ADA (a complimentary name). ORD. Orchideæ. An evergreen orchid, very closely allied to Brassia, from which it differs chiefly in having the lip parallel with, and solidly united to, the base of the column. Some authorities now refer the plant to the genus Mesospinidium. It requires to be potted in peat and sphagnum, in equal parts. The drainage must be perfect, and, during summer, the water supply profuse. Although in winter far less will suffice, the plant should not be allowed to become dry. Propagated by divisions as soon as the plant commences growth.
A. aurantiaca (orange).* fl. orange-scarlet, in long terminal nodding racemes, each bearing from six to ten blossoms; petals elongated, streaked with black inside. Winter and spring. l. two or three to each plant, linear, dark green, about 6in. in length. Habit erect, with somewhat cylindrical pseudo-bulbs, which taper upwards. See Fig. 25.
ADAMIA (named after John Adam, some time Governor-General of India, and a promoter of natural history). ORD. Saxifrageæ. A small genus of Hydrangea-like greenhouse evergreen shrubs, having many flowered terminal corymbs of flowers, and opposite, petiolate, oblong-lanceolate, serrated leaves. They thrive well in a mixture of loam, peat, and sand; and cuttings will root readily in a similar compost, under a hand glass.
A. cyanea (blue-berried). fl. whitish, or pink. June. h. 6ft. Nepaul, in rocky places, 1829.
A. sylvatica (wood). fl. blue; cymes nearly undivided, on short peduncles, disposed in a close panicle. June. h. 6ft. Java, 1846.
A. versicolor (many-coloured). fl. blue. August. China, 1844.
ADAM'S APPLE. See Citrus Limetta and Musa paradisiaca.
ADAMSIA. See Geum, Puschkinia, Sieversia.
ADAM'S NEEDLE. See Yucca.
ADANSONIA (named after Michael Adanson, an eminent French botanist). Baobab Tree. ORD. Sterculiaceæ. This is reputed to be one of the largest trees in the world, as far as the girth of the trunk is concerned; but it is seldom seen in cultivation in this country.
A. digitata (finger-leaved). fl. white, about 6in. across, with purplish anthers, on long, axillary, solitary pedicels. l. palmate, with three leaflets in the young plants, and five to seven in adult ones. h. 40ft. Africa.
ADDER'S FERN. See Polypodium vulgare.