190 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



HER 



are natives of Mexico and Texas, the rest are 

 all African. Propagated by cuttings. 



Hermaphrodite. Having both stamens and 

 pistils in one bloom, as in most common 

 plants. 



Heron's Bill. See Erodium. 



Herpe'stis. From herpestes, a creeping thing; 

 in reference to the creeping stems. Nat. Ord. 

 ScrophubnriacecB. 



An extensive genus of herbaceous peren- 

 nials, chiefly aquatics, common throughout 

 al] tropical countries. There are also several 

 species found in marshy places in the South- 

 ern and Western States. The species are 

 mostly uninteresting. H. reflexa, a species of 

 recent introduction, is a valuable plant for the 

 aquarium. 



Herra'nia. Named after Gen. Herran, a Presi- 

 dent of the Republic of New Grenada. Nat. 

 Ord. Sterculiacece. 



This genus consist of three or four species 

 of evergreen trees, natives of South America, 

 and one from Australia. They have palm- 

 like heads, composed of large digitate leaves. 

 They are very showy, but too large for general 

 green-house cultivation. 



Hesperalo'e. From hesperoa, western, and 

 Aloe, alluding to the aspect of the plant, and 

 its native habitat. Nat. Ord'. Liliacece. 



H. Zuccifolia is a very striking and interest- 

 ing green-house plant, having a leafy stem, on 

 a very short caudex. The pale rose-colored 

 flowers are borne in loose racemes on a leafless 

 scape, three to four feet high? It was intro- 

 duced to cultivation from Texas in 1882. Syn. 

 H. Engelmanni. 



Hespera'ntha. Evening Flower. From hesperoa, 

 the evening, and anthos, a flower. Nat. Ord. 

 Iridacece. 



A genus of Cape bulbs closely allied to the 

 Ixia. The species are remarkable for expand- 

 ing their sweet-scented flowers in the even- 

 ing; hence their name. The flowers are 

 mostly white, sometimes stained on the out- 

 side with purple or brown. Culture same as 

 Ixia; introduced in 1825. 



He'speris. Rocket. From hesperos, the evening; 

 the Rockets being sweeter toward evening. 

 Nat. Ord. CrucifercB. 



These flowers, though very common, are 

 rarely well grown, as they require a great deal 

 of care to bring them to perfection. They are 

 all perennials ; and as soon as they have done 

 flowering they should be taken up and trans- 

 planted into fresh and very rich soil, which 

 must be of a light and friable nature. Thus 

 treated, the double white and double purple 

 varieties of Hesperis matronalis will attain 

 extraordinary size, and will flower splendidly ; 

 they are propagated by seeds or division of 

 roots. 



Hesperosco'rdum. Literally, the Onion of the 

 West; from hesperos, the west, and skordon, 

 garlic. Nat. Ord. Liliacece. 



A small genus of California bulbs, allied to 

 the Allium, with large and showy flowers, blue 

 and white. They have a strong smell of gar- 

 lic, which is a barrier to their introduction to 

 the flower garden. Syn. Brodicea. 



Hetera'nthera. From heteros, variable, and 

 anther; the Anthers are variable. Nat. Ord. 

 Iridacece. 



HIB 



A genus containing about eight species of 

 ornamental aquatic perennial herbs, of which 

 one is African and all the rest American. 

 Flowers blue or white, produced from a spathe 

 in the axil of a sheathing leaf stalk. H. reni- 

 formis, the Mud Plantain, with roundish kid- 

 ney-shaped leaves and white flowers, is not 

 unfrequent by the muddy banks of streams in 

 the Southern States. H. limosum, with blue 

 flowers, is found from western Virginia to 

 Illinois and southward. 



Heteroce'ntron. From heteros, variable, and 

 kentron, a sharp point. Nat. Ord. Melastomacece. 

 A genus of free-flowering under-shrubs from 

 Mexico. There are but two species, one H. 

 album, with white, the other, H. rosewm, with 

 crimson-purple flowers, produced in axillary 

 or terminal clusters. They make very desir- 

 able plants for winter blooming, and are pro- 

 pagated by cuttings. Syn. Heeria. 



Heuche'ra. Alum root. Named after Professor 

 Heucher, a German botanist. Nat. Ord. Saxi- 

 fragacece. 



A genus of very handsome herbaceous peren- 

 nials, natives of this country and Siberia. The 

 leaves are entire, from the center of which the 

 flower scape arises from one to three feet 

 high, with terminal panicles of greenish or 

 purplish flowers. The root of H. Americana 

 is so astringent that it is called Alum-root ; 

 propagated by division of the roots in spring. 



Hexace'ntris. From hex, six, and centron, a 

 spur ; alluding to two of its stamens having 

 one spur each, and two of them two spurs 

 each. Nat. Ord. Acanthacece. 



A small genus of green-house evergreen 

 shrubs, of climbing habit, with dentate leaves. 

 The flowers are purple or yellow, produced in 

 many flowered terminal or axillary racemes in 

 June. They are natives of India, and are pro- 

 pagated by cuttings. This genus is now in- 

 cluded by Bentham and Hooker under Thun- 

 bergia. 



Hibbe'rtia. In honor of George Hibbert, a dis- 

 tinguished promoter of botany. Nat. Ord. 

 Dilleniacece. 



Green-house evergreen shrubs, from New 

 Holland and the Cape of Good Hope. There 

 are more than fifty species included in this 

 genus. Most of them are small, heath-like, 

 tufted shrubs, or of a slender trailing habit ; a 

 few are climbing shrubs. Their flowers are 

 yellow, borne at the ends of the branches, and 

 generally give out a very unpleasant odor. 

 H. dentata, a climbing species, is one of the 

 most showy, and grows six or eight feet high. 

 H. volubilis, the largest species of the genus, 

 has a stiff climbing stem and pale yellow 

 flowers two inches across, but most disagree- 

 ably scented. Propagated from cuttings of 

 half-ripened shoots in spring ; introduced in 

 1823. 



Hibi'scus. Virgil's name for the Marsh-mallow. 

 Nat. Ord. Malvaceae. 



An extensive genus, consisting of annuals, 

 perennials, and hardy and green-house shrubs. 

 All the kinds bear very showy flowers, and 

 deserve to be extensively cultivated. H. rosa- 

 sinensis pleno produces large double flowers, 

 scarlet, and yellow, or buff, requiring simple 

 green-house treatment. A singular freak of 

 this species is, that orange and crimson flow- 

 ers are occasionally seen on the same plant. 



