AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



325 



PIE 



Pi'eris. A name applied to the Muses, from their 

 supposed abode at Pieria, in Thessaly. Nat. 

 Ord. Ericacece. 



A genus of low-growing trees or shrubs, 

 natives of the Himalayas, Japan, and 'north- 

 western America. The flowers are white, 

 rarely red, borne in terminal racemes very 

 much resembling the Andromeda, from which 

 genus they have been separated. P. Japonica 

 elegantissima, is a very elegant shrub, its leaves 

 being beautifully margined with white. Syn. 

 Andromeda Japonica variegata. 

 Pigeon Berry. Phytolacca decandra. 

 Pigeon Pea. See Cajanus Indicus. 

 Pig-weed. The popular name of Chenopodium 



album. 

 Pig-nut. A common name for the fruit of a 



species of Hickory, Carya porcina. 

 Pi'lea. Frompileos, a cap ; alluding to the shape 

 of one of the divisions of the perianth. Nat. 

 Ord. Urticacece. 



An extensive genus of annual or perennial 

 herbaceous plants, most of which may be de- 

 scribed as mere weeds. P. microphylla, known 

 as the Artillery Plant (syn. P. muscosa), 

 is a native of the West Indies and is a 

 useful, low-growing, mossy-looking plant, 

 remarkable for the manner in which it dis- 

 charges its pollen grains. When the flowers 

 are ready to expand the least moisture 

 causes the calyx to expand, and the pollen 

 is thrown out with great force to the dis- 

 tance of nearly a foot. By putting a plant 

 when in flower quickly in a vessel of warm 

 water, these discharges will be rapidly kept 

 up for some minutes, a perfect representa- 

 tion of miniature artillery, both in sound 

 and smoke. The plants are well adapted for 

 baskets, stands, or rockeries, and are exten- 

 sively used for massing with Echeverias and 

 other plants used in " carpet bedding." P. 

 reticulata, P. herniarcefolia, P. serpyllifolia, and 

 other species, are used for hanging-baskets, 

 vases, etc. ; they all have the same peculiar- 

 ities and are easily increased by cuttings. 

 Pileus. The name given to the broad expanded 

 part in Mushrooms and allied groups of the 

 larger Fungi. 

 Pili. Hairs. 



Piliferous. Tipped with, or bearing hairs. 

 Pillwort. The common name of the genus 



Pilularia. 



Piloca'rpus. From pilos, a cap, and karpos, a 

 fruit ; referring to the shape of the berries. 

 Nat. Ord. Rutacece. 



A genus of shrubby green-house plants, 

 natives of tropical America and the West 

 Indies. P. pennatifolius, has purple flowers 

 in crowded racemes eighteen inches long ; it 

 is one of the plants which furnishes the Jabo- 

 randi of commerce. They are propagated by 

 cuttings of the ripened wood. 

 Piloce'reus. From pilos, wool, and Cereus ; 

 alluding to the long hairs upon the spine 

 cushions. Nat. Ord. Cactacece. 



The well-known Old Man Cactus, and a few 

 allied species, have been separated under this 

 name from the genus Ceretts, but, as in other 

 genera of Cactacece, the distinguishing charac- 

 ters are scarcely of generic importance. All 

 the species ai-e natives of Mexico and tropical 

 America. P. srnilis, the Old Man Cactus, the 

 one met in our green-houses, but by no means 



PIM 



common, is usually seen from one to two feet 

 high, and rarely three, but in Mexico, its 

 native country, it attains a height of from 

 twenty to twenty-five feet, with a diameter of 

 nine or ten inches, and its fluted character 

 gives it somewhat the appearance of an archi- 

 tectural column. The stem is divided into 

 thirty or forty narrow furrows, with corre- 

 sponding ridges, which are furnished at very 

 short distances with tufts of white spines, 

 surrounded by numerous long, flexible white 

 hairs, resembling the gray hairs of an old 

 man's head ; hence has arisen not only the 

 common name of the plant, but also its scien- 

 tific appellation. When young the stems are 

 fleshy and succulent, but when they get old 

 their tissue becomes filled with an extraordi- 

 nary quantity of small sand-like grains, com- 

 posed of oxalate of lime, not less than from 

 sixty to eighty per cent, having been found in 

 individual stems. This genus requires the 

 same culture as other Cacti, and is increased 

 in the same manner. 



Pilo'gyne suavis. A very beautiful climbing 

 plant belonging to the Nat. Ord. Cucurbitacece. 

 It is a rapid-growing plant, with small, 

 glossy green leaves, rendering it desirable for 

 covering verandas or trellises. It is also a 

 splendid house plant. The flowers are yel- 

 lowish-white, and quite fragrant. This plant 

 was introduced into'the United States about 

 1875 from South Africa, by way of Germany, 

 and is easily increased by cuttings. It is 

 described in "Nicholson's Dictionary" under 

 the name of Zehneria, and the correct name is 

 given as Melothria punctata. 



Pilose. Covered with longj soft hairs. 



Pilot-weed. Silphium laciniatum. 



Pilula'ria. From pilula, a little ball or pill; 

 alluding to the shape of the heads of the 

 reproductive organs. Nat. Ord. Marsileacece. 

 A small genus of aquatic plants found in 

 temperate Europe and Asia, Australia and 

 North America. They are often cultivated in 

 aquaria. 



Filu'mna. From pilos orpileos, a cap ; shape of 

 the flowers. Nat. Ord. Orchidacece. 



A small genus of Peruvian epiphytal Or- 

 chids. They have medium-sized flowers, of a 

 white, or greenish-white color, which are pro- 

 duced in spikes of from three to five. They 

 are remarkable for their delicious fragrance. 

 They succeed well in a cool house, and should 

 be grown in leaf mould and sphagnum moss. 

 They were introduced in 1843, and are 

 increased by division. 



Pimelea. From pimele, fat; referring to the 

 viscid matter on the leaves of some species. 

 Nat. Ord. Thymelacece. 



An extensive genus of green-house ever- 

 green shrubs, natives of Australia, Tasmania 

 and New Zealand. They make handsome 

 plants in English green-houses, and produce 

 many terminal clusters of white, rose, or yel- 

 low flowers of great beauty, but our hot, dry 

 summers are not congenial to them. They 

 were introduced in 1824, and are propagated 

 by cuttings. 



Pime'nta. Allspice Tree. From pimento, the 

 Spanish name. Nat. Ord. Myrtacece. 



P. vulgaris, the only species, is an extremely 

 handsome tree, a native of South America 

 and the West Indies, especially of the island 



