LIST OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



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A. nerufolia. Long narrow leaves, pale-yellow flowers. 

 A. obliqua (ovata). Oblique leaves, small flowers; one of the 

 best for pots. 

 A. platyptera (fig. 639). Winged stems, deep-yellow flowers. 



Acacia platyptera. 



A. pubescens. Tree; bipinnate leaves. Primrose-scented flowers. 



A. pulchella. Pinnate leaves, yellow flowers, in solitary heads. 



A. retinodes. Scandent shoots; good for pillars. 



A. Riceana. An elegant plant with small needle-like leaves 

 And pale flowers; good for pillars. 



A. urophylla. A free-growing plant, with white flowers. 



A. verniciflua. Small leaves and flowers; very free. 



A. verticillata. One of the best for large houses. Spiny leaves, 

 pale-yellow flowers in short racemes. 



Acer (Japanese Maples). — Though hardy at most times 

 a little protection is necessary in early spring when growth 

 commences. The finely-divided and parti -coloured leaves 

 of many of the forms of A. japonicum and A. palmatum 

 make them very useful for decoration in early spring. 

 Loam. Plunge outside after growth is completed. 



Agapanthus. — Well-known, easily-grown plants, with 

 strap-shaped leaves and large umbels of blue or white 

 flowers on tall erect stems. South Africa. 



A. umbellatus has leaves 2 to 3 feet long, and blue flowers. 

 The best varieties are: albus, white; excelsus, blue, very robust; 

 fiore plena, double blue; variegatus, small leaves, green and 

 white. 



Agapetes. — Vaccinium - like evergreen shrubs from 

 Northern India. Flowers in several species are borne on 

 parts of the plant several years old. The flowers are 

 mostly ornamental; or the Pernettya-like fruit is the chief 

 attraction. Cool, airy house. Sandy peat. Cuttings. 



A. buxifolia (fig. 640). A bushy shrub, with ovate leaves and 

 scarlet tubular flowers 1 inch long. Fruit white. 



A. macrantha (Thibaudia). Leaves 3 inches long, flowers large, 

 five-angled, white with wavy red lines. Scandent habit. 



A. Manni. Small acuminate leaves, red fruit. 



A. obovata. Similar to A. Manni, with blunt leaves. 



A. setigera. Red flowers in small racemes. 



A. variegata (pulcherrima). Leaves leathery, ovate, flowers 

 in dense racemes, red, tipped white. Scandent habit. 

 Vol. I. 



Agathaea ccelestis, the only species cultivated, has 

 blue Daisy-like heads of flowers an inch across, and is 

 popularly called the " Blue Marguerite ". Cuttings any 

 time. Loam. S. Africa. 



Agathosma. — Heath -like shrubs from S. Africa, 

 Several species are in cultivation, the most common being 

 A. imbricata, with small crowded leaves and flat terminal 

 heads of light-purplish flowers. There is a variety with 

 white flowers. Cool, airy greenhouse. Cuttings. Sandy 

 peat. 



Albuca. — Bulbous plants from S. Africa. The only 

 ornamental species in cultivation is A. Nelsoni, useful for 

 indoor borders, as it grows and flowers well in shade. 

 Flowers white, in umbels, on stems 2 feet high. Loam. 



Alonsoa incisifolia, a Chilian plant with small scarlet 

 flowers in terminal racemes and small finely-cut leaves 

 1^ foot high. Soft-wooded. Loam and leaf-mould. Seeds. 



Aralia. — Trees or shrubs with simple or compound 

 leaves. Few plants respond more readily to border cul- 

 ture. Loam and peat. Seeds, cuttings, or grafts. 



A. crassifolia (fig. 641). Simple or trifoliate leaves. New Zealand. 



A. elegantissima. Usually grown in a stove. Makes digitate 

 leaves 2 feet across, with leaflets a foot long and 3 inches wide, if 

 planted in a cool house. 



A. peltata. Large deeply-lobed leaves, 15 inches across. 



A. reticulata (Meryta Denhami). Usually a single-stemmed 

 plant with a head of large oblong leaves. New Caledonia. 



Araucaria. — The indoor species merely require pro- 

 tection from frost. Cuttings of terminal growths from 

 cut-back plants. Loam and peat. 



A. Bidwillii (Bunya-Bunya Pine) has dark, leathery, sharp- 

 pointed leaves and round cones the size of a man's head. More- 

 ton Bay. 



A. excelsa (Norfolk Island Pine) is of elegant plumose habit, 

 and is largely grown for decoration. The most distinct varieties 

 are compacta and glauca. 



A. Rulei. Leaves larger and thicker than in A. excelsa. 



Fig. 640.— Ajrapetes buxifolia. 



Araujia. — Climbing Asclepiads from South America, of 

 which A. sericifera (Physianthus albens), a strong twining 



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