1694 



SrARAXIS 



SPARTIUM 



more long, usually yellow or purple, and larger ixnthers. 

 B.M. 77y (tis. primrose inside, tlamed purple outside). 

 B.R. 'A:2~)S {f\^. white inside, midvein on the ij;K-k 

 purple). B.M. r.41 (Ixia </rniidi flora. Fls. rich purple, 

 margined lighter). -Aeccrding to Baker, the principjil 

 named forms are: atropurpiirea, 

 dark purple ; anemonaeflora, 

 pale yellow ; Liliago, white, 

 flushed with cliirct-piiriile out- 

 side; and stellaris, dark purple, 

 the segments narrower tlian the 

 type, ohlauceolate and acute 

 rather than olikmg. 



tricolor. Ker. Fig. 2;^..')8. Dif- 

 fers from .S. i/ritiidi flora only 

 in the color of the Howers, 

 which are verj^ varial)le but al- 

 ways have a bright yellow throat 

 md often a dark blotch at the 

 Ijisp (if each segment. B.M. 

 Uh2 , ^'^l {I.rin tricolor}. F.S. 

 2 124 F. 184;i: 213 {S. pida, 

 putjiKH a , puIcJtcIla) .—Accord- 

 ing to Baker, this is the favor- 

 ite species among cultivators. 

 It cert iinly has the greatest va- 

 iiety of colors and markings. 

 In the works cited the floral 

 segments range from nearly 

 white through rose, brick-red, 

 ( irmme, crimson and light pur- 

 ple tn (lark purple, excluding 

 Idue md yellow, which latter 

 1 u usually appears in the 

 thiott W. M. 



SPABGANIUM (Greek, fUJrf; 

 rtteitmgtothe ribbon-like Ivs.) 

 TypluXceiii. Bun -reed. Bur- 

 reeds are marsh herbs closely 

 allied to cat-tails but with fls, 

 2358. Sparaxis tricolor, in globular heads instead of ob- 

 ( ■ '.,). long spikes. Tliree hardy per- 



ennial kinds are advertised liy 

 collectors of native plants and one or two are procurable 

 from specialists in aquatics. Bur-reeds are desirable 

 only in bog gardens or in wild gardening operations. 

 The Ijeaut}' of these x>lants often lies in each species 

 being massed alone, as well as in the mixing with other 

 plants. 



Sparganiums have creeping roots toe ks niul fibrous 

 roots. Some are fioating X-'l^n'^^^- Stems branched or 

 not: Ivs. linear, alternate, sheathing at the base: lis. 

 moncecious, in globose heads, the staminate uppermost: 

 fr. sessile or peduncled, mostly 1-loculed and nut-like. 



A. rnflort'sceiice unhranched. 



simplex, Hnds. Stems weak and slender, 1^2-2 ft. 

 high, uiibriundied : Ivs. more or less triquetrous; stami- 

 nate licnds 4-0: ].istillate 2-f), 5-8 lines in diam.: fr. 

 stalked. June-Aug. X. Amer. B.B. 1:04. 



A A. fiiffo n'scehce hravrhcd. 

 E. Ilel'jhl .S-S ft. 

 eurycdrpum, Eugelm. Stems stout, .3-8 ft. high, 

 branching: Ivs. linear, flat, slightly keeled beneath: 

 staminate heads numerous, pistillate 2-4 on a stem or 

 branch, 10-10 lines in diam.: fr. sessile. Mav-Aug 

 N. Amer. B.B. 1:03. 



BB. Ilenjlif 2-3 ft. 

 ramosum, (_'urt. Lvs. flat: heads .'j-9, disposed in ax- 

 illary and terminal, interrupted spikes, the lowest oue 

 larger and pistillate, the others wholly staminatif : pistil- 

 -^ate heads H-lO lines in diam. July. Southern U. S.. 

 particularly in mountain bogs. -ly -ir 



SPARMANNIA (after Audroas Sparmann, who visit.-d 

 the Cape with Thunber^). T/ li<'irca>. About fi specirs 

 of African shrubs or ire.-s wifb cordate, dentate or 

 lobed leaves and white tlowtrs ii) terminal, und)fdliforni 

 cymes: sepals 4; petals 4, naked at the base; stamens 



several, free, the anther- bearing ones interior, the 

 staminodia exterior: capsule globose or ovoid, spiny. 



d\ A fricaiHi is of easy treatment under glass in a tem- 

 perature never lower than 35'^, with plenty of air and 

 light. The plants are benefited by being plunged in tlie 

 garden during the summer and syringed during dry 

 weather. Plants should be jiotted early in spring. Tlie 

 tips of young shoots root readily with 60° of heat. 



A. Xr.s. deeply 5-7-lofj<.'d. 



palmata, E. Mey. A slender shrub much smaller in 

 all its parts than 6'. Africwua: branches half herba- 

 ceous: lvs. on long petioles, the lobes long-acuminate, 

 incisely sinuate and unequally toothed, prominently .5-7- 

 nerved below: fls. white or purplish, densely arranged 

 on the subterminal (leduncles: capsule 4-celied. Cult, 

 in S. Calif. 



AA. Lvs. not lobed. 



Afric^na, Linn. A large shrub or tree, 10-20 ft. high: 

 lvs. cordate-acuminate', 5-7-angled, unequally toothed, 

 .5-6 in. long, 7-9-ribbed Ijelow: fls. white, on long, many- 

 fld. peduncles: capsule 5-celled. B.M. 516. G.M.. 37:233. 

 R.H. 1858, p. 105. Gn. 45:967.— A useful greenhouse 

 plant. Var. flore pleno is also grown. G.C. II. 19:477. 



F. W. Barclay. 



Sparynavnia Africa^ia is not common in S. California, 

 but is highly esteemed. One in Singleton Court, 25 

 years old, is 12 ft. high and 16 ft. through, and consists 

 of about flfty trunks %-^ inches in diameter. It was in 

 full bloom in January and February and one of the fin- 

 est sights imaginable. It was literally covered with 

 snowballs of 4 inches diameter, and admired by num- 

 bers of people. The blooms were so heavy that the ends 

 of the branches touched the ground, necessitating se- 

 vere pruning as soon as blooms were past beauty. No 

 viburnum, hydrangea or other shrub can compare with 

 it at its blooming season. During the remaincler of the 

 year it has the appearance of a clump of basswood suck- 

 ers, the leaves being nearly identical in appearance with 

 those of the l)asswood. It is therefore a dense mass of 

 broad leaves and looks well anywhere and at any time. 

 This is one of the finest white-flowereel shrubs or trees 

 in cultivation. The double variety is not as desirable 

 as the single. Ernest Braunton. 



SPARROW-GRASS. Provincialism for Asparagus. 



SPARTINA (Greek, sparthie, a cord ; on account of 

 the tough leaves). Graminece. Species 7. Perennial 

 marsh plants of various parts of the world, most or all 

 of which are found in the United States. Culms rigid 

 and reed-like: lvs. coarse and rough, usually becoming 

 rolled inwards: spikelets 1-fld., in rows on two sides of 

 the triangular rachis; spikes 2-several in a raceme. 



cynosuroides, Willd. Fresh-water Cord-grass. In 

 the West known as "Slough-grass." A common coarse 

 fresli-water marsh grass, occurring across the continent 

 in the northern states. Recommended for cultivation 

 along the margins of ponds and artificial lakes. Pro- 

 curable from collectors. j^ g_ Hitchcock. 



SPARTIUM (Greek sparto.^, the ancient name of the 



plant). Syn., Stmrtidnthus. Legnniin6s(v. Ornameudd 

 shrub, with long and slender green branches, small and 

 sparse foliage, and showy papilionaceous yellow ds. in 

 terminal racemes. It is a haneisome shrub especially 

 adapted for warmer and elrier regions; in the East it is 

 probably hardy as far north as Philadelphia. It becomes 

 naturalized easily, as happened in several localities in 

 S. America, whence it was afterwards described as S. 

 AmaricanKm ^IslejidW. It grows in almost any kind of 

 well-drained soil and is well suited for planting on ex- 

 posed sandy and rocky situations. Prop, by seeds and 

 by greenwood cuttings under glass. One species in the 

 Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands. Allied 

 to Genista and Cylisus. but chiefly distinguished by the 

 l-lil>l>ed calyx : lvs. simple: fls. in terminal, loose ra- 

 cemes; calyx split above, hence 1-lipped, tip with 5 nii- 

 nutt:' tpeth ; keel incurved, acuminate: pod linear, com- 

 pressed, ntany-seeded ; seeds with callose appendage at 

 the base like in Genista. The slender branches yield 



