Cyclopedia of American Horticulture 



AB^LIA ( after Dr. Clarke Abel, d. 1826). Caprifolia- 

 cece. Small shrubs : Ivs. opposite, small, petioled and 

 mostly dentate: fls. tubular, unequally 5-lobed, in axil- 

 lary, 1-3-fld. cymes, sometimes forming terminal panicles: 

 fr. a dry, leathery berry. E. Asia, Himalayas and Mexico. 

 Free-flowering low shrubs for cool greenhouse or outdoor 

 cultivation. The Japanese and Chinese species are the 

 hardiest, but in the north require some protection during 

 the winter. The Mexican species are hardy only south. 

 If potted, a sandy compost of peat and loam will suit 

 them ; in the open they grow best in sandy soil in a sunny 

 position. Prop, by greenwood cuttings in summer or by 

 layers in spring. 



Chinensis, R. Br. (A. mpestris, Lindl.). Lvs. ovate, 

 rounded at the base, serrate, hairy on the midrib beneath 

 and sometimes with scattered hairs above, deciduous: 

 fls. in terminal panicles, white, Kin. long; sepals 5; sta- 

 mens exserted. Summer. China. B.R. 32:8. On. 27, 

 p. 424. 



floribunda, Decaisne. Shrub, 4 ft.: Ivs. persistent, 

 oval,crenate-serrate, ciliate: peduncles axillary, 1-3-fld. ; 

 corolla rosy purple, 2 in. long; sepals 5. Summer. Mex. 

 B.M. 4316. F.S. 2:5. R.B. 23:157. 



grandifldra, Hort. (A. Chinensis xuniflora, A. rupes- 

 tris, Hort., not Lindl. A. rupestris, var. grandifldra, 

 Andre. A. unifldra, Hort., not Turcz.). Lvs. ovate, 

 rounded or attenuate at the base, serrate, shining above, 

 nearly glabrous, half -evergreen : fls. in terminal panicles, 

 white flushed pink, over %in.long; sepals 2-5; stamens 

 not exserted. Of garden origin. Gt. 41:1366. One of 

 the hardiest and most free-flowering Abelias; it flowers 

 continuously from June to Nov. 



A. biflora, Turcz. Lvs. ovate-lanceolate, hairy, coarsely ser- 

 rate, deciduous : fls. white; sepals 4. Manchuria, N. China. 

 A. serrdta, Sieb. & Zucc. Allied to A. biflora. Sepals 2. Japan. 

 S.Z.l:-34.-A.spathuldta,Sieb.&Zncc. Allied to A. biflora. Lvs. 

 ovate: fls.ove* 1 in. long, white tinged yellow in throat; sepalsS. 

 Japan. S.Z.I: 34. B.M. 6601. A.triflbra.R. Br. Lvs. persistent, 

 lanceolate, nearly entire, hairy : fls. white, tinged with pink ; 

 sep. 5, linear, long, hairy. Himal. P.F.G. 3: 91. R.H. 1870: 511. 

 A.Mni/Zora.R.Br. (A. serrata, Nichols., not S.&Z.). Lvs. persis- 

 tent, ovate-lanceolate : fls. rosy white with yellow in throat; 

 sepals 2. China. B.M. 4694. Gn. 27, p. 425. ALFRED REHDER . 



ABERIA(Mt.Aber). Bixinacece. The Kei Apple of the 

 Cape of Good Hope; a spiny plant grown S. for hedges, 

 but killed in Fla. by freeze of 1893; is considered prom- 

 ising for S. Calif, and S. Fla. as a fruit plant. Int. 1891. 

 Fresh fruit used as pickles. 



Caffra, Hook, f . & Harv. Thorny, glabrous : Ivs. obo- 

 vate, obtuse, cuneate at base, entire: fls. dioecious, 

 apetalous. G.C. III. 18: 737. 



ABIES (derivation doubtful). Coniferce. FIR. Tall, 

 pyramidal trees : Ivs. lanceolate or obianceolate, entire, 

 sessile, persistent for many years; on young plants and 

 lower sterile branches flattened, usually deep green and 

 lustrous above and silvery white below from the pres- 

 ence of many rows of stomata, rounded and variously 

 notched at the apex, appearing 2-ranked by a twist at 

 their base; on upper fertile branches crowded, more or 

 less erect, often incurved or falcate, thickened or quad- 

 rangular, obtuse or acute : fls. axillary, appearing in 

 early spring from buds formed the previous summer on 

 branchlets of the year, surrounded by involucres of the 

 enlarged scales of the flower-buds; staminate fls. pen- 

 dent on branches above the middle of the tree; pistil- 

 late fls. globular, ovoid or oblong, erect on the topmost 

 branches: fr. an erect, ovoid or oblong cylindrical cone, 

 its scales longer or shorter than their bracts, separating 

 at maturity from the stout, persistent axis. Northern and 

 mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere, often 

 gregarious. Twenty-three species are distinguished; 

 greatest segregation on the Cascade Mountains of Ore- 



gon, in the countries adjacent to the Mediterranean, and 

 in Japan. All the species produce soft, perishable wood, 

 sometimes manufactured into lumber, and balsamic exu- 

 dations contained in the prominent resin vesicles in the 

 bark characteristic of the genus. Handsome in cultiva- 

 tion, but usually of short-lived beauty. Moist, well- 

 drained soil. Prop, by sowing and by grafts. Seeds are 

 usually kept dry over winter and planted in frames or 

 seed-beds in spring. Young plants usually need shade. 

 Most species can be grafted with comparative ease; 

 A. Picea and A. balsamea are commonly used for 



1. Spanish Fir. Abies Pinsapo. 



stocks. Many species which have been referred to Abies 

 are now included in Picea. S. S. 12. Heinrich Mayr, 

 Monographie der Abietineen des Japanischen Reiches. 

 Gn. 11, pp. 280, 281. See Conifers. 



The following species, in the American trade, are here 

 described, the synonyms being in italics : amabilis, Nos. 

 4,8; Apollinis,12; balsamea, 6; brachyphylla,ll; Ceph- 

 alonica, 12; Cilicica, 3; concolor, 9; Fraseri, 7; Gordoni- 

 ana, 8; grandis, 8; homolepis, 11; Hudsonia, 6; Lowi- 

 ana,9; magniflca, 15; nephrolepis,W; nobilis,14; Nord- 

 manniana, 2; Parsonsiana, 9; pectinata,!; Picea,!; 

 Pichta, 5 ; Pinsapo, 13 ; Shastensis, 15 ; Sibirica, 5 ; 

 Veitchii, 10. See supplementary list, p. 3, for other 

 cultivated species. 



A. JSuabies. Leaves flat, grooved on the upper surface, 

 only occasionally stomatiferous above on upper 

 fertile branches. 



B. Leaf blunt. 

 c. Foliage essentially green, the leaves green above and 



whitish only beneath. 

 D. Cones usually upwards of 4 in. long. 



1. Picea, Lindl. (A. pectinata, DC.). SILVER FIR. Fig. 

 2,c. Tree 100-200 ft. : trunk6-8ft. in diam. : Ivs. flat, dis- 

 tichously spreading, dark green and lustrous above, sil- 

 very white below: cones slender, cylindrical, light green 

 to dark purple, 5-6 in. long ; bracts slightly longer than 

 their scales. Mountains of central and southern Europe, 

 often gregarious. Wood esteemed and much used; 

 yields Strasburg turpentine. Dwarf forms, with erect 

 and pendulous and with much abbreviated branches, are 

 common in gardens. 



