450. 



HENDEKSON'S^ HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



TES 



Testaceous. Brownish-yellow ; resembling un^ 

 glazed earthenware in color. 



Testudina'ria. Elephant's Foot. From testudo, 

 a. tortoise ; resemblance of the outside roots. 

 Nat. Ord. DioscoreaceoB. 



A very singular genus of plants, with enor- 

 mous scaly roots above ground, some of the 

 species resembling an elephant's foot, whence 

 the common name. From these roots arise, 

 slender, climbing stems to the height of thirty 

 or forty feet, with small, heart-shaped leaves, 

 and axillary racemes of inconspicuous, green- 

 ish-yellow flowers. The plants are natives of 

 the Cape of Good Hope, and are rarely met 

 in collections. 



Tetra. This term, used in Greek compounds, 

 signifies four ; as Tetraphyllous, four-leaved ; 

 Tetrapterous, four-winged, etc. 



Tetrago'nia. New Zealand Spinach. From 

 tetra, four, and gonia, an angle ; in allusion to 

 the fruit being four-angled. Nat. Ord.'. Ficoi- 

 dece. 



Plants not worth cultivating, except T. ex~- 

 pansa, which is grown as a substitute for 

 Summer Spinach. See New Zealand Spinach. 



Tetragoni'aceae. A natural order included un- 

 der Ficoidece as a sub-order. 



Tetrane'ma. From tetra, four, and nema, a fila- 

 ment; the genus is characterized by having 

 four stamens. Nat. Ord. Scrophulariacece. 



T. Mexicana, the Mexican Fox-glove, is a 

 very pretty, dwarf, perennial plant, blooming 

 all summer. The flowers are purplish-violet, 

 variegated with a paler color. It has been in 

 cultivation since 1843, and is readily increased 

 by seeds or by divisions. 



Tetra'pterys. From tetra, four, and pteron, a 

 wing ; the carpels are each four- winged. Nat. 

 Ord. Malpighiacew. 



A large genus of generally climbing, plant- 

 stove shrubs, natives of tropical America. 

 The flowers are yellow or reddish and borne 

 in umbels or racemes, often panicled and gen- 

 erally terminal. Several species have been 

 introduced, but they are difficult to bloom in 

 .cultivation. 



Tetraquetrous. Having four very sharp and 

 almost winged corners or angles. 



Tetrastichous. Having a four-cornered spike. 



Tetrathe'ca. From tetra four, and theke, a cell ; 

 the anthers are sometimes four-celled. Nat. 

 Ord. Tremandracece. 



A genus of nearly twenty, species of very 

 pretty, small, green-house plants, natives of 

 Australia. They resemble Heaths in general 

 appearance and require the same treatment. 

 Propagation is effected by cuttings of the 

 young wood when partially firm. T. verticil- 

 lata is now called Platytheca galioides. 



Teu'crium. Germander, Wood Sage. Named 

 after Teucer, a Trojan prince, who first used it 

 medicinally. Nat. Ord. Labiatce. 



Hardy, half-hardy and tender perennial, bi- 

 ennial, annual and shrubby plants, the smaller 

 kinds of which are suitable for rock-work. 

 Some of the kinds are showy border flowers, 

 and others handsome, green-house shrubs, par- 

 ticularly those that are natives of Madeira. 

 T. Betonicum is, perhaps, one of the best of 

 these, as it has loose spikes of fragrant crim- 

 son flowers. T. Canadense, American Ger- 

 mander, is common in low grounds, along 



THA 



fence-rows or waste places. It is a species 

 that will become troublesome if not. external-, 

 nated. It is not - worthy a place in the 

 garden. 



Teysma'nnia. Named in honor of J. E. Teys- 

 mann, directoi of the botanic garden at Buit- 

 enzorg; Java, by whom T. albifrons, the sole 

 representative of the genus, was discovered. 

 Nat. Ord. Palmacece. 



As a genus it is closely allied to Corypha, 

 from which it differs mainly in habit, its 

 leaves bearing more resemblance in shape to 

 those of the Musa than to either of the ordi- 

 nary forms of Palm leaves. The inhabitants 

 of Sumatra call this Palm the Beluwan or Bel- 

 awan; and use its leaves for thatching their 

 houses, for which, from their large size and 

 entire form, they are admirably adapted. 



Texan Pride. A local name for Phlox Drum- 

 mondii. 



Thalamus. The receptacle in a flower; the 

 part' on which the carpels are placed. 



Tha'lia. Named in honor of J. Thalius, sC Ger- 

 man physician. Nat. Ord. Scitaminece. 



A small genus of aquatic plants, natives of 

 South Carolina and the West Indies. T. deal- 

 bata is one of the most stately of all hardy 

 aquatics, quite different from the Cannas, to 

 which, however, it is closely related. It is a 

 native of South Carolina, and its glaucous 

 foliage, and elegant panicles of purple flowers, 

 render it a most desirable plant for the cool 

 aquarium with the various Nymphceaa, Cannas, 

 Cyperus, Papyrus and other water plants. 



Thali'ctrum. Meadow Eue. From thallo, to 

 grow green ; in allusidn to the color of the 

 young shoots. Nat. Ord. Ranunculacece. 



A genus of hardy, herbaceous plants, com- 

 mon throughout the United States and Europe. 

 None of our native species have been much 

 introduced into the flower garden, although 

 many of them are worthy of a place there. T. 

 'alpinum is a dwarf species with white or yellow 

 flowers, and makes a pretty plant for rock- 

 work. There are several of the species that 

 .are grown for the same purpose. T. aquilegi- 

 folium, a native of Austria, is a very pretty 

 border plant, with light purple flowers. It is 

 propagated by division or from seeds. T. 

 adiantifolium and T. minus are most desirable 

 species, forming compact tufts from twelve to 

 eighteen inches high, very symmetrical and 

 of a slightly glaucous hue. They may be 

 grown altogether for their leaves, which are 

 pretty enough to pass, when mingled with 

 cut flowers, for some of the finer species 

 of Maiden-hair Ferns ; they are, moreover, 

 stiffer and more lasting than Fern fronds. 

 .For this purpose, the flower steins, which 

 appear in May and June, should be pinched 

 off to encourage the growth of the leaves. 

 2*. tuberosum grows about nine inches high. In 

 addition to its graceful foliage it has an addi- 

 tional beauty in the abundant mass of yellow- 

 ish; cream-colored flowers which it produces. 

 T. anemonoides is the Eue Anemone, one of the 

 most charming, as well as one of the earliest 

 of our native spring flowers. 



Thallogens. A name applied by Lindley and 

 others to comprise those cryptogams which 

 are extremely simple in their structure, and 

 exhibit nothing like the green leaves of the 

 phoenogams. They include the two vast tribes 



