LASTHENIA 



LASTH&NIA (name of a woman who was a pupil 

 of Plato). Compdsilie. Low, slender annuals with nu- 

 merous inch-wide yellow flowers in early summer. 



glabr&ta, Lindl. (£. Califdmica, Lindl. BomoUgyne 

 glabrdta, Bartl.). The plant cult, under this name is 

 likely to he Baeria gracilis, ^f/hich see. Height 1 ft.: 

 Ivs. much longer than in B. gracilis, strongly keeled, 

 not hairy, or rarely pubescent: involucre enlarged be- 

 low the flower. Calif. B.M. 3730. B.R. 21:1780 & 1823. 



LASTRfiA (C. J. L. Delastre, Austrian botanist). A 

 name commonly used in England for species of Dry- 

 opteris. Also spelled Lastrma. On the basis of priority 

 it has no claim to recognition, as it was established by 

 Bory, in 182-1, while we have Nephrodium, 1803; Aspid- 

 ium, 1801; Tectaria, 1800; Polystichum, 1799, and Dry- 

 opteris, 1703. 



The following additional species of Dryopteris (Vol. 

 1, p. 508) are in the American trade under the name Las- 

 trea (the combinations are for Dryopteris, notLastrea): 



ed to I 



cles: textu 



■ thin. 



sAncta, Kuntze. Lvs. 6-9 in. long, 1-2 in. wide on 

 short slender stems ; lower pinnae very much reduced ; 

 under surface glandular. West Indies. 



palustri8, Kuntze. Lvs. 2-3 ft. long, 8-12 in. wide, 

 on long straw-colored stems; lower pinnae reduced, the 

 upper % in. wide, cut down to the rachis into linear-ob- 

 long lobes. Brazil. 



moutina, Kuntze. Lvs. lK-2 ft. long, 6-8 in, wide; 

 lower pinnae greatly reduced to mere auricles; upper 

 pinnfe 1 in. wide, cut into close blunt lobes. Eu., west- 

 ern N. America. A variety cristito-grdeile is also cult. 



Lower pi, 



ely reduced : textn 





rigida, Kuntze. Stipes stofit, densely scaly : lvs. 

 1-lM ft. long, 4-G in. wide, oblong lanceolate, the lower 

 pinn» not reduced; segments with mucronate teeth. 

 Eu. Var. argtita in Calif. 



l^pida, Moore. Lvs. IK ft. long, 6-7 in. wide, ovate, 

 bipinnatifid or bipinnate, the lower 4 or 5 pairs slightly 

 smaller: indusia hairy. Of greenhouse origin, native 

 country unknown. 



Other species cultivated under the name Lastrea, as L. arts- 

 lata and L. Hichardsi, belong to the genus Polystichum, which 

 s«>2- L. M. Underwood. 



LATANIA (East Indian name). PalmAcea;. Three 

 species of fan palms from the Masearene Islands, i. 

 Borbonica is one of the dozen commonest trade names 

 among palms, but the seeds offered under this name are 

 said to be almost invariably th"--r. of !.<,-i^ir,na C'liinen- 

 sis. Ltttania Borbonint ' i i' • ii.i n.i.is is properly 

 Latania Commersonii, win. I: > l 1 fruits, while 



those of Livistona Chin< > 1 '1(<I. Latanias 



are tall, spineless palms, wiili -"iii;M\ )-..liust annular 

 trunks : lvs. ample, terminal, long-petioled, suborbicu- 

 lar, palmately flabelliform, plicately multifld; segments 

 smooth or spiny on the margins; rachis short; petiole 

 3-sided, concave above; ligule conchoidal; sheath short; 

 spadices many feet long, compressed at the base and 

 branches, sheathed with incomplete sheaths: staminate- 

 fld. branches cylindrical, digitately arranged at the ends 

 of the branches, very densely clothed with imbricated 

 bracts : pistillate portion somewhat twisted, few-fld., 

 sheathed with very broad dentate bracts : staminate fls. 

 half-exserted beyond the bracts, the perianth smooth 

 and shining: pistillate fls. larger: drupe globose, obo- 

 void or pear-shaped, yellow. Allied genera are discrimi- 

 nated under Myphrene. 



A. Zvs. glaucous. 

 L6ddigesii, Mart. (£. glaucophylla, Hort.). Lvs. 3-5 

 ft. long, very glaucous, primary veins slightly tomentose 

 beneath, tinged with red, especially in young plants; 

 segments 2 ft. long, less than 3 in. wide, unequally acumi- 

 nate, the edges spiny in young plants; petioles 3-i}4 ft. 

 (or more) long, tomentose, entire in the mature, spiny in 

 the young plant: drupe pear-shaped, 3-angled, 2K in. 

 long, 154 in. thick. Mauritius. 



LATHYRUS 887 



AA. Lvs. not glaucous. 

 B. Petiole densely tomentose, with an orange margin. 

 VerschafMltii, Lemaire ( L. a itrea , Duncan ) . Lvs. pale 

 green, 4H-5 ft. long, the segments 2% ft. long, above 

 2 in. wide, acuminate, the entire margins and veins 

 slightly tomentose beneath ; petioles 5-8 ft., densely 

 tomentose, with entire orange margins, spiny in young 

 plants: drupe slightly 3-augled, 2 In. long, \% in. wide. 

 Isl. Rodriguez. I. H. 0:229. 



EB. Petiole red, slightly tomentose. 



C6mmersonii, Gmel. (L. rubra, Jaeri. L. Bdrbonicn, 



Lam., not Hort.). Lvs. 5-5K ft. long, dark green above, 



paler beneath ; segments lanceolate, acuminate, 2 ft. 



15::i.s'.i :,ml l'.i:r,07; V. 9:109, all of which are Ltcistomi 

 Chinensis. Jaked G. Smith. 



Latanias are essentially warrahouse palms and require 

 moderate shading through the greater portion of the 

 year, and ulsn an aliiiiHlaiM-e of water. A well-drained 

 and rather li^^lii ."iiii"!-! is must suitable for them, and 

 if the soil at tin niti. oi ri|.c>tting is of the same tem- 

 perature as ihc |]..us|. Ill wliich the plants are grown, 

 there will be less risk uL' a check to the delicate root- 

 lets. L. Oontinersouii is a particularly striking palm, 

 the leaf-stems being quite long, smooth, and colored 

 bright crimson, as are also the ribs of its fan-like 

 leaves, this coloring being especially bright on the 

 young foliage. L. Loddigesii is the strongest grower 

 of the genus, the leafstalks reaching a length of about 

 8 ft., usually chocolate-colored and quite glaucous, the 

 leaves thick and leathery and their ribs reddish while 

 young, though never developing such bright tints as 

 those of the preceding species. L. Verschaffeltii is also 

 very attractive, though possibly a little more delicate 

 than the other two, its leafstalks being long and rather 

 slender, and orange-yellow in color, the ribs of the leaf- 

 lets also yellow and the leaves themselves of a light 

 shade of green. 



L. erecta and L. variegata are trade names, the former 

 being advertised by Saul, 1893; the latter by Pitcher & 

 Manda, 1895. Any specimens in cult, will probably be 

 found to be varieties of some of the above. 



W. H. Taplin. 



LATHYKUS (name used by Theophrastns for some 

 leguminous plant). Legumindsw. A genus of about 100 

 species, occurring in the northern hemisphere and in 

 South America, consisting of annual and perennial, 

 climbing and upright herljs with pinnate lvs., half-sag- 



TIh' i:riiiis is \.,--.\ kii.iwii by the Sweet Pea. Most 

 otiiir liiiiiis air pi I' iiiiial, although some of these 

 are cultivati d as annuals. All are free-growing plants, 

 so independent in their ways that they require a place 

 to grow by themselves, apart from other plants of like 

 habit or size. Hence they are to be grown alone, on trel- 

 lises or against walls, or allowed to form a wild tangle 

 among strong shrubs. The chief value of the annuals 

 is for cut-flowers, though their part in the garden is not 

 to be ignored. As a temporary screen in summer for 

 shutting out unsightly objects, they are valuable, or for 

 quickly covering trellises or rough places otherwise 

 unsightly. 



The perennials are of comparatively easy cultivation, 

 succeeding in any garden soil. The annuals are more 

 exacting in their requirements, demanding a moderately 

 rich garden soil, abundant moisture, coolness and depth 

 for their roots, and open sunlight. All are gronm from 

 seed, sown very early in the open to secure the required 

 coolness for the roots. The perennials are propagated, 

 in addition, by division, special varieties being in- 

 creased by cuttings in the fall, after the flowering sea- 

 son, or in spring, from old plants stored in the green- 

 house. The roots of perennials are long and fleshy, and, 

 when once established, continue for years without atten- 

 tion. 



Orobus niger and vermis are common garden names, 

 but Bentham & Hooker make Orobus a subgenus of 



