MiussOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN JBULLETIN VOLUME XXV WITH 26 PLATES ie Bis arg ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI PUBLISHED MONTHLY EXCEPT JULY AND AUGUST, BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: ONE DOLLAR A YEAR SINGLE NUMBER FIFTEEN CENTS MisSOUR! BOTANICAL GARDEN LIBRARY ~ Missouri BoTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Vol. XXV .. JANUARY, 1937 No. 1 CONTENTS Page Forty-eighth Annual Report of the Director . . . 1 Statistical Information = 2° 0. oe A sa ST. LOUIS, MO. 1937 Published Monthly, Except July and August, by the Board of Trustees SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR SINGLE COPIES FIFTEEN CENTS res BOARD OF TRUSTEES . OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS WERE DESIGNATED IN MR. SHAW’S WILL AND THE BOARD SO CONSTITUTED, EXCLUSIVE OF THE EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS, IS SELF-PERPETUATING President GEORGE C. HITCHCOCK Vice-President DANIEL K. CATLIN L. Ray Carter Grorce T. Moore SAMUEL C,. Davis EvuGEeNrE Perrus Tuomas 8S. Marrirr Ernan A. H. Suepiry A. Wesse. SHAPLEIGH EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Grorcse R. THRoop, Wit1iAMm SCARLETT, Bi Chancellor of Washington Uni- Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri +3 versity ies: Bernard F, Dickmann, Rozert J. Terry, Mayor of the City of St. Louis President of The Academy of Sci- ; ence of St. Louis Francis C. SuULLIvan, President of the Board of Education of St, Louis alt Secretary Grratp E. Utrictr grgcee Rag ees REST ROOMS AND KEEPER’S LODGE AT ats. ca te Me “IOA “11INg ‘duv+y ‘“LOg ‘OJ ARBORETUM—ERECTED 1936 SIDE VIEW OF REST ROOMS AND LODGE LE6I Se [ aivig Missourl Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XXV JANUARY, 1937 No. 1 FORTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR To rue Boarp or TrustTeExEs: The Director has the honor to submit his report for the year 1936. That the record for prolonged and extreme cold as well as for prolonged and extreme heat and drought should both have been at- tained in the year just closing is a matter of the greatest conse- quence to an institution like the Garden. Temperature and mois- ture are factors of the utmost importance to plants and when these are beyond control the resulting damage is a vital matter to all those responsible for the care of plants. Details of the effect of the two unprecedented seasons on plants both under glass and out of doors appeared in the BuLLerin for May and September respectively and need not be repeated here. These reports emphasize the necessity of doing everything pos- sible to offset the effect of subsequent hot dry spells. Plans for controlling the temperature of greenhouses containing some of the more valuable plants are being perfected, but experi- ments carried on several years ago demonstrated that any attempt to lower the temperature on any large scale was neither effective nor feasible. Water is of course available in any quantity. For the trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants out of doors a system of irrigation far beyond anything previously available had to be de- vised. Ina region with an average rainfall of nearly forty inches this might seem unnecessary, but the following statement of the actual conditions to be met will emphasize the importance of in- creasing the water supply. (1) 2 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 1. From 15 to 20 per cent of the surface of the Garden is oc- cupied by buildings, walks, and roads. 2. The storm-water drainage system removes all surface water not immediately held or absorbed by the soil. This is as it should be. 3. Large trees shelter from rain a considerable portion of the ground. This increases evaporation, reduces percolation, and favors run-off, since most of the rain is concentrated at the tips of the branches before reaching the ground. 4. As trees and shrubs grow larger more and more water is re- quired. Coupled with this fact there has been a shortage of rain for the last six years. Consequently something had to be done to insure the normal growth, if not the life, of the out-of-door vegetation. In order to reach those areas not served by the city water mains, a centrifugal pump with motor was installed at the edge of the lake in the North American tract. From this point water was pumped to the grove south of the cactus house. At first there was laid a temporary pipe line which carried 3,000 gallons per hour, day and night for two weeks. Then an old main was located and connected, increasing the capacity to 8,000 gallons per hour. It is estimated that 3,210,000 gallons were pumped during the six weeks of operation. The amount of water needed and applied is best shown by that furnished the Mausoleum grove. Pumping be- gan on Monday morning at the rate of 26,400 gallons per eleven- hour day. On Thursday morning a booster pump increased the flow to 44,000 gallons per day. ‘The total amount of water applied was equivalent to an eight-inch rain for this particular area. The full capacity of the pumping unit could not be developed because of the small temporary pipe lines in use. In December work was started uncovering an old four-inch main 2,155 feet long. It is planned to raise this line to within two feet of the sur- face and install several outlets to cover the whole area between the main conservatories and the iris garden. This will materially in- crease the capacity of the system so that sheet irrigation can be carried on at several places simultaneously. It was found during the summer that not more than 4,000 gallons per hour could be dis- charged from a two-inch pipe line without causing serious erosion. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 3 While the proposed system will deliver many times this amount it will be sent through several outlets, thus avoiding that trouble. The usual spraying was done in the greenhouses throughout the summer. However, only a dormant spray for scale control was applied outside, this amounting to 3,500 gallons. A rather suc- cessful attempt was made to wash the soot from American holly and certain evergreens. The results seem to justify additional ef- forts in this direction. Shrub pruning began in March and consisted mainly of severe cutting to rehabilitate plants injured by cold and drought. This work was carried on steadily for seven weeks and continued inter- mittently all summer. Tree pruning began in April and continued until September. It is safe to say that more brush from pruning was hauled and burned than ever before in a similar period. The whole nursery, as well as certain other fields from which potting soil is taken, was ploughed and sown to winter vetch. The bent grass around the lily pools was removed, the soil especially prepared, and all of the area re-plugged with a new variety of creeping bent. Forty-eight yards of manure, leaf mold, and peat were hauled for this work. 'T'wo of the shrubbery beds in the knolls were shortened and the rest eliminated. After the neces- sary grading these areas were plugged with bent grass or sown to red-top. In April the bent-grass nurseries were ploughed and plugged. All lawns were raked in March and April and re-seeded. Attempts were made to control weeds in the lawns, nearly 1,000 pounds of iron sulphate and 150 pounds of calcium chlorate being applied either in solution through the sprayer or spread by hand. The Garden has always furnished feed for the resident quail during the winter, and through the summer most maintenance op- erations are modified to further their well-being. One serious problem is the mowing of the grass in the open fields. The mow- ing season comes at a time when the quail are nesting but generally an effort is made to postpone it until incubation is over. Last year quail were found nesting in late August and a few nests were acci- dentally destroyed. During the summer two rather serious grass fires occurred. Our own fire-fighting equipment, consisting of the tractor and sprayer, has proved efficient in controlling such fires. To facili- 4 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN tate fire fighting, the sprayer tank, holding 300 gallons of water, vas kept filled and standing in the open. To localize any fires which might start, all the North American tract was subdivided and separated from the Garden by plowed fire lanes. The tractor has been used for snow removal, ploughing, road rolling, discing, harrowing, cultivating, mowing, raking, and with the trailer in general hauling. The truck throughout the year has hauled on an average of twelve loads per day. Over 200 yards of material have been hauled and shredded into the compost and soil bins. At the present time wheelbarrows and hand-carts are used only in places inaccessible for the truck or tractor and trailer. Some changes in beds and walks were made in the medicinal garden. About 45 yards of compost and field soil and 10 loads of manure were hauled into this area. Twenty-eight yards of manure, compost, and field soil were brought into the knolls and a smaller amount used in the English, Linnean, and rose gardens. The aroid house was closed from May 20 to September 10 to per- mit the removal and rebuilding of the walk above the steam tunnel, The design of the walk was changed to allow the use of reinforced concrete instead of exposed steel supports. Construction and repairs.—The majority of the greenhouses are twenty-five years old or older and their maintenance calls for increasing care as the years go by. During the summer the en- tire roof of the citrus house was rebuilt and the gable ends of the citrus and aroid houses were dismantled and many mullions re- placed. The supporting braces for side ventilators in the exotic range were replaced with new angle irons. Six new concrete water-lily tanks, replacing the old metal tanks, were built. One of the most important items of repair was rebuilding the walk in the aroid house in front of the alcoves. This walk was formerly sus- pended over the heating trench by means of metal supports, and because of the large crowds using it, had become unsafe. It was rebuilt on concrete foundations and should last indefinitely. It is interesting to know that the cast-iron gratings originally used here were salvaged from the old palm house built by Henry Shaw. In order to afford greater heat radiation, as well as access to steam mains, concrete retaining walls were torn out and rebuilt in the MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 5 cactus, cyead, and coffee houses. Guttering and downspouts were replaced on many of the buildings and innumerable minor repairs of all sorts attended to. The heating plant requires much attention during the summer months in order that it may be kept at its highest efficiency during the winter. Besides replacing and repairing valves, regulators, diaphragms, etc., the 10-inch steam main with 4-inch return mains in the valve chamber were dismantled and repaired. The heating coils in the experimental houses were rearranged and 250 feet of main supply pipe were installed to furnish steam to coils in the Linnean house. All the thermostat traps, numbering over 300, at the ends of the heating coils were removed and cleaned, and the usual amount of attention was given to the boilers, grates, feed pumps, etc. With the increasing age of all the structures at the Garden, painting becomes a more important item each year. The interior of the palm house was finished during the summer, including the spraying of the lantern with paint. Other interior painting in- cluded the citrus house, the aroid house and alcoves, the water-lily alcove, and at the main entrance the rest rooms and offices. The exteriors of the eight growing houses, the citrus house, and the Cleveland Avenue gatehouse, including the roof of the latter, received two coats of paint. All of the wire and iron fences on Magnolia Avenue, on Alfred Avenue from Shenandoah to Mag- nolia, and on Tower Grove Avenue from Magnolia to Russell, re- ceived one coat of black paint. Some 10,000 permanent labels were either written or stamped and installed. The same number of temporary wooden labels were used, the preparation of which entailed considerable investigation and labor. OUTDOOR PLANTING The Knolls.—The knoll borders, comprising 3,250 lineal feet and varying in width from 8 to 12 feet, were entirely replanted in the spring of 1936. These border plantings contain mostly peren- nial plants although some annuals are added for color during the summer months. Existing groups of perennials were divided and replanted and new plants were added to the collection. Five hun- 6 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN dred chrysanthemum plants, representing 50 hardy and all of the new Korean varieties, made a brilliant showing in the fall. These border plantings became well established during the summer, but it required a program of watering unprecedented since these knolls were created in 1914. Revolving and pipe-line sprinklers were operated night and day from the end of May until the middle of September. With this irrigation system it was possible to water all of the trees, shrubs, and border plantings on the knolls in one week. However, the plants dried out so rapidly during the exces- sive heat spells that this watering had to be repeated each week. The irises were divided and replanted during the summer and in fall many of the peonies were divided and reset. In November 800 bulbs of Lycoris squamigera were planted in groups of 10 and 20, The Linnean Garden.—Very few changes were made in this garden during the year. A few new dwarf perennial asters, some new varieties of irises, and the latest varieties of hardy chrysanthe- mums were the only new plants added. The perennial borders which parallel the walk from the Linnean garden to the floral dis- play house were trenched to a depth of 2 to 3 feet to eliminate the underlying hardpan. Rose Garden.—The work, begun several years ago, of prepar- ing the rose beds by the addition of drainage material, fresh soil, and manure, was continued in the fall. The severe cold of January and February froze the climbing roses to the ground, but the rose canes have again reached their normal height. The bush roses bloomed freely in the spring and again in the autumn, although the fall rose season was not as good as that of 1934. The beneficial rains and cooler weather came too late for the roses to fully recover before hard frost, and the roses that did open during the hot mid-summer days were scorched. Very few rose plants actually died from the excessive heat. With frequent watering they maintained their strength, but made very little growth until cooler weather returned after the middle of September. Red spider was the most troublesome insect pest. The roses were free from any mildew or black spot, due to the rigid spraying MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 7 and dusting program carried out each year, and also to the ex- tremely dry weather which holds these diseases in check. Some rose species, polyantha and hybrid perpetual roses, were grown in nursery rows. When only one plant of a variety is avail- able it is better cared for in a nursery row than in a display garden. Italian Garden.—The California privet hedges were badly frozen and had to be cut to the ground, but by early August they had again grown high enough for shearing. The bedding plants grew well despite the excessive heat. Economic Garden.—A Mexican Amaranthus termed ‘‘Alegria” and an improved variety of Jerusalem artichoke were the only two new plants added to the collection of farm crops grown in the eco- nomic garden. The Mexican plant grew exceptionally well and produced much seed. This seed is very tiny, barely as large as a pin head, but is said to compare favorably with the common pop- corn in its proportionate increase in volume when popped. How- ever, a photograph of this popped seed must be enlarged ten times before it measures even one-half inch in diameter. The carnival crowds need have no fear that their favorite confection will ever be denied them by substituting for it this popped seed from Mexico. Tris Garden.—Pleasant weather prevailed in mid-May when the irises and peonies bloomed, and many enthusiastic gardeners vis- ited this display. As has been stated in previous reports, it is re- gretted that this garden does not contain more of the newer varie- ties of irises. The only donation was from Dr. Henry J. Gerling, Superintendent of Public Schools, who presented 75 of his choice varieties not represented in the Garden collection. The peonies were beautiful, their best blooming season since the establishment of this collection in 1933. EXPERIMENTAL HOUSES Approximately 800 packets of seed received from various bo- tanical gardens were sown, and about 50 per cent germinated. The usual test of the “All America Annuals’’ was conducted, but 8 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN owing to the very unfavorable season it would hardly be fair to list the results. Numerous other annuals were tested with only fair results. The variety tests of geraniums (Pelargonium hor- torum ) were continued. Practically all of the commercial varie- ties of geraniums in the United States have been raised to deter- mine their respective merits as bedding plants. Several show defi- nite resistance to heat and drought and are being used for hybridi- zation. The collection was supplemented by gifts of cuttings from other growers, an interesting lot having been received from the John Innes Horticultural Institution, of England. Over 1,700 seedling geraniums were raised during the past season, with the object of developing if possible a resistant strain with larger and better flowers. Hybridization experiments are likewise being conducted with Penstemons, a number of select species and varie- ties having been accumulated. FLORAL DISPLAYS The schedule of floral displays was maintained as in the past years. In the early part of the year the orchids were exhibited. These were followed in succession by the azaleas, cinerarias, and various other seasonable spring flowers. The St. Louis Horticultural Society held its spring show on May 23 and 24. The hydrangea show followed and then the fancy-leaved caladiums occupied the house until the fall. The Veiled Prophet Queen’s bouquet was displayed on Octo- ber 8, and the St. Louis Horticultural Society held its fall dahlia show on October 10 and 11. During November the chrysanthemums filled the entire show house. Viewing the show in all its glory in November, it is hard to remember that many of the chrysanthemums on display were growing in the greenhouses during the several months when the thermometer daily climbed to 120 degrees. It was only through the painstaking care of the grower during such an unfavorable season that it was possible to bring the flowers to perfection. Bush chrysanthemums grown outdoors during the summer did not have to endure the terrific heat under glass as did the cascade or the single-stem varieties. Floral displays are viewed by thousands MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 9 of visitors, few of whom realize the amount of care required to bring these exhibits into existence. The poinsettias and various accessory plants were shown during December. Main conservatories and exotic ranges. A walk through the main conservatories reveals an astonishing number of tropical plants. More different kinds of palms are to be seen here than on several trips to the tropics; more trees and shrubs of economic im- portance can be observed in a brief time than on an extended voy- age around the world; and the desert collection of grotesque and picturesque plants is so extensive that it has earned the distinction of being the largest and finest under glass in America. No changes of great importance have been made in the palm, economic, cyead-fern and banana-coffee houses, but the marked growth of some of the trees in the economic house is noteworthy. Due to heavy applications of manure and commercial fertilizers, most of the trees have grown so vigorously as to present a dense tropical verdure overhead. Some of the trees that have especially responded to this treatment are the Manila tamarind, the sand- box, the star-apple, upas, mango, olive-wood, senna, and banyan. The two fine specimens of the banyan tree have spread their branches over a wide area, and numerous thickened aerial roots drop down to the ground from above. The succulent collection has been increased greatly and now numbers over 1,000 different species, of which about 600 are of American origin, including the cacti, yuccas, agaves, and other desert types, while the remainder belong to the flora of South Africa and other regions of the eastern hemisphere. Among the latter the aloes are the most conspicuous and include about 100 varieties, most of them of flowering size. Over 1,300 seedlings of succulents have been propagated and all are doing exceedingly well. No marked changes have been made in the content of the exotic range. The building of a new concrete walk in the aroid house necessitated the resetting of the plants. Advantage was taken of the opportunity to add several tons of fresh soil both here and in the citrus house. 10 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN ATTENDANCE FOR 1936 (Not including visitors to Arboretum and Tropical Station) Week-days Sundays VANUALY cs rsinn saya we egees eras D010) 3 ph ous goa) ae. eee ee 5,359 PODruary sissies 64 o8trad o5 vies DOL. py veatcu es nese eee RNa e 2,388 PATO os hoe 5h oy G ees LOSIGT. esis: Sap eGe ane we pea aes 16,528 ADV. 5060 sk gina cagw ene do eee ds T4678 2... cc cece ce eee eee ees Bey Ol DAY aseteeves cempame ate esacte yy) a eee 19,549 UMC! oh vce shes cue cea Suse He LOSI E Sects oa ease aloes es ope aane 9,710 : | a ee ev renn reer SOMOS, esccvens cecavhiuseyevas 6,434 MUOOURE 535 c5e ee eles ce eeaares TO DIG. scien t's cod nhac sene snack 12,994 SOG DTOMIDEY vaieis5--554.414 015 boy 9 5ra Ta we LDSDOD Sainte dk gan atneo es paalee 9,760 October ........ 0.000.000 py a i Es Se 19,576 November ..............ee000: BOSE ios 5.5.9.5'ste. 24 ar ERG bad es 26,803 December ...............000005 TO BBG) 3 a5. ise ooieds oa bike eed « 11,544 174,885 162,746 174,885 OVAL: “aus aae anew ages weaare Gand s pas omen ..... 837,631 . THE ARBORETUM Perhaps the most notable improvement at the Arboretum is the completion of the building containing the rest rooms and lodge at what will eventually be the main entrance. Unfortunately, it does not follow that the Arboretum will now be open to the public since the system of roads is far from complete and there is no as- surance when these will be built. The nurseries continue to be the most important adjunct in the operations at the Arboretum. Three thousand miscellaneous small trees and shrubs have been transplanted in nursery rows from seed-beds, and an even greater number transplanted into the nursery. Four hundred linear feet of 4-foot seed-frames were sowed. Over 2,000 trees and shrubs were removed from the nurs- eries and planted in permanent positions at various places on the grounds. The orchards of apples, flowering cherry, and flowering crabs have been regularly pruned, sprayed, and cultivated, and the usual amount of grass, hay, and weeds cut and attended to. Much extra time during the summer months had to be devoted to watering as well as to fire prevention and control. Several miles of 20-foot fire lanes were ploughed. A small fire started in the woods on July 30, but fortunately little damage was done before MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 11 it was brought under control. Some 430 truck loads of gravel were hauled from our own gravel bar to be used on the roads, and much general repair work was attended to where needed. The greenhouses at the Arboretum, which are devoted almost exclusively to the orchid collection, were maintained much as usual, with some minor changes as to steam-pipes, drains, ete. Some 23,000 orchid plants were repotted, and nearly 15,000 orchid flowers of all sorts were cut or displayed. HOURS OF SUNSHINE RECORDED IN 1936 About 185 hours of sunshine were available at the Arboretum over and above that recorded at the St. Louis Garden. This was 100 hours more than that reported for 1935. As has been re- peatedly pointed out, it is not so much the greater amount of sun- shine during the entire year that makes more favorable the grow- ing of plants at the Arboretum but the fact that this excess comes during the late fall and winter months. Never less than 100 hours of extra sun, and in some years nearly 150 hours, has a manifest effect on plants. Month City Garden Arboretum RATINUA TVs soc peei nes Get ee ee sags 95 109%4 We PUNE Fed rated 69 Sainte SR ora wwe ie 104 141 IN ANGH te he eee een ee et es 194 213 Ta 6) U Up alee mr ven RE ee rt ea a ee 210% 21734 ak SEEN CaCO OEE nn a ieee ee 306 306 MUG aerate resstcce et turers ctecae ek ; 308 1%, 32234 AMM. ele ee ee hae a 84% ot haken sd via he 334 355 Pin on ey 6 hy Kk r oe Mies air cts ale 29D 298 ii alii jegtl ar a ee 172 182 LOLOL 0) 0 =) Woh tare arr Ov Sn Aare MORE, SST tee 2 ee A» 185 1991, INFOME TLE Tae eee TA Atleast ROPE a ca ae 208 December ...... Delp 5 ie, cnedearanuetates Get acess 8 .. 120% 131 24971, 2.6833, Excess at Arboretum.................. 18614 TROPICAL STATION, BALBOA, C. Z. Since the death of Mr. A. A. Hunter in 1935, Mrs. Hunter has been in charge of the Station and has carried on the routine activi- ties most admirably. However, this arrangement was regarded 12 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN as only temporary, since she desired to return to the States. Con- sequently, in October, Mr. Paul H. Allen was appointed resident manager and has been in charge for the past few months. Mr. Allen completed his apprenticeship at the Garden in 1935. He then had the advantage of spending six months at the Station dur- ing which time he made frequent collecting trips with Mr. Hunter and others. He returned to the Garden in the summer of 1936, where he especially prepared himself for duties in the tropics. Since arriving at the Station, Mr. Allen has undertaken the re- arrangement of the orchids according to their respective genera and has been able to make several collecting trips with the idea of replenishing and augmenting the collection of Panamanian orchids. ANNUAL BEQUESTS The annual flower sermon “On the wisdom and goodness of God as shown in the growth of flowers, fruits, and other products of the vegetable kingdom,” provided for in the will of Henry Shaw, was preached at Christ Church Cathedral on April 26, by the Rt. Rev. Robert E. L. Strider, Bishop Coadjutor of West Virginia. The Trustees’ Banquet Fund, inaugurated under the will of Henry Shaw, was not used during 1936. The Gardeners’ Banquet Fund was drawn upon at Christmas time for the provision of turkeys for employees of the Garden. The fund for the provision of prizes at flower shows was not used during 1936. RESEARCH AND INSTRUCTION Dr. J. M. Greenman, Curator of the Herbarium and Professor in the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, has devoted a greater part of the time to curatorial duties. In ad- dition, however, he has directed the research work of graduate students in taxonomy and has given advanced courses in compara- tive morphology and taxonomy of the higher plants, and in plant geography. The present enrollment in the advanced course, scheduled in the Washington University Catalogue of the School of Graduate Studies as “Botany 50. Morphology and ‘Taxonomy MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 13 of Bryophytes and Pteridophytes,” is the largest in this course since it was organized nearly twenty years ago. Dr. Green- man has also continued to carry on taxonomic research in special problems which have been under way for several years. The spe- cial problems concern particularly monographic studies in the genus Senecio, a detailed study of plants of Central America col- lected by J. M. and M. T. Greenman in 1920 and 1921, and prep- arations for a Flora of the Southwest. Dr. C. W. Dodge, Mycologist to the Garden and Professor in the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, in company with Mrs. Dodge and Mr. Verne F. Goerger as assistant through a grant from the Science Research Fund of Washington University, spent from June to September in Costa Rica in con- tinuation of his studies on Costa Rican lichens and Agaricaceae. Four areas were selected for intensive study: Guayabillos, on the upper slopes of the voleano Irazi at 2,000—2,350 m., through the courtesy of Ing. Bernardo Yglesias; R. Castilla on the flood plain of the R. Reventazon at about 30 m., through the courtesy of Ing. F. Nevermann, the coleopterist; the flood-plain of R. Paquita halfway between Puntarenas and Golfo Dulce, a region not previ- ously visited by botanists, through the courtesy of Ing. Ricardo; Chavarria R. and R. Séndalo on the peninsula of Osa along the shores of Golfo Dulce, through the courtesy of Mr. H. J. Marks. Short trips were taken to various localities on the Meseta Central. About 2,500 specimens representing 1,700 species were secured for further study. Work was greatly facilitated by the many courtesies of Sr. don Juvenal Valerio Rodriguez, Director of the Museo Nacional. Some preliminary work was started on a banana disease which greatly reduces the yield although not so seriously as the Panama disease. Dr. C. Picado kindly placed the facilities of the bacteriological laboratory of the Hospital S. Juan de Dios at Dr. Dodge’s disposal for this work. Conferences were held with the Secretary of Public Health and the staff of the above hos- pital on fungous disease of man, and a formal lecture, “Algunas aspectos clinicos de las enfermedades producidas por hongos”’ was delivered before the Facultad de Medicina and published in a local medical journal. A week was spent at the Tropical Station in Balboa, C. Z., re- 14 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN visiting some localities for additional material. The new Univer- sity of Panama was visited through the courtesy of the Secretary of Public Instruction and the rector of the University, and a con- fidential report on the staff and curriculum was submitted to the U. S. Commissioner of Education. In Cuba, the experiment sta- tion of Las Vegas was visited and arrangements made for the ex- change of materials and the loan of important collections. With Dr. S. M. Zeller, the joint monograph on the Hymeno- gastraceae (sensu latiore ) has been completed after nearly twenty vears of sporadic effort, and published in the ANNats. The lichens of the G. Allan Hancock Expedition to the Galapagos Archipelago have been published in the papers of that expedition. Work has continued on the lichens of the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition to Antarctica but publication has been postponed until next year. Large series of lichens have been identified from Haiti and Santo Domingo, collected by W. Stephen Thomas, from Spanish Hon- duras by 'T. G. Yuncker, from Panama by G. W. Martin, from eastern Polynesia by H. St. John and F. R. Fosberg, from British North Borneo by the late Rev. Joseph Clemens and Mrs. M. S. Clemens, and from Quebec by Father Ernest Lepage. Mr. U. L. Dubois has facilitated this work by preparation of microscopic slides. Mr. D. F. Flint has aided in clerical work and in the in- sertion of specimens in the lichen and fungous herbaria. Dr. Gladys E. Baker, research assistant under a grant from the Science Research Fund of Washington University, secured a permanent position at Hunter College in New York City and re- signed October 1. Miss Helen Bramsch, M.S., has accepted the position as research assistant under a grant from the International Cancer Research Foundation. Research is in progress on the ef- fects of carcinogenic compounds on the morphology and cytology of yeasts. In cooperation with Mr. G. T. Johnson, the identifica- tion of fungi pathogenic to man has been undertaken for Dr. W. H. Gardner of Miami, Florida. The usual courses of instruction have been given and research of students supervised. Mr. David Goldring completed his work on the effect of environment on variation and reproduction in Blakeslea trispora Thaxter. Mr. Ralph Hervey has continued work on T'hiobacillus. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 15 Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden and Professor in the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, has continued to center his research work about the species prob- lem. Work on the American species of Iris, begun in 1924, was brought to a final conclusion and published in the September number of the ANnats. No further work is planned with this genus, though Dr. H. P. Riley of New Orleans is continuing the investigation of certain phases of the problem. For technical rea- sons the genus T'radescantia seems particularly favorable material for further study at this time. The taxonomic monograph pub- lished last year by Dr. Anderson and Dr. R. E. Woodson, Jr. and the cytological survey of the American species undertaken by Dr. Karl Sax and Dr. Anderson and brought to a final conclusion this year have given a background of fundamental information in re- gard to species and their relationships. These basic studies make possible the determination, even the demonstration, of phenomena which would be difficult to study in other genera. Since hybridiza- tion between species seems to be of particular significance in this genus, a comprehensive survey of its effects has been undertaken. Experimental and observational work was carried on in the St. Louis area during May and June. A series of popular lectures in the South and Southwest made it possible to finance a three-week trip to Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma during April. A pre- liminary publication on hybridization in T'radescantia was made in the September AnNats and further work is either completed or under way. These studies on the species problem having been exclusively concerned with intensive investigations of a few species in a few genera, an attempt to balance previous work by making an exten- sive survey of the species problem in the flora of a limited area was undertaken. The wild-flower reservation at the Arboretum was ideal for such a purpose and work was begun in late June continuing well into the fall. The area chosen for intensive study includes oak-hickory woods, glades, river meadows, flood-plain woods, and gravel bars. It is estimated that about 800 species of flowering plants may be found there. It is planned to identify all the species and varieties critically and to study in each genus the evidence for species-forming forces which are actually at work in 16 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN the area. This will include such phenomena as hybridization be- tween species, formation of incipient ecological varieties, random differences between isolated populations, etc. A good beginning has been made at this project and its feasability demonstrated. The herbarium now includes over 200 species, most of which have been critically determined, some of them having been sent to au- thorities for verification. Hybridization under natural conditions is being studied in Elymus, Lindernia, and Aster. Surveys of variation have been made in Rosa setigera and Tecoma radicans. Correlated with the scientific study of the plants in the wild- flower area has been a detailed examination of the area itself. This knowledge will prove useful in the eventual development of the wild-flower reservation. The different types of vegetation, oak-hickory forest, maple-white oak forest, limestone glades, etc., are being mapped in a detailed way. A beginning has been made of a geological map which will show the formations in the area and their distribution. Detailed knowledge of the present plant cover and its probable dynamics will make it practicable to de- velop a wild-flower reservation with a minimum of human effort, by the efficient utilization of natural forces, This year, as last, Dr. Anderson has had full charge of the weekly seminar for graduate students in the Henry Shaw School of Botany. In October a course in plant cytology for graduates and advanced undergraduates was offered for the first time. Dr. E. S. Reynolds, Physiologist to the Garden and Associate Professor in the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, has continued two general lines of investigation: (1) various attendant conditions under which changes in growth rate occur in green plants when ultra-violet radiations are used to sup- plement the ordinary greenhouse illumination; (2) growth rates of fungi with various “growth stimulators” added to standard cul- ture media. An inexpensive and convenient all-glass electrodialy- sis apparatus to be used with various types of dialyzing mem- branes has been built. This may be used for general class work and for investigations on the separation of dialyzable and non- dialyzable constituents of plant extracts in analytical and fungous- nutritional studies which are under way. In conjunction with graduate students in physiology new methods of culturing green MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 1 plants in the greenhouse and laboratory are being studied. A con- stant-temperature bath and accessory apparatus for such studies, where controlled alternating periods of light and darkness are needed, has been developed. The University duties of teaching elementary and advanced courses in physiology, including a new course on the physiological aspects of ecology, together with guid- ing the investigations of graduate students and the general super- vision of the departmental work on the campus, have continued as usual. Dr. Robert E. Woodson, Jr., Research Assistant to the Garden and Assistant Professor in the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, has continued his research in the taxon- omy of the family Apocynaceae. During the early part of the cur- rent year research upon the American genera of the subfamily Echitoideae has been brought to a close, completing a monographic project of several years’ duration. Projects in taxonomy now under way are principally accounts of the Apocynaceae for the series on the Yucatan flora published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington in conjunction with the University of Michigan, and for the North American Flora published serially by the New York Botanical Garden. Morphological and anatomical problems concerning Apocynaceae and Gentianaceae have also been under investigation, aided by a grant during the first half of the current year from the Science Research Fund of Washington University, provided by the Rockefeller Foundation. Preparations have also been made for the publication of novelties and new records of flowering plants indigenous to the Republic of Panama, based upon the results of expeditions from the Missouri Botanical Gar- den Tropical Station at Balboa, C. Z., to constitute the first of a series entitled “Contributions toward a Flora of Panama.” The first records so published will consist principally of materials studied by various specialists of the United States and Europe, from the collections of Russell J. Seibert during 1935. Much of Dr. Woodson’s time has been spent in the teaching of classes in botany offered by the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University. Such classes include those listed as Gen- eral Plant Biology, Elementary Plant Morphology, and Anatomy of Vascular Plants. The class in General Plant Biology has been 18 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN made far more effective during the last half of the current year through the appointment of Miss M. Maxine Larisey as Instructor in Botany. Research in morphology has been undertaken under Dr. Wood- son's direction by Miss Helen M. Bramsch and H. N. Andrews, Jr. Graduates and Fellows.—The following appointments were made in the Henry Shaw School of Botany for the year 1936-37. Assistants in Botany: (research assistant) Helen Marie Bramsch, A.B. and M.S., Washington University; (half-time as- sistants): Henry N. Andrews, Jr., B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Morphology and Taxonomy); Russell J. Sei- bert, A.B., Washington University (Taxonomy and Morphology). Washington University Fellowship: Fred A. Barkley, A.B. and M.S., University of Oklahoma (Taxonomy and Physiology) (also assistant in University College); George Thomas Johnson, B.A., University of Arkansas (Mycology and Taxonomy) ; Francis Ma- rion Ownbey, Jr., B.A. and M.A., University of Wyoming (Tax- onomy ). Jessie R. Barr Fellowship, Washington University: Ruth E. Peck, A.B., Grinnell College (Cytology and Taxonomy). Washington University Van Blarcom Scholarship: Stanley H. Hagen, B.S., University of Oklahoma (Taxonomy and Physi- ology). Special Research Fellowship, American Creosoting Company : Hereford Garland, B.S. and M.S., University of California (Physiology, Taxonomy and Anatomy). Independent Students: Edward Cain Berry, B.S., Central Mis- souri State ‘Teachers College, A.M., University of Missouri (My- cology); Hugh Carson Cutler, B.A. and M.A., University of Wisconsin (Taxonomy); Gordon William Davis, A.B., Knox Col- lege (Physiology); Howard William Larsh, A.B., McKendree College (Pathology); Charlotte Josephine Manewal, B.A., Har- ris Teachers College (Physiology and Education). Degrees.—The following students in the Henry Shaw School of Botany received advanced degrees at the Washington Univer- sity commencement in June: Louis Otho Williams, Doctor of Philosophy (Taxonomy and Anatomy); Helen Marie Bramsch, Master of Science (Anatomy and Zoology). MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 19 Apprenticeships.—Apprentices now enrolled under the three- year arrangement are Karl E. Busch, Francis C. Harris, and Arthur B. Hoffman. No new appointments were made in 1936. As in previous years, the lecture and demonstration course in gardening for amateurs and another course of a more advanced character were given during 1936. Published Articles. Anderson, Edgar. An American Pedigree for Woolly Hair. Jour. Hered. 27: 444, 1936. Anderson, Edgar. Are Flower Shows Really Helpful? House Beautiful 78: 79. 1936. Anderson, Edgar (with Turrill, W. B.). Biometric Studies on Herbarium Material. Nature 136: 986. 1935. Anderson, Edgar. Color Variation in Eastern North American Flowers as Exemplified by Hepatica acutiloba. Rhodora 38: 301— 304. 1936. Anderson, Edgar (with Sax, Karl). A Cytological Monograph of the American Species of Tradescantia. Bot. Gaz. 97: 433-476. 1936. Anderson, Edgar. Damage to Forest Trees at the Arboretum. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 163-169. 1936. Anderson, Edgar. An Experimental Study of Hybridization in the Genus Apocynum. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 159-168. 1936. Anderson, Edgar (with Pring, G. H.). Ground Covers for St. Louis Gardens. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 186-193. 1936. Anderson, Edgar. Hybridization in American Tradescantias. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 511-525. 1936. Anderson, Edgar. A Morphological Comparison of Triploid and Tetraploid Interspecific Hybrids in Tradescantia. Genetics 21: 61-65. 1936. Anderson, Edgar. Oriental Crab-apples. Bull. Arnold Arbo- retum. December, 1935. Reprinted Garden Digest 8: 18-20. 1936. Anderson, Edgar. The Species Problem in Iris. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 457-509. 1936. Anderson, Edgar. The Tarragons, Cultivated and Wild. Her- barist 1936: 9-11. 1936. 20 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Anderson, Edgar. Viburnum fragrans. Gard. Chron. | Brit- ish]. ser. 3. 99: 197. 1936. Andrews, H. N., Jr. A New Sequoioxylon from Florissant, Colorado. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 28: 439-446. 1936. Andrews, H. N., Jr. (with Moore, John Adam). Transitional Pitting in Tracheids of Psilotum. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 151- 158. 1936. Baker, Gladys E. A Study of the Genus Helicogloea. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 69-128. 1936. Barkley, F. A. The Effects of Environmental Conditions in Producing Leaf Variation in Poison Ivy. Biologist 17: 122-123. 1936. Barkley, F. A. Five-leaved Poison Ivy. Biologist 17: 122. 1936. Barkley, F. A. (with Sweet, Herman R.). A Most Useful Plant Family, the Anacardiaceae. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 216-229. 1936, Barkley, F. A. A Note on the Shrubs of a Desert Plains Com- munity in Nolan County, Texas. Ecology 17: 178-184. 1936. Beilmann, A. P. Another Drought Warning. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 229-231. 1936. Beilmann, A. P. Feeding the Shade Trees. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 95-113. 1936. Beilmann, A. P. Some Migratory Trees. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 119-123. 1936. Beilmann, A. P. Some Notes on a “Brooding”’ Scale Insect. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 126-130. 1936. Beilmann, A. P. Temperature and Moisture Determinations in Trees. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 169-173. 1936. Cutak, Ladislaus. Free-Blooming Cacti for the Amateur. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 194-197. 1936. Cutak, Ladislaus. The Missouri Botanical Garden. Cactus and Succulent Jour. 8: 54-56. 1936. Cutak, Ladislaus. Plant Life in the Grand Canyon Region. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 205-208. 1936. Cutak, Ladislaus. That Elusive Neomammillaria Wrightii. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 201-204. 1936. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 21 Cutak, Ladislaus. Washingtonia—A Desert Palm. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 123-126. 1936. Dodge, C. W. (with Zeller, S. M.). Hydnangium and Related Genera. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 28: 565-598; Elasmomyces, Ar- cangeliella, and Macowanites. Ibid. 599-638; Melanogaster. Ibid. 639-656. 1936. Dodge, C. W. (with Moore, Morris). Morphology, Physiology and Cytology of Syringospora inexorabilis (Monilia inexorabilis ). Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 129-150. 1936. Fairburn, David C. The Gladiolus of Missouri. The Gladi- olus—Yearbook of the New England Gladiolus Society 1936. Fairburn, David C. Hospital Bouquets. The Modern Hos- pital Magazine. November, 1936. Fairburn, David C. Plant Propagation. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 45-63, 69-92. 1936. Fairburn, David C. Plant Propagation for the Garden. (I]- lustrated.) Doubleday, Doran & Co. Garden City, 1936. Jensen, L. P. Damage to Plantations in the Arboretum. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 172-173. 1936. Kohl, Paul A. Lycoris squamigera. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 185-186. 1936. Moore, John A. (with Andrews, H. N., Jr.). Transitional Pit- ting in Tracheids of Psilotum. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 238: 151- 158. 1936. Pinkerton, M. Elizabeth. A Comparative Study of Conidial Formation in Cephalosporium and Some Related Hyphomycetes. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 1-68. 1936. Pring, G. H. The Cultivation of Orchids. New Dictionary of Gardening. 1936. Pring, G. H. The Effect of High Temperature on Orchids under Glass. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 173-179. 1936. Pring, G. H. (with Anderson, Edgar). Ground Covers for St. Louis Gardens. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 24: 186-193. 1936. Pring, G. H. Suecess with Water-lilies. Boston Herald. March 22, 1936. Pring, G. H. Water Gardening. New Dictionary of Garden- ing. 1936. 22 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Pring, G. H. Water Gardens. N.Y. Herald-Tribune. March 15, 1936. Pring, G. H. Water-lilies. Gard. Chron. of America 40: 48— 49. 1936. Williams, L. O. Field and Herbarium Studies, [1V. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 447-456. 1936. Woodson, Robert E., Jr. Additions to the Genus Amsonia. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 68: 35-37. 1936. Woodson, Robert E., Jr. Studies in the Apocynaceae. IV. The American Genera of Echitoideae (Concluded). Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 23: 169-438. 1936. Woodson, Robert E., Jr. Studies in the Apocynaceae. V.—A Revision of the Asiatic Species of Trachelospermum Lem. Sunya- tensia 3: 65-105. 1936. Woodson, Robert E., Jr. Observations on the Floral Fibres of Certain Gentianaceae. Ann. Bot. 50: 759-766. 1936. Scientific and Popular Lectures.— Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden: January 9, Women’s Council of the Union Avenue Christian Church, “Science from the Inside”; February 19, St. Louis Unit of the Women’s Overseas Service League, “Plant Hunting in the Balkans’; April 16, New Orleans Academy of Science, “Botanical Gardens”; April 23, joint meeting of Sem Bot and Sigma Xi, University of Okla- homa, “Plant Collecting in the Balkans”; April 24, Oklahoma College for Women, Chickasha, “Plant Hunting in the Balkans” ; April 28, College of the Ozarks, Clarksville, Arkansas, “Science and Nationalism in the Balkans”; June 13, entomology section of the St. Louis Academy of Science, ‘““Mendelian Characters and Their Inheritance’; September 5, Genetics Society, Woods Hole, Mass., “Hybridization in Natural Populations of Tradescantia” ; October 22, science teachers section of the Academy of Science of St. Louis, “How We Would Like You to Prepare the Student for Botany in the University”; December 4, St. Louis Horticultural Society, “Plant Hunting in the Balkans.”’ Mr. Fred A. Barkley, University Fellow in the Shaw School of Botany: November 27, history of science section of the Academy of Science of St. Louis, “A Résumé of the Use of Drugs in the Treatment of Disease.”’ MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 23 Mr. A. P. Beilmann, Arboriculturist to the Garden: February 10, Garden Club of St. Louis, “The Pruning of Shrubbery”’; March 6, St. Louis Horticultural Society, “The Fertilization of Trees”; April 10, North St. Louis Business Men’s Association, “The Feeding of Trees’; July 8, American Association of State Highway Officials and the Highway Research Board,” ‘“Fertiliz- ing of Shade Trees.” Mr. Ladislaus Cutak, in charge of Succulents at the Garden: March 3, St. Louis Wild Flower Club, “Vagabonding in the Southwest”; March 6, Webster Groves Nature Society, Webster Groves, ‘“Vagabonding in the Southwest”; May 18, Topeka Horti- cultural Society, Topeka, Kansas, “Vagabonding in the South- west.” Dr. C. W. Dodge, Mycologist to the Garden: September 18, Facultad de Medicina, San José, Costa Rica, ‘Sobre Algunos Aspectos Clinicos de las Enfermedades Producidas por Hongos”; October 20, Phi Sigma, “Costa Rica’; November 3, travel group of Pilgrim Congregational Church, “Costa Rica.” Dr. David C. Fairburn, Research Assistant to the Garden: Feb- ruary 1, Nurses of Deaconess Hospital, “The Care and Arrange- ment of Flowers”; February 25, civics group of the St. Louis Col- lege Club, “Landscaping the Home Grounds’; May 1, St. Louis Horticultural Society, “Plant Propagation.” Dr. J. M. Greenman, Curator of the Herbarium: January 3, joint session of Section L of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science, the History of Science Society, and the St. Louis Academy of Science, “Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), His Place in the History of American Science”; October 28, Academy of Science of St. Louis, “The Herbarium of the Missouri Botan- ical Garden,” Mr. L. P. Jensen, Manager of the Garden Arboretum: Febru- ary 11, Parent-Teachers’ Association of Gray Summit, Mo., ‘“The Henry Shaw Gardenway”; March 26, Washington Chamber of Commerce, Washington, Mo., “Roadside Planting”; April 6, Gar- den Club of Gray Summit, “New and Interesting Trees and Shrubs at the Arboretum’; April 24, Webster Groves High School Students, “Conservation of Native Plants”; April 25, St. Louis Naturalists’ Club, “Fifty Years of Gardening and Nature 24 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Study”; May 31, garden clubs of Sullivan and Gray Summit, Mo., “The Interest in Regional Planning by Garden Clubs”; June 10, Garden Club of Rolla, Mo., “The Missouri Botanical Garden Ar- boretum”; July 7, American Association of State Highway Offi- cials and the Highway Research Board, “The Missouri Botanical Garden Arboretum”; August 9, Greater St. Louis Association of Gardeners, “The History of the Greater St. Louis Association of Gardeners”; August 26, Missouri Federation of Garden Clubs, at Sedalia. “Conservation of Missouri Plant Life’’; November 13, Mid-West Section of the National Conference of State Parks, “The Henry Shaw Gardenway’; November 15, the same group, at the Garden Arboretum, “The Missouri Botanical Garden Ar- boretum’; November 14, Greater St. Louis Association of Gar- deners, at its 20th anniversary banquet, “The St. Louis Gardeners and Their Association.” Mr. Paul A. Kohl, Floriculturist to the Garden: February 3, Women’s Club of Belleville, Iil., “Roses”; March 25, Garden Club of Rolla, Mo., “Irises, Peonies, and Roses’; October 28, Garden Club of St. Louis, “Hardy Chrysanthemums.” Dr. George T. Moore, Director of the Garden: March 18, Freshman Class of Harris Teachers College, “Henry Shaw and His Gift to St. Louis’; April 20, Brotherhood of Pilgrim Con- gregational Church, “Flowers that Bloom in the Spring”; April 24, Practical Arts Club of College Women, “My Garden and Yours’; May 1, St. Louis Civitans, “Mr. Shaw and His Garden” ; May 18, Garden Club of Louisiana, Mo., “What Goes on in the Plant’; October 29, Men’s Club of the Oak Hill Presbyterian Church, “The Missouri Botanical Garden’; November 4, science section of the Wednesday Club, “Henry Shaw, the Greatest Plant Philanthropist”; November 13, Vassar College Alumnae, “Some Activities of the Garden.” Mr. George H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden: January 5, St. Louis Ladies’ Florist Club, “The Evolution of the Chrysan- themum’”’; January 22, seventh annual Nurserymen’s and Land- scape Gardeners’ Conference, Ohio State University, Columbus, “Water-lilies’; February 4, St. Louis Hills Garden Club, “City Gardens”; March 12, Kappa Delta Sunday School Class of Signal Hill Community Church, East St. Louis, Ill., “Annuals and Peren- MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 25 nials for the Garden”; March 23, Art Club, “Henry Shaw and His Garden”; March 30, afternoon, Monday Club of Webster Groves, “Romance of the Plant World’; March 30, evening, Boy Scout Troop 198, “A Trip over the Andes of Colombia’; April 1, Tyler Place Presbyterian Church, “Henry Shaw and His Gar- den”; April 6, Gray Summit Garden Club, “Judging St. Louis Gardens”; April 7, West Presbyterian Church, “Orchids”; April 14, Bloomington and Normal Garden Club, Bloomington, IIl., “Orchids”; May 6, Young Women’s Guild of St. Paul’s M. E. Church, East St. Louis, Ill., “Romance of the Plant World”; May 19, Men’s Fellowship Club, Edwardsville, Ill., “The Beautifica- tion of Home Gardens”; June 9, garden clubs of Herrin, IIL, “Beautifying the Home Grounds”; June 25, fiftieth anniversary banquet of the St. Louis Florist Club, “The Plant Speaks”; September 12, International Horticultural Exposition, Chicago, “Plant Exploration in Central and South America”; October 4, St. Louis Association of Gardeners, “The Effect of Heat and Drought on Plants”; November 14, St. Louis Association of Gar- deners, “The Value of the Gardener to the Community”; Novem- ber 17, Associated Garden Clubs of Kansas, “The Missouri Bo- tanical Garden”; December 16, at noon, West End Kiwanis Club, “The Romance of the Plant World’; December 16, evening, Men’s Club of Peters Memorial Church, “Jungle Experiences in Colombia, South America.” Dr. Hermann von Schrenk, Pathologist to the Garden: Jan- uary 28, American Wood Preservers’ Association, Memphis, “Toxicities of Creosote and Other Coal-Tar Products Extracted from Hard-wood Ties which Have Been in Track Twenty Years or More’; April 8, University of Illinois student chapter, Amer- ican Society of Civil Engineers, Urbana, “College Education and Subsequent Careers”; April 18, Missouri section Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education at Washington University, “Engineering Education.” HERBARIUM The herbarium has had a successful year. The new steel cases which were installed late in 1935 made it possible to expand the overcrowded portions of the herbarium and to rearrange the ma- 26 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN terial of several large families of the apetalous and polypetalous series. Many new and important collections have been acquired during the vear. Some of the more important collections obtained are the fol- lowing: E. Anderson, miscellaneous duplicates, 89; F. A. Bark- ley, miscellaneous duplicates, 113; Botanical Institute, Bacou, U. R.S.S., 150 plants of Transcaucasia; Botanical Museum, Uni- versity of Cluj, 313 plants of Roumania; Brooklyn Botanic Gar- den, 217 plants of the eastern United States; B. F. Bush, 1,100 plants of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma; California Academy of Sciences, 76 plants of California; Carnegie Museum of Pitts- burgh, 533 plants of the Uinta Basin, Utah; Mrs. Carr, 259 plants of Germany; Otto Degener, 163 plants of Hawaii; James de Gruchy, 58 plants of Oklahoma; Delzie Demaree, 371 plants of Ohio, Oklahoma, and Arkansas; C. W. Dodge 2,232 plants of Costa Rica; J. A. Drushel, 140 plants of the eastern and central United States; Duke University, 200 plants of North Carolina; C. F. E. Erichsen, 300 lichens of Germany; Field Museum of Natural History, 103 miscellaneous duplicates; Howard Scott Gentry, 410 plants of Mexico; F. A. Gilbert, 100 plants of West Virginia; E. H. Graham, 45 plants of Utah; Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, 735 plants from the eastern United States, Cuba, and Brasil; J. L. Gressitt, 400 plants of Hainan Island, China; H. Happeman, 226 plants of Colorado and Nebraska; R. A. Harper, 95 plants of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana; Bertrand Harrison, 223 plants of Utah; F. J. Hermann, 137 plants of Michigan; G. E. Hinton, 205 plants of Mexico; David Keck, 124 plants chiefly of California; Ellsworth P. Killip, 403 plants of Peru, collected by G. Klug; B. A. Krukoff, 366 plants of Sumatra; Maude Lodewyks, 51 plants of Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee; C. L. Lundell, 90 plants of British Honduras and Guatemala; Bassett Maguire, 214 plants of Utah and Arizona; J. A. Moore, 95 plants of Missouri and Wisconsin; Morris Arbo- retum, 350 plants of the eastern United States; New York Bo- tanical Garden, 52 plants of Florida; Ben Osborn, 170 plants of Nebraska; H. Pittier, 104 plants of Venezuela; Riksmuseet, Stockholm, 491 plants of Scandinavia and South America; Edith Purer, 124 plants of California; R. J. Seibert, 436 plants of Pan- MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 27 ama; J.C. Shirley, 121 plants of Oklahoma; Alexander F. Skutch, 411 plants of Costa Rica; Stanford University, 89 plants of Cali- fornia; Julian A. Steyermark, 4,150 plants of Missouri; United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service by A. E. Demaray, 150 plants of Platte National Park; United States Na- tional Museum, 113 plants of South America; University of Cali- fornia at Los Angeles, 172 plants of California, Arizona, and Nicaragua; University of Denver, 211 plants of Colorado; Uni- versity of Oklahoma, 496 plants of Oklahoma; Frans Verdoorn, 200 mosses and hepatics; Hermann von Schrenk, 194 plants of Colorado and Texas; Louis O. Williams, 3,175 plants mostly from northwestern United States; F. Lyle Wynd, 639 plants of Mexico. Mounting and Insertion of Specimens.—The mounting and in- serting of new material has continued steadily throughout the year, so that most of the specimens received are now incorporated in the general herbarium. Eighteen thousand one hundred and twelve (18,112) specimens of new material have been added to the permanent collections during the year. The reorganization of collections already in the herbarium in the light of revisions, monographs, and current literature has re- ceived due attention and much time has been devoted to this im- portant work. Numerous families have been thoroughly reorgan- ized. Among these are the following: Betulaceae, Ulmaceae, Moraceae, Urticaceae, Proteaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Amaranta- ceae, Menispermaceae, Magnoliaceae, Anonaceae, Monimiaceae, and Theaceae. Eachanges.—The exchange of duplicate herbarium specimens has always been an important means of building up a general her- barium. During 1936 the Herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden has received on the basis of exchange four thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven (4,727) specimens. In the same pe- riod three thousand four hundred and fourteen (3,414) duplicate specimens have been sent to correspondents. These exchanges, it is felt, are of mutual advantage. Field Work.— ==> : , : te dagewee | 4 ttent “7 eit Awe % Thedefeription, 1 He Gourde bringeth foorth very long talks Jas be rhofe of the Vine cornered and parted inco diuers branches, which with hisclafping tendrels taketh holde and climeth vp ypon tuch things that {Lande neere vntoit: the leaues be very great,broad, and tharpepointed, almoftas yvear as thole of the Clote Burre, but fofter, and fomewhat couered as it were with a White freeze yas be allo the ttalksand branches , like thofe of the Marth Mallowe: the flowe's he white,and growe foorth fromthe hofome of the leanes: in their places come vp the frute, which ate not allot one fafhion; tor oftentimes they haue the forme of ff igons sor bottles, with a grear lareebelly.and a finail necke, The Gourd faith Péiniein His t¢.booke 5.chapter, ia forme or tafhion that you would haue iteither like vango a wreathed dragon , the off man,’ any other thapeaccording to the moulde wherein it is put whileft ag aso, Shae Menara, 9 chmbe vpon an arbor where the fruite may hang ,it hath beene feene to be nine foote long. hy rea- fon of bis great waightsehich hath ttrerehed irout to the length :therinde when it is ripe ,is Feri hard, woody, andafa yellow colour :the meate or inner peibe lotta thefeedelong, Aar, point ie atthe edpbttade blolve, with pwopeakes fandimgour vect Raife.;} =! rail alow, : eee ee eS : (99005 2 The fecond ciffcceth not from rhe precedent itr ftalkes leaves or flowers the Fruite hereof i forthe most par fashioned lke a bottle or dagan, whereinelpecially conte the diferenee, > ‘4 en Tt ne ee ST ae ting t Rar 9) Meet he plete? eae ° Sonn tithe The Gourds are cherithedin the'patdens of eteeal eafitre then for bro. hie sin the hor countries where they come toripeneite Aiev ate n(brte with final! de lzh:) efpecially they are kept foreherindes, whereitrehiey pi Honie, and alfo {crue them for pailes to fetch water in, and many otherthe lik enn Ahh pat ok x “ *T COPY OF PAGE FROM GERARDE'S “HERBALL,” 1597, GIVING ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF GOURDS Missourl Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XXV FEBRUARY, 1937 No. 2 ORNAMENTAL GOURDS Gourds have been used from time immemorial for various utili- tarian purposes. Such gourds have been the hard-shelled kind which last indefinitely as long as they remain dry. Some of the fruits are edible, which associates them with the cucumbers and melons, but this article concerns only the decorative types. The dipper gourd is familiar, but the more grotesque types, like the dolphin gourd, are seldom seen. Botanists have endeavored to establish the original habitat of the various Cucurbita but to no avail. Some of them were grown by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Even in those days, as now, gourds were forced to grow into fantastic shapes by putting them into moulds when quite young or tying bandages around them during their growth. At the Garden library the first reference to Cucurbita appears in a work by “de Crescentiis” printed in 1474, just nineteen years after the invention of printing. The first illustration of a gourd vine is a wood-cut of a bottle gourd in “Herbarius Latinus” pub- lished in Mainz, Germany, 1484. “Ortus Sanitatis,” printed in Venice in 1511, also contains a drawing of a bottle gourd. Leon- hartus Fuchsius in “De historia stirpium commentarii insignes,” 1542, illustrates the large and small bottle gourds. Gerarde in his “Herball” of 1597 mentions the bottle and other gourds. Parkinson in “‘Theatrum Botanicum,” published in 1640, illus- trates and describes at length the various gourds and in his “Paradisi in Sole,” 1629, he describes the pumpkin. AI] through the centuries gourds have changed very little, if any, as their de- scriptions and uses by these early herbalists may be applied to the present-day varieties. 36 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Prof. A. T. Erwin, of Iowa State College, in Science, May 9, 1930, tells of the recovery from the Cliff Dweller ruins of seeds and fragments of the rind and peduncle of Cucurbita. These materials were collected by Messrs. Kidder and Guernsey and are now at the Peabody Museum of Harvard. According to Kidder, these specimens are from the Basket Makers, who antedated the Cliff Dwellers, and belong to the period 2000 to 1500 B. C. The North and South American Indians have always used gourds in their tribal dances and as utensils. The colonists and pioneers had their gourds and the mountaineers and negroes in the South are seldom without them. Dr. L. H. Bailey in Gentes Herbarum, Vol. 11, “The Domesti- cated Cucurbitas,” states that the “pumpkins and squashes, as we now understand them, are unknown in a native wild state. This is one of the enigmas in the plant world.” These squash-like pumpkins hybridize so freely that the variation in size, shape, and color is endless. But in speaking of gourds one likes to think more of the ornamental kinds which give so much pleasure by their rapid growth, their interesting yellow and white flowers, the rapid development of the odd-shaped fruits, and finally the harvest in the fall for exhibition, decoration, or utilitarian purposes, as dip- pers, bowls, boxes, bird houses, nest-eggs, darning balls, rattles, door-stops, and sponges. Gourds in the United States.—In the first American seed broad- side still extant, printed between 1790 and 1804 by Bernard M’Mahon of Philadelphia, gourds are described thus: “Warted gourds (with a great variety of other kinds)... .Cucurbita verrucosa” Dreer’s catalogue in 1875 listed the “calabash, Hercules’ club, from egg-shaped, mock orange, powder horn, Argyrosperma Texas, also known as the Bonnet Gourd, and Trichosanthes colu- brina (true serpent gourd). In addition to the above varieties, Burpees’ “Farm Annual” of 1882 described the miniature bottle- shaped, orange, angora, and sipho gourds. By the turn of the century most seed catalogues listed gourds separately and in mixtures, Referring to a representative horticultural periodical, The Gar- Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLL., VoL. 25, 1937 PLatTE 3 GOURD VINE SHOWING STAMINATE AND PISTILLATE FLOWERS, TENDRILS, AND FRUIT A ae BOTTLE GOURDS ON TRELLIS 38 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN den Magazine, published by Doubleday, Page and Company from February, 1906, to February, 1925, we find some good pictures accompanying an article in the issue of May, 1906. Except for two minor articles in later years, that was the only major de- scription of gourds in twenty years. Continuing with another current gardening paper, //orticulture, which was taken over by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for its first issue on Au- gust 1, 1923, we attempt to trace the mounting interest in gourds which at the present time is becoming a fad. In Horticulture, August 15, 1929, the first mention of gourds refers to Leaflet 36 of the Department of Agriculture, which describes “Gourds for Bird Houses.” The next item appeared in the March 15, 1934, issue which gave some history and the method of decorating gourds. On December 1, 1934, Horticulture told of a gourd ex- hibit at the New York fall flower show and later at the New York Botanical Garden through the courtesy of Miss Helen M. Tilling- hast of “The Gourd-Vine,” Vernon, Connecticut. Incidentally Miss Tillinghast in 1936 published a pamphlet on gourds entitled “The First Gourd Book.” Again, on December 15, 1934, [Hor- ticulture announced the formation of the International Gourd Society on the West Coast. Several other articles appeared in Horticulture in 1935 and 1936. Mrs. James E. Gregg gives an interesting history of gourds in the May, 1935, Bulletin of the Garden Club of America. Still more American gardening jour- nals could be cited for their gourd articles, which is sufficient proof of the present popularity of such plants. Quite apart from any previous interest in gourds a new vogue has been started of using them as decorative material, the idea having probably originated from the Indians and Mexicans. Patio strings are now very pop- ular. Shop windows in the East or West display gourds or a de- partment store will offer for sale many gourd novelties in the gift shops. Highly colored bowls, boxes, patio strings, plaques, as- sorted small kinds in bowls, dippers, bird houses, lamps whose bases are large gourds, are all arranged to tempt the shopper. In South America gourds are sometimes carved and then burnt with hot needles, like the one from Peru pictured in plate 7. Gourd Hobby.— There is a great amount of fascination attached to the growing of gourds for ornamental purposes. An entire year PLATE 4 Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLt., Vou. 25, 1937 1. Twelve-spotted cucumber beetles. GOURD INSECTS 2. Striped cucumber beetle. 3. Squash bugs. 4. Melon Aphis. 40 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN may be occupied during leisure moments to pursue this hobby. With the beginning of the year seed catalogues and gardening journals must be consulted until the proper assortment has been assembled. Practically all annual seed catalogues describe some gourds but frequently only the commonest kinds, like the dipper gourd or mixtures, are listed. To find firms selling the rarer dolphin, crown of thorns, or Turk’s turban, requires more diligent searching. Early in the year the soil is prepared; seeds are sown in April and May; trellises are built; insects are fought and the plants are watered and fertilized during the summer; the gourds are gathered in the fall and dried; and polishing and decorating will occupy many an hour during the fall and winter months. Trellises.—Some thought should be given to the selection of varieties to be grown in the garden. Almost all of the gourds are very rapid-growing vines and in a short time will cover large areas. The type of support and the amount of room available will gov- ern the number that may be grown. Any type of fence will serve as a trellis or brush supports may be used. Chicken netting is an excellent material except for the fact that unless the developing fruits are guided through the netting some of them may be caught in one of the meshes and be deformed. Gourd vines may be al- lowed to run over the ground and such vines will develop good fruits, but many of them, like the large bottle gourds, will not be symmetrical if left lying on their sides. Conversely, some of the odd-shaped kinds like the dolphin and calabash will develop their peculiar crooked necks only if left on the ground. Everything considered, however, it is better to grow the large-fruited gourds on some trellis rather than to let them mature on the ground. Types to Grow.—If a variety of gourds is grown for fall ex- hibitions then both hard and soft-shelled kinds should be included. If gourds are wanted for painting and decorating and to be kept indefinitely then only the hard-shelled varieties should be selected. There are a few odd kinds that may even be eliminated from any seed list because they are practically worthless.” One such gourd, known as the ornamental pomegranate, produces a fruit about the size of an orange. It is very heavily scented but when fully ripe lasts for only a week or two in mid-summer. Good seed catalogues Mo. Bor. Garp. BULL., Vou. 25, 1937 PLATE 5 COLLECTION OF GOURD FRUITS DECORATED GOURDS 42 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN divide the gourds into small- and large-fruited kinds. The small gourds are almost all of the hard-shelled type and make excellent filler material for the patio strings. In the large-fruited section are several varieties having the consistency of a pumpkin but these may not be kept for any great length of time. Examples of this kind are the acorn, bishop’s mitre, and Turk’s turban. Location and Soil.—Gourds should be grown where they may receive sunshine during the entire day. Any good soil where other plants have previously been grown successfully will support a crop of gourds. If well-rotted manure is procurable a shovelful should be worked into each hill where the vines are to be grown. Manure is not essential but is good material to have when available. Leaf- mold or any decayed vegetable matter will also improve the soil. Gourds require fertile but not excessively rich soil. Too much food will produce a rank growth which retards fruit formation. When no manure is available gourds should have some commercial ferti- lizer worked into the soil at the time it is spaded and once or twice during the growing season. Not more than a heaping tablespoon- ful of a complete fertilizer should be applied to each gourd vine at any one time. Over-fertilization will produce lush foliage at the expense of fruit. Sowing the Seeds.—Gourd seeds should be sown outdoors in late April or during the first half of May in this locality, depend- ing upon the weather. They may be started indoors about the middle of April by sowing three or four seeds in a four-inch pot of sandy soil. When the plants are up thin to one or two in each pot. In a room temperature of 70 to 75° most varieties will germinate within a week. It is not necessary first to soak the seeds for twenty-four hours as is sometimes suggested. The pots of plants should be set outdoors on all warm days to strengthen them, and never permit them to wilt for lack of water. The germination of seeds sown directly in the open may be hastened by placing a flower-pot or some other type of plant pro- tector over each group of seeds. After the seedlings are up they may also be shielded from the cold with these same protectors. Gourds are warm-weather plants but they rebelled at the torrid heat of 1936. Mo. Bor. Garp. Butu., Vou. 25, 1937 PLATE 6 1. TURK’S TURBAN GOURDS. 2. DISH-CLOTH GOURDS. 3. HERCULES’ CLUB dk MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Watering—The vines grow very rapidly, and should drought conditions prevail they should have an ample water supply espe- cially at the time when the fruits are swelling. When watering the gourd vines do not drench them with water as much of the pollen will be ruined and the insects discouraged if the open flowers are wet. It is remarkable how quickly gourd fruits de- velop once they have been fertilized. Insects —Except for watering, an occasional fertilizing, and guiding any unruly vines, nothing more would have to be done until harvest time were it not for the plentiful supply of insects that make life miserable for the gourds. Wherever gourds are grown the insects that attack the melon crops will also be found. Melon aphis or plant lice make their periodic visits but their con- trol should present no problem if the vines are sprayed with some nicotine or pyrethrum insecticide. The striped and the twelve-spotted cucumber beetles can become serious pests and do much damage to flowers and fruits if not discouraged. They also are the carriers of the bacterial wilt diseases which attack the cucurbits, and both insects are masters in the art of eluding the helpless gardener. One could almost accuse them of giving the gardener the “ha-ha” in making their rapid exit when they dis- tinguish the difference between the waving of a leaf in the breeze and the approach of a human being. It is impossible to eradicate them, as in the case of the aphis, but it is possible to check them to some extent by the use of repellents and poison sprays. Arsenate of lead sprayed on the foliage will kill some of the insects on the leaves but many of them feed on the flowers which it is impossible to keep coated with the poison spray. Dusting the plants with one part arsenate of lead to eight parts hydrated lime is about the most satisfactory repellent. Calcium arsenate is also an ef- fective dusting material when used in the proportion of one part calcium arsenate to nine parts hydrated lime. This dusting must frequently be repeated,. especially after showers. The squash bug is another elusive insect that can do much damage by inserting its beak into the fruit and vine. While the cucumber beetles fly away when disturbed, the squash bug drops to the ground and plays possum. When the danger is past he slowly finds his way back to the vines. Colonies of squash-bug Mo. Bor. Garp, BuLL., VoL. 25, 1937 PLATE 7 4 DECORATIVE GOURDS 1 and 2. Plaques displayed in a Santa Fe Hotel. 3. Bottle gourds at Boone Tavern, Berea, Ky. 4. Decorated Peruvian gourd 46 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN nymphs may be seen on the leaves after hatching, and as they in- crease in size they hide on the underside of the leaves and on the stems. These hard-shelled insects are practically impervious to any insecticide except in the early nymph stage when a nicotine solution will kill some of them. The squash bug sucks the plant juices, causing wilting of the vines, and on that account no ar- senical spray will poison them. The only means of control con- sists in crushing the eggs and nymphs and dusting the vines with the same repellents suggested for the cucumber beetles. Dispose of all of the vines in the fall by burning and clean the place of all litter where the plants have grown as all of these insects hibernate in the adult stage. If possible, grow the gourds in a new location each year, Gathering and Drying Gourds.—Gourds will require the full growing season to bring them to maturity, and the fruits should be left on the vines as long as possible. Types such as the acorn and Turk’s turban should be gathered before frost, but the hard- shelled varieties and the dish-cloth gourd will be benefited by freezing which hastens the drying process. Dish-cloth gourds that were frozen in nine-degree weather, in early December, were completely dry in ten days after bringing indoors, while those from the same vines brought in before frost in October were still green. Gourds from the same vines left growing on the ground and frozen decayed soon after harvesting due to their greater moisture content and uneven development. When the fruits are harvested they should be cut from the vine with pruning shears, leaving a two-inch stalk attached. They should be handled care- fully as any bruise will be the source of infection. As previously stated, frosts will hasten the drying process of some varieties. Gourds that are brought indoors should be wiped with a dry cloth and then hung up or placed in baskets not more than one layer deep. Varieties vary greatly in the length of time required to dry thoroughly. When a gourd is entirely dry the seeds rattle. One that feels cool and clammy when held, even though light in weight, is not completely dry. In the process of drying some gourds become covered with various moulds. ‘These mould spots are objectionable if a gourd is to be varnished or stenciled with a design. To help prevent the moulds from forming, the gourds Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLL., Vou. 25, 1937 PLATE 8 PATIO STRINGS 48 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN should be rubbed with some antiseptic. On the other hand, fre- quently these spots describe various patterns which when waxed or varnished are very interesting. Moulds on the hard-shelled gourds hasten the drying process. Before the gourds are to be painted they should be scrubbed with a brush and water and dried. If the surface is still somewhat rough it should be rubbed with pumice or steel wool, but not sandpaper as that scratches. Decorating Gourds.—The manner in which gourds may be decorated is a matter of individual choice. Quick-drying enamels in solid colors may first be applied, followed by designs in con- trasting colors. Gourds with clear surfaces may have interesting patterns drawn on them with pencil and then the design burned in with an electric needle or stylus from one of the popular wood- burning sets. After the pattern has been burned the gourd may be waxed or shellacked. In choosing designs for decoration many interesting ideas may be gleaned from the various arts and crafts publications. Since the use of gourds is closely associated with Indian lore it is only natural to turn to the red man’s patterns found in rugs, blankets, and pottery. The Indian’s symbols for clouds, rain, bear and deer tracks make very interesting designs. When gourds are to be hung on the wall, individually or in patio strings, they should not be tied by the peduncle as this frequently breaks off. Burn a hole through the neck of the gourd and insert a thin wire by which it is then suspended. To do this take a hat pin or any large pin, hold it with a pair of pliers over a gas flame and when red hot slowly push it through the gourd. This may have to be repeated several times. The patio strings are made by tying the different-sized gourds to a central strand. A larger gourd is usually placed at the end, but this is all a matter of personal taste. It will be found that the appearance of the patio string may be improved by adding some seed-pods along the central strand. For contrast these may be left natural. Milkweed, baptisia, lotus, and pepper pods are a few suggested natural materials. The Indians and Mexicans frequently use small clay ornaments and feathers with the gourds. Gourds may be arranged and displayed in metal and wooden bowls, under bell glasses, on flat trays and mirrors. The gourds may be waxed with floor wax or automobile wax and polished, but it must be understood this waxing will not MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 49 prevent decay as the moisture is confined within the fruit. The hard-shelled varieties must be thoroughly dry before applying the wax if they are to be kept for any length of time. Dish-cloth Gourd.—The dish-cloth gourd is a very interesting one. After the fruits are dry the thin outer skin is removed. This is easily and quickly accomplished by pounding the surface or rolling the fruit like a rolling pin and applying pressure at the same time. The inner spongy portion will be very dry and stiff. Soak this in water for a few minutes until soft and then cut down one side with a pair of scissors. The central core and all of the roughest portions are then easily cut away and that part which is to become the dish-cloth lies flat. It is squared and then it is ready for service. This cloth will not sour and improves with age. What more do you want? Suggested Varieties—To those who have never grown gourds the following varieties are suggested, the seeds of which may be easily obtained: Bottle, large and small Japanese nest egg Dish-cloth Mock orange Dipper or siphon Pear-shaped Calabash Turk’s turban Hercules’ club Warted sorts lee oe NOTES Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, spoke before the International Institute, January 17, on “Plant Collecting in the Balkans.” Mr. Paul A. Kohl, Floriculturist to the Garden, was the speaker at the meeting of the St. Louis Horticultural Society, February 5, his subject being “Garden Experiences of 1936.” Mr. L. P. Jensen, Manager of the Garden Arboretum, talked before the members of the Garden Club of Gray Summit, February 1, on “1937 Novelties of Annuals and Perennials.” Dr. Hermann von Schrenk, Pathologist to the Garden, pre- sented a paper at the meeting of the American Wood Preservers’ 50 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Association, at New Orleans, January 26, on “Toxicity of Oils Extracted from Old Timbers.” Dr. George 'T. Moore, Director of the Garden, gave the talk “Henry Shaw and His Garden,” January 5, before the College Club of St. Louis, and February 1, before the Unity Club of the Church of the Unity. Dr. J. M. Greenman, Curator of the Herbarium, attended the meetings of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, December 27-30, and was vice-president and chairman of Section G ( Botanical Sciences) of the Association. Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, has published two papers recently: “Some General Features of the Ozark Flora” in the January Bulletin of the Garden Club of America (No. 1: 20-22); and, with C. M. Whelden, Jr., “Studies in the Genus Fraxinus. II,” in Journal of Heredity (27: 473-474). The outstanding winter-flowering plant at the Garden this month is dcocanthera spectabilis or wintersweet, in the Economic House. It is a shrub covered with dark green leathery leaves which at present are almost hidden by the masses of small star- shaped white flowers. Although it belongs to a genus of very poisonous African trees and shrubs, it is highly desirable for con- servatories on account of its vigorous growth, free-blooming habit, and the fragrance of its flowers. Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, attended the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, at Atlantic City, December 27-31, 1936. On December 30 he participated in a symposium arranged by the taxonomy sec- tion of the Botanical Society of America on “Taxonomy and Cy- tology’; and on December 31 he spoke at the symposium of the American Society of Naturalists on “Supra-specific Variation in Nature from the Viewpoint of Botany.” Dr. Carroll W. Dodge, Mycologist to the Garden, attended the annual meetings of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, at Atlantic City, December 28, 1936-January 2, 1937. He presided at the meeting of the American Microscopical Society in the absence of the president and served on the Council of the American Association representing the Mycological Society MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 51 of America. He also represented the Academy of Science of St. Louis at the Academy Conference, and was a delegate to the Na- tional Convention of Sigma Xi. The fourth number of Volume XXIII of the ANNALS oF THE Missourr BoranicaLt GARDEN has been issued with the following contents: “The Effect of Environment upon the Production of Sporangia and Sporangiola in Blakeslea trispora Thaxter,” David Goldring; “New Organisms of Chromomycosis,’”’ Morris Moore and Floriano Paulo de Almeida; ““New Genera of Cladochytri- aceae,”” George Zebrowski; ““Hydnangium and Related Genera,” Carroll W. Dodge and Sanford M. Zeller; ““Elasmomyces, Ar- cangeliella, and Macowanites,” and “Melanogaster,’ Sanford M. Zeller and Carroll W. Dodge. Recent visitors to the Garden library and herbarium were Mr. R. H. Peebles, Chief Scientific Aid, Fruit and Vegetable Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agricul- ture, Sacaton, Arizona; Dr. F. P. McWhorter, Professor of Plant Pathology, Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis, and Agent, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture; Mr. Oliver Orton, Instructor in Botany, Oklahoma Agricultural College, Stillwater; Dr. Henry Schmitz, Professor and Chief of Division of Forestry, University of Minnesota, St. Paul; Dr. D. T. Mac- Dougal, of Carmel, California; and Dr. H. MacGinitie, Instructor in Geology, University of Colorado, Boulder. STATISTICAL INFORMATION FOR JANUARY, 1937 GarRDEN ATTENDANCE: Motal NUM DEMO Ls VASICOTS freight ee | ee ek eae eae 6,773 Liprary ACCESSIONS: Total number of books and pamphlets bought................ 31 Total number ot books and pamphlets donated...............4 106 PLantr ACCESSIONS: Total number of seed packets received as gifts................ 247 Herpartum ACCESSIONS: By Purchase— Bracelin, Mrs. H. P.—Plants of South America, collected by VETS. NOTLEZ, IVEOX Aicages oy sent aha cans earn oe okere os eter aia bece nate arenes 513 52 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Degener, Otto—Plants of Hawaili..............05 cesseceeals 102 University of California by 'T. H. Goodspeed—Plants of South PIMCTICR. sii ged cic Msg ae a ile 5 ac eg ha Wn Sans Sea Wiehe Sian Oe er nieate 863 Rollins, Reed C.—Plants of Washington and Idaho.......... 400 Schimpff, Heinrich J. F.—Plants of Ecuador and Galapagos IBIAS: sles tp ins eee ibs abe Hs Ok Eat EE a e3 a4 Oneal 71 Williams, Louis F.—Plants of Wyoming...................6. 320 By Gift— Anderson, Edgar—lIllustration of Noelreuteria paniculata DIARIES is ad. Galois toe ane 9 Aah 40 es a ee AOR OA TIES Bee tok soe ale 1 Berry, Edward C.—Lichens of Iowa and Missouri............ 122 Drouet, Francis—Coccomyxa dispar Schmidle from Massachu- BORIS. ois ce eae eee Face ees bpp eae re oe Se eee hee ipo ela de geo ate 1 Dunlap, Frederick-—Populus tremuloides Michx. from Missouri 2 Hanes, Clarence R.—Lespedeza and Physalis from Michigan. . 24 Kellogg, John H.—Plants of Missouri and Arkansas collected DY loa: Ey AOMB Ge Gia eas Katara Ruled hie Maan ys sis ate 75 Steyermark, Julian A.—Plants of Missouri.................. 1,400 Woodson, R. E., Jr—Miscellaneous Apocynaceae and Com- TION ACERS oa nde 06a Fine Dadar 2 p45 Seward 45 g.6 eb ay bare weed wk 8 By Exchange— Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences—Plants of eastern United -States ii.2 issce sda 5 55 h50 5 555 arsine Fa ee OFS G4 Ged wah 676 MOURNS vies ru Sale vid ores eee Op es ee Lay Le eae ee 4,578 SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date to the death of Mr. Shaw, in 1889, the Garden was maintained under the personal direction of its founder, and while virtually a private garden it was, except at certain stated times, always open to the public. Although popularly known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden was designated by Mr. Shaw as its official title and in his will or in any of his writings he specifically referred to it as the “Missouri Botanical Garden.” By a provision of Mr. Shaw’s will the Garden passed at his death into the hands of a Board of Trustees. The original members of the Board were desig- nated in the will, and the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will, the immediate direction of the Garden is vested in a Di- rector, appointed by the Board of Trustees. The Garden receives no income from city or state, but is supported entirely from funds left by the founder. The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species of plants are growing. There is now in process of development a tract of land of over 1,600 acres outside the city limits which is to be devoted to (1) the propagation and growing of plants, trees, and shrubs, designed for showing either indoors or outside, at the city Garden, thus avoiding the existing difficulties of growing plants in the city atmosphere; (2) gradually establishing an arbo- retum as well as holding a certain area as a forest reservation, with the idea that possibly at some future time this may become the new botanical garden. The Garden is open to the public every day in the year, except New Year’s Day and Christmas—week days from 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays from 10:00 a. m. until sunset. The main entrance to the Garden is located at Tower Grove Ave- nue and Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). Transfer south from all intersecting lines. STAFF OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN THE GARDEN, 2315 TOWER. GROVE AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI GrorcE T. Moors, Director Karuerine H. Leicu, Assistant to the Director HERMANN VON SCHRENK, Epngar ANDERSON, Pathologist Geneticist JESSE M. GREENMAN, Rosert E. Woopson, JR., Curator of Herbarium Research Assistant Ernest 8. Reynowps, . Davin C. Farrsurn, Physiologist Research Assistant - CarroLi W. Dopas, Newz C, Horner, Mycologist Librarian and Editor of Publications Grorar H. Prine, Superintendent JOHN Noyss, Pavuu A, Koun, Consulting Landscape Architect Floriculturist Wir F. Lanean, ~ Jonn H. Keiioae, Chief Engineer Plant Collector JoserH LANGEN, August P. BernmMann, Assistant Engineer f Arboriculturist Arruour D. Forrester, JosepH Curak, Plant Recorder : In charge of Exotics ALBERT PEARSON, LapisLaus Curak, Painter In charge of Succulents THE ARBORETUM, GRAY SUMMIT, MISSOURI Lars P. JENSEN, Manager Roy E. Kitssxcxr, Davin MILLER, Engineer Orchid Grower TROPICAL STATION, BALBOA, CANAL ZONE Pau H. ALLEN, Manager REPRESENTATIVE IN EUROPE Gurney Wixson, F. L. 8. Hove, Sussex, England MlulssOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Vol. XXV MARCH, 1937 No. 3 CONTENTS Growing Woody Plants From Seeds... . . . . 4 "33 Sassafras Leaves: A Culinary Possibility... ... 58 Common Native Trees of Missouri. II. Box-elder (Acer Negundo Li). <6 ei ie ye 60 Nise 8S Ae Ee ee Statistical Information ° 0060 oo a PO a SE ST. LOUIS, MO. 1937 Published Monthly, Except July and August, by the Board of Trustees SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR SINGLE COPIES FIFTEEN CENTS BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS WERE DESIGNATED IN MR. SHAW’S WILL AND THE BOARD SO CONSTITUTED, EXCLUSIVE OF THE EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS, IS SELF-PERPETUATING President Grorce C. Hirencock Vice-President Dante, K. Carin Second Vice-President THomas S, Marrirr L, Ray CARTER Grorer T. Moore Samven C. Davis Eugene Perrous DuDLEY FRENCH ; A, WrsseL SHAPLEIGH Eruan A. H. SHEPLEY EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Grorce R. Troop, Witt1amM ScarLeErt, Chancellor of Washington Uni- Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri versity Brrnarp F. DIcKMANN, J. By MAcELWANE, Mayor of the City of St. Louis President of The Ames of Sci- ence of St: Loui Francis C. SuLiivan, President of the Board of Education of St. Louis Seeretary GrraLp EK. Unrict Missour! Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XXV MARCH, 1937 No. 3 GROWING WOODY PLANTS FROM SEEDS Almost every one is familiar with the growing of annual and perennial plants from seeds, but few are aware of the fact that trees and shrubs may be propagated in a similar manner, provided a few simple rules are followed. Seeds covered with a thick pulp, such as crab-apple, dogwood, or barberry, should be soaked in hot water until the pulp is soft. The seeds then separate easily, and should be sown at once. Seeds of many plants must be stratified, that is, subjected to the action of frost and moisture for a considerable time. This may be ac- complished by sowing the seeds in the autumn, as soon as ripe, then covering the seed-bed with leaves to keep the moisture and frost in the ground. Or the seeds may be sown in shallow boxes between layers of sand, the boxes being placed where they can be subjected to the frost during the winter. Care should be taken that the boxes are protected from damage by mice and covered to retain moisture. In the spring the seeds should be taken out of the sand and sown in beds or frames. If the seeds are very small and difficult to separate from the sand they may be sown with the sand. Shallow boxes may be used for small quantities, but a cold-frame is prefer- able. Select a well-drained spot for your cold-frame and be care- ful that your soil is in workable condition. A good sandy, black loam is ideal for the seed-bed. Make the bed 46 inches wide, and any length to suit the length of the frame. Make the sides of the frame of 1 x 12-inch lumber, and attach them to 2 x 4-inch stakes driven in the ground about every 6 or 8 feet. To support the frame nail 2 x 4-inch cross-pieces on the top at sufficient intervals. After spading the bed, work the surface very fine with a rake, (53) 54 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN and tamp it lightly. The bed is now ready for seeding. Small seeds may be broadcast over the surface, in which case they should be carefully covered by sifting soil over them. Larger seeds may be sown in drills. Make your drills with the edge of a plaster lath cut about three inches shorter than the width of the bed, so that it can be moved forwards and backwards. After sowing, the seeds may be covered by leveling the soil lightly across the drills with the palm of the hand. The surface of the bed should then be tamped gently with a board. Seeds should be covered about their own thickness. Large seeds, such as nuts, acorns, and Kentucky coffee-tree, germinate best when covered to a depth of two or three inches. Do not seed too thickly; seeds of conifers should not touch each other. After leveling the soil, it should be covered with sand or ground peat to prevent it baking and hardening after watering. This layer should be just deep enough to completely cover the soil. Ground peat is better than sand because it does not wash off so easily in heavy rains. After this application the surface should again be tamped lightly. The bed must then be covered with a one-inch mesh wire- screen to prevent the seed from being eaten by squirrels. The bed is now ready for shading. Shades are easily and cheaply made from ordinary plaster laths, four feet long, nailed about an inch apart on three cross laths. With evergreens the laths should be kept on the bed permanently, but they should be removed from deciduous plants when the first leaves have de- veloped. In hot summer weather the shades should again be put on but should be raised if they interfere with the growth of the plants. If the plants appear too thickly they should be carefully thinned. If they are kept too moist damping-off may result. This is caused by a fungus and may be recognized by the stem be- coming brown and constricted at or near the surface of the ground. Soon the plants rot and fall over. At the first sign of damping-off remove the shade to permit the soil to dry. Hot sand sifted over the plants will also check it. Keep your seed-bed free from weeds, and do not be impatient if the seeds do not germinate quickly, as many seeds such as roses, hollies, hawthorns, cedars, etc., do not germinate until the second year after seeding. Most deciduous trees and shrubs may be transplanted the year after they germi- Mo. Bor. Garp. Butu., Vou. 25, 1937 PLATE 9 6 GROWING WOODY PLANTS FROM SEEDS 1. Fruit of crab-apple. 2. Seeds separated from pulp. 3. Frame ready for seeding, 4. Making drills with lath. 5. Covering seeds. 6. Applying ground peat. Mo. Bort. Garp. BULL., Vou. 25, 1937 PLaTE 10 GROWING WOODY PLANTS FROM SEEDS 1. Tamping soil. 2. Seed-bed covered with wire netting. 3. Bed covered with lath shade. 4. Laths raised to permit growth of plants. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 57 nate. Conifers should remain two, or sometimes three, years in the seed-bed before being transplanted. WOODY PLANTS WHICH MAY BE GROWN FROM SEED Sow as early as possible in the spring: Latin NAME Common Name Berberis Barberry Catalpa Catalpa Clematis Clematis Desmodium Tick trefoil Deutzia Deutzia Diospyros Persimmon Fagus Beech Gleditsia Honey-locust Kerria Kerria Pinus Pine Pyrus Pear Rhus Sumac Sambucus Elder Sophora Pagoda tree Staphylea Bladder-nut Sow in autumn or stratify and sow in spring: Aesculus Buckeye Alnus Alder Benzoin Spice bush Caragana Pea-shrub Carpinus Hornbeam Celtis Hackberry Chionanthus Fringe tree Cornus Dogwood Corylus Hazelnut Fraxinus Ash Ilex Holly Juglans Walnut Juniperus Cedar Ligustrum Privet Liriodendron Tulip tree Prunus Plum Rosa Rose Syringa Lilac Taxodium Bald cypress Tilia Linden Sow in late spring, when the ground is warm: Abies Fir Acer Maple Ampelopsis Virginia creeper Aralia Aralia Betula Birch 58 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Latin NAME Common NAME Buxus Boxwood Celastrus Bitter-sweet Cercis Red-bud Chamaecy paris False cypress Cydonia Quince Elaeagnus Oleaster Evonymus Wahoo Hibiscus Rose of Sharon Hydrangea Hydrangea Larix Larch Magnolia Magnolia Morus Mulberry Paulownia Paulownia Phellodendron Cork tree Picea Spruce Pinus Pine Robinia Locust Spiraea Spiraea Taxus Yew Tsuga Hemlock Viburnum Viburnum Vitis Grape Wisteria Wisteria All berried seeds should be soaked in hot water overnight to remove the pulp. Li. Pads SASSAFRAS LEAVES: A CULINARY POSSIBILITY For genuine gumbo soup one must go to the Gulf States. Searcely ever outside that area does one find the subtle aroma and the full texture which are traditionally associated with “gumbo filé.”” In Chicago or St. Louis or New York one may be served something called gumbo but to those who have eaten the real article it tastes flat and watery. One of the main reasons for this difference is filé powder, our only indigenous American condi- ment, a household necessity in Louisiana though practically un- heard of in the North. There is no reason why filé powder should not be used, or for that matter produced, in the northern states. It is nothing but dried powdered sassafras leaves. The sassafras is a curious tree and if English names were as formal as Chinese one might per- haps call it “the tree of the several tastes.’ The root is pungent, biting the tongue when freshly gathered. It is from the root bark MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 59 that “sassafras tea” is prepared and from it that the strong ex- tract is obtained which is used to flavor gumdrops or to scent home- made soaps. The wood has a subtler fragrance. It intrigued the early American explorers, and logs of it were carried back to Europe as something exciting and precious from the New World. Supposedly it might be used like sandalwood for fragrant chests and boxes but no one seems to have done so. The young branches have a sweeter fragrance, a sort of soapy perfume. In the leaves this latter odor is accompanied by a cu- rious mucilaginous property which has led to their use in filé powder. This curious substance was developed by the American Indians in the days before the white conquest. Most of the east- ern Indians used sassafras in one way or another, and several of the more civilized tribes dried and powdered the leaves and stored the product for future use. Nowhere in the North, apparently, was the culinary use of sassafras taken over by the whites. Country children generally knew that the young leaves could be chewed into a curious muci- laginous paste, and an occasional pioneer may have tried them in a stew for want of something better. Only in the South were they developed as a generally recognized condiment and there only by the Creoles. ‘These culinary geniuses fused Mediterranean and northern European and indigenous American elements into a new and distinctive cookery. They took over the use of dried powdered sassafras leaves and named the powder “‘filé.”’ At first they bought the filé from the Indians. In recent years it has been made and marketed by the negroes or manufactured in quantity and sold in small glass bottles. The product has re- mained the same as it was in primitive times, simply the leaves of the sassafras tree dried and powdered and put through a fine sieve, sometimes with the addition of a few wild bay leaves to increase the flavor. One elderly Creole has told me how, when she was a child, she used toe be taken marketing with the family’s negro mammy. The old French market in New Orleans was in those days an even more picturesque sight than it is today. Along the nearby quay sat groups of men making sails. Beyond them rose the masts and riggings of the ships. Here and there in the market were Indians with native produce: game, blowguns (soon after- wards prohibited), and filé powder. The last was brought to 60 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN market in little olive-green bags from which it was dipped with a crude saucer, each dish holding just “‘a picayune’s worth,” the picayune being the smallest coin in Spanish days. Although universally used by the Creoles, filé powder is em- ployed for only one purpose, to flavor and thicken gumbo soup. Genuine Creole gumbo always has either okra or filé powder as a basis for its faintly mucilaginous texture. Okra, of course, is added early in the preparation of the soup but when filé is used, it is never put in until just as the soup comes off the fire. Nota great deal is required; a few spoonsful for a large kettleful are quite enough. ‘The filé adds a subtle something to the flavor; it gives the gumbo (or gumbo filé as the Creoles say) a smoother texture and it changes the appearance altogether. It must be con- fessed that while to Nordic palates Creole cookery is superb, it is often unsightly to Nordic eyes. Filé, seen for the first time, looks like something added by mistake. One might vary the old adage and say that it was a brave man who swallowed the first gumbo filé. Yet after that first time the appearance becomes associated with the excellent flavor and one learns to welcome it as an evi- dence of genuine Creole gumbo filé. E. A. COMMON NATIVE TREES OF MISSOURI. II BOX-ELDER (ACER NEGUNDO IL.) The least desirable of all maples as a shade tree for street or lawn is the box-elder or ash-leaved maple (Acer Negundo L.). When young its rapid growth and symmetrically rounded head make it a pleasant subject, but its habit of shedding leaves throughout the summer precludes its use in formal planting. Normally the box-elder grows associated with hackberry, soft maple, elm, and ash, in the lowlands along the banks of the larger streams and if planted in a dry locality in the garden it is short- lived and its development is much retarded. Since it rarely ex- ceeds fifty feet in height it never becomes the dominant tree. No other native maple approaches it in tolerance to shade. Usually forming part of the overgrowth in the flood-plain forest it never grows in pure stands. It is widely distributed over the eastern half of the United States, reaching its greatest development in MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 61 the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. Farther west it has been ex- tensively used in wind-breaks and as a street tree. Identification of the box-elder is not difficult, since it is the only maple with compound leaves. The terminal branches are green, although there is a form with purplish branches. The flowers are borne on long filaments, and appear shortly before or with the leaves; the pistillate on one tree, the staminate on another. The STAMINATE FLOWER PISTILLATE FLOWER pistillate flowers are at first seen as tiny green wings which later grow into the typical winged maple seed. The staminate flowers are more delicate, consisting of a long opaque filament the tip of which supports the red anther. The seeds mature late in summer and persist until wind and snow dislodge them. ‘The bark is slate- gray in color at first, becoming darker, with a characteristic plaited effect, and on old specimens is thinner than that of any other native maple. The box-elder has a number of special insect enemies. Most of 62 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN them are piercing sucking insects causing injury by withdrawing juices from the leaves and branches. One, the box-elder bug, is ¢ strikingly marked red and black member of the squash-bug fam- ily. ‘These insects may remain unnoticed all summer while busily extracting sap from the tree. But, when ready for hibernation in fall, great numbers congregate on the sunny side of the trunk. During dry seasons the tree is attacked by the red-spider, and in wet seasons it acts as host to the aphids. The leaves, however, are greedily eaten in any season by many kinds of caterpillars. They are the particular food of the tent-caterpillar. DEVELOPING SEEDS TRUNK OF BOX-ELDER OF BOX-ELDER yee wae. F NOTES Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, has been re- elected president at large of the Herb Society of America. The University of Illinois Library School, in its annual inspec- tion trip of libraries, visited the Garden library, March 25. Recent visitors to the Garden include Mr. A. D. Stoesz and Mr. Ralph Kriebel of the Soil Conservation Service. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 63 The current number of The Herbarist (No. 3) contains an ar- ticle by Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, on “An- gelica Archangelica, the Great Umbellifer.” Word has been received at the Garden of the death on Feb- ruary 14, of Mr. B. F. Bush, the well-known student of the Mis- souri flora, and for many years associated with the Garden as a plant collector. The first number of Volume XXIV of the ANNALS or THE Mis- sour! BoranicaL GarpDEN has been issued, with contents as fol- lows: “A New Genus of Anacardiaceae,” Fred A. Barkley; “New or Noteworthy Apocynaceae of ‘Tropical America. V,’’ Robert E. Woodson, Jr.; “A Monograph of the Genus Mertensia in North America,” Louis O. Williams. Mr. L. P. Jensen, Manager Missouri Botanical Garden Ar- boretum, has published the following papers recently: “Publica- tions of Interest to Park Executives” and “An Appeal for Co- operation” in the February number of Parks and Recreation; “Interesting and Instructive Books,” and “An Appeal for Co- operation” in the March number of Garden Life. Mr. G. H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden, gave the illus- trated lecture “The Bellingrath Azalea and Camellia Gardens of Mobile, Alabama,” before the following groups: Gray Summit Garden Club, March 1; State Highway Department School, Se- dalia, Mo., March 3; St. Louis Horticultural Society, March 5; St. Louis Florist Club, March 11; St. Louis Garden Club, March 16. He spoke before the Kiwanis Club of Normandy, Mo., March 15, on “Spring Flowers.” Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, spoke before the Garden Club of Des Moines, Iowa, February 11, on “Unusual City Gardens,” and to the flower arrangement group of the Club, February 12, on “The Beauty of Botany and the Botany of Beauty”; before the zoology seminar of Washington University, February 23, on “Morphological Evidence of Gene Action in Primula sinensis” ; before the Student’s Forum at the Washington University Art School, February 24, on “Balkan Contrasts”; be- fore the Vandeventer Place Garden Club, March 10, on “Unusual City Gardens.” 64 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Mr. George H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden, visited the Garden Tropical Station at Balboa, Canal Zone, January 15- January 30. While there he gave the following talks: January 20, before the Natural History Society, “The Missouri Botanical Garden throughout the Year,” with colored moving pictures; January 21, before the Panama Orchid Society, “The Develop- ment of the Orchid From Seed to Flower’; January 21, before the College Club, “The Pollination of the Orchid”; January 28, before the Junior College, “The Missouri Botanical Garden throughout the Year,” with colored moving pictures; January 29, before the Rotary Club of Panama, “Keeping the Tropics in St. Louis.”’ STATISTICAL INFORMATION FOR FEBRUARY, 1937 GARDEN ATTENDANCE: Total number Of VisitOrsiic.6656.0 45065 iis ays, Cae yee an wae ae eae 22,808 Laprary ACCESSIONS: Total number of books and pamphlets bought............... 39 Total number of books and pamphlets donated.......... Sau 84 PLANT ACCESSIONS: Total number of seed packets received as gifts............00 sh Total number of bulbs received as gifts.................004- 500 Herpartum ACCESSIONS: By Purchase—— Hinton, George B.—Plants of Mexico................0 0000s 200 University of Notre Dame Herbarium—Photographs of type SPECIMENS Of FUAUG.. 0c isc erie cne os Gee eee esas eeeied 9 Weigel, ‘Theodor Oswald—Plants of Taiwan, Formosa, Cen- turies I and II, Nos. 10949-11194 inclusive............... 201 Yuncker, 'T. G.—Plants of British Honduras................ 750 By Gift— Anderson, Edgar—Plants of Iowa and Wyoming............ A Barkley, Fred A.—Photographs of Rhus.......... 0.0. e ee ane 50 Barkley, Fred A.—Rhus trilobata Nutt. from Mexico......... 1 Chandler, Albert, by John H. Kellogg—Plants of New Hamp- BOING. 4a cis ean eares ew afes's e nwatea gals 4 sev hale ee EE en eae 5 Hubricht, Leslie—Lichens of Missouri...................00- 30 McDonald, Maleolm—wSenecio pauperculus Michx. from Iowa 2 By Exchange Demaree, Delzie—Plants of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, BG VORGS 55. oc occ 50s Fo koe yews os oa ee eT sa. oH 442 Gilbert, F. A—Plants of West Virginia...................6. 106 U. S. National Herbarium—Plants of Virginia.............. 161 SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date to the death of Mr. Shaw, in 1889, the Garden was maintained under the personal direction of its founder, and while virtually a private garden it was, except at certain stated times, always open to the public. Although popularly known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden was designated by Mr. Shaw as its official title and in his will or in any of his writings he specifically referred to it as the “Missouri Botanical Garden.” By a provision of Mr. Shaw’s will the Garden passed at his death into the hands of a Board of ‘Trustees. The original members of the Board were desig- nated in the will, and the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will, the immediate direction of the Garden is vested in a Di- rector, appointed by the Board of Trustees. The Garden receives no income from city or state, but is supported entirely from funds left by the founder. The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species of plants are growing. ‘There is now in process of development a tract of land of over 1,600 acres outside the city limits which is to be devoted to (1) the propagation and growing of plants, trees, and shrubs, designed for showing either indoors or outside, at the city Garden, thus avoiding the existing difficulties of growing plants in the city atmosphere; (2) gradually establishing an arbo- retum as well as holding a certain area as a forest reservation, with the idea that possibly at some future time this may become the new botanical garden. The Garden is open to the public every day in the year, except New Year’s Day and Christmas—week days from 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays from 10:00 a. m. until sunset. The main entrance to the Garden is located at Tower Grove Ave- nue and Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). Transfer south from all intersecting lines. STAFF OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN THE GARDEN, 2315 TOWER GROVE AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI GzorcE T. Moors, Director HERMANN VON SCHRENK, Epaar ANDERSON, » Pathologist Geneticist 6 JESSE M. GREENMAN, — Rosert E. Woopson, JR., Curator of Herbarium ; Research Assistant Ernest S. RryNoups, Davip C, Farrpurn, Physiologist : Research Assistant ‘Carrot W. Doner, Ne.u C. Horner, Mycologist Librarian and Editor of Publications Groras H. Prine, Superintendent JOHN NoyEs, Pavut A. Kout, Consulting Landscape Architect Floriculturist Wurm F, Lanean, Joun H. Keiioea, Chief Engineer ? : ; Plant Collector -JosEPH LANGEN, . _ August P. BeruMAnn, Assistant Engineer / Arboriculturist ArtHour D. Forrester, _ Josepx Curak, Plant Recorder In charge of Exotics ALBERT PEARSON, LapisLaus CuTak, Painter In charge of Succulents _ THE ARBORETUM, GRAY SUMMIT, MISSOURI Lars P, JENSEN, Manager Roy E. Kissrcx, Davin MILER, Engineer Orchid Grower TROPICAL STATION, BALBOA, CANAL ZONE _ Pavu H. ALLEN, '.. Manager REPRESENTATIVE IN EUROPE Gurney Witison, F. L. 8. Hove, Sussex, England MussOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Vol. XXV APRIL, 1937 No. 4 ~ CONTENTS : 5 Page New or Noteworthy Plants. XI. Oncidium Powellii . 65 Pyamy Waterlilles 4-20 365-5 age oe ar The Soils of St. Louis and St. Louis County 407 3s = 08 Polls Medicinta. 35 i ae a ee PI OUEBS ery So eS Bors Ree ay ee 16 Statistical Information” <2. 2020 2 Ser eee BS ST. LOUIS, MO. 1937 Published Monthly, Except July and August, by the Board of Trustees Application pending for admittance to U. S. mails as second-class matter SUBSCRIPTION PRICE; ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR SINGLE COPIES FIFTEEN CENTS BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS WERE DESIGNATED IN MR. SHAW’'S WILL AND THE BOARD SO CONSTITUTED, EXCLUSIVE OF THE EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS, IS SELF-PERPETUATING President GrorGe C. HircHcock Vice-President Danre,. K. Carri Second Vice-President Tuomas S. Marrirr z L, Ray CARTER Grorce T. Moore < Samue. C. Davis EvGENE Perrus : Dupiey FRENCH A. Wesset SHAPLEIGH Erxan A. H. SHEPLEY EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Grorer R. THRoop, WiitiAM SCARLETT, Chancellor of Washington Uni- Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri versity : Bernarp F, Dickmann, J. B. Macetwane, 8. J., Mayor of the City of St. Louis President of The Academy of Sci- ence of St. Louis Francis C. Suriivan, President of the Board of Education of St. Louis Secretary Geratp E, Uxricr Mo. Bor. Garp. Butt., VoL. 25, 1937 PLATE 11 ONCIDIUM POWELLII Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XXV APRIL, 1937 No. 4 NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS. XI ONCIDIUM POWELLII When the late Mr. C. W. Powell, the first manager of the Garden Tropical Station at Balboa, C. Z., was collecting orchids he purchased a plant bearing showy chocolate-colored flowers from a native collector. The plant was carefully raised, and after blooming the dried flowers were sent to Dr. R. Schlechter, the orchid specialist in Berlin, for determination. Accompany- ing them was the following notation: ‘‘sepals and petals brown trimmed with yellow, lip yellow with brown, collected in Gatun Lake, sea level, No. 58.” In 1922, Schlechter, in ‘‘Orchida- ceae Powellianae Panamenses,” described the plant as a new species under the name Oncidium Powellii. For years the late Mr. A. A. Hunter, Manager of the Garden Tropical Station, searched for this orchid on the Pacific side of the Canal Zone region. The writer had brought specimens to St. Louis from the Tropical Station in 1927, and again in 1928, both collected on the Pacific side and supposed to be Oncidium Powellii. However, when flowered they proved to be the small yellow-flowered O. panamensis which is indigenous to the Pacific region. The third attempt proved to be successful, for in 1930 a plant from the Atlantic side was brought to the Garden which, upon flowering in February, 1935, was identical with the orchid bought from the native Panama collector. This species adapts itself readily to cultivation in St. Louis, and four plants have already been propagated from back bulbs. (65) 66 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN The parent plant flowered again in 1936 and 1937. The largest spikes were the two produced in 1935, being 3 feet long, with 22 flowers to the spike, each spikelet bearing twin flowers 2 inches across. Like other members of the genus Oncidium, the center of the flower forms the outline of a dancing girl. In this case the FLOWER OF ONCIDIUM POWELLII, SHOWING DANCING GIRL IN CENTER girl wears a bright yellow skirt and brown bodice, with yellow extended sleeves. The petals of this species are chocolate-colored fused with yellow, the margins undulated and striped with mauv- ish yellow. ee Be gs MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 67 PYGMY WATER-LILIES The pygmy water-lilies are well named. Their delicate little flowers are seldom more than two inches wide yet so perfectly are they proportioned that at first sight they give the impression of something created for a toy village. Their small size and exquisite form make them an excellent subject for a small pool PYGMY WATER-LILIES where larger lilies would be quite out of scale. Size is not their only recommendation, however, for they are perfectly hardy and flower freely from late spring until the first heavy frost. Only two sorts are at all commonly grown, the white and the yellow. The white is Nymphaea tetragona, a species native to a good part of the northern hemisphere; in Eurasia from eastern Russia to Japan and in the New World reappearing in Idaho and 68 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Canada. ‘The specific name refers to its form, after the size its most distinctive feature. The whole flower is very strongly four- sided and is often so mathematically regular that it looks quite artificial. The yellow pygmy water-lily, X Nymphaea helvola, is the result of hybridization between Nymphaea tetragona and the yellow water-lily, Nymphaea meavicana. As might be ex- pected from such a cross the hybrid is not only yellower than N. tetragona but is somewhat larger and less strictly four-sided. Both of these water-lilies have been grown for many years at the Missouri Botanical Garden, particularly in the demonstra- tion “Backyard Gardens.” They respond well to our climate and deserve to be more widely known and grown in the Middle West. .. 1 2 E. A. THE SOILS OF ST. LOUIS AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY The engrossed gardener, spading a shrub border, seldom real- izes that he models in a dynamic medium. This garden dirt, so seemingly simple as it is turned by the spade, is actually most complicated: a mixture of many substances, teeming with an un- seen, multitudinous microscopic life. It is built into a complex whole which varies from day to day and year to year. In struc- ture and composition it changes as the world about it changes. Crops, climates, man and his doings, all leave their mark upon it. The soils of St. Louis gardens change with the varying seasons; they reflect the fact that a great city is growing around them. Yet they are so complex and have so long a history that they carry a strong impress of much earlier times. Long ages ago, when dust storms followed the retreating gla- ciers, much of the residual silt left from the melting ice was deposited by the wind along the river bluffs. In certain favored localities the soil mantle, called “loess,” may cover the rock to a depth of forty feet. Finally, following a favorable change in climate—presumably an increased annual rainfall—two general types of countryside emerged: the upland prairie supporting 69 NILGTING NAGUVS IVOINVLOd IYWNOSSIN 70 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN grass and perhaps some brushy thickets around ponds and buffalo wallows; and the flood plain on which grew the only forests of the region. These prairie soils, now planted to trees, are unique, and it is within their boundaries that the gardening communities of St. Louis are found. Stretching north from the edge of the Ozark uplift to the Missouri River, and from the Mississippi River to the west boundary of the county most tillable soil is of aeolian origin. While the loess deposit becomes thinner toward the southwest it retains its identity and varies only in the texture of the subsoil. The degree of weathering, due to the slope and ex- posure of individual tracts, permits a classification of the soil into several types. Some of these occur along streams and are of only local importance. These may range from fifty to a thou- sand acres in extent, and are often intensively cultivated as truck gardens. They may be dismissed, however, as ““gardening”’ soils, since generally they are not found around the larger population centers. The sketch (fig. 1) shows, in a general way, the five types of soil encountered around St. Louis. The classifications do not apply in residential sections where subsoil from the base- ment excavation was used to make the fill about a new home. They merely indicate the type of soil in that region; not what may be expected in any particular garden. On the accompanying map the area marked 1 includes the Gar- den and Tower Grove Park, and a section north of Chouteau Avenue. This soil is known as Muscatine Silt Loam. Only these two sections of about four thousand acres belong in this type. It differs from the Tama Silt Loam (marked 5) found in the Florissant Basin in the character of the subsoil. That of the Muscatine is much more plastic. This presumably was due to the level topography which favored the slow percolation of very fine clay, and thus the subsoil became heavier than most other loess loams. Hard-pan can be found about thirty inches deep. The Tama Silt Loam (5) is essentially the same soil, except for the more open texture and better drainage of the deeper por- tions. Drainage has favored the rapid reduction of organic matter. In a dry season it is probably even drier than the Mus- catine, but nevertheless an excellent gardening soil. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 71 Memphis Silt Loam (2) covers the greater portion of the eastern half of the county and includes most of the truck garden- ing areas. It differs from the Muscatine and Tama in the very open subsoil. In many sections there is no change in texture even to considerable depths. Hard-pan occurs infrequently. Perhaps most of the ornamental plantings grow on Clinton Silt Loam (3). This is an extensive deposit beginning in Forest Park and continuing west to Ellisville. It differs from the Mem- phis in the lower humus content, as shown by the generally lighter color, and represents a much more weathered phase of loess. Marion Silt Loam (4) is centered around Kirkwood. Its gen- eral lack of productiveness is best indicated by the common name of “post oak land.” It is the oldest and most weathered soil in the county and apparently the driest. There is a rolling phase south of Clayton which may have a friable subsoil. Such por- tions may exhibit the characteristics of a much younger soil. The last type (not marked) is a rather narrow strip called Knox Silt Loam extending in an unbroken line along the tops of the Missouri River bluffs. This is the typical loess deposit. It is characterized by great depth and uniform texture clear to the underlying rock. There is no impervious subsoil to interfere with root penetration or water percolation. While these soils vary considerably in depth, character of sub- soil, degree of weathering, and humus content, they are all good “gardening” soils. There are no inherent deficiencies which cannot be remedied in a short time. The great water-holding capacity and the rapid percolation of rain permit early working in spring. However, those qualities which contribute so much to their excellence for general horticultural purposes seem to add to the hazards of growing plants during a succession of dry years. The roots of alfalfa and apple trees have been found to extend downward for twenty-five feet. Thus each plant has from five to ten times the volume of soil in which to develop as is avail- able to similar plants growing on clay. The residual clays are generally shallow, rocky, and frequently underlaid with hard- pan. All root development is restricted to the zone above this impervious layer. Often less than four feet of soil is available for growth. However, it takes far less water to wet such clay 72 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN soils to the maximum root penetration than it does to furnish optimum growing conditions for trees on loess. This might ex- plain the remarkable recovery made by plants on the more shal- low clays, immediately after the first rains in September, and the almost imperceptible change on loess. Although the run-off from a clay is much greater than from loess, it may supply more moisture for a brief period as well as extract more moisture from the air during a humid night. A. PB. FOLK MEDICINES Folk medicine,' like other folk lore, gives a keen insight into the lives, hopes, fears, and misfortunes of “less” sophisticated people. Also it indicates the more prevalent diseases of a group. Even today there are thousands of communities where the major part of the population is more or less illiterate, so that its news, knowledge, and entertainment are generally perpetuated through word of mouth, even from generation to generation. Invariably in such a society there is allusion to medicinal and charm cures. In the Arkansas hills corn starch and brown “‘floar’”’ | flour | are used for heat. Sweetened water in which cherry bark has been soaked is considered fine for coughs. Peach-leaf tea is rec- ommended for hair tonic and for worms. Egg membrane or prickly pear is used for draining boils. Red oak bark is used for “die,” poke-root for “each” [itch], and gum turpentine is chewed for sores in the mouth, toothache, or a sore throat. Water allowed to stand in a hollow red oak (or most any hollow) stump until it is black will sure smooth the “‘rinkills” out of one’s face. Dogwood bark is the old stand-by for chills, but a cotton yarn dipped in turpentine and tied around the waist with the knot over the navel is regarded as a sure cure for the malaria. “Black hall” [Viburnum] root is used for “‘wimin’s ailins,” black draught [Ilex] for physic tea, and sassafras tea for a “blood thinner.” are varied and nu- < , In the southern states “home remedies’ merous. The bark of red oak is made into a tea or poultice for 1See also: Barkley, W. W. Drug plants of Mississippi. Thesis ined. University of Oklahoma. 1936. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 73 bringing “‘a rising to a head,” and for ground itch and other skin diseases. A tea made from the root of the “red shank” | Rumex | is used as a wash for sore mouth. The bruised green leaves of huckleberry in the form of a cold-water tea are supposed to cure pyorrhea. A boiled tea decocted from the bark of the wild plum just before blossoming time is used in asthma. Onion bulbs are good for swelling and pneumonia. For an emetic the bark of elderberry bush should be skinned upward, but to settle the stomach it must be peeled downward. Cottonseed tea with a little sulphur is used for colic. Snuff and tobacco are remedies for cuts and wasp stings. Cedar balls are used in the form of a poultice for rheumatism and bruises. Green moss from the bark of oak trees in the form of tea is used for salivation. A decoction from the small limbs of “‘tag’’ alder is supposed to purify the blood. Bark of the limbs of the persimmon tree is chewed as a cure for diarrhea. The fruit of the persimmon just before ripening is used to prevent swelling and soreness from cuts or bruises. Tea made from corn fodder will make measles break out. The seed of Jerusalem oak cooked in molasses candy is used for worms in children. The root of swamp root makes poultices for sores. Poplar bark, dried and ground, is said to give results in dropsy. Fig leaves are smoked for asthma. ‘Two drops of blood from a “‘bessie bug’? |bed-bug]| dropped into a child’s ear is the accepted cure for ear-ache. Blackberry root tea is used for diarrhea. A tea from wild cherry bark is good for coughs, as is dogwood-bark. Water in which Indian turnip rhizome has been placed is given for colic and pains, and tea from the root of green meadow for kidney trouble. An Trish potato should be carried in the pants pocket for chills, and as- afoetida tied on a string around the neck is a charm against cer- tain diseases. A pocket knife held on the back of the neck is said to stop nose bleeding. Willow bud tea is used for chills and horseradish root tea for colds. In Arkansas, peach-tree bark is employed as a poultice for risings. A tea from sheep- sorrel leaf is used for lung colds, and one from the inner bark ‘Aletris| tea is used as a purgative. Ground-ivy vine tea is a remedy for of the hickory tree as an expectorant. Black root hives of babies. 74 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Indian cures are on about an equal plane with those above listed. In “Social and religious beliefs and usages of the Chick- asaw Indians,’ Swanton lists many diseases of the Chickasaw Indians and the cures for them, some of which are as follows: Sinti homa abeka, “red snake disease.’ Symptoms: The legs, arms or other parts of the body draw up, sometimes to the extent of breaking the back. Remedy: “A vine called sarsaparilla,” grow- ing along creeks and having yellow flowers. lyaganaca abeka, “little people’s disease.” Symptoms: The pa- tient is out of his head, talks incoherently, and sometimes falls to the ground like an epileptic. Remedy: The root of the huckleberry (osik’oktci). Kinta’ abeka, “beaver sickness.” Symptoms: Dysentery. Rem- edy: Acomala hakcic (cottonwood root) and Tanaco (willow root) boiled together and taken internally. Onsi’ abeka, “eagle disease.” Symptoms: A severe headache which prevents the patient from exerting himself in any manner: the eyes are affected and there is a cramp in the back of the head and neck. Remedy: The ends of cedar limbs (teowanhala’) and the elder (baconkte?’), warmed together in water and placed upon the patient’s head. It is interesting to note the number of drug plants used by Indians also included in the U. S. P.2 and N. F.° Densmore in “Uses of plants by the Chippewa Indians,”* lists sixty-nine plants, and of these nineteen are given in the N. F. and U. S. P. VIII or U. S. P. IX. Similar studies show a similar ratio. At Boley, Oklahoma, is an example of what seems to be a rather typical Negro herb doctor. He is a quarter-blood Chickasaw, who learned his lore from his Indian grandfather and Indian doctors at the Indian academy. He collects most of his herbs, but those not found locally (within a hundred miles) he buys. He uses black snakeroot; wild indigo (Baptisia with a cream- colored flower) for heart trouble; sassafras for the blood; flower- ing dogwood; silkweed; Indian hemp; prickly ash; yellow sarsa- parilla (as a blood tonic); dog fennel; mandrake (collected in the spring); pennyroyal; iron-weed, as a blood regulator and * Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 44: 169-273. 1926-1927, * The Pharmacopoeia of the United States of America. *'The National Formulary, 5th edition. *Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 44: 275-397. 1926-1927, MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 75 for urinary disorders; poke-root; sunflower (the boiled seeds for bronchial trouble) ; and wild cherry for cough syrup. ‘The bark of the trunk and roots of the flowering dogwood is used as quinine. As “it is easier to compound,” the bark is taken only from the north side of the trunk of the tree. A younger, more sophisticated Negro, with degrees of D. C. and D. O., has been practicing herb doctoring in Boley since 1908. He calls himself a botanical herb doctor and dispenses his own prescriptions, using his own prescription-label (fig. 1). saad -_ — |) ae) ee om O50 { FORMULA ] Cascara, Dandelion, Mandrake, Polk Root, Gentian, i Burdock, Licorice, Wild Cherry, Juniper Berries, Senna i and other Herbs. 1 Directions: ' ' \ Dategeee seen eee ING eee Dre ' Botanic Medicine, Non-Alcoholic, Made of Herbs, not \ ' adulterated or misbranded with-in the meaning of the j ' Federal Food and Drug Act of June 30th, 1906. i + * ys Fig. 1 He believes herbs are the “‘safest medicines” and feels that physi- cians “are getting nearer to his type of prescribing all the time.” He uses mandrake as a laxative, button-snake root for venereal diseases, wild ginger, wild alum, cheeses, knotweed, and penny- royal. He collects all herbs he uses in the vicinity of Boley, and showed us pennyroyal and knotweed which he had just collected. For fear that we were representatives of either the State Phar- macy Board or the State Medical Board, he would not tell us more. W. W. Bark ey, Frep A. BARKLEY. 76 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN NOTES Mr. L. P. Jensen, Arboriculturist to the Garden, gave a talk before the members of the Garden Club of Gray Summit, April 5, on “Notable Private Gardens of St. Louis and Vicinity.”’ Mr. A. P. Beilmann, Arboriculturist to the Garden, lectured before the Greater St. Louis Association of Gardeners, March 16, on “Tree Feeding.” Mr. Charles J. Collins, exchange student from the Royal Bo- tanic Gardens, Kew, England, now at the New York Botanical Garden, visited the Garden recently. Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, has returned from a two weeks’ trip to central Texas where he has been in- vestigating hybridization in the genus Tradescantia. The March number of the Bulletin of the Garden Club of America (ser. VI, No. 2:41-42) contains an article by Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, entitled “Gardenworthy Plants of the Ozarks.” Dr. J. A. Steyermark, a graduate of the Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, and who has specialized in the flora of Missouri since graduation, has been appointed Assistant Cu- rator of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Dr. George T. Moore, Director of the Garden, spoke before the students of Harris Teachers College, April 6, on “The Early Days of the Garden”; and before the students in botany at Wash- ington University, April 7, on “Botany and Business.” The annual flower sermon, provided for in the will of Henry Shaw, was given at Christ Church Cathedral, April 18, by Dr. Arthur H. Compton, of the University of Chicago. Dr. Comp- ton will be remembered as the former head of the department of physics of Washington University, and winner of the Nobel Prize in 1927. Miss Catherine T. Fitzsimmons, of the U. S. Veterans’ Hos- pital, Wadsworth, Kansas, and Dr. Alice Schiff, of Los Angeles, formerly pediatrician at K6éln, Germany, have been studying MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 77 fungi causing disease in man, under the direction of Dr. Carroll W. Dodge, Mycologist to the Garden. Mr. George H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden, spoke to the Girl Scouts, at the Girl Scout Little House, March 18, on “Identification of Native Plants”; before the publicity committee of the Kiwanis Club, April 7, on “The City Garden Contest” ; at the Arbor Day planting, under the auspices of the North Side Business Men’s Association, April 9, on ““The Value of a Tree to the Community”; before the Young Men’s Sodality of St. John the Baptist Church, April 13, on “Plant Exploration.” Mr. Ladislaus Cutak, in charge of Succulents at the Garden, is one of the collaborators in the second edition of ‘The Sta- pelieae” by Alain White and Boyd L. Sloane, published in Feb- ruary, 1937, the third volume containing a chapter by him on “Stapelia Culture in Temperate Climates.’ He also is the au- thor of an illustrated article in the April number of The Gar- deners’ Chronicle of America (Vol. 41, No. 4) on “The Practical Culture of Succulents.” His article “Free-Blooming Cacti for the Amateur,” from the October, 1936, Garden Butuetin, has been reprinted in the Canadian Horticulture and Home Magazine, March number (Vol. 60, No. 3). By Exchange MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN STATISTICAL INFORMATION FOR MARCH, 1937 GarpdEN ATTENDANCE: Total number of visitors «6 <..i60 6. cies sp eles cell vcleaes cee Liprary ACCESSIONS: Total number of books and pamphlets bought .............. Total number of books and pamphlets donated ............. PrLant ACCESSIONS: Total number of plants and seed packets received as gifts .... Herpartum Accesstons: By Purchase Aellen, P.—Plants of Syria and Corsica ................645- Skutch, Alexander F.—Plants of Costa Rica .............. Steyermark, Julian A.—Plants of Missouri ................ Photographs of type specimens ...........s.sss0000 ‘ Sydow, H.—‘‘Mycotheca germanica,” Fase. 57-60, nos. 2801- BOO TMCLOSIVE: ah >a ates (al “++ **suaasaqnd "1eA wnsoyusod wnipadudhy date fee. Tx x |: x reteseeeseseceeesesssemmon sefgsputa Ay . X . . xX efeece 24 . X . “ss *psouof sry . > . p'¢ eee »'4 - x sores ss sss nourbsud srs] . > "4 sae efeae . X oe xX . X sae srstsseessss sess ss “pubs aavby only ‘ly pales x |: Heel y Dott sete ees esse ss ss qungmaano—s WRYNLL I ee s]e ws ‘ly er Xx rn Sf ay |e Serene ese eat baeeess puryyurovhiy pisspwv,) Xx . xX oleee X . X Tress esse sess ss ss una unMosyyhisy X - X X . xX oleae cesses ss esses ss qu RUDIaUD UNnUOLypiLy x a ae ly pe ly Koco sss -zammaig wnpsoosoyjo yy x me yx ‘ly |: X loc anagem eee . X . X eee lee . 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RENE RAMA n Se Aap tara gop aOR a eae ie eam 2) 25 pyaqo'y ea RRS 0 TE Cg § eee Te mr puporaaun pynundun,) See ee ee “*- pyofysnbup pruojsno fy ee Cet rne eeneae pruojsno fy i i red eas **S1]D]UIPIIIO snyjunjoyda,) ee er a ee ee “**-sisuatuyosna puyany 138 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN If we again summarize in percentages of what might possibly be growing on each of these areas we find that the woodland gar- dens are from 70 to 90 per cent efficient, and that the glade gar- dens rate at least 70 per cent. The other two scores reflect the natural deficiencies of the area. Meadow gardens are only 33 per cent efficient and cliff-side gardens barely over 50. This lat- ter score is somewhat better than might appear from the record. The species which are lacking are mainly plants which in this region prefer cool northern hillsides, yet all of the cliffs in the wild flower reservation face the south. A carefuly study of the Gray Summit property has revealed one or two small glens where brooks have cut a gorge through the slope. One of these in par- ticular is steep-sided and well forested, and it seems more than probable that we shall be able to establish there a fair represen- tation of such plants as Hepatica and White ‘Trillium. So far as the score for the meadows is concerned we are clearly in the red. It is in these areas that we are farthest from the best possible development. There is no apparent reason why the Garden should not be able to grow in quantity most of the desir- able meadow-loving species which are now absent or so scattered as to be ineffective. Steps have already been taken to repair this deficiency; it was so glaring that it had become apparent as soon as the inventory was well under way. As related in the May BuLLetIN a river meadow is in the process of construction. Last fall a fire-line was plowed around an abandoned field in the flood- plain and during the winter the field was burned over, thus remoy- ing the shrubs and sapling which, left to themselves, would have made it a woodland within a few more years. The results of the initial burning exceeded expectations, for the proposed meadow is already meadow-like, though horribly weedy in some portions. Many of the desirable plants are already present, however, and if we can only encourage them, they will automatically take care of the weeds. A wide strip was mowed the full length of the meadow during the second week in August, to test the effect of late mowing upon the weeds, on the one hand, and the desirable meadow plants, on the other. It seems to have been successful ; if another year’s observation proves that it was, we shall mow over the entire meadow next July. At the same time in a very MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 139 small way a few of the conspicuous plants which might be growing in the area are being tried out. This fall a few native Iris and a small colony of New England Aster are being moved in. If they establish themselves they will be planted in quantity in a year or two. The problem of upland meadows is being approached in the same way. Certain parts of the wild-flower reservation had been heavily grazed before the Garden acquired the property. At the present time these areas are rapidly coming up to a kind of brushy second-growth woods. There are at least three such places within the boundaries of the reservation, and it is planned to clear out the young trees and by mowing or pasturing to develop them into little meadows. We shall be able in this way to keep the sumac bushes which were being rapidly drowned out in the shade of the young trees and to introduce a number of those species which are now on the red side of the ledger. The first of these meadows was cleared in August and already looks as though it had just grown there naturally. It seemed to offer a situation in which the Laven- der Balm might be grown effectively and plants were dug along the old Pacific Road and moved to the meadow in late September. Another season will show if the attempt has been successful. It is planned to develop the two other meadows in a similar fashion next summer. Clearing the first one has convinced us that the idea is practicable and relatively inexpensive. It has also demon- strated that such meadows serve a double purpose. Not only do they provide a home for meadow plants but they also make open- ings from which the surrounding woodlands can be viewed when they come into leaf in the spring and brighten with color in the fall. With the completion of the inventory, the development of the wild-flower gardens has passed through its initial phase. Once such gardens are established, there is the inconceivably more com- plex problem of their long-time maintenance. Precise records of the vegetation will have to be made in critical areas and observed over a series of years before we shall be in a position to speak with authority on this second phase of the problem. Such studies are already well under way, but that is another story. E. A. 140 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN NEW OR NOTEWORTHY PLANTS FOR ST. LOUIS. XII NIEREMBERGIAS Nierembergia hippomanica.—Without the horticultural public- ity with which many of the novelties are introduced to the gar- dener each year, Nierembergia hippomanica is gradually taking its place with the best of the dwarf, everblooming annuals. When we first grew this nierembergia in 1935, the neat habit of the plant and the continuous bloom from June until frost so impressed us that we again grew it in 1936. When many plants were suf- fering from the heat and drought of that disastrous summer this annual thrived and bloomed without interruption. Now that the 1937 season is drawing to a close and N. hippomanica has grown as well as in the previous two years we are convinced that this is an annual of sterling qualities which will soon become very popular. It grows equally well on light or heavy soil and has no insect pests. Each plant forms a mat a foot or more in diameter and six inches high. As the wiry stems branch they soon become top- heavy and prostrate. The branches divide and each stem bears solitary flowers as it lengthens. The flowers measure an inch in diameter and are either a light mauve or a dark Mathew’s purple according to the Ridgway color charts, with a small pale lemon- yellow eye in the center. The leaves are very narrow, the largest on the main stems being three-quarters of an inch long and barely an eighth of an inch wide. The leaves on the flowering branches are needle-like, not unlike the needles of some junipers. As seed of this nierembergia was at first scarce, no attempt was made to sow it outside. Seed was sown in March; germinated in ten days; the plants grew rapidly and were in 214-inch pots ready for planting outdoors in early May. While the plant is sometimes described as a perennial it will have to be treated as an annual in this region. This phase of the culture was checked during the past two winters, but each spring the plants were lifeless. However, one group of nierembergias in a well-drained but exposed position, which was left unprotected during the win- ter of 1936-37, re-seeded so freely that the plants had to be thinned last spring. These plants bloomed all summer and are still covered with flowers at the time of this writing in early Octo- MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 141 ber. Nierembergias have many sterile flowers and only occasion- ally is a seed capsule formed. In the dry summer of 1936 more seed was produced than this year, when it is almost impossible to find a capsule. When only a limited amount of seed is avail- able it is better to sow the seeds in pots or flats in early spring. Nierembergias may also be grown from cuttings. cS * nes ag! whasb.. . a. Pe -& S e DWARF NIEREMBERGIA (For reasons which are detailed below the proper botanical name for this species is probably Nierembergia caerulea. For the present, however, we may continue to call it by the name under which it has been introduced, N. hippomanica.) Few English seed catalogs listed this annual in recent years, and when they did it was always recommended as a pot plant for conservatory decoration. All illustrations in catalogs or horticul- tural journals show this nierembergia as a pot plant. Some cata- logs suggest that it be tried outdoors in a favorable location. For the historical facts about Nierembergia hippomanica we 142 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN obtain first-hand information from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (Vol. CLX, Tab. 9473, published February 12, 1937), where it is called N. caerulea Gillies ex Miers. In December, 1932, seeds of this plant, under the name of N. hippomanica Miers, were col- lected by Mr. D. O. King in the Province of Cordova in Argen- tina and sent to Mr. T. Hay of Hyde Park, London, England. Mr. Hay grew the plants and exhibited them June 20-21, 1933, at the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society, where they received an award of merit under the name of N. hippomanica. When they were examined at Kew, in June, 1933, and compared with the typical N. hippomanica of Miers, the latter was found to be a dwarf plant with rose-coloured flowers. N. caerulea Gillies ex Miers, however, was discovered in the Province of Cordova by Dr. John Gillies, who suggested the name of N. caerulea. Miers described it from Gillies’ specimen in 1846 in Hooker’s London Journal of Botany, Vol. 5, p. 173. There was no further record of this plant until 1905, when R. H. M. Murdoch collected a specimen which evidently was the same species. This specimen was named N, filicaulis, and on the label appeared a note to the effect that horses eating this nierembergia were seized with trem- bling and soon died. It remains green after the grasses have dried and it is then that horses take it. It seems that both N. hip- pomanica and N. caerulea are poisonous to horses as they contain an alkaloid called nierembergine. Nierembergia frutescens——For the last few years we have grown N, frutescens, which is the tallest of the nierembergias seen in gardens. It reaches a height of about two feet and all summer long produces innumerable pale blue flowers which fade to almost white in the bright summer sun. It is easily raised from seed and the plant requires no special culture. At one time it was suggested as a good substitute for the perennial flax for the reason that the flowers remain open during the entire day. However, flax has a beautiful blue flower which this nierembergia cannot equal in color, and flax blooms in spring when this annual is still small. Some English gardeners state that it is hardy in sheltered places but the roots have never survived any of our winters. N. frutescens, a native of Chile, was given an award of merit on Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLu., Vor. 25, 1937 PLATE 21 NIEREMBERGIA RIVULARIS (white cup-flower) 144 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN July 11, 1933, by the Royal Horticultural Society when it was exhibited by F. C. Stern, Esq. The note in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, Vol. 59, p. 151, reads: “The wiry stems of this beautiful plant branch copiously, forming an elegant, small bush furnished with short, linear leaves. The rel- atively large, campanulate flowers appear at the tips of the branch- lets, and are pale blue, lighter at the edges and blotched with purple at the centre.” We have also obtained seeds of N. filicaulis and N. gracilis, and while these supposedly are creeping plants they have been erect, and identical with N. frutescens. These two species are synony- mous, and Bailey in Hortus follows the description of N. gracilis with: ““N. frutescens is likely to be cultivated under this name.” Nierembergia rivularis—The only other worth-while nierem- bergia is N. rivularis. Like the preceding plants it also is a native of South America, coming from the La Plata in the Argentine. It was introduced into cultivation in 1866 by Messrs. James Veitch & Sons and received a first-class certificate from the Royal Horti- cultural Society in that year. 'This is the hardiest of the nierem- bergias but it cannot be classed as reliably hardy. Although we have succeeded in bringing it through some winters, it is better to lift a few plants in the fall and store them in a cold-frame. In the spring they may be divided and replanted in the moist part of the rock garden. This is the more difficult of the nierembergias to grow in this region during dry summers. While the two previ- ously mentioned species seem to thrive in dry seasons this latter variety does better in cool, damp, and partially shaded positions. It is very dwarf, growing not more than three inches in height. The flowers are pure white and the same size as the other species. However, the foliage is much different, being spatulate, and the plants produce numerous runners which root freely. The common name for nierembergia is “cup-flower” according to Hortus and Standardized Plant Names, and N. rivularis is called ‘white cup-flower.” In Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, Vol. 22, Tab. 5608, November 1, 1866, N. rivularis is called the “water nierembergia,’ which seems very appropriate since the specific name rivularis indicates its moisture-loving qualities. ‘This plant was originally collected about 1830 by a Mr. Tweedie, who stated MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 145 it abounded by the sides of the Platte river, the plant growing in such profusion that it is discerned from a great distance. Peo is NOTES Mr. L. P. Jensen, Manager of the Garden Aboretum, has been re-elected president of the Garden Club of Gray Summit. Mr. L. P. Jensen attended the fifth annual meeting of the Citizens Road Association, at Jefferson City, Mo., October 12. Mr. L. P. Jensen is the author of an article: “Wild Life Con- servation,” in the September issue of the Missouri Magazine (Vol. 10, No. 3). Mr. L. P. Jensen attended the convention of the American Institute of Park Executives at Fort Worth, Texas, September 27-30, and on September 29 led a discussion on ‘Parkway and Roadside Planting.” Mr. George H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden, acted as one of the judges at the St. Louis Hills Garden Contest, Septem- ber 20; at the School Gardens Flower Show, held at the Adams yy School, September 22; and that at the Cupples School, October 7. The third number of Volume XXIV of the Annals of the Mis- sourt Botanical Garden, containing “A Monographic Study of Rhus and Its Immediate Allies in North and Central America,” and “Studies in the Anacardiaceae. II” by Dr. Fred A. Barkley, was issued in September. In the cactus house several Stapelias, with their weird star- shaped flowers are demanding attention. Some of them are large, some are of moderate size, and some very diminutive, but all are beautifully mottled and striped with various shades of yellow, brown, red, or purple. Mr. A. P. Beilmann, Arboriculturist to the Garden, has given the illustrated lecture “The Tree as a Living Organism,” before the following organizations: Optimists Club of St. Louis, August 6; Maplewood Optimists Club, August 19; Rotary Club of St. 146 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Louis, September 23; St. Louis Hills Garden Club, October 12; Rotary Club of Rolla, Mo., October 22. Recent visitors to the Garden include: Dr. Robert W. Webb, Principal Cotton Technologist and Mr. M. E. Campbell, Senior Cotton Technologist, Bureau of Agricultural Economies, Wash- ington, D. C.; Mr. L. F. Gerdes, Cotton Technologist, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Stoneville, Miss.; Dr. A. J. Sharp, Assistant Professor of Botany, University of Tennessee, Knox- ville; Mr. Reed Rollins, Junior Fellow at the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. A recent letter from Mr. Paul Allen, Manager of the Tropical Station, Balboa, Canal Zone, speaks as follows of the floral dis- play there: We have certainly had a wonderful show of flowers during the entire past month. The front flight of twenty-four steps was packed with six baskets each of Cattleya Deckeri, carrying from six to ninety flowers per plant. They were a beautiful show, and we have had worlds of visitors. The tourists came in crowds, as well as the local people. One Sunday one of the local churches hired busses and came ina body. All the grades from the Balboa schools with their teachers ‘ame one day, and several of the colored Jamaican church societies have been over. Dr. Ditmard and his family were in, and said we had a much finer show than other gardens they had visited. We had Angraecum EHichlerianum in bloom for the first time on the isthmus, and a very nice plant of B.C. Fourneirii x Trianae. During the month we started three shipments off to the East Indies. We have some very nice things from them, and are promised more. We are anxious to get plants of Grammatophyllum speciosum which is so famous in the collection at Penang. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 147 STATISTICAL INFORMATION FOR SEPTEMBER, 1937 GARDEN ATTENDANCE: Votaleninibers Ol SVASIUOrS metas eee icc viz. cuec cuca a oe ene ove nies 30,967 Lisprary ACCESSIONS: Total number of books and pamphlets bought ................ 14 Total number of books and pamphlets donated ............... 105 PLAnt ACCESSIONS: Total number of plants and seed packets received as gifts ..... 28 Herpartum ACCcEssIons: By Purchase— Cretzoiu, Al—Plants of Banat and Dobrogea ................ 500 By Gift— Anderson, Edgar—Plants of Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, and ’ g g IMTS SOUT esterinn i Sathcetene. die, yok reuse TR Sie Pee 16 Bailey, William M.—Cynodon Dactylon (L.) Pers. from Illinois 1 Berry, Edward C.—Lichens of Missouri ................... 122 Blackwelder, Miss Betsy—Prenanthes alba L. from Michigan. . 6 Greenman, J. M.—Photostats of illustration and descriptions of Bignonia uliginosa Gomez ........ 02. cece ees ee soeae 4 Hubricht, Leslie—Plants of North Carolina and Missouri .... 3 Kellogr, John: HH —Plants70f; Missouri: << c.f ims pitas so are sles 6 Moore, Mrs. George 'l.—A pios tuberosu Moench. from Michigan 1 Ownbey, Francis Marion, Jr.—Plants of Nebraska and Colorado 6 von Schrenk, Hermann—Plants of Colorado and ‘Texas ...... 82 By Exchange— Botanical Museum, Harvard University by L. O. Williams— ROCHE S peated ore aye seh te anetorete cara sns ans (cre.1e at of eA kenene Naser, acer tata aise 8 30 STAFF. OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN | THE GARDEN, 2315 TOWER GROVE AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Grorae. T. Moore, Director HERMANN VON SCHRENK, En@ar ANDERSON, Pathologist Geneticist ; JEsse M. GREENMAN, Rosert E. Woopson, JR., Curator of Herbarium Research Assistant Ernest 8. Reynowps, Davin C. FAIRBURN, Physiologist Research Assistant Carrout W. Doper, Neri C. Horner, Mycologist Librarian and Wditor of ; ; : Publications Grorce H. Priva, - Superintendent JOHN NoyEs, Paut A. Kout, Consulting Landscape Architect Floriculturist Wintiam F, Langan, Joun H. KEi.oaa, Chief Engineer Plant Collector JosrrH LANGEN, | Aveust P. BrILMANN, Assistant Engineer Arboriculturist ArtHUR D. ForRESTER, JosrPH Curak, Plant Recorder In charge of Exotics ALBERT PEARSON, . Lapisuavs CurTak, Painter In charge of Succulents THE ARBORETUM, GRAY SUMMIT, MISSOURI Lars P, JENSEN, Manager Roy E. Kissrck, ; 2 Davin Mitter, Engineer. , Orchid Grower TROPICAL STATION, BALBOA, CANAL ZONE Pavt H. ALLEN, j Manager REPRESENTATIVE IN EUROPE Gurney Wiison, F. L. S. Hove, Sussex, Dngland MUusSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Vol. XXV NOVEMBER, 1937 No. 9 CONTENTS Page Hardy Succulents for the Rock Garden. . ... . 149 The Use of the Sumacs by the American Indians . . 154 Winter Courses in Gardening for Amateurs . . . 158 Class in Practical Entomology... . . . . . 161 IN 9 OES ERP A ates a a ae Statistical Information |) \4/ 7 Ge is Ge) AOA Office of Publication: 1201-5 Bluff Street, Fulton, Mo. Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical. Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis, Mo. Published monthly except in July and August by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden Entered as second-class matter February 23, 1937, at the post-office at Fulton, Mo., under the Act of March 3, 1879. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: ONE DOLLAR PER YEAR' SINGLE COPIES FIFTEEN CENTS BOARD OF TRUSTEES — OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS WERE DESIGNATED IN MR, SHAW’S WILL AND THE BOARD SO CONSTITUTED, EXCLUSIVE OF THE EX-OFFICIO. MEMBERS, IS SELF-PERPETUATING President GrorGe C, Hrrcncock Vice-President Dante. K. Catiin Second Vice-President THomas 8, Marrirr L, Ray CARTER Grorce T. Moore Samuru C. Davis EvGene Perrvus Dupiey FRENCH © A. Werssrt SHAPLEIGH Eruan. A. H. SHEPLEY. EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Gzorce R. THRoop, WittiAm ScARLEr?, Chancellor of Washington Uni- Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri . versity © Bernarp F. DickMANN, J. B. Macetwane, 8. J., Mayor of the City of St. Louis President of The meri anand of Sci- ence of St, Louis Epwarp A. FERRENBACH President of the Board of Education of St. Louis Secretary Geraup E. Unrict SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date to the death of Mr. Shaw, in 1889, the Garden was maintained under the personal direction of its founder, and while virtually a private garden it was, except at certain stated times, always open to the public. Although popularly known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden was designated by Mr. Shaw as its official title and in his will or in any of his writings he specifically referred to it as the “Missouri Botanical Garden.” By a provision of Mr. Shaw’s will the Garden passed at his death into the hands of a Board of Trustees. The original members of the Board were desig- nated in the will, and the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will, the immediate direction of the Garden is vested in a Di- rector, appointed by the Board of Trustees. The Garden receives no income from city or state, but is supported entirely from funds left by the founder. The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species of plants are growing. There is now in process of development a tract of land of over 1,600 acres outside the city limits which is to be devoted to (1) the propagation and growing of plants, trees, and shrubs, designed for showing either indoors or outside, at the city Garden, thus avoiding the existing difficulties of growing plants in the city atmosphere; (2) gradually establishing an arbo- retum as well as holding a certain area as a wild-flower reservation, with the idea that possibly at some future time this may become the new botanical garden, The Garden is open to the public every day in the year, except week days from 8:00 a. m. until New Year’s Day and Christmas sunset; Sundays from 10:00 a, m. until sunset. The main entrance to the Garden is located at Tower Grove Ave- nue and Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). Transfer south from all intersecting lines. Mo. Bor. Garp. Butt., Vou. 25, 1937 PLATE 22 Fig. 1. NEOBESSYA SIMILIS. Fig. 2. COBWEB HOUSELEEK (SEMPERVIVUM ARACHNOIDEUM). Missourl Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XXV NOVEMBER, 1937 No. 9 HARDY SUCCULENTS FOR THE ROCK GARDEN Rock-garden enthusiasts in the temperate climates often over- look the odd, strangely fascinating members of the cactus family and the brilliantly colored plants that have affinity with the purslanes and orpines. Many of these gardeners are ignorant of the numerous succulents scattered over the mountains and plains of the world which are admirably suited for rock gardens. They usually associate cacti with the scorching, arid wastes of the desert, and few realize that there are several species growing widely in the mountains and cold regions of the western hemi- sphere. If they knew them, more of these gems would be grown in rockeries. On the northern plains of western Canada there grows a dwarf prickly pear and a small pincushion cactus, which for many months every year are covered by blankets of snow. These are excellent plants for the rockery. Other types of prickly pear (Opuntia) and small globular cacti may be found in all the colder parts of the United States, with the possible exception of Maine, New Hampshire. and Vermont. In the Tyrolean Alps, the trav- eler will see many slopes bedecked in the early summer with the satiny, vellow blossoms of the American opuntias. For almost three hundred years this thorn-beset, pad-like cactus has thrived in the cool valleys at the foot of these mountains. On the wind- swept, gravelly plains of Patagonia, some very interesting cacti flourish, and one, Opuntia australis, grows at the Strait of Magel- lan, which is the southernmost extremity of cactus distribution. (149) 150 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Besides the spiny cacti, there are other fascinating forms that grow in the cool nooks and crannies of the world. In the Cras- sulaceae two genera, Sedum and Sempervivum, contain some ideal plants for the rock garden. All, or almost all, prefer the sun and a dry situation. Among the purslanes are several species of the genera Portulaca and Talinum which are very ornamental. Mem- bers of these two groups need a sunny exposure in order to un- furl their delicate flowers, and their blooming season usually con- tinues throughout the summer months. A rockery or border should contain several noteworthy yuccas which grow lustily in the colder states. These hardy types are low-growing, with gracefully curved or rigid, sword-shaped leaves shooting up from the ground. The very variable Yucca filamentosa is one of the most spontaneous growers and was a garden favorite even as early as 1675. ‘To-day, this Adam’s Needle, as it is popularly called, has become an out- standing plant in roadside beautification. The succulent relative of the daffodil, Agave virginica, and its form, tigrina, grows under the same conditions and in the same soils as the hardier prickly pears. In planting a succulent garden in cool climates no set formula can be given for all locations except that it is essential to provide good drainage especially during the dormant season, If this im- portant matter is overlooked, then the grower invites failure. Ex- perience has shown that a natural slope or an artificial mound affords ample drainage. ‘The position of the slope or mound should be such that a sufficient amount of sunlight will fall upon the plants during a portion of the day. Partial shade, especially during the hottest hours of the afternoon, will benefit all succu- lents, even those that are exposed to the full sun in their native habitats. The following list of hardy succulents for a rockery is by no means complete, vet it suggests a number of beautiful and curious plants that can be grown in almost all portions of temperate America. It is hoped that rock gardeners will avail themselves of this information and give a trial to these often-neglected, though worthy plants. A common prickly-pear cactus is found wild from the east coast westward to beyond the Mississippi River. Naturally, MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 151 with such a wide distribution (almost over half of the United States), the plant presents a variable aspect in different locali- ties and has been known by various scientific names. Britton and Rose, eminent cactus authorities, were satisfied to call this species Opuntia Opuntia, but since the use of repetitive names is frowned upon by many botanists, the name Opuntia compressa is now gen- erally used. On the eastern coast, where it is commonly known as O. vulgaris, it is a low, spreading plant, with thick, orbicular to oblong joints, light green in color, very often spineless, and bearing yellowish flowers of medium size. This is the form that has become thoroughly acclimatized in Kurope. The western form commonly called O. Rafinesquii or O. humifusa, is a stronger plant with joints of dark green, armed on the upper half with stout, whitish spines, and bearing larger flowers, often with a reddish center. All these names are given merely to aid in select- ing this plant, since it is variously listed in catalogues. Britton and Rose give twenty-one names in their “Cactaceae”’ as syno- nyms of this particular species. In Missouri, this prickly pear can be found in many localities, and usually the owner of the land upon which they grow will be glad to let you have all you can gather. It is anexcellent plant for the rockery, sending out beauti- ful flowers from May to July, which later mature into edible purplish fruits. The Missouri prickly pear (Opuntia polyacantha) is perfectly hardy in any rockery or border, It is another low-spreading cactus with bluish- to greyish-green joints, the areoles set closely together and studded with white and dark brown spines. The flowers are yellow, the fruit spiny, dry and inedible. Some cata- logues list this plant as O. missouriensis. In the wild state, it can be found on the arid plains of western Canada, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, etc. Opuntia fragilis is a curious, small, low-spreading plant, with somewhat flattened, globular joints that break off easily, hence the name. This prickly pear, with pale yellow blossoms, is a true gem of the rockery. It is the most northern in distribution of all the opuntias, its range extending from Wisconsin westward to the Rockies and from Canada to Texas. In the wild state it is frequently hidden by the tall grass in which it grows. 152 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN The red-flowered prickly pear (Opuntia rhodantha), growing on the plains of Nebraska and extending into Colorado and Utah, is a superb rock-garden subject. It is a spiny plant bearing large, red to pink or salmon-colored blossoms. The prickly pear known as O. vanthostemma is said to be only a form of the above. Another of the prickly pears that will lend charm to a hardy cactus bed is the yellow-flowered Opuntia trichophora. It is somewhat similar to O. polyacantha, except that the lower joints bear numerous hair-like spines. From the mountains of northern New Mexico it has migrated eastward into Oklahoma, where it is found in few isolated colonies. Opuntia tortispina is a perfectly hardy cactus with a character- istic sulphur-colored flower. It is a prostrate, creeping “pear” and resembles the species growing in the vicinity of St. Louis. It has a wide range, and has been found hardy in New York. Some- times it is listed as O. cymochila. The brown-spined prickly pear (Opuntia phaeacantha) of the Rocky Mountains is a procumbent, spinous plant with large, yellow flowers. Often it forms large clumps and is very variable in form. Indians were fond of the ripened fruit. Opuntia camanchica is a form of this species and frequently it is listed under that name. The cylindrical-jointed opuntias, commonly known as “wicked chollas” and “cane cactus,” can also be grown in the temperate climates, but in the colder sections they will make little growth. The shrubby “tree cactus,’ Opuntia imbricata, is found on the high mesas and plains of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. It has been safely wintered in St. Louis, but in more northern loca- tions it needs protection and even then rarely survives more than two or three years. This cactus must not be handled with bare hands, for the spines are very sharp. In the Navajo Indian coun- try, Opuntia Whipplei is much in evidence, growing in small clumps with its silvery spines glistening in the sunlight. This species can be grown successfully in our climate if the winters are not extremely severe. Opuntia australis and Darwini, from the cold regions of Patagonia, might thrive here, but the plants are hard to obtain. Other cane cacti which probably will prove hardy are Opuntia viridiflora, O. leptocaulis, O. Davisii, O. clav- ata, ete. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 153 There are other prickly pears that can be safely grown in the outside rock garden in cool climates, among which may be men- tioned Opuntia macrorhiza, cantabrigiensis, stenochila, hystricina, and erinacea. A perfectly hardy and very beautiful pincushion type of cactus is Coryphantha vivipara, one of the few cacti that can be safely grown as far north as 52° N. Lat. It is of a variable form, usually growing in clusters and producing pinkish or pur- plish flowers. The plant body is almost completely hidden by the brown-tipped white to gray spines. Another pretty pincushion cactus is Neobesseya missouriensis, found from Minnesota to Montana and from Manitoba in Canada to northern Texas. It grows in clusters, each tubercle crowned by a diadem of ten to twenty short, slender, gray spines. The flowers are yellow and conspicuously showy. Neobesseya similis grows in denser mats, but with smaller stems than N. missouri- ensis. It is hardy in Oklahoma and has withstood the St. Louis winters of 1935 and 1936. Other nipple-covered hardy cacti are Neobesseya Notesteinii and Coryphantha columnaris. The small, globular, strongly tubercled and slender-spined Pediocactus Simpsoni is a worthy subject for the outdoor rockery. Some old-time gardeners still insist upon calling it Mammillaria Purpusii. The flowers are of a lively rose color, emerging in masses from the center of the plant. Some of the hedgehog cacti (Echinocereus) are said to be hardy, but we have never tried these outdoors. Echinocereus viridiflorus is said to be about the hardiest of this group. Echinocereus coc- cineus, IE. octacanthus, FE. Reichenbachii, FE. Baileyi, and FE. okla- homensis may prove hardy in localities having mild winters. Other cacti native to the mountainous regions of the Southwest and of the Andes may prove hardy or near-hardy in our climate if some slight protection is given them on the very cold days. The stonecrops or sedums are perhaps the most typical of the succulents grown in rockeries, and because many of them are so common nothing more need be said of them here. The “ever- living Hen-and-chicken plants, known botanically as Semper- vivums, are of very easy cultivation, needing only a well-drained soil and a sunny location for their rapid multiplication. When 154 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN the plants are placed in a rockery, they will scramble enthusiasti- ‘ally into all the odd nooks and crevices and soon fill them with their tiny, grey-green rosettes. The best-known of the houseleeks are Sempervivum tectorum and S. arachnoideum. ‘The latter grows in dense masses of dainty rosettes, its leaves covered from tip to tip with a more or less cottony cobweb. It should be in every rock garden. Among the purslanes, the most ornamental rock plants are the Talinums, with their conspicuous, ephemeral blossoms of pink and deep rose. ‘Two species are native to Missouri, 7’. calycinum and 7’. parviflorum, the former growing within thirty miles of St. Louis. Portulaca pilosa, with its deep purple flowers and flowing hairs from the axils of the leaves, will lend an enchanting touch to any rockery. It is an annual and will reseed itself. Of the liliaceous plants native to America, the yuccas are the most popular. Several species are hardy, including Yucca fila- mentosa, Y. glauca, Y. Harrimaniae, Y. gloriosa, ete. The red- flowered yucca, Hesperaloe parviflora from Texas, with its slender stalks of small, drooping bells, has proven hardy in St. Louis. Numerous other plants of the succulent type can be grown in the hardy rockery, yet the list already given should be sufficient to start many on this enterprising hobby. L. C. THE USE OF THE SUMACS BY THE AMERICAN INDIAN Various sumacs and sumac relatives have been of extreme im- portance to many of the Amerinds. ‘This is not surprising inas- much as the sumac group has furnished very useful products in two ancient cultures. In Japan and China the lacquer trees (Toaicodendron succedanea and T’. vernicifera) were the source of the finest lacquer. The Greeks and Romans made use of the currier’s shrub (Ithus Coriaria) for medicine, tannin, and spice ; and the pistachios (Pistacia vera, P. oleosa, P. Terebinthus, and P. Lentiscus ) produced nuts, oil, Cyprus turpentine, and mastiche of commerce. At present the Anacardiaceae as a family contains or nr MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 1; numerous plants furnishing lacquers, tannins, fruits, nuts, dyes, woods, and medicines of considerable economic importance.* Rhus trilobata, the squaw-bush, lemita, or lemonade sumac, was of the greatest value to the Indians, especially the tribes of the southwestern United States. The berries, which are sour, were eaten ripe or with salt when green, and were often dried for later use. A refreshing drink was also made by soaking them with sugar in water. Palmer states that “the young twigs of the plant were used in the manufacture of baskets. The wood exhales a peculiar odor, which is always recognizable about Indian camps, and never leaves articles made from it. It grows loosely in moun- tain ravines, and attains a height of five to eight feet.” In Utah, Arizona, southern California, and New Mexico, the Indians de- pended solely upon this plant for the material to make their bas- kets. It is tougher than the willow, which is not used by these Indians. The mode of preparation is as follows: The twigs are soaked in water to soften them and to loosen the bark. The women scrape off the bark, then split the twigs, using the mouth and both hands. The baskets are built up by binding a succession of small rolls of grass stems firmly and closely over the twigs. A bone awl is used to make the holes under the rims of grass for the split twigs. Baskets thus made are very durable, will hold water, and are often used as cooking utensils, hot stones being dropped in from time to time until the food is done. According to Wooton and Standley, the roots also were used by the Indians for their basketry and for setting dyes. The Mexicans sometimes mixed the stems of this sumac with willow branches in making their baskets. The wood of Rhus trilobata was much used by the In- dians for bows and the leaves are said to have been an important smoking ingredient of the Comanches. The twigs are employed by members of The Zuni’s Sword Swallowers Fraternity to attach to plume offerings to their most sacred fetish, the “ettowe.” Havard states that the acidulous fruits of certain species of * For a discussion of the more important economic products of the Anacardiaceae, see: Sweet, H. R. & F. A. Barkley. A most useful plant family, the Anacardiaceae. Bull. Mo. Bot. Gard. 24: 216-229, 1936; or, Barkley, F. A. A monographic study of Rhus and its immediate allies in North and Central America, including the West Indies. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard, 24: 265-498, 1937. 156 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN sumach, Rhus glabra, R. typhina, and R. Copallina, east of the Rocky Mountains, and R. integrifolia and R. ovata, of southern California, were bruised in water to make the drink more cooling, refreshing, and palatable. The berries were usually eaten fresh, but were often dried or even roasted for later use. Standley reports that the flower clusters of Rhus ovata were boiled and eaten by the Coahuila Indians of California. A de- coction of the leaves was taken as a remedy for coughs and for pains of the chest. Both the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) and the smooth sumac (It. glabra) have been of particular importance in the eco- nomics of the American Indian. According to Smith, the root of the staghorn sumac was used by the Pillager Ojibwe as a remedy for hemorrhages. In speaking of its use by the Menomini Indians he says, “This tree is a very valuable one to the Indians, yielding three distinct kinds of medicines. The root bark, divested of the outer skin and inner wood, yields a tea which is a remedy for ‘inward’ troubles. It is of course very meagre in quantity com- pared to the amount of root peeled. The inner bark of the trunk is considered a valuable pile remedy and is spoken of as being ‘puckering’ or astringent. The ‘top,’ or twigs, of the smaller shrubs is hairy, and because of this is used in the treatment of va- rious female diseases. The acid-flavored berries are used in com- bination with other herbs like the Greater St. John’s Wort for consumption and pulmonary troubles.” The Meskwaki Indians mixed the berries with the root of Huphorbia corollata and Quercus macrocarpa as a remedy for pinworms. Smith reports the use of the boiled roots by the Menomini and Ojibwe to yield a yellow dye. The smooth sumac is an outstanding example of the wide use “primitive” man could make of a plant which at first glance would seem entirely useless. The Ojibwe made the fruit into a cooling drink in the summer, and cooked it in water with maple sugar dur- ing the winter to form a hot drink. According to Parker, the Iro- quois Indians ate the newly grown sumac sprouts raw as a salad and alterative. Smith says that, “all parts of the smooth sumac are suitable for medicine—the root bark, trunk bark, twig bark, leaves, flowers and fruit. The root bark tea is used as a hemo- MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 157 static. Trunk and twig inner bark are used in combination with other medicine for their astringent qualities. Blossoms are some- times steeped for sore eyes, leaves are used for poultices, and the fruit is considered a throat cleanser as well as being the basis of a beverage.” The Pawnee Indians employed a decoction of the fruit in dysmenorrhoea and dysentery, and an infusion of the inner bark of the root for urinary troubles. Teit and Steedman report that the Indians of British Columbia use a decoction of the stems as a remedy for syphilis. Small portions of the fresh root were chewed for a sore mouth or a sore tongue. Many of the tribes collected the red leaves in the fall and dried them, to be used either alone or with tobacco as a smoking ingredient. The Omahas made a poultice of the bruised leaves, which was applied wet in cases of skin poisoning. An orange dye made by mixing the central pith of the sumac stems and bloodroot was often used to color the rush and woven mats. Seed of Rhus glabra has been found among the remains of the prehistoric Ozark bluff-dwellers. According to Standley, Rhus terebinthifolia was used by the Zapotics of Oaxaca in steam baths as a remedy for rheumatism and syphilis, and as a preparation for parturition. The American pistachio (Pistacia meaicana), of which the branches exude a resin and the seed are edible, has had occasional use by the Indians of Mexico. Poison ivy (Towxicodendron radicans ) has been little used in Indian cultures. However, the Meskwaki and Potawatomi medi- cine men used it for poulticing some kinds of swellings. In Mexico the gum from the pepper-tree (Schinus molle), ap- plied in the form of an emulsion, is said to hinder the development of cataracts in the eyes. It is also a remedy for genito-urinary and venereal diseases, and a syrup prepared from the fruit is used for bronchitis. The leaves are chewed to harden the gums and to heal ulcers of the mouth. The above article was prepared at the Missouri Botanical Gar- den and in the Museum of Economic Botany of Harvard Univer- sity. In addition to the collections of these two institutions, much information was obtained from various books and articles, the most important of which are listed on the following page: 158 MISSOURI BO'TANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Gilmore, M. R. Uses of plants by the Indians of the Missouri River region. Ann. Rept. Bur. Am. Ethnol. 33: 45-154. 1919. Havard, V. Drink plants of the North American Indians. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 23: 44-45. 1895. Palmer, Edward. Plants used by the Indians of the United States. Am. Nat. 12: 597-599, 1878, Parker, A. C, Iroquois uses of maize and other food plants. N. Y. State Mus. Bull. 144: 93. 1910, Smith, H. H. Ethnobotany of the Menomini Indians. Bull. Publ. Mus. Milwaukee 4: 22, 62, 77. 1923. Smith, H. H. Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians. Bull. Publ. Mus. Milwaukee 4: 200-201, 255, 271. 1928. Smith, H. H. Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians. Bull. Publ. Mus. Milwaukee 4: 354-355, 397, 424. 1932. Standley, P. C. ‘Trees and shrubs of Mexico. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 23: 664-671. 1923. Stevenson, M. C. Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. Ann. Rept. Bur. Am. Ethnol. 30: 33-102. 1915. Teit, J. A., and E. V. Steedman. Ethnobotany of the Thompson In- dians of British Columbia. Ann. Rept. Bur. Am. Ethnol. 44: 443-522, 1930, West, G. A. ‘Tobacco, pipes and smoking customs of the American Indian. Bull. Publ. Mus. Milwaukee 17: 107, 115. 1934. Wooton, KE. O., and P. C. Standley. Flora of New Mexico. Contr. U.S. Nat. Herb. 19: 405-409. 1915. Frep A. Barktey, Herman R. Sweer. WINTER COURSES IN GARDENING FOR AMATEURS ELEMENTARY COURSE The elementary course in various phases of gardening for amateurs, which has been conducted at the Garden for the past few years, will be repeated in 1938. As formerly, it will com- mence in January, since it is believed that the course is of more value when given earlier in the year. The class will meet in the lecture room of the museum building (entrance at Tower Grove and Cleveland Avenue gate) at 3:45 p.m., Monday of each week. ReaistratTion: It is desirable that registration be made by letter, with check enclosed payable to the Missouri Botanical Gar- den, as soon after December 20 as possible. Tickets will be ready for distribution on day of first lecture. Registration fees will also be received on January 3 at the lecture hall, at 3 o'clock, MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 159 Fer: The registration fee is $5.00 for each person, and tickets are not transferable. The outline of the subjects to be discussed follows: January 3—Brief discussion of catalogues, horticultural magazines, and bulletins. Illustrated lecture on rock gardens and bulbs... Kohl January 10—Trees and shrubs: Pruning of shrubs at planting time. Summer and winter pruning of trees and shrubs with relation to the time of bloom, i. e., trees and shrubs flowering in spring from buds formed the previous season; those blooming in sum- mer on wood made during the current season.............. Beilmann January 17—Annuals, perennials. Illustrated lecture.............. Kohl January 24—The general care of trees: Tree surgery. Fertilizers. Pruning. Spraying. Cabling. Dratis plAancll pair eaeta yee ato ck, ce totes cas nee aes rece Beilmann January 31—Roses. Illustrated lecture............. 00. eee cence Kohl February 7—Lawns: Seed lawns: Preparation of the soil, seed selection, fertilizers. Stolon lawns: Methods of planting by means of stolons and plugging. Lawns and ‘their subsequent cares: 2... eee ese Pring February 14—Raising plants from seed. ‘The students will sow seeds of annuals and perennials in the greenhouses, later trans- ferring the plants to their own gardens. Students will furnish Celt OW ISCOCS geese. ert nce Rete cela set srecate Fairburn February 21—Iris and peonies. Illustrated lecture................ Kohl February 28—Controlling insect pests. Material to use........ Beilmann March 7—Water gardens. Illustrated lecture. Construction of pools. Preparation of soil and planting. Caring for hardy and tropical water-lilies during growing season. Propagation by seeds, tubers, leaves. Breeding. Waritermestonragetec cosy secs sects) neie cerns ak acetate Ae sh wea acne Pring March 14—The home culture of cacti and other succulent plants, Illustrated lecture: Kinds for the beginner to grow. Soil, air, light, temperature, and moisture. Propagation by seed, cuttings, and grafting.................. Cutak March 21—The students will pot up the plants raised from seed sown Feb. 14. These plants will remain in the greenhouses until the weather permits the class members to set them out in their own PAT CCNSe Groeeesstyayt aloe oe eet oe ea as oo guumaae eee ee ele Fairburn 160 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN ADVANCED COURSE The advanced course in gardening for amateurs will start Feb- ruary 3. The purpose of this course is to give the students as much practical work as possible. With the installation of new con- crete benches and the enlargement of the lecture room, it is now possible to accommodate more students. All of the classes will be held in the experimental greenhouses from 10:00 to 12:00 a. m., Thursday of each week. The course will be in charge of Dr. Fairburn. Reatstration: Enrollment limited to 40 students. The elemen- tary course or previous gardening experience is a prerequisite to this advanced course. Fer: The registration fee is $10.00 per student and tickets are not transferable. Write or phone the Garden, Pr. 5567, for reservations. February 3—The selection and care of house plants: Exhibit of desirable house plants. How to grow them success- fully. Forcing of bulbs. February 10—Soil management: The characteristics of “good” soil. Study of drainage and dem- onstration of soil testing. Preparation of fertile garden soil. February 17—Fertilizers: How to improve soils by the use of fertilizers. The students will start an experiment in the greenhouse to show the effects of va- rious fertilizer treatments on plant growth. February 24—Insects and diseases: Identification, control and injury caused by common garden pests. Exhibit of harmful insects, diseases, injury to plants, insecticides, fungicides, sprayers, dusters, etc. Books and bul- letins on plant pests. March 3—March 31—Plant propagation: The propagation of plants is one of the most important and in- teresting phases of gardening. Five class periods will be devoted to this subject in order that the students may become familiar with a wide variety of plants and their methods of increase. a. Seed. h. ‘Tuberous roots. b. Stem cuttings. i. Bulbs, bulb scales, corms, c. Leaf cuttings. cormels, d. Root cuttings. j. Viviparous leaves. e. Hardwood cuttings. k. Stolons. f. Rootstocks or rhizomes. l, Layering. g. ‘Tubers. m. Grafting, budding. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 161 April 7—Potting of plants raised from seed. April 14—Potting of plants raised from cuttings. April 21—Landscaping the home grounds: The selection, arrangement, and care of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Lawns. April 28—Trip to the Garden Arboretum at Gray Summit where the students will have an opportunity to see the large collection of orchids, the pinetum, the nursery, and much of the native flora. CLASS IN PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGY This new course is scheduled in response to a repeated demand from professional gardeners, park superintendents, tree surgeons, and the like. It will attempt to impart the fundamentals of insect control, with particular reference to woody plants and to the large- scale methods which are necessary in parks or on large estates. A certificate will be awarded to all those completing the course. The classes will be held in the Museum building, 7:30 p. m., Wednesday of each week. The lectures will be given by Mr. A. P. Beilmann, and most of them will be illustrated. Fre: The registration fee is $5.00 per student, and tickets are not transferable. Write or phone the Garden, Pr. 5567, for reservations. January 6, 13, 20—Anatomy and structure of insects. Three lectures. January 27—General classification (correct terminology, practical identi- fication). February 2—Life histories of typical Missouri insects, February 10—Control methods and control materials. NOTES Dr. George T. Moore, Director of the Garden, addressed the Women’s Council of the Union Avenue Christian Church, Novem- ber 11, on “Henry Shaw and His Garden.” Mr. L. P. Jensen, Manager of the Garden Arboretum, spoke be- fore the members of the Garden Club of Gray Summit, November 1,on “Berry-bearing Trees and Shrubs for Ornamental Planting.” The talk was illustrated by specimens. 162 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Mrs. Marie Louise Evans, of the Canal Zone, gave a talk to the staff and students of the Garden and of the Shaw School of Botany, November 10, on “The Flowers and Fruits of Panama.” Her talk was illustrated with her own life-size water colors, as well as slides and motion-pictures in color. The ladies attending the convention of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers visited the chrysanthemum show at the Gar- den, November 18, after which Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, gave them an illustrated talk in the Museum Build- ing on “Henry Shaw and His Garden.” The summer of 1937 was apparently an unusually good season for the White Snakeroot, Hupatorium urticaefolium, which poisons the milk of cattle which graze upon it. During the past two months an unusual number of inquiries in regard to the White Snakeroot and its identification have been received at the Garden. The members of the Rowena Clarke Garden Club of Kirkwood, Mo., visited the Garden November 15. After viewing the chrys- anthemum show, they met in the auditorium at the Museum where Mr. George H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden, gave an il- lustrated talk on “The Development of the Chrysanthemum ” . Flower The fourth number of Volume XXIV of the ANNALS oF THE Missourr Boranicat GarpbEN has been issued, with the following contents: “Monograph of 'Tetramerium and Henrya,” George B. Happ; “Some Effects of Methyl Cholanthrene on the Morphol- ogy and Growth of Yeasts,” Carroll W. and Bertha S. Dodge; and the “Index”’ to the volume. Among those visiting the Garden recently were Dr. E. E. Naylor, Assistant Professor of Botany, Mr. J. T. Middleton, Graduate Assistant, and a party of graduate students, from the University of Missouri; Mr. Roger E. Sherman, Junior Horti- culturist, and Mr. Constantine Coukas, Junior Agronomist, U. S. Dept. Agr., Soil Conservation Nursery, Elsberry, Mo.; Mr. Ira W. Clokey, of Los Angeles, Calif.; Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, As- sistant Curator of the Herbarium, Field Museum of Natural His- tory, Chicago; Mr. E. J. Palmer, Collector and Research Assist- MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 163 ant, and Mr. Howard, both of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Jamaica Plain, Mass.; Dr. O. J. Eigsti, Head of the Department of Biology, Greenville College, Greenville, Il. It might be of interest to BuLLETIN readers to learn that the Victoria Amazon lily growing in the center pool at the Garden has just had its centennial of discovery. The following is an excerpt from Nature, printed in commemoration of the event: Discovery of the Victoria regia—At a meeting of the Botanical Society held on September 7, 1837, the secretary read a communica- tion from Robert H. Schomburgh dated New Amsterdam, Berbice, May 11, 1837, on a new genus allied to the water-lily, which by per- mission of Her Majesty he had named Victoria regia. The discovery of the plant by Schomburgh, in the River Berbice, in British Guiana, was made in January. When on the river he saw something which raised his curiosity, “All calamities were forgotten; I felt as a botanist and felt myself rewarded. A gigantic leaf, from five to six feet in diameter, salver-shaped, with a broad rim of light green above, and a vivid crimson below, resting upon the water: quite in char- acter with the wonderful leaf was the luxuriant flower consisting of many hundred petals. The smooth water was covered with them, I rowed from one to another, and observed always something to ad- mire. ... We met them afterwards frequently, and the higher we advanced the more gigantic they became.” (Nature, September 4, 1937.) Wolffia papulifera C. H. Thompson is one of the tiniest, as well as one of the rarest, flowering plants in North America. It is oc- casionally found floating as tiny dots of green on the surface of quiet pools. During the last month it has been discovered in two counties in Illinois by two botanists from the Missouri Botanical Garden. On November 6 Mr. Leslie Hubricht collected it at Burksville, Monroe County, and on November 7 Mr. Marion Ownbey collected it at Falling Spring, St. Clair County. Since plants from both localities bore flowers and since there are no previous records of this species for the state of Illinois, these collections are of considerable scientific interest. 164 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN STATISTICAL INFORMATION FOR OCTOBER, GARDEN ATTENDANCE: Total number of visitors... .:....:00s0n00 e000 ee ebeecesecws Laiprary ACCESSIONS: Total number of books and pamphlets bought.............. Total number of books and pamphlets donated............ PLANT ACCESSIONS: Total number of plants and seed packets received as gifts. ... Herpartum ACCESSIONS: By Purchase— Degener, Otto—Plants of Hawaii............... 0. cee ee eee Grandjot, C—Plants of Chile.............. 0... cece cece eee Herter, G.—Plants of Uruguay.... 0... .. 0 cee eee eee ee eee Krukoff, B. A.—Plants of Brazil......................0005. Nelson, A.—Plants of Arizona............ 0.000 cece eee eee Standley, P. C—Plants of Brazil, collected by A. Ducke...... By Gift— Anderson, E.—Plants of Michigan and Missouri............. Barkley, F. A.—Plants of Montana.............. cesses cues Bernice P. Bishop Museum—Lichens of Hawaii............. Curry, D. P. by R. E. Woodson, Jr—Cabomba aquatica Aubl. POM BMA, 655-5555 055 5akinees wee ain ied cee Nee es Cutler, H. L.—Plants of Texas........... 0.0... cece eee eee Deam, C. C.—Plants of Indiana.............. 0.00.00 ce eee Farlow Herbarium—Lichens of Chile....................... Greenman, J. M.—Photostats of type specimens............ Henderson, L. F.—Arenaria sp. from Oregon... ..........065 Hubricht, L.—Lichens of Missouri............... 0200020000: Hubricht, L.—Plants of Indiana and Kentucky.............. Kellogg, J. H.—Plants of Missouri.....................46- MacGinitie, H. D.—Plants of California.................... Mallinckrodt, Edw.—Blitum capitatum L. from Alaska..... Moldenke, H. N.—Photographs of type, co-type, and critical Bpecimens:.Of Verbenaceae, . 6 ois. ii cscs e440 yo ssas eae Whetzel, H. H.—Septotinia sp. from New York.............. By Exchange— Brenckle, J. F.—Plants of South Dakota.................... Dominion Experiment Farms, Ottawa, Canada, by Irene Mounce—A leurodiscus subcruentatus (B. & C.) Burt from MJUGIIEGS edge. rand snamachis-ann0)a Gy orale tree Stain nbs. PR ueet EARS a Munz, P. A.—Photographs of type specimens of Astragalus, Oenotherd, and (Gaurd. vii ccc ces ic ee ves vine waited Saree 4 oeeis s National Research Institute of Biology, Nanking, China— Bunge OF Chines i055 siosee 3.555 oasis a ois Ga pais Melts wee dee aes New York Botanical Garden—Plants of Florida............ University of California—Plants of California............. 1937 34,720 STAFF OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN “THE GARDEN, 2315 TOWER GROVE AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Grorce T. Moors, ) Director HERMANN VON SCHRENK, Epcar ANDERSON, Pathologist Géneticist Jesse M. GreENMAN, Roserr B. Weiteseesss JR., Curator of Herbarium ” Research Assistant . Ernest 8. Reynoups, a Davin C. Farrpurn, Physiologist Research Assistant Carrot, W. Donen, Ne.t C, Horner, *Mycologist Librarian and Hditor’ of . Publications Guorce H. Prine, ; Seis eat arava -Joun Noyes, : Pavn A. Kon, Consulting Landscape Architeet Floriculturist WiriAM F. LAnGaNn, . . Joun H. Kutxoae, Chief Engineer Plant, Collector ~ JosepH LANGEN, Aveust P. BEILMANN, Assistant Engineer Et Arboriculturist Arruur D, ForRESTER, >) Josmpn Curax,, Plant Recorder Bi '* In charge of Hxotics ALBERT PEARSON, -. Lapisuavus Cua, Painter ere In charge of Succulents THE ARBORETUM, GRAY SUMMIT, MISSOURI Lars P, JENSEN, Manager, : Roy E. Kissecx, ; Sy Davi Miutzr, iugineer ‘ ; nee Orshid Grower TROPICAL STATION, BALBOA, CANAL.