548 



LUCUMA 



Kivicda, Grtn. Lvs. elliptic-obovate, obtuse, mem- 

 branous, 4-8 in. long, l%-3 in. wide: calyx 5-parted: 

 ovary 5-celled: seed ovoid-globose. Brazil, French Gui- 

 ana. -Var. angustifolia, Mart., is the EGG FRUIT or 

 TI-ES of the W. Indies. It has elliptic-lanceolate Ivs., 

 acute at both ends. Fig. 1322. Cult, in S. Fla. and S. 

 Calif. W. M. 



1321. Lucuma mammosa (X %). 



Lucuma mammosa, the "Mammee Sapota"of Jamaica, 

 is the fruit of a tree found wild also in Cuba and the 

 northeastern part of S. America. The tree is ornamen- 

 tal, about 30 feet high, of a pyramidal shape. It is occa- 

 sionally seen where it was originally planted in pas- 

 tures near dwelling houses, but except for the droppings 

 from cattle and horses, it receives no other cultivation. 

 It requires a good deep soil and an annual rainfall of 

 about 70 inches. The flowers are cream-colored, about 

 % inch long, springing directly from the bark. The 

 fruit is about 6 inches long, with usiially only 1 seed. It 

 has a russet-colored rough skin. The flesh is of a dark 

 yellowish red color, soft and sweet ; it has been compared 

 to a very ripe pear, but is more luscious. Marmalade is 

 made from the fruit, whence the name of "Marmalade 



WM. FAWCETT. 



LUDWlGIA (C. G. Ludwig, botanist and botanical 

 .author at Leipzig, 1709-1773). Onagracece. About 25 

 species of aquatic or semi-aquatic small herbs, widely 

 distributed in temperate and warm climates. Fls. small 

 and inconspicuous in the axils of the leaves, the parts 

 usually in 4's. Lvs. mostly small and mostly entire or 

 very nearly so, usually not distinctly petioled. The 

 stems are often creeping, sometimes floating. The op- 

 posite-lvd. species are by some referred to the genus 

 Isnardia. The Ludwigias have little standing as horti- 

 cultural subjects. They are sometimes useful in bog 

 gardens, and one is advertised for aquaria. Three spe- 

 cies are in the Amer. trade. 



A. Leaves opposite. 



palustris, Ell. (Isndrdia palustris, Linn.). WATER 

 PURSLANE. Trailing in muddy places or floating on shal- 

 low water, rooting at the joints: Ivs. oval or oval-ob- 



LUFFA 



long, narrowed into a short petiole: fls. very small, 

 usually reddish. Widely distributed in this country; 

 offered as a bog plant. 



Mulertii, Mulertt. Lvs. lance-oblong, usually nar- 

 rowed into short petioles, entire: fls. yellow: fr. oblong, 

 truncate on top, % in. long. Int. from S. Amer. by 

 Hugo Mulertt, then of Cincinnati, and described in 

 "Isis"( published in Germany) in 1880 or 1881, and also 

 in the "Aquarium," Vol. III. p. 43, 64. It is now widely 

 distributed amongst growers of aquarium plants. It 

 seems not to have been studied by systematic botanists. 

 It is prized for its graceful habit and because it is ever- 

 green. Grows well from cuttings and from seeds. 



AA. Leaves alternate. 



alternifdlia, Linn. SEED-BOX, or RATTLE-BOX. An 

 erect shrub, 2-3 ft. or more tall, in appearance not unlike 

 an Epilobium: Ivs. lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, nar- 

 rowed below, entire or sometimes with mere sugges- 

 tions of teeth : fls. large for the genus (% in. across), 

 with yellow caducous petals: capsules large, square in 

 cross-section. Bogs in eastern states. Interesting, but 

 not showy. L . H. B. 



LUEHfiA (F. Karl van der Luke, Austrian botanist in- 

 terested in the Cape of Good Hope). Tiiiacece. About 

 16 species of trees and tall shrubs from the warni( 

 parts of America with usually toothed Ivs. and handsome 

 white or rosy fls. borne in a terminal panicle, or some 

 times in the axils; sepals and petals 5; stamens numei 

 ous, the outer ones often without anthers : ovary 

 celled: capsule rather woody, loculicidally semi-5-valve 

 An undetermined species is advertised in Santa Barban 

 1900, from Paraguay. Franceschi writes that the inne 

 bark is used generally in Paraguay instead of string. 

 Luehea is also spelled Luhea, and the genus of this 

 name of the Verbenacesp is a South African genus re- 

 ferred to Stilbe. 



LtJTFA (Luff is the Arabic name). Cucurbitacece. 

 RAG GOURD. DISHCLOTH GOURD. VEGETABLE SPONGE. 

 Six species (according to Cogniaux, Vol. 3, DC. Monogr. 

 Phaner. ) of annual tendril-climbing herbs, inhabiting 

 the tropics of the Old and New Worlds. Fls. monoecious, 

 the staminate ones in a long-stalked raceme or cluster, 

 the pistillate ones solitary and shorter-peduncled; calyx 

 bell-shape or top-shape, strongly 5-lobed; corolla of 5 

 soft yellow or whitish petals, sometimes ragged -edged; 

 stamens usually 3, borne in the calyx tube: fr. a long, 

 gourd-like pepo, becoming dry when ripe and the fibrous 

 interior sponge - like. Known south as "California 

 Okra." 



Of late years, the Luff as have come into'prominence in 

 American gardens, being an importation from the trop- 

 ics and China and Japan. In other countries, the fruit 

 is eaten when young, being cooked like squash or serve 

 in soups and stews. The young fruit is sometimes slic 

 and dried. (See Georgeson, A.G. Sept., 1892, and Bailej 

 Bull. 67, Cornell Exp. Sta.) In this country, Luffas ar 

 grown mostly for curiosity and ornament. The fibrous 

 interior of the dried fruit, when bleached and preparee 

 is used as a sponge for the bath and for scrubbh 

 (whence "Vegetable Sponge"). The culture is tl 

 same as for cucumbers and melons. They are tende 

 plants, running 10 to 15 ft. The Luffas are widely dis 

 persed in the tropics as cultivated plants. The gem 

 divides itself into 2 groups, those species (L. 

 tiaca and L. acutangula) with fruits not spiny or tuber 

 culate, and those with spiny fruits. Only the following 

 species are known to be in cult, in this country: 



.ffigyptiaca, Mill. (L. cylindrica, Roem. L. Pefbla, 

 Ser. L. Veltchii, Naud. L. fcetida, Hort. [at least ii 

 part], notCav. L. Fabiana, Japdnica, Mexicana [?] am 

 noetifldra alba, Hort.). NAGA ITO-URI of Japanese. SUA- 

 KWA of Chinese. The commonest Dishcloth Gourd: 

 stems slender-running, furrowed, roughened: Ivs. 

 roundish in outline, mostly 15-lobed, coarsely toothed, 

 very scabrous above and beneath: staminate fls. 2-3 in. 

 across, wilting in the sun: ovary cylindrical or clavate, 

 pubescent, destitute of distinct ridges, ripening into 

 slender, cylindrical, curved fruit 1-2 ft. long. Probably 

 native to the Old World, but widely distributed in the 

 tropics. A.G. 13:526. 



