Taraxacum

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Tecophilsea

TARAXACUM (ta-rax-a-cuin. Com-
positse). Dandelion. Hardy 'perennial
herbs, grown for salads, wine making, etc.
Sow seeds in ordinary soil, April, setting
them 1 in. deep in drills 12 in. apart.
Thin to 6 in. apart in May. If the plants
are to be used for salads, the flower stems
should be removed as soon as they appear,
but if it is desired to make wine, the
flowers should be allowed to grow. The
roots of T. officinale are sometimes lifted,
ground, and used in coffee as chicory.
For salad use, lift the roots in November,
and plant them close together in pots in
sand in the warm greenhouse, covering the
pots to exclude light. These plants are
best treated as annuals, and fresh seed
should be sown each year.

TARRAGON. See HERBS, CULINARY.
-TASSEL FLOWER. See CAOALIA.

TAXODIUM (tax-6'di-um. Conifers).
Deciduous or Swamp Cypress. There are
few more beautiful trees than the Swamp
Cypress with their exquisite tender-green
feathery foliage in spring, and rich brown
tones in autumn.

Culture.—Plant from October to Novem-
ber in moist or swampy ground in full
sun. Propagate by seed sown in a frame.
Cuttings may be struck in water.

T. distichum. The "Deciduous Cypress"
of the southern U.S.A. A very beautiful
and elegant tree up to 150 ft. in swampy
ground. It thrives, too, in ordinary soil.

T. d. pendulum. Smaller growing than
the type; of a weeping or pendulous habit.

TAXUS (Conifer*). Yew. A very
widely-distributed genus of very hardy
evergreen trees and shrubs, thriving in
sun or shade, and in almost any soil,
especially that of a chalky nature. The
one great disadvantage is the poisonous
quality of the foliage to animals. So far
as is known the Canadian and Himalayan
Yew is not poisonous. The Yew bears
clipping remarkably well, and is much
used for hedges and topiary work.

Propagation is best from seed, which
should be kept in sand for a year before
sowing. The named varieties are raised
from cuttings of small shoots in July or
August under a bell-glass or close frame.
SPECIES.

T. laccata. The "Common Yew," too
well known to need any description.

T. b. adprcssa (brevijoUa). Of wide
spreading habit and short broad leaves.

T. b, a. aurea. Young leaves golden.

T. b. Dovastonii (pendula). A distinct
and handsome pendulous variety.

T.b.elegantissima (aurea elegantissima).
A beautiful golden variety for hedges, etc.

T. b. erecta. Distinct, pyramidal habit.

T. b. fastigiata (hibemica). "Irish Yew,"
of columnar habit.

T. b. /. aurea. "Golden Irish Yew."

TAZZA. See VASE.

TEA. See CAMELLIA THEA.

TEA ROSE. See ROSE.

TECOMA (te-ko'-ma. Bignoniace®).
Trumpet Flower. Stove, greenhouse and
hardy climbing shrubs with showy tubular
flowers. N. America, 1640. Best grown
against a warm sunny wall, in good loam.
Prune by cutting back to within a few buds
of the old wood. But this is only neces-
sary when the plant fills its allotted space.

Culture.—Compost: 2 parts fibrous
loam, 1 part peat, J part sand. Eepot
early spring. Prune lightly in February.
Water freely during growing period, but
very little afterwards. Stove temperature,
winter, 60°; summer, 80°. G-reenhouse
temperature, winter, 45°; summer, 65°'.

Propagate by cuttings of young shoots
in sandy soil, or by root cuttings, the
former in the summer in the greenhouse,
the latter in the propagator in the spring;
temperature, 60°.

SPECIES.

T. grandiflora (Bignonia grandi flora}.
China and Japan, 20-30 ft. Flowers deep
orange and scarlet, trumpet shaped, in
pendulous panicles.

T. hybridi (Princei). A hybrid between
T. grandiflora -f T. radicans, with orange-
scarlet flowers.

T. radicans (N. America). Clusters of

rich scarlet and orange flowers, 2-3 in.

long during August and September.

Cultivated in English gardens since 1640.

STOFE SPECIES.

T. amboinensis, orange-red.
GREENHOUSE SPECIES.

T. australis, orange.

T. jasminoides, white and red,

T. Smithii, orange (hybrid).

TECOPHIKffiA (te-kof-i-le-a. Efem-
odoraceae), Chilean Crocus. Half-hardy
bulbous plants. Pot in autumn in a