cultivate many of these beautiful 

 bulbs in the open air, merely protecting the 



AMO 



roots in the winter in the same manner as those 

 of the Dahlia. 



Amaryllis formosissima. See Sprekelia. 



Ambrosia. The botanical name of Ragweed. 



Amelanchier. June Berry, Shad Berry, Service 

 Berry. From Amelanchier, the popular name of 

 one of the species in Savoy. Linn. Icosaridria- 

 Dipentagynia. Nat. Ord. Pomicece. 



A. Canadensis (the only American species) 

 and its numerous varieties are low trees, com- 

 mon in the woods in the Northern States, re- 

 markable for their numerous white flowers, 

 which appear about the middle of April, com- 

 pletely covering the tree before the foliage or 

 flowers of the neighboring trees have com- 

 menced their growth. The foliage resembles 

 that of the Pear, and changes to a bright yellow 

 in autumn. The fruit is a dark purple berry, 

 ripe in July or August, and has an agreeable 

 flavor. 



American Aloe. Agave Americana, which see. 



American Centaury. The popular name for 

 Sabbatia. 



American Columbo. See Frasera Curolinensis. 



American Cowslip. Dodecatheon Meadia. 



American Frog's Bit. S^e Lanmbium. 



American Ivy. Ampelopsis qumquefolia. 



American Pitcher Plant. See Sarracenia. 



Ammobium. From ammos, sand, and bio, to 

 live; in reference to the sandy soil in which it 

 thrives. Linn. Syngenesia-Polygamia. Nat. Ord. 



Pretty annuals of hardy character from New 

 Holland, producing white everlasting flowers. 

 The seed may be sown in the open border, in al- 

 most any situation, between the middle of March 

 and the end of May. 



Amomum. From a, not, and momos, impurity; 

 in reference to its supposed quality of counter- 

 acting poison. Linn. Monandria-Monogynia. Nat. 

 Ord. Zingiberacea>. 



This genus of aromatic herbs furnishes the 

 Grains of Paradise and the Cardamom Seeds, 

 which are aromatic and stimulant. The plants 

 grow readily in the green-house, and are propa- 

 gated by division of the root . Introduced in 1 820 

 from the East Indies. 



Amorpha. False Indigo. From a, not, and 

 morpha, form; in reference to the irregularity of 

 the flowers. Linn. Monadelphia-Decandria. Nat. 

 Ord. Fabacece. 



A small genus of large, spreading shrubs, na- 

 tives of North America. The leaves are com- 

 pound, resembling the Locust, only the leaflets 

 are finer. The flowers are dark purple or violet, 

 spangled with yellow, disposed in long panicles 

 on the tops of the branches. It is a very orna- 

 mental shrub for the lawn. It is readily propa- 

 gated from suckers, which are produced in 

 abundance. A. canescens is a small growing 

 species, common in the Western and Southern 

 States. It has received the local name of Lead 

 Plant, on account of the white, hairy down with 

 which it is covered. 



Amorphophallus. From amorphus, disfigured, 

 and phallus, form of spadix. Linn. Moncecia- 

 Pdyandria. Nat. Ord. Aracece. 



These plants were formerly in the genus 

 Arum, from which they are distinguished by 

 their spreading spathes. They are natives of 

 India and other parts of tropical Asia, where 

 they are cultivated for the abundance of starch, 

 that is found in their root-stocks. Most varieties 

 are ornamental plants for the green-house or gar- 

 den. After planting, the first appearance is the 



