AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



235 



LUR 



nial from California with very long spikes of 

 blue flowers. 



Lurid. Of a dingy brown ; gray with orange. 



Luxembu'rgia. In honor of the Duke of Lux- 

 emburg, under whose patronage M. Auguste 

 de St. Hilaire commenced his botanical re- 

 searches in Brazil. Nat. Ord. Ochnacece. 



A genus of very showy, branched, very 

 glabrous shrubs, bearing racemes of bright 

 yellow flowers, blossoming during the sum- 

 mer months. They were first introduced 

 from Brazil in 1840, and are propagated by 

 cuttings of the half-ripened shoots. 



Lu'zula. From the Gramcn Luzuloz of Bauhin, 

 Glow-worm Grass. Nat. Ord. Juncacece. 



A genus of herbaceous perennial plants, 

 of but little beauty, allied to the Rushes. 

 They are common throughout the United 

 States. From their being usually found in 

 dry grounds and woods, they are commonly 

 known by the name Woodrush. 



Luzuria'ga. Named in honor of Ignatio de Lu- 

 zuriaga, a Spanish botanist. Nat. Ord. Lilia- 

 cece. 



A small genus of green-house evergreen 

 climbing shrubs, somewhat resembling the 

 Lapageria, to which they are closely allied. 

 The flowers are white, and are produced in 

 gi eat abundance. L. radicans is a very pretty 

 Smilax-like plant with delicate leafage and 

 neat white flowers. It is valuable for green- 

 house culture, and general decorative pur- 

 poses, and is propagated by cuttings. Syn. 

 Callixene. 



Lyca'ste. Named after a beautiful woman of 

 Sicily. Nat. Ord. Orchidacece. 



Very handsome epiphytes of the pseudo- 

 bulbous class. They grow with freedom when 

 potted in a well-drained mixture of turfy- 

 peat and sphagnum, interspersed with 

 which should be a considerable number of 

 small pieces of charcoal or potsherds. Being 

 natives of the Western Hemisphere, the 

 species do not require a very high tempera- 

 ture, that of an ordinary green-house being 

 fully sufficient ; neither do they require so 

 decided a rest as some other individuals of 

 the order, but should be freely supplied with 

 both water and air when growing. There 

 are about twenty-five species in this genus, all 

 natives of Central and South America. First 

 introduced in 1828. 



Ly'chnia. From lychnos, a lamp ; referring to 

 the brilliancy of the flowers of some of the 

 species. Nat. Ord. Caryophyllacece. 



A group of very ornamental herbaceous 

 plants, quite hardy, and deserving a place in 

 every garden. The species vary in character 

 very much, some of them attaining a height 

 of three or four feet, as in the case of the 

 common Scarlet Lychnis (L. Chalcedonica), an 

 old garden favorite from Russia, valuable 

 because there are so few flowers of that color 

 among our hardy herbaceous plants. There 

 is a fine double variety of this species, also a 

 double and single white. L. Haageana, a 

 brilliant scarlet garden hybrid is also a very 

 desirable variety. Many others are low-grow- 

 ing, not more than six inches in height. L. 

 grandiflora, and L. fulgens are very handsome, 

 and the very pretty L. codi-rosea should be 

 included in the list of annuals for every gar- 

 den. L. Sennce introduced from Japan in 



LYC 



1865, is beautifully striped white and crim- 

 son. The rosy-red and white varieties of the 

 "German Catch-fly," L. viscaria, are most 

 showy and desirable hardy hei'baceous plants, 

 more especially the form with double dark red 

 flowers known as L. v. splendens, which is used 

 with good effect as an edging plant, about 

 Paris. They are all easily propagated by seed 

 or by division. 



Ly'cium. Box Thorn. From lycion, a name 

 given by Dioscorides to a thorny shrub, and 

 applied to the genus because of its containing 

 some thorny shrubs. Nat. Ord. Solanacete. 



There are numerous species in this genus, 

 all hardy or green-house shrubs, mostly of 

 little value as ornamental plants. L. barba- 

 rum is a plant of rapid growth, green foliage, 

 and small lilac flowers. It is a climber, and 

 is grown considerably in England to cover 

 trellises and arbors. It is commonly called 

 Tea Plant, and its leaves have been recom- 

 mended as a substitute for tea. L. Carolinia- 

 num, a handsome shrub, is common in the 

 swamps from Carolina to Florida. L. vul- 

 gare, a native of Europe, and an escape from 

 our gardens into the hedge rows and waste 

 places in some of the States, is popularly 

 known as Matrimony Vine. 



Lycope'rdon. From lykos, a wolf, and perdo, 

 to explode backwards ; some old writers 

 believed that this fungus developed from the 

 dung of the wolf. A genus of Fungi, known 

 also as " Puff-balls." While white and fleshy 

 they are edible. L. giganteum, a species that 

 grows so large as to suffice for a meal for ten 

 or twelve persons, is esteemed as an article 

 of food by many people. When ripe, the dry 

 mass of threads and spores is used as a 

 styptic, and its fumes answer the purpose of 

 chloroform. 



Lycope'rsicum. Love Apple. Tomato. From 

 lykos, a wolf, and persicon, a peach ; in allusion 

 to the fleshy fruit, and its inferiority com- 

 pared with the peach. Nat. Ord. Solanacece. 



A genus of three or four species of her- 

 baceous, procumbent plants, natives of South 

 America, chiefly Peru. The flowers are dis- 

 tinguished from those of the allied Solanum, 

 by their stamens having the anthers connected 

 together by a thin membrane which is pro- 

 longed upwards. The principal species is L. 

 esculentum, for culture, etc., of which, see 

 Tomato. 



Ly copodia'cese . A natural order of Cryptogams, 

 consisting of two very distinct groups, and 

 comprising four genera and about 150 species. 

 They are found in all climates, and are either 

 terrestrial, or epiphytal perennials. The 

 stems are branched and leafy throughout, and 

 generally rigid. The leaves are imbricated 

 all round the stem, and are arranged in from 

 two to six ranks. Lycopodium, and Selaginella, 

 are the best known examples. 



Lycopo'dium. Club Moss. From lykos, a wolf, 

 and pous, a foot ; the roots having a resem- 

 blance to that animal's paw. Nat. Ord. Lyco- 

 podiacece. 



An extensive genus of neat little evergreen 

 herbaceous plants allied to Selaginella, but 

 distinguished from that genus by their 

 coniferous habit and the single form of the 

 capsules. L. dendroideum, remarkable for its 

 tree-like appearance, is largely employed in 



