538 EQUISETUM 



~ ■ " emdle (Fig. 768), limbsum, pra- 



oldes, sylvdticum, variegdtum. 

 For descriptions, consult the manuals. They 

 grow usually In moist or swale-like places. 

 They are flowerless plants, allied to ferns and 

 club-mosses. 



ERAGEOSTIS (Greek, love and grass). 

 Gramineie. Love Grass. Annual or peren- 

 nial grasses, with herbaceous stems of various 

 habits, and from 6 in. to several feet tall. 

 Culms simple or often branched. Inflores- 

 «'euce composed of very variable panicles, 

 either close and narrow, or loose and widely 

 spreading: spikelets 2-many-fld., the upper- 

 most imperfect. Closely allied to Poa, from 

 which it can be distinguished by its 3-nerved 

 fl. -glumes, which are destitute of any wooUi- 

 ness. The species are very variable and their 

 limits hard to define. About 100 species oc- 

 cur in the warm and temperate regions of 

 both hemispheres, few of which are of any 

 agricultural or horticultural value. The fol- 

 lowing are cult, as "ornamental grasses" in 

 flower gardens. 



Abyssinlca, Link. A branching, leafy an- 

 nual, 2-4 ft. high, with widely spreading cap- 

 illary panicles of many spikelets; Ivs. 12-14 

 in. long, rough on the upper side, ligule a 

 mere ring : panicles slender, gracefully 

 drooping, grayish when in full bloom : spike- 

 lets 5-7-fld., one-fifth of an inch long. Africa. 

 — In cult, as an ornamental grass for bou- 

 quets. Grain used as food in Africa. By 

 •-ome referred to Poa. 



amibilis, Wit'ht & Am. (Pda amdhiUs, 

 Liiin.l. All i-ri-Lt grass 6 in. to 1 ft. high, 

 with ini-uiis].icucais linear -lanceolate Ivs., 

 <-iliati- at the base: spikelets very large and 

 broad, closely resembling quaking-grass 

 ( Briza), 10-24-fld. India.-In cult, as an orna- 

 mental grass. 



61egans, Nees. Feather Love-Grass. An 

 erect grass 1-2 ft. high, with smooth culms 

 and rough Ivs.: panicles closely contracted, 

 dense: spikelets very small, 4-7-fld., numer- 

 ous, and presenting a feather-like appear- 

 ance in mass. S. Amer. — In cult, as an orna- 

 mental grass. 

 1 mixima, Baker. Large Love-Grass. A 

 tall, robust plant, 2-3 ft. high, with lanceolate 

 acuminate Ivs., cordate at the base: panicles 

 very lax and broad, 6-9 in. long: spikelets 

 oblong, flattened, very large, K-K in. long. 

 Madagascar. — One of the most ornamental species of 

 the genus. 



colllna, Trin. (A", stiaveohns, Becker). Tig. 769. An 

 erect, leafy annual, 1-3 ft. high, with densely fld., spread- 

 ing panicles: spikelets 6-13-fld., numerous, one-fifth in. 

 long : pedicels of spikelets and branches of panicle 

 rough: Ivs. smooth beneath, rough above. Asia. — The 

 species is very variable under cult., many different 

 forms being found. In cult, as an ornamental grass for 

 bouquets. 



E. major, Host. Stisk Grass. A common species, growing 

 chietly in cultivated or waste ground. When fresh it emits a 

 strong, unpleasant odor. — Intr. from Eu. — E. pectindcea, 

 Nees. "MEADnw rnMi^-TTRASS. A very pretty perennial grass, 

 with sli"w-v <'nlnr^,l ^iiikflfts- A Ti.itjvo nf the eastern, south- 

 ern aii'l !ri:-MI.' M.ii. ^ It i~ nil, II i;:i;l,,r'',l for dry bouquets. 



ShouM . , ,•■ . ■ 



Til i . : > . , • . . n as containing five 



differ-Ill ~i>r' II > 1'. ' ■^l,,,^, iirMiw -^ nnijlma, svaveoleus, 

 and i'<'U <iurj!.Ut^}. wliLi; ^^iLivwi pri.\ L-i In l-iL- one and the same 

 thing; viz., E. siiarrolens. This statement is made from speci- 

 mens grown by I*rofessor Tracy, of Starkville, Miss., in 1885. 

 and also observed by myself in 1897, both in the Hort. and the 

 Bot. Gardens at Cornell University, p. g. Keknedt. 



ERANTHEMUM (Greek, loveh/ flower). Acanthd- 

 ceie. Perhaps 30 species of tropical shrubs and sub- 

 shrubs, some of which are cultivated chiefly for their 

 foliage and others for their flowers. Lvs. entire or 



ERANTHEMUM 



rarely coarsely toothed: fls. white, lilac, rosy or red, 

 borne in various ways ; bracts and bractlets narrow, 

 small; corolla tube long, slender, cylindrical throughout 

 or rarely with a short throat ; limb 5-parted ; stamens 

 2 : ovules 2 in each cell ; seeds 4 or fewer. The genus 

 DsEdalacanthus, although in a different tribe, is separated 

 only by a combination of technical characters, but the 

 garden forms of both genera described in this work are 

 all distinguishable at a glance. For culture, see Jus- 

 ticia. Consult Dadalacanthus. 



A. Fh. purple. 



laxifldrum, Gray. Height 2-4 ft. : lvs. on the same 

 plant varying greatly in size and shape, those near the 

 fls. 2-3Hin. long, 8-15 lines wide; petioles 2-6 lines long, 

 widest below at or above the middle, more or less ovate- 

 oblong, obtuse, narrowed at the base: fls. in cymes; 

 stamens 2, perfect, sharp-pointed. Fiji. B.M. 6336. 

 AA. Fls. pure white. 



tuberculitum. Hook. Easily told while growing by 

 the many small roundish and rough elevations on the 

 branches : lvs. small, %-% In. wide, rarely if ever 1 in. 

 long, broadly ellipitical, obtuse or notched, almost ses- 

 sile : fls. numerous, borne singly in the axils, in sum- 

 mer ; corolla tube very long and slender, 1% in. long; 

 limb 1 in. across ; stamens scarcely exerted. Habitat 

 unknown. B.M. 5405. 



AAA. Fls. white, speckled with red-purple. 

 B. Foliage netted with yellow. 



Teticnl&ttun, Hort. {F. Schdmburgkii, Linden). 

 Height 4 ft. : upper lvs. 2-7 in. long, ovate-lanceolate, 

 characteristically netted with yellow ; lower lvs. 6-10 

 in. long, not netted, but the veins prominent and yel- 

 low : fls. racemose ; corolla speckled with blood-red at 

 the mouth ; anthers reddish brown, exserted. Possibly 

 Australia. B.M. 7480. I.H. 26:349. 



EquisetuiT 

 hyemale— 

 Common 

 Scourine- 



769. EragTOStis collina ( 



BB. Foliage not netted with yellow. 



Andersoni, Mast. Lvs. lanceolate or elliptic, narrowed 

 into a short stalk: fls. in a spike 6 in. long; lower mid- 

 dle lobe of the corolla larger and speckled with purple. 

 Trinidad. Gn. 45:943. 



The following trade names belong to plants grown chiefly for 



