470 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



UNI 



Uni'ola. Sea-side Oat. From unus, one ; so 

 called by Linnaeus, owing to the union of the 

 glumes. Nat. Ord. Graminacece. 



A genus of grasses, natives principally of 

 the Southern States. U. paniculata and U. lati- 

 folia are very ornamental and well worthy of 

 cultivation. The dried spikes, both natural and 

 dyed in different colors, are much used in 

 bouquets, etc., of dried flowers and grasses. 

 U. Palmeri, collected near the mouth of the 

 Colorado liiver, by Mr. Palmer, and described 

 by him, is interesting as supplying the Indians 

 of that section with a large amount of grain. 

 " They come together at the proper season, in 

 April, and gather this, to them, important 

 article of food. As its quantity depends on 

 the overflow of the tides, and the tides are 

 sure lo occur, they have an assured crop with- 

 out any other labor than gathering and caring 

 for the grain. * * * The grain has to be 

 cut when a little green because of the easy 

 separation of the spikelets. In order to dry 

 the heads as quickly as possible large fires 

 are made, and the heads are piled around so 

 that the flames penetrate between them. 

 When they have been sufficiently exposed to 

 the fire a stick is used to thrash the heads, 

 which breaks up the spikelets, but does not 

 separate the chaff or glumes from the grain. 

 The dried and dissevered spikelets are then 

 taken to a piece of ground prepared for the 

 purpose, and the Indians tread upon and rub 

 the grain between their feet until the seeds 

 are shelled out. 



" This process is more easily accomplished 

 after the grain has been exposed a while to 

 the wun, but in any case it is pretty trying to 

 the feet because of the sharp, stiff points of 

 the chaff. The action of the tide knocks off 

 and carries away considerable of the grain, 

 but this is left in rows at the edge of the con- 

 tiguous dry land, and the Indians gather 

 much of it and rub it out. They have to be 

 expeditious in their harvest, as wind storms 

 are liable to arise and destroy or injure the 

 product of their labors." Garden and Forest. 



Upas Tree. See Antiaris toxicaria. 



Ura'nia. Traveler's Tree. From ouranios, sub- 

 lime; in allusion to the stateliness of the 

 tree. Nat. Ord. Scitaminece. 



U. speciosa, the only known representative 

 of this genus, was formerly called Ravenala 

 Madagascariensis. It is a magnificent plant, 

 having a palm-like appearance, and is called 

 in Madagascar the Traveler's Tree, because 

 the base of the leaves, when cut, yield an 

 abundant and refreshing juice, with which 

 travelers allay their thirst. The leaves are of 

 gigantic size, somewhat like those of Musa 

 Ensete, but arranged in two rows on opposite 

 sides of the stems. Young plants are obtained 

 by suckers or from seed. 



TJrceo'la. A genus of Apocynacece, consisting 

 of one species. U. elastica, a large, climbing, 

 milky-juiced shrub or tree, frequently with a 

 trunk as thick as a man's body, found only in 

 Borneo, Sumatra, and other islands of the 

 Eastern Archipelago, where its milky juice is 

 collected and forms an inferior kind of Caout- 

 chouc. It produces a fruit about the size of 

 an orange, much relished both by the natives 

 and by European residents. 



Urceolate. Pitcher-shaped, contracted at the 

 mouth. 



UKO 



Urceoli'na. Urn-Flower. From urceolus, a 

 small cup or pitcher; in allusion to the 

 smallness of the cup, or nectary, inside the 

 flower. Nat. Ord. Amaryllidacece. 



A small genus of handsome, summer-bloom- 

 ing, Peruvian bulbs. The flowers are yellow, 

 red and green. They grow freely in the open 

 border and require a long season of rest. 

 They may be kept during winter like the 

 Tigridias, and planted out in the border after 

 all danger from frost is past. They were 

 introduced in 1837, and are propagated by 

 offsets. Syn. Pentlandia. 



Urens. Stinging. 



Urgi'nea. From the name of an Arab tribe, 

 Ben Urgin, in Algeria. Nat. Old. LiliacecB. 



A genus of over twenty bulbous plants of 

 little interest. The bulbs of U. maritima, the 

 old Scilla maritima, are known in medicine 

 as Squills. The species are natives of the 

 Mediterranean region, and have large bulbs, 

 whence proceed the leaves and long-stalked 

 racemes of flowers, the latter, however, being 

 produced first. 



Urn Flower. See Urceolina. 



Urope'dium. From oura, a tail, and podion, a 

 slipper ; in allusion to the long-tailed petals. 

 Nat. Ord. Orchidacece. 



A genus of terrestrial Orchids nearly re- 

 lated to Cypripedium. It consists of only one 

 described species, U. Lindeni, a native of New 

 Grenada, which is found growing at an eleva- 

 tion of 8,500 feet above the sea level. It dif- 

 fers from Cypripedium in its broader, flattened 

 lip, and extremely long-tailed petals. The 

 leaves are about a foot long, oblique at the 

 extremity, shining, and fleshy in texture. 

 The flowers are solitary, produced on long 

 peduncles ; the sepals are ovate-lanceolate, 

 yellow, streaked with orange ; the petals are 

 linear-lanceolate, extended into a long, nar- 

 row tail, a foot or more in length, and purple- 

 orange at the base. This is a remarkable and 

 very interesting plant, which should find a 

 place in every collection. It was introduced 

 in 1849, and requires the same treatment as 

 Cypripedium. This genus is included by some 

 authorities under Selenipedium. 



Urope'talum. From oura, a tail, and petalon, a 

 petal ; the petals are lengthened into tail-like 

 appendages. Nat. Ord. Liliacece. 



A small genus of Cape bulbs, very singular 

 and interesting. The flowers are green, or 

 green and orange, borne on slender scapes in 

 terminal racemes. They are tender, and 

 must be kept warm and dry during winter, 

 and planted out in the border in early spring. 

 They were first introduced in 1808, and are 

 propagated by offsets. Syn. Dipcadi. 



Uroski'nnera Spectabilis is the sole representa- 

 tive of a Central American genus of Scrophu- 

 lariacece, named in honor of Mr. G. Ure Skin- 

 ner, who introduced so many new plants from 

 Central America to our gardens. It is an 

 undershrub somewhat resembling in habit 

 certain Gesneracece,, and covered in all parts 

 with soft hairs. The rosy-violet, rather 

 large flowers, are arranged in terminal, 

 crowded panicles, and supported by filiform 

 bracts. It was introduced from Mexico in 

 1856, and may be increased by cuttings in 

 heat. 



