ASPHODELINE 



ASPIDISTRA 



109 



BB. Fls. yellow : raceme lax. 

 C Bracts large, 6-12 lines long, long-cuspidate. 



tenuior, Ledeb. Height 1 ft. Caucasus, Armeu., N. 

 Persia. B.M. 2626. Smaller than A. luteus, with finer 

 Ivs. ;ind smaller, fewer and paler fls. Especially dis- 

 tinguished by the stalk being naked at the upper part, 

 below the raceme of fls., and the bracts as short as 

 or shorter than the peduncle. 



cc. Bracts small, l%-3 lines long, short -cuspidate. 



Liburnica, Reichb. (A. Cretica, Vis., not Boiss.). 

 Height 1-2 ft. Greece, Crete, Dalmatia, Austria, Italy, 

 not Asia Minor. L.B.C. 10: 915 aa A. Cretica. 



brevicaulis, J. Gay (A. Cretica, Boiss., not Vis.). St. 

 often flexuose, that of all the others here described being 

 erect and strict. Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt. 



AAA. Stems leafy only at the base: fls. white: racemes 



dense. 



B. Racemes usually simple, 

 c. Stems having leaf-scales : height 8 ft. 

 imperialis, Siehe. Tallest species of the genus : fls. 

 large, reddish white. Cappadocia. G.C. III. 22: 397. 



cc. Stems not having leaf-scales : height l%-2 ft. 



Damascena, Baker. Height 1^-2 ft. : bracts membra- 

 naceous, lanceolate, the lowest 9-12 lines long. Mt. 

 Lebanon. 



Balansse, J. Gay. Height 2 ft. : bracts scarious, 6-9 

 lines long. Cilicia. Gt. 46, p. 521. G.C. III. 23: 111. 



BB. Racemes much panicled. 



isthmocarpa, Gay. Height 2 ft. Cilicia. G.C. III. 



W.M. 



ASPH6DELUS (Greek name of unknown origin). Lili- 

 d,ce&. Hardy herbaceous stemless plants, with white, 

 lily-like flowers in long racemes, fleshy, fascicled roots, 

 and firm, linear,radical,tufted leaves. 

 Perianth funnel-shaped ; segments 6, 

 oblong-ligulate, obtuse, equal, with a 

 distinct nerve on the back, and always 

 ascending. The Asphodel of the an- 

 cients, or King's Spear, is Asphode- 

 line luteus, which see. Homer men- f 

 tions the Asphodel meadows of the 

 dead, where the shades of heroes con- | 



gregated in Hades. The Asphodel in 

 Greek mythology was the peculiar 

 flower of the dead. It has always been a 

 common weed in Greece, and its pallid yel- 

 low flowers are associated with desert places 

 and tombs. The word daffodil is a corrup- 

 tion of Asphodel. The Asphodel of the early 

 English and French poets is Narcissus 

 Pseudo-narcissiis. J. G. Baker, in his re- 

 vision of the genus in Jour. Linn. Soc. 15: 

 268-272 (1877), refers 40 species of other 

 botanists to A. ramosus, the dominant type, of which he 

 makes three subspecies. These subspecies are here kept 

 distinct, for horticultural purposes, as good species. 

 They are the ones first described below. A . ramosiis and 

 A. albus are the only current trade names in America. 

 Culture simple; see Asphodeline. 



A. Plant perennial : Ivs.S-angled. 



B. Scape long. 



C. Racemes simple or sparingly branched. 

 albus, Miller, not Willd. BRANCHING ASPHODEL. 

 Bracts buff colored when young : filaments deltoid at 

 the base : capsules medium-sized, 5-6 lines long, sub- 

 globular or ellipsoid. Southern Eu. 



cerasiferus, J. Gay. Bracts pale yellow : filaments 

 wedge-shaped at the base, but rapidly becoming awl- 

 shaped : capsule large, 8-10 lines thick, flatfish globu- 

 lar, umbilicate. Western Mediterranean region. 



cc. Racemes much branched or panicled. 



microcarpus, Vis. (A. cestlvus, Brot.). Bracts pale yel- 

 low at first : filaments 4-angled at the base : capsule small, 

 3-4 lines long, obo void-globose. Mediterranean, Canaries. 



BB. Scape short, almost wanting. 

 acaulis, Desf. Lvs. 6-20, in a dense rosette, 3-4 in. 

 long, minutely pubescent : fls. 6-20, in a crowded corymb : 

 segments of perianth 2-3 lines wide. Algiers. B.M. 7004. 



AA. Plant annual : leaves cylindrical, hollow. 

 fistuldsus, Linn. Height 16-20 in. : Ivs. 12-30, in a dense 

 rosette, 6-12 in. long, striate, awl-like, glabrous : seg- 

 ments of perianth 1-2 lines wide, lined with pink: buds 

 pink ; fls. pinkish. Prance and Portugal to Syria, Arabia 

 and Afghanistan. B.M. 984. L.B.C. 12:1124. Needs pro- 

 tection under glass in winter. If removed early in autumu 

 to a greenhouse, it may be induced to seed freely. 



A. Creticus =Asphpdeline Liburnica. -A. luteus =Asphodel- 

 ine luteus. .1 .' ViUarxii. Verl., is a form of A. ramosus, from 

 E. France, with long, dense racemes and dark brown bracts. 



N. 1:125. 



W.M. 



ASPIDISTRA (Greek, a small, round shield; referring, 

 probably, to the shape of the stignia). Liliacece. A 

 popular florists' plant, grown for its stiff, shining, beau- 

 tiful foliage, and still Tnore interesting for its remarkable 

 fls., which are inconspicuous because borne close to the 

 ground. The casual observer never suspects that Aspi- 

 distra is a liliaceous plant. The parts of the fl. in mono- 

 cotyledons are typically in 3's. The genus Aspidis- 

 tra is considered abnormal, as usually having its parts 

 in 4's. This tetramerous state (which is here con- 

 sidered the normal one, and described below) is pic- 

 tured in B.M. 2499, but the species was first described 

 upon a trimerous state, and pictured in B.R. 628. In A. 

 lurida the trimerous state must be regarded as au ex- 

 ceptional reversion : in A. typica, B.M. 7484. the tri- 

 merous state is thought to be constant. Of all plants that 



158. Aspidistra lurida. 



are rented for the temporary decoration of public halls, 

 Aspidistra lurida is one of the greatest favorites, as it 

 stands much abuse, such as dust, dry air, and lack of 

 water and light. It is, however, naturally fond of wa- 

 ter, and grows freely on the margins of ponds or streams, 

 especially south. In rich soil the variegation often dis- 

 appears altogether until the plants begin to starve, hence 

 a compost of nearly half sand is desirable. The best 

 method of propagation is by means of division in spring, 

 before active growth begins, as the young leaves are not 

 then disfigured. 



lurida, Ker-Gawl. Fig. 158. Lvs. 15-20 in. long, stiff, 

 evergreen, oblong-lanceolate, sharp-pointed, radical ; 



