AND GENEKAL HORTICULTURE. 



165 



GEN 



Geiitiana'ceae. A natural order of herbs, rarely 

 shrubs, with opposite, entire, exstipulate, 

 usually ribbed leaves, and showy flowers. 

 They are found in almost all parts of the 

 world, some at high elevations, and others in 

 hot tropical plains. They are generally bitter ; 

 some are narcotic. There are about seventy 

 known genera and upward of 500 species. 

 Gentiana, Lixianthus, Menyanthes, Villarsia, 

 Erythrcea, and Chlora are examples of the 

 order. 



Gentianella. Gentiana acaulis. 



Genus. A family of plants agreeing in their 

 flower and fruit ; an assemblage of species 

 possessing certain characters in common, by 

 which they are distinguished from all others. 



Geo'noma. From geonomos, skilled in agricul- 

 ture ; it was supposed that only a skillful 

 gardener could increase these palms. Nat. 

 Ord. Palmacf.cB. 



This genus includes something about forty 

 species of Palms, the most of them without 

 special interest. O. gracilis is a dwarf species 

 of pendant habit, resembling somewhat some 

 of the Goco8, and is very popular for decorative 

 purposes. The species are of but little value 

 in the useful arts, and are increased from 

 seeds. 



Gerania'ceae. A natural order of herbs or 

 shrubs with swollen joints, and opposite or 

 alternate leaves, which are usually palmately 

 veined and lobed, often stipulate. The plants 

 are distributed over various parts of the 

 world. The species of Pelargonium are 

 abundant at the Cape of Good Hope. It is 

 this genus that has furnished the beautiful 

 varieties that ornament the green-house in 

 winter and the garden in summer, one class 

 of which is commonly known as Scarlet 

 Geraniums. The species of Geranium and 

 Erodium are mostly natives of Europe, North 

 America, and northern Asia. There are 

 about twenty genera and seven hundred and 

 fifty species in the order, the principal part of 

 which are natives of south Africa. Geranium, 

 Pelargonium, Erodium, and Tropceolum, are 

 examples of the order. 



Gera'nium. Crane's bill. From geranos, a 

 crane ; referring to the beak-like torus, or 

 projection beyond the seeds. Nat. Ord. 

 GeraniacecB. 



A somewhat extensive genus of herbaceous 

 plants, most of which are hardy. Two species 

 are common to this country, and several of 

 the species are classed with our native plants, 

 having been naturalized from Europe. A few 

 of the species produce handsome flowers, 

 while most of them are mere weeds. The 

 well-known Scarlet or Fish Geraniums of our 

 gardens are properly Pelargoniums, and will 

 be found under that head. 



Gera'rdia. False Fox Glove. Named in honor 

 of John Gerard, author of the famous 

 "Herbal," 1597. Nat. Ord. Scrophulariacece. 



A genus of hardy annuals and perennials, 

 common in many of the States, particularly 

 along the seacoast. The flowers are yellow 

 and purple, and are produced in great abund- 

 ance. The species being more or less root 

 parasitic, are extremely difficult of cultivation, 

 but spread rapidly where once introduced. 



Germander. See Teucrium. 



German Greens. See Borecole. 



GES ^ 



German Ivy. A popular name of Senecio 

 Scandens. 



Germination. The first act of vegetation in a 

 seed, commonly called "sprouting." 



Geropo'gon. Old Man's Beard. From geron, 

 old man, and pogon, a beard ; referring to the 

 hair-like pappus which crowns the calyx in 

 this order. Nat. Ord. Composites. 



The only species of this genus is a very 

 curious annual plant. G. glaber, a native of 

 Italy, having a smooth stem and leaves, and 

 growing about a foot high. The flowers are 

 flesh-colored, and expand in the form of a star 

 only when the sun shines upon them. The 

 seeds are very curious, and it is from them 

 that the plant takes its English name. They 

 should be sown in the open border in March 

 or April, and the plants will flower in July 

 and August. This genus is now included by 

 some botanists with Tragopogon. 



Gerrada'nthus. Named after W. T. Gerrard, a 

 collector at Natal. Nat. Ord. Cucurbitacece. 



A genus of tall glabrous climbers, natives 

 of western and eastern tropical Africa. G. 

 tomentosus, the only species known to cultiva- 

 tion is a stove perennial of great botanical 

 interest. Mr. Wood, superintendent of the 

 Natal Botanic Gardens, is recorded to have 

 found on the top of and between large stones, 

 tubers, one of which "measured six feet in 

 circumference, and was nearly two feet thick, 

 its surface was scarred, and from the centre 

 arose a stem not more than three quarters of 

 an inch in diameter, thickly covered with 

 small, round tubercles, which ascended with- 

 out a leaf to the top of trees fifty feet high. 

 On turning over one of the tubers, it was 

 found to have but one fibrous root about half 

 an inch thick. * * * The natives do not 

 appear to put the plant to any use." 

 " Botanical Magazine." It may be increased 

 by seeds. 



Gesne'ra. Named after Conrad Gesner, a cele- 

 brated botanist in Zurich. Nat. Ord. Gesner- 

 acecB. 



A beautiful and extensive genus of tuber- 

 ous-rooted green-house plants from Mexico 

 and South America. They are remarkable 

 for the beauty of their foliage, which is sin- 

 gularly marked, and soft as velvet, and for 

 their long spikes of brilliant-colored flowers, 

 mostly scarlet and yellow. Some of them are 

 singularly marked or spotted. One species, 

 G. Suttoni alba, from Brazil, has pure white 

 flowers. With a little care in regulating their 

 season of rest, they can be brought into flower 

 at any desired time. They require a light 

 rich soil, a warm situation, but little sun, and 

 plenty of water, which should not touch the 

 foliage. They are easily propagated by cut- 

 tings of young shoots, or by cuttings of 

 leaves with a bud at the base, division of the 

 tubers, or from seeds. The latter is a very 

 interesting and simple plan. The certainty 

 that all your plants will be as good as the 

 parents, and the uncertainty as to how good, 

 or how strange they may be, furnish an addi- 

 tional stimulant to grow them in this way. 

 The seed should be sown in March, in pans or 

 boxes, in fine light compost, largely composed 

 of sand, and placed in a warm, moist at- 

 mosphere. As soon as the seedlings are up, 

 and show the second leaf, plant separ- 

 ately, an inch or so apart, in shallow boxes, 



