210 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



SHE 



are thickly clad with rich clusters of crimson 

 berries, resembling somewhat, in color and 

 size, the common red Currant. They are popu- 

 larly known as Ahe Buffalo-berry, Babbit-berry, 

 and sometimes as Beef-suet Trees. 



Shell-bark Hickory. See Juglans. 



Shield Fern. See Ajmdatm. 



Shooting Star. A Western name of the Dodeca- 

 i!i'''H ineadi'i, which see. 



Showy Orchis. See Orchis. 



Siberian Crab. See Pyrus prunifolia. 



Sibthorpia. Named after Dr. Humphrey Sibihorp, 

 formerly Professor of Botany at Oxford. Linn. 

 Didynajnia-Angiospennia, Nat. Ord. Scrophularia- 

 cece. 



A genus of trailing herbaceous plants, natives 

 of South America, Europe, and Africa. A few 

 of the species are under cultivation. S. Europea 

 is a very pretty low-growing species, with yel- 

 low flowers and dark green foliage. It is a good 

 plant for the shady border or for pot culture. 

 The pot being suspended, it will droop all 

 around it to a distance of three feet. There is a 

 beautiful variety, with variegated foliage, but it 

 is more difficult to grow. 



Sickle-pod. See Arabis Canadensis. 



Side-saddle Flower. See &irracenia. 



Sieversia. Named after M. Sievers, a Russian bo- 

 tanical collector. Linn. Icosandria-Polygynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Rosacece. 



A small genus of hardy herbaceous peren- 

 nials. The species from Austria and Switzer- 

 land have large yellow flowers, solitary, and are 

 quite handsome. They are propagated by divi- 

 sion. 



Silene. Catchfly. From sialon, saliva; in allu- 

 sion to the viscid moisture on the stalks of 

 many of the species, by which the smaller kinds 

 of flies are entrapped; and hence the common 

 name of the genus, Catcltfly. Linn. Decandria- 

 Trigynia. Nat. Ord. Caryophyllacece. 



This, the type of an extensive and highly in- 

 teresting order, is in itself a genus of much 

 beauty. It numbers above a hundred and fifty 



E' 38, which are chiefly hardy herbaceous 

 }, or annuals of the same character. The 

 , however, contain many which are mere 

 weeds. Bed of various shades is the prevailing 

 color of the flowers, though both white and pur- 

 ple are found in it. S. viscosa is a popular bi- 

 ennial, frequently grown for the backs of large 

 borders, and the old Lobel's Catchfly (8. armeria) 

 is still occasionally met with. 8. Sckafta com- 

 bines every good quality to be desired in bor- 

 der flowers, being hardy, herbaceous, trailing 

 closely to the ground, and bearing a profusion 

 of crimson red flowers. It is easy to grow either 

 as a pot plant or in the open ground, and will, 

 doubtless, occupy a prominent place when bet- 

 ter known. The shrubby species of this genus 

 are easily increased by cuttings; and though 

 hardy enough to resist almost any amount of 

 frost, they are sometimes injured by excessive 

 wet, and for this reason a few should be potted 

 and kept in a cold frame. Such of the annuals 

 as are worth cultivating need only to be sown j 

 where they are to flower. Several species are ' 

 common throughout the United States, but they ! 

 are of less importance than those from Southern i 

 Europe and Africa. First introduced in 1640. 



Silk Tree. Acacia Julibrissin, a native of the Le- 

 vant. See Acacia. 



Silk Oak. See Grevillea. 



Silk Weed. See Asdepias cornuti. 



Silphium. Rosin Plant, Rosin Weed, Compass 



SIP 



Plant. From silphion, the Greek name applied 

 to an Asafoetida plant. Linn. tiyngenesia-Seces- 

 saria. Nat. Ord. Asteracece. 



A small genus of strong-growing herbaceous 

 perennial plants, common in the Western and 

 Southern States, ti. laciniatum is said to present 

 its leaves exactly north and south, which gives 

 it the name of Compass Plant. The leaves and 

 stems of some of the species exude a large 

 amount of resin, whence the common name 

 Rosin Weed. All the species are of far more 

 interest to the botanist than the florist. 



Silver Balm. See Melissa. 



Silver Bell Tree. See Halesia. 



Silver Fern. See Chettanthes. 



Silver Fir. See Picea and Abies. 



Silver Weed. See Impatiens. 



Sinapis. Mustard. From the Celtic nap, a des- 

 ignation applied to all plants resembling the- 

 Cabbage or Turnip. Linn. Tetradynamia. Nat. 

 Ord. Brassicacece. 



A genus of hardy yellow-flowered annuals. S. 

 nigra is the common Black Mustard, and S. alba 

 the White Mustard of commerce, both natives 

 of Europe, and most common on the shores of 

 the Mediterranean. The former yields a greater 

 portion of the Mustard in general use. Both 

 species are extensively grown in England as 

 field crops, and also in many other parts of 

 Europe. These species are common in fields 

 and waste places in this country, having es- 

 caped from the garden and become naturalized. 

 There are several other species, but they are all 

 of the same general character. 



Sinningia. In honor of William Sinning, gardener 

 to the University of Bonn, on the Rhine. Linn. 

 Didynamia-Angiospermia. Nat. Ord. Gesneracetv. 

 The species that make up this genus are now 

 included in Gloxinia, though still retaining their 

 old name in many of the dealers' lists. 



Siphocampylus. From siphon, a tube, and kam- 

 pylos, curved; in allusion to the curved shape 

 of the flower. Linn. Pentandria-Jfonogynia. Nat. 

 Ord. LobeliacecK. 



An extensive genus of handsome low-growing 

 evergreen shrubs, natives of South America. 

 The flowers are mostly tubular, scarlet, or yel- 

 low, solitary on axillary stalks, or in dense ra- 

 cemes or clusters. Several of the species are 

 cultivated for their showy flowers, among whick 

 is S. bicolor, a well-known species. They are 

 propagated by cuttings. Introduced in 1842. 



Siphonia. From siphon, a tube or pipe ; the use 

 made of the exudation, which constitutes In- 

 dia Rubber. Linn. Moncecia-Monadelphia. Nat. 

 Ord. Eitphorbiacece. 



S. Cahuchu, an evergreen tree indigenous to 

 tropical South America, is the most remarkable 

 species of the gfiius. It is to this tree that we are 

 indebted for the greater part of our supply of 

 Caoutchouc or India Rubber. It is a native of 

 French Guiana, and attains a height of seventy- 

 five feet, rarely a hundred. The mode in which 

 the rubber is obtained by the natives, is by 

 making incisions through the bark of the lower 

 part of the trunk of the tree, from which the sap, 

 which is a fluid resin, issues in great abundance, 

 appearing of a milky whiteness as it flows into 

 the vessel prepared to receive it. On exposure to 

 the air, this milky juice gradually thickens into 

 a soft, reddish, elastic resin. This substance is 

 poured into a mould, in small quantities at 

 first, and is then exposed to a dense smoke, pro- 

 duced by the burning of nuts from several of 

 the Palms, until it is sufficiently hard to bear 



