ACAftTHACEAE. 



75 



Fittonia.— Lovely stove foliage plants for small pots in shady places, 

 or to plant under stages. They are also very attractive on walls 

 covered with peat and wired over, in association with other small 

 foliage plants, Achimenes, &c. 

 argyroneura, E. Coem (fig. "Fl. des Serres," t. 1664). — Peru. 



Leaves a bright green, beautifully reticulated with white, 

 g-igantea, Linden in " Eev. Hort." 1869, p. 186; (fig. "Gartenfl." 



t. 629). — Peru. Leaves green, with pale red veins. 

 Versehaffeltii, E. Coem (fig. "Fl. des Serres," t, 1581).— Peru. 

 Leaves dark green, reticulated rich dark crimson. 



The flowers of these Fittonias are inconspicuous, so the flower- 

 spikes should be cut off as they appear. 

 Geissomeria 



aurantiaca, Hort. This is a name given in the " Kew List of Tender 

 Dicotyledons " (1899). I cannot trace the name any where, and the 

 plant is not now in cultivation at Kew. 



COCCinea, Griseb., "Fl. Brit. West Indies," 454 ; (fig. "Bot, Mag." 

 t. 4158). — West Indies. Glabrous. Leaves oblong, bluntish, tapering 

 into a short petiole ; spikes when axillary solitary, when terminal 

 ternate, about as long as the leaves ; flowers tubular, opposite, 

 distant, diverging, rich crimson, whitish in the mouth ; calyx 

 5-fid, one-sixth as long as the corolla ; corolla-tube 1^ inch long, 

 slightly widening upwards, the lobes small, rounded, equal. 



longlflora, Lindley (fig. "Bot. Reg." t. 1045).— Brazil. Leaves 

 opposite, ovate-lanceolate, wavy, sessile, tapering at the base, 

 glabrous above ; spikes terminal and axillary, leafy at the base, 

 closely imbricated ; bracts 3, ovate, outer one twice as long as the 

 two lateral ; corolla dull scarlet, velvety, tube slightly enlarging 

 upwards, lobes 4, erect, small, the upper rounded emarginate, the 

 lateral smaller than the lower, which is bearded. A very pretty 

 plant. 



nitida, Nees, "Mart. FL Bras." ix. 80.— Brazil. Shrubby, glabrous. 

 Leaves oblong, acute, shining ; spikes terminal, simple or racemose 

 at the base ; bracts triangular, entire, half length of calyx ; corolla 

 glabrous, sub-bilabiate, 1\ inch, incurved, purplish- red. 

 Gpaptophyllum. — Picture-leaved plants, grown for their foliage. 



caudifolium, C. B. Clarke, MS. in Kew Herb.— Polynesia and 

 New Guinea. Glabrous. Leaves narrow-lanceolate, up to 8 inches 

 long by 2 inches broad, quite glabrous on both sides, margin 

 entire or very obscurely crenated, decurrent into a short petiole, 

 apex running into a very long gradual acumination, often all green 

 with only a white band round the margin, sometimes variously 

 blotched ovfcr with pink or darker green or white markings ; 

 terminal or side -shoots occasionally (but rarely) have leaves 

 without the long acumination at the apex ; flowers like those of 

 G. hortense, but petals very narrow and reflexed. The only flowers 

 I have seen were solitary in the axils of the leaves, but in 

 Mr. Clarke's specimens, which I believe to be the same species, 

 there are short racemes cf flowers. 



This is generally grown on constantly from cuttings as a small 



