PRAXINUS 



oblong-i.hovate, creiuitcly sen-ite. .,.■ ,;iitire, '^-1 in. loii«- fr 

 hnear-obloiie, emarKi.Kitt.. S..S. U:-li-. <;.F. ■::ir.l.~F. Mariesf. 

 Hook t. Allied to i . liuuceOTii. Hhrub; Ifls. r,, almost sessile, 

 obOYate to ovate-lam-eolnte, entire or serrate acute 1-a in 

 ',??'!■ ^ '^^\'y'\ * \^^- ""■■'^-T^- o^<:„cnrpa. Will.l. (F. ox'yphylla; 

 Bieb.). Allied to F.parvitolia. Tree, t<. 00 ft.: Ifts 5-11 lanceo- 

 late, serrate, pubescent along tlie midrib beuoatli I'^.i-J in long- 

 fr oblanceohite, acute. S. En., W. Asia.— J-, profunda, Busb. 

 Allied toF. Pennsylvanica. Lfts. 7-U, oblong-lane.eolate acumi- 

 nate, entire, 3-C in. Ions, tomentoso beneath: fr. ^-'."4in Ioul' 

 with deeurrent -ft'lug. Ark., Mo.— 7.'. ra;()ocft)7)«, Regef ISl i d" 

 lfts. 3-7, oblong or obloiij,.-obov;ite,n.su:illyentirn ..l.tuse 1 n 

 long: fr. strongly falc;ite, with obovato not decurrent' win 

 Turkestan, Buchar.-J-'. Itiydi, Dipp. Probably only Tar ot 

 F. potamoplula, with d.arker green, broader and less acute 

 lfts. Turkestiin.— J". rhi/ii-cliop/nHla, Hance. Large tree 

 buds large, thickly covered with rufous tomeni um : Ift.s i 

 .'■■, obloiig-obov:ite, remotely cr6nato-scrr,ate, 2-4 in. long , 

 tis. perfect, arietiilous, with a calyx. China. GP (i'485— ' 

 F. rotundiliilia. Lam. Allied to F. Ornu.s. Sniiill tree, to 

 -5 ft.: lfts. .5-9, roundish or roundish obovate, irregularly 

 serrate. S. Europe.— i-^ Sogduoia, Bge. Allied to F. an 

 eustifolia. Small tree ; Iys. often in 3's and riitbei 

 <'rowded: lfts. 3-5, lant:eolate, serrate, 2-4 in. long. Turk 

 I'.stan. — F. taiiiarisriJolia, Vahl. Allied to F. parvifolia 

 Small tree: lfts. 9-11, short-stalked, (.blong-lauccol:ite, seir ite 

 1-3 in. long. W. Asia.— /•'. Texmsis, S;irg. Allied to F. Amen 

 cana. Tree, to 40 ft.: lfts. 5, bro:id]y oval or ovate, rounde 1 rr 

 acute at the apex, lK-2>2 in. long. Te-xas. S.S. 0:27(1.—/'. n 

 jihrdsti, Nouv. Duh., i,s a var. of F. Ornns, but in g.ardens tl r 

 forms are sometimes cult, under this nume.—F. TiirlestdiiKii 

 C'arr.— P. Sogdiana.— 7-'. xnntlf.nilo'nU-s, Wall. .Shnib or sniali 

 tree, to 25 ft.: lfts. 5-9, oblon:^, crc)nil;ite-serr;ite, 1-2 in. long 

 Himalayas. Belongs to the .subgenus Sciadimthus, having per- 

 fect ai,etalous tts. with calyx. Alfived Rehi.ek. 



FEEfiSIA (the author of this genus iieyer explained 

 the name). Iriddceir. Precsia.s (Fig. 8il!l) are amongst 

 the dozen mo.st popular bulbous plants for fall planting 

 and winter blooming, and next to the Chinese narcis- 

 .sus, which can he grown in pave water, they flourisli 

 iu home wiudows with less care than most other 

 bulbs. They have tubular lis., white or pale yellow, 

 borne in a pretty fashion that makes them amongst 

 the most highly individualized o( all garden plants. 

 The ;')-7 lis. are up^right and strung along a .jointed axis 

 which is suddenly bout back almost at right angles to 

 the vertical peduncle. (This habit i.s an accentuation of 

 that of Tritonia, from which Freesia is essentially dis- 

 tinguished by the 2-cut style.) Of the splendid and 

 almost numberless bulbs from the Cape of Good Hoiie 

 (inclLiding the iris, amaryllis, and lily families) Free- 

 sias are, next to gladiolus, the most poinilar, though 

 not so variable as Ixias. This popularity is a growth 

 of the last quarter century or less, though Freesias have 

 been in cultivation since 1816 or earlier. Conservative 

 botanists now suppose that the Freesias are all origi- 

 nally of one stock, which species sliould be called -/*'. 

 ri'f facta. The extremes of variation in form are shc'wn 

 in Figs. 8G'J and 870, from the long and slender tube of 

 var. alha to the short and broader tube of var. Leiclii- 

 fhiii. One of the earliest pictures of the plant i.s that in 

 the Botanical Register for 181(i (Plate l.'io, as Tritnnifi 

 refrdc/a), a part of which i.s reproduced in Fl,g. 870 to 

 show the great irregularity of the corolla lobes at that 

 early period, and the straggling habit of the fls., some 

 pointing down and others iip. The colors in the plate 

 are unattractive, almost repulsive, being a sickly green 

 throughout, with a strong orange color on the tips of the 

 11 lower lobes. The garden evolution of the Freesias has 

 proceeded along two lines. The greatest effort has been 

 expended to produce a pure white flower, and in the best 

 strains the white color is mostly associated with a 

 long and slender tube. The ideal of a yellow flower is 

 less popular, and is mostl)' associated with the shorter 

 and broader tube. In both cases the forms with strag- 

 gling inflorescence and irregular corolla lobes have 

 been relentlessly suppressed. One may easily see how 

 strongly 2-lipped and gapjing were the iiowers of 1810, 

 and how strongly the tube was bulged ttpon one side. 

 Any tendencies toward such forms iu modern bulbs are 

 signs of degeneration or carelessness somewhere. In 

 pedigree plants the lobes are beautifully rounded and 

 the flowers symmetrical. Perhaps the most charming 

 picture of the two prevailing ideals is Plate 347 of the 

 Garden, vol. 22, 1882. One of the earliest pictures ot 

 the short- and broad-tubed yellow type is that in L.B.C. 

 19:1820, published in 18.32' as Tri'tdnla odnrdta. The 



PRE ESI A 



609 



probable course of evolution auft degeneration in Freesia.s 

 is pictured in Unjj;. 7:197 and A. F. U:117y. In the pur- 

 suit of either ideal, the yellow spots have been con- 

 sidered objectionable. The orij:,nnal stock seems to have 

 a trace of violet color, "which sometimes shows itself in 

 varyinj^ intensity, sometimes in spots or lines, some- 

 times in a suffused tint. Lately some fine effects are 

 said to have been secured with this minor color, but 

 it is doulitful if the violet hue will ever produce any- 

 thiufc of the first importance. Less important pictures 

 f Fieesi IS are iu Mn. 8, p. 87. A.G. ITio.'iD. Gn. 51. p. 

 ^04 (y L IIL 3:588; 19::J91, .392, 397. The writer has 

 not seen the older figures in Jacq. let. 241. 

 Redoute, Lil. t. 419 and Gt. 808. For garden 

 monographs, see Gng. 7:196, and Gn. 22, p. 94. 



Freesia refracta. 

 it wa.s ill ]s]ii, wirli 

 modern Mowi-r of v;i, 

 alba at tlir Inl't. 



Tliere is 



The following 

 are taken with oi 

 tiing changes fron 

 A. Waugh's reviev 

 Freesias in Gng. 7:190 : 

 "As a florist's tlower the 

 white Freesias are most 

 valuable, the whiter the 

 better. The original type 

 of Fvi'i'sia refrdcid evi- 

 dently had a strong ten- 

 dency toward the yellow 

 color; this keeps turning 



up Willi great persistence in F. refracta aJba. 

 always a certain per cent of yellow mixture, even in thn 

 tinest strains. Sometimes it is only 2-3 percent; some- 

 times it is 50 per cent; usually it runs about 5-10 per 

 cent. The causes of this are not certain. A Californian 

 makes a quasi admission of the allegation that Ameri- 

 can grown stock shows roore yellow than the European 

 grown, and suggests that the strong sunlight of bis 

 state accounts for the tendency toward yellow fls. Ex- 

 periments l>y V. A. Clark show^ that the yellow color is 

 formed imderthe direct oxidizing influence of sunlight. 

 In general it seems that the greater amount of yellow is 

 correlated with stronger growth. Plants which grow 

 very vigorously show darker green leaves and more of 

 the peculiar sulfur color. White flowers are often, like 

 white leaves, a sign of weakness in the plant. This 

 makes it difficult to keep a stock of Freesias vigorous 

 and at the same time selected to a high degree of purity 

 as regards the flowers." 



Freesias are much forced by tlorists, chiefly for cut- 

 flowers at Christmas. If cut when only 2 fls. are out, 

 the rest will open. They can be had in flower from 

 Christmas until June by successional plantings from 

 Aug. to Feb. For the best results the largest and high- 

 est priced bulbs should be planted as early as Aug. One 

 of th3 strontr points of Freesias, however, is that plant- 

 ing may be delayed longer than with many other bulbs. 

 Bulbs may be dried off gradually in the pots and kept 

 dry during summer. Repot; the larger bulbs will bloom, 

 but will not give so trood results as medium size imported 

 bulbs not previously forced. 



