HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



TER 



phros, ash-colored: in allusion to the color of the 

 foliage of some of the species. Linn. Diadelphia- 

 Dodecandria. Nat. Ord. Fabacece. 



An extensive genus of hardy and green-house 

 herbaceous plants. Of the hardy species, T. Vvr- 

 giniana is the more common and beautiful. It 

 is usually found in clumps from one to six feet 

 in diameter, growing on dry, sandy soils, in 

 which it succeeds finely, and is a valuable bor- 

 der plant. Its flower stalks are about a foot 

 high, and flowers creamy white and rosy pur- 

 ple, produced in terminal clusters in July. It 

 is very common in the Northern States, and 

 is far more showy and attractive than many of 

 our prominent garden flowers. The tender va- 

 rieties, requiring the protection of the green- 

 house, are difficult to manage, and do not repay 

 the trouble by their short season of flowers. 



Terminalia. From terminus, end ; the leaves are 

 in clusters at the ends of the branches. Linn. 

 Polytjamia-Moncecia. Nat. Ord. Gombretacecti. 



An extensive genus of tropical evergreens, 

 found occasionally in botanical collections. The 

 fmits of several of the species form an import- 

 ant article of commerce in India, being exten- 

 sively used for tanning and dyeing purposes. 

 They are known in commerce under the name 

 of Myrobalans, and are used by calico-printers 

 for the production of a permanent black. 



Testudinaria. Elephant's Foot. From testudo, a 

 tortoise; resemblance of the outside roots. Linn. 

 Diaecia-IIexandria. Nat. Ord. Dioscoreacece. 



A very singular genus of plants, with enor- 

 mous scaly roots above ground, some of the spe- 

 cies resembling an elephant's foot, whence the 

 common name. From these roots rise slender 

 climbing stems to the height of thirty or forty 

 feet, with small heart-shaped leaves, and axil- 

 lary racemes of inconspicuous, greenish-yellow 

 flowers. The plants are natives of the Cape of 

 Good Hope, and are rarely met in collections. 



Tetragonia. New Zealand Spinach. From letra, 

 four, and gonia, an angle; in allusion to the 

 fruit being four angled. Linn. Icosandna-Di- 

 penlagynia. Nat. Ord Tetragoniacece. 



Plants not worth cultivating, except T. ex- 

 pansa, which is used as a Spinach. See New 

 Zealand Spinach. 



Teucrium. Germander, Wood Sage. Named 

 after Teucer, a Trojan prince, who first used it 

 medicinally. Linn. Didynamut - Gymnospermia. 

 Nat. Ord. Lamiacece. 



Hardy, half-hardy, and tender perennial, bi- 

 ennial, annual, and shrubby plants, the smaller 

 kinds of which are suitable for rock-work. 

 Some of the kinds are showy border flowers, 

 and others handsome green-house shrubs, par- 

 ticularly those that are natives of Madeira. " T. 

 Betonicum is perhaps one of the best of thece, 

 as it has loose spikes of fragrant crimson Covers. 

 T. Qtnadense, American Germander, is common 

 in low grounds, along fence-rows or waste 

 places. It is a species that will become trouble- 

 some if not exterminated. It is not worthy a 

 place in the garden. 



Thalia. Named in honor of J. Thaliits, a German 

 physician. Linn. Monandria-Monogynia. Nat. 

 Ord. Marantacece. 



A small genus of aquatic plants, natives of 

 South Carolina and the West Indies. T. deal- 

 bata is an aquatic plant, a native of South Caro- 

 lina, with very curious black and white fragrant 

 flowers. It is about as hardy as Richardia jElhio- 

 pica, and requires the same treatment. 



Thalictrum. Meadow Rue. From thaUo, to grow 



THE 



green; in allusion to the_color of the young 



nculacew. 



shoots. Linn. Pdyandria-Polygyma. Nat. 



A genus of hardy herbaceous plants, common 

 throughout the United States and Europe. None 

 of our native species have been much intro- 

 duced into the flower garden, although many of 

 them are worthy of a place there. T. alpinum 

 is a dwarf species with white or yellow flowers, 

 and makes a pretty plant for rock-work. There 

 are several of the species that are grown for the 

 same purpose. T. aquilegifolium, & native of Aus- 

 tria, is a very pretty border plant, with light pur- 

 ple flowers. It is propagated by division or from 

 seeds. 



Thatch Palm. See Sabal Blackburniana. 



Thea. Tea. From Tcha, the Chinese name for 

 Tea. Linn. Monadelphia-Polyandria. Nat. Ord. 

 Ternstromiacece. 



Thea and Camellia belong to the same natural 

 order, and there is so little difference between 

 the two, botanically, that they were formerly 

 classed as one. Besides the well-known Tea 

 plant, there are but five species, all natives of 

 India, China, and Japan. They are all ever- 

 greens, either shrubs or small trees, with thick, 

 shining leaves, and white or rose-colored flow- 

 ers. We are indebted to the Treasury of Botany 

 for the following concise history of this plant: 

 " The native country of the Tea plant, like that 

 of many others which have long been cultivated 

 by man, is uncertain. Hitherto the only coun- 

 try in which it has been found in a really wild 

 state is Upper Assam ; but China, where it has 

 for so many centuries been most extensively 



" cultivated, has not yet received so thorough an 

 exploration by botanical travelers as to warrant 

 the assertion that it is not indigenous to any 

 part of that vast empire. A Japanese tradition, 

 however, which ascribes its introduction into 

 China to an Indian Buddhist priest who visited 

 that country in the sixth century, favors the 

 supposition of its Indian origin. It was at one 

 time commonly supposed that the two well- 

 marked sorts of Tea, Black and Green, were the 

 produce of distinct species; but Mr. Fortune 

 has proved that the Chinese manufacture the 

 different kinds indiscriminately from the same 

 plant; and botanists are now pretty generally 

 agreed that the two supposed Chinese species, 

 called T. Bohea and T. viridis, are nothing more 

 than varieties of one and the same species, for 

 which the Linnaean name, T. Chinensis, is adopt- 

 ed, and of which the Assam Tea plant (some- 

 times called T. Assamica) is merely a third va- 

 riety, or perhaps, indeed, the wild type. Though 

 the produce of the same variety of the Tea 

 plant, the Black and Green Teas prepared for 

 exportation are mainly the growth of different 

 districts of China, the Black Tea district being 

 situated in the provinces of Fokien and Kiangsi, 

 and the Green in Chekiang and Nganwhi ; but 

 the two kinds may be produced in either dis- 

 trict, the difference being caused solely by the 

 diverse methods of preparation. For the manu- 

 facture of Black Tea, the freshly-gathered leaves, 

 freed from extraneous moisture by a short ex- 

 posure in the open air, are thrown, in small 

 quantities at a time, into round, flat iron pans, 

 and exposed to gentle tire-heat for about five 

 minutes, which renders them soft and pliant, 

 and causes them to give off a large quantity of 

 moisture. After this they are emptied out into 

 bamboo sieves, and while still hot, repeatedly 

 squeezed and rolled in the hands to give them 



