DABCECIA (after its Irish name St. Dabeoc's Heath). 

 More commonly spelled Daboecia. Syn., Borelta. Erich- 

 cem. Low evergreen shrub with alternate entire Its. and 

 drooping pedicelled fls. in long terminal racemes : corolla 

 ovoid, contracted at the mouth and shortly 4-lobed, with 

 recurved lobes ; stamens 8, included : capsule 4-celled, 

 dehiscent. One species in western Europe. Very 

 pretty heath-like shrub, with purple or white fls. in ele- 

 gant"loose racemi^. wi II ;» liuii 1 f"r rockeries or bor- 

 ders of evergri. II -1,! ' i Requires protection 

 north during th. y. .i i ■ rivi-s best in a peaty, 



sandy soil. Pr.i|.. ii> ,.i,..,,.il like those of Erica, 



and by cuttings ot liali rit-Liicd uuod under glass. 



polildlia, Don {D. CantdhrU-u, Koch. Memiisia poU- 

 mia,3uss.). Irish Heath. To 2 ft. : branchlets glandu- 

 lar pubescent : Its. elliptic, the uppermost narrower, 

 revolute at the margin, whitish tomentose beneath, 

 shining and dark green above, J4-K in. long: racemes 

 many "(Id.: corolla K-K in. long, purple in the type. 

 June-Oct. Ireland, W. France, N. Spain. Gn. 52:1142. 

 Gt. 47:1450. L. B. C. 20: 1907. S. B. F. G. 2: 276. There 

 are many varieties, as dlba, with white fls. ; bicolor,with 

 white and purple striped fls. ; rdaea, with pink rts. ; gran- 

 difldra, with larger purple fls. Alfred Rehdek. 



DACTYLIS(1 



Graminea. Cd 

 flat-keeled or f 

 which expand w] 

 much flattened. 

 one-sided clusters. 



.ftlir spike 



t-red. 



A. Fls. dark blue. 

 nervdsus, T. Anders. (Brdnthemum pulchillum, 

 Andrews and some dealers, while that of others is S. 

 blcolor, and of Roxburgh is Z>. purpiirascens. E. ner- 

 fdsMm.R. Br.). Pig. 658. Lvs. ovate or elliptical, acumi- 

 nate at both ends, somewhat crenate or entire : spikes 

 axillary, opposite, overlapping: bracts elliptical, acute: 

 limb of the corolla as wide as the tube is long. India. 

 B.M. 1358 as Jms/ic!<i Hpri'osa. Gn. 51:1118. G.C. II. 



iugle species in Eu., Asia and 

 N. Africa, also naturalized in Australia and N. America. 



glomer^a, Linn. Orchard Grass. Fig. 657. A some- 

 what coarse grass forming dense tufts. Culms 2-3 ft. 

 high, very leafy: lvs. flat, spreading: spikelets com- 

 pressed. 3-5 fld.: fl. -glumes lanceolate, very acute or 

 short awn-pointed, ciliate on the keel above. —One of the 

 best known and most useful pasture grasses, and useful 

 for lawns under trees. 



Var. variegita, Hort., is a dwarf form of neat, com- 

 pact habit, with beautifully variegated silver and green 

 foliage. -Well adapted for forming edgings. It grows 

 l}^-2 ft. high, and is prop, by divisions. 



P. B. Kennedy. 



DACTYLOCTilNIUM (Greek, daMylos, finger, and 

 ktenion. comb). Finger -Comb Grass. This genus 

 closely resembles Eleusine, from which it differs chiefly 

 in having the terminal spikes shorter and each tipped 

 with a sharp prolongation of the axis. Annual, with 

 culms tufted or creeping, and rooting at the joints, IK- 

 2 ft. high. Spikes usually 3-5 in number, digitate, about 

 2 in. long; spikelets several-fld., crowded in two rows 

 along one side of a continuous axis. Species 2, one in 

 Australia, and the other appearing as a weed in all the 

 warmer countries of the world. 



•ffigyptlacum, Willd. (EUus\ne ^gyptiea. Ci/nosiirus 

 ^gyptius, hinn.). Crow-Foot. Spikelets very closely 

 packed, spreading at right angles to the rachis, 2 fld., 

 with rudiments of two other fls.— An ornamental grass 

 introduced into N. Amer. from Asia or Africa. Mo.iave 

 Indians of S. California use the grain for food. In Africa 

 a decoction is prepared from the seeds for inflam- 

 mation of the kidneys. p^ B_ Kennedy. 



D^aiDALACANTHUS (Greek words, meaning an^lcaM- 

 thad of curious structure). Acanth&cew. This genus 

 contains some tender shrubs of difficult culture under 

 glass, but great favorites in the tropics, particularly in 

 India. B. nervosus is a popular winter and spring- 

 blooming shrub in S. Fla. It has blue flowers, an inch 

 across, 5-lobed, and shaded purple at the mouth of the 

 tube. The names are much confused with those of 

 Eranthemum. The kinds mentioned below are, how- 

 ever, very distinct, from the garden standpoint, from 

 any given in this work under Eranthemum by the color 



657. Dactylis elomerata- Orchard Grass (X H). 

 21:415.— A very pretty shrub for the warmhouse, its fls. 

 being of a color that is not very common in winter- 

 blooming plants. It is an easy subject to manage, re- 

 quirmg a light, rich soil, full sunlight and plenty of 

 water. Cuttings of young growth root readily in a warm- 



aa. Fls. purple. 



purpuriscens, T. Anders. (E. purpiirascens, Wight. 



E. pulcMllum, Roxb., not Hort.). Lvs. broadly ovate, 



(443) 



