HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



183 



QUA 



P. nivatis, which has round leaves of a snowy 

 whiteness. All these species have small green 

 fruit not good to eat, but the trees are very or- 

 namental from their shape and the singular 

 color of their foliage. The following kinds of 

 Pyrus belong to the section Aria: P. Aria and 

 its varieties, P. a. anyustifolia and P. a. cretica, 

 the White Beam Tree, are valued for the beauty 

 of their leaves, which are green above and white 

 beneath, and for the bright scarlet fruit which 

 they produce in great abundance. P. vestita, 

 the Nepal White Beam Tree, is a rare and beau- 

 tiful object, as its leaves, which are clothed with 

 a thick white wool beneath, are of a large size, 

 and change in autumn to a most beautiful pale 

 yellow. Other ornamental species of Pyrus are 

 as follows: P. mrio/o.sa, remarkable for the vary- 

 ing forms of its foliage, which is sometimes 

 pinnate, like that of the Mountain Ash, and 

 sometimes deeply lobed and cut, like that of 

 the Hawthorn, or entire and cordate and point- 

 ed, like that of the Pear. It is somewhat ten- 

 der, and thrives best in a sheltered situation, 

 or against a wall. P. torminalis, the Griping 

 Wild Service Tree, is remarkable for the beauti- 

 ful form of its leaves, which, however, are un- 

 fortunately very apt to be eaten by insects. The 

 buds are large, of a beautiful green, and very 

 ornamental in the winter season. Pyrus aitcu- 

 paria, the Mountain Ash, is a well-known small 

 tree, beautiful both when in flower and in fruit, 

 and worth cultivating for its foliage alone. Py- 

 rus Americana, the American Mountain Ash, re- 



QUE 



sembles the common kind, but has larger leaves 

 and smaller fruit, though it is of a much deeper 

 red. 1'ijrus Sorbus, the common Service Tree, 

 has foliage like that of the Mountain Ash, but 

 larger; and the fruit resembles that of the com- 

 mon Pear but much smaller, and not orna- 

 mental, though it is eatable. Pyrus spuria, a na- 

 tive of Kamschatka, has leaves like the Elder, 

 and small black fruit; the leaves of this species 

 change in autumn to an intensely deep purple, 

 almost black. There is a pendulous variety, 

 P. s. pendula, which is one of the most orna- 

 mental of drooping-branched small trees; and, 

 as neither the variety nor the species exceeds 

 twelve or fifteen feet in height, they are admira- 

 bly adapted for small gardens. The following 

 kinds of Pyrus are shrubs, and very ornamental, 

 both for their fruit and flowers: P. arbutifolia 

 has white flowers and black fruit, and the leaves 

 of this become of a beautiful red in autumn; 

 there are six or eight varieties commonly treated 

 as species. All the plants belonging to the genus 

 Pyrus are quite hardy, and may all be raised 

 from seeds, or grafted on the Wild Crab, or Wild 

 Pear, or on the Hawthorn, which, though be- 

 longing to the genus Orataegus, is very nearly 

 allied to Pyrus. The most beautiful of all our 

 scarlet-flowering shrubs, now known as Cydonia 

 Japonica, was formerly classed in the genus 

 Pyrus. Of this species there is also a white va- 

 riety. The scarlet variety of Cydonia Japonica 

 makes a most beautiful hedge plant, looking at 

 a distance like a line of fire. 



Q. 



Quaking Grass. The common name of Briza 

 m/ixima, etc., which see. 



Quamash. See Camassia esculenta. 



Quamoclit. Cypress Vine. From kyamos, a Kid- 

 ney Bean, and Iditos, dwarf; the species of this 

 genus resemble the Kidney Bean in their climb- 

 ing stems, but are less tall. Linn. Pentandria- 

 Monogynin. Nat. Ord. Convolvulacece. 



A somewhat extensive genus of half-hardy 

 climbing annuals and green-house perennials. 

 Q. vulfjaris, perhaps better known as Ipomcea 

 (juamddit, is the beautiful Cypress Vine of our 

 gardens. Of this species there are three varie- 

 ties, with scarlet, white, and rose flowers, all 

 natives of the East Indies. The species are 

 quite common in the Southern States, having 

 escaped from the gardens into the fields and 

 hedgerows. These beautiful annuals are not as 

 much grown north of New York as they should 

 be, the difficulty having been to get them started 

 sufficiently early for a satisfactory season of 

 flowering. By sowing the seeds in pots, in the 

 house or in a hot-bed, early in April, they will 

 come forward early, and may be turned out into 

 the open border, when all danger from frost 

 is past. The plants thus started will grow 

 twenty feet high in a season, and be completely 

 covered with flowers for at least three months. 

 The seed may be sown where wanted to grow. 

 If the ground is made fine and rich, and the 

 seeds soaked in hot water before being sown, 

 there will be no difficulty in getting a very line 

 display, though not of as long duration as if 



started in pots. Q. cnccinea is the small-flower- 

 ed, heart-shaped-leaved Ipomcea, or Star Jpomoea, 

 (see Ipomcea,) a very free-flowering species from 

 the East Indies. It is perfectly hardy, and dif- 

 ficult to exterminate when once planted. 



Quassia. Linnaeus applied this name to a tree of 

 Surinam in honor of a negro slave Qu'issi, who 

 used its bark as a remedy for fever, and enjoyed 

 such a reputation among the natives as to be al- 

 most worshiped by some, and suspected of 

 magic by others. Linn. Decandria-Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Simarubaceai. 



Q. amarn, the only known species, is a very 

 ornamental, low-growing tree, native of Guiana. 

 It produces long, upright racemes of bright 

 scarlet flowers, the petals of which are curiously 

 twisted together. They flower freely if in a 

 green-house with plenty of heat; their size, 

 however, will not warrant their general intro- 

 duction. The wood is intensely bitter, and the 

 extract is used as a substitute for hops in mak- 

 ing beer. Drinking cups are made from the 

 wood, for the tonic quality it is supp vsed to im- 

 part to the water if allowed to stand in them a 

 short time before drinking. The wood of this 

 tree is the Quassia of commerce. 



Queen of the Meadows. See Spircea lobata. 

 Professor Gray gives Queen of the Prairies as 

 the common name of this species; but we think 

 this is a mistake. 



duercitron. See Qttercus tindoria. 



(Juercus. The Oak. From the Celtic quer, fine, 

 and cuez, a tree; others derive it from the Greek 



