108 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OP PLANTS 



ORE 



A genus of large evergreen spreading trees, 

 ■with large solitary flowers, rising from the 

 trunk or branches. They are all natives of 

 tropical America, and are increased by cut- 

 tings of the ripened wood. C. Cwjete, is the 

 Calabash Tree. 



Cress. Garden. See Lepidium. 

 American or Land. Barbarea prcecox. This 

 much resembles Water Cress in flavor ; the 

 leaves may be used for the same purposes 

 as common Cress. 

 Indian. Tropceolum mnjvs. 

 Water. See Nasturliwm officinale. 



Cre'ssa. From cressa, a native of Crete ; the plant 

 is plentiful there. Nat. Ord. ConvolvulacoB. 



A curious little annual, rarely seen in our 

 collections. The flowers are funnel-shaped, 

 of a lively purple, and freely produced. It 

 requires but little care or nursing, if planted 

 in a light, rich soil. There is but one species, 

 C. Crelica, which is a native of the Levant. 

 Introduced in 1822. 



Crested. Having an elevated, irregular, or 

 notched ridge resembling the crest of a hel- 

 met ; a stamen is crested when the filament 

 projects beyond the anther and becomes 

 dilated. This term is chiefly applied to seeds, 

 and to the appendages of anthers. It also 

 belongs to bracts which form with their edges 

 an appearance like that of a crest. The term 

 is often applied to the Moss Bose. 



Crested Dog-tail Grass. See Cynosurus. 



Crimson Flag. See Schisostylis. 



Crimson Trefoil. Trifoliwm incarnaivm. An 

 annual species, used largely in Italy and the 

 south of France for feeding green. The yield 

 in fodder is immense, as, in warm climates, 

 four to five cuttings can be made in a season. 

 The blossoms are long, pointed, and of a deep 

 red or carmine color. 



Cri'num. From krinon, the Greek name of the 

 Lily. Nat. Ord. Amaryllidcuxce. 



This is a fine genus of bulbous plants, grow- 

 ing from a foot and a half to five feet in height. 

 The flowers are large, produced freely in 

 umbels, and many of them are richly scented 

 and of pleasing colors. To grow them well 

 they should be potted in rich loam full of 

 fibrous matter, and, in the early part of the, 

 growing season, they should have the benefit 

 of a moderate bottom heat, with abundance of 

 water every day, and an additional soaking of 

 liquid manure about once a week. In winter, 

 of course, this must be discontinued, and the 

 plants placed where they may receive all the 

 light possible, in order to mature the new 

 growth and induce them to flower freely the 

 following season. C. amabile is a noble spe- 

 cies, requiring to be grown in a strong heat. 

 The bulbs grow six to eight inches in diameter, 

 and two feet long, and sometimes produce, 

 both spring and fall, immense spikes of dark 

 purple flowers, of delicious fragrance. This 

 species is a native of the East Indies, and was 

 introduced in 1810. The genus is very large, 

 and the species are found in nearly all tropical 

 and sub-tropical countries. Propagated by 

 offsets. 



Ciispate, Crispus. When the edge is exces- 

 sively and irregularly divided and puckered ; 

 also when the surface is much puckered and 

 crumpled. Well-known examples are afforded 

 by Curled Parsley, Curled Endive, Curled 



CBO 



Kale, etc. Crispate Is also a diminutive of 

 Bullate, which see. 



Crista'ria. From crista, a crest ; in reference to . 

 the form of the seed vessel. Nat. Ord. Mal- 

 vaeece. 



A pretty hardy herbaceous perennial from 

 the Southwestern States, producing quite 

 showy scarlet flowers in terminal racemes or 

 clusters. Propagated by division of the roots 

 or from seeds, which however require some 

 time to produce flowering plants. 



Croceus, Crocatus. Saffron-colored. 



Croco'smia. From crocus, saffron, and osme, 

 smell ; alluding to the odor of saffron exhaled 

 by the dried flowers, when immersed in warm 

 water. Nat. Ord. Iridacece. 



O. aurea, the only species, is a beautiful 

 Ixia-like plant, with large, deep orange-colored 

 flowers, somewhat resembling those of the 

 crocus in form. The corms are fleshy, like 

 those of the Tritonia, in which genus it was 

 formerly included ; it can be grown in the 

 cold frame, and is increased by offsets. 



Cro'ous. A Chaldean name, applied by Theo- 

 phrastus. Nat. Ord. Iridacece. 



Of this well-known genus there are many 

 species, mostly found in the southern and 

 eastern parts of Europe, and in Asia Minor. 

 As a garden flower the species are almost 

 entirely lost sight of in the large number of 

 varieties that have been produced by hybrid- 

 izing. They are divided into two classes : the 

 first, those that flower in early spring, too 

 well known to need description ; the second, 

 the autumnal-flowering or naked Crocus, so 

 called because the flowers are produced in the 

 absence of leaves, which, with the seeds, are 

 produced in the spring. The spring-flowering 

 Crocus is of the easiest culture, and we need 

 only remark that it is a mistake to put them 

 into poor ground, since no plants in our gar- 

 dens delight more in, or make greater returns 

 for, rich soil. They require a dry situation, 

 and in such a place and soil they flower pro- 

 fusely. The bulbs or corms should be planted 

 at least three inches deep; for, as the new 

 corm forms above the old one, they will, in 

 three or four years, push themselves out of 

 the ground if planted too near the surface. As 

 often as once in three years the corms should 

 be taken up, separated, and planted out as 

 .quickly as possible; the longer they are left 

 out of ground the weaker they become, and 

 the later they will come into bloom. In start- 

 ing a new bed the corms should be planted as 

 soon as they can be obtained, which is usually 

 about the first of September. If left until 

 November, as is the too common practice, 

 very few will flower strongly the coming sea^- 

 son, and none satisfactorily. When left in 

 the ground, they commence new life about the 

 first of September, and before winter they 

 have their preparations for spring work com- 

 plete; the flower buds will be nearly their 

 full length above the bulb, ready for the first 

 sunny days in March to break forth into 

 bloom. One of the peculiarities of the Crocus 

 is, that when they are in flower, the germen, 

 or seed vessel, is still under ground, almost 

 close to the bulb ; and it is not till some weeks 

 after the flower has decayed that it emerges 

 on a white peduncle, and ripens its seeds 

 above the ground. The situation for the Cro- 

 cus bed should be a warm one, and before 



