948 



LUCUMA 



LUFFA 



Rivicda, Gtertn. Lvs. elliptic-obovate, obtuse, mem- 

 branous, 4-8 in. long, 1>2-I:! in. wide: calyx 5-parted: 

 ovary 5-ceUed: seed ovoid-globose. Brazil, French Gui- 

 ana. —Var. angTistifolia, Mart., is the Eaa Fruit or 

 Ti-ES of the W. Indies. It has elliptic-lanceolate lvs.. 

 acute at both ends. Fig. 1322. Cult, in S. Fla. and S. 

 Calif. W. M. 



Lucuma mammosa (X ^ 



Z/itcitma wfiDDiinsn, the"Manimee Sapota"of Jamaica, 

 is the fruit of a tree found wild also in Cuba and the 

 northeastern part of S. America. The tree is ornamen- 

 tal, about 30 feet high, of a pyramidal shape. It is occa- 

 sionally seen where it was originally planted in pas- 

 tures near dwelling houses, but except for the droppings 

 from cattle and horses, it receives no other cultivation. 

 It requires a good deep soil and an annual rainfall of 

 about 70 inches. The flowers are ci'eam-colored, about 

 3-^ inch long, springing directly from the bark. The 

 fruit is about 6 inches long, with usually only 1 seed. It 

 has a russet-colored rough skin. The flesh is of a dark 

 yellowish red color, soft and sweet; it has been compared 

 to a very ripe pear, but is more luscious. Marmalade is 

 made from the fruit, whence the name of "Marmalade 

 Flum." -^yjj_ Fawoett. 



LTJDWiGIA (C. G. Ludwig, botanist and botanical 

 author at Leipzig, 170!)-1773). Onagrcicerp. About 25 

 species of aquatic or semi-aquatic small herbs, widely 

 distributed iu temperate and warm climates. Fls. small 

 and inconspicuous in the axils of the leaves, the parts 

 usually in 4's. Lvs. mostly small and mostly entire or 

 very nearly so, usually not distinctly petioled. The 

 stems are often creeping, sometimes floating. The op- 

 posite-lvd. species are by some referred to the genus 

 Isnardia. The Ludwigias have little standing as horti- 

 cultural subjects. They are sometimes useful in hog 

 gardens, and one is advertised fur aquaria.. Three spe- 

 cies are in the Amer. trade. 



A. Leaves opposite. 

 paliistris, Kll. {Inndrdia palnstris,lAwY\.). Water 

 Purslane. Trailing inmuddy places orfloatingon shai- 

 iow water, roofing at the joints: lvs. oval or oval-ul)- 



long, narrowed into a short petiole: fls. very small. 

 usually reddish. — Widely distributed in this country; 

 ofl:'ered as a bug plant. 



Millertii, Mulertt. Lvs. lance-oblong, usually nar- 

 rowed into short petioles, entire: tls. yellow: fr. oblon^^, 

 truncate on top, ^8 in. long. —Int. from S. Amer. bv 

 Hugo Mulertt, then of Cincinnati, and described in 

 "Isis" (published in Germany) in 1880 or 1881, and also 

 in the "Aquarium," Vol. III. p. 43, 64. It is now widely 

 distributed amongst growers of aquarium plants. It 

 seems not to have been studied by systematic botanists. 

 It is prized for its graceful habit and because it is ever- 

 green. Grows well from cuttings and from seeds. 



AA. Leaves alternate. 

 altemifdlia, Linn. Seed-box, or Rattle-box. An 

 erect shrub, 2-3 ft. or more tall, in appearance notunlike 

 an Epilobium: lvs. lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, nar- 

 rowed below, entire or sometimes with mere .sugges- 

 tions of teeth : fls. large for the genus (>2 in. across), 

 with yellow caducous petals: capsxiles large, square in 

 cross-section. Bogs in eastern states.— Interesting, but 

 not showy. l_ h. B. 



LUEH£A (F. Karl van der Liike, Austrian botanist in- 

 ttn-ested in the Cape of Good Hope). Tiliacecr. About 

 10 species of trees and tall shrubs from the warmer 

 parts of America with usually toothed lvs. and handsome 

 white or rosy fls. borne in a terminal panicle, or some- 

 times in the axils; sepals and petals 5; stamens numer- 

 ous, the outer ones often without anthers : ovary fi- 

 celled: capsule rather woody, loculicidally semi-5-valved. 

 An undetermined species is advertised in Santa Barbara, 

 1!)00, from Paraguay. Franceschi writes that the inner 

 bark is used generally in Paraguay instead of string. 

 Luehea is also spelled Luhea, and the genus of this 

 name of the Verbenacea? is a South African genus re- 

 ferred to Stilbe. 



LlJFFA {Luff is the Arabic name). Cucurhitare<t . 

 Rag Gourd. Dishcloth Gourd. Vegetable Sponge. 

 Six species (according to Cogniaux, Vol.3. DC. Monogv. 

 Pbaner.) of annual tendril-climbing herbs, inhabiting 

 the tropics of the Old and New Worlds. Fls. monoecious, 

 the staminate ones in a long-stalked raceme or cluster, 

 the pistillate ones solitary and shorter-peduncled; calyx 

 bell-shape or top-shape, strongly 5-lobed; corolla of .'j 

 soft yellow or whitish petals, sometimes ragged-edged; 

 stamens iisually 3, borne in the calyx tube: fr. along, 

 gourd-like pepo, becoming dry when ripe and the fibrous 

 interior sponge - like. Known south as "California 

 Okra." 



Of late years, the Luffas have come into prominence iu 

 American gardens, being an importation from the trop- 

 ics and China and Japan. In other countries, the fruit 

 is eaten when young, being co(»ked like squash or served 

 in sonps and stews. The young fruit is sometimes sliced 

 and dried. (See Georgeson, A.G. Sept., 1892, and Bailey. 

 Bull. 07, Cornell Exp. Sta. ) In this country, Luffas are 

 grown mostly for curiosity and ornament. The fibrous 

 interior of the dried fruit, when bleached and prepared, 

 is used as a sponge for the bath and for scrubbing 

 (whence "Vegetable Sponge"). The culture is the 

 same as for cucumbers and melons. They are tender 

 Itlants, running 10 to 15 ft. The Luffas are widely dis- 

 jiersed in the tropics as cultivated plants. The genus 

 <livides itself into 2 groups, — those sxiecies { L. ^gyj>- 

 lidrii and L. anihi lujuhi] with fruits not spiny or tubev- 

 culato, and lliosi- with spiny fruits. Only the foUowini; 

 species are known to be in cult, iu this country: 



.ffigyptiaca, IMill. { L. cyliuflnca, Roem. L. Petdln, 

 Ser. L. Ve}frhii., Naud. L. falida, Hort. [at least in 

 part], notCav. L. FubliDirt, ,]<(ponica, Mexi<-())ia [?] and 

 iiocfiflora filba, Hort.) . Naga ito-uri of Japanese. Sua- 

 KWA of Chinese. The conuuonest Dishcloth Gourd: 

 stems slender-nmning, furrowed, roughened: lvs, 

 roundish in outline, mostly 15-lobed, coarsely tootheil, 

 very scabrous above and beneath: staminate tls. 2-3 in. 

 across, wilting in the sun: ovary cylindrical or clavatr, 

 ])ub('scent, destitute of distinct ridges, riponintr into a 

 slender, cylindrical, curved fruit 1-2 ft. long. Probal-ly 

 native to the TUd World, but widely distributed in Hie 

 1ro[)ics. A.G. 13:,:;2ti. 



