1176 



ORNITHOGALUM 



OETHROSANTHUS 



shorter than the bracts: fls. green, margined white on 

 back, the lower ones nodding. Eu., Asia Minor. B.M. 

 269. Gn. 32:621 & p. 77; 41, p. 376. Karely escaped in 

 U. S. 



BB. Blossoms erect or ascending. 



c. Width of leaves 3-6 lines. 



Narbon6nse, Linn. Bulb ovoid, 9-15 lines thick: Ivs. 

 strap-shaped, 1-1% ft. long, 3-6 lines wide, glabrous, 



flaucous green, scarcely disappearing before the end of 

 owering: scape 1-1 % ft. long: raceme 20-50-fld., ob- 

 long-cylindrical, 4-8 in. long, l%-2 in. wide : lowest 

 pedicels 9-15 lines long: fls. whitish, keeled green on 

 the back ; filaments lanceolate at base, not squared. S. 

 Eu. B.M. 2510 (striped, green back and front). O. py- 

 ramidale, Linn., is considered by Baker to be a robust, 

 large-fid, garden form, but it is .said to grow wild in 

 Spain and Portugal and may be a distinct species. Fls, 

 white, with a green stripe on back. Gn. 41:854. 



cc. Width of leaves 9-18 lines. 

 D. Filaments alternately linear and lanceolate. 

 longebracteatum, Jacq. Lvs. rather fleshy, glabrous, 

 lanceolate, l%-2 ft. long, %-!% in. wide, persistent 

 until after flowering: scape -l%-2 ft. long : raceme 

 dense, 30-60-fld., oblong-cylindrical, 6-9 in. long, 15-18 

 lines wide: lowest pedicels 9-12 lines long: fls. whitish, 

 keeled green' on the back: bracts 9-15 lines long; fila- 

 ments alternately linear and lanceolate at the base. S. 

 Afr. Baker says the bulb is 3-4 in. thick. 



DD. Filaments alternately lanceolate and quadrate 

 at the base. 



caudatum, Ait. Lvs. lorate, l%-2 ft. long, 1-1% in. 

 wide: scape l%-3 ft. long: raceme dense, %-l ft. long: 

 fls. banded green on face, and keeled green : bracts 6-9 

 lines long. S. Afr. B.M. 805. Window plant. 



AAAA. Fls. white, with a brown or greenish yellow 

 eye: perianth segments revolute. 



revolutum, Jacq. Lvs. lanceolate, 6-9 in. long, 6-9 

 lines wide : fls. not keeled with green, many in a sub- 

 corymbose cluster; style very short and stout. S. Afr. 

 B.M. 653. B.R. 4:315. w . M> 



6BOBUS is considered a subgenus of Lathyrus, but 

 for O. formosuSj see Pisum, and for O. lathyroides, see 

 Vicia. Since Lathyrus was written for this work, the 

 names of 3 other species of Orobus have been promi- 

 nently mentioned in this country: O. aurdntius= Vicia 

 aurdntia; O. flaccidus Lathyrus vernus, var. flacci- 

 dus, Ser., which is distinguished from the type by its 

 very narrow, flaccid Ivs. ; and O. Pannonicus, a puzzling 

 name, which is discussed in the next paragraph. 



Orobus Pannonicits, Jacq., is by Index Kewensis re- 

 ferred to Laihyrus Pannonicus, Garcke, but older au- 

 thorities, as DeCandolle and Koch, refer it to Lathyrus 

 albus, Linn. f. L. albus differs from other species as 

 follows : root of clustered, club-shaped fibers : stem 

 angled, unbranched, narrowly winged above: Ifts. 2-3 

 pairs, linear-lanceolate and linear: style linear. Nor- 

 mally it has white or yellowish fls., with the standard 

 often flushed rose color on the back; but var. versicolor, 

 Koch, has a purple standard, with yellow wings and 

 keel. This is B.M. 675 (as O. varius) and probably the 

 form in cult. 



ORONTIUM (one of many names arbitrarily applied 

 by Linnaeus ; he probably had in mind some water 

 plant growing in the Syrian river Orontes). Aracece. 

 GOLDEN CLUB. Orontium aqiiaticum, or Golden Club, is 

 a hardy, native, aquatic plant, which bears in early 

 spring yellow "clubs " on white stalks. The "club " is a 

 cylindrical spadix 1-2 in. long. The Ivs. are ascending 

 or floating, according to the depth of the water. They 

 are oblong-elliptic, with a blade 5-12 in. long, and no 

 distinct midrib, but numerous parallel veins. The fo- 

 liage is handsome, dark velvety green above, silvery 

 below. The plant is very strong and deeply rooted, grow- 

 ing in water 10-18 in. deep. On account of "its firm hold on 

 the soil it may be planted in swifter water than most 

 aquatics. It has the fault of being difficult to eradicate 

 when firmly established. 



Orontium is a genus of one species, which is found in 

 swamps and pools from Mass, to Fla., mostly near the 

 seacoast, but extending as far inland as central Pa. and 

 La. Spathe usually soon deciduous : fls. hermaphro- 

 dite, covering the whole spadix ; sepals scale-like, im- 

 bricated upon the ovary, usually 4 in the upper and 6 

 in the lower fls.; ovary 1-celled; ovule solitary, semi- 

 anatropous : fr. a green utricle. 



aquaticum, Linn. GOLDEN CLUB. Blade of Ivs. 5-12 x 

 2-5 in.: stalk 4-20 in. long: scape %-2 ft. long. B.B. 

 1:364. L.B.C. 5:402. B.H. 1888:85. Gn. 27, p. 213. 



F. W. BARCLAY. 



OB6XYLON (Greek, a mountain tree; nevertheless 

 it grows anywhere from sea-level to an altitude of 3,000 

 ft.). Also written Oroxylum. Bignoniacece. A genus 

 of one species, an Indian tree, which, as Franceschi 

 says, is "remarkable for the large size and striking form 

 of its leaves, almost black flowers, and long, sword- 

 shaped pods." This tree is cult, outdoors in S. Calif. 

 and under glass in Europe. It attains 25-40 ft. in In- 

 dia, has Ivs. 2-4 ft. across, which are shining and twice 

 or thrice ternately pinnate; Ifts. 5x3-4 in.: raceme 10 

 in. long: fls. fleshy, 2% in. long, 2-3% in. across, bell- 

 shaped, and white or purplish according to the Flora of 

 British India. 



This tree has no near ally of garden value. It might 

 be roughly compared to a Catalpa for its long pods and 

 winged seeds, and for its much-cut foliage to Jacaran- 

 da ovalifolia, which is one of the most striking and 

 elegant trees cultivated in subtropical countries. Ge- 

 neric characters are : calyx large, leathery, truncate or 

 obscurely toothed : corolla-lobes 5, subequal, round, 

 crisped, toothed : stamens 5 : capsule septicidally 2- 

 valved: seeds thinly discoid, with a broad, transpar- 

 ent wing. 



tndicum, Vent. Lvs. opposite ; Ifts. ovate, entire: 

 peduncle 1 ft. long: capsule 1-3 ft. long, 2-3 in. wide, 

 hardly 4 lines thick. India, Ceylon, Cochin China, Ma- 

 laya. 



OKPINE or STONE CBOP. See Sedum, particularly 

 S. Telephium. 



OBBIS-BOOT or IBIS-BOOT. See Iris Florentina 

 and Perfumery Gardening. 



OBTHOCABPUS (Greek, straight fruit, which distin- 

 guishes this genus from Melampyrum). Scrophularia- 

 cece. O. pu'rpurdscens , Benth., is a plant something 

 like the Painted Cup (Castilleia). It is a Californian 

 annual, growing a foot or less high, with yellow, crim- 

 son-tipped fls. and gaudy bracts. Gray says it is "com- 

 mon along the hills and mountains of the coast, from 

 San Diego to Humboldt Co., so abundant as to give the 

 ground a purple hue for miles in some places; occasion- 

 ally, with duller or only pallid color, in salt marshes. 

 The reddish, soft and copious beard of the narrow and 

 hooked upper lip which marks this species is composed 

 of many- and close-jointed hairs." This plant was 

 offered in 1891 by Orcutt. For fuller description see 

 Gray's Syn. Flora of N. Amer. In Orthocarpus the 

 calyx is 4-cut ; in Castilleia many-cut. 



OBTHBOSANTHUS (Greek, morning flower; because 

 the fls. open in the morning and fade before noon). 

 Iridacece. O. miiltiflorus is a charming plant some- 

 thing like our blue-eyed grass or Sisyrinchium. It has 

 a tuft of grassy foliage a foot or two high, and sky-blue, 

 6-parted fls. an inch or more across, which open one 

 after another for a week or so. Horticultural] y it is 

 classed among tender bulbs, though its rootstock is a 

 short, thick rhizome. This choice plant comes from 

 Australia, which, unlike the Cape of Good Hope, is very 

 poor in showy bulbous plants of the iris, lily and ama- 

 ryllis families. 



Orthrosanthus is a genus of 7 species, 2 from tropical 

 America and 5 from Australia. Lvs. firm, linear, equi- 

 tant: clusters many-fld., panicled: fls. pale blue; pedi- 

 cels so short that the capsule is not protruded from the 

 spathe; perianth tube very short or none; segments 

 oblong, nearly equal, spreading; filaments free or con- 

 nate only at the base: ovary 3-celled; ovules many, 



