228 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OP PLANTS 



LIN 



Lindelo'fia. Named in honor of Freidrich von 

 Lindelof, of Darmstadt, a patron of botany. 

 Nat. Ord. Boraginacece. 



L. spectabilis is a rather showy perennial, 

 growing about one and a half feet high, 

 bearing in early summer, drooping clusters 

 of deep purple-blue flowers. It is hardy in 

 well drained situations, but is not so valuable 

 a plant as many others of the same order. 

 Syn. Cynoglossum longiflorum. 



Linden. See Tilia. 



Linde'nia. Named after J. Linden, a Belgian 

 horticulturist. Nat. Ord. Rubiacece. 



A. small genus, natives of Mexico, Central 

 America, and the Fiji Islands. L. rivularis, 

 the only species yet in cultivation, is a dis- 

 tinct plant, with rather small lanceolate 

 leaves, and bearing solitary long-tubed white 

 flowers nearly five inches long, from short 

 spurs. Although the flowers are solitary, the 

 plant is very free-blooming and is remark- 

 ably interesting. It was introduced from 

 Mexico in 1856, and is propagated by cuttings 

 of the ripened wood. 



Linde'ra. Wild Allspice. Fever Bush. Named 

 after John Linder, a Swedish botanist. Nat. 

 Ord. Lauracece. 



A tall-growing shrub, common in damp 

 woods from New York southward. Syn. 

 Laurus Benzoin. 



Liiidhei'mera. Named in honor of F. Lind- 

 heimer, the discoverer of the plant. Nat. Ord. 

 Composite. 



L. texana, the only species is an erect, 

 branching, half-hardy annual, with yellow 

 flowers resembling a Zinnia. Introduced to 

 cultivation from Texas. 



Li'ndleya. Named after Professor Lindley by 

 Humboldtand Kunth. Nat. Ord. Rosacece. 



L. mespiloides, the only species, is an orna- 

 mental, low-growing, evergreen tree or shrub, 

 native of the mountainous regions of Mexico. 

 It has simple, crenulate, shining leaves, and 

 solitary, large, white, sweet-scented flowers, 

 borne on the tips of its branchlets. It was in- 

 troduced to cultivation in 1843, and is pro- 

 pagated by cuttings of the ripened wood in 

 heat, or by grafting on the Hawthorn. 



Lindsae'a. A synonym of Lindsaya, which see. 



Lindsay'a. Named after Archibald Lindsay, a 

 distinguished English botanist. Nat. Ord. 

 Polypodiacece. 



A genus of about fifty species of handsome 

 tropical ferns, most of them difficult to 

 cultivate. 



Linear. Narrow, short, with parallel margins, 

 as the leaf of the Yew. 



Ling. Calluna vulgaris, also a Chinese name for 

 Trapa bicornis. 



Li'miasa. Twin-Flower. Dr. J. F. Gronovius, 

 with the concurrence of Linneeus, selected 

 this little depressed, early-flowering, long- 

 overlooked northern plant, to transmit the 

 illustrious name of Linnaeus to posterity. 

 Nat. Ord. Caprifoliacece. 



L. borealis, the only species, is a beautiful 

 little trailing evergreen plant, with long, 

 slender branches, bearing small ovate or 

 obovate leaves, slightly toothed at the top, 

 and sending up erect, thread-like flower stalks, 

 which fork near the top, and bear two grace- 

 fully drooping, very fragrant bell-like 



LIP 



flowers, of a pale pink or nearly white color, 

 and almost half an inch in length. It grows 

 almost exclusively in woods, in cold, moist 

 situations, is common from New Jersey 

 northward, and is widely dispersed over 

 northern Europe and Asia. According to 

 some writers, its scent is so powerful, especi- 

 ally at night, that it may be discovered at a 

 considerable distance. The Laplanders use a 

 decoction of its flowers as a remedy in rheu- 

 matic complaints. 



Linosy'ris. A genus of Composites of little 

 horticultural value. L. divaricata, with gol- 

 den-yellow flowers, a native of Australia, is in 

 cultivation as a hardy, herbaceous perennial. 

 L. vulgaris, Goldilocks, is a showy British 

 perennial producing its bright yellow flowers 

 in terminal clusters in late summer and 

 autumn. Syn. ChrysocomaLinosyris. 



Li'num. Flax. From the Celtic word llin, a 

 thread ; whence the Greek linon, and the Latin 

 linum. Nat. Ord. Linacecs. 



This genus contains upward of fifty species 

 of various characters, some rising to be small 

 shrubs, hardy and tender perennials, bien- 

 nials, and annuals; all of them interesting, 

 and many very handsome. The tender 

 species require the ordinary treatment of 

 green-house plants. L. triginum (Syn. Rein- 

 wartia trigina) is one of the most beautiful of 

 all our yellow-flowering shrubby green-house 

 plants ; while L. grandiflorum, one of the best 

 and most showy annuals in cultivation, has 

 magnificent crimson flowers. L. flavum, and 

 all the tall-growing species find a place in 

 the borders, and the dwarf kinds on the rock- 

 work or in the rock-gardens. The latter are 

 somewhat impatient of wet in winter, and in 

 consequence are usually potted in autumn, and 

 kept in a cold-frame during winter. L. usita- 

 tissimum, the common annual Flax, has 

 been an object of cultivation from the 

 earliest times. Mr. B. Clarke thus describes 

 it in the " Treasury of Botany : " " The plant 

 has, for the most part, solitary, quite erect 

 stems, alternate smooth linear-lanceolate 

 leaves, and a corymbose inflorescence ; the 

 sepals are ovate-acute, with a membraneous 

 margin ; and the petals are blue, three times 

 longer than the calyx. The finer kinds of the 

 linen of commerce are manufactured from the 

 ligneous fibres of the stem of this plant ; and 

 the seed, called Linseed, is scarcely less valu- 

 able, on account of the large quantity of oil 

 contained in the embryo. The seeds contain 

 a mucilage, which, dissolved in water, is 

 demulcent and emollient, and the meal of the 

 seed is used for poultices. The cake remain- 

 ing after the oil is expressed, is extensively 

 used in fattening cattle." L. catharticum, re- 

 markable for its erect, much-branched stems, 

 its opposite, smooth, obovate-lanceolate 

 leaves, and small white flowers, is occasionally 

 used in medicine, being bitter and purgative. 



Lion's Ear. See Leonotis. 



Lion's Foot. See Leontopodium. 



Lion's Tail. Leonotis Leonurus. 



Lipa'ria. From liparos, oily, shining; in allu- 

 sion to the shining surface of the leaves. 

 Nat. Ord. Leguminosce. 



A genus of south African shrubs with un- 

 divided, alternate, lanceolate leaves, and 

 bright yellow flowers, in terminal heads. L. 



