528 



ELEUSINE 



ELSHOLTZIA 



759. Winter bud of 

 Elodea. Nat. .size. 



wide, obtuse at the apex: spikes broad, 2-4, diji:itate, 

 1-1/2 in. lon^; spilielets closely imbricate, 5-fld.— Int. 

 into Amer. on ballast, and in cult, as an ornaiuental 

 plant. p. B. Kennedy. 



ELETJTHEROCOCCUS (Greeli, eleiitheros, free, .and 

 kokko^, liernel; the seeds are easily detached from 

 the flesh). AraU(lc€(r. Ornamental hardy shrul'S, witli 

 numerous erect, spiny stems, rather 

 large, digitate lys., inconspicuous 

 greenish fls., and black berries in 

 umbels. They prefer a somewhat 

 moist and rich soil, and are well 

 adapted as single specimens on the 

 lawn or in borders of shrubberies 

 for the handsome bright green foli- 

 age. Prop, by seeds and root-cut- 

 tings. Three species in E. Asia, 

 with alternate, long-petioled, di;.;i- 

 tate Ivs. : fls. small, greenish, polyg- 

 amous-dioecious, 5-raerous, pedi- 

 celled, in terminal, peduncled um- 

 bels: berry roundish oval, black, 

 shining, 5-seeded. 



senticdsus, Ma.xim. Shrub, to 15 

 ft., the branches densely covered 

 with slender spines: Ifts. 5, rarely 

 3, oblong, usually narrowed at the 

 base, acute, sharply and doubly ser- 

 rate, sparingly hispid above, with 

 bristly hairs on the veins beneath, 

 4-6 in. long: fr. about ^:>, in. high. July. N. China. Git. 

 ^-•■^^•^- Alfred Rehder. 



ELIOT, JABED, author of the first American book on 

 agriculture, was born November 7, 1685, atid died April 

 22, 17611. He was the grandson of John Eliot, the "apos- 

 tle of the Indians," and was pastor at Killingworth, 

 Conn., from October 26, 1709, until his death. He was a 

 botanist, and the leading consulting physician in New 

 England. He introduced the mulberry tree into C'on- 

 necticut, wrote an essay upon the silkworm, and dis- 

 covered a process of extracting iron from ferrugineous 

 sands. His "Essays upon Field-Husbandry," begun in 

 1748, formed the first American book devoted exclu- 

 sively to agriculture. It is now extremely rare. He was 

 a high-minded, progressive and useful citizen. IMany 

 of bis sermons were separately reprinted. Jared Eliot 

 and Samuel Deane were among the few agricultxirai 

 writers of note in the period before American horticul- 

 ture was considered distinct from agriculture, \y^ ji. 



ELLI6TTIA (after Stephen Elliott, South Carolina's 

 early and excellent botanist. For a fine portrait and 

 sketch of him, see G.F. 7:204-206). ISririiceiv. A genus 

 allied to Rhododendron and Ledum, witli three species, 

 of which the most interesting is an extremely rare na- 

 tive southern shrub, with delicate white flowers, an 

 inch in diameter, composed of 4 slender petals, and 

 borne in racemes 6-10 in. long. John Saul once adver- 

 tised it, and P. J. Berokmans, of Augusta, Ga., still culti- 

 vates it. The two Asiatic species are inferior in size 

 and beauty of flowers. Important generic characters 

 which distinguish this genus from Leiophyllum and 

 Cladothamnus are : flowers terminal, racemose; petals 

 3-5, entire: anthers 4-10, opening by irregular cracks: 

 ovary 3-5-celled. 



racemdsa, Muhl. Shrub, 4-10 ft. high, l)rancbes slen- 

 der: Ivs. alternate, oblong, acute at both ends, glandu- 

 lar-mncronate, entire, thin, membranous, 3-4 in. long, 

 1-lK in. wide; petioles slender, grooved, hairy, about I 

 in. long: calyx lobes 4, short, rounded: stamens 8 : fr. 

 unknown. Wet, sandy woods of S. C. and Ga. G.F. 7: 

 205- W. M. 



The plants formerly offered by John Saul were incor- 

 rectly named, and he refunded whatever amount bad 

 been charged for all plants sold by him. They proveii 

 to be Sfyrax grandiflora. The only plants now known 

 to exist are a few specimens collected by the writer, in 

 company with Dr. Asa Gray in ]87:i,'in a patch in 

 Columbia county, Ga. , which covered an area of ahout 



3 acres. This was afterwards cleared, and not a vestige 

 of Elliottia remains. A small patch is said to exist in 

 Edgefield county, S. C, near the city of Augusta, Ga., 

 but all my efforts to find it have failed. 



The only plants which the writer has ever been able to 

 propagate came from suckers. A few of these were sent 

 to the Arnold Arboretum and to Kew Gardens. No seed 

 has ever been produced upon our specimens, which are 

 now 15 feet high. p. J. Beeckmans. 



ELM. See i'lmus. 



ELODfiA (Greek, marshif). Hydrocharidcicea. This 

 genus contains perhaps 9 species of aquatic herbs, in- 

 cluding the Ditch-moss, an interesting hardy perennial 

 plant found in slow streams and ponds nearly through- 

 out North America, except the extreme north. It is 

 particularly desirable for home and school aquaria. It 

 is a slender, wholly submerged jilant, with branching 

 stems 4 in. to 3 ft. long, according to the depth of the 

 water. The pistillate fls. are raised to the surface by 

 their long calyx tubes, and float there. The minute 

 staminate fls., which are rarely seen, commonly break 

 off below, rise to the surface, float about, open, and 

 shed their pollen. The fruit ripens below the surface, 

 and the seeds rise. This plant is now found abundantly 

 in Europe, being sometimes known in England as 

 "Babington's Curse," from the man who introduced it. 

 It reached England in 1841 and choked up many canals 

 and waterways, notably the Cam. It was very abundant 

 in 1852 and 1853, but declined in the next few years. 

 Ducks, geese and swans are fond of it, and render great 

 service in getting rid of it. It can be used for manure 

 where it grows insufficient quantities. Like many other 

 water plants, it makes heavy buds in the fall (Fig. 759), 

 which drop to the bottom and grow in the spring. 



Canadensis, ]\Iich. {Atxlcharis Canadensis, Planch. 

 A. Alsiiidstriini, Bab.). Water-weed. Ditch-moss. 

 Water Thyme. Water Pest. Lys. in whorls of 3 or 4, 

 or the lower ones opposite, linear, minutely toothed or 

 not, 2-7 lines long, ^•2-2 lines wide : fis. white ; calyx 

 tube of the pistillate fls. 2-12 in. long; spathes 5-7 lines 

 long. B.B, 1:93. w. M. Tricker and W. M. 



ELODES. See ffypericum. 



ELSHOLTZIA (John Sigismund Elsholtz, author of 

 an unpublished Flora Marcica, the MS. of which is in 

 the Royal Library, Berlin) Labidlw. Herbs or under- 

 shrubs, in tempterate and tropical Asia, with fls. in 

 spikes: calyx tubular, 5-toothed ; corolla oblique or 2- 

 lipped, the upper lip 4-toothed in the typical species 

 (described below), the lower longer and entire or some- 

 what creuulate ; stamens 4, separated. One is in the 

 .\mer. trade. 



760. Elsholtzia cristata. 



cristata, Willd. Fig. 760. Twelve to 18 in. high, with 

 opposite, petioled, ovate-oblong toothed Ivs. and small, 

 light blue fls. in crowded, more or less 1-sided spikes: 

 calyx enlarging in fr. Asin. B.M. 2560. -Hardy annual, 

 with very aromatic foliage and attractive, upright 

 habit. Said to be a good bee plant. l_ jj. B. 



