HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



F. 



FAB 



Fabiana. Named after F. Fbbiann, a Spaniard. 

 Linn. Pentandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Sola- 



FEK 



A small genus of half-hardy evergreen, heath- 

 like shrubs. F. im'trimta, the only species, is a 

 neat evergreen shrub of compact habit, and 

 densely covered, during the spring months, 

 with pure white tubular flowers. Propagated by 

 seeds or from cuttings. 



Fadyenia. Named after Dr. fhdyen, author of 

 a Flora of Jamaica. Linn. Oryptogamia-Filices. 

 Nat. Ord. PbtaxxBoeeo. 



F. proUfera, the only species; is a curious little 

 Fern, a native of the West Indies. It grows but 

 a few inches in height: the fronds have netted 

 veins, and are remarkable for the large size of 

 the sori. It is occasionally met in choice collec- 

 tions. Propagated by spores, which answer to 

 seeds. 



Fagelia. Named after Fagel, a botanist. Linn. Dia- 

 dflphia-Tetragynia. Nat. Ord. Fabacece. 



A genus of green-house evergreen, twining, 

 herbaceous plants, found in South Africa and 

 Abyssinia. The leaves somewhat resemble those 

 of Phaseolus, but are smaller. Their flowers are 

 pea-shaped, yellow, and borne on long, axillary 

 racemes. Young plants are obtained from seeds. 



Fagopyrum. Buckwheat. From phago, to eat, 

 and pyros, wheat ; seed eatable. Linn. Octandrui- 

 Trujipua. Nat. Ord. Polygomace.fr. 



F. cymosum, the only species, is our common 

 Buckwheat, which see. 



Fagus. The Beech. From phago, to eat; in early 

 ages the nuts of the Beech-tree were used as 

 food. Linn. MmoecM-Polyandrw. Nat. Ord. Cory- 

 lacea;. 



A small genus of hardy deciduous trees, re- 

 markable for their graceful and symmetrical 

 habit of growth, their great size and beauty, 

 which renders them objects of admiration, 

 whether in their native wood, or transplanted on 

 the lawn for shade. There are but two species in 

 our forests. F. sylvestris, White Beech, is one 

 of the tallest and most majestic of our forest 

 trees. It grows most abundantly in the Middle 

 and Western States, though common east of the 

 Alleghanies, attaining its greatest size on the 

 banks of the Ohio, where the trees are frequently 

 found one hundred feet high, with a diameter 

 from three to four feet. This species is more 

 slender than the Bed Beech, but its foliage is 

 superb, and its general appearance magnificent. 

 The sexes are borne on different branches of 

 the same tree. The male flowers are borne in 

 pendulous, globular heads, the female flowers 

 are small, and of a greenish color. The Ked 

 Beech, F. ferruginea, is more exclusively con- 

 fined to the Northern States. It is so abundant 

 as often to constitute extensive forests, the finest 

 of which grow on fertile, level, or gently slop- 

 ing lands, with a humid surface. The Bed Beech 

 equals the white species in diameter, but not in 

 height; and as it branches nearer the earth, and 

 is more numerously divided, it has a more 

 massive summit and the appearance of more 

 tufted foliage. Its leaves are equally brilliant, 

 a little larger and thicker, and are more serrated. 

 The European Beech, F. sylvalica, is almost 

 identical with the latter species. The Weepin 



Beech, F. sylvati-ca pendula, is one of the most 

 curious and beautiful of lawn trees. The origi- 

 nal tree stands in the park of Baron de Mau, at 

 Beersel, Belgium. "The trunk is three and a 

 half to four feet in diameter, and grows in a 

 twisted form to a height of twelve to fifteen feet, 

 with an appearance of being pressed down by an 

 immense weight. The branches cover an area 

 nearly a hundred feet in diameter. Its history 

 is curious. Some sixty years ago the baron's 

 gardener was planting an avenue of Beech trees, 

 and the baron, observing a very crooked speci- 

 men, directed to have it thrown out; but the 

 gardener planted it in a corner of the grounds 

 little visited, where it grew to be one of the 

 most beautiful and singular freaks of sylvan 

 nature." Scoff. The Purple-Leaved Beech, F. 

 purpurea, now so popular for lawn decoration, is 

 a sport from the common White Beech, found 

 in a German forest. The Copper-colored Beech, 

 F. cuprea, is a sub-variety of the Purple Beach. 

 The Fern and Cut-leaved Beeches are very orna- 

 mental varieties, the leaves resembling the 

 fronds of a Fern. There are varieties with va- 

 riegated foliage. They are all varieties of /'. 

 sylvatica. 



Fairy Lily. See Zephyranthes. 



False Acacia. The common Yellow Locust, Ro- 

 binia pseud-acacia. 



False Asphodel. A popular name of the genus 

 Tofieldia, small flowering Liliaceous plants. 



False Dragon-head. See Physostegia. 



False Fox-Glove. See Gerardiaflai-a. 



False Hellebore. See Veratrum. 



False Honeysuckle. A popular name of our 

 native Azaleas. 



False Indigo. See Amoi'pha. 



False Mistletoe. American Mistletoe, Pkoraden- 

 dronflavescens. 



False Red Top. A popular name of Poa serotina, 

 because of its resemblance to Agrostis vulgaris, 

 the true Ked Top Grass. 



False Solomon's Seal. See Smilacina. 



False Spikenard. See Smilacina racemosa. 



Fan Palm. See Corypha. 



Farkle-berry. A local name for one of the Cran- 

 berries, Vaccinium arboreum. 



Feather Grass. See Stipa-. 



Feea. In honor of M. Fee, Professor of Botany at 

 Strasburg. Linn. Cryptogamia-Filices. Nat. Ord. 

 rolypodiacvct'. 



A small genus of interesting little Ferns found 

 in Guiana and the West Indies. They require 

 to be grown in a very warm, moist atmosphere. 



Fenzlia. Named in honor of Dr. Fenzl, author of 

 a monograph on Alsinacece. Linn. Pentandrin- 

 Monogynia. Nat. Ord. PokmoniacecK. 



A genus of beautiful dwarf California hardy 

 annuals. They bear a profusion of delicate, 

 rosy-tinted flowers, with a yellow throat, sur- 

 rounded with dark-colored dots. It is very 

 dwarf and closely tufted, keeping in flower the 

 whole summer, making it desirable for small 

 beds or edgings. It is also very pretty for win- 

 dow gardens. It is also known as Gilia dian- 

 ihoides. 



Ferns consist of three orders of flowerless plants. 

 Some of the species are magnificent, with trunks 

 upward of fifty feet high. Some are climbing, 



