HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



CAO 



A genus of green-house evergreen shrubs from 

 Pern. The foliage is fleshy, the flowers large 

 and showy, produced in terminal corymbs, the 

 colors being white, scarlet, yellow, and blue. 

 They require the same treatment as the Fuchsia. 

 C. buxifolia is the Magic Tree of the Peruvian 

 Indians, and was formerly used to decorate their 

 houses on feast days. All the species are read- 

 ily increased by cuttings. C. coronopifolia, a na- 

 tive of South Carolina, is Oilia coronopifolia, of 

 Ruiz and Pavon. 



Caoutchouc. The elastic, gummy substance 

 known as India Rubber, which is the juice of 

 various plants growing in tropical climates in 

 different parts of the world. It is chiefly ob- 

 tained from the ficus elastica, Castitton elastica, 

 Urceola elastica, etc. The milky juice of Sipho- 

 campylus caoutchouc is quite different from the j 

 Caoutchouc of commerce. 



Cape Bulbs. A term employed to designate a 

 large number of bulbs from the Cape of Good 

 Hope, that require the protection of a frame to 

 be grown in this latitude. They are not suffi- 

 ciently hardy to endure our winters without 

 protection. Among the class may be found /arias, 

 Babianas, Sparaxis, Tritonias, Geissorhiza, etc. 



Cape Jessamine. See Gardenia florida . 



Caper. See Capparis. 



Capparis. Caper-tree. From kabar, the Arabic 

 name for Capers. Linn. Polyandria- Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Capparidacete. 



An extensive genus of tender or half-hardy 

 climbing or trailing plants. The best known 

 of the species is C. spinosa, a native of the south 

 of Europe. In habit it resembles the common 

 bramble. The Capers are the buds, which are 

 gathered just before expanding and pickled. In 

 Italy the unripe fruit is sometimes pickled in 

 vinegar in the same manner as the buds. Ca- 

 pers are chiefly imported from Sicily, though they 

 are extensively grown in the south of France. 



Capsicum. Chili Pepper. From kapto, to bite ; 

 referring to its pungency. Linn. Pentandria-Mo- 

 nogynia. Nat. Ord. Solanacece. 



An extensive genus of tender annual and bi- 

 ennial plants, natives of the East and West In- 

 dies, China, Brazil, and Egypt. C. annuum is the 

 common garden Pepper, a native of India, from 

 which many varieties have originated. C. frutes- 

 ceiis, a native of Chili, is the species that fur- 

 nishes the Cayenne Pepper of commerce, and is 

 also used in the preparation known as Pepper 

 Sauce. C. grossum, a native of India, is the Bell 

 Pepper of our gardens. 



Caraway. See Carum. 



Cardamine. Ladies' Smock, Cuckoo Flower. 

 From kardamon, water-cress ; referring to the 

 acrid flavor. Linn. Tetradynamia. Nat. Ord. Bras- 

 sicacece. 



An extensive genus of hardy herbaceous per- 

 ennials, common in many parts of the United 

 States, Europe, and Northern Asia. C. pratensis 

 is popularly known as Ladies' Smock or Cuckoo 

 Flower. It is a very pretty meadow plant, with 

 large lilac flowers, common in New Jersey, North 

 and West. A double variety of this species is 

 sometimes found growing wild, which is remark- 

 ably proliferous, the leaflets producing new 

 plants where they come in contact with the 

 ground, and the flowers, when they wither, send- 

 ing up a stalked flower bud from their centers. 

 The leaves of some of the species are used as sal- 

 ads. 



Cardamom. See Amomum. 



Cardinal Flower. See Lobelia cardinalls. 



CAR 



Cardiospermum. From kardia, a heart, and sper- 

 ma, seed; in allusion to the shape of the seeds. 

 Linn. Odandria-Trigynia. Nat. Ord. Sapindacea: 

 Of this small genus only one species is grown 

 as an ornamental plant, viz., C. Halicacabinn, 

 which is a rapid growing, handsome climber, 

 remarkable for an inflated membranous capsule, 

 from which it receives its common name, Balloon 

 Vine. It grows readily from seed. Introduced 

 from India in 1504. 



Carduus. Thistle. From an?, the Celtic word for 

 a prickle or sharp point ; referring to the spines 

 of the Thistle. Linn. Syngenesia-Polygamia- 

 jEquali-s. Nat. Ord. Composite*!. 



Some of the species are very ornamental, 

 though they are many of them tall, robust-grow- 

 ing plants, which require a great deal of room, 

 and are too large for a small garden. C. Marianus, 

 the Holy Thistle, is well marked by the white 

 veins on its large, shining leaves, fabled to have 

 been produced by a portion of the milk of the 

 Virgin Mary having fallen on them. They are 

 annuals, growing freely from seed. 



Carex. From careo, to want; the upper spikes 

 being without seeds. Linn. Monoscia-Triandria. 

 Nat. Ord. Cyperacece. 



This genus includes more than a thousand spe- 

 cies, widely distributed over the temperate and 

 Arctic regions. They are all perennial grasses; a 

 few species handsome plants for the green- 

 house, and useful for basket work and aquari- 

 ums. They are usually found growing in bogs, 

 marshes, or moist woods, where they yield a 

 very inferior quality of grass. C. remota is a very 

 elegant plant. C. Fraseri is the handsomest spe- 

 cies of the genus, resembling at a short distance, 

 when in flower, one of the Liliaceae. The leaves 

 of several of the species are used for seating 

 chairs, and various other purposes for which we 

 use the common Flag. There are more than three 

 hundred species in this country, all of which are 

 without interest except to the botanist. 



Caricature Plant. See OraptophyUum. 



Carludovica. Named after Charles IV. of Spain, 

 and Louisa, his queen. Linn. Moncecia-Polyan- 

 dt'ia. Nat. Ord. Pandanacece. 



A genus of plants belonging to the Screw Pine 

 family, but more closely resembling the Palms. 

 Some of them have long, climbing stems, send- 

 ing out aerial roots, which fasten upon the 

 trunks of trees or hang down like ropes, while 

 others are stemless and form dense thickets. C. 

 palmatais one of the more interesting species. Its 

 leaves are shaped and plaited like a fan, and are 

 borne on long, slender stalks. They are of toler- 

 ably large size, and deeply cut into four or five 

 divisions, each of which is again cut. It is from 

 the leaves of this species that the well-known 

 Panama hats are made. The leaves are cut when 

 young, and the stiff parallel veins removed, after 

 which they are slit into shreds, but not separated 

 at the stalk end, and immersed in boiling water 

 for a short time, and then bleached in the sun. 

 This species is also exceedingly useful for any or- 

 namental or decorative purpose. C. plicata is a 

 very interesting climbing species, with foliage 

 similar to that of C. palmata, but with much 

 shorter leaf-stalks. There are several other spe- 

 cies useful for decorative purposes, and valuable 

 from the fact that they will succeed in any out- 

 of-the-way corner, where most other plants 

 would perish. This genus is common throughout 

 the shady thickets of Panama, and along the 

 coast of New Grenada and Ecuador. They are in- 

 creased from suckers or from seed. 



