EPIPHYLLUM 



the pots, so as to show them off to better advantage 

 when in flower. Pereskia aculeata and P. Bleo are the 

 stock most commonly used for grafting Epiphyllums 

 upon, though some gardeners prefer grafting upon 

 Cereus triangular is, taking clean, healthy pieces about 

 1 foot in length, first rooting them and establishing 

 them in pots, then grafting when active growth of the 

 Epiphyllums commences in spring. It is said by 

 some gardeners that Epiphyllums do better and may be 

 brought into flower earlier by grafting on Cereus tri- 

 angularis. Other species of Cereus may also be used 

 as stock plants for grafting upon, especially the upright- 

 growing species, as O. colubrinus. The system known 

 as wedge-grafting is the best method. 



When .grown upon their own roots, the soil best 

 suited to them is two-thirds fibrous loam and one-third 

 leaf-mold, with a fair proportion of silver sand and 

 pounded brick added to keep the soil porous, as they are 

 very impatient of too much moisture at the roots. The 

 pots or pans in which they are grown must also be well 

 drained. They require careful watering at all times, but 

 during the fall and early winter they should receive 

 only enough to keep them from shriveling. They are 

 best kept in the greenhouse the whole year round, giv- 

 ing them an abundance of air during the summer to in- 

 sure well ripened growth. A temperature of 45-50 

 during winter will be sufficient, though a higher tem- 

 perature may be given after January 1 if wanted in 

 flower earlier. EDWARD J. CANNING. 



truncatum, Haw. CRAB CACTUS. CHRISTMAS CACTUS. 

 Fig. 765. Stems much branched and hanging in large 

 bunches from the trees : joints obovate to oblong, with 

 strongly truncate apex, l%-2 in. long by about %-l in. 

 broad, bright green, margins coarsely serrate, with 1-3 

 large, acute teeth on each side, the 2 upper ones form- 

 ing more or less incurved horns on either side of the 

 truncation: areolae bearing a few short, yellowish or 

 dark colored bristles, or sometimes none : fls. horizontal, 

 growing from the truncated end of the younger 

 joints, strongly irregular, 2K-3K in. long, in va- 

 rious shades of red: fr. pear-shaped, red, aboiit 

 %in. in diam. Braz. B.M. 2562. G.C. III. 19:9. 

 Most of the forms in cultivation are 

 hybrids between this species and some 

 other of the genus or with Cereus. Fig. 

 766. A common basket and rafter plant. 



Russellianum, Hook. Stems more 

 upright, with pendent branches : joints 

 %-l% in. long by %-% in. broad, 

 oblong or elliptical to obovate, light 

 green ; margins crenate, with 2-4 

 areolae on either side, bearing a few 

 very short dark gray bristles : fls. from 

 the end of the youngest joints, red, 

 -2% in. long : fr. red, 4-angled or 

 narrow -winged. Braz. B.M. 3717. 



Geertneri, K. Sch. ( E. Riissel- 

 lianum, var. Cfbertneri, Reg.). 

 EASTER CACTUS. Stems of more 

 upright habit, with drooping 

 branches: joints long-oblong or 

 elliptical to obovate, %-2% in. 

 long by K-l in. broad, dark 

 green, margins crenate, with 



*^~^~^&^wssw^-* f i&*~~^*~ about 5 areolse on either 

 llrC_ "^/^ side, bearing 6-12 rather 

 stiff, long, yellow or brown 

 bristles, and are especially 

 conspicuous on the trun- 

 cated apex, where they form 

 a considerable beard : fls. 

 from the apex of the young- 

 est joints, 2%-3 in. long, 

 scarlet-red: fr. red. Braz. 

 B.M. 7201. 



Epiphyllum Guedneyri, Houl- 

 let=Phyllocactus sp. 



C. H. THOMPSON. 



EPIPHYTES, or air plants, grow on trees or other 

 plants without robbing them of food. Orchids are the 

 most famous examples among garden plants. Some or- 



EQUISETUM 



537 



767. Episcea cupreata. 



766. Epiphyllum truncatum 

 X Russellianum. 



chids, however, grow in the soil, and others are true 

 parasites. Plants that live on decaying organic matter, 

 and have lost more or less of their leaf-green, are called 

 saprophytes. Many 

 mosses are Epiphytes. 



EPlSClA (Greek, \ 

 shady ; they grow wild 

 in shady places). Ges- 

 neracece. Probably the 

 best garden form of this 

 genus is the refined and 

 elegant basket plant, E. 

 cupreata, with its rich, 

 coppery colored, softly 

 hairy leaves, shown in 

 Fig. 767. The genus has 

 perhaps 30 species, all 

 tropical American. 

 Herbs with long, short 

 or no hairs : stem from 

 a creeping root,branched 

 or not : Ivs. opposite, 

 equal or not in size : 

 fls. pedicelled, axillary, 

 solitary or clustered ; 

 corollas mostly scarlet, 

 rarely whitish or pur- 

 plish ; tube straight or 

 curved, more or less 

 spurred at the base; 

 limb oblique or nearly 

 equal ; lobes 5, spreading, rounded. 



Episcia cupreata is one of the standard bas- 

 ket plants, especially for the warmest green- 

 houses. It can also be used in pyramids and 

 mounds, as told under Fittonia. As it does not 

 require so close an atmosphere as the Fittonias, 

 it can be grown in some living rooms and per- 

 haps outdoors in summer in a shady place. Its 

 chief charms are the slender, trailing habit, the 

 soft hairiness of the leaves, the coppery hue, 

 which is often laid on like paint in two broad bands 

 skirting the midrib, and the rarer and perhaps finer 

 metallic bluish luster of which one occasionally gets a 



flimpse in a finely grown specimen. Give very rich, 

 brous loam, and in summer partial shade. 



A. Fls. white. 



Chontal6nsis, Hook. (Cyrtodelra ChontaUnsis, 

 Seem.). Stems stout, more or less ascending, dark red- 

 dish purple, 6-10 in. long : Ivs. opposite and irregu- 

 larly whorled, 3-4 in. long, oblong-ovate, crenate, ob- 

 tuse, rounded at the base, decidedly convex on both 

 sides of the midrib and between the much-sunk veins, 

 margins recurved, green, marked with regular purple 

 patches, which advance from the margins between the 

 veins toward the midrib and are more or less oblong: 

 fls. in l ? s and 2's ; corolla tube with a sac at the base, 

 the limb oblique, l%-2 in. across, with small and regu- 

 lar but conspicuous and beautiful teeth. Chontales 

 region of Nicaragua. B.M. 5925. R.B. 22:241. F.S. 18: 

 1924. 



AA. Fls. scarlet. 



cupreata, Hanst. (Achimenes cupreata, Hook.). Fig. 

 767. Stems slender, creeping, branched, rooting at the 

 joints, with a main branch rising erect a few inches, 

 which bears the fls. and the largest Ivs. : Ivs. copper- 

 colored above: fls. solitary, 9 lines wide, scarlet, with a 

 small sac and denticulate limb. Nicaragua. B.M. 4312. 

 Var. viridildlia, Hook., has green foliage and larger fls., 

 1 in. across. B.M. 5195. 



coccinea, Benth. & Hook. (Cyrtodelracoccinea, Hort., 

 B. S. Williams). Lvs. dark metallic green, 3-4 in. long, 

 2/4-3 in. wide. Free-flowering. 



ROBERT SHORE and W. M. 



EQUISETUM contains the weed known as Horse-tails, 

 or Scouring-rushes. They are suitable for naturalizing 

 in waste and wettish places. They hold sandy banks. 

 The following have been advertised by dealers in native 



