ARACHNOID. Resembling a cobweb in appearance; seeming to be covered with cobweb, in consequence of the entanglement of long, white hairs.
FIG. 140. ARACHIS HYPOGÆA, showing Leaf, Flower, &c., and Cluster of short wrinkled Pods.
ARALIA (meaning unknown). ORD. Araliaceæ. This widely-grown genus includes stove, greenhouse, and hardy, herbaceous and shrubby plants. Flowers inconspicuous, umbellate, the umbels usually disposed in panicles; petals five, inserted on the margin of the disk; stamens five (see Fig. 142). Leaves usually compound. These plants are of moderately free growth, and the majority are easy to manage. Those requiring indoor treatment thrive well under the ordinary routine of management. One most important requirement, however, is that they must be kept well supplied with water at the roots. The finer, or stove varieties, should be potted in a mixture of sandy loam and peat, with the addition of a little fibrous leaf soil, and sufficient sand to keep the whole porous. The stronger growing kinds thrive in a richer compost. Propagation by cuttings of the roots is a common and very successful method. To obtain the roots, one of the strongest plants should be turned out of the pot, and the roots should be cleared of soil by shaking or washing it out; the requisite number of pieces should then be selected. As each piece is removed, it should have the end nearest the stem cut horizontally, to distinguish it from the other or furthermost end. In planting cuttings of the roots, it is best to place the end nearest the stem uppermost. The pieces may be left about 2in. long, and should be inserted in pots, well drained, and filled with sandy soil, leaving the tops of the cuttings about level with the surface of the soil. A square of glass must be placed over the top of each pot, plunging them in moderate bottom heat. The stems of the plants from which the roots have been taken may be cut into pieces 1in. or 1½in. long, leaving an eye or bud near the top; a slice of half the shoot may be taken off opposite the bud. When prepared, these pieces should be pressed into pots of sand or sandy soil, and plunged into bottom heat. The stems may be cut down without disturbing the roots; in that case, if the pots are plunged in bottom heat, and kept moderately supplied with water, they will probably throw up several suckers or shoots from the roots. These, if taken off with a portion of root to each, and placed in small sized pots, will, with a little care, soon make useful plants. All the hardy species and most of the greenhouse ones are propagated readily by cuttings or pieces of roots. Some of the stove species, however, are very difficult to increase, except by grafting. Among these are [A. leptophylla,] [A. Veitchii,] &c. These should be worked on stocks of [A. Guilfoylei] or [A. reticulata,] the latter being the better of the two. Cuttings of either of these strike readily, and stocks fit for grafting are easily procured. In sheltered and warm positions, the greenhouse species are admirably suited for sub-tropical gardening, either planted singly or in groups. See also Dimorphanthus, Fatsia, Hedera, Heptapleurum, Monopanax, Oreopanax, and Panax.
A. canescens (greyish). A garden synonym of A. chinensis.
A. Chabrierii (Chabrier's).* l. alternate, pinnate, about a foot long; pinnæ opposite, 6in. to 9in. long, linear-lanceolate, deep green, with a heavy crimson midrib. 1882. Suitable for table decoration. A charming stove species.
FIG. 141. ARALIA CHINENSIS.
A. chinensis (Chinese).* fl. white; panicles terminal; peduncles umbelliferous. l. petiolate, coriaceous, woolly on both surfaces when young (only); pinnæ seven, ovate, serrated at the apex, erect and distinct. h. 5ft. to 6ft. 1838. This species, if planted in a soil with a dry porous bottom, will prove to be hardy. SYN. A. canescens, of gardens. See Fig. 141.
A. concinna (neat). l. unequally pinnate; pinnæ lobed and serrate. Stem spotted. New Caledonia, 1879. A handsome stove species, but very rare. SYNS. [A. spectabilis,] Delarbrea spectabilis.
A. crassifolia (thick-leaved). A synonym of Pseudopanax crassifolium.
A. edulis (edible).* fl. numerous, white; umbels globose, axillary and terminal, united into simple or compound racemes. Summer. l., lower ones pinnate, with five leaflets, or three pinnate, with divisions of three to five leaflets; upper ones generally simple, with stalked leaflets, having a cordate base, ovate, acute, finely toothed, downy. h. 4ft. to 6ft. Japan, 1843. Hardy, herbaceous, perennial, hairy, and spineless.
A. elegantissima (most elegant).* l. digitate, on long dark green footstalks, which are mottled with white; leaflets seven to ten, filiform, and, being pendulous, impart a very graceful character to the plant. Stem straight, erect. South Sea Islands, 1873. Stove species, excellent for table decoration.
A. filicifolia (fern-leaved).* l., leafstalks sheathing at the base, and terete in the upper part, expanding into a broad leafy limb which is impari-pinnately divided; pinnæ opposite, deeply pinnatifid, bright green, with a purplish midrib. Stem and leafstalks purplish, thickly marked with oblong white spots. Polynesia, 1876.
A. gracillima (most graceful). Synonymous with [A. Veitchii gracillima.]
A. Guilfoylei (Guilfoyle's).* l. pinnate, on long smooth terete petioles; leaflets oblong-elliptic, bluntish, from three to seven, they are sometimes obscurely lobed, and irregularly spinose, serrate, varying in size from 2in. to 3in. long, neatly and evenly margined with creamy white, the surface being in addition occasionally splashed with grey. Stem erect, copiously dotted with lenticular markings. South Sea Islands, 1876. Stove species.
A. heteromorpha (many-formed).* l. sometimes ovate-lanceolate and serrated, and at others bifid or even trifid at the apex, about 6in. to 8in. or 9in. long, bright shining green. A very desirable species, of robust and compact habit.
A. japonica (Japanese). Another name for Fatsia japonica.
A. Kerchoveana (Count Kerchove's). l. digitate, almost circular in outline; leaflets nine to eleven, spreading, elliptic-lanceolate, conspicuously serrated or undulated margins, of a deep glossy green relieved by a pale midrib. 1883. A very elegant slender-stemmed plant from the South Sea Islands, and likely to prove valuable for decorative purposes. Stove species.
A. leptophylla (slender-leaved).* l. compound, bearing often seven or more petiolate leaflets of a somewhat pendent character, and dark green in colour. 1862. An elegant stove or greenhouse slender growing species.
A. longipes (long-stalked). l. digitate, long stalked, and rather distant; leaflets oblanceolate acuminate, slightly undulated at the edge; petioles elongated. Stems simple. North Australia, 1882. A very distinct erect-growing evergreen stove species.
A. maculata (spotted). l. of a light green colour; leaflets oblong-acuminate, in about four pairs. Stem erect, which, as well as the stalks of the leaves, is of a blackish-purple hue, thickly spotted with green dots. This peculiar colouring is very distinct and conspicuous. South Pacific Islands. Stove species.
A. Maximowiczii (Maximowicz's).* l. on long stalks, palmately five to seven-lobed; lobes lanceolate, 3½in. long, serrate. Japan, 1874. An elegant and distinct hardy shrub, with erect spiny stem. SYN. Acanthopanax ricinifolium.
A. monstrosa (monstrous).* l. pendent, pinnate; leaflets three to seven, oblong elliptic, deeply and irregularly serrated (this serration sometimes takes most fantastic forms), broadly margined with creamy white, the surface blotched with grey. South Sea Islands, 1880. Stove species.
A. nudicaulis (naked-stemmed).* fl. greenish; scape trifid at the apex, shorter than the leaf, each division bearing a many-flowered umbel. June. l. radical, the divisions pinnately five foliate; leaflets oblong-oval, with a long tapering point, serrate. Root horizontal, very long. h. 3ft. to 4ft. North America, 1731. Quite hardy, herbaceous perennial.
A. Osyana (Osyan).* Resembling A. leptophylla, but with leaflets deeply bifid at the ends; surface colour bright green; primary veins and tips of the leaflets chocolate brown. South Sea Islands, 1870. Very elegant stove species.
A. pentaphylla (five-leaved).* l. digitate, or sometimes only three leaflets are produced, each varying from 6in. to 10in. in length, and from 1in. to 2in. in breadth, deeply lobed or pinnatifid, bright shining green. Stem arboreous, prickly. h. 20ft. Japan. SYN. Panax spinosa.
A. p. variegata (variegated). l. broadly edged with creamy white. Japan, 1874.
A. quercifolia (oak-leaved).* l. opposite, trifoliate; leaflets deeply sinuate; lower petioles about 3in. long, light shining green. New Britain, 1880. Very pretty stove species.
FIG. 142. FLOWER OF ARALIA RACEMOSA, enlarged.