1066 



NEMASTYLIS 



NEMOPHILA 



cies found from Mex. to S. Amer. and characterized by 

 having the filaments united in a column to the summit. 

 Generic characters are: root-lvs. linear: spathes 1 or 

 more, peduncled : fls. more than 1 to a spathe ; perianth 

 without a tube ; inner segments a little smaller than the 

 outer: ovary 3-celled; ovules many, superposed; style 

 branches alternate with the anthers ; capsule loculicid- 

 ally 3-valved. Some of the following species have been 

 rarely advertised by dealers in native plants ; the others 

 by Dutch bulb-growers. 



A. Filaments nearly free. Subgenus Nemastylis proper. 



B. Cluster of fls. single: spathes usually 1-fld. 

 ccel6stina, Nutt. Root-lvs. 1-2, 1 ft. or more long: stem 

 l%-2 ft. long, bearing 3-4 reduced Ivs.: fls. sky-blue. 

 Pine barrens, Fla. to S. C. and westward. 



BB. Clusters of fls. 2-S: spathes 2-S-fld. 

 acuta, Herb. (2V. geminiflbra, Nutt.). Root-lvs. 2-3, 

 %-l ft. long: stem %-l ft. long, bearing 1 large linear 

 leaf at the fork, and sometimes another below it: fls. 

 "bright blue." Tex., Ark. B.M. 6666. F.S.21:2171. 



AA. Filaments united in a column to the summit. 

 Subgenus Chlamydostylis, 



B. Fls. brownish purple, inner segments tipped yellow. 

 bninnea, Wats. Stem bearing a single leaf 6-8 in. 



long and a sheathing bract at the base of the peduncle : 

 spathe 2% in. long: outer segments obtuse, inner ones 

 acuminate. Mex. 



BB. Fls. pale "blue. 



Fringlei, Wats. Stem usually simple, with a single 

 leaf at the middle: spathe 1% in. long: fls. fragrant; 

 outer segments obtuse, inner ones minutely apiculate. 

 Mexico. w. M. 



NEMESIA (old name used by Dioscorides for some 

 sort of snapdragon). Scrophulariacece. One of the 

 horticultural novelties is Nemesia strumosa. It is one 

 of the most interesting annual fls. introduced in the 

 last decade of the nineteenth century. The flowers 

 are very distinct in shape and have a wide range 

 of color. The fls. are about an inch across and borne 

 in great profusion. If started indoors in March and 

 transferred to the open in May the plants will fur- 

 nish a continuous sheet of bloom from June through 

 September. The colors range from white, through pale 

 yellow and rose, to orange and crimson, with numerous 

 intermediate shades and a great variety of throat mark- 

 ings. This species has been known to botanists nearly a 

 whole century; it grows only 50 miles from Cape Town, 

 and it exhibits all these colors in the wild, yet it was 

 never exploited until 1893, the first live plants seen in 

 Europe being shown in 1892. Sixteen distinct color varie- 

 ties were recognized in the first batch of cultivated 

 plants, and the process of selecting strains has barely 

 begun. The lower lip of the flower is about twice as 

 broad as long, and notched at the point farthest from 

 the center of the flower. The upper lip consists of 4 

 smaller, nearly equal lobes, the side lobes being usually 

 more nearly separate than the middle ones. 



Nemesias are slender annual or perennial herbs, some- 

 times woody at the base: Ivs. opposite: fls. in racemes 

 at the tips of branches or rarely solitary in the axils; 

 calyx 5-parted ; corolla-tube short, with an anterior spur 

 or sac: capsule compressed, septicidal, with navicular 

 valves. About 30 species, all S. African. The following 

 belong to the group with fls. in racemes. They are gla- 

 brous or nearly so, 1-2 ft. high, and branched from the 

 base. J. N. Gerard thinks that Nemesias are not des- 

 tined to become popular. He finds that the seed is 

 likely to germinate poorly and that the young seedlings 

 are quick to damp off. 



A. Fls. with a sac at the base. 



strumdsa, Benth. Root-lvs. oblong-spatulate, entire ; 

 stem-lvs. lanceolate or linear, entire: lobes of the upper 

 lip relatively shorter and broader than in the next two 

 species: throat with a long beard inside: Ivs. few, the 

 floral ones bract-like : capsules 4-6 lines long, 3-4 lines 

 wide. B.M. 7272. G.C. III. 12: 277. R.H. 1898, p. 87 (var. 

 grandiflora}. V. 16:7. Var. Suttoni is the strain com- 

 monly offered. G.M. 35:459. 



AA. Fls. with a spur at the base. 



versicolor, E. Mey. Lowest Ivs. stalked and ovate; 

 upper Ivs. few, sessile, oblong, lanceolate or linear, entire* 

 or toothed: lobes of the upper lip equal among them- 

 selves and as long as the lower lip ; throat with 2 callosi- 

 ties, pubescent: spur incurved, about as long as the 

 lower lip, 4 lines. Not advertised by name, but 2V. com- 

 pdcta, vars. alba and ccerulea, Hort., belong here. R.H. 

 1898, p. 87. 



floribunda, Lehm. Lower Ivs. stalked, ovate, dentate; 

 upper ones few, small, ovate or lanceolate, subsessile: 

 lobes of the upper lip not quite as long as the lower lip : 

 fls. white; throat lined with blue, the callosities of the 

 palate yellow. According to De Candolle, the lobes of 

 the upper lip are about equal among one another, but in 

 B.R, 24:39 the middle lobes are narrower and longer 

 than the side lobes. Advertised abroad. Fls. smaller 

 and with a narrower range of colors than N. strumosa. 



W. M. 



NEMOPANTHUS (Greek words, referring to the 

 thread-like flower-stalks). Aquifoliacece. MOUNTAIN 

 HOLLY. A genus of one species, confined to eastern 

 N. America. It is a medium-sized, hardy shrub, rarely 

 cult, for its showy pendulous red berries, which are 

 borne in autumn. The genus is distinguished from the 

 common holly (Ilex) as follows: calyx often obsolete, . 

 especially in the fertile fls. ; petals distinct, linear, acute; 

 stamens free. (In Ilex the calyx is present and persis- 

 tent in both fertile and sterile fls. : petals slightly grown 

 together at the base, oblong, obtuse : stamens grown to 

 the base of the corolla. ) Nemopanthus is now largely 

 used, and the plants attain 10 ft. in cultivation. 



fascicul&ris, Raf. (N. Canadensis, DC. ). Dense-grow- 

 ing, purplish barked shrub, attaining 6 ft. : Ivs. often 

 clustered on spurs, 1-1 % in. long, elliptical, mucronate, 

 entire or minutely serrate, thin but firm: fls. about 2 

 lines wide: drupes dull red, about 3 lines thick. B.B. 

 2:393. 



NEM6PHILA (Greek, nemos, a grove, and phileo, to 

 love; referring to the habitat of some species). Hydro- 

 phyllacece. Nine species of hardy annual herbs, all 

 from N. Amer., are now referred to this genus. They 

 are of dwarf, compact habit, and produce an abundance 

 of showy bell-shaped fls. from early spring to late sum- 

 mer; hence they are valued for bedding and for the 

 border. Whole plant more or less hairy: stem diffuse, 

 becoming prostrate: Ivs. alternate or opposite, pin- 

 nately lobed or divided, petiolate: flower-stalks usually 

 longer than the Ivs., terminal or lateral, slender, 1-fld.: 

 fls. blue, white, purple, or variously spotted; calyx 5- 

 parted; lobes erect or spreading, with 5 supplementary 

 reflexed lobes alternating with them; corolla broadly 

 bell-shaped . or wheel-shaped, deeply 5-lobed, with 10 

 scaly appendages on the inside of the throat. 



S. W. FLETCHER. 



All the species are propagated by seeds sown in the 

 fall or early spring. If plants are desired for very early 

 flowering, seeds should be sown in Aug. out-of-doors 

 and the plants transplanted in late fall; or they may be 

 started under glass in March. Seeds sown in April in 

 the open will give plants for summer and fall flowering. 

 These are preferably transplanted. If a later sowing is 

 made it should be where the plants are to flower. Most 

 species seed freely, but they cannot be trusted to re-seed 

 themselves satisfactorily. Nemophilas love a moist loam 

 with partial shade, but accommodate themselves to any 

 good garden soil and a sunny site. 2V. Menziesii, how- 

 ever, should be planted in a moist place if possible, and 

 2V. aurita is impatient of intense sun. Few hardy an- 

 nuals are more valuable for bedding than Nemophilas 

 because of their compact habit and free-blooming quali- 

 ties. They are also fine for cut-flowers, window boxes 

 and pot-plants. 2V. insignis and 2V. Menzie sii, with their 

 many garden varieties, are most popular. 



F. W. BARCLAY. 



The above method of culture is not adapted to all parts 

 of the country. It is very doubtful whether Nemophilas 

 have ever been successfully grown outdoors during 

 summer in the vicinity of Boston. The writer has 

 tried them over and over again without success. His 



