DISPORLTM 



D. lanuginoKura, less pubenilous. with Ivs. wider, more deeply 

 cordate at the base, and clasping the branches.— -D. Leschenaut- 

 tianum, D. Don. differs from the others here described by hav- 

 ing white fls. India, Ceylon. B.M. 6935.— D. puUum, Salisb. 

 Readily told from American forms by its browu or purplish 



DODECATHEON 



497 



green lis 



Indi: 



,M. 910. 



W. 



DiSTICHLIS ( Greek, ^co-i-aHtcrf). Gramineoe. Salt- 

 grass. Marsh Spike-gbass. D. spicAta, Greene, is an 

 upright, wiry grass, 10-20 in. high, with strong, exten- 

 • • ... . "alt-grass found on the 



lirivis cM-n in ground 

 tlhiNali-. Prospectors 



l.iii.liiiu' luuse sands or 

 P. B. Kennedy. 



heavily crusted with alkali 

 and miners consider its pr 

 near the surface. Good gra 

 soils subject to wash. Not ( 



DISTtLIUM:( Greek, two styles}. HamamelidAcea. 

 An oriental genus of two species of evergreen trees, one 

 of which has variegated foliage, and is used for hedges 

 in China and Japan. The genus is very unlike our Witch 

 Hazel, as it has no petals, a superior ovary and 2-8 

 stamens. Lvs. alternate, thick, leathery, ovate or oblong- 

 lanceolate, entire : fls. small, polygamous. Seeds and 

 young plants of D. racemdsum, Sieb. & Zucc, may be 

 obtained through dealers in Japanese plants. 



DITTANY is an old English word which in England 

 often means -Dic^J »■)'"*■ '»^'"'', n jilnnf .>f tlu' ru.- funnily. 

 The name is supp"- -i t, , i„. j, ,-,, , ,| r,-,,,,, \|i iii.i...iii 

 Crete, where the aih ■ I ' ■ i i . t : . I lir- 



tany is supposed i" i ' . ," I n; ,,f 



the mint family, ami "r tin- -jm^- -i mu- wiih il;>' wild 

 marjoram. The plant comni(.nl> ■•:dli-(l Dittany in the 

 eastern U. S. is Cunila Mariana, Linn. (C origa- 

 noides, Britton), another mint. It has been used as a 

 substitute for tea, and is a gentle aromatic stimulant. 

 All these plants yield an oil used as a mild tonic. 



DOCK. A name applied to various species of Rumex 

 (of the Poli/gonAcea). The commonest species — grow- 

 ing in fields and yards — are the Curled or Narrow-leaved 

 Dock(i?. crispits, Linn. 1 . and the Bitter or Broad-leaved 



Belleville are amongst the best kinds. The former 

 ( Fig. 72b ) is the better of the two, perhaps, and it has 

 the ail> iiiiai;- "1 1m ing a Week or 10 days earlier. The 

 cri>i>i ' ■■'.' I tt. long) appearearly in April, when 



I n to be had in the open, and they 



DOCKMACKIE. I', 

 DODDER. See Cus 



ceous plants, with fluwa 

 the first sight. Shoot i 

 flowers have been com 

 for they are pendulous 

 (see Fig. 730). The st: 

 em species come to a ^ 

 ing ahead, while the p 



•r forgotten after 

 lital name. The 

 uitive cyclamen, 

 e full of motion 



of 



et. The lis 



white, through lil 



Spinage Dock. 



Belleville Dock. 



Dock (i?. ohtiisifoJius, Linn.). These are introduced 

 from the Old World. Several species are native. 



Various species of Docks and Sorrels have long been 

 cultivated as pot-herbs. Some of them are very desir- 

 able additions to the garden because they yield a pleas- 

 ant food very early in spring, and, once planted, they 

 remain for years. The Spinage Dock and the Large 



all one species, because niunutypic genera are con- 

 sidered, as a rule, to be comparatively inflexible or 

 invariable. Dodecatheon belongs to the same order 

 with Primula and Cyclamen, but in a different tribe 

 from the latter, while its reflexed corolla lobes dis- 

 tinguish it from the 10 other genera of its own tribe. 

 For the honor of American horticulture, it is a 

 pity that the improvement of these chai-ming Ameri- 

 can plants should have been left to English and 

 French horticulturi.sts. An Important era in their 

 amelioration was probably begun with the introduction 

 of the D. Jeffrcyi from the Rocky Mts., first pictured 

 rniiger-eri-owiiig than the oora- 



ire of the most advanced 

 ther pictures, see B.M. 12. 

 .■29.'). Mn.4:f.5. 

 ■r says : "All tliay require 

 ot too ,|r\-, an. I inoderately 



types : 

 Gn. 10 



bord.a- tin:- lis. aiv of short ,lurali..n. Tlir ro.-kary with 

 a nortlioru or eastern aspect suits thi-m to a dot. They 

 are prop, by division of the crowns, or by seeds, the 

 latter method being rather slow." J. W. Manning ad- 

 vises a cool spot in rich loam. The lvs. disappear 



