ARISTOTELIA (said to be named in honour of Aristotle, the Greek philosopher). ORD. Tiliaceæ. A hardy evergreen shrub. Calyx campanulate; petals five, inserted in the base of the calyx, and alternating with its lobes. Easily grown, in ordinary garden soil, in the shrubbery. Propagated by ripened cuttings, which root freely if placed under a hand glass; or by layers.
A. Macqui (Macqui's).* fl. small, greenish, axillary. May. l. nearly opposite, stalked, oblong, acute, smooth, shining, dentate, permanent. h. 6ft. Chili, 1733. A shrub esteemed for its handsome foliage. The berries are about the size of a pea, very dark purple, at length becoming black. The variegated form is not so hardy as the type, but much more ornamental.
ARMENIACA (from Armenia, the native country of the Apricot). Apricot. ORD. Rosaceæ. TRIBE Drupaceæ. Small, hardy, deciduous trees. Flowers appearing before the leaves from scaly buds, solitary, or few together, almost sessile. Leaves, when young, convolute. Drupe ovate-globose, fleshy, covered with velvety skin, containing a nut, or stone, which is acute at one end and blunt at the other, with a furrow on both sides; the rest smooth, not wrinkled. For culture, &c., see [Apricot] and Prunus.
A. brigantiaca (Brigancon).* fl. white or pink, glomerate, almost sessile. March. l. somewhat cordate, acuminated, sharply toothed; the teeth numerous, and lapping over each other. h. 6ft. to 8ft. South Europe, 1819.
A. dasycarpa (thick-fruited).* fl. white, pedicellate; pedicels filiform. March. l. ovate, acuminate, serrated; petioles glandular. h. 10ft. to 15ft. China, 1800.
A. sibirica (Siberian). fl. rose-coloured. April. l. ovate, acuminate; petioles glandless. h. 8ft. to 20ft. Dahuria, 1788.
A. vulgaris (common).* Common Apricot. fl. pinkish-white, sessile. February. l. ovate, or cordate, glabrous, glandularly serrated. h. 15ft. Levant, 1548. Of this species numerous varieties, differing in the foliar outline, &c., are sometimes met with. See [Apricot.]
ARMERIA. (from Flos Armeriæ, Latin name for the flowers of a species of Pink). Thrift; Sea Pink. ORD. Plumbagineæ. A very interesting and pretty group of hardy alpine tufted perennials. Flowers pedicellate, collected in dense solitary heads; involucre scarious, sheathing the scape and turned downwards; petals cohering at the base, persistent; flower scapes leafless. Leaves linear, radical. As the majority of the species differ in mere technical details, we have given a representative group only. They are easily cultivated in a sandy loam and leaf soil, and are increased by seeds and division, separate pieces being planted as cuttings under hand glasses; or the rarer kinds should be potted and placed in a frame. The seed should be sown in spring, in pots of sandy soil, and placed in a cold frame. Although best grown as rock plants, most of them do well in pots and borders. A. vulgaris makes one of the best of edging plants.
A. cephalotes (round-headed).* fl. deep rose or crimson, in a large roundish head on erect stalk. Autumn. l. broadly lanceolate, glabrous, acute; petioles channelled, sheathing at the base. h. 12in. to 18in. South Europe, 1800. This is perhaps the finest species, and is best raised from an annual sowing of seed, as it is somewhat difficult to increase by divisions. SYNS. A. formosa, A. latifolia, A. mauritanica, and A. pseudo-armeria.
A. dianthoides (Pink-like).* fl. light pink, in close heads about 6in. high. May and June. l. spreading, flattened, nerved, slightly downy. South Europe, 1810.
A. formosa (handsome). Synonymous with A. cephalotes.
A. juncea (rush-like).* fl. rose pink, in small heads about 3in. high. June. l. small, erect, roundish, pointed, deep green. South Europe. A very pretty little alpine species.
A. juniperifolia (Juniper-leaved).* fl. deep rose, in small densely packed heads. May and June. l. short, stiff, erect, Juniper-like. h. 6in., with a dense tufted habit. Spain, 1818. Plant in a warm well-drained portion of the rockery in very sandy soil, with some nodules of sandstone intermixed.
A. latifolia (broad-leaved). Synonymous with A. cephalotes.
A. leucantha (white-flowered). A white-flowered variety of A. plantaginea.
A. maritima (sea). Synonymous with A. vulgaris.
A. mauritanica (Mediterranean). Synonymous with A. cephalotes.
A. plantaginea (Plantain-leaved).* fl. bright rose; scapes taller than in A. vulgaris. l. broader, three to five-nerved, and with a stouter growing habit than the common species. h. 1ft. South Europe, 1818. A very pretty species. SYNS. A. leucantha, which is frequently called A. p. alba, and A. scorzoneræfolia.
A. pseudo-armeria (false-Armeria). Synonymous with A. cephalotes.
A. scorzoneræfolia (Scorzonera-leaved). Synonymous with A. plantaginea.
A. setacea (bristly).* fl. light rose, in small heads about 2in. high, very freely produced from the axils of the leaves. April to June. l. in dense rosettes, erect, or nearly so, narrow, acute, the tufts having a bristly appearance. h. 3in. South Europe. Plant in a semi-perpendicular cranny of the rockery, with a sunny position.
A. vulgaris (common).* Common Thrift; Sea Pink. fl. pink, rosy red, lilac, or white (the latter known as A. v. alba), collected into a rounded head on the top of the simple scape. June to August. l. all radical, numerous, linear, usually one-nerved, more or less pubescent. h. 6in. to 12in. Britain, on the sea coasts. A. v. alpina is a dwarf alpine form of this species. The white-flowered variety is very handsome. A. v. Laucheana is also a pretty form, with deep pink flowers in dense heads about 6in. high, and a very tufted habit. Crimson Gem, of garden origin, is stronger growing, with stems about 9in. high, carrying heads of bright crimson pink flowers, also of tufted habit. SYNS. A. maritima, Statice Armeria.
ARNEBIA (its Arabian name). ORD. Boraginaceæ. Handsome hardy herbaceous perennials or annuals, allied to Lithospermum. Cuttings should be removed with a heel in autumn, dibbled in sandy soil in small pots, and placed in a cool house, where they will ultimately, though slowly, root; they should then be gradually hardened off, and finally planted out. A. echioides is also easily increased by making cuttings of the strong roots, which should be dibbled in pots of sandy soil, and placed in gentle heat; it is also raised from seed.
A. echioides (Echium-like).* fl. bright primrose yellow, with a purplish spot in the sinuses between the lobes of the corolla, which gradually disappears in a few days; spikes terminal, large, solitary, secund. May. l. sessile, alternate; margins—as well as the stems—ciliated. h. 9in. to 12in. Armenia. One of the showiest of hardy perennials for the border or rockery.
A. Griffithii (Griffith's). This differs from above in having narrower leaves, rather smaller flowers, which are of a more decided yellow, a differently shaped calyx, and a longer corolla. h. 9in. North-west India. Equally desirable, were it a perennial; but, being an annual, it must be constantly raised from seed.
ARNICA (from arnakis, lambskin; in reference to the texture of the leaves). ORD. Compositæ. Hardy, dwarf, herbaceous perennials, allied to Senecio. They thrive best in loam, peat, and sand; the plants are best divided in spring. Seeds should be procured when possible, and sown in a cold frame, in spring. The only species worth growing are described below.
A. Aronicum. Synonymous of A. scorpioides.
A. Chamissonis (Chamisso's).* fl.-heads yellow, 1½in. to 2in. across, arranged in a corymb. July to September. l. oblong-lanceolate, acuminate or acute, tomentose, tapering to the base. h. 1ft. to 2ft. North America. A rather scarce, showy species.
A. Clusii (Clusius's). fl.-heads yellow, solitary, terminal; stalks long, thickened towards the top, and covered with long hairs. Summer. l. soft, radical ones entire, or nearly so, oblong, obtuse, attenuated into the petiole; cauline ones sessile, half stem-clasping, lanceolate, toothed in the lower part. h. 1ft. Switzerland, 1819. SYN. Doronicum Clusii.
A. foliosa (leafy).* fl.-heads pale yellow, about 1in. across, from three to seven in a corymb. August. l. lanceolate, stalked, acute, denticulate, smooth. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Stems springing from slender rhizome-like shoots. United States. Closely allied to A. montana. It requires a damp situation.
A. montana (mountain).* Mountain Tobacco. fl.-heads yellow, three or four together, about 2in. in diameter; ray florets numerous. July. l. radical, except a few on the scape, oblong-lanceo-late, entire, smooth. Habit tufted. h. 1ft. Europe. 1731. A very handsome but rare plant; excellent for a rockery. It is slowly increased. See Fig. 150.