92 



ARDISIA 



AEECA 



a pea. Lvs. entire, dentate or crenate, thick and ever- 

 green : fls. white or rose, usually in cymes. Ardisias 

 are grown in hothouses or conservatories, and bloom 

 most of the year. 



There are about a dozen Ardisias in cultivation ; only 

 two, however, are grown in quantity in America,— jl. 

 crenulata (red-berried) and A. Japonica (white-ber- 

 ried). The former is the more beautiful and valuable. 

 It is one of the handsomest berry-bearing plants, and is 

 very popular, particularly at Christmas time. The A. 

 Japonica is not nearly so showy nor handsome as A. 

 crenulata, and for this reason is not so generally grown. 

 Ardisias are readily grown from seed, which should be 

 sown in the spring ; the seedlings will bloom the fol- 

 lowing spring, and the berries will be well colored by the 

 next Christmas. They will thrive in almost any good 

 potting compost and in a winter night temperature of 

 about 50°. They are most beautiful when about 2 feet 

 high, after which they generally lose their bottom fo- 

 liage, and present a naked or " leggy" appearance. When 

 they get in this state it is well to root the tops over 

 again, which may best be done without removing them 

 from the plant, by making an incision in the stem and 

 covering the wounded part with moss, which should be 

 tightly wrapped with string and kept damp ; the moss 

 will be filled with roots in about a month, when the tops 

 may be out off and potted, thus obtaining most beautiful 

 young plants, covered with foliage to the bottom. This 

 process will not interrupt the blooming at all; they fre- 

 quently set an abundance of buds while undergoing this 

 operation. The crop of berries on an Ardisia will re- 

 main on the plant for more than a year, if the plant be 

 grown in a cool temperature, say not exceeding ,50° at 

 night in winter. Two full crops of ripe berries at one 

 time are not unusual. Ardisias may be propagated also 

 from cuttings of half-ripened wood ; early spring is the 

 best time to strike them. The greatest insect enemy of 

 the Ardisia is the large brown scale ; frequent sponging 

 of the stems and lvs. with strong tobacco water is the 

 best preventive. Cult. by Egbert Ckaig. 



A. Fls. red or rose-colored. 



crenulata, Lodd. {A . cren&ta, Sims. A. crispa, 'Kort.). 

 Fig. 135. As cult., a compact and neat shrub, with lance- 

 oblong, wavy-margined, alternate lvs. and drooping 

 clusters of small coral-red frs. Sweet-scented. Prob- 



135, Ardisia crenulata (X ^). 



ably native to E. Ind. or China. B.M. 1950. L.B.C. 1:2. 

 Mn. 1:58. A. P. 13:558. — The commonest species. It 

 thrives in a conservatory temperature (not lower than 

 45°). Best plants are obtained from seeds. The young 

 plants should be given bottom heat and kept growing 

 rapidly. If they become stunted, it is very difficult to 



make them into satisfactory plants. Well-grown plants 

 should bear fruit in a year from the seed. The seed 

 may be sown whenever ripe. The fruits often hang on 

 for a year and more. Hardy in the South. 



hiimilis, Vahl. Lvs. lance-oblong, shining : frs. shin- 

 ing black. India. 



6liveri, Mast. Lvs. nearly sessile, recurved, oblanoeo- 

 late and acuminate, 6-8 in. long, entire : fls. pink, in 

 large, dense heads, like an Ixora, the limb rotate, J^in. 

 across. CostaBioa. G.C.II.8: 681.— Elegantstoveplaut. 



AA. Fls. white. 



Jap6nica, Blume. Lvs. short-oblong or somewhat cu- 

 neate, whorled, serrate : fls. on red pedicels in drooping 

 racemes : berries white. Dwarf. Jap. Probably hardy 

 in the North. 



polycfiphala, Wall. Lvs. bright green, red or wine- 

 colored when young, opposite : fr. black. E. Ind. 



AAA. Fls. black-dotted. 



Fickeringia, Torr. & Gray. Glabrous, 5-9 ft.: lvs. 

 ovate to lance-oblong, entire, narrowed to a petiole : 

 panicle many-fld. ; corolla lobes oval and becoming re- 

 flexed: fr. as large as peas. E. Pla. Int. 1891. 



A. unibelldta is offered in this country as coming from India. 

 The A. umbellata. Baker (of the botanists), is a Madagascar 

 plant, and it is doubtful if it is in cult, in this country. Species 

 with white fis. are A. acuminata, Willd., B.M. 1678 ; capitdta. 

 Gray ; mamilldta, "Hance ,- punctata, Roxbg. ; villbsa, Wall, 

 Species with red or reddish fls. are A. maerocdrpa. Wall., 

 B.M. 6357 ; paniculdta, Koxbg., B.M. 2364 ; serruldta, Swartz ; 



Wdtlichii, DO. 



L. H. B. 



AB£CA (from a native name in Malabar). Palmdcew, 

 tribe Arecetx. Spineless palms, with trunks solitary or 

 cespitose in a ring : lvs. terminal, equally pinnatisect, 

 the segments lanceolate, acuminate, plicate, with the 

 margins recurving at the base, the upper oue.s conflu- 

 ent and bifid or truncate and many-parted : rachis 3- 

 sided, convex on the back, the upper face acute, the 

 base and petiole concave : sheath elongated ; spadix 

 broad or narrow, the spreading branches at length pen- 

 dent : spathes 3 or many, papery, the lowest complete, 

 the upper ones bract-like ; fls. white : fr. medium or 

 large, red or orange. Specie.s, 24. Trop. Asia, Malay 

 Arch., Trop. Austral, and New Guinea. The name 

 Areoa is one of the most familiar of all palm genera, 

 but most of the well-known species are now referred to 

 other genera. A. lutescens, the most popular kind, is 

 Chrysalidocarpus lutescens. A. Catechu and A.trian- 

 dra are both very quick in germinating. They form very 

 ornamental plants for a moderate sized greenhouse. 

 ¥or A.aurea, see Dictyosperma. For A. Madagascur- 

 4nsis, see Difpsis. 



Aliceae, W. Hill. Sts. several from the same rhizome, 

 9 ft. or more high, slender: lvs. 3-G ft. long ; segments 

 acute, several confluent, especially at apex. Queensland. 



CAteohu, Linn. Betel Nut. St. solitary, 40-100 ft. : 

 lvs. 4-6 ft. ; leaflets numerous, 1-2 ft., upper confluent, 

 quite glabrous : fr. lJ^-2 in., ovoid, smooth, orange or 

 scarlet. Asia and Malayan Islands. 



ilsemanni, Hort. Resembles a red-stemmed Chrysa- 

 lidocarpus : young lvs. very dark red, becoming green; 

 fronds slender, arching, with curving pinnse. Ooeanica. 

 A.G. 20:223 (1899). 



triandra, Roxb. Trunk 40-50 ft. high, 1 ft. thick, cy- 

 lindrical : fronds 8 ft. long ; segments with 6 primary 

 nerves aboutl line apart; petiole about 1 ft. long. India. 



A.dlba, Bory.=Dictyospenua alba.— .4.. .Baiieri, Hook. f.= 

 Rhopalostylis Baueri.— A. eZefrantifisima, Hort. Tradename? 

 —A . furfurdcea, Hort ,=Dictyosperma f urfuracea. — A . gigantia, 

 Hort.=PinangaOernatensis.— A. ffrdci^is, Roxb. =Pinanga gra- 

 cilis.— A. gracilis, Thou.=Dypsis pinnatifrons.— A. grdcilis, 

 Giseke'^DrymophloBus appendiculatus.— A. luttscens, Bory.= 

 Chrysalidocarpus lutescens. —A.monos«^cAj/a,M.art.=Bacularia 

 monostaehya.— J., mimtdna, Hort. Trade name?— A. i\^i&Mn£r, 

 Griff .= Oncosperma filamentosiim.- A. olerdcea, Jacq.= Oreo- 

 doxa o\era.ma,.— A. pumila, Blume.=Nenga Wendlandiana.— 4. 

 riXbra, Hort.=Dictyosperma rubra.— A . rdbra, Bory.=Acantho- 

 phoenix rubra.— 4 . Sanderidna, Hort. Tradename ? — 4 . sdpida, 

 Soland,= Rhopalostylis sapida. — A . specibsa, Hort. Trade 

 name t — A. tigilldria, Jaclc.= Oncosperma fllamentosa. — A. 

 VerscliaffUtii, Hort.=Hyophorbe Verschaffeltii. 



Jared G. Smith. 



