COLLOMIA 



COLOR 



353 



is applied tiiey dart forward at right angles with the 

 testa, each carrying with it a sheath of mucus, in which 

 it for a long time remains enveloped in a membranous 

 case." 



COLOCASIA (old Greek substantive name). Ardidece. 

 Perennial herbs with cordate-peltate Ivs., which are 

 often handsomely colored in cultivation. Differs from 

 Alocasia and Caladium in floral characters : spadlx ter- 

 minating in a club-shaped or subulate appendage desti- 

 tute of stamens. Species 5. Tropics. Monogr. by Engler, 

 DC. Phaner. Monogr. 2: 490. 



Colocasia includes the plants known as Caladium es- 

 culentiim, which are much grown for subtropical bed- 

 ding. C, odorata {which is an Alocasia) has very large, 

 thick stems, which may be wintered over safely without 

 ivs., or at most with 1 or 2, the stems, to save space, 

 being placed close together in boxes. C. esculenta rests 

 during the winter and is kept under a greenhouse bench 

 or anywhere out of the reach of frost or damp. Rich, 

 damp ground suits both kinds. Of easy culture. Con- 

 sult Caladium for treatment. 



Colocasias furnish the much-cultivated Tare of the 

 Pacific tropics, this edible product being the large, 

 starchy roots. Prom it is made the Poi of Hawaii. In 

 Japan and other countries the tubers of Colocasias are 

 much cultivated, and are handled and eaten much as we 

 use potatoes (see Georgeson, A.G. 1892:81). The young 

 Ivs. of some kinds are boiled and eaten. 



antiqudrum, Sehott. Lvs. peltate-ovate : basal lobes 

 half as long as the apical one, connate %-% their length, 

 separated by a broad, triangular, obtusish sinus. India. 

 B.M.7364. 



Var. euchldra, Sehott (C. euchldra, C. Koch). Petioles 

 violet ; blade black-green, with violet margins. 



Var. F6ntanesii, Sehott (Aloeisia violdcea, Hort. 

 Gakldium violiicenm, Hort. G. albo-violdceum , Hort.?). 

 Petioles violet ; blade dull green, with violet margins. 



Var. illustris, Engl. ( C. ilhistris, Hort. ) . Petioles vio- 

 let ; blade more oblong-ovate, with black-green spots 

 between the primary veins. 



Var. esculenta, Sehott (Calddium. escuUnhim, Vent. 

 Colocdsia esctiUnta, Sehott). Elephant's Eak. Fig. 

 522. Spadix with an appendage half as long as the 

 staminate inflorescence ; lvs. bright green, often 3 ft. 

 or more long, nearly as wide. Hawaii and Fiji. 



aHlnis, Sehott. Blade thin, membranaceous, rounded- 

 ovate or ovate, the apical lobe scarcely K or /^ longer 

 than wide ; basal lobes connate nearly their entire 

 length, bright green above, glaucous beneath ; blade 

 only 4-6 in. long. Himalaya. 



Var. Jgnningsii, Engl. (Aloc&sia Jinningsii, Veitch). 

 Petiole purplish, with transverse purple lines ; blade 

 cordate, emarginate, with large, oblong or triangular 

 black-green or black-violet spots between the primary 

 lateral veins. I.H. 16:585. F.S. 17:1818-19. 



N6o-Guin6nsis, Lind. Remarkable for its tufted habit, 

 the shortness of the leaf-stalks, its short-stalked 

 inflorescence, and the beautiful green tone of its 

 smooth and shiny lvs., spotted with creamy white. 

 New Guinea. I.H. 27:380. 



M^rchalli, Engler {Alocd,sia Mdrohalli, Hort. 

 A. hybrida, Bull). Hybrid, probably of G. affinis 

 and G. anfiquorum. Larger in all parts than C. 

 affinis, the petioles pale green, very slightly 

 emarginate, with large, confluent spots. 



C. Bataviensis = Alocasia Bataviensis ? — C. Cava- 

 casdna, Engler = Xanthosoma.— G. Javanica, Hort. 

 = ? — G. Mafdffa, Hort.=Xaiitliosoma.— O. margindta, 

 Hort.=CaIadium bieolor.— C. odbra. BroTign.=Alocasia 

 odora, Koch. Tree-like, the stem or caudex 3-6 ft. and 6 

 in. in diam. ; lvs. green, cordate, stalked, bearing pe- 

 duncles in pairs in their axils. E. Asia. B.M. 3935. 

 — C. odorata, Hort.=Alocasia macrorrhiza. 



Jaked G. Smith and G. W. Oliver. 



COLOCYNTH. See Gitrullus. 



red, crimson, magenta, purple, violet, and ultramarine 

 blue. The variation of these hues is, however, mani- 

 fold. Diluted with white, or mixed with one another, 

 colors assume an infinite number of phases not easily 

 described (Pig. 523). But the generic character of flower 

 colors is certainly comprehended in the few names 

 given above. Color-names are of little consequence so 

 long as the color is identified. Unfortunately, scien- 

 tists and artists have not yet established a standard no- 

 menclature of color, so that the name of a particular hue 

 is largely determined by popular opinion, and that, of 

 course, is not always unanimous. 



It is, therefore, necessary to accept both popular and 

 scientific estimates of color if colors are to be considered 

 in relation to flowers. The scientific definition of a color 

 like scarlet, magenta, or violet amounts to its identifica- 

 tion with certain lines in the spectrum. Such definitions 

 are properly given in the Century Dictionary. They are 

 satisfactory so far as they go, but the relation of colors 

 in the spectrum to flower petals or artists' pigments is 

 not so satisfactorily determined. Apparently the stan- 

 dard of the spectrum must be supplemented by another of 

 a more tangible nature— that is, a standard of pigment 

 color. But it is just as well to substitute a flower petal 

 for a pigment, and if this is done, the result would be 

 about this : 



Yellow. — Evening primrose. 



Gold-yellow.— Pure gold calendula or deep yellow 

 calendula. 



Orange.— Deep-hued eschscholtzia and orange nas- 

 turtium. 



Scarlet.— Mme. Crozy canna. 



Red. — Portia carnation. 



Crimson.— Deep-hued sweet-william and peeony. 



Magenta. —Deep purplish red cineraria. 



Purple.- Deep-toned larkspur, aster, and cineraria. 



Violet.— Deep-toned English violets. 



Ultramarine blue.— New compact blue delphinium. 



Pure green is best represented by the artists' pigment 

 called emerald-green; it is rarely present in foliage, ex- 

 cept perhaps in spring. 



If the simple colors, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, 

 and green, are arranged in acircle (Fig. 524), the colors 

 opposite each other harmonize by reason of absolute 

 contrast. ; 



If these simple colors are subdivided into 

 intermediate hues (Fig. 525), so that about 



COLOB, The range of simple colors common 

 among flowers is not a very extensive one. It 

 comprises yellow, gold-yellow, orange, scarlet, 



23 



Colocasia antiquorumi 



var. esculenta. 



(Caladium esculentum.) 



