HOT-HOUSE OR STOVE PLANTS. 



355 



D. lencophthalmus is a 

 species with panicles of | 

 rich hlue flowers and a 

 large white eye. Summer 

 months. Brazil, 



D. miisaica — this species is 

 remarkable for the beauty 

 of its leaves, as well as for 

 its x^fi-uicles of rich azure- { 

 blue flowers. They are 

 deep green, barred and 

 pencilled transversely 



with zigzag lines of sil- 

 very-white, the under tide 

 of a uniform deep purple. 

 Peru. 



D. ovata — an erect-grow- 

 ing plant with lanceolate- 

 ovate leaves, deep green 

 above, reddish -purple be- 

 neath, and terminal erect 

 racemes of deep blue flow- 

 ers. Spring and early 

 summer. Brazil. 



D. amoena — this fine form ' 

 is of compact growth, 

 leaves oblong-acute, deep 

 green with a light mid- 

 rib, the blade profusely 

 spotted and blotched 

 with white and yel- 

 low. 



D. Bausei — leaves about a 

 foot long and broa'l , peti- 

 oles white,blade yellowish 

 green, marbled a,ud bor- 

 dered with dark green, 

 and blotched and spotted 

 with white. 



D. Carderii — an extremely 

 beautiful and bold-grow- 

 ing plant, leaves large and 

 oblong, of an intense rich 

 green, marbled with 

 creamy-yellow and white. 



D. illustris — an elegant 

 plant with dark green 

 leaves, mottled and spot- 

 ted with yellowish-green 

 and white. 



D. imperator — leaves 

 ovate-lanceolate, deep 

 olive-green, blotched with 

 yellow and white, 



D. Leopoldii — leaves ob- 

 long-ovate, of a deep 

 lustrous green ; midrib 

 pure ivory-white, feath- 



ered on each side with a 

 band of greyish-white. 

 D. magnifica— leaves oblong 

 ovate, of a shining dark 

 green, richly variegated 

 with wliite, the variega- 

 tion following the direc- 

 tion of tue nerves. 

 D, Lobilis — a dwarf form, 

 deep rich green, profusely 

 spotted and blotched with 

 white. 



D. Eegina — a splendid 

 form with large broad 

 oblong-acute leaves, of a 

 greenish - white, marbled 

 with pale green ; the nar- 

 row margia rich deep 

 green. 



D. Eex — a close-growing 

 handsome form, with ob- 

 long-lanceolate leaves, 

 blades rich deep green 

 parsing to light green at 

 the margin, mottled and 

 flaked with white and 

 greenish-white. 

 D. splendens — stem mot- 

 tled with various shades 

 of green, blade of leaf 

 intense deep satiny -gre en, 

 j very lustrous, mottled 

 with white : midrib broad, 

 ' ivory-white. 



ordinary plant in cultivation. D. ffi/rans, the Moving 

 Plant, or the Telegraph Plant, as it is popularly 

 called, cannot hoast of beauty either in foliage or 

 flowers, but is entirely dependent upon its peculiar 

 motion for the interest it excites. It is a slender, 

 erect plant, sparingly branched, and attaining a 

 height of about two feet. The flowers are arranged 

 in short teiTainal racemes ; these are small, and deep 

 violet in colour. The leaves are trifoliate, the ter- 

 minal leaflet being about two inches long, green and 

 glaucous. The side leaflets, which give the interest 

 to the plant, are very small ; these, without any ex- 

 ternal influence, are nearly always in motion, first 

 one leaflet moving up or down, then both, and fre- 

 quently the whole of the leaflets on the plant, the 

 greatest activity being displayed when the tempera- 

 ture is high, and the atmosphere well charged with 

 moisture, and the sun's rays fall direct upon it. Pot 

 in peat and sand. It enjoys strong heat and a 

 moist atmosphere. It is a native of the East Indies. 



Diehorisandra. — An interesting and showy 

 family belongLng to Comnielinacece. and nearly allied 

 to Tradescantia. The genus contains plants remark- 

 able for the beauty of their flowers as well as the 

 variegation of their leaves. Dichorisandras (some- 

 times written Dichorizandra) should be potted in 

 peat and leaf-mould, in about equal parts, adding a 

 little loam and sand. These plants enjoy a moderate 

 supply of water and a high temperature in summer, 

 but less of both are requisite in winter. • 



Dion.— A Mexican Cycadaceous genus, containing 

 two species only, the best known being D. cclule ; this 

 is a bold and handsome plant, even in a young state ; 

 stem stout, clothed, like the petioles, with short 

 woolly hair ; the leaves are some six or more feet in 

 length, pinnate, firm and hard, as if cut out of metal, 

 pea-green in colour. The seed-bearing cone is very 

 large, producing seeds as large as Walnuts, from 

 which a kind of arrowroot is obtained, and hence the 

 specific name edule. Mexico. 



Dionsea. — A genus belonging to the Sundew 

 family [Broseracece), and, from its habit of catching 

 flies and other insects, from which it derives nourish- 

 ment, it is called a Carnivorous plant. 



Pot in peat and li^dng sphagnum moss, drain well, 

 and stand in a pan of water ; this, however, should 

 be frequently changed to prevent stagnation. Inter- 

 mediate House. 



B. muscipula (Venus' Fly-trap) is the only mem- 

 ber of the genus, and is a A^ery remarkable plant. 

 It forms little rosette-like tufts, never exceeding 

 a few inches in height. The leaves are all radical, 

 and the foot -stalks are broadly winged; at the end 

 of each of these are developed two fleshy, flattened^ 

 semicircular lobes, each of which is fringed at the 

 edge with long stiff hairs. In addition, in the centre 

 of each lobe there are three similar hairs, and these 

 are extremely irritable, so that when touched by a 

 fly or any other insect, the lobes suddenly collapse 

 with a spring; the hairs of the margins interlacing 

 each other. AMien the fly is dead, they open again 



DiefFenbachia. — A handsome genus of Arads, 

 all natives of South America and the West Indies, 

 where the first-known species is called the Dumb-cane. 

 This name is derived from the naked stems, after the 

 leaves have fallen, having a very cane-like appear- 

 ance, and because the sap is so acrid that if placed 

 on the tongue it causes that organ to swell rapidly, 

 and renders its \ictim speechless. 



Dieffenbachias rank amongst the finest of varie- 

 gated-leaved plants, and are extremely easy to culti- 

 vate. Pot in equal parts of peat, loam, and rotten 

 manm-e, adding a little sand. They enjoy abundance 

 of water both to the roots and foliage, and luxuriate 

 in a hot moist atmosphere. There are a gi-eat 

 number of kinds. 



