HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



77 



BMC 



head, and artos, bread; the inner part of the top 

 of the trunk being farinaceous. Linn. Dioscia- 

 Icvsandrla. Nat. Ord. Cycadaceti-. 



This is a small genus separated from #///<;</. 

 They require the same treatment, and are in 

 all respects very similar plants. They are na- 

 tives principally of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 Several of the species are valuable decorative 

 plants. 



Enchanter's Nightshade. See Circcea. 



Enkianthus. From enkous, enlarged, and an- 

 tlios, a flower; the flowers are swollen in the mid- 

 dle. Linn. Decandria-Monoyyma. Nat. Ord. 

 Ericacece. 



Highly beautiful objects, which, from their 

 habit of blooming in winter and early spring, 

 are much esteemed for ornamenting the green- 

 house and conservatory. They should have a 

 shaded situation out of doors through the sum- 

 mer. Propagated by cuttings, which require to 

 be of firm young wood. There are but two 

 species. Introduced from China in 1812. 



Entada. The Malabar name. Linn. Polygamia- 

 Monceda. Nat. Ord. Fabacece. 



A genus of ornamental hot-house climbers, 

 consisting of five species, with white or yellow 

 flowers, produced either in spikes at the bases 

 of the leaves, or in bunches at the ends of the 

 branches. The most remarkable feature of the 

 genus is the extraordinary length of its pods, 

 which are flat and woody, divided into numer- 

 ous joints, each containing one large, flat, pol- 

 ished seed. In E. scandens, a native of the tropics 

 of both hemispheres, the pods often measure six 

 or eight feet in length. The seeds are near- 

 ly two inches across by half an inch thick, 

 and have a hard, woody, and beautifully pol- 

 ished shell, of a dark-brown or purplish color. 

 In the tropics the natives convert these seeds 

 into snuff-boxes, scent-bottles, and various other 

 trinkets. In this country they are much worn 

 as charms on watch-guards, and are very com- 

 mon in their natural state on the side-walk 

 stands in Broadway, New York. They are na- 

 tives of the West and East Indies and the South 

 Sea Islands. The seeds are often picked up on 

 the coast of Florida, and even as far as the 

 coast of Finland, having been conveyed there 

 by the great oceanic currents. They are sold 

 under the name of Sea Beans and Florida 

 Beans. 



Epacris. From epi, upon, and akros, the top. 

 The Epacris grows upon the tops of hills and on 

 rising grounds. Linn. Pentandria-Monoyyniu. 

 Nat. Ord. Epacridacece. 



An extensive genus of ornamental shrubs 

 from Australia, the species of which are highly 

 valued, both for their graceful beauty and the 

 early period at which they produce their abun- 

 dant flowers. For a proper method of treat- 

 ment, we quote from the Florist's Journal: " The 

 method we are about to recommend for the 

 management of these lovely plants will be found 

 to differ considerably from the ordinary course 

 of treatment, but as we have found it so de- 

 cidedly preferable, there can bo no hesitation 

 in advising its adoption. To begin, we select 

 young, healthy plants, and in February remove 

 them from the small pots in which they have 

 been grown into others three or four sizes 

 larger, according to the apparent strength of 

 the individual, using a very sandy soil; the 

 rougher and more turfy the soil is the better the 

 plants will thrive. Particular attention should 

 be paid to drainage. The plants are then cut 



EPI 



back to within four or five joints of their last 

 growth and are placed in a gentle heat, where 

 they soon ' break ' vigorously. These new growths 

 are stopped by pinching off their tops two or three 

 times in the course of the summer, taking care, 

 however, to discontinue it after July, so that the 

 last shoots may have time to ripen before the 

 winter, and, by giving proper attention to 

 watering, they will attain a length of a foot or 

 more, and make nice little specimens to bloom 

 in the following spring. After they have then 

 done flowering, they are again repotted, and, 

 instead of being stopped in their after-growth, 

 are at once cut back to very near the base of the 

 preceding year's shoots, and are then allowed to 

 grow as far as they please, training them into 

 any desirable form. Thus, instead of a few 

 flowers on several small stems, we have long 

 spikes full of flowers, increasing the general 

 beauty of the plants to an amazing extent. Every 

 year they are cut down in the same manner, and 

 each season more numerous spikes are pro- 

 duced. We must observe, however, that after 

 the first season the plants are not subject to a 

 high temperature, choosing in preference a 

 shaded, airy place for them to make their new 

 wood through the summer, removing them about 

 August to a sunny position, in order to ripen the 

 recent shoots; in other respects the ordinary at- 

 tention is all that is required." Hardly as good 

 results can be obtained in this country, as they 

 suffer, like the Heath, from our long, dry, hot 

 summers. Propagated by cuttings of the tips 

 of the shoots when from one to two inches 

 in length, in spring or early summer. E. 

 grandiflora, one of the finest species, was intro- 

 duced in 1803. 



Ephedra. The Greek for the Hippuris, or Horse- 

 tail, which it resembles. Linn. JDioecia-Polygynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Grndacea?. 



This genus consists of evergreen trailing 

 shrubs with numerous slender-jointed, jgreen 

 branches, and small, scale-like leaves. These 

 shrubs inhabit the rocky shores of the Mediter- 

 ranean and salt plains of Asia. Some of the spe- 

 cies are very ornamental, but not sufficiently 

 hardy to stand the winters, unprotected, north 

 of the Carolinas. One of the species, E. anti- 

 syphilitica, is said to contain large quantities of 

 tannin. 



Epidendrum. From epi, upon, and dendron, a 

 tree; the plants are usually found growing on 

 the branches of trees. Linn. Gynandria-Mono- 

 f/ynia. Nat. Ord. Orchidacea'. 



This is an extensive, and, for the most part, 

 beautiful genus of epiphytal Orchids. All of 

 them may be grown on billets of wood or on 

 cork, or, where it is preferred, for the stronger- 

 growing species, pots may be used, and in 

 the latter case it is indispensable that the soil 

 be porous and well drained. It should consist of 

 equal parts of sphagnum moss, leaf mould, and 

 rotten wood, filling the pots for two-thirds their 

 depths with broken potsherds, and when the 

 plants are placed in them, the base of their pseu- 

 do-bulbs must be kept considerably above the 

 rim, so that water may not lodge near them. 

 The same relative variations ol temperature 

 should be observed for these as mentioned for 

 Dendrobium, keeping it at an average of ten de- 

 grees lower than recommended for that genus; 

 and as the same principles govern the growth of 

 each, the like changes of atmospheric influence 

 are necessary in either case. The genus con- 

 sists of over 300 species, distributed throughout 



