A. fimbriatum (fringed). fl., corolla blue, large, tubularly funnel-shaped, clothed with minute glandular pubescence outside; lobes unequally serrated; racemes terminal, four to sixteen-flowered. June, November. l. lanceolate, acute, serrated, rough to the touch from numerous elevated dots. Stem smooth, glossy. h. 2ft. to 3ft. New Holland (on the banks of the Brisbane River at Moreton Bay), 1830.
ARTANTHE. See Piper.
ARTEMISIA (from Artemis, one of the names of Diana). Mugwort; Southernwood; Wormwood. ORD. Compositæ. A very large genus of mostly hardy herbaceous perennials, few of which, comparatively speaking, are worth growing. Flower-heads disposed in spikes, or racemes, and these are usually arranged in panicles; pappus none; involucre few-flowered, ovate or rounded, imbricated; florets of the disk all tubular; of the ray, if any, slender, awl-shaped. Leaves alternate, variously lobed. All the species are of the easiest possible culture in any dry soil. The shrubby kinds are best propagated by cuttings; the herbaceous ones, by dividing at the root; and the annuals, by seeds.
A. Abrotanum (aromatic herb).* Southernwood. fl.-heads yellowish. August to October. l., lower ones bipinnate; upper ones pinnate, with the segments hair-like. Stem straight. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Europe, 1548. A deciduous shrub; well known for its fragrance.
A. A. humile (low). A low spreading variety. h. 1½ft.
A. A. tobolskianum (Tobolskian). A much more vigorous growing variety than the last, and larger in all its parts than the type.
A. alpina (alpine).* fl.-heads yellow, solitary, on long slender stalks; scales of involucre lanceolate. Summer. l. pinnate, covered with whitish silky hairs; lobes linear, entire. h. 6in. to 10in. Caucasus, 1804. Dwarf, with a very tufted habit.
A. anethifolia (Anethum-leaved). fl.-heads yellowish-green, small; panicle very large, densely packed, nearly 2ft. long. Autumn. l. chiefly cauline, much divided into thread-like segments, greyish-green. Stem shrubby at the base, nearly glabrous, branching at the top. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Siberia, 1816.
A. argentea (silvery).* fl.-heads pale yellow, roundish, closely packed. July. l. ovate-oblong, very freely divided, densely clothed with soft silvery hairs. h. 1½ft. Madeira, 1777. A very pretty species, requiring a warm sunny position on the rockery.
A. cana (hoary).* fl.-heads yellow, small, uninteresting, ovate, in a close spiky panicle. August. l. silky, hoary; lower ones wedge-shaped, sharply three-cleft; cauline ones linear-lanceolate, three-nerved. Stem ascending; branches erect. h. 2ft. to 3ft. North America, 1800. This is a very distinct species, and its silvery leaves and stems render it well worthy of cultivation.
A. cœrulescens (bluish).* fl.-heads bluish, erect, cylindrical. August. l. hoary, most of them lanceolate, entire, tapering at the base; lower ones variously divided. h. 2ft. South Europe. An ornamental evergreen shrub.
A. Dracunculus.* Tarragon. fl.-heads whitish green; racemes panicled; heads sub-globose. July. l., radical ones three-fid; cauline ones sessile, linear or linear-oblong, acute, entire, toothed. h. 2ft. South Europe, 1548. See Tarragon.
A. frigida (frigid). fl.-heads yellow, uninteresting, small, roundish, racemosely panicled. August. l. pinnate; segments narrow, silvery. h. 1ft. Siberia, 1826. A pretty creeping, herbaceous plant.
A. maritima (maritime). fl.-heads brown; racemes oblong, erect or drooping. August and September. l. downy, bipinnatifid, oblong; segments linear. Britain. A much branched, erect, or decumbent plant, excellent for rough rockwork or very dry banks, etc.
A. Mutellina (Mutellina).* fl.-heads yellowish-green; lower ones stalked, upper ones sessile. July. l. all palmate, multifid, white. Stem quite simple. h. 6in. European Alps, 1815.
A. pontica (Pontine). fl.-heads yellow, roundish, stalked, nodding. September. l. downy beneath; cauline ones bipinnate; leaflets linear. h. 3ft. Austria, 1570.
A. rupestris (rock). fl.-heads brown, globose, stalked, nodding. August. l. sub-pubescent; cauline ones pinnatifid; leaflets linear, acute. h. 6in. Norway, &c., 1748.
A. scoparia (twiggy-branched). fl.-heads small, whitish; panicle broad, densely packed, about 1½ft. long. Autumn. l. much divided; segments hair-like; lower branches very slender. h. 3ft. to 5ft. East Europe.
A. spicata (spicate). fl.-heads brown, spicate. June and July. l. hoary; radical ones palmate multifid; cauline ones pinnatifid; upper linear, entire, blunt. Stem quite simple. h. 1ft. Switzerland, 1790.
A. Stelleriana (Steller's).* fl.-heads yellow, uninteresting, round, somewhat erect. Summer. l., lower ones spathulate-incised; upper ones obtusely lobed; end lobes often confluent, about 2in. long, silvery white. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Siberia.
A. tanacetifolia (Tanacetum-leaved). fl.-heads brownish; racemes simple, terminal. Summer. l. bipinnate; lobes linear sub-lanceolate, entire, acuminated, rather downy. Stem sometimes branching at the base, herbaceous. h. 1½ft. Siberia, 1768.
A. vulgaris (common).* Mugwort. fl.-heads yellow, somewhat racemed, ovate. August. l. pinnatifid; segments white, and downy beneath. Stems 3ft. to 4ft. high, furrowed. Britain. The variegated form of this species exhibits a very pleasing contrast. There is also a pretty variety with golden leaves.
ARTHROPHYLLUM MADAGASCARIENSE. See Phyllarthron Bojeriana.
ARTHROPODIUM (from arthron, a joint, and pous, a foot; the footstalks of the flowers being jointed). ORD. Liliaceæ. Very pretty greenhouse herbaceous perennials, allied to Anthericum. Flowers purplish or white, in loose racemes. Leaves grass-like, radical. They thrive well in a compost of sandy loam and peat, and may be increased freely by divisions or seeds.
A. cirratum (curled). fl. white; racemes divided; bracteas leafy. May. l. lanceolate, ensiform, spreading, 1ft. long. h. 3ft. New Zealand, 1821.
A. fimbriatum (fringed). fl. white. July. h. 1½ft. New Holland, 1822.
A. neo-caledonicum (New Caledonian).* fl. small, white, on a much-branched, many-flowered panicle. May. l. tufted, linear-lanceolate, barred with black linear markings near the base. h. 1½ft. New Caledonia, 1877.
A. paniculatum (panicled).* fl. white; racemes divided; pedicels clustered; inner sepals crenulate. May. l. narrowly lanceolate. h. 3ft. New South Wales, 1800. A. minus is a small form of this species.
A. pendulum (pendulous).* fl. white, clustered in threes, pendulous. June to August. l. linear, keeled, shorter than the branched scape. h. 1½ft. New Holland, 1822.
ARTHROPTERIS. See Nephrodium and Nephrolepis.
ARTHROSTEMMA (from arthron, a joint, and stemon, a stamen; in reference to the stamens or connectives being jointed). ORD. Melastomaceæ. Beautiful stove or greenhouse evergreen shrubs. Tube of calyx turbinate or campanulate, usually clothed with bristles, pili, or scales; lobes four, lanceolate, permanent, without any appendages between them; petals four. A mixture of loam, peat, and sand, suits them best; and cuttings of small firm side shoots will root, in April or August, under a hand glass in sandy soil. Only three or four out of the half-dozen species belonging to this genus have been as yet introduced.
A. fragile (brittle). fl. rosy; cymes loose, terminal, few-flowered; calyx glandular. July. l. ovate-cordate, acute, five-nerved, serrated; branches tetragonal, beset with glandular hairs. h. 3ft. Mexico, 1846. Stove species.
A. nitida (glossy-leaved). fl. lilac; peduncles axillary towards the top of the branches, three-flowered, longer than the petioles. June. l. ovate, acute, serrulated, glabrous on both surfaces, shining above, but glandularly hispid on the nerves beneath. Stems shrubby, erect, and are, as well as the branches, tetragonally winged, beset with coloured hairs. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Buenos Ayres, 1829 greenhouse species.
A. versicolor (changeable-flowered). fl., petals obovate, ciliated, at first white, but at length becoming reddish, terminal, solitary. September. l. petiolate, ovate, serrulated, five-nerved, discoloured beneath. Plant shrubby; hairy. h. 1ft. Brazil (on the sea shore), 1825. Stove species.