AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



217 



LAP 



L. rosea, and its white variety, are unques- 

 tionably the most beautiful green-house twin- 

 ing plants yet introduced. The stems are 

 round, branching, and with proper treatment, 

 will grow to almost any required length. The 

 flowers are large, lily or bell-shaped, and pro- 

 duced on solitary, one-flowered peduncles. L. 

 rosea has deep rose-colored flowers, spotted 

 inside with white. Several seedling varieties 

 with larger flowers and of a rich, brilliant 

 crimson color, are in cultivation ; a double 

 variety has also been introduced, the charac- 

 ter of which has not yet been established. 

 They should be grown in a house with a low 

 temperature, and given plenty of air, water, 

 and root room ; the latter is a necessity. 

 They do tolerably well grown in tubs, but are 

 seldom seen in perfection except when turned 

 into the border, and grown in a soil largely 

 composed of turfy peat, good turfy loam, and 

 sand. They are increased either by layers or 

 from seeds, the latter being preferable ; plants 

 from cuttings rarely succeed. They are na- 

 tives of Chili, and were introduced in 1847. 



Lapeyrou'sia. Named in honor of J. F. G. de 

 La Peyrouse, the French navigator. Nat. Ord. 

 Iridacece. 



A small genus of showy flowering bulbs, 

 blue, white, purple, or pink in color, in gen- 

 eral habit resembling the Ixias, and requiring 

 the same treatment. Closely allied to Ano- 

 matheca. Natives of the Cape of Good Hope ; 

 first introduced in 1825. Syn. "Peyrousia." 



Lapo'rtea. Named by Gaudichand, after his 

 friend M. Laporte. A genus of Urticacece, con- 

 sisting of herbs, shrubs, or trees, natives of 

 North America and the warmer regions of the 

 Old World. Some of the species, as L. gigas, 

 are armed with very virulent stings, the ef- 

 fect of which remains for many days, or even 

 months. L. Canadensis (Wood Nettle), a 

 native species, has lately been imported into 

 Germany as a new textile plant; it is peren- 

 nial and capable of enduring the climate of 

 central Germany, but further experiments are 

 needed ere its commercial value can be deter- 

 mined. 



La'ppa. Arctium J^appa, or Burdock. 

 Larch. See Larix. 



Lardiza'bala. In honor of M. Lardizabala y 

 Uribe, a Spanish naturalist. Nat. Ord. Ber- 

 beridacece. 



Half-hardy evergreen climbers, natives of 

 Chili. L. biternata, the most beautiful of the 

 species, has dark, glossy, evergreen foliage, 

 and drooping spikes of deep, purple flowers. 

 In Chili a very tough fibre is obtained from 

 its stems and made into cordage ; and its 

 fruit, containing a sweet-tasted pulp, is sold 

 in the markets. This species would make a 

 splendid creeping plant for covering walls in 

 the Southern States, but would not be hardy 

 north of Virginia. 



La'rix. Larch. From the Celtic, lar, fat; on 

 account of the tree producing plenty of resin. 

 Nat. Ord. Coniferce. 



Larix Americana, one of our native species, 

 is a beautiful deciduous tree, growing to its 

 greatest perfection in the more northern 

 States and Canada, where it attains a height 

 of from eighty to a hundred feet, with a diam- 

 eter of from two to three feet. The wood of 

 the American species is popularly known as 



LAT 



Hackmatack, or American Black Larch, and is 

 superior to any of the species of Pine or 

 Spruce for ship-building, for which purpose 

 it is largely employed in Maine and the Brit- 

 ish Provinces. The trees are small and of 

 but little value south of Maine. Its southern 

 limits are the mountains of Virginia. L. oc- 

 cidentalis, found in British Columbia, northern 

 Washington Territory, the western slopes of 

 the Rocky Mountains of Montana, very com- 

 mon, and perhaps reaching its greatest devel- 

 opment in the region north of the Big Black- 

 foot river, and in the valley of the Flathead 

 river, Montana, is the largest and most valu- 

 able timber tree of the Columbia basin. It is 

 not so fine an ornamental tree as L. Europcea, 

 which is also a valuable timber-tree, and 

 worthy of a place on the lawn. There are a 

 number of varieties. 



Larkspur. A general name for the garden 

 species of Delphinium. 



La'rrea. In honor of John Anthony de Larrea, a 

 Spanish promoter of the sciences. Nat. Ord. 

 Zygophyllacece. 



L. Mexicana, the Creosote plant, is a shrub 

 growing from four to six feet high, very 

 abundant in some parts of Mexico, forming a 

 dense and almost impassable scrub, particu- 

 larly on the borders of the Colorado desert, 

 where its luxuriant growth puts a stop to the 

 drifting sand. Its appearance is a sure indi- 

 cation of a sterile soil, as nothing will grow 

 beneath it, and its strong Creosote odor is so 

 repulsive that no animal will touch it. It is 

 with great difficulty that it can be made to 

 burn, and it is consequently useless for fuel. 



Lasia'ndra. From lasios, woolly, and aner, an 

 anther ; alluding to the hairy stamens. Nat. 

 Ord. MelastomacecB. 



A large genus of green-house evergreen 

 shrubs, with handsome foliage, and producing 

 large panicles of beautiful purple flowers. 

 They are easily propagated from cuttings, 

 and were introduced from Rio Janeiro in 1836. 

 Syn. Pleroma. 



Lasthe'nia. Derivation of name unknown. Nat. 

 Ord. Composites. 



A small genus of hardy annuals from Cali- 

 fornia, the seeds of which should be sown in 

 autumn or early spring. The flowers are 

 pure golden yellow, making it a very pretty 

 border plant. Introduced in 1834. 



La'straea. Derivation unexplained. Nat. Ord. 

 Polypodiacece. 



An extensive genus of polypodiaceous 

 Ferns, formerly included in the genus Aa- 

 pidium. Some of the newly-introduced spe- 

 cies from Australia grow luxuriantly in the 

 ordinary green-house. Like all of the order 

 a moist atmosphere is favorable to their per- 

 fect development. This genus is now in- 

 cluded by some botanists under Nephrodium. 



Lata'nia. Bourbon Palm. Latanier is the 

 name of the palm in the Isle of Bourbon. 

 Nat. Ord. Palmacece. 



A small genus of very handsome palms, 

 with branching flower spikes, the male and 

 female being produced on different plants. L. 

 Verschaffellii (Syn. L. aurea) has flabelliform 

 roundish, deeply incised leaves of a deep 

 glaucous-green color, and golden-colored 

 midribs. The petiole is smooth, of an 

 orange tint and from two to four feet long. 



