NEPETA 



NEPHROLEPIS 



1075 



1474. Leaf of Catnip. 



vases and baskets. Nepeta is a genus of about 120 spe- 

 cies, mostly in the northern hemisphere outside the 

 tropics. Perennial or annual herbs, tall and erect, or 

 dwarf and more or less trailing: Ivs. dentate or incised, 

 the floral ones like the rest 

 or reduced to bracts : 

 whorls of fls. crowded in 

 a dense spike, or in a 

 loose cyme, rarely few- 

 fld. and axillary: fls. blue 

 or white ; calyx 15-nerved ; 

 corolla 2-lipped; perfect 

 stamens 4: ovary 4-parted. 

 The genus is placed be- 

 tween Lop an thus and 

 Dracocephalum, and is 

 characterized as follows: 

 calyx tubular, the mouth 

 straight or oblique, 5- 

 toothed; stamens usually 

 parallel, ascending; anther 

 cells divergent or divari- 

 cate. See Fig. 1473 . 



Nepeta Glechoma is a 

 perennial creeping plant 

 of easy culture in any 

 loose, rich, fairly moist 

 soil, in either shade or full sunlight, but to be luxuriant 

 in the open it should have a moist soil. It is a very 

 rapid grower, and is therefore often troublesome when 

 planted with other low-growing plants. It is useful as 

 a ground covering in shrubbery borders and shady 

 places generally. 



A. Blooms small, inconspicuous. 

 B. Color of fls. \vhite or nearly so. 

 Cataria, Linn. CATNIP or CATNEP. CATMINT. Figs. 

 1473, 1474. Tall and erect: Ivs. heart-shaped, green 

 above, whitish below, crenate, stalked. Eu., Orient. 



BB. Color of fls. blue. 



Glechoma, Benth. GROUND IVY. GILL-OVER-THE- 

 GROUND. Makes a dense mat: Ivs. roundish, more 

 deeply notched at the base than Catnip, and green on 

 both sides, the floral ones like the others, not reduced 

 to bracts as in the other kinds here described : whorls 

 axillary, few-fld. Nat. from Eu., Asia. B.B. 3:87. The 

 green-lvd. form is less cult, than var. variegata (IV. 

 htftlrracea, Trev., var. variegata, Hort.). 



AA. Blossoms larger, shoivy, blue. 



B. I/vs. not notched at the base. 



macrantha, Fisch. Erect, branching, nearly glabrous : 

 Ivs. short- stalked, ovate-lanceolate, green on both sides: 

 cymes peduncled, few-fld.: fls. 1 inch long; bracts 

 minute. Altai. B.M. 2185 (Dracocephalum Sibiricum). 



BB. Lvs. notched at base. 



c. Fls. pedicelled. 



betonicaefdlia, C. A. Mey. Upper Ivs. green on both 

 sides: bracts a half shorter than the calyx. Caucasus. 



cc. Fls. sessile. 



Mussini, Spreng. Diffuse; branches ascending: Ivs. 

 green above, whitish below: racemes unbranched : bracts 

 much shorter than the calyx. Caucasus, Persia. R.H. 

 1891:300. B.M. 923 (N. longifolia).-Not adv. 



F. W. BARCLAY and W. M. 



NEPHELIUM (old name of the burdock applied to 

 this genus because the rough fruits were supposed to re- 

 semble those of burdock). Sapindacece. The Litchi nut 

 can be obtained in the dried state in the larger markets 

 of the eastern states and is often seen on the tables 

 of trans-Pacific steamers. The tree is cult, in the 

 West Indies but not in the U. S., unless in Porto 

 Rico. The whole fruit is about as large as a small 

 walnut. The outer covering consists of a thin, brittle 

 shell, under which is a layer of soft, aromatic and 

 delicious pulp; finally in the center is a rather large, 

 smooth, hard-shelled seed, from which the pulp readily 

 separates. It is one of the most delicately flavored 

 fruits that the tropics produce. In dried state it will 



keep a long time, and can be transported to distant 

 parts. Thus dried, the pulp shrinks from the shell and 

 becomes tough and less aromatic and delicate. 



The tree is a native of southern China and the Malay 

 archipelago, where it has been cult, for at least 1,500 

 years. It has been brought to the extreme south of 

 Japan and to various tropical countries. It was introduced 

 to southern Fla. in 1886. Only a limited area is suited 

 to its growth, as it does not 'readily adapt itself to cli- 

 mates which differ much from that peculiar to its orig- 

 inal habitat. It is a good-sized tree, said to attain a di- 

 ameter of 2-3 ft. It is probably cult, under glass in a 

 few European botanic gardens for its economic interest. 



The preceding account is abstracted chiefly from 

 G. C. Georgeson's article in A.G. 12:269. W. A. Taylor 

 writes : "The Litchi nut is also sold in Chinese stores 

 in the larger cities in the form of preserves packed in 

 syrup in glass jars. In this form the peculiar fragrance 

 and flavor of the fresh fruit are well preserved." 



Nephelium is a genus of about 20 species of oriental 

 trees: Ivs. alternate, 

 abruptly pinnate; 

 Ifts. not quite op- 

 posite, oblong, en- 

 tire, rarely serrate: 

 panicles axillary and 

 terminal, many-fld.: 

 fls. small, regular, 

 polygamo - dioecious ; 

 calyx small, cup- 

 shaped, 4-6-cut; pet- 

 als none or 4-6, vil- 1475. Litchi Nut Nephelium (X %). 

 lous or with 2 scales; 

 stamens 6-10: ovary 2-3-lobed. 

 is allied to the soap-berry. 



Litchi, Cambes. LITCHI or LEECHEE. Fig. 1475. Lfts. 

 about 3 pairs, lanceolate, 1-nerved beneath. China. 

 A. G. 12:269. 



NEPHKdDIUM. A name used at Kew for species of 

 Dryopteris, which see. N. emersum, var. cristatum is 

 advertised, but unknown to botanists. 



L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



NEPHROLEPIS (Greek, kidney scale; alluding to the 

 indusia). Polypodiacew. A genus of subtropical ferns 

 with pinnate Ivs., the pinnae articulated to the rachis, 

 free veins and a reniform or roundish indusium rising 

 from the apex of the upper branch of a vein. See Fern. 



Botanically the genus 



acuta, 3. 

 Bausei. 3. 

 Bostoniensis, 2. 

 cordata, 1. 

 cordifolia, 1. 

 davallioides, 4. 



INDEX. 



Duffii, 1. 

 exalt at a, 2. 

 furcans, 4. 

 Paradisce, 2. 

 pectinata, 1. 

 Philippensis, 2. 



plumosa, 2. 

 rufescens, 3. 

 tripinnatif.ida, 3. 

 tuber osa, 1. 

 Washingtonensis , 2. 



A. Rootstocks bearing tubers. 



1. cordifdlia, Presl. (N. tuberbsa, Hook.). Stalks 1-4 

 in. long: Ivs. 1-2 ft. long, 1K-2 in. wide, with close, often 

 imbricated pinnae, usually blunt at the apex. Mexico to 

 Japan-and New Zealand. N. pectinata, Schott, is a form 

 with auricled Ivs. and no tubers. N. Duffii, Moore, is 

 apparently a monstrous form from New Zealand, with 

 tufted habit and branching fronds. JV. cordata compacta, 

 Hort., is said to be a var. of N. cordifolia. 



AA. .Rootstocks without tubers. 

 B. Margins entire or crenulate. 



2. exaltata, Schott. SWORD FERN. Stalks 4-6 in. long : 

 Ivs. 1-2 ft. or more long, 3-6 in. broad; pinnae close, usu- 

 ally acute, the edge entire or slightly crenate, the upper 

 side auricled. Fla. to Brazil, Hong Kong and East Africa. 

 The "Boston Fern," or var. Bostoniensis (see Plate XI) 

 of the horticulturists, is highly valued but has no stand- 

 ing as a botanical variety. It is sometimes in the trade 

 under the horticultural name N, Paradisce. N. exaltata, 

 var. plumosa, Hort., has double, overlapping crests. 

 JV. Philippensis, Hort., with dark-lvd., dark green foli- 

 age, probably belongs here. N. Washingtoniensis and 

 .2V. Washingtoniensis, var. pendula, Hort., are said to be 

 forms of this species. G. W. Oliver says that their fronds 

 last well after being cut. 



