130 



BAMBOO 



BANANA 



28. P. atirea, A. and C. Rivifere (B. aurea, Hort.). 

 Height 10-15 ft. : stems straight, yellowish ; internodes 

 at the base remarkably short : Ivs. narrowed from near 

 the base to the apex, minutely and regularly serrate on 

 only one border, usually 2-4 in. long and %in. wide, but 

 variable, light green, glabrous ; sheaths deciduous, 

 Ynarked with purple. Japan. Gn. 8, p. 206. A. P. 5:il. 

 —The name is not distinctive, as others of the Phyllo- 

 stachys group have yellowish stems. Hardier and easier 

 of cult, than P. mltis. 



AAA. Color of sterns green, often yellowish when ripe, 



B. ffeight. 6-18 ft. 



C. Jyvs. spotted with l)rown. 



29. P. Quilioi, A. and C. RiviJre (B. Qullioi, Hort. B. 

 Jfas^ii, Hort.). Height sometimes 18 ft.: habit looser 

 than in P. mitis or aurea : 



stems arched : Ivs. much 

 larger and especially 

 broader than in any other 

 Phyllostachys, the largest 

 8 in. long, 1% in. wide, the 

 serration of one edge con- 

 spicuous ; Ivs. dark green, 

 often spotted brown, very 



Phyllostachys nigra. 



glaucous beneath ; leaf-sheaths a peculiar feature, be- 

 ing pinkish brown, deeply mottled with purple spots. 

 Cult. S. and in Calif. —Rare. 



00. Bvs. not spotted with brown. 

 D. Babit sliqhtly zigzag. 



30. P. Hendnis, Mitford (B. Sendnis, Hort.). Height 

 6-15 ft. : stems arched : Ivs. 2-3 in. long, a little under 

 %m. broad, narrowed below the middle to the base and 

 long attenuate at the apex, bright green ; sheaths decid- 

 uous, yellowish, inclined to purplish: internodes 5-6 in. 

 long near the base and middle of the stem, distinctly 

 grooved with a double furrow. Japan.— This is Mit- 

 ford's favorite Bamboo. 



DD. Sahit strongly zigzag. 



31. P. viridi-glauoSscens, A. and C. Riviere (-B. viridi- 

 glauc4scens, Carr. ). Height 10-18 ft. : -stems slender, 

 zigzag, arched, bright green at first, fading as they ripen 

 to a dingy yellow : Ivs. 3-4 in. long, about J^in. wide or 

 little more, bright green above, whitened below. China. 

 Gn. 7, p. 279. G.C. III. 15:433 ; 18:183.-The name is 

 unfortunate because not distinctive, as all Bamboos have 

 green Ivs. with more or less whitened lower surfaces. 

 Very hardy and common. 



32. P, bamhusoldes, Sieb. & Zucc. Height about 5 ft. 

 in the second year : stems zigzag, green at first, ripen- 

 ing to yellow, the branch-bearing side flattened rather 

 than grooved, as in other species of Phyllostachys : in- 

 ternodes long in proportion to length of stem, sometimes 

 8 in. : branches in 3's, the longest at the middle of the 

 St., and only about 9 in.: Ivs. of various sizes, the 

 largest 8 in. long, 1% in. wide, edges serrate, sharply on 

 one side. Jap. — Cult, by Dr. Pranceschi, Santa Bar- 

 bara, Calif. 



BB. Height ^ ft. or less : habit zigzag. 



33. P. ruaoildlia, Hort. Kew. (P. Kumasdca, Munro, 

 P. Kumasdsa, Mitford. B. ruscifdlia, Sieb. B. vimi- 

 ndlis, Hort.). Height lM-2 ft. : stems zigzag, dark green; 

 sheaths purple : Ivs. 2-3 in. long, about 1 in. wide, ovate 

 in outline. Jap. G.C. III. 15: 369. G.C. III. 18: 189.- 

 The stem is channeled on the branching side, almost 

 solid : nodes 1-2 in. apart : branches in 3's and 4's, 

 not more than 1-13^ in. long.— Dwarf est species of 

 Phyllostachys. c. D. Beadle. 



The following are trade names in America of rare kinds : 

 B. agr^stis, Poir. India, CocMn China. Adv. by Yokohama 

 Nurs. Co.— -F. arg^tea, Hort.=B. argentea-striata, Regel l—B. 

 aureO'Stridia, Regel. Jap. — A. foliis-variegdtis, Hort., is pre- 

 sumably A. Fortune!, the commonest low-growing, variegated 

 Arundinaria. — B. Marlidcea, Hort. Adv. by Yokohama Nurs. 



Co. as a "wrinkled 

 Bamboo." Doubstles 

 named after M. La- 

 tour Marliac, the cele- 

 brated French hybri- 

 dizer of water-lilies, 

 and dealer in Bam- 

 boos and aquatics. — 

 D. meTnbrandceus, 

 Munro. Height at- 

 taining 60-70 ft.: Ivs. 

 4-5 in. long, 4-6 lines 

 wide, roundish or narrowed at the base, mucronate, 

 rough above and ou the margin, hairy below, petio- 

 late. Burma. Rare. Adv. by Dr. Franceschi, Santa 

 Barbara, Calii.— F. heteroc^ola, Carr., the "Tor- 

 toise Shell Bamboo," is really an abnormal or 

 malformed condition of several species, especially 

 P. mitis, aurea and nigra, as explained in G.C. III. 

 24; 92. For the first foot or two above ground each 

 intemode is long on one side and very short on the other, 

 which makes a grotesque appearance. M. 160. G.C. III. 15: 559. 

 —A. Metdke, Sieb.=A. Japonica.— A. Narihira, Hort., Yoko- 

 hama Nurs. Co., is presumably A. Simoni.— .B. orientdlis, 

 Nees. E.Ind. Adv. by Dr. Franceschi, Santa Barbara, Calif., 

 who regards it as a form of B. arundinacea, with Ivs. larger 

 and velvety to the touch. It forms clumps quickly.- P. giiad- 

 ranguldris., Hort., Yokohama Nurs. Co.=B. quadrangularis ?— 

 J3. scriptdria, Dennst. (Beesha Rheedei, Kunth)=Melocanna 

 bambusoides, Trin. This was John Saul's favorite hardy 

 Bamboo at Washington in 1890, but is no longer advertised. 

 — B. striatifdlia, var. aurea, Hort., John Saul, 1890, an aban- 

 doned trade name never recognized by botanists. — B. striata, 

 Hort., Saul, 1890, an old trade name, probably not B. stricta, 

 Eoxb.— 1>. strictus, Nees. Int. 1889, by Reasoner Bros., Oneco, 

 Fla., and now adv. by Dr. Franceschi, Santa Barbara, Calif. 

 Height 50-60 ft.: sts.Sin.indiam. The true species flowers every 

 year. Ind.— B. variegdta, Sieb.^A. Fortune!. — B . verticilldta, 

 Hort. Franceschi. Height 15-20 ft. : stems orange-yellow : Ivs. 

 iu whorls, striped white. y^^ ]y[^ 



BANANA (Miosa sapiintium, Linn., chiefly). Scit- 

 amindcece. This very valuable tropical plant is prized 

 for its fruit, textile fiber, and decorative effect in land- 

 scape gardening. Most species are cultivated for their 

 fruit, and one or two species for fiber— although all 

 sorts have a fiber of considerable value. Every spe- 

 cies is worthy a place in decorative planting. For an 

 account of the species and their ornamental values, see 

 Mttsa. 



The species mostly in demand for fruiting seldom or 

 never produce seeds, and naturally increase by suckers 

 around the base of each plant. These form a large 

 clump, if allowed to grow without care. They are most 

 readily separated from the parent root-stalk by a spade, 

 and are then fit for further planting. This is a slow pro- 

 cess of increase, but it is sure, and the suckers so pro- 

 duced make large and vigorous plants. A quicker 

 method of propagation is to cut the entire root-stalk 

 into small, wedge-shaped pieces, leaving the outer sur- 

 face of the root about 1 by 2 inches iu size, planting 

 in light, moist soil, with the point of the wedge down 

 and the outer surface but slightly covered. The best 

 material for covering these small pieces is fine peat, old 

 leaf-mold, mixed moss and sand, or other light material 

 which is easily kept moist. The beds so planted should 

 be in full open sunshine if in a tropical climate, or given 

 bottom heat and plenty of light in the plant-house. The 

 small plants from root-cuttings should not be allowed to 

 remain in the original bed longer than is necessary to 

 mature one or two leaves, as that treatment would stunt 

 them, The textile and ornamental species, also, may be 



