and ha<i latrlv I 

 While y.iuiiL-. :.t 



houseaii.l i-i 



shine, Ihmul. ^^ 

 folia (or ir.,//,. 

 an elevation of : 



482 DIDYMOSPERMA 



referred to Wallichia, which see. 

 . till- Didymospermas enjoy a warm 

 i^phire with shading from full sun- 

 i.ilil that one species, B. ohlongi- 

 . is frequently found in Sikliim at 

 feet above the sea. Prop, usually 

 by seeds; occasionally by suclsers, which are kept rather 

 close for a time after their removal from the parent 

 plant- Jared G. Smith and W. H. Taplin. 



DIEFFENBACHIA (Dieffenbach, a German botanist). 

 Aroldete. Low, shrubby perennials: stems rather thick, 

 inclined or creeping at the base, then erect, with a leafy 

 top: petioles half cylindrical, sheathed to above the mid- 

 dle, long, cylindrical at the apex ; blade oblong, wiili u 

 thick midrib at the base; veins very numerous, the lirM 

 and second parallel, ascending, curvingupwards at tlieir 

 ends : peduncle shorter than the Ivs. Differs from i 

 Aglaonema in floral characters. Central and South 

 America. Perhaps a dozen species. Engler (in DC. 

 Monogr. Phaner. vol. 2) recognizes 6 species, with many 

 varieties. Dieffenbachias are popular hothouse plants, 

 being grown for their handsome and striking foliage. 



For Dieffenbachias, similar rooting material to that 

 mentioned for Anthuriums, combined with a high and 

 moist atmosphere, will produce a very healthy and 

 luxuriant growth of foliage, especially after the plants 

 have made their first few leaves in ordinary light pot- 

 ting soil. Unless it be the very large-leaved kinds, like 

 trinmphans, nobilis and Banmanni, three or four plants 

 may be placed together in large pots, keeping the balls 

 near the surface in potting. Jenman i, S!i uttU worth id iik , 

 Leopoldii and ebumea are all well suited for mass- 

 ing together in large pots. When above a certain 

 height, varying in different species, the plants come to 

 have fewer leaves, and those that remain are small; 

 they should then be topped, retaining a considerable 

 piece of the stem, and placed in the sand bed, where 

 they will throw out thick roots in a week or two. 

 The remaining part of the stems should then be cut 

 up into pieces 2 or 3 inches long, dried for a day or 

 so, and then put into boxes of sand, where, if kept warm 



DIEFFENBACHIA 



piota, Schott. Blade oblong, or oblong-elliptical, or 

 oblong-lanceolate, 2H-4 times longer than wide, rounded 

 or acute at the base, gradually narrowing to the long 

 acuminate-cuspidate apex, green, with numerous irregu- 

 lar oblong or linear spots between the veins; veins 15-20 

 on each side, ascending. L.B.C. 7:608. 



708. Dielfc 



and only slightly moist, every piece will send out a 

 shoot, and from the base of this shoot roots will be pro- 

 duced. These can be potted up as soon as roots have 

 formed. 



709. Dieffenbachia Sea 



Var.Baiisei, Engl. (i>.iJ<i«.'ici, Kegel). Fig.708. Blade 

 nearly or completely yellowish green, with obscurely 

 green-spotted margins and scattered white spots. l.H. 

 2C:338. 



Var. Shuttleworthiina, Engl. {D. Shutlteworthictna, 

 Bull). Blade pale green along the midrib. 



Segulne, Schott. Lvs. green, with white, more or less 

 continent stripes and spots, otdoiig or ovate oblong, 

 nded or slightly cordate or suliarnto at the base, nar- 

 ed toward the apex, short o'j^iti'lair : primary veins 

 1-1."), the lower spreading, tin- iip|M i r.iiictr. and as- 

 ending. Lowe 14 (as var. uninihi/.i i . W.Indies.— 

 'ailed "Dumb Plant " because tliosu who chew it some- 

 inies lose the power of speech for several days. 



Var. BarraquiniJlna, Engl. (Z).i?arra4MJn!"i}«n,Versch. 

 & Lem. C. (jigantea, Verscb.). Petioles and midribs al- 

 most entirely white; blade with scattered white spots. 

 l.H. 11:387; 13:470,471. 



Var. n6bilis, Engl. (Z>.ji(5Ji!7e,Hort.). Fig. 709. Blade 

 elliptical, acute, dull green with dirty green spots. 

 Brazil. 



Var. liturata, Engl. {D. Leopoldii, Bull. D. Wallisi, 

 Lind.t. Blade dark green, with a rather broad, yellowish 

 green, ragged-margined stripe along the midrib; spathe 

 glaucous. l.H. 17: 11. S.H. 1, p. 455. 



Var. irrorita, Engl. {D. irrordta, Schott. D. Bau- 

 maiini, llort.). Lvs. large and bright green, blotched 

 and sprinkled with white. Brazil. 



The above are the recognized type species. The fol- 

 lowing are in the Araer. trade. Probably some or all of 

 them belong to the foregoing species: 



CWlsoni, Bull. Lvs. deep, satiny green, the middle 

 gray-feathered, and the blade also blotched yellow-green. 

 Colombia. 



Cdrsii, Hort. See B. Parlatorei. 



ebfimea, Hort. Compact : lvs. light green, freely 

 spotted with white, the stems reddish and white-ribbed. 



illustris, Hort. See B. late-maeulata. 



imper4tor, Hort. Lvs. 16-18 In. in length, 5-6 in. wide, 

 olive-green, fantastically blotched, marbled and spotted 

 with pale yellow and white. Colombia. 



insignis, Hort. Lvs. dark green, with irregular, 

 angular blotches of pale yellowish green, 6 or more in. 

 wide. Colombia. 



