ASCLEPIAS 



103 



Arundo Donax is one of the most popular of all grasses 

 or hardy foliage plants, especially wherever the Pampas 

 Grass is not hardy. Although it succeeds almost any- 

 where in borders, beds, and on lawns, it is really at home 



follows: The ripe 



^„„^., jay be laid on 



damp moss during 



winter, and in a few 



months nearly every 



joint will sprout and 



form a small rooted 



plant. The canes 



may then be cut up 



:iii<i till' voung plants 



potK.l ,,ff singly, to 



ted out the 



.11. .'wing spring. 



J. B. Keller. 



ASAEUM (obscure 

 ;). Aristoloehi- 

 ilcece. Low, nearly 

 stemless herbs of a 

 few species, but 

 widely disseminated 

 in N. Temp, zone, 

 with odd purplish or 

 brown fls. on the sur- 

 face of the ground 

 (or nearly so), under- 

 neath the heart-like 

 or kidney -like Ivs.: 

 corolla wanting, but 

 calyx corolla - like ; 

 12 : ovary 

 inferior. The Asa- 

 rums inhabit rich, 

 shady woods, spread- 

 ing on the ground, 

 and the fls. are un- 

 seen except by the 

 close observer. They 

 are of easy culture if 

 transplanted to rich, 

 places. They 

 attractive car- 

 pets in borders and 

 groves. The species 

 described below are sold by dealers in native plants. 

 Some of the species are reported to have medicinal 

 properties. 



A. Plant markedly pubesvent. 

 Canad6nse, Linn. Wild Ginger. Canada Snakeroot. 

 Lvs. about 2 to a plant, thin, kidney-shaped, pointed, 

 with a deep and open sinus, not mottled : fl. slender 

 stalked, with lance-acuminate calyx-lobes an inch or 

 more across at the expanded mouth, chocolate-brown : 

 style 6-lobed. Frequent in woods E. B.M. 2769. A.G. 

 13:517. D. 279. 



Hdrtwe^, Watson. Tufted, loose-pubescent : lvs. 

 large and thick, cordate, with rounded basal lobes, 

 mostly acute at the apex, margin ciliate. glabrous and 

 mottled above : fl. stout-stalked, the lobes often ovate 

 and long-pointed, the ovary inferior : styles 6. Sierra 

 Nevadas, 4,000-7,000 ft. alt." 



EuropaBum, Linn. Lvs. kidney-shaped, evergreen, 

 dark green, the petiole 3-5 in. : fls. greenish purple. 

 Kin., with incurved lobes : styles 6, and grooved or 2- 

 parted, recurved. Eu. 



aa. Plant slightly or not at all pubescent. 

 caudatum, Lindl. Rather slender, with long root- 

 stocks, sparingly pubescent: lvs. cordate-kidney-shaped, 

 and more or less cupped or cucuUate, acute : fls. slen- 



der-stalked, the calyx-lobes oblong and 

 styles united. Pacific coast. 



L^mmonl, Watson. Like the last, but lvs. plane or 

 flat, rounded at apex, less pubescent, calyx lobes short.. 



Virginicum, Linn. Lvs. broad-ovate or orbicular, 

 rounded at tlu- t..|.. tli.- -iims narrow : fl. short-stalked, 

 purple, the ial\ \ I..1,: - Inii:..! and rounded: styles 6, 

 2-lobed; anth. r^ ii..t ii..ii,i,.,l. Va., S. 



arifbUum, :\Ii.lix. L\ -. tl.i.kish and usually mottled, 

 orbicular to hastate, obtuse : fl. stout-stalked, urn- 

 shaped and much contracted at the throat : styles 6, 2- 

 lobed ; anthers pointed. Va. , S. _ _ -^ 



ASCL£FIAS (ancient Greek and Latinized name). 

 AsclepiadAcete. Milkweed. Silkweed. Many herbs, 

 mostly North American, generally with opposite or 

 whorled lvs., milky juice, and umbels of odd fls. The 

 fls. are gamopetalous, the corolla segments generally 

 strongly reflexed ; stamens 5, attached to the corolla, 

 the anthers more or less united about the stigma ; be- 

 tween the corolla and the stamens is a crown of five 

 cornucopia-like appendages : pollen coheringintoawaxy 

 mass (poUinium), which is removed bodily by insects 

 which visit the fl. The pollination of an Asclepias fl. is 

 shown in Fig. 149. The pollen-masses are usually twin 

 (as at 6), and the handle or caudicle lies in a chink on 

 the side of the stigma. The pollen-masses become at- 

 tached to the legs or mouth parts of the insect, and 

 are thereby transferred to another fl. The Milkweeds 

 are common in waste places in N. Amer., and are 

 rarely cult. Several species ( described below ) have been 

 int. by dealers in native plants. The Butterfly-weed and 

 some others are very showy and worthy of more general 

 attention. The large-lvd. kinds are desirable when heavy 

 foliage effects are wanted. They are all perennials of 

 the easiest culture. Prop, by division, rarely by seeds. 

 See Gray, Syn. Fl. N. Amer. 2., pt. i (which is here 

 followed ) . 



A. Fls. (corolla and crown) orange. 



tuberdsa, Linn. Butterfly-Weed. Pleurisy Root. 

 Hairy, 2-3 ft. high, from long, horizontal roots, with 

 more or less alternate, lance-oblong or lance-linear lvs. : 

 umbels several, short-peduncled : pods pnbescent, erect. 

 Dry banks and fields ; widespread, and not Infrequent. 

 B.R. 76. D. 223. -A handsome plant. 



AA. Pis. in shades of red or purple. 



Curassivica, Linn. Plant glabrous, 2 ft. or less : lvs. 

 opposite and short-petioled, thin, oblong-lanceolate : 

 corolla scarlet : pods glabrous, erect. Fla. and La. 

 B.R. 81. 



incamata, Linn. Glabrous or nearly so. leafy and 

 branching, 3 ft.: lvs. opposite, oblong-lanceolate: co- 

 rolla rose-purple to Hesh color, with oblong lobes : pods 

 glabrous, erect. B.R. 250. Var. pulchra, Pers. Hirsute, 

 and lvs. broader. Swamps. — Common. 

 AAA. Fls. greenish, yellowish or white (sometimes pur- 

 ple-tinged, especially in A. quadrifolia). 

 B. Pods tomentose and soft-spiny. 



speciosa, Torr. (A. Doiiglasii, Hook.). Stem stout 

 and simple, 3 ft. or less, flne-tomentose or becoming 

 glabrous ; lvs. large and broad, ovate, transversely 

 veined, short-petioled : fls. purplish and large, the pe- 

 duncle of the umbel shorter than the lvs. Neb. W. and 

 S. B.M. 4413. 



Comilti, Decne. {A. Syrlaca, hinn.). Differs from last 

 in having obtuse and short hoods to the crown, taller, 

 less pubescent : lvs. oblong or oval : fls. dull purple, 

 in large, more or less nodding umbels. Mn. 7:221.— 

 The common milkweed of the E. states. 



BB. Pods glabrous and unarmed. 



c. Fruiting pedicels deeurved or deflexed, the pods 

 erect or ascending. 



amplesicaillis, Michx. Plant glabrous and glaucous : 

 St. decumbent. 1-2 ft. long : Ivs. numerous, cordate- 

 ovate and clasping, obtuse, succulent : corolla green- 

 purple. Barrens, N. Car. and S. 



