1318 



PHYLLANTHUS 



PHYLLOCACTUS 



1771. Otaheite Goose- 

 berry Phyllanthus 

 distichus. 



(Foliage X 1-10; fr. 



A. Foliage of large, broadly ovate-elliptical varie- 

 gated Ivs., not pronouncedly distichous. 



nivdsus, Smith. SNOW-BUSH. Shrub of loose habit, 

 with dark wiry somewhat zigzag branches : Ivs. 1-2 in. 

 long, obtuse, white and green mottled: fl. small, green- 

 ish, discoid, hanging by long pedicels from the leaf 

 axils. S. Sea Islands. F.M. 1874:120. I.H. 25:332.- 

 Var. rdseo-pictus, Hort. Lvs. mottled with pink and red 

 as well as white and green. Gn. 10, p. 261. F. 1878, p. 13. 

 Used in the house and for bedding out in summer. 

 AA. Foliage of narrowly elliptical or ovate, distinctly 

 distichous green Ivs. 



fimblica, Linn. EMBLIC MYROBOLAN. A much- 

 branched shrub or small tree: foliage branches with 

 many linear-elliptical, obtuse Ivs., which are close to- 

 gether and K-% in. long: fls. small, short-pedicelled 

 in the axils of the lower Ivs. : capsule baccate, %-l in. 

 in diam. E. Indian region. L.B.C. 6:548. Fruit used 

 raw or preserved: foliage handsome. 



dfstichus, Muell. (Cicca disticha, Linn.). OTAHEITE 

 GOOSEBERRY. Fig. 1771. Shrub, with ovate acute Ifts. 

 1-2 in. long: fls. on separate branches below the foliage: 

 fr. fleshy, edible. India and Madagascar. W. Harris, 

 of Hope Gardens, Jamaica, W. I., writes that the Ota- 

 heite gooseberry is an elegant shrub or small tree often 

 cultivated in gardens in the lowlands of Jamaica and 

 the West Indies. The fruit is very acid and astringent; 

 the root is an active purgative, and the seed is also 

 cathartic. The fruit is occasionally pickled, qr made 

 into preserves. Plants are raised from seeds. 



pulcher, Wall. (P. pallidifdlius , Miill. P. glauc^s- 

 cens, Hort. ? Reidia glaucSscens, Miq.). A small 

 shrub: Ivs. much like the last, but ovate-elliptical, K- 

 1% in. long, glaucous below: fl. small, red and yellow, 

 the pistillate near the end of the foliage branches, on 

 long pedicels, the staminate below; sepals laciniate: 

 capsule small, globose, puberulent. Java. B.M. 5437. 

 G.F. 4:161. 



AAA. Foliage of flattened stems bearing scale-like 

 Ivs. and fls. on the margin. 



specidsus, Jacq. (P. arbuscula, Gmel.). A small 

 shrub: floriferous branches, lanceolate, striate, crenate, 

 2-3 in. long. Jamaica. B.M. 1021 (as Xylophylla lati- 

 folia). 



P. angustifblius, Sw. B.M. 2652. Near speciosus. Fls. small 

 and yellowish on the margins of the branches. Known as 

 Xylophylla montana. Native to Jamaica. P. atropurpureus, 

 Hort.= var. of P. nivosus, with dark purple Ivs. P. Chantrieri, 

 Andre. R.H. 1883, p. 537. Sepals fringed. Cochin China P. 

 salvicefblius, HBK. R.H. 1883, p. 176. Leaflets truncate! Fls. 

 small, somewhat globular. S. Amer. 



J. B. S. NORTON. 



PHYLLIRfiA. See Phillyrea. 



PHYLLITIS (Greek, a leaf ; from the simple foliage). 

 Polypodidcete. A genus of ferns popularly known as 

 the Hart's-tongue fern, with simple Ivs. and elongated 

 sori at right angles to the midrib; indusium appearing 

 double from the coalescence of two sori, one produced 

 on the upper side of a veinlet and the other on the 

 lower side of the veinlet next above. 



Scolopgndrium, Newman (ScolopSndrium vulgare, 

 Sm.). HART'S-TONGUE. Lvs. 10-15 in. long, heart- 

 shaped at base, 1-2 in. wide, growing in tufted clus- 

 ters. Widely distributed in Europe, where there are 

 many curious varieties in cultivation; and local on 

 coruiferous limestone in central New York ; also in 

 Canada and Tennessee. L. M. UNDERWOOD. 



PHYLLOCACTUS (Latin, phyllum, a leaf ; from the 

 flattened leaf -like stem). Cactacece. Branches flat, two- 

 edged, crenate on the margins, the crenatures bearing 

 the flowers, and bristles rather than spines. The fruit 

 is often angled, usually scaly, but without spines or 

 wool. About a dozen species are recognized by botan- 

 ists, but few are known in the wild state, and most of 

 them have so profusely hybridized with each other 

 and with species of Cereus, especially C. speciosus, and 

 even with Echinopsis, that many of the forms in culti- 

 vation are wholly doubtful. In strict priority the genus 

 should be called by the older name Epiphyllum, under 

 which nearly all the species have received names. 



In their native haunts Phyllocacti are often epiphytic ; 

 consequently in cultivation they do not require as much 

 sunlight as most other genera of Cactaceee, and water 

 can be more freely supplied to them. See also Cacti. 



There are hundreds of Latin names in the catalogues 

 which seem to represent species, but they are horticul- 

 tural varieties or hybrids. One of the hybrid forms is 

 shown in Fig. 1772. 



1772. One of the many hybrid Phyllocacti (X 



A. Tube of fl. 4-8 in. long: flowers white or yellowish 

 white within, often rosy on the tube and outer 

 sepals, 4-10 in. in expansion. 

 B. Style white. 



grandis, Lem. Very large, sometimes 20 ft. long: 

 stems slender, round or 2-edged, with flat, leaf-like, 



