584 



FICUS 



F. I'oioig IfS. densely covered with woul beneath. 



16. PAlmeri, Watson. Tree, 8-12 ft. high, branching 

 near the ground : Ivs. 3 in. long, 2-2H in. wide ; petiole 

 1 in. long : fr. in pairs, axillary, globose, % in. thick. 

 Discovered on San Pedro Martin Island, northwestern 

 Mexico, 1887. — Perhaps the best adapted to severely hot 

 and dry places. Franceschi says it attains 30 ft. 



FF. Young Ivs. not wooUy. 



G. Base or Ivs. narrowed. 



H. Slipuhs glabrous. 



17. retusa, Linn. (F. nitida, Thunb., and Hort., not 

 Blurae}. Lvs. 2— i in. long; nerves 5 or 6 pairs; petiole 

 3-6 lines long: fr. sessile, in pairs, axillary, 4 lines thick, 

 yellow or reddish. Trop. Asia, Malaya. —A large ever- 

 green tree with a few aerial roots. 



18. aiirea, Nutt. Branches pale, smooth, furrowed : 

 lvs. 3-1 in. long, snmotli. nlilf.na-, entire, narrowed but 

 obtuse at each end. si.iiit-|irti..l. d ; fr. orange-yellow. 



licasoner says it is a 

 i!ii' florist, and that it 

 rilies it as a small tree; 



Tender in Santa Bar- 



globose, 4 lines tliids. S. il.i 

 handsome decorativ. |,l.iiit i. 

 grows 60 ft. high. ('li;i|.inan .1.- 

 he says nothing about stipules 



HH. Stipules not glabrous. 



19. Indica, Linn. Not the Banyan Tree. Glabrous 

 throughout, except stipules: lvs. 4-7 in. long ; nerves 

 about 4-6 pairs, not very prominent ; petiole 4-12 lines 

 long ; stipules 6-9 lines'long ; fr. in crowded pairs, ses- 

 sile, globose, smooth, yellowish red, 4 lines thick. Trop. 

 Asia, Malaya. — This species is greatly confused in 

 botanical literature with F. Benghalensis, but F. In- 

 dica does not take root from its branches, as does the 

 Banyan Tree. In recent writings F. Indica is often 

 given as a synonym of F. Benghalensis, but the dis- 

 tinctions here given are those made bv King, in Flora 

 British India 5: 499 (1890). Tree grows 50 ft. high. 



GG. Base of lvs. rounded. 

 H. jyerves about 5 pairs : lvs. 4-8 in. long. 



20. Benghalensis, Linn. Banyan Tree. Also written 

 Bengalensis. Young parts softly pubescent : nerves 

 prominent; petiole 6-18 lines long; stipules 9-12 lines 

 long : fr. in pairs, sessile, globose, puberulous, red, 



about the size of a small cherry. Trop. Africa, India.— 

 A tree, 70-100 ft. high, rooting from the branches, thus 

 forming accessory trunks and extending the growth of 

 the tree indefinitely. For an explanation of the confu- 

 sion between Benghalensis and Indica, see Hooker's 

 Flora Brit. India 5:499, 500. 

 HH. yerves about 8 pairs : lvs. 4]4-T x S-4Xin. lotig. 

 21. religidsa, Linn. Peepul Tree of the Hindoos. 

 Petiole 3-4 in. long ; stipules minute : fr. in axillary 

 pairs, sessile, dark purple, K in. thick. India. Gn. l,p. 

 435. — Grows 100 ft. high, and the lvs., suspended on 

 their long, flexible petioles, rustle in the slightest breeze. 



60 f J D E 



1 S Af n v e b d by 



o be F GO des. 



n by P A- Manda.— 



P h (It I nda for in- 



h s b oader and 

 a doma whe e a ains 

 h e my white 



■ ng and should be uab 

 1 ng F C op Hor s cul ndoo s f cm op Amer. 

 sed 89 bv P che & Mand F C ngha s a 

 I sf tsepoungan o n educed 



am nded by Rea- 

 P e umably 

 Hab atnn- 



byCa fo naE p 



I sed 



1 B u h«. 



Br t w b h gh nd has 



n gn in w e a d oppe o o ed when 



u g F n ma be F Ben am n e e a F n anesii 



nh T ne ad er ed ylokoh ma Inu ry Co., 



w oa oad t eF e a ■«- M. 



Frees ELASTicA, or the Rubber Plant as it is known 

 all over this country, is perhaps the most popular and 

 satisfactory house plant that has ever been cultivated. 

 It is a plant for the million. Some florists have several 

 houses especially devoted to the propagation and culti- 

 vation of this tough and thrifty plant. There are also 

 thousands upon thousands of young plants or rooted 

 cuttings from thumb-pots imported into this country, 

 especially from Belgium and Hollaud, for marketing 

 every spring. It is estimated that from 75,000 to 80,000 

 Rubber Plants were sold in America during the last 

 year. There are several varieties of the Rubber Plant, but 

 the true Ficus elastica is the best, both for growing 

 and for selling. It can be easily told from the smaller- 

 leaved variety, which is smaller and lighter colored in all 

 its parts, the stem being smoother, and the sheath that 

 covers the young leaves lacking the brown tint, which 

 often runs into a bright and beautiful Indian red. 



The method of propagating now popular in America 

 employs old, bushy stock-plants, either in pots or tubs, 

 or planted out into a bed where the night temperature 

 can be kept from 60° to 75° F. As soon as the young 

 shoots are 5-6 in. long they are operated upon. An in- 

 cision is made at the place where it is intended to root 

 the young plant, cutting upward on a slant midway be- 

 tween two eyes, making the cut anywhere from 1-2 in. 

 long, according to the thickness and length of the young 

 shoot or branch. A small wedge, as a piece of match, 

 is then inserted to keep the cut open. A large handful of 

 clean, damp, well prepared moss is then placed around 

 the branch to cover the cut and is tied moderately 

 iirm with twine or raflia. Some use a small piece of 

 charcoal for a wedge in the cut; others coat the two 

 cuts with a mixture of charcoal dust and lime. The lat- 

 ter practice, in the opinion of the writer, is beneficial in 

 that it expedites the callusing of the cuts and the root- 

 ing of the young plant after being cut and mossed. The 

 moss should be kept constantly moist, and the higher 

 the temperature, within reasonable limits, the quicker 

 the rooting process goes on. The roots of the young 

 plant usually appear on the outside of the oval-shaped 

 bunch of moss. A complete cut can then be made below 

 the moss and the young plant potted. The smaller the 

 pot at first the better. The leaves of the young plants 

 should be tied up in order that they may not be in- 

 jured by coming in contact with one another or by lying 

 flat on the pots. The young plants now require a gentle 

 bottom heat and frequent syringing, — a dozen times on 

 clear days. As soon as the young plants are taken from 

 the stock-plant, a little wax should be put on the end of 

 the cut U> prevent the milky sap from escaping. The 

 best tiirif .if tin- yrar to propagate and root Ficus is from 

 the tii--f i>f .TaiiiKirv to Mav. The Eur(.)pean growers 

 nev.r -tart murh lirfcro the Christmas holidays; and 

 from th. 11 uuiil spriiiK thev make all their cuttings. 



Thf ul.U r mutliod of propagating Rubber Plants is 

 still the favorite one abroad ; it employs single-eye cut- 

 tings. Sometimes, if the branches are very thick, only 

 one-half the stem is taken with the eye and a single 



