1722 



STEPHANANDRA 



green, %-!% in. long: fls. white, about % in. across, in 

 terminal short, 8-12-fld., usually panicled racemes; sta- 

 mens 10. June. Japan, Korea. Gn. 55, p. 141. 



Tanakse, Franch. & Sar. Fig. 2397. Shrub, 5 ft. high, 

 almost glabrous: Ivs. triangular-ovate, slightly cordate 

 at the base, abruptly and long-acuminate, usually 3- 

 lobed and doubly serrate or lobulate, 

 pubescent only on the veins beneath, 

 1K-3 in. long: fls. in terminal loose 

 panicles, slend'er - pediceled, % in. 

 across ; stamens 15-20. June, July. 

 Japan. B. M. 7593. Gt. 45:1431.- 

 Handsome shrub much resembling 

 Neillia in foliage, coloring in fall bril- 

 liant orange and scarlet or yellow. 



ALFRED REHDER. 



Stepltanandra flexuosa is closely allied to 

 Spiraea and has the Spiraea style of beauty. 

 It grows 2-3 ft. high and has long, slender 

 branches which are densely and regularly in- 

 terwoven in a fan-like manner. Its habit of 

 growth is fountain-like, the branches being gracefully 

 pendent. Its flowers are snowy white and, although 

 minute, are so numerous that the plant becomes very 

 showy. It is especially fitted for the back of herba- 

 ceous borders or for the front of larger shrubs. Its 

 foliage, which is deeply toothed, is tinted red in early 

 spring and deep glossy green during spring and sum- 

 mer. In the autumn it puts on unusual tints of red- 

 dish purple. This species can be increased by cuttings, 

 but it is usually propagated by layers, which root 

 readily and are easily transplanted. The foliage be- 

 comes so dense that the growth of weeds beneath its 

 thickly set branches is effectually prevented. 



J. W. ADAMS. 



STEPHANOPH1T8UM. See Ruellia. 



STEPHANOTIS (from Greek words for crown and 

 ear ; alluding to the 5 ear-like appendages on the stami- 

 nal crown). Asclepiadacece. Twining glabrous "shrubs 

 of the Old World tropics, of about fourteen species, one 

 of which, S. floribunda, is one of the best of green- 

 house climbers. Lvs. opposite and coriaceous : fls. 

 large and showy, white, in umbel-like cymes from the 

 axils ; calyx 5-parted ; corolla f unnelform or salver- 

 form, the tube cylindrical and usually enlarged at the 

 base and sometimes at the throat, the lobes 5: crown 

 mostly of 5 scales that are usually free at the apex and 

 adnate to the anthers on the back, the anthers with an 

 inflexed tip or membrane: fr. a more or less fleshy fol- 

 licle. 



STERCULIA 



floribunda, Brongn. Fig. 2398. Glabrous, 8-15 ft.: 

 Ivs. elliptic, with a short point, thick and shining green, 

 entire : fls. 1-2 in. long, of waxy consistency, white or 

 cream color, very fragrant, in many umbels, .he ca- 

 lyx one-fourth or less the length of the corolla-tube: 

 fr. 3-4 in. long, ellipsoid, glabrous, fleshy, containing 



2398. Stephanotis floribunda (X %). 



2397. Stephanandra Tanakae (X %). 



melon-like seeds which are provided 

 with a tuft of hair. Madagascar. 

 B.M. 4058. Gn. 21, p. 441 (showing 

 a pygmy plant blooming in a small pot and 

 not climbing); 46, p. 208; 55, p. 150. G. 

 C. II. 14:169 (a dwarf variety, the Elves- 

 ton); 24:817; 25:137; III. 17:50. R.H. 

 1874, p. 368; 1885, p. 438, 439. -This is a 

 most useful old greenhouse twiner, bloom- 

 ing in spring and summer. In winter it 

 should be kept partially dormant at a tem- 

 perature suited to carnations (say 50-60). 

 Enrich the soil every year. Propagated 

 by cuttings of last year's growth in spring. 

 Good seeds are rarely produced under 

 glass. When planted in the open in warm countries, it 

 thrives best in partial shade. Very liable to mealy bug. 

 S. Thoudrsii, Brongn., from Madagascar, appears to 

 be the only other species in cult., but it is not in the 

 American trade. It has obovate Ivs., fls. in 3's, and 

 sepals about one-third the length of the corolla-tube. 



L. H. B. 



Stephanotis floribunda is one of the handsomest of 

 our warmhouse climbers, blooming in spring and sum- 

 mer. In the days when short blooms were used in 

 bouquets it was one of the most valuable flowers that 

 the florist had, its large waxy umbels having a delicious 

 odor. It should be kept about 60 during the winter, 

 with less water. In the summer it delights in the tem- 

 perature of our warmest houses with plenty of syring- 

 ing. When given too much root room it grows very 

 rampant and is less inclined to flower. Therefore a 

 tub or a border where its roots are restricted is better, 

 with an annual top-dressing of good manure. Its great- 

 est enemy is the mealy bug, which, if allowed to get a 

 lodgment on the plant, is a great pest. Seed pods are 

 occasionally seen on the plant, but it is easily propagated 

 by cuttings from pieces of the last year's growth and 

 they strike freely in sand. This is also one of the most 

 valuable plants for private establishments. When grown 

 in a 12- or 15-inch pot or tub and trained on a balloon 

 trellis it makes splendid specimens and is often seen at 

 our horticultural exhibitions; and when in bloom there 

 is nothing finer for the conservatory. WM. SCOTT. 



STERCtTLIA (Sterculius of Roman mythology, from 

 stercus, manure; applied to these plants because of the 

 odor of the leaves and fruits of some species). Ster- 

 culiacece. Some 50 or 60 species of tropical trees or 

 shrubs, most abundant in Asia, a few of which are 

 planted in the southern states and California. Fls. 

 mostly polygamous, apetalous, the calyx tubular, 4-5- 

 cleft, often colored; stamens united in a column which 

 bears a head of 10-15 sessile anthers ; pistil of as many 

 carpels as calyx-lobes and opposite them, each carpel 

 2- to many-ovuled, the stigmas free and radiating: fr. 



