1438 



PRITCHABDIA 



PROTEA 



ably a catalogue error for P. filifera. P. filifera, Linden, is 

 Washingtonia fllifera. P. grandis, Bull, is Licuala grandis. 

 P. Periculorum, Wendl., is said to be characterized by its dark 

 brownish petioles and obliquely spherical fr. Pomotu Isl. 

 P. Thurstoni, Drude, is said to be distinguished by its long 

 slender tt.-stalks like fishing rods bearing a thyrse-like inflor- 

 escence. W. M. 



PEIVET, See Z/igustrum. 



PRIVET, MOCK. See Phillyrea. 



PROBOSCIS FLOWER. Martynia proboscidea. 



PROCHNYANTHES (Greek, kneeling and flower; 

 referring to the sudden bend in the flower which is 

 likened to a knee). Amaryllidacece. A genus closely 

 related to Polianthes and Bravoa, differing chiefly in the 

 shape of the flowers. Stems slender, from oblong 

 tubers which crown short, thick rootstock: Ivs. mostly 

 basal; inflorescence a lax spike or raceme: fls. always 

 in pairs, tubular below, abruptly bent at the middle, 

 bell-shaped above; stamens 6, included: fr. 3-celled, 

 many-seeded. Native of western Mexico. A genus, dis- 

 covered by Dr. E. Palmer in 1886, of which two species 

 have been described. It has been misspelled Prochy- 

 nanthes. 



viridSscens, Watson. Stems 4-6 ft. high : Ivs. mostly 

 basal, numerous, 1-2 ft. long, 2-3 in. broad, erect: fls. 

 5-30 pairs, brownish; pedicels nearly wanting to 1% in. 

 long. Until recently supposed to be a very rare species, 

 known only from near Guadalajara, Mexico, but found 

 by the writer to be very common in the mountains of 

 the states of Jalisco, Durango and Zacatecas. Not yet 

 in the trade, but it is a plant that deserves to be intro- 

 duced. 



P. Bulllana, Baker. Hardly differs from the above but de- 

 scribed as having larger fls., which are sessile instead of hav- 

 ing a long pedicel: fls. brownish green. The fls. are not jointed 

 at the pedicel as Baker says. B.M. 7427. P. viridifldra men- 

 tioned under B.M. 7427 is a mere slip of the pen for P. viri. 

 descens. j. N. ROSE. 



PROMEN2E A (named presumably after the prophetess 

 of Dodona). Orchidaceat. A genus of small herbs with 

 the habit of Odontoglossum but having Ivs. of paler 

 green. It is one of the many genera formerly united 

 with Zygopetalum. Lvs. conduplicate in the bud: 

 pseudobulbs evident : inflorescence originating above 

 the annual leafy axis, 1-2-fld.: sepals and petals sub- 

 equal, spreading, the lateral sepals forming a mentum 

 with base of the column: labellum movably joined to 

 the base of the column. For culture, see Zygopetalum. 



citrina, Donn. (Zygopetalum xanthlnum). A little 

 orchid with small ovate pseudobulbs and lanceolate Ivs. 

 2-3 in. long: fls. pale lemon-yellow; labellum 3-lobed, 

 with crimson spots in the throat; column streaked with 

 red. June. Brazil. Gn. 20, p. 61. 



graminea, Lindl. Lvs. about 6 in. long, lanceolate, 

 faintly striate, jointed to the equitant bases: scapes 

 3-5, clustered: fls. dirty yellow, spotted with brown; 

 sepals and petals oblong - lanceolate ; labellum oval, 

 crisp and toothed on the margin, shaded with rose and 

 blotched with crimson-brown. Spring. Brazil. B.M. 

 5046. G.C. II. 23:636. On account of the absence of 

 pseudobulbs this species is now generally placed in the 

 genus Keffersteinia. 



stapelioides, Lindl. Pseudobulbs 4-angled, 1-2-lvd. : 

 Ivs. lanceolate, spreading, pale glaucous, reticulate: 

 peduncle 2-fld.: fls. green outside, yellowish inside, 

 speckled and banded purple. Brazil. B.R. 25:17. 



HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



PROPAGATION. See Cuttage, Graftage, Layerage, 

 Nursery, Seedage. 



PROSARTES. See Disporum. 



PROSOPIS (meaning obscure). Legumlnbsce. A genus 

 of about 18 species of tender trees and shrubs includ- 

 ing the Mesquit and the Screw Bean, two forage plants 

 of considerable value in the arid regions of S. Calif, and 

 the Southwest. The species of Prosopis may be spiny 

 or not, the spines axillary, solitary or in pairs, or some- 

 times only the stipules spinescent: Ivs. bipinnate, the 



pinnae in 1 or 2, rarely many, pairs; Ifts. few or many: 

 fls. small, in cylindrical spikes or globose heads. 



The Mesquit, P. juliflora or P. dulcis, is a thorny 

 shrub which ordinarily grows only a few feet high in the 

 desert, but under favorable circumstances it makes a 

 tree 60 ft. high. It ranges from California to Texas and 

 south to Buenos Ayres. It is also called Algaroba and 

 Cashaw. It was extensively planted in the Hawaiian 

 Islands many years ago by the missionaries. In great 

 stress of circumstances it has been known to send its 

 roots down a depth of 60 ft. It is suitable for hedges. 

 The sweetish pods are eaten chiefly by cattle. Seeds and 

 plants are offered in S. Calif. 



A. Plant spiny: pod straight or sickle-shaped. 

 julifldra, DC. (P. dulcis, Kunth). MESQUIT or MES- 

 QUITE. Plant with stout axillary spines or often un- 

 armed: Ifts. 6-30 pairs, linear, /4-1/lj in. long: spikes 

 cylindrical, 2-4 in. long: pod %->a ft. long or more. 

 The Californian form is said to bear smaller pods than 

 the tropical form, and to be hardier. 



AA. Plant less spiny : pod spirally twisted in nu- 

 merous turns. 



pubescens, Benth. SCREW BEAN. TORNILLO. Plant 

 merely spinescent on petioles: Ifts. 5-8 pairs, oblong, 

 %-% in. long: spikes globose to cylindrical, 1K-2 in. 

 long: pod 1-2 in. long. Tex., Calif., Mex. ^ ^ 



PROSTANTHERA (Greek, to add to, and anther; re- 

 ferring to the connectives of the anthers being spurred 

 or crested beneath). Labiatce. About 40 species of 

 Australian shrubs or subshrubs, with resinous glands, 

 and commonly strong-scented. Fls. borne in spring or 

 summer, solitary, axillary or opposite in terminal ra- 

 cemes; calyx-tube usually striate, the limb 2-lipped; 

 corolla - tube short, dilated into broad bell - shaped 

 throat ; stamens 4, in pairs ; anthers with 2 perfect 

 cells ; the connective not elongated but prominent at 

 the back, sometimes cristate and usually tipped with a 

 crest of short points or hairs, though occasionally the 

 appendages are very short or wanting. Flora Austra- 

 liensis 5:91 (1870). 



nivea, A. Cunn. A beautiful shrub, 3-6 ft. high, gla- 

 brous except the corolla or with a few appressed hairs: 

 stem and branches slender, twiggy, upper ones 4-angled . 

 Ivs. %-l% in. long, oblong-lanceolate or linear, entire, 

 pale green; margins involute, especially on older Ivs.: 

 fls. snow-white or tinged with blue; pedicels short; ca- 

 lyx about % in. long, green; corolla %-/4 in. across. 

 Rocky hills, N. S. Wales and Victoria. B.M. 5658. -A 

 tender shrub, which can be safely grown only where the 

 lemon is hardy. Introduced by Franceschi, Santa Bar- 

 bara. F. W. BARCLAY. 



PROTEA (from Proteus, the sea-god, who changed 

 into many forms ; alluding to the baffling diversity of 

 the species). Proteacece. Proteas are tender shrubs 

 which are among the most attractive and characteristic 

 plants of the Cape of Good Hope, a region whose plant 

 life is unique. Their flower-heads are said to look like 

 a "glorified artichoke." Indeed P. cynaroides (Fig. 

 1962) is named from this very resemblance. (Cyna- 

 roides means cynara-like ; and Cynara is the artichoke. ) 

 It has bright pink flower-heads which last several 

 months. The structure of the flower-heads is the dis- 

 tinctive feature of the whole family of the Proteacese. 

 The showy parts of the flower-head are the bracts, 

 which are often rigid, colored, and overlap one another 

 like the scales of a hard cone or an artichoke. "When 

 the heads of P. cynaroides first open," says Watson, 

 "they are full of honey and ace known to the Boers as 

 honey-pots." This honey is collected and made into a 

 kind of sugar. The blooming of the "honey-pots" is a 

 great occasion for picnics. Watson saw large bushes of 

 P. speciosa at the Cape, which he declared were quite 

 as effective as big specimen rhododendrons. "Fifty 

 years ago," writes Watson in 1891, "there were about 30 

 species of Protea included among popular greenhouse, 

 plants in England ; now one may safely say there is not 

 one, the few really under cultivation being only in 

 botanical collections." In 1881 Hooker wrote: "That 

 these and many other plants requiring like treatment 

 will be reintroduced, and will be the wonders of the 



