LOPHANTHUS 



LOPHANTHUS (Greek, crested riower; application 

 not evident). LabiAta. Of this genus we cultivate 2 

 species of liardy herbaceous perennials, which are rather 

 tall and coarse and bear spikes of more or less purplish 

 fls. in summer. The genus contains 7 species, all from 

 America or N. E. Asia. Lvs. serrate, veiny, petioled, 

 lower usually sul.conlate and upper ovate: tls. small, in 

 diMis,. s.ssilr will. lis .•riiwded into terminal spikes, 

 wliiiii iii:iv 1... ini.rrniitid below; stamens exserted; 

 aiitiM r- ~.|.,iiMicii I. r distant, not approximate in pairs, 

 till ir .(•lis i.aniU.I ..r m-:trly so. Of minor value. 



blue; calyx teeth tinged purple or violet. .July, Aug. 

 Prairies, Wis. to Rockies. B.E. 15:1282. — This species 

 grows 3-5 ft. high, on dry hills, and has pale purple 

 flowers. 



scrophularisetdlius, Benth. Height 4-6 ft.: lvs. not 

 auise-scented, not white beneath : tis. dull purplish; 

 calyx teeth whitish. Borders of thickets, N. Y. to Wis. 

 and N. C — This plant grows 2 ft. high and has laven- 

 der-blue flowers in June. 



LOUISIANA 



945 



LOPHOSPfiRMUM. See Maurandia. 



LOSDS AND LADIES. Arum maculatum. 

 IiOQUAT, See Eriobotrya Japonica. 



LdTUS meant several things to the ancients: (1) 

 tho i4rffk t,Atii«, a l^tniminous plant on which horses 

 fiii Till- 'All- i.i..ImI.:\ wiiat we call to-day ioffes co*'- 



II !' I I I I :;iiMs-foot Trefoil of temperate 



!•' L ; .( : I ' . Ml Ijotus, an African shrub, the 



trim i.t n 111 ii iMi- . ii.ii l.v certain North African tribes 

 who were calleil Lntiis eaters. The fruit was said to be 

 honey-sweet, the size of an olive and in taste like a date. 

 This was probably Zuyphns Lotus, a prickly .ibrub 

 whose fruit is, however, considered inferior to that of 

 the common jujube, Zizijphus satiea. Other conjectures 

 have been: Celtis australis, a tree which has a small, 

 sweet berry; Nitraria trUleiitutii , a thorny desert shrub 

 whose succulent fruit has a stimulating quality, and 

 RlirimiiKf: A/.i^fs, another N'ortli African plant. "Euro- 

 pi-.'ui Ijiitus is a name fur liiiiii/iiiros Lotos, a kind of 

 <lat.- ]i|iiin wlikii i< rn\t. iu s. l^u.. Iiut the fruit is hardly 

 e.lil.l.-. i:;iTln-i:-v|,tiaii 1, 1.1. 1- or Sacred Lily of the Nile. 

 TliN is .\iii„i.liii.i L.ilim.wUiAu like the Hindu Lotus, 

 has rose-colored as well as white flowers. American 

 cultivators at the present time aliuost universally con- 

 sider that the true Egyptian Lotus is Nelumbium spe- 

 ci OS inn, now called Nelumbo, hnt JVelitmbiiim speciositm 

 is not a native of Egypt, (i) The Hindu and Chinese 

 Lfiiiis. also lalliil the Sacred or Pythagorean Bean. This 

 is .y< liiiiil,:. /).. ?(.■,(. better known as Nelumbium speci- 

 osiini. Tiu- name Lotus was doubtless used for other 

 water lilies, particularly the blue-flowered Nymplwea 

 ca-ralea. These plants are described in this work. See 

 JYelitmbo and Ifymphcea. 



Lotus of the botanists is a genus of 50-100 species, 

 found in temperate regions: herbs or subshrubs, gla- 

 brous, silky or hirsute: lvs. with 3 Ifts. crowded at the 

 apex of the petiole and commonly 2 joined to the stem 

 and resi-iiil)ling stipules: fls. pea-shaped, yellow, red, 

 rosy or white, often in axillary, few-fld. umbels, rarely 

 solitary; calyx lobes longer than the tube; keel beaked: 

 pod oblong or linear. Leguminosse. 



A. Lvs. thread-like: fls. odd, not pea-shaped. 



Bertholetii, Masf. (L. pelinrhi/nnis. Hook. L.pelyor- 

 ensis, Hort. ). Small, much-branched, slenderbush, with 

 a silvery hue: Ifts. whorled, 8-9 lines long: fls. IJ^ in. 

 long, in loose clusters of about 20 toward the end of the 

 branches, short-pedicelled, scarlet or crimson fading to 

 orange: standard recurved like a horn; keel acuminate, 

 longer than the wings. Cape Verde, Canaries. B.M. 

 6733. R.H. 18rt.j:308. — Peliorhyncus means bruised or 

 discolored nose. Called "Coral Gem" in catalogues. 

 Grown chiefly iu hanging baskets. Prop, by division or 

 cuttings. 



AA. Lvs. not thread-like : fls. pea-shaped. 

 B. Fls. yellow. 



comicuUtns, Linn. Bird's-foot Trefoil. Babies' 

 Slippers. Perennial, prostrate or ascending, a few in. 

 to 2 ft, high, glabrous or hairy: Ifts. obovate or ovate, 

 y^ in. long, the 2 stipular ones broader and very oblique: 

 fls. yellow, often tinged bright red, .5-10 in an umbel; 

 calyx lobes about as loui,' as the tube. Temp, regions 

 and Australia. Var. fI6re-pIeno has showy double fls.— 

 A hardy trailer for covering dry banks and rockwork, 

 blooming all summer and autumn. Also grown for 

 forage. 



BB. Fls. pink or white. 



austrilis, Andr. Perennial, diffuse, sometimes sub- 

 shrubby, glabrous or pubescent: Ifts. narrower than in 

 L. corniculatus , and the stipular ones less dissimilar, 

 but varying from obovate and under )4 in. long, to 

 linear and 1-lHin. long: fls. usually pink, but varying 

 from white to purple-red. Australia. B.M. 1365. 

 L.B.C. 11:1003 and B. 5:211 (as L. albidus). -Int. 1900 

 by Franceschi. 



BBB. Fls. dark purple or dark red. 



c. Lfts. linear-lanceolate. 



lacobaeus, Linn. Perennial, subshrubby: fls. about 3 



in a fl.at-topped cluster, dark purple, almost black. 



Cape Verde. B.M. 79. -Treated as a tender annual 



bedding plant. 



cc. Lfts. obovate to elliptic. 



Tetragon61obus, Linn. Winged Pea. Annual trailer: 

 fls. solitary or twin, purplish cardinal-red. Mediterra- 

 nean region. B.M. 151.— Tetragonolobus was once con- 

 sidered a separate genus, largely because of the 4 leafy 

 wings of the pod. Grown chiefly for food, the pods 

 being eaten when young and the seeds, when roasted, 

 substituted for coffee. Seeds sown in drills iu April. 

 Plants require no care exLi jit water during drought 



L BidamlLiisif 1 pink fill \bjssinian plint was mt to 

 \meilL in tnde 1> Frimrs hi wli i =n\ s it wis orieimHv sent 



but his a different hil i 

 Ijv Wil 



W M 



LOUISIANA (Fig. 1320) is situated at the extreme 

 lower limit of the great Mississippi system, bordering 

 on the Gulf of Mexico. These bodies of water have an 

 important bearing upon the climate, and make it pos- 

 sible to grow some of the subtropical fruits. The pre- 

 vailing wind is from the south, somewhat cool and always 

 laden with moisture, and the southern portion of the 

 state, being only about 30 feet above the sea level, re- 

 ceives the heaviest rainfall, 70 inches, while the northern 

 portion, being more elevated and further from the gulf, 

 has an annual rainfall of 45 to 50 inches. This is, as a 

 rule, well distributed throughomt the state, the seasons 

 of greatest drought being early spring and early autumn. 

 The highest recorded summer temperatures run from 

 98° along the Gulf coast, to 102° in the northern part of 

 the state, while the average winter temperature is 56°. 

 Occasionally a northwestern blizzard reaches down 

 into the state, causing a heavy fall in temperature, ac- 

 companied with sleet, and once in a great while, snow. 

 There was a temperature of 9° in 1895, and 13 inches of 

 snow. A minimum of 15° below zero was subsequently 

 recorded in northern Louisiana. These occasional bliz- 

 zards have forced the culture of tropical fruits down to 

 the section immediately bordering on the Gulf. As the 

 soil has such an important bearing on the character of 

 the fruit, a rough classiflcation of the different kinds 

 is here given. 



First: The Sandy Mills and Uplands. — These occupy 

 the northwestern portion of the state, along with a sec- 

 tion in the eastern part, south of the state of Mississippi. 

 The lands are characterized by sandy soils, with pine 

 and oak forests, and produce the best apples, stone- 

 fruits and berries. 



Second: The Bluff Lands. — These occupy a broken 

 strip, running parallel with the Mississippi, from 30 to 



