1682 



SOLEXAXTHUS 



SONERILA 



Apenninus, H"hen.( Cyn agios. sum- Apemi'niiDn, Linn. ). 

 Plant bardy, '2^u-3 ft. high: Ivs. rather coarse, the radi- 

 cal ovate-obiuug, those of the stem lon;2:-lanceoIa.te: fls. 

 blue, forget-nn--not-like, in dense, axillary, panided 

 racemes. IMay, -Tune. S. Europe.— A useful phait 

 amongst shruii)>ery or in tlie Ijaek part of borders. 

 Prop, by division or seed. p_ -^_ Barclay. 



SOLIDAGO (arrurding to Gray, from "so/idus and 

 (if/o, to nuike solid or draw tog''ther. in allusion to re- 

 puted vulnerary properties "]. t''>iii/i6.si./(e. (.tuldenuod. 

 Amongst the glories uf the Anieriean autumn are the 

 asters and Goldenrods. They conijdement each other. 

 The asters run in cyanic colors, Goldenrods in xanthic, 

 — the blue and blush on the one hand and the yellow 

 and golden on the other. Because the Goldenrods are 

 so conunon, they have not been appreciated for plant- 

 ing. They improve in the garden, however, the plants 

 becoming larger and the bloom fuller and richer. They 

 present no dilliculties in cultivation. They may be 

 transplanted from the wild with the greatest ease, and 

 the stools nuiy be Hfte<l and divided as soon as they be- 

 come rootdiound and show signs of failing. The Soli- 

 dagos arc v;u-i;d)le, even within the same s])ecies. There- 

 fore it is wi'll to mark tine individual clumps when in 

 bloom, f(U- renii.ival in late fall or early spring. The 

 observation id' a single season should result in a fine 

 collection of indiviilual plants; and the natural excel- 

 lences of these specimens should be maintained and 

 augmented liy supplying good soil and giving good care. 

 Too often it is rliought that because the plants thrive 

 under poor crmditi'Uis in the wild, the}'' do not profit by 

 superior conilitions in the garden; but this is an error. 



Solidagos are erect perennial herbs with simple alter- 

 nate leaves, and many small yellow (rarely whitish) 

 heads in spikes, thyrses, c<mipound panicles, or ra- 

 cemes. The heads are oblong or narrow-canipanulate, 

 with snuxll, mostly appressed scales, containing few 

 florets, the disk-florets all perfect and the ray-florets 

 in one series and pistillate. The pappus is composed of 

 1 or 2 rows of roughish capillary bristles. The genus is 

 characteristic of eastern North America, where about 60 

 species occur. There are several species on the Pacific 

 coast, a few in Mexico and South America, and two or 

 three in Europe and northern Asia, making, altogether, 

 nearly 100 species. 



None of the species are well known in the trade, al- 

 though any of them may be expected to apiiear in the 

 catalogues of dealers in native and hardy plants. For 

 descriptions of the species, see Gray's Syn. Fl. N. 

 Amer., vol. 1, pt. 2; for tlie species of "the northeastern 

 state';, also Gray's Manual and Britton & Brown's 

 Flora. The following have been offered by American 

 dealers : 



liir'olor, Linn. 

 CiPsia, Liim., Fig. 2344. 

 Canadensis, Linii., tin.. 'J345. 

 — va,r. proeera, Ton-, & < ivn-y. 

 Drummondii, Torr. <fc Gray, 

 elonaata, Nutt. 

 confertitiora, DC. 

 juneea, Ait. 

 lanceolata, Linn, 

 latifolia, Linn. 

 Missourionsis, Nutt. 

 nfglei^'ta. Torr. & Gray, 

 nemoralis, Ait., Fig. 'J34ti. 

 O'-fidentalis, Nntt, 

 odora, Ait. 

 Ohioensis, Ridd, 

 patula, Muhl. 



petiolaris, Ait. 



pulienila, Nntt. 



Rid'lellii, Frank. 



rieidu. Linn. 



riijidinscnla, Porter. 



nigosa, Mill.. Fig. 2347. 



sempervirens, Linn. 



serotina, Ait. 



— var. gi^antea, Gray. 



Shortii, Torr. & Gray. 



speciosa, Nutt. 



spf-''taliiiis, Gray, 



strict;i,, Ait. 



uligiiinsa, Nntt. 



ubnifolia, Midd. 



Virganrea, var. alpin;i., Bigel. 



L. li. B. 



SOLLYA (in honor of Richard Horsman SolJv, ITTfi- 

 1858, an English botanist). Pitto-^porai-,'<i'. Two'specie'^ 

 of Australian evergreen twining plants; Ivs. narrow: lis. 

 nodding, on slender pedicels, solitarv or in loose, few- 

 flowered cymes; sepals distinct, sinall; ]>etals (d)ovate, 

 spreading from the base; anthers (■oniiiv(uu in a ..-one 

 around the pistil: capsule niany-^peded. Propagated by 

 cuttings in sand under glass, ('.r by sreds, which germi- 

 nate readily. 



heterophylla, Lindl. Attstraltan Bluebell Cheeper. 



Small sbrul), 2-6 ft. high, with slender, twining stems: 

 Ivs. variable, from lanceolate or oblong-linear to ovate- 



lanceolate or ovate-oldong, olituse or slightly acumi- 

 nate, entire, 1-2 in. long, usually narrowed into short 

 petioles : cymes 4-8-12-tlil., terminal or leaf oj)posed- 

 lis. bright blue, ^>-^J' in. long. July. B.M. WWZ'i. R.b! 

 21:2;j;j. B.R. 17:I4(iG.— Hardy and much cultivated in 

 middle California and a great favorite on account of the 

 brilliant blue of its flowers. Especially valuable for 

 covering banks, rorkwnrk and low fences, preferring to 

 scramlde over othi-r plants. Also grown as an herba- 

 ceous border plant, being kept within bounds by the 

 shears. The roots are very attractive to the California 

 pocket -gopher, who plays sad havoc with it if not 

 ^^^■^*^''^'-^^- J. BurttDavy. 



SOLOMON'S SEAL. Pfhi'jonatnm. 



SOLOMON'S SEAL, FALSE, ^wllarhui . 



SONEEILA (adapted from a native name). Melas- 

 tomdce<K. This in(dudes a nunjber of dwarf, tender 

 foliage plants wdiich must be grown in the greenhouse 

 all the year round. The plants belong to the same 





cultural group wdth Bertolonia, Gravesia, and Mono- 

 lena and are di.stinguished by having their floral parts 

 in H's. There are about 70 species, all natives of India 

 an<l the Malay archipelago. The fls. are usually rose- 

 colored, % in. across or less, and generally disposed in 

 scorpioid racemes or spikes. The genus is monographed 

 in Latin by Cogniaux in DC. Mon.' Plumer. vol. 7 (1891). 

 The species described below are all caulescent plants 

 with Ivs. distinctly petioled, those of eacli pair being of 

 equal size (except in 6". ■maculata) : fls.3-merous; sta- 

 mens 3, long-acuminate. 



Sonerilas are highly esteemed in Belgium, where 

 they have been developed by Van Houtte. Linden, V^'an 

 Gaert and others. At present oidy 8 names are found 

 in the American trade, as follows: ^S. argentea, Een- 

 flrr.soui, nHn-}Hnriifa, niar(/<n-//(i<:r,i aiha, orienfalis, 

 plctitrdfi/, picfd and pn)icf<iiu. A satisfactory explana- 

 tion of these names involves a number of others men- 

 tioned below. In addition there are about 15 kinds with 

 personal names that vary from the types mentioned be- 

 low in their variegation. There are also some hybrids 

 between Sonerila and Bertolonia wdjicb are known to 

 the trade as Bertonei'ila. The most important of the 

 species mentioned below is S. margaritacea. 



It was long thought impossible to grow Sonerila and 

 its allies outside of a bell-jar or Wardian case. The 

 Bidgians now <lispense with the "double glass" and 

 grow these plants in tropical or even temperate green- 

 houses. For potting material they use a compost of 



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