HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



151 



ONO 



Onopordon. Cotton Thistle, Scotch Thistle. 

 From onos, an ass, and perdo, to destroy; refer- 

 ring to the supposed effects on the ass. Linn. 

 Syngenesia-jEqualis. Nat. Ord. Asteracea;. 



0. acanthiiim, the supposed Scotch Thistle, is 

 a native of Europe, but has become naturalized 

 in many parts of the United States. It grows 

 from six to eight feet high, and is one of the 

 most showy of the Thistle family. According to 

 common tradition, the Danes or Norsemen, 

 while invading Scotland, came upon the Scots 

 unperceived at midnight, and halting while 

 their spies were thrown forward to discover the 

 undefended points of their enemy's camp, one 

 of them chancing to tread upon a Thistle of this 

 species, uttered a loud cry of pain, which 

 roused the Scots to their danger, who at once 

 attacked and repelled the invaders, gaining a 

 complete' victory; and henceforth they adopted 

 the Thistle as the national emblem. In 1540 

 James V. instituted an order of knighthood 

 called the Order of the Thistle. 

 Onychium. From onyx, a claw; shape of the lobes 

 of the fronds. Linn. Cryptogamia-Filices. Nat. 

 Ord. Polypodiacece. 



A small genus of very elegant Ferns found in 

 Japan, Africa, Australia, and the East Indies. A 

 few of the species are under cultivation, and 

 among them 0. Japoiiica, a delicate, funnel-like 

 Fern, fragile, fairy-like, yet one that succeeds 

 well with the most ordinary green-house treat- 

 ment. It requires deep shade. Propagated 

 from seed. Introduced in 1864. 

 Opera Girls. See Mantisia. 



Ophelia. From opheleia, serviceable ; plants use- 

 ful in medicine. Linn. Pentandria-Digynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Gentianacece. 



This genus is composed of one species, a 

 pretty little annual, with starry pink flowers, 

 allied to the Gentian. Seeds should be sown 

 early in the hot-bed or in the green-house, and 

 planted out as soon as the border is ready for 

 tender plants. It is a native of the East Indies. 

 Introduced in 1836. 



Ophiopogon. From ophis, a serpent, and pogon, 

 a beard. Linn. Hexandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. 

 LiliacefK. 



A genus of hardy herbaceous perennials from 

 China and Japan, having racemes of white, yel- 

 low, or purple flowers, on one-sided racemes. 

 The genus is allied to Convallaria. None of the 

 species possess great beauty. 



Ophrys. From ophrys, eyebrows ; referring to 

 the fringe of the inner sepals. Linn. Gynan- 

 dria-Mona>tdria. Nat. Ord. Orchidacece. 



A small genus of terrestrial Orchids, chiefly 

 natives of England. They are exceedingly dif- 

 ficult to manage, but produce their flowers, 

 which are of rare beauty, freely in early sum- 

 mer, in fields and dry pastures. 0. apifera 

 looks as though a bee were buried in the flower; 

 another, 0. arunifera, has the lip in the form of 

 a spider; and in a third, 0. muscifera, the whole 

 flower resembles a fly. 

 Opium. See Papaver somniferum. 

 Oporanthus. Frem apora, autumn, and anthos, a 

 flower. Linn. llexandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Amaryllidacece. 



A hardy, free-flowering bulb from the south 

 of Europe. The flowers bear a strong resem- 

 blance to the Yellow Crocus, for which, indeed, 

 if it flowered at the same season, it might easily 

 be mistaken. It is very ornamental, and should 

 be planted in beds with the Colchicum, as they 

 flower at the same season, and contrast finely 



OPU 



in color. It grows freely in a light soil, but 

 should have a slight protection in winter to per- 

 fect the bulbs. It generally comes into flower 

 with our first frosts, the leaves remaining green 

 during the winter. This bulb was formerly 

 classed as Amaryllis luteu, and none but the keen 

 eye of the botanist can see any difference. 

 Opuntia. Prickly Pear, Indian Fig. A Latin 

 name, of which the derivation is not applicable 

 to the species now placed under it. Linn. Ico- 

 sandria-AIonogynia. Nat. Ord. Cactacece. 



There are upward of a hundred and fifty species 

 of the Opuntia or Prickly Pear, all of which are 

 natives of this continent. They are found chiefly 

 in Mexico, California, Peru, Brazil, the West 

 Indies, and a few in the United States. The 

 plants, when old, are hard and woody, but the 

 new growth remains succulent or fleshy for some 

 time. Some species grow erect and tree-like, 

 while others are procumbent or creep on the 

 ground, and nearly all have spines. The up- 

 right growers sometimes reach a height of ten 

 feet or more, and one kind even twenty feet. 

 Some of them ( 0. Tuna, for example, ) hrfve been 

 introduced into Southern Europe, Africa, and 

 other places, where they are cultivated for the 

 sake of obtaining Cochineal. The flowers (ex- 

 cept in Nopalea are generally a dull reddish 

 orange. The fruit is pear-shaped, two or three 

 inches long, and of a bright carmine color when 

 ripe. The fruit is edible, and has a pleasant 

 sub-acid flavor, being considered cooling and 

 refreshing, and is much used in the West Indies 

 and other places. The juice is sometimes used 

 as a water color, and also for coloring candies. 

 In Mexico the plant is used for hedges as well 

 as for the Cochineal insect, and from the fruit 

 is prepared a beverage called Colinche. Writers 

 tell us that in Algeria the French make from 

 the old wood a number of ornamental articles, 

 such as flower trays, fancy baskets, etc., and 

 even veneering. The Opuntia, it will be seen, 

 is a plant of considerable commercial value. 

 Botanists have taken three species from Opuntia, 

 to which they have given the generic name 

 Nopalea ; the reason of which may not be appa- 

 rent to the common observer. In the new genus 

 the flowers have erect petals, which are drawn 

 together at the top instead of being expanded, 

 as they are in Opuntia; the stamens are longer 

 than the corolla, but shorter than the style. The 

 stems are round, or nearly so, with jointed, 

 fleshy, flat branches; but, unlike Opuntia, the 

 tubercles upon the branches are not always 

 armed with spines. The flowers, instead of be- 

 ing yellow or orange, like Opuntia, are reddish or 

 crimson. Taking the characteristics all together, 

 we ought to be able to distinguish the one from 

 the other, and yet not be satisfied with the sep- 

 aration. In view of the commercial value of the 

 product, we shall next allude somewhat briefly 

 to the Nopalea ( Opuntia) as connected with the 

 cultivation of the Cochineal insect, Coccus Cacti. 

 There are two species grown chiefly for this pur- 

 pose, the Napolea cochinillifera and N. Tuna. The 

 first grows about eight feet high, and its branch- 

 es give it a tree-like appearance. The stem and 

 older branches ar,e nearly round and grayish in 

 color, but the younger growth is flat and deep 

 green in color. The joints are from six to twelve 

 inches long, oblong in form, mostly without 

 spines, but having, when young, a growth of 

 fleshy leaves, which soon drop off, leaving a scar 

 and a tuft of short wool and bristles. Though 

 the name cochinillifera, or cochineal bearing, has 



