HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



TAR 



and various other compounds. Tarragon vin- 

 egar, so much esteemed as a fish-sauce, is 

 made by an infusion of the leaves in common 

 vinegar. It is propagated from seeds, or from 

 pieces of the root, every portion of which, how- 

 ever small, will grow if a single bud is left on. 



Tartarian Lamb. See Cibotium. 



Taxodium. Bald Cypress, Deciduous Cypress. 

 From taxus, the Yew, and o'ules, like ; trees re- 

 sembling the Yew. Linn. Monoecia-Odandria. 

 Nat. Ord. Pinacece. 



T. distichum, the deciduous Cypress, abounds 

 in the Southern States, growing as far north as 

 Delaware and Southern Illinois. It is one of the 

 most valuable trees for timber, and is consider- 

 ably grown as an ornamental tree for the lawn. 

 It is perfectly hardy as far north as New York. 

 Beautiful specimens are often seen on lawns, 

 where their feathery foliage renders them at- 

 tractive objects. 



Taxus. Yew. From taxon, a bow ; the wood an- 

 ciently used for bows; or from taxis, arrange- 

 ment, the leaves being arranged on the branches 

 like the teeth of a comb. Yew is supposed to 

 be from the Celtic word iw, signifying verdure ; 

 alluding to the Yew being an evergreen. Linn. 

 D'uecia-Polyandria. Nat. Ord. Taxacece. 



A genus of well-known evergreen trees, popu- 

 larly known as the Irish Yew. They are com- 

 pact in habit, their branches being densely 

 crowded with leaves; they are also upright, the 

 branches all perpendicular, giving the tree a 

 small circumference for its height. On this ac- 

 count, it is a favorite tree for cemeteries and 

 church-yards. There is a native species, T. bac- 

 cata, var. Canadensis, commonly known as 

 Ground Hemlock or American Yew, common in 

 the more Northern States, on moist banks and 

 hills. It rarely grows more than tour feet high, 

 and is branching and straggling in habit. T. bac- 

 cata, the Common Yew of England, is the spe- 

 cies from which the ancient English bows were 

 made. Loudon says: " In the days of archery 

 the Yew was the principal wood used for the 

 bow in Britain, and in the reign of Henry VTTT. 

 of England, the demand was so great that it had 

 to be imported from the Continent of Europe 



into England, and various laws were passed 

 concerning it from the days of Edward IV. to 

 Elizabeth/' 



Tea. See Thea. 



Tea- Berry. A local name sometimes given to the 

 NYmtergreen, Gaultheria, procumbens, which see 



Teak Tree. See Teciona. 



Tear Thumb. A name commonly applied to 

 several species of Polygonum, on account of their 

 rough bearded stems, which lacerate when 

 handled. 



Teasel. See Dipsacus. 



Tecoma. From TecomaxochUl, the Mexican name 

 of tho species. Linn. Didynamia-Angiospermia. 

 Nat. Ord. Bignoniacece. 



A genus of hardy deciduous and green-house 

 evergreen climbing shrubs, consisting of up- 

 ward of fifty species. They are mostly South 

 American plants. T. radioing, or Trumpet 

 Creeper, m general cultivation, is a native spe- 

 cies common from Pennsylvania to Illinois and 

 southward It is well adapted for covering 

 walls or arbors IE the open border, being per- 

 fectly hardy and a rapid grower; the flowers 

 are large, tubular, and a brilliant orange T 

 arancliflora is nearly allied to T. radians', but 

 has larger flowers, of a deeper shade of orange 

 These two species are commonly known among us 



TEP 



as Bignonias. Some of the green-house species 

 are objects of great beauty, but as they flower 

 in summer, they are not as generally grown as 

 they should be. All the species are propagated 

 from cuttings of the root or suckers. 



Tectona. Teak Tree. From Tekka, its Malabar 

 name. Linn. Pentandria-Monoyynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Verbenucece. 



This is a celebrated timber tree of the East 

 Indies, used for ship-building in preference to 

 all other woods, -because of its strength, great 

 durability, the ease with which it can be worked, 

 and its non-liability to be injured by the attacks 

 of Fungi. Some of the species have been intro- 

 duced into the green-house. They are very 

 handsome trees, with purple or white flowers. 

 Their size prevents their general introduction. 



Telfairia. Named in honor of Mrs. Tel/air. Linn. 

 Diwcia-Monadelphia. Nat. Ord. Cucurbitacece. 



T. pedfita, the only known species, is a tall 

 climbing plant, a native of Zanzibar, introduced 

 in 1825, but rarely grown, the room and care re- 

 quired in the green-house being considered too 

 valuable for a plant only remarkable for its curi- 

 ous fruit, which often grows three feet long, 

 and six to eight inches in diameter, containing 

 upward of two hundred and fifty circular seeds, 

 about an inch in diameter. These seeds yield 

 an excellent oil, and they are, moreover, as palat- 

 able as almonds. See Joliffia. 



Telopea. Warratah. From telopas, seen at a dis- 

 tance; alluding to the great distance at which 

 its crimson-colored flowers may be seen in its 

 native country. Linn. Telrandria-Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Proteacecv. 



The brilliant scarlet flowers of this plant, 

 which are conspicuous even at a great distance, 

 are said to have been one cause why the coast of 

 New South Wales was distinguished by its first 

 visitors as Botany Bay in allusion to the great 

 accession to botany likely to be denved from a 

 country where the plants appeared so different 

 from those of Europe. The flower of the War- 

 ratah may be compared to a gigantic head of 

 clover of the most intense and brilliant scarlet, 

 but it is not common, probably because it is a 

 very difficult plant to man ige. The first point 

 to be attended to is to have the pot in which it 

 is grown thoroughly well drained, and the next, 

 to allow it abundance of light and air. It is 

 propagated by cuttings or suckers, which it 

 throws up in abundance. It should be regular- 

 ly watered in the flowering season, but it may 

 be kept almost dry during the winter months. 



Teosinte. Euchlceana luxurians. The seeds of this 

 were received here in 1879 from the Royal Gar- 

 dens at Kew, England. It had been previous- 

 ly sent to the British colonies in Africa and 

 other tropical latitudes, where the reports 

 from it as a fodder crop were of the most 

 extravagant kind. When fully developed, it 

 reaches a height of twelve feet, each seed 

 making a plant having from one hundred to 

 one hundred and twenty shoots, when planted 

 five or six feet apart. It somewhat resembles 

 the Pearl Millet, and, like it, will admit of re- 

 peated cuttings during the growing season. 

 Although perennial, it will probably do better 

 if treated as an animal, sowings to be made 

 every season, as any plant of that luxuriance 

 would quickly exhaust the soil if allowed to re- 

 main the second year. As it is closely allied 

 to our Maize, or Indian Corn, it will likely be 

 best suited for the Southern States. 



Tephrosia. Hoary Pea, Goat's Rue. From te- 



