1284 



PETASITES 



sinsly. Tliev are rather coarse and weed}', but the fol- 

 lu\viii;i: are de3iral)le for special purposes. 



/>. fraiirunx. thi- Winter Heliotrope or Sweet Colts- 

 foot, has the merit of lilooniiiig in winter and its lis. 

 have- a delii,'htfiil vanilla-like odor. The (Is. are snmll 

 and vary from pale lilac to purple. A few sprays arc> 

 desirable for cutting during winter. The iilant also 

 differs from the common coltsfoot in l]a\iii_' dark, r 

 colored and everf^rren foliaire. It is suital'lc t^r carpi 1 

 ing shrnMicrif-- ..ml f..r <'r'- banks of stilV cla> where 

 choic.-r -..I.].. I- 'I . I ii ii\.. Like most others of 

 the (;enii-. IT I I i,\ underground runners. 



Thi^ i.l ml -. . I I n to American ( 



53, 



land 



PETUNIA 



fls. seem to vary considerably in color: The Purple 

 Wreath is suitable for ratters. Propagated by cutlings 

 of dormant wood taken just before the new growth be- 

 gins. Give the cuttings bottom heat. 



Petrea is a genus of about IG species of tropical 

 American twining or arborescent shrubs: Ivs. opposite, 

 Ic.^ithery: fls. violet, purple or bluish in long, ternii- 



Call 



L Ottered by two dealers in native plants. 



P. Japonica, var. gigantea has recently appeared in 

 European and American garden literature. The cata- 

 logue ..f th.. Y'.l-'.'r.i>i-i Xiir-.-rr ''..Tiipany states that 



the :.-.i ,, I,, I. ,. I 1 I' in. thick. The 



stalks . I I n;; boiled, 



and .11 H^ir. The 



flowi'i l.n i , \.Im. Ii ipi . 11 III 1 . 1. 1 1' II , are used 

 as a condiment, as tin y have a slightly bitter but 

 agreeable flavor. The' plant has been advertiseil 

 in America since 1900 by several dealers. [ ^rf 



The genus is widely distributed in north tein- <_-/ 

 perate and subarctic regions. The number ..I / /^ 

 species is uncertain, but the essential cliara. t. .- \ ?>:. 

 of the genus (as distinguished from Tussila^j 

 is that the heads are nearly or quite <li<e.i..u 

 and rn, 1 s ,r -itli vcrv short and not show) 

 rays: i .i . . m, ,i th.- scapes usually have many 

 fls". in ' I 'I 111. I \ s. are orbicular or reniform, 



alwa\ - . I ' [ li.ait sh;iped base and the scapes 



are c.i\. i : miIi -. al. s like a coltsfoot but sometimes 



the lov 



eafy. 



A. Sise of Ivs. gigantic, Syi-i ft. across. 



Japdnioa, F. W. Schmidt. Island of Sachaline. Var. 

 gigantea, Hort. Lvs. orbicular, margin wavy. Sacha- 

 line Isl. — Grows as high as a man. 



AA. Size of lvs. 3-13 in. 

 E. Blooming Deceniher to March. 



fragrans, Presl. Winter Heliotrope. Sweet Colts- 

 foot. Height 8 in. : lvs. appearing during or after an- 

 thesis, orbicular, margined with small cartilaginous 

 teeth, glabrous above, pubescent and green below: 

 heads fragrant, the marginal fls. of the female heads 

 in the form of short rays. Mediterranean region. 

 BB. Blooming April to June. 



palm&ta, Gray. Height G-24 in. : lvs. orbicular in out- 

 line, deeply 7-11-cleft beyond the middle, and the lobes 

 sharply dentate, green and glabrous above, densely 

 white-tomentose beneath : heads fragrant, 4-C lines 

 across, the marginal fls. of the female heads in the 

 form of short rays. E. Asia, N. Amer. B.B. 3:409. 



W. M. 



PEXafiA (Robert James, Lord Petr«, 1710-1742, a 

 patron of botany who had the finest collection of exotic 

 plants in Europe). Verbendcea-. Petrea voliibilis, or the 

 Purple Wreath, is one of the rarest, most distinct and 

 beautiful of tender climbers. The flower is like a5-pointed 

 star of lilac with a good-sized violet in the middle. See 

 Fig. lyjr.. wlii.li in.licates the graceful raceme 7-8 in. 

 long, .■..III :ii hill L' 1 1. Ill aps two dozen flowers. The flowers 

 begin I., lip. II ai 111. base of the raceme and the showy 

 5-poinli-.l star is llie calyx, whose sepals are colored 

 like petals. The calyx spreads open while the corolla 

 Is still a round bud in the middle, and it remains after 

 the corolla has fallen, so that the vine, at first glance, 

 seems to bear two kinds of flowers. The blooms appear 

 in March and April. It should be in every greenhouse 

 collection, although it is of very irregular growth. It 

 does not bloom freely in small plants; it probably has 

 other drawbacks, for it has always been a rare plant in 

 Europe, though often enthusiastically commended. The 



PE-TSAI or Chinese Cabbage. Bra 



Pi-Tsa 



F£TT£BIA (after Franz Petter, a Dalmatian botan- 

 ist; died 1853). Zegumindsa. Only one species, very 

 similar in habit to Laburnum, but with the yellow fls. 

 in upright dense racemes, terminal on leafy branchlets. 

 It is but rarely cultivated, since it is less showy in 

 bloom than Laburnum or many species of Cytisus. It 

 is probably hardy as far north as Mass., and requires 

 the same culture as Laburnum, which see. If grafted. 

 Laburnum is to be used as a stock. This monotypic ge- 

 nus is closely allied to Laburnum, but differs by its up- 

 right racemes, by the wings and keel being at the base 

 adnate to the stamens and by the sessile ovary. It is 

 said to possess the same poisonous properties as that 

 genus. 



ramenticea, Presl. {Cijtisus frdgrans. Weld. C. 

 Weldeni, Vis. Lahurnum ramenlilceum, C. Koch). 

 Upright shrub, to 6 ft. : lvs. 3-foliolate, almost glabrous 

 or sparingly pubescent when young, on about 1 in. long 

 stalks; Ifts. cuneate, obovate to oblong, usually obtuse, 

 %-2 in. long: fls. fragrant, very short-pedicelled, in 1-3- 

 in. hmg, dense racemes; calyx 3-lobed, silky; keel 

 silky: pod linear-oblong, sparingly silkv, to 1% in. long. 

 May, June. Dalmatia, Istria. B.R. 29:40. 



Alfred Rehder. 



PETTIGEEE, Pettigrue, or Butcher's Broom. Itux- 



PETtNIA (South American aboriginal name, sai.l to 

 have been applied to tobacco), l^'olanucea-. There are 

 twelve or more species of Petunia, mostly native of the 

 southern part of South America. One or two grow in 

 Mexico and another (P. parviflora) is naturalized in 

 the southern parts of the U. S. ■ Petunias are small 



