YELLOW VETCHLING. 



314 



YUCCA. 



strong thorns on the midribs of its 

 leaves, is used as a hedge plant in 

 China. 



Xera'nthemum — Composite — 

 Purple everlasting flower. Very 

 beautiful annual flowers, which may 

 either be sown in the open ground in 

 April, or raised on a hot-bed, and 

 planted out in May : the only advan- 

 tage by the latter plan being that the 

 plants flower earlier. They are very 

 beautifnl, and well deserving of a 

 place in every flower-garden. 



Xerophy'llum — Melanthaceoe — 

 Singular plants with long, narrow- 

 leaves, and spikes of pretty white 

 flowers. The species are natives of 

 North America, and quite hardy in 

 British gardens, where they should be 

 grown in peat and loam. X. grami- 

 neum is a peculiarly desirable species, 

 from its loose and elegant spikes of 

 small star-like white flowers. 



Xerotis — Junceas — Rush-like 

 plants, natives of North Holland, 

 which require protection in this coun- 



try ; and which are not worth the 

 trouble of growing. 



Ximene x sia. — Composite. — An- 

 nual and perennial flowers, natives of 

 Mexico, with yellow flowers, which 

 will grow in any common garden soil. 

 There are two biennial species, which 

 should be kept in a frame during 

 winter, and transplanted to the open 

 border in spring. 



Xylobium. — Orchidacece. — Bra- 

 zilian parasites, growing on trees, and 

 requiring astove in England. For their 

 culture, see Orchideous Epiphytes. 



Xylaphy'lla. — Euphorbiacea. — 

 Very curious shrubs, which produce 

 their flowers on the margins of their 

 leaves. They are mostly natives of 

 Jamaica, and require a stove in Eng- 

 land. The flowers are generally 

 greenish, but those of X. montana, 

 the Sea-side Laurel, are of a bright 

 yellow. They are generally grown 

 in sandy peat. 



Xylosteum. — The Fly Honeysuc- 

 kle. See Lonicera. 



Yam. — Dioscarea. — Herbaceous 

 plants, natives of the tropics, generally 

 with greenish white flowers, the tu- 

 berous roots of which are eaten, as a 

 substitute for potatoes. The stems of 

 most of the species are weak, and 

 cannot support themselves. 



Yarrow. — Achillea Milli folium. 

 — See Achillea. 



Yellow Rattle. — Rhinanthns 

 majus is a British plant, which is 

 very ornamental, froni its yellow la- 

 biate flowers having each a bright 

 dark eye. 



Yellow Root. — See Xanthor- 



HIZA. 



Yellow Sultan. — See Amberboa. 



Yellow Vetchling. — Lathyrus 

 Aphaca. — A British climbing vetch, 

 with yellow flowers, only found in 

 sandy soils. 



Yellow Wort. — Chlora perfoli- 

 ata. — A British annual, with glaucous 

 leaves and yellow flowers. It is al- 

 ways found in a wild state in chalky 

 soils, and it will seldom grow in gar- 

 dens unless the soil be chalky, or of a 

 calcareous loam. 



Yew Tree. — See Taxus. 



Yucca. — Liliacece, or Tulipacece. 

 — Adam's Needle. Evergreen plants 

 with leaves like the Aloe, and some- 

 times a stem, or rather trunk, like a 

 palm-tree. Some of the species have 

 been known to have a trunk twenty 

 feet high, sending up every year, five 

 or six immense flower-stems, each six 

 or eight feet high. In ordinary cases, 

 however, the trunk is rarely more 

 than two or three feet high, though 

 the flower-stem frequently measures 

 five or six feet. The flowers are 



