A. albo-lineata (white-lined).* l. elliptic lanceolate, pale green, marked with oblique broad bands of white. h. 3ft. to 4ft. New Guinea, 1880.
A. mutica (beardless). fl. in pairs on a spike-like raceme; calyx white; corolla duplex, consisting of three outer oblong white segments; upper lobe concave and projecting, broad; lip large, bright yellow, veined with crimson; mouth finely crispulate at the edge. Borneo, 1882. A very handsome species.
A. nutans (nodding).* fl. pink, sweetly-scented; racemes drooping. May. l. lanceolate, smooth, even, entire. h. 13ft. India, 1792. This species looks best in considerable masses, even larger than those shown in the illustration, grown in large pots or tubs, or planted out in borders of tropical houses. It should on no account be severely divided. See Fig. 62.
FIG. 62. ALPINIA NUTANS, showing Form of Individual Flower.
A. vittata (striped).* l. 6in. to 8in. long, elliptic lanceolate, tapering to a long fine point, and also narrowed gradually towards the sheathing base, pale green, marked by broad stripes of dark green and creamy white, running off from the midrib in divergent lines, corresponding to the venation. South Sea Islands. See Fig. 63, for which we are indebted to Mr. Bull.
ALSIKE. See Trifolium hybridum.
ALSODEIA (from alsodes, leafy; plants thickly beset with leaves). ORD. Violarieæ. Ornamental evergreen stove shrubs. Flowers small, whitish, racemose; petals equal; racemes axillary and terminal; pedicels bracteate jointed. Leaves usually alternate, feather-nerved; stipules small, deciduous. They thrive best in a mixture of loam and sand, and young cuttings root readily under a bell glass if planted in sand, in heat.
A. latifolia (broad-leaved).* fl. on dense, glabrous racemes. l. ovate, obtusely acuminated. h. 6ft. Madagascar, 1823.
A. pauciflora (few-flowered). fl. few, somewhat corymbose; pedicels reflexed. l. wedge-shaped, on short footstalks. h. 4ft. Madagascar, 1824.
ALSOPHILA (from alsos, a grove, and phileo, to love; in reference to the situation which they affect in Nature). ORD. Filices. A magnificent genus of tropical and temperate tree ferns. Sori globose, dorsal, on a vein or in the forking of a vein; receptacle mostly elevated, frequently villous; involucre none. The species of this genus require an abundant supply of water, particularly in summer, and the young fronds must be carefully shaded from solar heat. They thrive well in a peat and loam compost. For general culture, see Ferns.
A. aculeata (prickly).* fronds ample, tripinnate. rachises brown-stramineous; pinnæ ovate-lanceolate, 1ft. to 1½ft. long; pinnules sessile, ligulate, 3in. to 4in. long, ½in. to ¾in. broad; segments close, ligulate, blunt, denticulate, often less than one line broad; both sides bright green, slightly hairy on the ribs, not scaly. sori minute, medial; texture herbaceous. Tropical America; very common. A very effective stove species. SYN. A. ferox, &c. See Fig. 64.
A. armata (armed).* fronds ample, tripinnatifid or tripinnate. rachises stramineous, densely pilose; pinnæ oblong-lanceolate, 1½ft. to 2ft. long; pinnules ligulate-lanceolate, sessile, 3in. to 5in. long, ¾in. to 1in. broad; segments falcate, blunt, one to one and a half lines broad, sub-entire or toothed; both sides densely pilose on the ribs, not scaly. sori subcostular. Tropical America; extremely abundant. Stove species.
