1724 



STERNBERGIA 



STERNBERGIA (after Count Caspar Sternberg, a 

 botanist and writer, 1761-1838). Amaryllidacem. A 

 genus of 4 species of low-growing hardy bulbous herbs 

 from eastern Europe to Asia Minor, with strap-shaped 

 or linear leaves and bright yellow crocus-like flowers. 

 Perianth regular, erect, f unnelf orm ; stamens inserted 

 on the perianth-tube; filaments long, filiform; anthers 

 dorsiflxed, versatile : fr. fleshy, scarcely dehiscent; 

 seeds subglobose. The bulbs should be planted rather 

 deeply, about 6 inches. J. N. Gerard says of their cul- 

 ture in G.F. 10:158 that they require a rather heavy soil, 

 in a somewhat dry, sunny position where they will be well 

 ripened in summer. 



2400. Sternbergia lutea (X 



A. Fls. and Ivs. appearing together. 



B. Blooming in fall. 



lutea, Ker-Gawl (Amaryllis lutea, Linn.). Fig. 2400. 

 Bulb about 1% in. through: Ivs. 6-8 to a bulb, strap- 

 shaped, becoming 1 ft. long: fls. yellow, 1-4 to a bulb; 

 tube less than % in. long; perianth-segments about 1% 

 in. long. Mediterranean region of Eu. and Asia. B.M. 

 290. Gn. 44, p. 365; 47, p. 114. G.C. II. 13:21. 



BB. Blooming in spring. 



Fischeriana, Roem. Has the habit of S. lutea, but 

 differs in season of bloom and stipitate ovary and cap- 

 sule. Wm. Watson says (G.F. 8:144) that the fls. are 

 a brighter yellow and as large as the largest forms of 

 S. lutea. Caucasus. B.M. 7441. 



AA. Fls. and Ivs. appearing at different seasons. 



B. Lvs. linear: fls. small. 



colchiciflora, Waldst. and Kit. Bulb about % in. 

 through: Ivs. appearing in spring, 3-4 in. long: fls. yel- 

 low, in fall; segments about 1 in. long by 2 lines broad. 

 East Europe, Asia Minor. B.R. 23:2008. 



BB. Lvs. strap-shaped: fls. large. 

 macrantha, J. Gay. Bulb globose, 1% in. through, 

 with a long neck : Ivs. becoming 1 ft. long, nearly 1 in. 

 wide, fully developed in June: fls. bright yellow, 3-5 in. 

 across; segments about 1 in. broad. October. Asia 

 Minor. G.C. III. 23:97. Gn. 47:1001. B.M. 7459. -A 

 handsome species. p_ \^. BARCLAY. 



STEVENSONIA (named after one of the governors 

 of Mauritius). Palmacece. A monotypic genus of tropi- 

 cal palms from the Seychelles. Tall trees, spiny through- 

 out or at length nearly smooth, with ringed caudex: Ivs. 

 terminal, spreading-recurved, the cuneate-obovate blade 

 convex, bifid, oblique at the base, plicate-nerved, the 

 margins split, segments deeply cut, the mid-nerves and 

 nerves prominent, scaly beneath; petiole plano-convex; 

 sheath deeply split, scaly, spined; spadix erect; pe- 

 duncle long, compressed at the base: branches thick- 

 ish : spathes 2, the lower one persistent, prickly, the 

 upper one smooth, woody, club-shaped, deciduous: fr. 

 ellipsoidal, small, orange- colored. For culture, see 

 Palm. 



grandifdlia, Duncan (Phcenicophdrum Sechellarum, 

 H. Wendl.). Caudex .40-50 ft. high, very spiny when 

 young, less so when old; petiole 9-18 in. long, pale 

 green; blade cuneate-obovate. Seychelles. I.H. 12:433. 

 B.M. 7277. Gn. 23, pp. 173, 320. JARED G. SMITH. 



STILES 



STEVIA. For the Stevia of florists, see Piqueria* 

 True Stevias are described in horticultural literature,, 

 but it is not known that any of them are now in the 

 American trade. 



STEWARTIA. See Stuartia. 



STICK-TIGHT. Vernacular for burs of Cynogloxsum. 



STIGMAPH"?LLON (Greek, stigma and leaf; refer- 

 ring to the leaf-like appendages of the stigmas). Some- 

 times written Stigmapkyllwn. Malpighiacece. About 

 50 species of tropical American woody vines with usu- 

 ally opposite, entire to lobed, petioled leaves and yellow 

 flowers in axillary, peduncled umbel-like cymes: calyx 

 5-parted, 8-glandular; stamens 10, of which 6 are per- 

 fect and 4 antherless or deformed; styles 3; stigmas 

 produced into leaf -like or hooked appendages : ovary 

 3-loculed, 3-lobed. 



ciliatum, A. Juss. A tender woody twining vine: Ivs. 

 evergreen, smooth, opposite, cordate, ciliate: fls. bright 

 yellow, large, in peduncled axillary clusters of 3-6. 

 P.M. 15:77. Gn. 33:637. Apparently the only species in 

 the trade and possibly the most handsome of the genus. 

 G. W. Oliver says that S. ciliatum is one of the best 

 medium-sized vines for outdoor trellis work. For pot 

 culture it is of little service and thrives in the green- 

 house only when planted out. September is the best 

 month for propagation. On outdoor plants much of the 

 wood is xiseless for this purpose, being thin and soft. 

 Choose the wood made early in the season; a heel or 

 joint is not necessary; root in bottom heat and carry 

 through the winter in the greenhouse as small plants. 

 Ernest Braunton says of its culture in S. Calif, that 

 it must have shade, protection from dry or hot winds, 

 and an open soil. Under the right conditions it flowers 

 admirably. F . w _ BARCLAY> 



STILES, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, journalist, editor 

 and park commissioner, was born March 9, 1837, at 

 Deckertown, Sussex county, in northern New Jersey, 

 and died October 6, 1897, in Jersey City, N. J. His 

 grandfather settled on a farm near Deckertown in 

 1819, where his father, Edward A. Stiles, in 1833 

 founded Mount Retirement Seminary, a successful 

 school of the highest rank during the following thirty 

 years. Here William A. Stiles received his early educa- 

 tion; as a boy he showed great love for classical litera- 

 ture and unusual proficiency in music and mathematics. 

 He was distinguished as a student at Yale, graduating 

 in 1859 in a class which included many men who have 

 since attained high rank in public affairs. Prevented 

 from taking up the profession of law by constitutional 

 weakness and defective eyesight, his many-sided na- 

 ture found expression in diversified activities. He 

 was in turn a teacher, assistant superintendent of 

 public schools, surveyor on the Pacific coast, writer of 

 political articles, secretary of the Senate of New Jersey, 

 actuary of a life insurance company, and gauger in the 

 New York custom house. During a long period of ill- 

 ness and almost total blindness he acquired systematic 

 knowledge of plant-life from readings by his sisters, 

 and this gave impulse toward subsequent study on 

 broader lines. He brought together many rare and 

 choice species of plants, and made interesting experi- 

 ments on the farm. Love of nature was henceforth a 

 dominant force with him. His articles in the daily 

 press of New York on the various interests of country 

 life attracted wide attention, and led to his appointment 

 as an editorial writer of the New York Tribune, a rela- 

 tion which continued throughout his lifetime. In 1883 

 he became agricultural editor of the Philadelphia Press. 

 Keenly interested in introducing scientific discoveries 

 and improved methods into general practice, he estab- 

 lished relations with the foremost agriculturists abroad 

 and at home, and made his department a useful and 

 valuable exponent of the best knowledge of the time. 

 His masterly conduct of the page during the next five 

 years set a high standard for journalism in this field, 

 and established his reputation as a specialist in agri- 

 culture and cognate subjects. On the founding of 

 "Garden and Forest" in 1888, William A. Stiles was 

 invited to be the managing editor. For nearly ten 



