EQUISETUM 



?. arvinse, hiemciU (Fig. 708), limdsum, pra- 

 biistum, scirpoUles, sylvdticum, variegdtum. 



For descriptions, consult the manuals. They 



grow usually in moist or swale-like places. 



They are flowerless plants, allied to ferns and 



club-mosses. 



ERAGBOSTIS (Greek, lore and grass). 

 Oramiiiew. Love Gra.ss. Annual or peren- 

 iii;d grasses, with herbaceous stems of various 

 haliits, and from G in. to several feet tall. 

 I ulins simple or often branched. Inflores- 

 I'fiii-e composed of very v.iriable puiiicli-s, 



either close and narrow, r.r I -. rm.! -ri.l. Iv 



spreading: spikelcts 2-iii i ■' i i , ■;■.■ ,- 

 most imperfect. Closely I . . i , 



which it can be distingui h ; :-. , . ini.i i 

 fl. -glumes, which are dustiitUu i.i: any v.'j'lli 

 ness. The species are very variable and their 

 limits hard to define. About 100 species oc- 

 cur in the warm and temperate regions of 

 both hemispheres, few of which are of any 

 agricultural or horticultural value. The fol- 

 lowing are cult, as "ornamental grasses" in 

 flower gardens. 



AhyBslnlca, Link. A branching, leafy an- 

 nual, 2-4 ft. high, with widely spreading cap- 

 illary panicles of many spikelets: Ivs. 12-U 

 in. long, rough on the upper side, ligule a 

 mere ring : panicles slender, gracefully 

 drooping, grayish when in full bloom : spike- 

 lets 5-7-fld., one-fifth of an inch long. Africa. 

 — In cult, as an ornamental grass for bou- 

 quets. Grain used as food in Africa. By 

 some referred to Poa. 



amibiliB, Wight & Am. {Pda amdbilis, 

 Linn.). An erect grass G in. to 1 ft. high, 

 with inconspicuous linear -lanceolate Ivs., 

 ciliate at the base: spikelets very large and 

 broad, closely resembling quaking - grass 

 (Briza), 16-24-fld. India.-In cult, as an orna- 

 mental grass. 



filegans, Nees. Feather Love-Grass. An 

 erect grass 1-2 ft. high, with smooth culms 

 and rough Ivs.: panicles closely contracted, 

 dense: spikelets very small, 4-7-fld., numer- 

 ous, and presenting a feather-like appear- 

 ance in mass. S. Amer.— In cult, as an orna- 

 768. mental grass. 

 Equisetum mdxima, Baker. Large Love-Grass. A 

 hyemalc- tall, robust plant, 2-3 ft. high, with lanceolate 

 Common acuminate Ivs., cordate at the base: panicles 

 ru"h"^" "'^'^y ''''' '^^'^ '"'°'«i' '^^ •"• '°°S= spikelets 

 oblong, flattened, very large, K-}^ in. long. 

 Madagascar. — One of the most ornamental species of 

 the genus. 



colllna, Trin. {E. suaveolens, Becker). 'Fig. 7G9. An 

 erect, leafy annual, 1-3 ft. high, with densely fld., spread- 

 ing panicles: spikelets G-13-fid., numerous, one-flfth in. 

 long : pedicels of spikelets and branches of panicle 

 rough: Ivs. smooth beneath, rough above. Asia. — The 

 species is very variable under cult., many different 

 forms being found. In cult, as an ornamental grass for 

 bouquets. 



ERANTHE.MUM 



rarely coarsely toothed: fls. white, lilac, rosy or red, 

 borne in various ways ; bracts and bractlets narrow, 

 small ; corolla tube long, slender, cylindrical throughout 

 or rarely with a short throat ; limb 5-parted ; stamens 

 2 : ovules 2 in each cell : seeds i or fewer. The genus 

 Dsedalacanthus, although in a different tribe, is separated 

 only by a combination of technical characters, but the 

 garden forms of both genera described in this work are 

 all distinguishable at a glance. For culture, see Jus- 

 ticia. Consult Dcedalacaiithiis. 



A. Fls. purple. 



laxifldrum, Gray. Height 2-1 ft. : Ivs. on the same 



Iilant varyiiia; trreatly in size and .shape, those near the 



(■ 111 I !iL ^-1.) lines wide; petioles 2-6 lines long, 



iiliove the middle, more or less ovate- 



I i"wed at the base: fls. in cymes; 



>iiiii. I) J, ]M iir, I. sharp-pointed. Fiji. B.M. 6336. 



AA. Fls. pure white. 



tuberculatum. Hook. 



ily told while growing by 

 the many small roundish ami rough elevations on the 

 branches: Ivs. =iii!.ll, '^--••■: in. wide, rarely if ever 1 in. 

 long, broad I V . :: :,im,:.i, .i.tuse or notched, almost ses- 

 sile: fls. iiiit. I -iiigly in the axils, in sum- 

 mer; cor..ll I i_'and slender, 1}^ in. long; 

 limb 1 in. a.i. i li.ri- scarcely exerted. Habitat 

 unknown. B.:\l. .540.5. 



AAA. Fls. white, speckled with red-purple. 

 B. Foliage netted with yellow. 

 Teticul&tum, Hort. {F. Sch6mburgkii, Linden). 

 Height 4 ft. : upper Ivs. 2-7 in. long, ovate-lanceolate, 

 characteristically netted with yellow ; lower Ivs. 6-10 

 in. long, not netted, but the veins prominent and yel- 

 low : fls. racemose ; corolla speckled with blood-red at 

 the mouth ; anthers reddish brown, exserted. Possibly 

 Australia. B.M. 7480. I.H. 26:349. 



769. Eraerosti 



(XM). 



BB. Foliage not netted with yellow. 



Andersoni, Mast. Lvs. lanceolate or elliptic, narrowed 

 into a short stalk: fls. in a spike G in. long; lower mid- 

 dle lobe of the corolla larger and speckled with purple. 

 Trinidad. Gn. 45:943. 



The following trade names belong to plants grown chiefly for 



