1786 



TESTUDINABIA 



TETRAGONIA 



sive appearance of the same thing. From the top of 

 the rootstock grows a twining vine which attains a 

 height of 8-10 ft., flowers from July to Nov., and dies 

 down each season. The plant twines by means of the 

 tips of the slender branchlet.s. It is a weak-looking 

 growrh to issue from such a 

 mighty tuber. 



The inner part of this "bulb'' 

 has been compared to a turnip for 

 texture and color. The Hotten- 

 tots used to cut it in pieces, bake 

 it in the embers and eat it. Old 

 and grotesque bulbs have from 

 time to time been brought from 

 the Cape as curiosities. A large 

 specimen recently sold for $100. 

 There are probably no large bulbs 

 in the U. S., but seeds and seed- 

 lings are procurable in this 

 country. The plant is of easy 

 cultivation in a cool greenhouse. 

 2490. Nut of Tropical No method of propagating by the 

 Almond Terminalia bulb is known. 

 Catappa (X%). Testudinaria is a genus of 3 



( See page 1785. ) species, all South African. It is 



closely related to the important 



genus Dios"corea, differing essentially in the seeds, which 

 are samara-like, having a broad wing at the apex, while 

 in Dioscorea the seed is winged all around or only at the 

 base. Also the tubers of Dioscorea are all below ground 

 and fleshy, while those of Testudinaria are half above 

 ground and woody outside. Other generic characters of 

 Testudinaria: fls. dioecious; male perianth bell-shaped, 

 with a short tube and 6 subequal, oblanceolate seg- 

 ments; stamens 6; female perianth smaller: ovary 3- 

 loculed; ovules 2 in a locule, superposed; stigmas 3, re- 

 curved, 2-lobed : capsule rigid, acutely triquetrous. 

 Flora Capensis 6:252 (1896-97). 



Elephantipes, Salisb. Rootstoek studded with angu- 

 lar woody protuberances: stems slender, glabrous, much 

 branched: Ivs. alternate, suborbicular, 1-2 in. broad, 

 entire, bright green or glaucous, mucronate: fls. small, 

 inconspicuous, in racemes, greenish yellow or whitish. 

 S. Africa. B.M. 1347. B.R. 11:921. w . M. 



TETRAD?MIA is a genus of low, rigid shrubs of the 

 composite family native to the arid regions of western 

 North America. The original species, T. canescens, is 

 the best known. Its heads have only 4 flowers. They 

 are yellow and about %-% in. long. This plant was of- 

 ered in the East in 1881 for western collectors but has 

 no horticultural standing. For a full botanical account, 

 see Gray's Synoptical Flora of N. A. 



TETRAGONIA (Greek, four-angled; referring to the 

 usually 4-angled fruit), ficoldece or Mesembrydcete. 

 Herbs or sub-shrubs from the southern hemisphere and 

 Japan. Usually decumbent: Ivs. alternate, short-peti- 

 oled, somewhat fleshy : fls. yellow, green or reddish, 

 axillary, apetalous; calyx 3-5-lobed. Only one species 

 known in cultivation. 



expansa, Thunb. NEW ZEALAND SPINACH. NEW ZEA- 

 LAND ICE PLANT. Fig. 2491. A hardy or half-hardy an- 

 nual 3-6 in. high, often spreading 4-6 ft.: Ivs. triangu- 

 lar, larger ones 4-5 in. long by 2-3 in. broad: fls. small, 

 yellowish green. New Zealand. B.M. 2362. 



New Zealand Spinach is chiefly useful for furnishing 

 greens during the summer when the common spinach 

 cannot be grown. It tastes a good deal like Spinach but 

 is somewhat tougher as a rule. It is grown to some ex- 

 tent in California both for man and sheep. It readily 

 self-sows. 



For an early outdoor crop fresh seed should be sown 

 in rich soil in a warm room early in January. The seed 

 usually requires about 4 weeks to germinate. After 

 growing about 2 weeks the seedlings should be trans- 

 planted to thumb-pots and about a month later to 4-inch 

 pots. Growing vigorously in this condition they will be 

 large enough to move into the garden toward the end of 

 April, where they should be set 3-4 ft. apart each way, 

 and as the plants grow will entirely cover the ground. 

 They should be handled with great care in transplant- 

 ing, otherwise growth will be so checked that it will 



require several weeks for recuperation. Again, plants 

 should never be allowed to become potbound, as this 

 will immediately bring them into flower and fruit and 

 thus stunt their further growth, as well as greatly 

 shorten their period of productiveness. Well-grown 

 plants should be ready for use by June 1 and, if they 

 continue vigorous, nearly a peck of greens can be gath- 

 ered from each plant once a week until heavy autumn 

 frosts. In gathering only 4 or 5 inches of the tip ends 

 of the larger plants should be taken. In the South, it is 

 usually dwarf, not generally exceeding 6-8 inches. 



There is another and somewhat easier method of 

 growing the crop, though a given area will be less pro- 

 ductive. Inasmuch as the plant is a hardy annual, 

 many seeds which ripen late in autumn will fall to the 

 ground and germinate early in spring, though not early 

 enough for the plants to be injured by spring frosts. 

 These will be large enough for use toward the end of 

 June. Annual crops are thus grown on the same 

 ground several successive seasons with no care except 

 removing old plants and keeping the new ones free 

 from weeds. 



For the forcing-house crop, seed should be sown dur- 

 ing July in seed-beds where the plants remain until the 

 latter part of September, when they should be taken 

 directly to the benches and will be ready for use early 



2491. Tetragonia expansa (X 



in November. It is best to set the plants about 18 in. 

 apart in benches at least 6 in. deep. No further atten- 

 tion is necessary except to give plenty of water, and 

 under good conditions a peck of greens will be produced 

 once a week on 4 square feet from November to May 

 inclusive. A crop may also be grown beneath the 

 benches near the walks, as well as in the grapery bor- 

 ders. Space that cannot be used for other purposes 

 may thus be utilized to very good advantage, though 

 they will not produce as abundantly. 



This crop may also be grown in houses with portable 

 roofs by starting the plants during summer in houses 

 with the roofs removed, the roofs being replaced on 

 the approach of cold weather. The plants will continue 

 producing the entire winter and following spring, when 

 they should be uncovered and will reproduce them- 

 selves in the same manner as the summer crop. 



H. C. IRISH. 



