CALLICOMA (from kallos, beauty, and kome, hair; in reference to the tufted heads of flowers). ORD. Saxifrageæ. A greenhouse evergreen shrub. Flowers capitate; heads terminating the tops of the branchlets, pedunculate, globose. Leaves simple, coarsely serrated, stalked. Stipules membranous, bidentate, caducous. It thrives well in a sandy peat soil. Half ripened cuttings will root if placed in the same sort of soil, under a hand glass.
C. serratifolia (saw-leaved). Black Wattle. fl. yellow. May to August. l. lanceolate, acuminate, hoary beneath, attenuated at the base. h. 4ft. New South Wales, 1793. (B. M. 1811.)
CALLIGONUM (from kallos, beauty, and gonu, a knee-joint; in reference to its leafless joint). ORD. Polygonaceæ. SYNS. Pallasia, Pterococcus. A genus containing about a score species of very curious, erect, evergreen, hardy shrubs, found growing in dry, arid, sandy spots in Northern Africa and Western Asia. They will thrive in any well-drained sandy loam. Cuttings will root in spring or autumn if placed under a hand glass.
C. Pallasia (Pallas's). fl. whitish, in groups. May. fr. winged; wings membranous, curled and toothed, succulent, acid, edible. l. simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous, caducous, minute. Shoots rush-like, smooth, green. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Caspian Sea, 1780.
CALLIOPSIS. See Coreopsis.
CALLIPRORA (from kallos, beauty, and prora, a front; referring to the front view of the flower). ORD. Liliaceæ. A very pretty little bulbous plant, now often referred to Brodiæa. It thrives in a well-drained spot on the lower flanks of rockwork, in dry, rich, sandy soil. Propagated by offsets, which should remain on the parent bulbs until they are a good size.
C. lutea (yellow).* Pretty Face. fl., segments purplish-brown in the middle on the outside. Summer. l. linear-lanceolate, acuminated, channelled, longer than the flower-stem; bracts sheathing, scarious, much shorter than the pedicels. h. 9in. North California, 1831. SYNS. Brodiæa ixioides, Milla ixioides. (B. M. 3588.)
CALLIPSYCHE (from kallos, beauty, and psyche, a butterfly; alluding to the handsome flowers). ORD. Amaryllidaceæ. Ornamental greenhouse bulbs; requiring shade, and a compost of rich sandy loam and leaf mould, with good drainage. Propagated by seeds and offsets. They should have plenty of water when growing, and, during the winter, be kept moderately dry, but not dried off, so as to cause them to shrivel. As the leaves wither, water should be gradually withheld.
C. aurantiaca (orange).* fl. deep golden-yellow, several in an umbel, spreading, much flattened sideways; stamens green, twice the length of the perianth; scape erect, nearly 2ft. high. l. few, oblong-acute, bright green, conspicuously veined, stalked, 6in. long. Andes of Ecuador, 1868. (Ref. B. 167.)
C. eucrosiodes (Eucrosia-like).* fl. scarlet and green; stamens very long, incurved; scape about ten-flowered, glaucous. March. l. few, green, tessellated, pitted, 4in. wide. h. 2ft. Mexico, 1843. (B. R. 1845, 45.)
C. mirabilis (wonderful)*, fl. greenish-yellow, small, with stamens three times as long as the perianth, and spreading out on all sides; disposed in an umbellate head of about thirty blooms; scape 3ft. high. l. about two, oblong-spathulate, green, 1ft. long. Peru, 1868. An extremely curious plant. (Ref. B. 168.)
CALLIPTERIS (from kallos, beauty, and pteris, a fern). ORD. Filices. A genus of stove ferns, founded upon the sub-genus Diplazium, which is now included under [Asplenium.]