342 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



PON 



Ponthei'va. Named in honor of M. . de Ponthieu, 

 a French West India merchant who sent a 

 number of plants to Sir Joseph Banks. Nat. 

 Ord. OrchidacecB. 



A curious genus of stove-house terrestrial 

 Orchids, with tufted roots, dispersed over the 

 warmer parts of America, from the southern 

 United States as far as Brazil. They are but 

 little cultivated and require to be kept dry 

 when not in a growing state. 



Poor-Man's Weather-Glass. Anagallia arven- 



818. 



Pop Corn. A variety of Zea Mays. 



Pope's Head. A common name for Melocactua 

 communia. 



Poplar. The common name of the genus Popu- 

 lus. 



Athenian. Populus grceca. 



Berry-bearing. Populua molinifera. 



Black. Populus nigra. 



Californian. Populua trichocarpa, and P. Fre- 

 montii. 



Carolina. Populus molinifera. 



Downy. Populus heterophylla. 



Gray. Populua alba, var. caneacena. 



Lombardy. Populus foatigiota. 



Ontario. Populua balsamifera, var. candicana. 



Queensland. Carumbium populifolium. 



Rocky Mountain. Populua anguatifolia. 



Soft or Paper. Populus grandid&ntata. 



Western. Liriodendron Tulipiferum. 



White. Populua alba. 



Willow-leaved. Populua nigra, var. Salici- 

 folia. 



Yellow. Liriodendron Tulipiferum. 

 Poppy. The popular name of the genus Papa- 

 ver. 



Alpine. Papaver alpinum. 



Blue Himalayan. Meconopais aculeota. 



Blue. Wallich's. Meconopais Wallichii. 



Californian. Platyatemon Californicua, and the 

 genus Eachacholtzia. 



Carnation. A variety of Papaver somniferum. 



Cathcart's. Cathcartia villoaa. 



Caucasian. Scarlet. Papaver umbroaum. 



Celandine. Stylophorum diphyllum. 



Corn. Papaver RJiceas. 



' ' Frothy. " Silene inflata. 



Golden. Papaver croceum. 



Horned. Glaudum luteum. 



Iceland. A variety of Papaver nudicaule. 



Mexican or Prickly. Argemone Mexicana. 



Opium. Papaver somniferum. 



Oriental. Papaver orientale. 



Pseony. A variety of Papaver aomniferum. 



Plume. The genus Bocconia. 



Sea Side. Glaucium luteum. 



Tree. Dendromecon rigidum. 



Welsh. Meconopais Cambrica. 



Yellow Arctic. Papaver Nudicaule. 

 Poppy-Mallow. The genus Callirrhoe. 



Po'pulus. Poplar. Some derive the word Pop- 

 ulus from paipallo, to vibrate or shake ; 

 others suppose it obtained its name from be- 

 ing used in ancient times to decorate the 

 public places in Rome, where it was called 

 Arbor Populi, or the tree of the people. Nat. 

 Ord. SalicacecB. 



A genus of deciduous trees that attain a 

 considerable height, natives of temperate 

 climates of both hemispheres. They are 

 mostly of rapid growth, furnishing timber of 

 a soft, inferior quality. Among the best 



POR 



known and most commonly grown for orna- 

 mental and shade trees are P. faatigiata, the 

 Lombardy Poplar; P. tremuloides, American 

 Aspen ; and P. balsaminifera candicans, Balm 

 of Gilead. Of this species there is a very old 

 specimen at Newburgh, N. Y., supposed to be 

 one oi the largest in the United States. It is 

 a tree of magnificent proportions. It is over 

 one hundred years old, and the trunk is 

 nearly ten feet in diameter. It is one of the 

 attractions of that city. The Cotton Wood of 

 the Middle and Southern States is P. molini- 

 fera ; the California Cotton-wood is the com- 

 mon name of P. Fremontii. 



Pora'na. Said to be the native name in the 

 East Indies. Nat. Ord. Convolvulacece. 



A genus of twining, slender shrubs or 

 annuals, natives of the East Indies, the Ma- 

 layan Archipelago, and Australia. Of P. 

 racemoaa, introduced from India, in 1823, C. 

 B. Clarke says : " This is the ' Snow-creeper ' 

 of the English, one of the most beautiful of 

 Indian plants, the masses of dazzling white 

 flowers resembling snow-patches in the 

 jungle." Syn. Dinetua. 



Poranthe'ra. From poros, a pore or opening, 

 and anthera, an anther ; the anthers open by 

 pores. Nat. Ord. Euphorbiacece. 



A genus of ornamental green-house Aus- 

 tralian plants, only one of which, P. ericifolia, 

 is yet in cultivation. Its numerous white 

 flowers are borne in pedunculate racemes, 

 forming a dense, terminal, leafy corymb. It 

 was introduced in 1824, and is increased by 

 seeds. 



Pores. Apertures in the cuticle, through which 

 transpiration takes place, or apertures in the 

 anthers through which the pollen is ejected. 



Porlie'ria. Named after Andrew de Porlier, a 

 Spanish botanist. Nat. Ord. Zygophyllacece. 



A small genus of rigid shrubs with spread- 

 ing woody branches, natives of Texas, Mexico, 

 and South America. P. hygrometrica, the only 

 introduced species, is a most curious, as well 

 as ornamental shrub, the leaves of which 

 remain open in serene weather, and contract 

 before rain. It was introduced from Peru in 

 1820, and is propagated by cuttings. 



Porophyllus. Having porous leaves. 



Porphyreus. Of a warm reddish color. 



Po'rtea. A genus formed to include a few spe- 

 cies of Bromeliacece, formerly placed under 

 Billbergia and ^Echmea. 



Portenschla'gia. This genus is now included 

 with Elceodendron. 



Portla'ndia. Named after a Duchess of Port- 

 land, a distinguished patroness of botany. 

 Nat. Ord. Rubiacece. 



A small genus of green-house evergreen 

 shrubs, natives of the West Indies and Brazil. 

 They are rarely met in our green-houses, 

 which is to be regretted, as their flowers are 

 splendid ; they are long, pure white, trumpet- 

 shaped, borne in axillary clusters of from two 

 to four each. P. platantha, with pure white 

 flowers, introduced from Brazil in 1849, is of 

 dwarf habit, and is nearly a constant bloomer. 

 They all require a warm house, and are pro- 

 pagated by cuttings of young wood. Several 

 other species with scarlet or white flowers 

 are in cultivation. 



Portugal Laurel. Cerasua Lusitanica. 



