54 



ALSTRCEMERIA 



ALUM ROOT 



tion, and at all times during their growth the roots must 

 have an abundance of water. In fact, there is little use 

 in attempting their cultivation out-of-doors where these 

 conditions cannot be given. In colder climates, the Al- 

 stroemerias can be grown very successfully by planting- 

 out in spring, and, as soon as they die down, lift, and 

 keep over winter in a place from which frost is excluded. 

 An annual lifting, or, when grown in pots, an annual 

 shaking-out, should be given, because they increase to 

 such an extent that the younger and smaller crowns are 

 apt to take the nourishment from the large, flowering 

 crowns. The largest ones ought to be separated from 

 the smaller ones, and either grown in pots or planted 

 outside when the proper time arrives. In this way the 

 genus will become much more popular than it now is, 

 either for cutting or for the decoration of the border. 

 The soil best suited to their requirements is largely com- 

 posed of vegetable humus; when this is not to be had, 

 old, well-decayed cow or stable manure should be incor- 

 porated with the soil. When they 

 are planted outside, the tubers 

 should be put deep in the ground, 

 and the soil should be well worked 

 for at least 15 inches. The tubers 

 are slightly egg-shaped, attached 

 to a common stem ; the roots are 

 made from the ends of the tubers, 

 and also from near the growing 

 points of the crowns. 



One of the best for greenhouse 

 work is A. Pelegrina, var. alba. 

 Other kinds which may be con- 

 sidered tender north of Washing- 

 ton are A. hcemantha, A. versicolor (or 

 Peruviana) and its forms, A. Hookerii 

 and A. violacea. Some of the Van Houtte 

 hybrids, raised from Hookerii and haeman- 

 tha, are extremely pretty, but, with the 

 others, they are rather unsuitable for pot- 

 culture, owing to the peculiar formation 

 of the roots. 



The species are easily raised from seeds, 



which should be sown rather thinly in 



deep pans, and allowed to remain without 



pricking off or shifting for the first season. 



Cult, by G. W. OLIVER, 



A. Lvs. of fl. stem (or scape) broad, ob- 

 long or oblong -spatulate. 



pulch611a, Linn. f. (A. psittacina, 

 Lehrn.). Sterile st. a foot or less long, 

 with aggregated petioled Ivs. : flowering 

 st. 2-3 ft., with scattered Ivs.: fls. in a 

 simple umbel, on pedicels \-\%, in. long, 

 long funnel-shaped, the segments unequal, 

 dark red and tipped with green and spotted 

 inside with brown; stamens nearly as long 

 as limb. Brazil. Fig. 73 is a copy of the 

 A. psittacina, B.M. 3033. An old garden 

 plant. 



ChilSnsis, Cree. Stout, 2-4 ft.: Ivs. scat- 

 tered, obovate or spatulate, or the upper becoming lan- 

 ceolate, twisted at the base, fringed, somewhat glaucous : 

 fls. large, rose or red (or varying to whitish), the two 

 lower segments longer and straighter : umbel with 5 

 or 6 2-fld. peduncles. Chile. 



AA. Lvs. of fl. st. lanceolate (at least the lower ones). 

 B. Fls. purplish or red. 



Pelegrina, Linn. Fl. st. stout, a foot or less high : Ivs. 

 about 30, thin, ascending, 2 in. or less long and %in. or 

 less wide: fl. 2 in. or less long, lilac, the outer segments 

 broad and cuspidate, the inner ones spotted red-purple: 

 umbel few-rayed, normally simple, but becoming com- 

 pound in cult. Also a pure white var. Chile. B.M. 139. 

 Gn. 46, p. 472. L.B.C. 13: 1295. 



hsemantha, Ruiz & Pav. (A. Simsii, Spreng.). Fl. st. 

 2-3 ft. : Ivs. crowded and thin, somewhat stalked, 3-4 in. 

 long and %in. or less long, the upper becoming linear, 

 glaucous beneath : fls. 2 in. or less long, bright red 

 tipped green, the inner ones with red-purple spots on a 

 red-yellow ground : umbel very compound, the branches 



73. Alstroemeria pulchella 

 (XX). 



4-6 in. long. A white-fld. variety is cult. Chile. B.M. 

 2353, as A. pulchella. 



BB. Fls. yellow or yellowish. 



aurantiaca, Don. Fl. st. 2-4 ft. high : Ivs. nearly 50, 

 thin, somewhat petiolate, slightly glaucous below, 3-4 ft. 

 long and %'m. wide : fls. 10-30, in a compound umbel, 

 the perianth bright yellow, outer segments tipped green 

 and inner ones spotted brown. There is a form with 

 pale, unspotted fls. Chile. B.M. 3350, as A. aurea. Gn. 

 26:472. 



Brasiliensis, Spreng. St. 3-4 ft. : Ivs. remote, thickish, 

 oblong-lanceolate, 2 in. long: fl. \% in. long, in a 5-rayed 

 umbel (each ray bearing 1-3 fls.), the segments oblong- 

 spatulate and reddish yellow, the inner ones spotted 

 brown; stamens shorter than segments. Brazil. 



AAA. Lvs. of flower stem linear. 



versicolor, Ruiz & Pav. (A. Peruviana, Van Houtte. 

 A. sulphurea and A. tigrlna, 

 Hort. ) . Fl. st. short (1 ft. or less 

 high) ; Ivs. many, the lower ones 

 about 1 in. long : fls. 1 in. long, in 

 a nearly simple umbel, yellow 

 spotted purple, the segments all 

 oblanceolate and acute. A mar- 

 ginate var. Chile. 



Ligtu, Linn. Fl. st. l%-2 ft.: 

 Ivs. 20-30, thin, the lowermost 

 becoming lanceolate, 2-3 in. long: 

 fls. 1% in. long, in a nearly or 

 quite simple umbel, whitish, lilac 

 or pale red, streaked purple, the 

 inner segments often obtuse. Var. pulchra, 

 Baker (A. pulchra, Sims, B.M. 2421. A. 

 Fids-Martini, Ker.), has narrower and 

 longer Ivs., and all the segments acute or 

 cuspidate. Chile. Common and variable 

 in cult. A. Hodkeri, Lodd., is a form of 

 A. Ligtu. 



The A. Ligtu of B.M. 125 is A. caryo- 

 phyllea, Jacq., with long-clawed, very un- 

 equal segments in two sets or lips, red and 

 red-striped. Brazil. 



violacea, Phill. St. 1-2 ft. : Ivs. scattered 

 and spreading, 1 in. or less long, those on 

 sterile shoots larger, ovate-oblong and 5- 

 nerved: fls. on forked pedicels in a 5-rayed 

 umbel, l%-2 in. long, bright lilac, the 

 outer segments obovate, truncate and with 

 a short cusp, the inner oblong-acute, 

 spotted. Chile. L. H. B. 



ALTERNANTHEKA, See Telanthera. 



ALTH55A (Greek, to cure). Malvaceae. 

 Tall biennial or perennial herbs, of the 

 warm-temperate regions of the Old World, 

 of about a dozen species. Fls. axillary, 

 solitary, or racemose in the axils or at 

 the summit of the stem, with 6-9 bracts 

 below the calyx. A. frutex and A. coelestis, Hort., are 

 Hibiscus Syriacus. 



officinalis, Linn. MARSH MALLOW. Downy: Ivs. ovate, 

 often heart-shaped or 3-lobed, frequently undivided, 

 tomentose: fls. 1 in. across, blush or rose, clustered in the 

 axils of the Ivs. Perennial. E. Eu. Root used for mu- 

 cilage and for other purposes ; also medicinal. The 

 root of commerce has its brown outer covering removed. 

 Rarely cult., but occasionally escaped in marshes near 

 the coast. 



rdsea, Cav. HOLLYHOCK, which see for culture. St. 

 strict and spire -like, hairy: Ivs. large and rough, 

 rounded-heart-shaped, wavy-angled or lobed: fls. large 

 and nearly sessile, in a long wand-like raceme or spike, 

 in many forms and colors. Biennial. China. B.M. 3198, 



ficifdlia, Cav. Biennial, 5-8 ft. : Ivs. 7-lobed, toothed, 

 fl. yellow or orange, large, in terminal spikes, showy. 

 Eu. Int. by Franceschi, Cal., as A. sidce folia. 



L. H. B. 



ALUM BOOT. See Heuchera. 



