A. aspera (rough).* fl. golden yellow; peduncles opposite the leaves, branched, many flowered. May. l. ovate-oblong, somewhat cordate, quite entire, smooth. h. 30ft. to 40ft. Guiana, 1792.
A. Petoumo (Petoumo). fl. yellow, similarly disposed to A. aspera. August. fr. densely clothed with bristles. l. ovate-oblong, somewhat cordate at the base, entire, hoary beneath. h. 40ft. Guiana, 1817.
A. Tibourbou (Tibourbou).* fl. dark yellow. August. fr. densely clothed with bristles. l. cordate, ovate-oblong, serrated, hairy beneath. h. 10ft. Guiana, 1756.
APETALOUS. Without petals.
APEX. The summit or point of anything.
APHELANDRA (from apheles, simple, and aner, a male; the anthers being one-celled). ORD. Acanthaceæ. Very handsome stove evergreen shrubs, mostly of an erect habit of growth, and having handsome shining leaves, which in some instances are variegated. Flowers produced in terminal four-sided spikes—the preponderating colours being brilliant shades of orange or scarlet—conspicuously situated above the foliage; they are exceedingly attractive; corolla ringent, two-lipped, upper lip three-lobed; central lobe large. They bloom generally during the autumn months, and if the plants are removed to a warm dry atmosphere so soon as the flowers begin to open, they will continue much longer in perfection than if left in the moisture-laden atmosphere of the stove. From the time the flower spikes are at first seen till they bloom, the plants will derive much benefit from frequent applications of clear manure water. When the plants have finished flowering, they should be allowed to rest, by reducing the supply of water, but never allow them to shrivel. During this time they may be kept in a house or pit, where the atmosphere is rather dry, with a night temperature of 50deg. to 55deg. Here they may remain till March, when they should be pruned. This operation is commenced by thinning out the weakest shoots altogether, and cutting the others back to one or two of the strongest joints or buds above the old wood in order to keep the plants dwarf and bushy. When pruned, the plants should be placed in the stove, giving moderate supplies of water at the roots, and occasionally sprinkling the stems overhead till growth commences. When the young shoots have attained an inch or so in length, the plants should be turned out of the pots, removing the crocks and as much of the old soil as can be got away easily, at the same time shortening-in any of the straggling roots. They should then be placed into smaller-sized pots, keeping them rather close, and watering them carefully for a time till growth has commenced. When fairly started, they may be transferred into larger-sized pots, in which they are to flower. During the summer, these plants require a moist atmosphere, with a temperature of 65deg. by night, allowing it to rise 15deg. or 20deg. by day, and whilst active growth is taking place they should be frequently supplied with moisture at the roots, keeping them well exposed on all sides to the light. After growth has commenced, it is not advisable to stop the shoots, for the stouter and stronger they grow up the finer will be the flower spikes when they appear. The compost should consist of equal parts fibry loam, leaf soil, and peat, with a good proportion of sand added. In preparing it, it should be rather lumpy, and, before using, should be warmed to about the temperature of the house in which the plants are grown. Clean pots and perfect drainage are most essential. Cuttings are best prepared from half ripened wood, or taken off when young with a heel. The base of each cutting should invariably be cut clean across. These may be inserted an inch apart, in pots of sandy soil, and plunged in a brisk bottom heat. To obtain young shoots for cuttings, if the old plants break freely after pruning, and very large specimens are not required, when the shoots are 2in. long they should be thinned out, leaving the requisite number of the strongest to form the plant. If the surplus pieces are removed with a slight heel of the older wood, they make good cuttings, and should be treated the same as the others. These cuttings strike root quickest, and when rooted, if potted into 5in. or 6in. pots, and allowed to grow up without stopping or pinching out the tops, they will flower the first season. Although Aphelandras can be grown into large sized specimens, it will be found to be more generally satisfactory to have specimens of neat and moderate dimensions. The mealy bug and scale insects are very troublesome, and must be kept down, otherwise they will prove most prejudicial to the plants.
A. acutifolia (acute-leaved). fl. large, deep vermilion red; the upper lip of corolla concave, and projected forward, the lower one consists of three oblong-obtuse spreading lobes. October. l. broad, oblong-ovate, acuminate. Columbia, 1868.
A. aurantiaca (orange-coloured).* fl. deep orange scarlet; upper lip of corolla erect, bidentate, concave; lower one spreading horizontally, three lobed. December. l. broad, ovate, opposite, dark green, somewhat wavy at the edge. h. 3ft. Mexico, 1844.
A. a. Roezlii (Roezl's).* Differs chiefly from the type in the curiously twisted leaves, which are dark green, shaded with a silvery hue between the primary veins; in the brighter scarlet of the flowers; and a few other, but purely technical, points. It is one of the best. Mexico, 1867. SYN. A. Roezlii.
A. cristata (crested).* fl. brilliant orange scarlet, 2in. or 3in. long, in large terminal branching spikes. August to November. l. large, broadly ovate, and tapering to a point. h. 3ft. West Indies, 1733. A handsome and continuous bloomer. SYN. Justicia pulcherrima.
A. fascinator (fascinating).* fl. bright vermilion, in very large spikes. Autumn. l. ovate acuminate, olive green, beautifully banded with silvery white, whilst the under side is of a uniform purplish violet. h. 1½ft. New Grenada, 1874.
A. Leopoldi (Leopold's).* fl. citron-yellow. l. opposite, ovate-oblong, acuminate; ground colour on the upper surface dark green, the midrib and primary veins pure white; under surface uniformly pale green. Brazil, 1854.
A. medio-aurata (golden-centred). fl. unknown. l. ovate-lanceolate, sinuate, bright green, with yellow central brand. Brazil, 1871. SYN. Graptophyllum medio-auratum.
A. nitens (shining).* fl. glowing vermilion-scarlet, very large, in erect, simple, terminal spikes, which, after the flowers have fallen, are clothed with the imbricating, lanceolate, appressed bracts. l. ovate, sub-acute, leathery, brilliant glossy on the upper surface, dark vinous purple underneath. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Columbia, 1867.
A. Porteana (Porte's).* fl. in fine terminal heads; corolla and bracts bright orange. l. rich green, with metallic silvery-white veins. h. 2ft. Brazil, 1854.
A. pumila (dwarfish).* fl. orange-coloured; upper lip erect, concave, entire; bracts large, purplish. l. large, cordate, ovate-oblong, acute. h. 8in. Brazil, 1878. Very distinct from all others.
A. punctata (dotted).* fl. bright yellow, in large and rather dense spikes; the spiny-edged long pointed bracts are also yellow, with the exception of the tip, which is green, and forms a pleasing contrast. November. l. opposite, elliptic, acuminate; the green midrib is conspicuous in the middle of a white central band, which also extends beside the green veins, this silvery band breaking up on its margin into numerous small white dots, producing a pretty and distinct form of variegation. South America, 1881.
A. Roezlii. A synonym of A. aurantiaca Roezlii.
A. variegata (variegated). fl. yellow; spike, 6in. long, with bright orange-red bracts. l. ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, dark green with white veins. h. 1½ft. Brazil.
APHELEXIS (from apheles, simple, and exis, habit). ORD. Compositæ. A genus of elegant dwarf evergreen greenhouse shrubs. Flower-heads large, solitary, or small and two or more together. Leaves small. These plants are valuable for exhibition purposes, on account of their bright colours, and the length of time they last in perfection; they are included among what are familiarly known as "everlastings." The most suitable soil is a compost of two parts of good fibrous peat and one of leaf mould, with a liberal supply of silver sand, and a few pieces of charcoal added to it. Repot the plants firmly in February, and allow thorough drainage. Cuttings can be made in spring or summer; small half-ripened side shoots are best; and these will root in sandy soil, under a bell glass, in a cool greenhouse.
A. ericoides (heath-like).* fl.-heads white. April. l. very small, three-cornered, imbricated, appressed; branches numerous, very fine, filiform. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1796.
A. fasciculata (fascicled). fl.-heads purplish, solitary, terminal; peduncles scaly. March. l. acerose linear, roundish, downy above; lower spreading; upper appressed. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1779. There are two or three forms of this species, varying in the colour of the flowers.
A. humilis (humble, or dwarf).* fl.-heads pink, solitary, terminal, opening only in sunshine; peduncles scaly. April. l. subulate, erect, imbricate. Branches numerous, slender, covered with white tomentum. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1810. A handsome greenhouse plant, with much-branched stems, terminated by the flower-head. SYNS. A. macrantha and Helipterum humile.
A. h. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl.-heads rosy-purple, produced in great abundance. Habit rather dwarf, and free branching. Very highly esteemed.
A. h. purpurea (purple).* fl. dark purple, very abundant. l. silvery white and shining. A vigorous grower, and perhaps the best for exhibition purposes. It is known in gardens as A. macrantha purpurea; also under the name of A. spectabilis.
A. h. rosea (rose-coloured).* fl.-heads delicate rose, very profuse. Habit very compact and free-branching. A very showy and desirable variety, known in gardens as A. macrantha rosea.
A. macrantha (large-flowered). Synonymous with A. humilis.
A. sesamoides (Sesamum-like). fl.-heads purple and white, sessile, solitary, terminal. April. l. acerose linear, keeled, smooth, appressed. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1739.
APHIDES, or PLANT LICE. These belong to the order Homoptera, meaning "same winged," and the name has reference to the fact that the fore wings are uniform in their structure from base to apex, not divided into a leathery base and a membranous tip. Aphides are all minute in size, soft bodied, and generally long legged; the mouth is furnished with a curiously-constructed beak, or rostrum, for sucking the juice of plants; the antennæ, or feelers, are long and slender; the legs have usually two joints in the tarsi, one of which is generally very ill-developed; and near the tip of the abdomen, on the back of a ring, in many kinds, stand two prominent tubes, called honey-tubes, from which a sweet secretion, much sought after by ants, is emitted. They are very destructive, and nearly every plant has its own peculiar Aphis; but among the worst are the cherry fly and bean fly. All these insects are very destructive to the young shoots and foliage of plants, on which they cluster in large numbers, sometimes completely hiding the stems, increasing with marvellous rapidity. They produce eggs in autumn, which lie dormant through the winter, and upon the approach of warm weather in spring, hatch and produce individuals which, during the summer, are viviparous, budding off young insects at a surprising rate, which quickly in turn become possessed of the same marvellous power; hence the enormous number which are produced in so surprisingly short a time. It has been computed that in a few weeks many millions of young might be produced directly or descended from a single female. See also [Black Fly] and [Bean Fly.]
The following remedies may be successfully employed:
Tobacco. This is applied, as a rule, in three forms, each of which is useful for particular purposes. Tobacco powder is useful as a dry application to plants where, from any cause, the other modes of employing it are not desirable. It causes no smell, and is useful in conservatories, &c., for that reason. The mode of applying it is to dredge or dust it over the foliage of the plants affected, and to syringe off in from three to thirty hours, according to the nature of the plants. Fumigation with tobacco, if done in a proper way, is very effective, but it leaves an unpleasant smell. The foliage of the plants should be quite dry, and a still day must be chosen for the work; the house should be filled with smoke, but no flame must arise in the burning. The plants should be well syringed the next morning, and full ventilation allowed; if the fumigation is repeated twice or thrice, it will prove very effectual. Tobacco water is made by soaking a pound of coarse shag in 6gals. of hot water, to which ½lb. of size or soft soap has been added. The plants should be dipped into or syringed with this mixture, and well syringed with clean tepid water about twelve hours after. It should not be employed for plants having woolly or hairy foliage. Tobacco paper and cloth are used for fumigating in the same manner as tobacco; but as they vary in strength, more care is necessary, as they sometimes cause the leaves to become spotted. Judiciously employed, they are cheaper than Tobacco.