AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



ACA 



; jectured that the leaf of A. spinosus furnished 

 the model for the decoration of the capitals of 

 the columns in the Corinthian style of archi- 

 tecture. Propagated by seeds or division of 

 the roots. 



Acaulescent. With apparently no stem. 



Accessory. Something additional, not usually 

 present. 



Acclimatize. To accustom a plant to live in 

 the open air without protection, in a country 

 where it is not indigenous. We give the 

 meaning attached to the term, though we 

 question the popular belief. Plants may be- 

 come acclimatized in the course of ages, but 

 not perceptibly in any one generation. It is 

 true we can temporarily and gradually harden 

 off a plant so that it will stand a great degree 

 of cold, but the product of that plant, whether 

 from cuttings or seeds, will not be hardier 

 than the original individual. 



Accumbent. Lying against anything ; used in 

 opposition to incumbent, or lying upon some- 

 thing ; a term employed in describing the em- 

 bryo of Crucifers. 



A'cer. Maple. From acer, hard, or sharp ; the 

 wood is extremely hard, and was formerly 

 much used for making pikes and lances. Nat. 

 Ord. AceracecB. 



A genus comprised for the most part of 

 handsome deciduous shrifbs and trees, well 

 adapted for forming shrubberies, and used ex- 

 tensively as shade trees. Several of the spe- 

 cies produce very valuable timber. Sugar is 

 one of the constituent parts of the sap in all 

 of the species, and in this country large quan- 

 tities of excellent sugar and syrup are manu- 

 factured from the sap of the Sugar Maple, A. 

 Saccharatum. The beautiful varieties of A. 

 tfaponicum and A. palmatum, introduced by 

 Mr. Thomas Hogg from Japan, form strikingly 

 handsome objects for lawn decoration. The 

 leaves of some of them are beautifully dis- 

 sected, rivalling fern fronds in beauty, while 

 many others have the richest tints of yellow, 

 pink, red and brown, giving them during the 

 entire summer a rich autumnal appearance. 

 They are perfectly hardy, and are increased 

 by grafting on a dwarf Japanese species. .A. 

 negundo, or Box Elder, is now called Negundo 

 aceroides, or N. fraxinifolium, which see. 



Acera'cese. A natural order of trees and shrubs 

 inhabiting Europe, the temperate parts of Asia, 

 the north of India, and North America. The 

 order is unknown in Africa and the southern 

 hemisphere. The bark of some is astringent, 

 and yields reddish-brown and yellow colors. 

 The order only contains three genera, and 

 rather more than fifty species, of which the 

 Maple and Sycamore are well-known repre- 

 sentatives. 



A'ceras. Man Orchis. From a, without, and 

 Keras, a horn ; the lip having no spur. A 

 very interesting genus of terrestrial orchids, 

 the most singular of which is the Green Man 

 Orchis, indigenous to dry, chalky pastures in 

 the southeast of England. 



Acera'tes. Green Milkweed. A genus of Ascle- 

 pediacece, natives of America and Mexico. The 

 leaves of A. Viridiflora, one of the most com- 

 mon species, are singularly variable in form, 

 ranging from obovate to lanceolate, or 

 linear. 



ACI 



Acerose. Needle pointed ; fine and slender, with 

 a sharp point. 



Acha'nia Malvaviscua. A synonym of Malva- 

 viscus arboreus, which see. 



Achille'a. Yarrow. Named in honor of Achilles, 

 a pupil of Chiron, who first used it in medi- 

 cine. Nat. Ord. Composites. 



Free-flowering, hardy herbaceous plants, 

 particularly suited to plant among rock-work, 

 or in situations refused by more tender plants. 

 They are chiefly European plants, and the pre- 

 vailing colors of the flowers are yellow and 

 white. A. millefolium, or Milfoil, the common 

 Yarrow, is common on our roadsides and neg- 

 lected fields. A. tomentosa, of dense habit, 

 is one of the best and brightest yellow flowers 

 for the herbaceous border, or rock-garden. A. 

 Ptarmica flore-pleno is another most useful 

 hardy perennial, producing a wealth of its 

 double white flowers all summer. It is also 

 very useful for cutting. Called erroneously 

 by some A. alba flora-plena. 



Achime'nes. From cheimaino, to suffer from 

 cold, and a prefixed as an augmentive ; allud- 

 ing to the tenderness of the genus. Nat. Ord. 

 Oesneracece. 



One of the finest of modern introductions, 

 the whole of the species being splendid sum- 

 mer ornaments of the greon-house or conserv- 

 atory. Flowers of all shades, from white to 

 crimson. The scaly bulbs or tubers require 

 to be kept perfectly dormant in winter, and 

 about January to be potted in light loam and 

 leaf-mould, plunged into a moderate hot-bed, 

 and encouraged with a warm, genial atmos- 

 phere. When they have attained a few inches 

 in height they may be placed several together 

 in a shallow pan, or repotted separately, and 

 by the end of April gradually inured to the 

 temperature of the green-house, where they 

 afford a blaze of beauty the whole of the sum- 

 mer. They are mostly natives of Mexico and 

 Guatemala, though a few have been received 

 from the West Indies. 



Achyra'nthes. From achuron,cha.ff, and anthos, 

 a flower; in allusion to the chaff} 7 nature of 

 the floral leaves. Nat. Ord. Amaranthacece. 



Most of this genus are of but little value. 

 Some of the species are very beautiful, and 

 largely employed in ribbon-gardening, or any 

 situation where plants need to be "trained," 

 as they can be made to grow in any desired 

 shape or form. They require the full sunshine 

 to develop their intense color. Propagated by 

 cuttings. Syns. Ireaine and Chamissoa. 



Acine'ta. From dkineta, immovable ; the lip 

 being jointless. Nat. Ord. Orchidarcm. 



A small genus of curious epiphytal Orchids 

 from Mexico. Flowers yellow, crimson and 

 yellow, and chocolate and crimson, borne on 

 slender spikes about one foot long. They are 

 of easy culture, requiring a house of medium 

 temperature, and to be grown in baskets of 

 moss. Introduced in 1837. 



Aciphy'lla. From ake, a point, and phyllon, & 

 leaf; referring to the sharply-pointed seg- 

 ments of the leaf. 



A remarkable genus of Umbelliferce, differing 

 only by its curious habit and spinescent char- 

 acter from lAgusticum. A. Colensoi, a native 

 of New Zealand, forms a circular bush five or 

 six feet in diameter, of bayonet-like spines, 

 having flowering stems six to nine feet high, 



