NIGELLA 



terranean region. The following 2 are only species now 

 used in America. Tliey require little care. The seed 

 should be sown in the open border in good soil any time 

 after the middle of March, and the seedlings thinned, 

 if necessary, to a distance of about 8 in They seldom 

 succeed well if transplanted. If the seeds be sown in 

 early autumn the iiUmts m:iv \vitlist;iiid the winter and 



NOLANA 



1091 



I 



thers, straight; anthers erect, free, the cells facing in- 

 ward, parallel, confluent at the apex: glands none. 



"Like many other plants from Guatemala," says 

 Lindley in B.R. 28:5, speaking of iV. oblonrja, "it seems 

 to require a temperature between that of a greenhouse 

 and of a stove. In its general habits it resembles 

 Achimenes rosea. It flowers -in the autumn and winter, 

 after which the stems die off, and the plant remains in 

 a dormant state until the following season. When in 

 this state it ought of course to be kept perfectly dry, 

 ..n a li^'ht, warm shelf, and then when the , season of 

 Hi ;. |r:i^t, wliirli Hill I...- indicated by the young stems 

 (' - ■'•• ir ,i|:|.. nr;iii. I , it may be repotted and liber- 



, ; n d With Hill. 1-. It forms a great number of 

 . ..,1 .,- iinlii i.ai.a .-.jly buds, both On the Surface and 

 lui.ln ground, by whiclj it may easily be multiplied in 

 the .same ma,nner as Achimenes; it also strikes readily 

 by cuttings. Any rich light soil will do for its cultiva- 



oblbnga, Lindl. Lvs. heart shaped or perhaps some- 

 what oblong, more or less whorled: fis. drooping; co- 

 rolla about \14 in. across ; lobes roundish, concave at 

 first, then reyolute. Guatemala. B.R. 28:5. 



NIPHOBOLTJS Lingrua, var. corymbifera, is a touph- 

 leaved, crested fern, recommended by <i. W. ()ti\i'r fur 

 window boxes. Oliver writes that this plant can bo 

 quickly increased by division of the slcms. whicli uixtw 



1491. Lov 



-Nicella Damascen 



be ready to flower earlier the next summer. By plaTit- 

 iug at different seasons the plants may be continued in 

 beauty nearly throughout the summer. The seeds of 

 iV". satlvn, Linn., or black cummin, are sometimes used 

 as seasoning in the Old World. 



DamaacSna, Linn. Fig. 1491. Height 1-2 ft.: lvs. 

 bright green, very finely cut : fls. white or blue, large: 

 involucre very deuse aud fine: styles erect in the fr., 

 nearly as long as the capsules: fr. not divergent at 

 top. Summer. S. Eu. B.M. 22. Gn. 37, p. 130.-Var. 

 nina, Hort. A dwarf form with very large fls. 



Hispinica, Linn. Lvs. much divided, but less so 

 than in tin- precccling : fls. deeper blue than the last, 

 with <lecp red stamens; involucre absent; styles rather 

 spreading : fr. divergent at top. July. Spain and N. 

 Africa. B.M. 12G5. Gn. 37:7.39.-Va"r. Fontanesi&na, 

 Hort. (jV. fonlanexiAna, Hort.). Much like the type, 

 but said to flower two weeks earlier. ]j_ f_ Davis. 



NIGGER TOE. Xufs of liertlwlhti,!. 



NIGHT- BLOOMING CEEEUS. See (■',•,•,».<. 



NIGHTSHADE. Snlttnum nigrum. Deadly N., 

 Alr^iHt Belliulonva. Enchanter's N., Cirnia. Three- 

 leaved N., THUium. 



NINE-BABK. Phy.x 



Opi 



auoiu 



NIPHffiA(Greek, iiiplios, snow; alluding to the white 

 color of the fis., which is rare in this family). Gesner- 

 i)rc(r. if. oblonrja is a plant something like a Gloxinia, 

 but instead of a large spotted throat the flowers have 

 so small a tube as to appear almost 5-petaled. Niphseas 

 are tropical American stcmless or dwarf herbs, with 

 heart-shaped, coarsely serrate, hairy lvs. and clusters 

 of about a dozen fls. an inch or so m<t..':«. bf.mo =iTv_'l'- 



on reddish stalks about 2 in. biL-h r - - i i ■ -ii 



they are inferior to Gloxinia atal - . 

 are desirable for botanical coll. , t 



the most distinct types of the -i-imi; u- innl 



They have a creeping root, and no tubiTs : lvs. soft, 

 wrinkled, petiolate. opposite: corolla nearly wheel- 

 shaped; disk absent; filaments shorter than the an- 



ing, covered with i 

 erect : lvs. entire, 

 in. wide, matted li 



the 



aprv, fonnmi; a llatfi-h. .■..rynil.-liko cluster. N. N. 

 linnkn.r wrins Thai \ ar. variegata is also cult. "It 

 has litrht yilluw lines alj.ait an eighth of an inch wide 

 and three-fourths of an inch apart, running across the 

 fronds at right angles to the midrib." 



NITROGEN. The role of Nitrogen in horticulture is 

 discussed under Fertility, Fertilisers, Legumes aud 

 Manures, 



NOLANA (from noln, a little bell ; referring to the 

 shape of the corolla). ConvolvulAcew. About 18 species 

 of prostrate annual herbs with showy blue fls., opening 

 only in sunshine, all native to Chile and Peru. They 

 are valued chiefly for covering poor or rocky soils. 

 Stem often slightly angulate, usually spotted and 

 streaked with purple above, much branched, the ends 

 of the branches ascending several inches: lvs. solitary 

 or in pairs, entire, usually fleshy, the lower long-peti- 

 oled; the upper short-petioled, sessile or attenuated into 

 a winged petiole : fls. borne singly in the axils of the 

 lvs., mostly short-peduncled, commonly blue or purple, 

 rarely white or rose ; calyx 5-parted ; corolla funnel- 

 shaped or bcll-shapcd, entire, 5-angled or 5-IO-lobed : 

 ovaries ."i in nianr. l-'-«r-Hdfd, arranged in 1-2 series or 

 clustered I'l'. iin ! M-.ni.l the base of the style. 



The rliai ■ ,: h several species of Nolana 



have be. n i i. i i"t well defined. It is probable 



tb;it ^V. f/^,' "'/'"', .N'. prostraia and i\^ paradoxa 

 should be considered as one species. The chief char- 

 acters which have been used to distinguish them are the 

 number of ovaries in each fl. and the number of seeds 

 in each ovary ; but these characters vary in different 

 plants of these and other species of Nolana. If. atri- 

 plicifolia is commonly sold under the names of the 

 other two. Consult Benth. and Hook., Genera Plan- 

 tarum 2: S70. Latest mnnoaraph D.C. Prod. l.'!:!1 (18.i2l. 



They prefer a light . „.. . 

 plicifolia is well suited for 



and sunny situation, jf. atri- 

 vases and baskets. 



