AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



493 



WEI 



plants and flowers. It is safe to say there is 

 no shrub more deservedly popular, or one 

 that has been more rapidly disseminated. All 

 the species are ornamental, and should be 

 found in every collection of 'choice shrubs. 

 W. rosea is the original species ; its flowers 

 are produced in great profusion in axillary 

 clusters. W. amabilis, the largest of the spe- 

 cies, is looser and more spreading in hab- 

 it, with very dark-red flowers. W. hortensis 

 nivea, a species introduced from Japan in 

 1863, is one of the best. It is a vigorous 

 grower of drooping habit; the flowei-s are 

 pure white, produced in great abundance in 

 June and July, with occasional flowers dur- 

 ing the summer. W. rosea variegata is a 

 splendid variety, with variegated foliage 

 (green mottled with yellow), contrasting finely 

 with dark-leaved shrubs or evergreens. Many 

 new varieties have been introduced of late 

 years, chiefly crosses from W. grandiflora. 

 These have been given distinct names which 

 may be found in any general nursery cata- 

 logue. To make this genus flower freely they 

 should be well pruned in, during summer, 

 thus giving the shorter shoots so formed a 

 chance to ripen off. All the species are in- 

 creased by cuttings, which will grow if taken 

 off in autumn and planted in the open border. 

 Weigelias are sometimes placed botanically 

 under the genus Diervilla, which also includes 

 other species, our native D. trifida and D. ses- 

 siliflora being among them. 



Weinma'nnia. White Alder. Named after J. 

 W. Weinmann, of Ratisbon, author of several 

 botanical works. Nat. Ord. Saxifragacece. 



A large genus of plant-stove shrubs, natives 

 of the tropics, few of which are in cultivation. 

 The bark of some of the species has been used 

 in Peru for tanning leather, and it has also 

 been employed in the adulteration of Peruvian 

 Bark. Syn. Leiospermum. 



We'lfia. Named in honor of the last King 

 of Hanover. Welf or Guelph. Nat. Ord. Pal- 

 macece. 



A small genus of very beautiful Palms, 

 allied to Geonoma. The foliage has a peculiar 

 and beautiful bronzy color while unfolding. 

 In the younger stages the leaves are simply 

 bilobed ; but as the plants develop they be- 

 come pinnate. They are natives of Costa Rica 

 and New Grenada. Young plants are obtained 

 from seed. 



Wellingto'nia. A synonym of Sequoia, which 



see. 



"Welsh Onion. Allium fistulosum. 

 Welsh Poppy. See Meconopsis Cambrica. 



Welwi'tschia. Named in honor of D. Frederic 

 Welwitsch, a celebrated botanical traveler. 

 Nat. Ord. Gnetacece. 



W. mirabilis, the only species, is one of the 

 most remarkable productions of the vegetable 

 kingdom. It was discovered by Dr. Welwitsch 

 in the dry, sandy country of the Mossamedes, 

 in western Africa. The two leaves were at 

 first described as being simply persistent 

 cotyledons enormously developed, but such 

 is not the case ; the two cotyledons last for 

 some time, and then the true leaves appear. 

 They spring from two deep grooves in the 

 trunk, six feet or more in length, quite flat, 

 linear, very leathery, splitting with age into 

 innumerable thongs that lie curling on the 



WHI 



surface of the soil. The trunk is obconical, 

 about two feet long, rising a few inches only 

 above the soil, with the appearance of a flat 

 two-lobed depressed mass, sometimes four- 

 teen feet in circumference. When f uJly grown, 

 it is dark brown, hard and cracked, the lower 

 part forming a stout tap-root buried in the 

 soil. It was first introduced in 1868. 



Wendla'ndia. Named in honor of M. Wend- 

 land, a Hanoverian botanist. Nat. Ord. Ru- 

 biacecB. 



A genus consisting of trees or shrubs, na- 

 tives of the East Indies. The flowers, which 

 are white, pink or yellow, are borne in densely 

 flowered, terminal panicles. There are about 

 sixteen species described, of which some two 

 or three are in cultivation. They require 

 stove-house temperature, and are increased 

 by cuttings. 



Werne'ria. Named in honor of A. G. Werner, 

 Professor of Mineralogy at Friburg, 1750-1817. 

 Nat. Ord. Composites. 



A genus of dwarf perennial plants, natives 

 of the Andes of South America. W. rigida, 

 the only introduced species, thrives in a light 

 soil, and may be increased by division of the 

 roots. Syn. Doronicum Peruvianum. 



"Western Wall-Flower. This name has been 

 applied to the flowers of the Erysimum Arkan- 

 sanum (Treacle Mustard), because they are as 

 large as those of the Wall-Flower. See Ery- 

 simum. 



"Western Yew. A name given to Taxus brevi- 

 folia. 



West Indian Cabbage Palm. See Oreodoxa. 

 Whahoo or Winged Elm. See Ulmus alata. 

 Whangee or Wangee Cane. Phyllostachys 



nigra. 

 Wheat. See Triticum. 



Whin or Furze. The common name for Ulex 

 Europceus. 



Whin. Petty or Needle. The common name 



for Genista Anglica. 

 White Alder. One of the popular names of the 



genus Clethra, also given to Platylophus trifo- 



liata which see. 

 White Ash. See Fraxinus. 

 White Bladder Flower. A name applied to 



Physianthus albens. 

 White Cedar. A name applied to Thuya occi- 



dentalis and Cupressus thyoides. 

 White Clover. See Trifoliumrepens. 

 White Cypress. Taxodium distichum. 

 White Daisy, Ox-Eye Daisy. See Leucanthe- 



mum vulgare. 



White Hellebore. See Veratrum viride. 

 White Laurel. See Magnolia glauca. 

 White Lettuce. Rattlesnake Root. The popu- 

 lar name of the common weed Nabalus albus. 

 White Oak. See Quercus. 

 White Pine. See Pinus Strobus. 



White Snake Root. See Eupatorium Agera- 



toides. 



White Spruce. See Abies alba. 

 White Thorn. Hawthorn. See Cratcegua. 

 White Water Lily. See Nymphcea. 

 White Weed. See Leucanthemum vulgare. 



