1758 



SYMPHORICARPOS 



SYMPLOCOS 



Eastern N. A. B.B. 3:235. A smooth shrub with slen- 

 der branches usually bending under its load of berries. 

 Var. paucifldrus, Bobbins, is of smaller growth and 

 has fewer fruits. Mn. 2, p. 10. B.B. 3:236. 



BB. Stamens and style exserted. 



occidentalis, R. Br. WOLFBEKRY. This may be con- 

 sidered as the western form of our eastern species, but 

 it is less attractive than the preceding, as it is less 

 fruitful and the individual berries are not as clear and 

 waxy. Lvs. ovate: fls. 

 in spikes, both terminal 

 and axillary ; stamens 

 and style exserted: fr. 

 the same dimensions as 

 white. July. Mich., north 

 and west. G.F. 3:297. B. 

 B. 3:236. A shrub of about 

 the last and closely re- 

 sembling it, the exserted 

 stamens and style being 

 the most obvious dis- 

 tinction. 



AA. Fruit red. 



vulgaris, Michx. IN- 

 DIAN CURRANT. CORAL 

 BERRY. Fig. 2448. Lvs. 

 ovate: fls. in dense 

 axillary and terminal 

 spikes; style and sta- 

 mens included: fr. dark 

 2448. red. July. Along rivers 



Fruits of Indian Currant Sym- and rocky places N. J. to 

 phoricarpos vulgaris (X %). Dakotas, south to Ga. 

 Showing how few of the fruits a , nd ex. Mn. 1, p. 84. 

 develop. " n - *** P- 2 - A rather 



more compact bush than 



the two previously described species. Valuable because 

 of its abundant persistent fruit and foliage. Var. var- 

 iegatus, Hort., has the leaves marked white and yellow 

 and is the same as var. foliis variegatis. Var. gloiner- 

 atus, Hort., is a form with longer terminal spikes. 



JOHN F. COWELL. 



SYMPHYANDKA (Greek; anthers grown together). 

 Campanulacece. ISymphyandra Hofmanni is a hardy 

 perennial herb, 1-2 ft. high, with pendulous bell-shaped 

 flowers 1% in. long and an inch or more across. The 

 fls. are borne in a large leafy panicle. Under favorable 

 conditions in England this plant has maintained a suc- 

 cession of bloom from July to December. T. D. Hat- 

 field finds that in this country "the plant is liable to 

 exhaust itself in blooming, thus behaving like a bien- 

 nial. It has large, fleshy roots, needs a dry position and 

 sows itself." 



Symphyandra is a genus of about 7 species of peren- 

 nial herbs found in the region of Asia Minor. Its 

 special botanical interest lies in the fact that the 

 anthers are grown together into a tube, which character 

 tends to annul the distinction between the Campanula 

 and Lobelia families. Otherwise the genus is much 

 like Campanula. 



Generic characters: caudex thick: Ivs. broad, usually 

 cordate, dentate; radical Ivs. long-stalked; stem-lvs. 

 few or small: fls. white or yellowish, usually nodding, 

 racemose or loosely panicled : inflorescence centrifugal : 

 calyx-tube adnate, hemispherical or top-shaped, with or 

 without reflexed appendages between the lobes; corolla 

 bell-shaped, 5-lobed: ovary 3-loculed. 



H6fmanni, Pant. Much branched, pilose: branches 

 decumbent: Ivs. oblanceolate, acute, doubly dentate: 

 calyx with large, leafy, cordate segments, hemispheri- 

 cal tube and no appendages; corolla hairy inside. 

 Bosnia. B.M. 7298. Gn. 57, p. 303. G.C. III. 4:761.- 

 This desirable bellflower has been cult, by amateurs in 

 the East. It sometimes spreads rapidly in half-shaded 

 rockeries and sows itself. ^ jyj. 



SYMPHYTUM (Greek, to grow together, in reference 

 to the supposed healing virtues). Borraginacew . 

 COMFREY. About 16 species of perennial herbs from 



Europe, Asia and N. Africa, with usually tuberous 

 roots: Ivs. simple, often decurrent, and with rather 

 small yellow, blue or purplish flowers pediceled in ter- 

 minal, simple or branched cymes: calyx 5-cut or parted, 

 lobes linear; corolla tubular, lobes very short and 

 nearly erect; stamens 5, attached to the middle of the- 

 corolla-tube, included: nutlets 4; seeds nearly globular. 

 Of easy culture in any good soil. The shade of over- 

 hanging trees is not objectionable. When grown for 

 the beauty of the variegated foliage the flowering stems 

 may be removed with advantage. 



JL.' Lvs. decurrent on the stem. 



officinale, Linn. A hardy branching perennial, about 

 3 ft. high: root thick: lower Ivs. large, broadly lanceo- 

 late: upper Ivs. narrower: fls. small, pale yellow or 

 purplish, in drooping cymes. June, July. Eu., Asia. 



Var. variegatum, Hort., has leaves widely margined 

 with creamy white. A beautiful variegated plant es- 

 pecially attractive in spring, when the coloring of the 

 leaves is brightest and the large rosettes have not yet 

 sent up any flower-stems. F.S. 18:1901-1902. 



AA. Lvs. not decurrent on the stem. 

 asperrimum, Donn. PRICKLY COMFREY. Fig. 2449. A 

 hardy perennial, more vigorous than 8. officinale, often 

 5 ft. high: Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, prickly on both sides: 

 fls. reddish in the bud, becoming blue, smaller than in 

 S. officinale. June, July. Caucasus. B.M. 929. Var. 

 variegatum, Hort., has leaves distinctly margined with 

 yellow. J. B. KELLER and P. W. BARCLAY. 



SYMPLOCAKPUS. See Spathyema. 



SYMPLOCOS (Greek, symplocos, entwined or con- 

 nected, the stamens being connate at the base). In- 

 cluding Hopea and Lodhra. Styracacece. Ornamental 

 deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs, with alternate, 

 entire or serrate Ivs. and usually white fls. in racemes 

 or panicles, rarely solitary, followed by berry-like, 

 black, red or blue fruits. Only the deciduous 8. cratce- 

 goides is hardy north; it is a shrub with abundant white 

 fls. in spring and bright blue fruits in autumn. It 

 thrives in well-drained 

 soil and sunny position. 

 The half - evergreen S. 

 tinctoria, which seems 

 not hardy north of its 

 natural habitat, prefers 

 moist soil and shady 

 situation. The evergreen 

 species are all tender 

 and little known in cul- 

 tivation. Prop, by seeds, 

 which usually do not 

 germinate until the sec- 

 ond year, and by green- 

 wood cuttings under 

 glass; also by layers. 



About 160 specie: 

 widely distributed 

 through the tropical re- 

 gions except Africa; only 

 a few outside the trop- 

 ics. Mostly trees : fls. 

 in terminal or axillary 

 racemes or panicles, 

 rarely solitary; calyx 5- 

 lobed; corolla 5-parted, 

 often almost to the'base; 

 stamens numerous, usu- 

 ally connate at the base; 

 style filiform: ovary 2- 

 5-loculed, inferior: fr. a 

 drupe, with 1-5 1-seeded 

 stones. Several species 

 have medical properties ; 

 S. tinctoria yields a yel- 

 low dye. 



crataegoides, Buch.-Ham. (S. paniculata, Wall. 

 L6dhra cratcegoldes, Decne.). Deciduous shrub or some- 

 times tree, attaining 40 ft., with slender, spreading 

 branches, forming an irregular open head; young 



2449. 

 Symphytum asperrimum. 



