PERSIMMON 



Japan Persimmon in its best comlition is comparatively 

 little known. 



The following are some of the most prominent varie- 

 ties (as understood by the writer) arranged in order of 

 ripening, beginning with the earliest; although it must 

 be borne in mind that some of the varieties are more 

 or less interchangeable, in different seasons. 



Zeiigi. — The smallest of all; round or roundish ob'ate; 

 liiiimeter I'i in. lonsitudiaally and 2K in. transversely: skin 

 yellowish red: flesh very dark, quality good; seedy; edible 

 wlieu still luird: one of the earliest to ripen. Vigorous, prolific. 



Taber .Vo. /jy.— Medium, roundish, flattened at base; has a 

 small but well-defined point at the apex; diam. about 2%\a. 

 both w;iys: skiu d;irk yellow-red. with peculiar roughened sur- 

 fiice, smueivhat resembling alligator leather in appearance and 

 markings, except th;it the miirks ar- uvu:il!y \try small and 

 uniform: flesh light brown, crUp, su.,:, m, :,ty, tree from as- 

 triTigency: excellent: a good k*"'P"r ;iiid sIhi'I'im-. 



rerfi/i)-/c/ii. — Large, obbite; aim.i. i.r ::'.. in lungitudinally 



i.nn: lli-'ii \rry (l:iik in■.•^^-|l. \ mu'i ii:,' toward pui-plish: 

 h, iTi^P: in nH.ility nMi' of ihr Ik'sI. Tlic fruit is good 



,.n Mill li:ii-.|. A iH-.ivy l„.:,nT:.n,l rx lingly thrifty. 



'/(' — L:ir:,'.' In v.-ry lari;.', varx in:,' fn>m roundish 

 , rnilliili-h oMat.', !>iit ;il\v;i>-^ ,snin<>\vh;it flattened at 

 -: :,--n. r,ill\- -li^'litly il.-lir.'^s--il ;it Ilip imiut opposite 



^Ivin ii:,-lil Inillisli yi'lliiw, nearly ;tlw;iys marked with 

 vriiis ;ii tin-aiii-x: flesh dark brown, sweet, crisp and 



it ;istrin^.nt: :: 1 while still hard; a good keeper: 



' li.-st Hi;ii k.-t M'ri^, of good growth and afreebearer. 

 — I.;irLie, ll:it, tnnnito-shaped. Somewhat four-sided; 

 in loii^itiiilin;illy ;ind 3^ in. transversely: skin light 

 langing to dull n-il. mottled with orange-yellow : dis- 

 olor: tlesh deep, dull red, brown around the seeds, of 

 ?re are usually a few: some speciraeus are entirely 

 led and seedless: there is no astriugency after the 

 US to soften: quality fine: one of the best. In form 

 I the de- 



PETASITES 



1283 



pres 



ally I 



nred, 



doi 



Hachiya. — Very large, oblong, conical, with short point; 

 x'ery showy; diameter 3''4 in. longitudinally and 3^ in. trans- 

 versely: skin dark, bright red, with occasional dark spots or 

 blotches and rings at the apex; flesh deep yellow, sometimes 

 having occasional dark stre;iks, with seed. Astringent until 

 ripe, then very fine. The birgest and handsomest of all. Tree 

 vigorous and shapely : bears fairly well, but is not as prolific 

 as some of the other varieties. 



Taber Xo. ;.'J.— Medium, oblate, flat or depressed point: 

 diam. l^s in. longitudinally and S^'/s in. tr;insversely; skin 

 rather dark red, with peculiar stipple marks ; flesh dark 

 brown, sweet and not astringent; seedy; good. Prolific. 



r(//jf-.Vrt,s/i('.— Large to very large, roundish conical, pointed, 

 very Sinn. >th ;uiil symmetrical; diam. 3^ in. longitudinally and 

 3' - in tr;ins\ I rs.ly; skin light yellow, changing to bright red 

 at inll in:iturir\ ; flesh yellow and seedless; quality very fine; 

 lierhaps III,, innst highly esteemed of the light-fleshed kinds. 

 Tri--' is yienrous ;ind bears well. 



(.>Aa//(t'.— Large, roundish oblate, with well-defined quarter 

 marks, point not depressed ; diameter 2^ in. longitudinally 

 aiul 3^s in. transversely; skin orange-yellow, changing to bril- 

 liant carmine, with delicate bloom and waxy, translucent ap- 

 pearance: the most beautiful of all; light, clear flesh when 

 ripe, with light brown center around the seeds, of which it has 



veral ; loses its astriugency as soon as it begins to ripen; 

 vigorous and good bearer. 



ality fine. 



Triumph. — yiedmrn; tomato-sliaped; skin yellow: flesh yel 

 generally h.as a few seeds; very productive; qual 



i from Sept. till Nov. 



Tst^rw.— Large, slender, pointed: longest in proportion to its 

 size of all ; diam. 3-' a in. longitudinally and 2% in. transversely : 

 skin bright red; flesh orange-yellow, some dark flesh around 

 the verj- few seeds : astringent until fully ripe, then good. 



t\istata.— Medium size, conicjil, pointed, somewhat four- 

 sided: diam. 2's in. longitudinally and 2'*-s in. transversely; 

 skin salmon-yellow: flesh light yellow, dark flesh and seeds 

 occurring seldom; astringent until ripe, then very fine; a good 

 keeper. Tree distinct: a rapid, upright grower; foliage luxu- 

 riant; the most ornamental of all the varieties mentioned. 

 G. L. Taber. 



PEEU, MABVEL OF. Mirabilis Jahipa. 



PERUVIAN BAKK. Cinchonc. 



PESCATOEIA (after M. Pescatore, who had a large 

 collection of orchids at St. Cloud, near Paris). OrcJii- 

 ddcew. A group often united with Zygopetalum, but in 

 horticultural works usually treated as a distinct genus. 

 The Ivs. are equitant, tufted, without pseudobulbs: fls. 

 solitary on stems ,3-6 in. long, from the axils of the Ivs., 

 mostly large and showy, and fragrant; sepals and petals 



purple 



broad, concave, spreading; the lateral sepals forming a 

 mentum; labelltuu clawed, lateral lobes small, middle 

 lobe rounded, spreading; crest thick, consisting of a 

 number of keels arranged in a semi-circle near the base 

 of the lip; column slender, not boat-shaped. About 10 

 species. For culture, see Zygopetalum. 



Klabochdnim, Reichb, f. Lvs. strap-shaped, 1 ft. or 

 more long: fls. 3-3K in. across, variable in color; sepals 

 oblong, obtuse; petals shorter, all white with chocolate- 

 points; labellum 3-lobed, yellowish or white, and 

 r many purple-tipped hairs ; callus sulfur-colored, 

 with brown keels. Ecuador. Gn. 22:314. 



Day&na, Reichb. f. Lvs. tufted, 6-10 in. long: fls. on 

 short scapes; sepals oblong-obovate, acute, white, with 

 green tips ; petals rhomboid-rotund ; labellum clawed, 

 angled on each side of the base; limb oblong, emargi 

 nate, revolute on the sides, white with a callous ring 

 which is purple-violet, the base being of the same color; 

 column yellow, with a red band near the base and the 

 anther of the same color. Late autumn. Colombia. 

 Var. rhodJtcra, Reichb. f. Sepals and petals with rose 

 tips; labellum orbicular, suffused crimson. B.M. 621-J. 



cerlna, Reichb, f. Lvs. in tufts of 4 or 5, cuneate- 

 oblong, pointed, 1 ft. long: peduncles 2-6 in. long, 1-fld. : 

 sepals and petals nearly equal, the latter somewhat 

 clawed, fle.shy, rounded, concave, pale straw color; 

 labellum ovate, yellow, with a thick semicircular crest. 

 Flowers at various seasons, the fls. lasting a long time. 

 Chiriqui. B.M. 5598 (asSwii^ci/a cernm). F.S. 17:1815 

 (as Zygopetalum cerlnum). 



Heinrich Hasselbring. 



PETAL0ST£M0N (named from the peculiar relation 

 of the petals and stamens). Legumindsw. About 22 spe- 

 cies of American herbs, mostly western and perennial, 

 glandular-dotted, with small odd-pinnate Itts. and 

 spikes which are terminal or oppo.site the lvs. and bear 

 many small fls. ranging from white through rose to 

 purp'le and violet. P. viohiceus is a charming plant, 

 thriviiii; in any liirht soil and forming a broiul, low bush 

 with tiiiily cut f.diago, and bearing a constant succes- 

 sion (if shiiwv spikes of deep violet flowers. Well 

 adapted for the front of the border or the rockwork. 



Petalostemon and Dalea are charncfi-rized by having 

 the lower petals longer than the st;ni.l:inl. with their 

 claws adnate to the staminal tulm: Imi 1'. i:.lcistemon 

 has only 5 stamens, while Dalea has ;i-lii. ( iiher generic 

 characters: calyx-teeth or lobes almut enual: standard 

 cordate or oblong, with a free, slender claw, the 4 

 lower petals distinct and subsimilar: ovary sessile, 

 2-ovuled: pod included by the calyx, membranous, 

 usually indehiscent and 1-seeded. 



A. Fls. u'liite. 



c&ndidus, Michx. White Prairie Clover. Height 



1-2 ft. : Ifts. 5-9, oblong or oblanceolate, 8-12 lines long. 



Ind. to N. W. Terr., south to La. and Tex. B.B. 2:289. 



AA. Fls. rosy purple or violet. 

 B. Habit decumbent. 

 deciimbens, Nutt. Stem about 1 ft. long: Ifts. 7-9, 

 linear-oblong: fls. deep violet-purple. Red River, Ark. 

 BB. Habit erect. 

 c. Bracts glabrous. 

 viol&ceus, Michx. Violet Prairie Clover. Height 

 l>2-3 ft.: Ifts. 3-5, narrowly linear, often mucronate at 

 apex : fls. violet or purple; corolla about 2 lines long. 

 Prairies, Ind. to Texas. B.B. 2:290. B.M. 1707. 

 CO. Bracts silky-pubescent. 

 tenuifdlius, Gray. Silky Prairie Clover. Height 

 1-2 ft.: Ifts. 3-5, linear, obtuse at apex: fls. rose-pur- 

 ple. Dry soil, Kans. to New Mex. B.B. 2:291. 



J. W. Manning and W. M. 

 PETAStTES (Greek, a broad-brimmed hat; referring 

 to the large, broad lvs.). Compdsitm. About 8-12 species 

 of hardy perennial herbs much like the common colts- 

 foot {fussilago Fartara), having large lvs. of the 

 same general shape and more or less covered with 

 the same white felt, but the fls. range from purple to 

 white, not yellow, and are borne in corymbs instead of 



