LAMIUM. 



161 



la/thyrus. 



Ladies' Bedstraw. — See Galium. 

 Ladies' Mantle. — SccAlchemilla. 

 Ladies' Slipper. — See Cypri- 

 pedium. 



Ladies' Traces. — See Spiranthes. 

 Lje v lia. — Orchidaceee. — A very 

 beautiful epiphyte, which may be 

 grown with its roots wrapped in moss, 

 and fastened on a piece of wood ; or in 

 the husk of a cocoa-nut. The flowers 

 are extremely beautiful and very deli- 

 cate. See Orchideous Epiphytes. 



Lagena^ria. — Cucurbitacete. — 

 The Bottle Gourd. An East Indian 

 species of Gourd, which is sometimes 

 grown on account of its curious shape; 

 but the pulp of which is poisonous. 



Lagerstrohmia. — Lythrariea, or 

 Salicari<B. The Pride of India. 

 Beautiful trees, with flowers, some- 

 thing like those of theClarkia in form, 

 but much more brilliant in colour. 

 L. indica is generally grown in the 

 stove, but the other species succeed 

 if planted in the open ground in a 

 conservatory. 



Lagetta. — ThymealecB. — The 

 Lacebark Tree. A shrub or low 

 tree, a native of Jamaica, remarkable 

 for the number of divisions into which 

 its liber or inner bark may be split. 

 This inner bark slips off the wood 

 without difficulty; and when divided, 

 it is so fine, and lace -like in its tex- 

 ture, that Charles II. had a collar 

 and ruffles made of it. In England 

 the plant requires a stove, and to be 

 grown in a mixture of loam and peat. 

 It is propagated by cuttings, which 

 are rather hard to strike. The flowers 

 are white, and in shape they resemble 

 those of the Mezereon ; but instead 

 of being produced in clusters round 

 the stem, they grow on a kind of 

 spike, far apart from each other. 



Lamium. — Labiate. — The Dead 

 Nettle. Annual and perennial plants 

 that are quite hardy in the open 

 ground in Britain ; but which succeed 

 best in a light rich soil. 



Lanta^na. — Verbenacecs. -Green- 

 house and hothouse plants, with 

 pretty flowers, nearly allied to the 

 Verbenas ; and the half-hardy ones 

 requiring the same treatment. See 

 Verbena. 



Lapeyrousia. — Iridacece. — Cape 

 bulbs, with pretty flowers, which may 

 be planted in a warm border, and left 

 in the ground during winter, if pro- 

 tected during that season by a hand- 

 glass, &c, from frost, or heavy rain. 



Larkspur — See Delphinium. 



Lasiope'talum — Byttermacece. — 

 Australian low shrubs, which require 

 a greenhouse in England, and are 

 grown in loam and peat, and propa- 

 gated by cuttings. 



Lasthe x nia. — Composite. — Cali- 

 fornian annuals, with bright yellow 

 flowers ; which require the usual 

 treatment of Californian plants. — 

 See Californian Annuals. 



La'thyrus. — Leguminoscs. — A 

 genus of vigorous-growing, very orna- 

 mental perennials and annuals, of 

 which those best known are L. lati- 

 fblius, the everlasting Pea, with pink 

 flowers, and a variety with pure white 

 flowers, both growing to the height of 

 six feet or eight feet when supported 

 by sticks, in the manner of common 

 Peas, or trained to a trellis ; L. 

 grandiflbrus, a perennial remarkable 

 for the large size of its flowers ; L. 

 odoratus, the common Sweet Pea, an 

 annual remarkable for the fragrance 

 of its blossoms, which are of various 

 colours ; and L. tingitanus, the 

 Tangier Pea, a tall-growing plant, 

 the flowers of which are dark purple. 

 Another very interesting species is Lord 

 Anson's pea, L.magellanicus, a per- 

 ennial plant, interesting from the 

 beauty of its foliage and its blue flowers, 

 and not nearly so much cultivated as 

 it ought to be : against a wall, it is a 

 rare, and at the same time a very ele- 

 gant species. There are many others, 

 both annuals and perennials, all of 



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