LASTHENIA 



LATHYRUS 



887 



LASTHfiNIA (name of a woman who was a pupil 

 'Plato). Compdsitce. Low, slender annuals with nu- 

 rous inch -wide yellow flowers in early summer, 

 ^labrata, Lindl. (L. Califdrnica, Lindl. HomoUgyne 

 "ftrdto, Bartl.). The plant cult, under this name is 

 ely to be Baeria gracilis,vrhich see. Height 1 ft.: 

 L much longer than in B. gracilis, strongly keeled, 

 t hairv or rarely pubescent: involucre enlarged be- 

 v the flower. Calif. B.M. 3730. B.R. 21:1780 & 1823. 



LASTKfiA (C. J. L. Delastre, Austrian botanist). A 

 me commonly used in England for species of Dry- 

 teris. Also spelled Lastrcea. On the basis of priority 

 has no claim to recognition, as it was established by 

 ry in 1824, while we have Nephrodium, 1803; Aspid- 

 : m, 1801; Tectaria, 1800; Polystichum, 1799, and Dry- 

 teris, 1763. 



The following additional species of Dryopteris (Vol. 

 p. 508) are in the American trade under the name Las- 

 >a (the combinations are for Dryopteris, notLastrea) : 



A. Lowest pinnae reduced to auricles: texture thin. 



sancta, Kuntze. Lvs. 6-9 in. long, 1-2 in. wide on 



ort slender stems; lower pirmse very much reduced; 



tder surface glandular. West Indies. 



palustris, Kuntze. Lvs. 2-3 ft. long, 8-12 in. wide, 



1 long straw-colored stems; lower pinnae reduced, the 



per % in. wide, cut down to the rachis into linear-ob- 



ag lobes. Brazil. 



montana, Kuntze. Lvs. l%-2 ft, long, 6-8 in. wide; 



wer pinnas greatly reduced to mere auricles; upper 



nnse 1 in. wide, cut into close blunt lobes. Eu., west- 



n N. America. A variety cristdto-grdcile is also cult. 



AA. Lower pinnae scarcely reduced: texture firm. 



rigida, Kuntze. Stipes stout, densely scaly : Ivs. 

 \Yz ft. long, 4-6 in. wide, oblong lanceolate, the lower 

 nnse not reduced; segments with mucronate teeth, 

 a. Var. arguta in Calif. 



16pida, Moore. Lvs. IK ft. long, 6-7 in. wide, ovate, 

 pinnatifid or bipinnate, the lower 4 or 5 pairs slightly 

 aaller: indusia hairy. Of greenhouse origin, native 

 untry unknown. 



iOther species cultivated under the nameLastrea, as L. aris- 

 >a and L. Richardsi, belong to the genus Polystichum, which 



L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



LATANIA (East Indian name). Palmdceoe. Three 

 lecies of fan palms from the Mascarene Islands* L. 

 orbonica is one of the dozen commonest trade names 

 nong palms, but the seeds offered under this name are 

 id to be almost invariably those of Livistona Chinen- 

 s. Latania Borltonica of the botanists is properly 

 itania Commersonii, which has 3-seeded fruits, while 

 :ose of Livistona Chinensis are 1-seeded. Latanias 

 e tall, spineless palms, -with solitary robust annular 

 unks : Ivs. ample, terminal, long-petioled, suborbicu- 

 r, palmately flabelliform, plicately multifld; segments 

 nooth or spiny on the margins; rachis short; petiole 

 sided, concave above; ligule conchoidal; sheath short; 

 >adices many feet long, compressed at the base and 

 anches, sheathed with incomplete sheaths: staminate- 

 !1. branches cylindrical, digitately arranged at the ends 

 ' the branches, very densely clothed with imbricated 

 acts : pistillate portion somewhat twisted, few-fld., 

 leathed with very broad dentate bracts : staminate fls. 

 ilf-exserted beyond the bracts, the perianth smooth 

 'id shining: pistillate fls. larger: drupe globose, obo- 

 oid or pear-shaped, yellow. Allied genera are discrimi- 

 .ated under Hyphcene. 



A. Lvs. glaucous. 



Ldddigesii, Mart. (L. glaucophylla, Hort.). Lvs. 3-5 

 . long, very glaucous, primary veins slightly tomentose 

 eneath, tinged with red, especially in young plants; 

 igments 2 ft. long, less than 3 in. wide, unequally acumi- 

 ate, the edges spiny in young plants; petioles 3-4% ft. 

 >r more) long, tomentose, entire in the mature, spiny in 

 ie young plant: drupe pear-shaped, 3-angled, 2% in. 

 >ng, \Y 4 in. thick. Mauritius. 



AA. Lvs. not glaucous. 



B. Petiole densely tomentose, with an orange margin. 

 Verschaff61tii, Lemaire (L. aurea, Duncan). Lvs. pale 

 green, 4%-5 ft. long, the segments 2% ft. long, above 

 2 in. wide, acuminate, the entire margins and veins 

 slightly tomentose beneath ; petioles 5-8 ft., densely 

 tomentose, with entire orange margins, spiny in young 

 plants: drupe slightly 3-angled, 2 in. long, 1% in. wide. 

 Isl. Rodriguez. I.H. 6 : 229. 



BB. Petiole red, slightly tomentose. 

 C6mmersonii, Gmel. (L. rubra, Jacq. L. Bdrbonica,. 

 Lam., not Hort. ) . Lvs. 5-5% ft. long, dark green above, 

 paler beneath ; segments lanceolate, acuminate, 2 ft. 

 long, 3%-3% in. wide, their margins entire, spiny in 

 young plants, veins and margins tinged with red; peti- 

 ole 4-6 ft., slightly tomentose, the margins smooth, 

 spiny in young plants : drupe globose, !%-!% in. in 

 diam. Mauritius. Not A.P. 4:567 and 7:127; A.G. 13:141; 

 15:389 and 19: 557; V. 9:199, all of which are Livistona 

 Chinensis. JARED G. SMITH. 



Latanias are essentially warmhouse palms and require 

 moderate shading through the greater portion of the 

 year, and also an abundance of water. A well-drained 

 and rather light compost is most suitable for them, and 

 if the soil at the time of repotting is of the same tem- 

 perature as the house in which the plants are grown, 

 there will be less risk of a check to the delicate root- 

 lets. L. Commersonii is a particularly striking palm, 

 the leaf -stems being quite long, smooth, and colored 

 bright crimson, as are also the ribs of its fan-like 

 leaves, this coloring being especially bright on the 

 young foliage. L. Loddigesii is the strongest grower 

 of the genus, the leafstalks reaching a length of about 

 8 ft., usually chocolate-colored and quite glaucous, the 

 leaves thick and leathery and their ribs reddish while 

 young, though never developing such bright tints as 

 those of the preceding species. L. Verschaffeltii is also 

 very attractive, though possibly a little more delicate 

 than the other two, its leafstalks being long and rather 

 slender, and orange-yellow in color, the ribs of the leaf- 

 lets also yellow and the leaves themselves of a light 

 shade of green. 



L. erecta and L. variegata are trade names, the former 

 being advertised by Saul, 1893; the latter by Pitcher & 

 Manda, 1895. Any specimens in cult, will probably be 

 found to be varieties of some of the above. 



W. H. TAPLIN. 



LATHYRUS (name used by Theophrastus for some 

 leguminous plant). Leguminbsce. A genus of about JOO 1 

 species, occurring in the northern hemisphere and in 

 South America, consisting of annual and perennial, 

 climbing and upright herbs with pinnate Ivs., half -sag- 

 ittate stipules and showy, papilionaceous flowers. 



The genus is best known by the Sweet Pea. Most 

 other forms are perennial, although some of these 

 are cultivated as annuals. All are free-growing plants, 

 so independent in their ways that they require a place 

 to grow by themselves, apart from other plants of like 

 habit or size. Hence they are to be grown alone, on trel- 

 lises or against walls, or allowed to form a wild tangle 

 among strong shrubs. The chief value of the annuals 

 is for cut-flowers, though their part in the garden is not 

 to be ignored. As a temporary screen in summer for 

 shutting out unsightly objects, they are valuable, or for 

 quickly covering trellises or rough places otherwise 

 unsightly. 



The perennials are of comparatively easy cultivation, 

 succeeding in any garden soil. The annuals are more 

 exacting in their requirements, demanding a moderately 

 rich garden soil, abundant moisture, coolness and depth 

 for their roots, and open sunlight. All are grown from 

 seed, sown very early in the open to secure the required 

 coolness for the roots. The perennials are propagated, 

 in addition, by division, special varieties being in- 

 creased by cuttings in. the fall, after the flowering sea- 

 son, or in spring, from old plants stored in the green- 

 house. The roots of perennials are long and fleshy, and, 

 when once established, continue for years without atten- 



Orobus niger and vernus are common garden names, 

 but Bentham & Hooker make Orobus a subgenus of 



