PLATYSTEMON 



over the forming fruit. Platystemon grows wildjthrough- 

 oiit California, except in the mountains, and is said to 

 prefer a loose soil. See Annuals. 



CaliWmicus, Benth. Cream Cops. Lvs. mainly oppo- 

 site, sessile, ligulMte, hispid: fls. light yellow to cream 

 color or white, rarely roseate; sepals 3. B.M. 3579. B. 

 R. 20:1679. B.2:65. Gn. 30, p. 313. — The smooth-fruited 

 form figured as P. leiocarpum in F.C. 2 :76 and B.M. 3750 

 is said by the Synoptical Flora to be "a mere state." 

 W. M. 



PLATYSTlGMA (Greek, broad stigma). Papaverctcem. 

 Low, ■^Itiid.r (Mlifornia annuals with pale yellow fls. 

 less th;iii 1 in. icToss. They are among the few plants 

 of the pupi>y f iiiiilv with .-ntire lvs. They are closely 

 allied to Plai, -: m n Mil I iiVf-r in having the filaments 

 scarcely dihiMi, i : n^tt-ad of many, and the fr. 

 a capsule will ii the apex. Other generic 

 characters: il m , niini-rous; stamens numer- 

 ous, free; ^Il ■ : !■ ■ '' i' ni. I' ■ -i i'-s from 



Calif, and dr. _ '■ . it h thick 



stigmas and n. , r ~ ' ,ii, <: i .-.n , i h.- others 



having leafvai.. I i.n.ii.h m- -'. m-, li i- mjum-.I in B.M. 

 3575 with pale yillow tis.; iii h.ii. :i.i:i;i..4 it is shown 

 with 3 white petals alternating with yellow ones. Platy- 

 stigmas seem never to have been offered for sale in 

 America. 



PLATYTHfiCA ( Greek, broad anther cells). Treman- 

 drt'ti-iit . A hi'aih-like Australian shrub, with foliage like 

 a bed-'.traw ( or I ;:iliuml and many 5-pointed starry blos- 



PLEIONE 



1371 



branches. K: 

 center is ni:ir 

 to a small, I- 

 shrubs. COM,, 

 the dominant 

 the Polygala 

 differs in thr 

 resembles tli< 

 brvo immr-rs, 



e toward the end of the 

 "■lit 1 inch across, and its 

 if red. Platytheca belongs 

 liiii't family of Australian 

 11. of which Tetratheca is 

 • iiiandra family resembles 

 lucture of the capsule, but 

 istivation of the flower; it 

 in having a very small em- 



dislinu'iii-liiil fiMiM • aiiiiilnr l-v thi- anlli. i-; Tiv- 



nian.lr:l .lilTri-^ fn.m tin- ..tln-r t w.. in liaviii- tin- antlirrs 

 .idinted with the filaments : in Platytheca the anthers 

 have 4 cells all in the same plane;" in Tetratheca the 

 anthers are 2-ceUed or 4-celled, with 2 cells in front of 

 the 2 others. 



Other generic characters of Platytheca: floral parts 

 in 5's; stamens in 2 distinct series, with 4 parallel cells 

 in a single plane contracted into a tube at the top: cap- 

 sule opening loculicidally at the edge, with the 4 valves 

 splitting septicidally: seeds glabrous, without appen- 

 dage. Only one species. 



galioides, Steetz. {P. verlicillcita, B&iW.). Lvs. linear, 

 % in. long, about 10 in a whorl, hairv. Said to bloom in 

 June. P.M. ]:::I7I i.-i- T. tr.iih. , ■.,',: ,-ih-,ll„t.i). -This 

 plant deservi-s in he l,.i i. r I^im.wh. CutiinL'^ i.f half- 

 ripened wood ri.-i fn-.ly un.l.r ,1 III ll-!it-~ iiia shaded 

 house at GO', i ntimu^ r..i.i..l m I', lirmirv or March 

 will make good plant.-, in ,",-iuch puts iii one year. In 

 summer keep them plunged outside, but covered with 

 shaded sash. By trimming frequently they will make 

 well-shaped plants, needing no supports. Kept in a 

 coolhouse (45°) during winter, they will be covered with 

 bloom in March and April. The flowers last but a short 

 but the plant is so free that it is always covered 

 H. D. Darlington- and W. M. 



ith bloom. 



PLECTOCOMIA n;r,;-]i. ph,ii,,i h.nr: application ob- 

 scurci. I'.ihii,;,,,,-, Six ,|i.ri. , ,.r iOa-t-Iudian climbing 

 paliii~ whiih fruit ..iir,. f,,r all and ili.Ti die. One of the 

 most intir.-stin- sp.-i-ii-.; is P. K 11,1x1/, ma, which is fig- 

 ured in B.M.oIO.-iunderthe erroneoustitleof P. Assam- 

 ica. This species has a slender stem GO-80 ft. long, 

 and about as thick as a man's arm, being slightly 

 thicker above tlian at the base. The lvs. attain 30 ft. 

 and are pinnate only in the lower half, the rest of the 

 liaf being a long, whip-like extension of the rachis of 

 the leaf. A singular feature of this palm is the device 

 by which it climbs. This consists of a series of com- 



pound spines snaped like a downward-pointing human 

 hand, the back of the hand being yellow and the 5 

 or 6 fingers composed of brown spines. These organs 

 are scattered all along the lower side of the flattened 

 rachis. They hook on the branches of trees and thus 

 enable the palm to climb for light. 



"A yet more wonderful provision of nature," says 

 Hooker, "is observed in the young and yet unfolded 

 leaves of these plants during the period when they in- 

 sert themselves upwards among the branches of the 

 forests, for then these spines are upright and lie flat 

 against the stalk of the leaf, not becoming reflexed till 

 they are needed as a means of support." Probably all 

 the species possess these flagelliform leaves and re- 

 markable spines. The whip-like leaf -tips may act as ten- 

 drils. The genus is little known to cultivators, and only 

 one species is offered in the U. S. The genus is allied 

 to the rattans (Calamus), which also are climbers. 

 William Watson writes that the fruit of a Plectocomia 

 is a shell composed of many small, tightly overlapping 

 scales, inclosing a round seed which has a solid whitish 

 albumen almost as hard as ivory. Watson adds that 

 young plants are ornamental, but their spiny lvs. are a 

 drawback, and the lvs. are much more easily broken 

 than those of most palms. 



elongata. Mart. Lvs. very large; Ifts. 1-lK ft.x2 in., 

 sparsely white powdery beneath, with 3 very slender 

 parallel nerves or costae. Penang, Sumatra, Java.— 

 Offered in 1890 by Keasoner Bros. 



PLECTOPdMA. A few species, now apparently much 

 hybridized, all referred to Gloxinia. 



PLECTEANTHUS (Greek, spurred flower). LabiMce. 

 A large and uninteresting genus of herbs and sub- 

 shrubs, widely scattered, bearing rather small or small- 

 ish fls., ranging from blue and purple to lilac. There 

 are said to be some species with fls. nearly an inch long. 

 The genus is closely allied to Coleus, being distin- 

 guished by having the stamens free instead of united at 

 thn h.ise into a tube, which is distinct from the corolla. 

 In "tlir-r respects the genus has wide limits of variation. 

 Si\i\ six species are described in DC. Prod. 12:55 

 ( 1.^ !> 1 . Sometimes called Cockspur-flower. 



Jrutioosus, L'H^rit. South African shrub, 3-4 ft. 

 high: lvs. 4 in. or more long, petiolate, broadly ovate, 

 doubly dentate: racemes laxly panicled: whorls about 

 3-6-fld.: fls. bine; pedicles l^i in. long; corolla-tube 

 spurred above the base: fruiting calyx declinate.-Said 

 to be an elegant shrub. Ernest Braunton has a specimen 

 at Los Angeles, which is 4 ft. high and C ft. through. 



PLECTEdNIA (Greek, cockspnr ; referring to the 

 spines). Bubi&ceae. About 70 species of shrubs or 

 small trees, found in the Old World, mostly in the trop- 

 ics. They are more or less spiny and have somewhat 

 funnel-shaped, 5-parted fls., with reflexed segments val- 

 vate in the bud, and a hairy or naked throat. Calyx 

 obovate or oblong; stamens 5, in the throat; style 

 short; stigma subcapitate, of 2 approximate lamellae: 

 berry obovate-oblong, compressed, didymous, 2-stoned: 

 stones indehiscent, 1-seeded. 



spinosa, Klotzsch. Very spiny South African shrub, 

 5-8 ft. high : lvs. fasciculate, oval or obovate, obtuse, 

 entire, l-lii in. long: racemes or panicles shorter than 

 the lvs.: peduncles axillary, 5-12-fld.: corolla-tube 

 shorter than the limb; throat naked. Int. by Frances- 

 chi, Santa Barbara. 



PLEI6NE (from Greek mythology; Pleione, mother 

 of the Pleiads). Orchidcicem. A small genus closely 

 related to Coelogyne, but having annual deciduous lvs. 

 and pseudobulbs. Natives of the mountains of India, 

 extending to elevations where snow and frost are not 

 uncommon. Few species are cultivated in America. 

 See Orchid. 



macnl4ta, Lindl. Pseudobulbs round, flattened, de 

 pressed at the top, forming a fleshy ridge around the 

 summit: lvs. lanceolate, from inflated sheaths: fls. pre- 

 ceding the lvs., on short peduncles; sepals and petals 

 lanceolate, spreading, white; labellum funnel-shaped, 

 with 5-7 fringed lamellie extending the entire length of 



