HENDEUSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



THU 



Siberia, as its name would indicate, is certain. 

 There are several species from the Pacific coast, 

 and from China. Biaia orienlalis, known as the 

 Chinese Arbor Vitae, is peculiar from its flattened 

 branches. Thirty years ago, when flat bouquets 

 were in fashion, this was iised almost exclusively 

 as a " back " or " frame " for the flowers, and is 

 yet, in some parts of the country, used for that 

 purpose. There are a number of seedling vari- 

 eties, differing considerably in habit, form, and 

 shades of color of foliage, all desirable, and well 

 adapted for ornamental purposes. 

 Thunbergia. Named in honor of Charles P. Thun- 

 berg, a celebrated botanist and traveler. Linn. 

 Didynamia-Angiospermia. Nat. Ord. Acanthacece. 

 A genus of very handsome climbing plants. 

 Some of the species, such as T. alata, T. alba, T. 

 aurantiaca, and the varieties of the same, maybe 

 treated as half-hardy annuals. They usually 

 seed freely ; the seed should be sown in March in 

 heat, bringing the young plants forward in the 

 same temperature till May, when they may either 

 be transferred to the borders of the flower gar- 

 den to be trained against a wall, or suffered to 

 creep over rock-work, or they may be placed in 

 large pots having a trellis attached, where they 

 form very ornamental subjects for the green- 

 house through the summer. The remaining 

 species, as they do not produce seed in any 

 quantity, require to be grown in the green- 

 house. They should be frequently syringed to 

 keep down attacks of red spider. At the end of 

 the growing season they should be pruned 

 closely back, and kept dormant through the 

 winter. The green-house species, T. chrysops, 

 however, does better when allowed to grow on 

 without pruning, nor should it be re-potted 

 more than once a year, or it will not flower. 

 T. Harrisit, of recent introduction here, with 

 flowers tubular in form, two inches in length, of 

 a bright porcelain blue, with yellow throat, is 

 one of the best green-house climbers we have. 

 It is a rapid grower, and continues in flower the 

 whole summer. It blooms in profusion from 

 November to May, its rare blue color making it 

 one of the most attractive green-house plants. 

 Propagated by cuttings. 

 Thyme. See Thymus. 



Thymus. Thyme. From thumos, courage, strength, 

 the smell of Thyme being reviving , or from thuo, 

 to perfume; being formerly used for incense in 

 the temples. Linn. Didynamia-Gymnospermia. 

 Nat. Ord. Lamiaceai. 



The common Thyme of our gardens is a low- 

 growing under-shrub, a native of Spain and 

 Italy, and has been known for centuries. The 

 lemon-scented Thyme is a hardy trailing ever- 

 green, and possesses the most agreeable per- 

 fume of any of the species. There are probably 

 a hundred acres of Thyme grown in the vicinity 

 of New York, and dried for flavoring purposes. 

 The spreading variety is the kind used, the up- 

 right being useless for this purpose. The seed 

 is thickly sown as soon as the ground gets 

 warm in spring, and the plants are transplanted 

 in July, in rows one foot apart, with nine inches 

 between the plants. The crop matures by Oc- 

 tober of the year it is planted. It is common 

 throughout Europe, and has to some extent be- 

 come naturalized in this country. The varie- 

 gated-leaved varieties of this species the Gold 

 and Silver variegated-leaved varieties make 

 pretty border plants, and are also used in bas- 

 kets and rustic designs. 

 Thyrsacanthus. From thyrsos, a thyrse, and 



TIL 



acanthus. Linn. Diandria-Jfonogynia. Nat. Ord. 

 Acanthacece. 



A fine genus of hot-house plants, containing a 

 number of shrubs or herbs, natives of tropical 

 America. They have large leaves, and red fas- 

 cicled or cymose flowers, in a long, terminal ra- 

 ceme. The calyx is divided to the middle into 

 five equal short lobes ; the corolla is tubular and 

 incurved, with a five-lobed or two-lipped spread- 

 ing limb, and the two fertile stamens are usually 

 included, and have parallel anther cells, blunt 

 at the base. The upper portion of the capsule is 

 without seeds, while the lower portion, being 

 swollen, gives it a spathulate form ; it contains 

 only four (sometimes two) seeds. T. rut'dans 

 is one of the finest, and highly prized for 

 its long racemes of carmine-scarlet flowers. 

 They require the same treatment as Justicia. 

 First introduced in 1823. 



I Thysanotus. From thysanotos, fringed; the three 

 inner sepals being fringed. Linn. Uexandria- 

 Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Liliacece. 



A small genus of green-house herbaceous per- 

 ennials from New South Wales, producing sin- 

 gular, purple, Iris-shaped flowers, on slender 

 scapes about a foot high. They are not much 

 cultivated. Introduced in 1823. 



Tick Trefoil. See Desmodium. 



Tiger Flower. See Tigridia. 



Tigridia. Tiger Flower. Fron tigris, a tiger, and 

 eidos, like; in reference to the spotted flowers. 

 Linn. Triandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Ir'ulacein. 

 A small genus of very beautiful Mexican bulbs, 

 introduced in 1796. The flowers are indeed re- 

 markable; and though they are of very short 

 duration, lasting only about half the day, they 

 are produced in such abundance in succession 

 as to make their culture desirable and interest- 

 ing. One plant will continue flowering for two 

 or three months in succession, and during the 

 whole of that time will make a splendid display 

 in the garden. Of the several species or varie- 

 ties introduced into the garden there are but 

 two that succeed really well, and they rarely, if 

 ever, fail of producing an abundance of flowers; 

 these are T. conchiflora, with yellow flowers, and 

 T. pai-onia, with bright, dark orange-red flow- 

 ers. T.pavonia grandiflora, a variety of the pre- 

 ceding, has larger flowers of the same color. 

 Each of these is spotted, characteristic of the or- 

 der. They grow freely with ordinary garden 

 culture, preferring a light, rich, and moist soil, 

 and will not succeed in a very dry situation. 

 These bulbs flower during the rainy season in 

 Mexico, and they consequently require consid- 

 erable water when under cultivation. The 

 bulbs require to be taken up soon after the first 

 frost, tied up in bunches of convenient size, 

 without cutting off the stems, and hung up in 

 any dry room free from frost, where they can 

 remain until the time for re-planting. A place 

 must be selected where they cannot be reached 

 by mice, which are very destructive to the bulbs. 



Tile-root. See Gkissorhiza. 



Tilia. Basswood, Linden. Derivation of name 

 unknown; in Dutch it is called Linden, in Anglo- 

 Saxon Lind, and in English Lime Tree. Linn. 

 Polyandria-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. TUiacece. 



A genus of tall-growing deciduous trees com- 

 mon throughout this country and Europe. The 

 European Linden, '/. urop<ra, has larger leaves 

 than our native species, and is the one that is 

 usually planted as an ornamental tree. T. Amer- 

 icana grows to a great size in this country, and 

 furnishes a large amount of lumber, used chiefly 



