1064 



NECTARINE 



NELUMBO 



therefore is less grown, although in California it is 

 planted on a commercial scale. In that state it does 

 well on almond stocks. Nectarines are usually inferior 

 to peaches in quality, probably because less attention 

 has been given to the breeding and selection of varie- 

 ties, and from the fact that there is no conventional 

 standard of excellence. Nectarines thrive wherever 

 peaches do. Varieties are few, as compared with 



1464. Nectarines. 



peaches. The most prominent in this country are Bos- 

 ton, Downton, Hardwick, Early Newington, Pitmaston 

 Orange, Stanwick, Humboldt, Lord Napier, Advance, 

 Elruge. In color, size and season, Nectarines vary as 

 peaches do. See also Peach, and forcing. 



L. H. B. 



The Nectarine is grown in California almost exclu- 

 sively for drying and canning, and even for these uses 

 is but of minor importance. As compared with peaches 

 for canning, the product of Nectarines is only about 

 one-eighth of one per cent that of the peach, and for 

 drying only about one per cent that of the peach. The 

 varieties grown for both canning and drying are the 

 white varieties, because they do not color the syrup in 

 canning, and because when sulfured they make a beau- 

 tiful, amber-colored, translucent product. 



E. J. WICKSON. 



NEGRO'S HEAD. Unusual name for the ivory-nut 

 palm, Phytelephas macrocarpa. 



NEGUNDO. For N. aceroides, Calif ornicum and 

 fraxinifolium, see Acer Negundo; also Fig. 254. 



NEILLIA (named after Patrick Neill, at the begin- 

 ning of the nineteenth century secretary of the Cale- 

 donian Horticultural Society at Edinburgh). JRosdcece. 

 Small, deciduous shrubs, with alternate, stipulate, usu- 

 ally 3-lobed Ivs. and rather inconspicuous whitish fls. 

 in simple or panicled racemes at the end of the branches. 

 The one species in cultivation is not hardy North; it 

 requires protection even in the Middle States, and is 

 often killed to the ground in severe winters, but usually 

 vigorous young shoots spring up and bloom and fruit 

 in the same season. On account of its handsome bright 

 green foliage it may be used as a border plant for 

 shrubberies. It grows in almost any moderately moist 

 soil. Prop, easily by greenwood cuttings under glass, 

 and also by seeds. Seven species in the Himalayas and 

 China. Fls. in racemes, with the pedicels shorter than 

 the bracts; calyx-tube rather large, campanulate or 

 almost tubular, with 5 erect sepals exceeding the 5 oval 

 petals; stamens 10-30; carpels 1 or 2: pod dehiscent 

 only at the inner suture, with several shining seeds. 

 From Spiraea it differs, like the allied genera Physo- 

 carpus and Stephanandra, by its stipulate Ivs. and 

 shining crustaceous seeds. 



thyrsifldra, D. Don. Upright shrub, to 6 ft. high, 

 but usually not exceeding 2 ft. if annually killed to the 

 ground: branches angular, glabrous: stipules rather 

 large, serrate: Ivs. ovate, cordate at base, long-acumi- 

 nate, usually 3-lobed, incised-serrate, glabrous above, 

 pubescent only on the veins beneath, 2-4 in. long: fls. 

 in panicled or sometimes solitary racemes; calyx-tube 



campanulate, pubescent, with the sepals about % in. 

 long. Aug., Sept. Himalayas. R.H. 1888, p. 416. 



N. Amurensis, Nichols. =Physocarpus Amurensis. N. opuli- 

 fblius, Brew. & Wats.=Physocarpus opulifolius. N. Tandkoe, 

 Franch. & Sav.= Stephanandra Tanakue. N. Torreyi, Wats.=* 

 Physocarpus monogynus. ALFRED REHDER. 



NELtTMBIUM. The prior name is Nelumbo. 



NELtTMBO (Ceylonese name). Nymphceacece. Usu- 

 ally written Nelumbium. Two species of strong-grow- 

 ing aquatics, one yellow-flowered and native to N. 

 America, the other white or cyanic-flowered and native 

 of the Orient. From Nymphaea, or the true water lilies, 

 Nelumbo differs technically in having distinct carpels 

 (which are imbedded in the receptacle), with a single 

 ovule in each. Nelumbiums have strong and thick 

 and usually tuber-bearing rhizomes, which creep 

 in the earth in the bottoms of ponds and slow streams : 

 Ivs. peltate, orbicular or nearly so, entire, usually very 

 large and long-petioled and mostly standing high above 

 the water (sometimes floating): fls. large and showy, 

 single, on peduncles which equal or exceed the Ivs.; 

 sepals 4 or 5; petals many, erect or erect-spreading; 

 stamens many, on broad, short filaments: fr. a large, 

 flat-topped perforated receptacle (Fig. 1465), in which 

 are immersed the many carpels. 



Nelumbiums are bold plants, suitable for large ponds 

 and for masses. The oriental species, commonly but 

 incorrectly known as Egyptian Lotus, is one of the best 

 of large pond plants, being grown for its stately habit 

 and showy flowers. Its roots should not freeze. Cover- 

 ing the pond with boards and litter, or filling it with 

 water, may be made to afford ample protection to the 

 roots. 



A. Fls. yellow. 



Ifttea, Pers. AMERICAN LOTUS, or NELUMBO. WATER 

 CHINKAPIN. Lvs. usually raised 2-6 ft. out of shallow 

 water, cupped or depressed in the center over the at- 

 tachment of the petiole, 1-2 ft. across: fls. pale sulfur- 

 yellow, 4-10 in. across, with obovate-obtuse concave 

 petals and hook-appendaged anthers: root-tubers and 

 seeds edible. In ponds and slow streams from S. 

 Ontario and Mich, to Fla. and La. ; usually local. Mn. 

 10:113. A bold and useful plant for colonizing, deserv- 

 ing to be better known. 



AA. Fls. pink, red or white. 



nucifera, Gsertn. (Nelumbium spccidsum, Willd. 

 Nelumbo Indica, Pers., and N. Nelumbo, Karst.). 

 INDIAN LOTUS. Fig. 1465. Lvs. usually larger than 

 those of N. lutea, glaucous: fls. fragrant, usually pink 

 except in horticultural varieties, overtopping the Ivs. 

 Warmer parts of Asia and N. Australia. Gn. 28, pp. 

 426, 429; 43, p. 463; 44, pp. 229, 435; 50, pp. 267, 469. 

 G.M. 38:809; 40:34; 41:833-5. I.H. 42:27. Gng. 5:114; 

 6:295; 15:334. This plant is known to the trade as 

 Egyptian Lotus, but the Lotus of the ancient Egyptians 

 is a Nymphaea. This plant is not native to the Nile re- 

 gion. There are many named forms in cult. Var. alba 

 (N. album, Hort.), the "Magnolia Lotus, "has white fls. 

 Gn. 28, p. 427. G.C. III. 14:41. A.G. 20:369. Gng. 

 7:146. A.F. 14:726. Mn. 9:73. Var. kermesina, Hort., 

 has light pink fls. Var. rdsea, Hort., has rose-colored 

 fls. There is a striped form known as var. alba striata. 

 A large double rose form is rdsea plena. A large double 

 white form is known in the trade as N. Shiroman 

 (F.E. 10, Suppl. Feb. 12). A free-flowering early sort 

 with white fls. shaded pink is N. Kinshiren of the trade. 

 There are other forms with Latin names. L jj g 



Whilst it may be historically true that the Egyptian 

 Lotus is not a Nelumbium, the Nelumbium speciosum 

 (or more properly Nelumbo nucifera) is everywhere 

 known under that name, and it has been so distributed 

 in good faith. In fact, it is doubtful if it is worthwhile 

 to change the common name at this time. 



America may be honestly proud of possessing such a 

 fine aquatic plant as Nelumbo lutea, the well-known 

 American Lotus. While China and Japan are the 

 recognized homes of the splendid Nelumbo nuci- 

 fera, they do not possess a yellow Lotus. In the 

 Central states and near the Great Lakes, N. lutea is 

 found in abundance, but it is scarce in the Middle Atlantic 



