156 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



OXY 



Handsome spring - flowering green - house 

 planS from New Holland. They should be 

 occasionally stopped while young, to ensure 

 dwarf, bushy specimens. The flowers are or- 

 an^e and yellow, are freely produced and very 

 pretty. They are increased by cuttings or from 

 seed " Introduced in 1805. 

 Oxyura. Supposed to be from oxys, sharp, ar 



PAL 



oura, a tail; but the application is not very ap- 

 parent. Linn. Syngenesia-Superftiia. Nat. Ord. 

 Asttracece. 



0. du-ysanthemoides, the only species, is a hardy 

 annual with yellow flowers, somewhat resem- 

 bling the Chrysanthemum. It is a showy plant, 

 and easy to grow. It is a native of California. 

 Introduced in 1834. 



P. 



"nachyphytum. From jnchy*, thick, andp&yfon, 

 a plant- referring to the fleshy leaves. Linn. 

 DeeandriarPentaijynia. Nat. Ord. Orcumlacece. 



P. braeteosum is a green-house succulent, al- 

 lied to Echeceria, and grown for its unique ap- 

 pearance. There are other species, but they are 

 less ornamental than this. 



Pseonia. Named after the Greek physician Pceon, 

 who is said to have employed it in medicine, 

 and used it to cure Pluto of a wound inflicted 

 by Hercules. Linn. Polyandria-Diyynia. Nat. 

 Ord. RanunctdacecK. 



The Paaonies common in our gardens are di- 

 vided into two groups, viz., those which are al- 

 lied to the Tree Paeony, (Pawnia Moutan,) and 

 which are all more or less shrubby, and the 

 common herbaceous Peonies. The herbaceous 

 Pseonies are well-known ornaments of our gar- 

 dens, where they are great favorites, from their 

 showy flowers, their great hardiness, and their 

 easy culture: all essential qualities for a large 

 garden, and for such only are they desirable. 

 The roots of these plants are composed of bun- 

 dles of carrot-like tubers, which may be sepa- 

 rated from each other to increase any particular 

 species or variety , or the tubers of the common 

 Pseonies may be grafted with shoots of any 

 choice kinds. The Tree or shrubby species 

 are chiefly increased by grafting on the roots of 

 the herbaceous sorts. Of the herbaceous spe- 

 cies, P. officinalis, the old double crimson, was 

 the first introduced into English gardens, hav- 

 ing been brought from Switzerland in 1548, 

 where it is indigenous, as well as in many other 

 parts of Europe and Asia. P. afbiflora, the old 

 double white, is a native of Siberia, and was in- 

 troduced at about the same period. P. ienui- 

 fotia, the Fern-leaved Paeony, is a native of Rus- 

 sia, from whence it was introduced in 1765. The 

 fine, Fern-like foliage of this species renders 

 the plant a beautiful object independently of its 

 brilliant flowers. There is a double variety of 

 it. From a limited number of species, several 

 hundred hybrids have been produced, many of 

 which are very beautiful, but scarcely superior 

 to the species, yet necessary to keep alive the 

 interest in the genus. One or two herbaceous 

 species have been found in Oregon and Califor- 

 nia, but are inferior to the European species. 

 P. Moutaii and its varieties are natives of China 

 and Japan, principally on Mount Ho-an, where 

 it is reported they grow to the height of ten 

 feet. The native species is purple, but there 

 are white, pink, pale purple, and mottled varie- 

 ties. There have lately been raised some very 

 beautiful varieties of the Tree Pasony. The 

 shrubby species were first introduced in 1794. 



Paeony. See Pceonia. 



Paint Root. See Lnchnanfhes. 



Palafoxia. Named by Lagasca in honor of Pala- 

 fox, a Spanish general. Linn. Synfjenesia-^qita- 

 'lis. Nat. Ord. Axteraccce. 



A genus of rather coarse-growing herbaceous 

 and shrubby perennials, with white, flesh-col- 

 ored, or purple flowers, produced in rather 

 loose paniculate or corymbose heads. The sev- 

 eral species are common from Carolina to Texas. 



Palestine Lily. Arum Palestinum. See Arum. 



This is a singular and beautiful species of the 

 Calla tribe, called by some "Black Calla," as 

 its dark purplish-crimson flowers are almost 

 identical in shape with the well-known Calla, 

 (Richardia JEthiopica, } or Lily of the Nile. We 

 believe it was first introduced here in 1876, 

 though long known in Europe. It is prob- 

 able that it may yet become a plant of value, if 

 grown in the manner that our Callas are here 

 grown, its unique color being its great novelty. 

 Unlike many species of the genus, the odor is 

 very agreeable, somewhat resembling the Violet. 

 Propagated by offsets, 



Paliurus. Christ's Thorn. Name of a town in 

 Africa. Linn. Pentandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Rhamnacece. 



There are but two species in this genus, both 

 hardy deciduous shrubs, natives of Southern 

 Europe and Western Asia. They are handsome 

 shrubs, well adapted for shrubberies. The fruit 

 of P. acideatus is very singular, appearing like a 

 head with a broad-brimmed hat on, whence its 

 French name Porte Chapeau. This is the plant 

 that is supposed to have furnished the thorns 

 used for plaiting the crown placed upon Christ's 

 head before His crucifixion. It has flexible 

 branches, capable of being easily plaited; and 

 each leaf has two sharp spines at its base, one 

 of which is straight and erect, and the other 

 curved and bent downward so as to form a 

 hook. There is some difference of opinion as 

 to whether this is the plant that afforded the 

 "thorns," or whether it was Zizyphus <Spina- 

 Christi, for both of which the distinction has 

 been claimed. 



Palms. The popular name for the plants be- 

 longing to the natural order Palmacece. They 

 are arborescent plants, with simple, rarely 

 branched trunks, marked with the scars of the 

 leaves, which are terminal, pinnate, or fan- 

 shaped, with plicate vernation and parallel sim- 

 ple veins, and often with spiny petioles. Na- 

 tives of tropical regions chiefly, they impart to 

 them much of their botanical features. The 

 greater part of them have unbranched steins, 

 which sometimes attain a height of a hundred 



