CHAPTER 17 



ALTERNANTHERA {AlterTicmtkera sp.) 



Cultural Considerations, see Coleus, p. 245. 



Diseases of the Alternanthera 



The Alternanthera is comparatively free from dis- 

 ease and it is generally considered a hardy plant. 



Leaf Blight 



Caused by Phyllosticta sp. 



Symptoms. Alternanthera blight was first re- 

 ported by Halsted* as being very serious in green- 

 houses of the eastern states. It is especially severe 

 in the "cutting" benches. The trouble is character- 

 ized by a premature defoliation. The affected 

 leaves coil up and drop off. In an early stage, the 

 leaves become spotted merely, and it is only when 

 the spots become numerous that the foliage drops 

 off. The trouble is usually overlooked, because of 

 the variegated foliage of the host. The cause of 

 the blight is a Phyllosticta fungus, probably the same 



* Halsted, B. D., New Jersey Agr. Expt Sta., Thirteenth Ann. 

 Kept.: 299, 1892. 



199 



