Mussourl BoTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


VOLUME XxXxIIlI 


1945 


ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI 


PUBLISHED MONTHLY EXCEPT JULY AND AUGUST, 
BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $1.50 A YEAR 


MesOuUR! BOTANICAL 
GARDEN LIBRARY 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


CONTENTS 


Fifty-sixth Annual Report of the Director. 


V olume XXXII January, 1945 A Number l 


Cover: Henry Shaw’s Old Residence, “Tower Grove,” in winter. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a “Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 
some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 
main entrance. 


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Miussour1 Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXIII JANUARY, 1945 No. 1 


FIFTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 


To THE Boarp or TRUSTEES: 

The Director of the Garden has the honor to submit his report for the 
year ending December 31, 1944. 

For a period of 60 years the Missouri Botanical Garden has cooperated 
with Washington University in the education of both undergraduate and 
graduate students in various fields of botanical science. Very few uni- 
versities in this country, or the entire world, have enjoyed the association 
of facilities such as the Garden offers, and as striking evidence of the 
productivity of this alliance we may point with considerable pride to large 
numbers of prominent American botanists whose graduate work was carried 
on under the auspices of these two institutions. The nature of the inter- 
relationship of the University and the Garden seems, however, to be very 
vaguely understood. A brief outline of the origin of this educational pro- 
gram would seem to be in order, although more detailed accounts will be 
found in the annual reports of the Missouri Botanical Garden for the past 
half century. 

The foresight with which Henry Shaw laid out his Garden and formu- 
lated plans for its future development and care can be fully appreciated 
only by those who have served as staff members or students. An occasional 
visit to the floral display houses is not enough to give an idea of this. It 
became evident to Mr. Shaw in the later years of his life that if the Garden 
was to serve, to the fullest degree of its capacity, both botanical science and 
horticulture, a sound educational program must be formulated. The green- 
houses and grounds were already admirably developed, and what was more, 
the library and herbarium were increasing with notable rapidity. The last 
two represent facilities which constitute the foundation of any great 
botanical institution. They are facilities upon which all of the scientific 
progress is based and in turn must be cared for by a trained technical staff 


who may at the same time instruct elementary and advanced students. 


(1) 


2 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Thus, in 1885, about 25 years after the Garden was opened to the public, 
Mr. Shaw conceived a plan whereby a School of Botany might be created in 
conjunction with Washington University. Henry Shaw was not a tech- 
nically trained man himself, and in the founding of this supplementary 
venture he was guided to a considerable extent by Dr. George Engelmann of 
St. Louis, and Dr. Asa Gray of Harvard University, two leading American 
botanists of that period. 

In order to maintain this newly established Henry Shaw School of 
Botany, Mr. Shaw deeded to Washington University a piece of property in 
block 27 on Second Street, with the stipulation that if the income from 
said property should drop below a certain annual minimum the balance 
should be made up by the Trustees of the Garden. It may be pertinent to 
note at this point that the Missouri Botanical Garden and Washington 
University have always operated under distinct administrations. Each 1s 
controlled by its own Board of Trustees and supported by its own endow- 
ments, there being no legal obligations between the two other than the 
above-mentioned instance. 

This annual endowment bequeathed to the University was to be used to 
maintain a teaching staff and provide for at least a part of the expenses 
incident to its work. A Chair of Botany was created at the same time 
under the title of the Engelmann Professorship, the first recipient being 
Dr. William Trelease, a botanist of note who had been a student of Asa 
Gray and later associated with the University of Wisconsin. 

After Mr. Shaw’s death in 1889 Professor Trelease became Director of 
the Garden, as well as Engelmann Professor, and as the School’s enrollment 
increased assistants were added to the staff. In 1893 an instructorship was 
created at the University, followed a year or two later, by a second. 

By 1895 a respectable list of undergraduate courses was offered, in- 
cluding elementary morphology, anatomy, microscopy of timbers, economic 
botany, applied mycology, and physiology. The graduate division was not 
neglected and in this same year the first degree of Doctor of Philosophy 
was awarded, and by 1909 the number had increased to nine. The School 
of Botany continued to grow in variety of courses offered, students en- 
rolled, and size of the staff. In 1909 Dr. George T. Moore was appointed 
Professor of Plant Physiology and Applied Botany and three years later, 
upon the resignation of Professor Trelease, he assumed the Directorship. 

In 1927, when Rebstock Hall was constructed on the present University 
grounds, the School of Botany occupied somewhat less than one half of the 
new building. At the present time many courses are given there, others at 
the Garden. The staff has been greatly increased during the present admin- 


istration, consisting at present of seven full-time members of whom four 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 3 


are Professors, one Associate Professor, one Assistant Professor, and one an 
Instructor. At least two half-time assistants, usually graduate students, as 
well as a varying number of part-time assistants, round out the teaching 
personnel. 

It is evident that the School has long since expanded beyond the income 
from the original piece of property that Henry Shaw bequeathed to the 
University in 1885, Since the full-time faculty members are also attached 
to the staff of the Garden their salaries are carried very largely by this 
institution. The University, on the other hand, is responsible for the main- 
tenance of Rebstock Hall and contributes to some extent to the professional 
salaries. Laboratory facilities for both teaching and research are already 
taxed to the limit, and it is hoped that the future may bring about the ex- 
pansion in the form of a new building or an addition to the present one. 
Tentative plans are also being formulated for the organization of a distinct 
curriculum in some phase of horticulture leading to the Bachelor’s degree. 

A few pertinent statistics may serve to outline the achievements and 
scope of the school to date. From the time of its inception in 1885 over 
200 graduate students have been enrolled who have remained in residence for 
at least one year. A number of these have been visiting scholars and not 
candidates for degrees. A total of 69 Doctor’s degrees have been awarded 
and 68 Master’s degrees. The practical value of the Ph.D. degree in botany 
is often a vexatious question in the mind of the laity. It may, therefore, be 
of interest to note briefly what has happened to these students after they 
have left the Garden and University. 

Of some 94 students who have received advanced degrees since 1912, 
51 are now located in teaching, administrative or research positions (or in 
combinations of these) in connection with colleges and universities, 21 are 
engaged in private industry or are with private foundations including 
museums and hospitals, 13 are associated with various branches of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, 2 are teaching in secondary 
schools, and 7 are in miscellaneous non-botanical occupations. We have 
drawn students from at least 28 states and 4 foreign countries, and they 
have been distributed to more than 26 states, At present 8 past students 
are engaged in botanical work that is directly integrated with the war 
program, chiefly quinine and rubber exploration in South America. At least 
12 are in the armed service, including two lieutenants in the WAVES, 
engaged in strictly military work. 

Enrollment in the graduate division is at present relatively low, as is, of 
course, the case with all similar institutions. There is every reason to 
believe, however, that it will be larger than ever following the close of the 
war. The staff, as well as the curriculum offered to both undergraduate and 


4 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


graduate students, is larger than at any time in the history of the school 
and plans are under way for even greater expansion. A detailed list of 
courses is not given here since they may be found in the annual catalogues 
issued by the University. 

It should be especially noted that this account does not include the many 
students who have received horticultural training at the Garden. Since 
its earliest days a varying number of students have been enrolled as ap- 
prentice gardeners, having been given some formal class work as well as 
an abundance of practical training in many phases of horticulture. Such 
work is administered entirely by the Garden, does not lead to an academic 


degree, and therefore dees not fall within the realm of the School of Botany. 


ARBORETUM 


The operation of an arboretum in war-time is subject to all the restric- 
tions which are encountered everywhere. The allotted truck mileage must 
not be exceeded; gasoline usage must comply with the allowance; hand 
tools are dificult to find; and all repair parts for tractors and heavy machin- 
ery are obtainable only after considerable waiting. The equipment must 
therefore be kept in operation if the development is to continue and break- 
downs must be eliminated if possible. Of course, it is impossible to an- 
ticipate the breaking of a tractor drive shaft, but it is possible, by careful 
maintenance, to hold the gasoline consumption to a minimum and keep the 
machine in the field without serious loss of time. Such maintenance re- 
quired 798 hours of labor during the year. 

The past year not being notably dry, most plantations grew well with- 
out irrigation. The long very pleasant fall brought about an unusual 
display of autumnal coloration which persisted much longer than usual. 
About 10,000 gallons of water were hauled for use while transplanting, 
and 290,000 gallons were pumped to a reservoir for greenhouse and nursery 
use. Some groups of conifers and other evergreens were fertilized with 
sludge, about 15,000 gallons having been used for this purpose. The Holly 
(Ilex opaca) has shown the greatest response to this fertilizer, with the 
Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) a close second. 

For years the 374-acre farm, on the south bank of the Meramec River, 
has been operated as a farm on a share-crop basis. A change was made in 
March so that this area might be developed along with the Arboretum. 
Approximately 108 acres were planted to corn; some of this—two lines of 
white corn raised for the University of Missouri, Papago, and other sweet 
corns—were wholly experimental. While the entire crop has not been 
harvested, it appears that production will reach 4,000 bushels. In addition, 
684 bushels of soybeans and 1,167 bales of clover and alfalfa hay were 


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Part of herd useful in establishing blue-grass areas by mowing, hoof 


action and manure 


Ferry across the Meramec 


connecting the Farm with the Arboretum 


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MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 7 


harvested. It is well known that good crops cannot be raised on the same 
field year after year simply by planting seed each spring. Both the bushels 
per acre of corn and the ultimate size of a Pine tree depend, most of all, on 
soil fertility. There are other factors involved, but only starving trees and 
stunted crops can be grown on a starved soil. The extraordinary growth of 
Boxwood at the Main Gate, the Taxads at the Trail House, and the establish- 
ment of 1,500 Short-leaf Pines, are all largely due to the generous use of 
cattle manure. When enough is applied to a nursery soil, it has been found 
that the plant mortality rate drops, and the plants “catch” and grow from 
the start. The need for manure increases annually, aside from that required 
with each new group of plants, but only a limited amount can be purchased. 
To help supply some of the needs a herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle was 
placed on the Farm (pl. 2) with the thought that some manure from the 
feed barn will be available. 

One of the obstacles to efficient operation of the Farm has been the very 
long, rough drive from the Arboretum—a matter of 12'4 miles. With 
mileage and gas restrictions and the time lost in driving, only occasional 
inspection trips could be made. This problem has now been solved by the 
building and operation of a ferry on the Meramec River (pl. 3), which 
brings the Farm within ten minutes of the Arboretum and saves twenty 
miles each round trip. The barge is of all-steel construction, the skeleton 
being made of used boiler tubes covered with steel sheets. It was assembled 
in units hauled by our truck to the river bank, where it was welded into one 
piece and launched. It is 14 feet wide and 30 feet long, and displaces 
63,000 pounds gross weight. 

Much clearing has been done east of the Pinetum and north of the East 
Bridge, and about one mile of roadway has been rough-graded. It is planned 
to open this area when it becomes possible to haul gravel for road surfacing. 
Four culverts are in place and Brush Creek is to be crossed with a concrete 
slab laid on the creek bed. The opening-up of this region will permit the 
extension of evergreen plantings, and since it is a south slope with many 
sheltered locations more exacting plants might be expected to be grown 
here. For instance, it would allow the development of the Boxwood Garden 
on a scale made necessary by the many thousands of these plants now in our 
nurseries. 

Nursery work has been restricted to plants which were needed or which 
would be used in a specific manner or place. This means that fewer species 
are being grown and more attention is being paid to special kinds. Actually 
it would be quite impossible to obtain foreign seeds and plants. These 
conditions should result in reducing the nursery work, but the nurseries 
and seed-frames are full, an inventory showing 18,737 plants. Many 


S MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


thousands of cuttings of Boxwood, Taxads, Junipers, etc., have been made. 
During the fall two large groups of White and Colorado Blue Spruces were 
moved to avoid crowding, and many smaller trees were planted. 

A small lake near the Crabapple collection was enlarged and deepened. 
It is expected that it will reflect the great masses of Crabapples which flower 
here each spring, and it is being tentatively called ‘Mirror Lake.” The 
Missouri Conservation Commission, through Mr. Aden C. Bauman, Aquatic 
Biologist, plans to use this lake for experimental fish rearing. 

The threat of a woods or a grass fire at the Arboretum has always been 
serious, and during the past five years much preventive work has been done. 
Fire trails have been opened, reservoirs and fire hydrants installed, a tele- 
phone alarm system worked out, and mowing and clearing has reduced or 
eliminated fuel from the soil surface. In spite of such precautions, the pos- 
sibility of a big fire remains a worry and in dry seasons a nightmare. A 
fire sweeping through the Pinetum might destroy the work of twenty years 
in twenty minutes, and no sum of money would replace the dead and 
damaged trees. Much can be done in the way of preventive work, but 
eventually it becomes necessary to think in terms of fire control—how to 
put out a fire which has started. Last spring the Arboretum was presented 
with a high-pressure pump, hose and guns, all of which have been installed 
on the tank truck. This equipment is now almost the only “fog” fire- 
fighting unit in civilian hands. It 1s patterned after the latest “crash” 
truck in military use, and should prove of great value if a fire should occur. 
Fire control has gone one step farther by the organization of the Gray 
Summit Volunteer Fire Department—a group of men who have contributed 
both time and funds to purchasing ladders, lights and other equipment 
needed in protecting community property. The Arboretum has agreed to 
dispatch our truck to any fire within the community and the Volunteer 
Department has agreed to answer any call for help which might arise in this 
vicinity. This long-anticipated organization of trained fire-fighters should 
go far toward removing the ever-present threat that a careless smoker 
might destroy the Pinetum. 

Friends of the Garden” Fund.—As was reported last year, this fund is 
being allowed to accumulate until labor and material can be obtained to 
complete several important improvements. It is a satisfaction to know that 
because of the sustained interest of Garden Clubs and individuals the money 
necessary for this work will be available as soon as conditions permit its 
economical use. During the year 1944, $5,216.24 has been added to this 


fund. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 9 


Orchids—In addition to the annual orchid exhibitions staged in the 
Floral Display House during February, the alcoves in the Aroid House have 
presented a continuous display throughout the year, plants being brought in 
weekly from the Arboretum. In addition to the better-known Cattleya 
group, many other genera were included, such as Aerides, Vanda, and the 
white form of Laelia anceps, presented to the Garden in 1918 by the late 
D. S. Brown. Filling the alcoves were the yellow sprays of “Dancing 
Girls” (Oncidium ampliatum) in May, with Oncidium varicosum Rogersii 
during September and October. The rare Oncidium Powellii is now rep- 
resented by twelve plants propagated from the original specimen sent from 
the Canal Zone. This and the showy Tiger Orchid (Oncidium tigrinum) 
from Guatemala were on display during February. 

Of the so-called “botanical orchids” a special feature was twelve plants 
of Bulbophyllum Medusae, each carrying six to eight flowering spikes. Other 
genera included Brassia, Cirrhopetalum, Epidendrum, Eria, Brassavola, Lock- 
hartia, Catasetum, Stanhopea, Zygopetalum, Megaclinium, and Coclog yne 
Dayana (the Chain Orchid which produced flowering spikes five feet long). 

Special attention has been given to the propagation of the more showy 
hybrids of Cattleya of which we now have thousands of promising seedlings. 
The slipper orchids convoyed from England, as well as the Brownhurst 
Cypripedium insigne Sanderae and C. Maudac, have been propagated by 
division to increase the stock of these beautiful flowers. The Sherman 
Adams Cypripedium seedlings, purchased in June, 1943, have now reached 
the flowering stage. These hybrids were bred from the finest English stock 
and will greatly enhance the Garden collection. The number of plants 
transplanted and repotted during the year was 18,739. 

While the orchid collection is under the general charge of Mr. George H. 
Pring, Superintendent to the Garden, Miss Rosemary Heinz and Mrs. Elsie 
George, with the assistance of four other women, are responsible for the 


care and growing of some 20,000 plants housed at the Arboretum. 


Sunshine Record.— 


COMPARATIVE HOURS OF CITY AND COUNTRY SUNSHINE 


City Garden Arboretum 
Month Hours Hours 
January ee = — : 147.45 154.15 
February : : = : = 125 142.45 
March...... oes ges : : 155 164 
April__... aon a _ = 173.45 172 
May __ — _ eee 204.30 224.45 


June. aren a _ ee 285 321 


10 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


July 282.15 314.15 
August 221 236 
September 206.30 210 
October a 250.30 250 
November : 91 78 

December en” 69.15 87.30 

2211.30 2354.30 

2211.30 

Excess of sunshine hours at Arboretum 143.00 


CITY GARDEN MAINTENANCE 

Some idea of the work necessary to maintain the heating and water 
systems in a plant now over thirty years old may be obtained from the 
following list of repairs and replacements during 1944: 

Repaired reducing valves in upper valve chamber at experimental valve 

chamber. 

Repaired all traps in three manholes. 

Installed new diaphragms in all reducing valves. 

Renewed all packing on boiler and vacuum pumps. 

Renewed packing on three manhole expansion joints. 

Installed 2” city water line for No. 1-2-3 boilers. 

Installed new brick arch under No. 2 boiler. 

Repaired electric sump pump. 

Repaired boiler feed pump. 

Cleaned 368 motor valves on end of heating coils, and where necessary 

installed new valves. 

Installed 34,” hot-water pipe for washing pots in Head House. 

Repaired 3 traps in upper valve chamber at the Experimental Greenhouse. 

Cleaned shell and all tubes in No. 1-2-3 boilers. 

Renewed 6 stand pipes for sprinkler heads in Rose and Linnean Gardens. 

No extraordinary repairs or improvements were attempted. The nec- 
essary replacements were made, and more than the usual amount of painting 
was completed, including the iron and wire fence on Alfred and Magnolia 


Avenues, and the ornamental iron fence surrounding the Mausoleum. 


GARDENS 

During February and March some of the shrubs in the vicinity of the 
Floral Display House were pruned or transplanted. Many of the hawthorns 
which surround the rose garden were pruned to permit more light to reach 
the plants underneath these trees. Narcissi and scillas from other parts of 
the garden were planted in these beds in the fall, and several thousand ivies 
and Vinca minor were added to the area of ground-cover plants. None of 
these plants were purchased but were propagated by cuttings last winter 
whenever weather conditions permitted. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Lil 


All of the major gardens were manured in the spring before the beds 
were spaded. The fine display of roses, particularly in the autumn, might 
be attributed to the manure mulch. 

Several new varieties of perennials were added to the Linnean Garden, 
the most noteworthy of which were six varieties of tree peonies. 

In the two previous years ornamental vegetables were combined with 
the bedding plants in the Main Garden but during the past summer only 
flowering plants were used. The sample Victory Garden, however, was 
maintained for the third consecutive year. 

A collection of farm crops and fiber plants was again grown in the 
Economic Garden where, for the last two years, the beds had been planted 
with a large variety of vegetables, 

Forty new varieties of iris were purchased. The Iris Garden is gradually 
being improved through the gift and purchase of many of the current 
popular varieties. 

A new nursery was established in the spring for the purpose of growing 
a supply of evergreens for garden and _ floral display use. Five-hundred 
plants, representing seventeen varieties of evergreens, were lined out in this 
nursery in April. 

FLORAL DISPLAYS 

The orchid show was held in the Floral Display House from January 23 
to February 20. There then followed a succession of displays of primroses, 
cyclamens, nasturtiums, cinerarias, marguerites, stocks and calendulas. An 
Faster show, with azaleas and regal lilies predominating, opened on April 2. 
From April 16 to May 14 schizanthus, annual chrysanthemums, foxgloves, 
canterbury bells and Martha Washington geraniums were displayed. More 
than 200 plants were sent to the Christ Church Cathedral for the annual 
flower sermon preached there on April 16. The St. Louis Horticultural 
Society held its spring flower show in the Floral Display House on May 20 
and 21, and a week later the hydrangea show opened. Fancy-leaved cala- 
diums occupied the House during the summer months. The Greater St. 
Louis Victory Garden Harvest Show was held September 9 and 10. The 
St. Louis Horticultural Society held its annual dahlia show on September 30 
and October 1. The annual chrysanthemum show opened on November 5 
and continued until December 3. The Christmas display of poinsettias and 
chrysanthemums opened on December 10, and will continue into early 
January. 

As in the past, the growing of the plants, as well as the arrangement of 
the floral displays, has been the special charge of Mr. Paul A. Kohl, Flori- 
culturist to the Garden. He also has the responsibility of many of the 
outdoor gardens. 


[2 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


MAIN CONSERVATORIES AND EXOTIC RANGES 


The flowering of outstanding exotics and the acquisition of new plant 
and seed material appear to be the features most worthy of recording for 
1944. During the year several good contacts with various botanists and 
plant-lovers were made, through which plants, cuttings and seeds were 
secured, Included in the group of prominent donors were: Drs. Robert 
W. Schery, Robert E. Woodson, Jr., and Leon Croizat; Messrs. Mulford B. 
Foster, Dave Barry, Jr., Frank J. McCoy, E. O. Orpet, Frank D. Venning, 
Alex D. Hawkes, Horace W. Smith, E. J. Alexander, Thomas MacDougall, 
and Joseph Holmes; Miss Lester Rowntree; Mrs. Mary Diddell; Capt. A. A. 
Bernhardt: and the Plant Introduction Garden of Coconut Grove, Florida. 

As regards seeds, often the amount received was just sufficient for one 
sowing, but where a larger quantity was to be had several sowings were 
made at intervals to insure germination. In some Cases germination was 
poor, but in others quite satisfactory. Some seedlings attained sufhcient size 
to be transplanted into permanent beds of the conservatories. Most of 
Schery’s seeds were collected in northeastern Brazil and consisted of cacti, 
bromels and miscellaneous woody material; Hawkes and Venning were in- 
strumental in procuring seeds of native and introduced plants in Florida 

gardens; McCoy, Orpet, and Rowntree shipped seeds of native California 
pte and Capt. Bernhardt sent material from various locations where he 
was stationed in the United States and overseas. 

Much worth-while living material, including the valuable Cinchonas, 
Cycas Wadei, and a number of new cacti and succulents came into our pos- 
session. Cycas Wadei, a recent discovery, grows in a very small area on the 
Island of Palawan in the Philippines. Anticipating the war with Japan, 
David Barry of California sent a request to Dr. Wade, head of the leper 
colony on Palawan, to collect all the seed of this rare cycad that could be 

gathered and air-mail it to California for propagation. Mr. Barry also 
acliiesen to us other seedling cycads, including Encephalartos Hildebrand tii, 
FE. gratus and Macrozamia Fraseri, also a number of rare bromels, among 
them plants of three odd and rare genera—Catopsis, Fascicularia and Gravisia 
—which previously were not in our collection, This addition raises our 
number of genera in the Bromeliaceae to 31, or about three-fifths complete. 

In February, Ladislaus Cutak was sent to Florida to study the very ex- 
tensive collection of bromels in Foster’s establishment in Orlando and to 
negotiate a mutual exchange of plants. The G Garden now possesses a very 
commendable representation of the Bromeliaceae—probably the best of 
American gardens in the number of species. Both epiphytic and xerophytic 


types have received attention, and many of them are attached to the trunks 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 13 


of palms in the Palm House or growing in the beds of the Cactus House 
where they are beginning to make splendid growth. Besides the bromels, 
many other exotics were obtained, including several miscellanea which 
Foster had collected on trips to tropical regions. While in Florida, Cutak 
made other contacts, particularly with Mrs. Mary Diddell of Jacksonville, 
an amateur botanist, who supplied plants of araceous, liliaceous and 
cactaceous character. 

The collection of palms was augmented by a shipment of specimens from 
the U. S. Plant Introduction Garden of Coconut Grove, Florida, which 
were large enough to be set out in permanent locations in the Palm House. 
Several of these palms come from regions in the Philippines still occupied 
by the enemy. 

In the latter part of November Mr. E. J. Alexander, of the New York 
Botanical Garden, and Mr. Thomas MacDougall, a landscape designer from 
New York, brought a nice lot of crassulaceous and cactaceous plants for 
deposit at the Garden. These gentlemen were on their way to the unex- 
plored regions of Mexico, where they will conduct a six-months collecting 
trip for botanical and horticultural material. Mr. MacDougall has collected 
in Mexico for the past fifteen years, and has discovered a number of new 
cacti, echeverias, graptopetalums and sedums, all described by Mr. Alexander 
in the Cactus Journal. Of particular interest were Sedum platy phyllum 
(which resembles an African Cotyledon), Lobeira MacDougallii (a new 
monotypic cactus), Pseudorhipsalis macrantha, Echeveria alata, E. bella, 
E. spectabilis, and several new crassulaceous plants which have not yet been 
described. 

Of general interest were plants flowering for the first time with us. In 
this category the cacti were dominant, particularly the nocturnal kind be- 
longing to the genera Acanthocereus, Hylocereus, Mediocactus and Seleni- 
cereus. These genera are characterized by being elongated and vine-like, 
possessing the largest flowers in the Cactaceae. The Mexican Acanthocereus 
occidentalis bloomed for the first time on the night of June 15 and pro- 
duced flowers up to nine inches long throughout the summer. Exceeding 
them by three inches, however, were those of A. colombianus, which opened 
on July 10. Hylocereus Lemairei, another first-nighter and one of the most 
beautiful of all nocturnal bloomers, appeared on June 22; Eriocereus 
fortuosus made its bow on August 21; Selenicereus hondurensis displayed its 
floral charm on June 25; and Mediocactus coccineus on June 6. The last 
possesses Hylocereus-like stems, but its flowers are more like those of a 
Selenicereus without the hairs of that genus. 

In the South African House the flowering succulents held sway during 
the winter season. Of especial note were a number of Aloes, several bloom- 


14 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


ing for the first time. Among these Aloe africana, A. arborescens var. 
pachythyrsa and A. rubrolutea were outstanding. Aloe Jobnstonii continued 
to be most profuse of the flowering aloes, sending up stalks of orangish 
flowers from nearly every rosette. As in past years, leaves of the medicinal 
Aloe vera were supplied to doctors and hospitals when urgently needed. A 
small bed of these plants is kept for this purpose. 

In the Economic House the bright green, fern-like Jacaranda mimosac- 
folia sent forth pyramidal panicles of deep lavender blossoms for the first 
time in March. So also did Plumieria acutifolia, whose flowers are of a 
delectable gardenia-white with a golden throat and used in the South Seas 
in making leis. An interesting Sansevieria, with very broad, coriaceous 
leaves, orange-cinnamon creeping rootstalks, and a dense head of whitish- 
green flowers, also condescended to bloom for the first time and proved to 
be S. longiflora, a native of the Belgian Congo. This species 1s still rare in 
collections but is bound to increase in popularity when it is available for 
distribution. We have been making special effort to secure as many of the 
true species of Sansevieria as possible, and already have a rather worth-while 
start with 11 species of the known total of fifty-four. 

Squirrels, which inhabited the Main Conservatory for the past few 
years, became a great nuisance and had to be reduced in number. On April 
22, when five inches of rain fell in eighteen hours of intermittent down- 


pour, the tunnel under the Main Conservatory was flooded seven inches 


deep—the first such occurrence since the greenhouses were erected in 1913. 
The sewers would not take the water, and the long chamber in the tunnel 
was transformed into a canal which rolled on toward the boiler room, 
causing the heating units to be abandoned for the day. 

The regular routine work, such as watering, spraying, cultivating, fer- 
tilizing, planting and pruning was carried on faithfully as usual, all under 
the management of Mr. Ladislaus Cutak, in charge of the Main Conserva- 
tory, including cacti and other succulents. 

EXPERIMENTAL GREENHOUSES 

Research work on the growth of orchid plants, under the direction of 
Dr. D. C. Fairburn, Horticulturist to the Garden, continues to be the major 
field of activity. Many thousands of hybrid seedlings, raised by various 
methods, are under observation in an effort to determine what combination 
of cultural factors is required to obtain maximum growth and flowering. 
Investigations now in progress are: 

Growing orchid plants by gravel culture methods or Hydroponics.’ — 
Results of these experiments have been so favorable from several angles that 
new and more extensive studies are under way to learn what the ultimate 


possibilities are of raising orchids in gravel flooded periodically with nutrient 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 15 


solution. A large concrete bench, especially designed for this type of work, 
has been constructed at the Arboretum greenhouses and over 5500 hybrid 
seedlings planted in it to demonstrate the value of hydroponics on a com- 
prehensive scale. 

A summary of the results obtained to date on these experiments, pub- 
lished in the October 1944 issue of the Garden BULLETIN, has aroused 
considerable interest among orchid growers, professional and amateur, 
throughout the country. 

Supplementary feeding with nutrient solutions—It has been demon- 
strated beyond question that orchid plants potted in osmunda fibre respond 
favorably to the application of certain nutrient solutions. Evidence to this 
effect is apparent sooner with young seedlings than with mature plants. 
Data regarding the frequency of application are being compiled. 

Transplanting seedlings from culture flasks directly into community 
pots of gravel_—This method has definitely eliminated a lot of slow, tedious 
work formerly involved in the use of orchid peat in the community pots. 
Details of this new technique were published in the October 1944 issue of 
the Garden BULLETIN. 

Potting orchid plants in gravel instead of osmunda fibre. — Several 
thousand plants potted in granite gravel and fertilized at regular intervals 
with nutrient solutions are under observation to see if they grow as well or 
better than plants potted in osmunda fibre and handled in the usual man- 
ner. Similar tests are also being made on Sani-Fibre or shredded bark from 
the Redwood trees of California. 

Correlation studies.—Data are being recorded to see if the size and vigor 
of orchid seedlings are definitely correlated with the quality, quantity and 
earliness of bloom. 

Use of electric light at night to stimulate rapid growth of seedlings.— 
Experiments thus far indicate that artificial light may be of some advantage 
under certain conditions. Further tests are needed. 

Effect of sunlight——Detailed studies on the optimum amount of sun- 
light required for the growth of orchids in Missouri have been concluded. 
A complete report of this investigation will soon appear in the Garden 
BULLETIN. 

Comparative growth responses of seedlings on various nutrient media in 
the culture flasks.—Germination of orchid seed and growth of seedlings in 
the flasks depend to a large extent on the composition and concentration of 
the nutrient elements in the culture media. Considerable progress has been 
made toward developing improved formulas for this type of work. Symbiotic 
cultures, using selected strains of endemic fungi, have in all cases given 
results far superior to anything produced by sterile culture methods. 


16 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Effects of increased humidity on orchid  plants.—The installation of a 
DeVilbiss spray gun, operated at 90 pounds air pressure, has made it possible 
to reproduce artificial fog in the greenhouse comparable to the early morning 
mists found in the mountainous regions where many orchids grow wild. 
Indications are that this fog will stimulate growth considerably. 

A Bahnson Humidifier, with a fan and rotating disk to create mist, has 
also been tried, but the results were not as satisfactory as with the DeVilbiss 
spray gun. 

New “Wardian Case” enclosures, consisting of transparent Vitapane 
tacked to light wooden frames and having removable covers that operate on 
the windlass principle, have been constructed over the benches containing 
orchid seedlings in community pots. An arrangement of this type greatly 
assists in the maintenance of a humid atmosphere, so essential for active 
growth of young seedlings freshly transplanted from culture flasks. 

Colchicine treatments.—To develop mutations that might not arise 
through hybridization, orchid seeds are being treated with various concen- 
trations of colchicine. Some rather striking growth responses have already 
been noted. 

AMATEUR GARDEN COURSE 

Considerable time and greenhouse space have been used for the propaga- 
tion of house and garden plants, most of which are used for class work. 
Over 5,000 cuttings and countless seedlings were raised in the Experimental 
Greenhouse by members of the amateur garden class for subsequent use in 
their own homes and gardens. Particular attention was given to the pro- 
duction of vegetable seedlings for planting in back-yard “Victory Gardens.” 

SUPERVISED INSTRUCTION FOR SCHOOL-CHILDREN 

The eight years in which the school-children have had the opportunity 
to visit the Garden under the guidance of a special nature-study teacher 
have demonstrated the value of this work, not only to the pupil, but to the 
school-teacher and parent as well. Miss Clara M. Heising, who since 1936 
has been delegated by the Board of Education for this special instruction, 
conducted more than 9000 students through the Garden in 1944, in spite 
of the present limited means of transportation. As has been pointed out 
before, this is not a mere sightseeing trip, but is a serious effort to open the 
eyes of boys and girls to the beauty and wonder of nature. As they become 
“tree-conscious,” “plant-conscious,” “insect-conscious” or “bird-conscious” 
the pupil develops hobbies and habits for leisure hours that are of inestimable 
value. 

The Missouri Nature Knight program was presented to three schools 
adjacent to the Garden, resulting in groups of children meeting two after- 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 74 


noons a week for special nature-study. Classes and clubs from the schools 
are taking advantage of the material available here for stimulating interest 
in some particular subject. Recently classes are making their visit to the 
Garden the basis of their graduation programs, and more and more indi- 
vidual pupils and teachers, as well as classes, write letters telling how much 


their visit to the Garden was appreciated. 
RESEARCH AND INSTRUCTION 


Dr. J. M. Greenman, Curator of the Herbarium and Professor in the 
Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, has continued to 
devote most of his time to exacting duties in the herbarium. He has also 
supervised the work of graduate students majoring in taxonomy of the 
higher plants. Furthermore, Dr. Greenman has continued to pursue research 
on various groups of flowering plants and to further monographic and 
floristic studies long under way. 

Dr. C. W. Dodge, Mycologist to the Garden and Professor in the Henry 
Shaw School of Botany of Washington University, has spent most of the 
time available for research in completing the study of lichens from the 
Australian quadrant of Antarctica and the subantarctic islands of the Indian 
Ocean and of Macquarie Island. The usual courses of instruction have been 
given. Miss Dorothy Gaebler gave the course in general bacteriology during 
the summer session. Routine determinations of human pathogenic fungi 
from the armed forces have been made as the various cultures were received. 
Several series of lichen specimens, especially from Texas and Cuba, have 
been determined for correspondents. Several antiseptic paints were tested 
for the St. Louis Ordnance District in the control of decay of ammunition 
boxes in the South Pacific. 

Mr. Emanuel Grunberg, a graduate student in Yale University, spent a 
semester in the laboratory of mycology, studying human pathogens. 

Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden and Engelmann Professor 
of Botany in the Henry Shaw School of Botany, returned to St. Louis in 
April, 1944. A fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation and a special 
grant from the Rockefeller Foundation had allowed him to carry on his 
survey of Zea Mays in California and in Mexico for fourteen months. A 
portion of the results have already appeared in the ANNaLs for November 
1943 and for November 1944. Surveys of the maize of the American 
Southwest and of Mexico are now undergoing final revision. Since his re- 
turn to this country a large part of his time has been given over to super- 
vising the assembly of a maize herbarium in which photographs of the 
original ears, samples of the kernels, and herbarium specimens of the tassels 
are brought together with notes on the growth habit of the plant. Approxi- 


18 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


mately 1500 such specimens have been prepared and mounted, and material 
for 500 more is at hand. It is expected that when complete the collection 
will be in the neighborhood of 3000 specimens and will present an effective 
survey of the varieties and races of the maize of the entire world, including 
prehistoric collections. 

A number of projects connected with this general survey have had to be 
postponed because there were no facilities at the Garden for growing large 
experimental fields of pedigreed maize. An arrangement with the Pioneer 
Hi-Bred Corn Company, of Des Moines, Iowa, has removed this difficulty 
and several projects are already under way. Dr. Anderson spent a few days 
in April and three weeks in August and September at the company’s breed- 
ing farms at Johnston, Iowa. 

In addition to his regular teaching assignments in the Henry Shaw 
School of Botany, Dr. Anderson cooperated with the zoology department in 
organizing a special seminar course in a survey of biology for a selected 
group of students from the Medical School. 

Dr. Robert E. Woodson, Jr., Assistant Curator of the Herbarium, as in 
former years, has divided his time between teaching duties as Associate 
Professor in the Henry Shaw School of Botany and various research projects 
conducted at the Garden. These projects include preparation of manuscript 
for current fascicles of the “Flora of Panama,” published serially by the 
Garden, and various topics concerning the Asclepiadaceae and Apocynaceae. 

Dr. Henry N. Andrews, recently appointed Assistant to the Director, 
and Assistant Professor in the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington 
University, as a result of the closing of most of the University’s Army 
training programs, has been relieved of duties in the mathematics depart- 
ment and is again able to devote full time to botanical and administrative 
work. 

In September a small but choice collection of coal balls (containing 
fossil plants from the Coal Measures of Iowa) was obtained by gift from 
Mr. F. O. Thompson of Des Moines. Dr. Andrews’ research activities at 
present are being devoted entirely to this collection. Perhaps the most im- 
portant plants found to date are stem remains of the seed-ferns. A distinctly 
new and beautifully preserved specimen of Medullosa (a polystelic group) 
is being studied, as well as a stem apparently related to the Lower Carboni- 
ferous seed-fern Rhetinangium, from Scotland. The latter, however, pre- 
sents characters that will probably render necessary its description as a new 
genus. It is expected that this material will be ready for publication in an 
early issue of the ANNALS. 

Fern fructifications and seeds are also well represented in this collection. 


Serial peel preparations, as well as ground thin sections, are being prepared, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 19 


and a study of this material will immediately follow when the seed-fern 
stems have been described. 

Dr. Carl C. Lindegren, Research Professor, Gertrude Lindegren, Research 
Fellow, and Mrs. Amy Pabor Bates, Research Assistant, in the Henry Shaw 
School of Botany of Washington University, have carried on a program of 
penicillin research in addition to their studies on the genetics of yeast. The 
yeast work has concentrated on the development of new hybrids which have 
proved to be of interest both industrially and scientifically. An analysis of 
the progeny of some hybrids proved that adaptive enzymes are transmitted 
in the Mendelian manner. The culture collection of yeasts and hybrids now 
consists of about 1,000 strains. This work has been generously supported 
by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., St. Louis, and a grant was also received from the 
American Philosophical Society. 

Degrees.—At the May 1944 Commencement the degree of Doctor of 
Philosophy was conferred upon Ralph O. Erickson, B.A., Gustavus Adolphus 
College, St. Peter, Minn., M.S., Washington University (Taxonomy and 
Cytology). The degree of Master of Science was conferred upon Charles 
B. Heiser, A.B., Washington University (Taxonomy), and Dorothy Gaebler 
Heiser, A.B., Washington University (Mycology). 

Instructor.—Charles B. Heiser was appointed Instructor for the year 
1944-45, at the same time continuing his research work in taxonomy. 

Graduates and Fellows: The following appointments were made in the 
Henry Shaw School of Botany for the year 1944-45: 

Graduate Assistants: Dorothy G. Heiser (half time); Ellen M. Kern 
and Julia Guzman-Naranjo (quarter time). 

University Fellow: Lillian Nagel, B.S., University of Illinois; M.S., 
University of Colorado (Cyto-genetics). 

Institute of International Education Fellow and University Scholar: 
Julia Guzman-Naranjo, A.B., Universidad Nacional de Bogota, Colombia, 
Se Ax 

Henrietta Heerman Scholar: Ellen M. Kern, A.B., Washington Uni- 
versity (Morphology). 

University Scholar: Mattie L. Smith, B.S., M.S., Emory University, 
Atlanta, Ga. 


Published Articles. — 

Allen, Paul A.: The Rubber Country of Colombia. Mo. Bot. Gard. 
Bull. 32:50-54. 

Anderson, Edgar: Cytological Observations on Tripsacum dactyloides. 
Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:317-323; Homologies of the Ear and Tassel in Zea 
Mays. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:325-342; ‘‘'Maiz del Pais” in California. 


20 MISSOURL BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Jour. Calif. Hort. Soc. 5*:1-6; Maiz reventador. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 
31:301-314; Mass Collections. Chron. Bot. 7:378-380; Notes on Variation 
in Tithonia tubaeformis. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:239-240; The Sources 
of Effective Germ-plasm in Hybrid Maize. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard, 31:355- 
361: Two Collections of Prehistoric Corn Tassels from Southern Utah. 
Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:345-352; with Hugh C. Cutler: Una nueva 
especie de Maidea sudamericana del genero Tripsacum, Rev. Argentina de 
Agron, 9:249 (translated from Ann. Mo, Bot. Gard. 28:259-260); with 
Dorothy Schregardus: A Method for Recording and Analyzing Variations 
of Internode Pattern. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:241-247. 

Beilmann, August P.: The Arboretum Pinetum after Twenty Years. 
Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:169-180; Boxwood in Missouri. Mo. Bot. Gard. 
Bull, 32:57-65; Cattle and Grass in an Arboretum. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 
32:117-123; Fifteen Years of Erosion Control at the Arboretum. Mo. Bot. 
Gard. Bull. 32:85-92; A Goldenrain in Missouri. Trees 6:13; Life Ex- 
pectancy of Some Native Trees. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:180-187; The 
Pines in Mr. Shaw’s Garden, 1875. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:77-83; Some 
Ornamental Elms. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:71-77 (reprinted in Southern 
Florist 57*:3-5). 

Cutak, Ladislaus: Christmas Cactus and Its Culture. Southern Florist 
56':13-14 (reprinted from Dec. 1943 Garden BuLtetin); Deserts Offer 
Shrubs for Our Gardens. Garden Life 17:10; History of the Succulent 
Collection at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Amer. Eagle. Oct. 12, 1944 
(reprinted from June 1941 Garden BULLETIN); How to Graft Cacti. 
Flower Grower 31:253, 276-277 (excerpt from Sept. 1935 Garden 
BULLETIN) ; A Trip to the Florida Tropics. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:92-101 
(reprinted in Southern Florist 57°:5-6, 10; and American Eagle 39:1, 4-5); 
with Louis Wheeler and Alain White: Confusion among the Slipper Flowers. 
Jour. Cactus and Succulent Soc. Amer. 16:81-83. 

Fairburn, David C.: ‘Gravel’? Culture for Orchids. Mo. Bot. Gard. 
Bull. 32:133-151 (reprinted in Southern Florist 57°':6-7, 13-14; 57°°:5-6, 
10; 572%:4-5, 50; and as a supplement to the Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 
Vol. 13); House Plants—When the Heat’s Turned On. Home Garden 
45:15-19; Raising Nepenthes from Seed. Gard. Chron. Amer, 48:23-24 (re- 
printed from Nov. 1943 Garden BULLETIN) ; Starting Seeds Indoors. New 
York Times, Sunday, February 13; Testing Garden Soil. New York Times, 
Sunday, April 16. 

Heiser, Charles B.: Monograph of Psilostrophe. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 
31:279-300; Quinine or Malaria. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:33-40 (reprinted 
in Chemurgic Digest 3:74-78). 

Kohl, Paul A.: The Hardy Begonia. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:65-67. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 21 


Lindegren, Carl C.: The Improvement of Commercial Yeast by Selec- 
tion and Hybridization. Wallerstein Lab. Comm. 7°°:155-175; with Eliza- 
beth Hamilton: Autolysis and Sporulation in the Yeast Colony. Bot. Gaz. 
105:316-321; with Gertrude Lindegren: Instability of the Mating Type 
Alleles in Saccharomyces. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:203-216; Sporulation in 
Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Bot. Gaz. 105:304-316; with S. Spiegelman: A 
Comparison of the Kinetics of Enzymatic Adaptation in Genetically Homo- 
geneous and Heterogeneous Populations of Yeast. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 
31:210-233; with S. Spiegelman and L. Hedgcock: Mechanism of Enzy- 
matic Adaptation in Genetically Controlled Yeast Populations. Proc. Nat. 
Acad. Sci. 30:13-23; with S. Spiegelman and Gertrude Lindegren: Men- 
delian Inheritance of Adaptive Enzymes in Yeast. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 
30:346-352. 

Pring, George H.: The Life of an Orchid Plant. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 
32:111-113; Some Orchid Insect Pests. Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:103-111 
(reprinted in Gard. Chron. Amer. 48:243-244). 

Schery, Robert W.: Some Secondary Rubbers in Ceara, Brazil. Mo. 
Bot. Gard. Bull. 32:41-50; with Robert E. Woodson, Jr.: Flora of Panama. 
Part II, Fasc. 3. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:1-172. 

Woodson, Robert E., Jr.: Apocynaceae and Asclepiadaceae, in Standley, 
P. C. and J. A. Steyermark: Studies of Central American Plants—IV. Field 
Museum Publ. Bot. 23:78-81; Apocynaceae, in Moldenke, H. N.: Flora of 
Extra-tropical America. Lilloa 10:328; Miscellaneous New Asclepiadaceae 
from Tropical America. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:235-237; Notes on Some 
North American Asclepiads. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard, 31:363-370; with Robert 
W. Schery: Flora of Panama. Part II, Fasc. 3. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 31:1- 
L772: 

Scientific and Popular Lectures.— 

Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden: May 5, as a garden 
expert in the Garden Quiz Clinic at the meeting of the St. Louis Horti- 
cultural Society; April 24, genetics and botany seminars at Iowa State Col- 
lege, “The Genetics of Species Crosses”; July 3, over Radio Station KFUO, 
“Flowers in the City Art Museum”; October 26, before the Junior Academy 
of Science, “Maize in Mexico.” 

Mr. August P. Beilmann, Manager of the Arboretum: January 19, be- 
fore the Rural Fire-fighting class, at Pevely, Mo., ‘Reducing the Fire 
Hazards in Fields and Wood-lots”; September 15, before the Clayton Gar- 
den Club, “Tree Care.” 

Mr. Ladislaus Cutak, in charge of Succulents at the Garden: April 4, 
before the Grantwood Garden Club, at Affton, Mo., “Cacti and Succulents;”’ 
April 18, before the Zeta Beta Chi Sorority, and May 2, before the Business 


22 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


and Professional Womens’ Group of the Y.W.C.A., “Gardens of Florida’’; 
June 8, before the Bible Class of the Y.M.C.A., and October 19, before the 
Webster Groves Garden Club, Group No. 2, “A Cactus Hunt in Old 
Mexico”; November 10, before the Founders Circle of the Rosemary Garden 
Club, at Pattonville, Mo., “Cacti, the Ideal House Plants.” 

Dr. Carroll W. Dodge, Mycologist to the Garden: February 16, before 
the Mothers’ Club of the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority of Washington University, 
“Central American Culture’; February 24, before the Quota Club Inter- 
national, and March 10, before the St. Louis College Club, ‘““The Working 
of our Good Neighbor Policy in Central America’; May 9, before the 
University City Kiwanis Club, and May 17, before the Northside Kiwanis 
Club, “Central American Problems.” 

Dr. David C. Fairburn, Horticulturist to the Garden: January 4, before 
the Ladue Garden Club, “Spring Gardening”; January 24, before the Four 
Seasons Garden Club of Webster Groves, “The Fragrant Garden”; February 
24, before the Gardening Clinic of the East-central Region, sponsored by 
the Missouri Federation of Women’s Clubs, “Seed Sowing and Transplant- 
ing”; March 3, before the Botany I class of Washington University, “Gar- 
dening”; March 14, before the Parent-Teachers’ Association of the Meramec 
School, ‘Planning, Planting, and Maintenance of Victory Gardens”; August 
15, before the Garden Club of Gerard, Pa., and August 3, before the Garden 
Club of Syracuse, N. Y., “Orchids from Seed to Flower’; September 15, 
before the Webster Groves Garden Club, “House Plants.” 

Mr. Paul A. Kohl, Floriculturist to the Garden: “Victory Gardens,” 
February 21 and 28, at the East Richmond Heights School, and February 24, 
and March 2, at the West Richmond Heights School; May 5, as garden 
expert in the Garden Quiz Clinic at the meeting of the St. Louis Horticul- 
tural Society. 

Dr. Carl C. Lindegren, March 3, before the Faculty Wives Club of 
Washington University, “Yeast and Diet”; April 4, before the Junior 
Academy of Science, ‘“The Story of Yeast”; September 11, before the My- 
cological Society, Cleveland meetings, A.A.A.S., “Genetical Studies of 
Saccharomyces cerevisiae’; November 17, before Sigma Xi, Purdue Univer- 
sity, “Inheritance of Adaptive Enzymes.” 

Mr. G. H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden: January 27, before 
the Clipper Club at the Tyler Place Presbyterian Church, and February 1, 
before the Ladue Garden Club, “Collecting Para Rubber”; February 13, 
before the Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta, “Orchids throughout 
the Year”; February 28, before the Little Gardens Club of University City, 
February 29, before the Maplewood Rotary Club, and March 1, at the noon- 
day meeting of the West End Kiwanis Club, ‘Tapping the Para Rubber 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 23 


Tree’; March 8, before the Rotary Club of Kirkwood, Mo., “Hunting 
Orchids in the Tropics’; March 15, before the Webster Groves Garden 
Club, “Trees”; May 26, over Radio Station WIL, “Victory Gardens”; June 
15, before the Rotary Club of Clayton, and September 21, before the 
Rotary Club of Edwardsville, Ill., “Collecting the Para Rubber’; July 20, 
before the Franklin-Gasconade Firemen’s Association meeting at the Garden 
Arboretum, “Orchids from Seed to Flower”; October 12, before the meeting 
of the St. Louis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
“Activities of the Missouri Botanical Garden”; November 13, before the 
Alpha Chi Sigma fraternity, and November 20, before a group of Business 
and Professional Women, “The Development of the Orchid from Seed to 
Flower”; November 21, before the Men’s Club of Peters Memorial Presby- 
terian Church, “Collecting Para Rubber.” 


THE HERBARIUM 


The usual routine work of the herbarium has continued throughout the 
year. However, the amount of new material acquired has been considerably 
less than in the same period of time for several decades. This is due wholly 
to conditions incident to the present war. This reduction in the amount of 
new material acquired has afforded an opportunity to work up, mount, and 
incorporate in the organized collections many specimens which had ac- 
cumulated in past years. 

The larger and more noteworthy collections obtained are as follows: 

New Accessions.—E, Anderson, 63 plants of Mexico and of horticulture; 
Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, 232 plants of Cuba; Fred Barkley, 
270 plants of Texas and 85 plants of Mexico; Louis G. Brenner, ‘ae | 
mosses from Oregon; Chicago Museum of Natural History, 106 plants from 
various countries including Hawaii; Mrs. M. S. Clemens, 53 plants from 
Oceania; Henry S. Conard, 35 mosses from Iowa; Mrs. Alice Cornman, 44 
plants of Florida; George L. Fisher, 168 plants of Mexico; Gray Herbarium, 
Harvard University, 54 miscellaneous duplicates including illustrations and 
photographs and 12 plants of Mexico; Roland M. Harper, 74 plants of Ala- 
bama; L. C. Hinckley, 15 plants of Texas; Charles B. Heiser, Jr., 50 plants 
of Arizona and Indiana; James C. Hinton, 1000 plants of Mexico; Leslie 
Hubricht, 553 plants of Virginia; Iowa State College, 28 plants chiefly from 
Iowa; Ellsworth P. Killip, 17 ferns from Panama; W. A. Murrill, 143 plants 
of Florida; New York Botanical Garden, 378 plants from Utah, South 
America, and India; North Dakota Agricultural College, by O. A. Stevens, 
250 plants of North Dakota; Rocky Mountain Herbarium, 250 plants of 
the Rocky Mountain region; Bernardo Rosengurtt, 88 plants from Uruguay; 
Paul Schallert, 146 plants of Arizona and California; State University of 


24 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


lowa by G. W. Martin, 62 fungi from various localities; U. S. National 
Museum, 342 plants from Mexico, West Indies, and South America; Uni- 
versity of California, by T. H. Goodspeed, 388 plants of Mexico and South 
America; University of Illinois, 1023 plants of Illinois; University of Okla- 
homa, 125 plants of Oklahoma; University of Texas, 1178 plants of Texas; 
University of Wisconsin, 101 plants of Wisconsin; Hermann von Schrenk, 
21 plants of Missouri and Idaho; Eula Whitehouse, 32 plants of Texas. 

Numerous smaller collections, chiefly gifts, have been received during 
the year; these have been recorded in the current monthly issues of the 
Missourt BotanicaL GarpbEN BuLirtin. The above condensed record 
clearly indicates those parts of America from which the largest amount of 
material has been received. Thus, it may be seen, as in 1943, that western 
and southwestern United States, Mexico, West Indies, and South America 
are the regions whose flora has been substantially augmented during the past 
year, 

Mounting and Insertion of Specimens.—The mounting of herbarium 
specimens has continued uninterruptedly throughout the year. This im- 
portant phase of herbarium work has been carried forward mainly by Miss 
Violet Bauer. The total number of specimens mounted during the year ap- 
proximates 17,000. This represents the entire lot of specimens received on 
accessions in 1944 plus a considerable amount of material accumulated in 
previous years. 

The insertion of the major portion of this newly mounted material in 
the organized herbarium has been done by the Curator, assisted by Mrs. 
Nettie Mae Bauer. Because of the congested condition in many parts of the 
herbarium, the interpolation of additional specimens has become almost 
impossible without serious injury to the plants from overcrowding. It has 
been necessary, as in 1943, to place in temporary storage certain groups of 
plants particularly ferns, conifers, and grasses. However, through judicious 
moving of the monocotyledonous families it has been possible to gain suf- 
ficient space in the cases to accommodate for the present the entire collection 
of grasses. It is imperative that additional cases be obtained at the earliest 
possible date. 

An important corollary in the routine work of the herbarium for many 
years has been the rearrangement of specimens within the family in ac- 
cordance with standard floras, critical studies, and monographs. Numerous 
older specimens, particularly those acquired with the Bernhardi Herbarium, 
were placed many years ago in the general collections without adequate data. 
Oftentimes only a number accompanies the specimen. A careful search 
through the literature, however, enables one to amplify the label and to 


give the essential data to render the specimen of scientific value. This work 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 25 


has revealed literally hundreds of historical types. Several families, including 
many of these older collections, have been reviewed and reorganized during 
the past summer by the Curator, assisted by Mrs. Nettie Mae Bauer and 
Miss Mary Potter Love. Some of the families so studied during July and 
August are as follows: Cistaceae, Dilleniaceae, Flacourtiaceae, Geraniaceae, 
Malpighiaceae, Polygalaceae, Rhamnaceae, Turneraceae, and Violaceae. 

Exchange.—The exchange of duplicate specimens is always a very satis- 
factory way of building up an herbarium. During the past year about 5000 
specimens have been received on the basis of exchange; and 2580 duplicate 
specimens have been sent to institutional herbaria and individuals with 
whom the Missouri Botanical Garden Herbarium for many years has main- 
tained exchange relations. 

Use of the Herbarium.—Although there have been somewhat fewer 
visiting botanists than in former years, yet the herbarium has been in con- 
stant use by members of the staff, graduate students, and specialists. It is 
of interest to note that the plants which have been in greatest demand for 
reference are the economic plants, particularly those which produce rubber, 
quinine, insecticides and insect-deterrents. 

The requests for loans of special groups of plants for detailed studies 
have kept fully apace with former years. 

Groups of plants under Special Investigation and Floristic Studies.— 
Certain groups of plants have received special study during the year. Among 
these are the lichens by Dr. C. W. Dodge; Apocynaceae and Asclepiadaceae 
by Dr. R. E. Woodson; Compositae by Dr. J. M. Greenman; Psilostrophe 
and Schkubria, by Mr. Charles B. Heiser, Jr. Intensive studies of the 
Panamanian flora have been continued by Dr. Woodson in co-operation with 
Dr. R. W. Schery. 

Statistical Summary (for the year ending December 31, 1944) : 


Number of specimens received during 1944: 


By purchase eae eee aeons Eares _ = 1,970 

By gift — 7 7 ee ; 1,539 

By exchange _ -: = aie _ : : 4,472 

By transfer - ; : eee as = 6 

By field work ee eens = : ; 4 

Total = ot see egos ee ade 7,991 
Number of specimens mounted and incorporated in 1944 = 17,256 
Number of specimens carried forward from 1943. = 1,396,262 
Total - 2 ; Pe : a : rae 1,413,518 
Number of specimens discarded during 1944. 198 
Total number of specimens in herbarium : : 1,413,320 

LIBRARY 


In 1943 the Garden Library was so congested that there seemed scarcely 


26 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


room for a year’s book accessions. However, the year 1944 demonstrated 
that anything is possible. Not only were new books crowded in, but when 
the Office of the Board of Trustees moved into the old folio room at the 
Garden, space was found in the halls, reading room, and old lecture-room for 
the folios and periodicals. Of course, now the limit does seem to have been 
reached, for the office of the editor of publications is in the folio-reading 
room; one of the librarians has a space in the pre-Linnean section just large 
enough for her desk; and another is hemmed in between the pillars in the 
hall-way which serves as the serial section. Nevertheless, the routine work 
of the library is still carried on, and the moving of the hundreds of books 
and periodicals was accomplished, even as to labelling, in several days’ time. 
Recently, a librarian from the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, vis- 
ited the Garden library. When she was being conducted through the 
various departments she remarked that the Museu Nacional had about the 
same number of books as the Garden, but not nearly so many serials or 
pamphlets. Then when she heard that we had only three members on our 
staff she was amazed, for her library had a staff of ten. Furthermore, of 
our three members, one is in charge of the editing of the Garden publica- 
tions and another spends half time at the switchboard, so there is just one 
giving full time to library matters. 

In order to plan intelligently for future needs of a new building some 
time in the future, a survey was made during the summer of the growth of 
the library. The present amount of shelf space was measured, the number 
of books and pamphlets acquired during an average year was tabulated, and 
from these data the space needed to allow for normal growth over a given 
period was calculated. At the same time certain recommendations were 
also made. 

Besides the regular library routine much time of the library staff during 
the year was taken up with supplying information to the public. The most 
insistent calls have been for information about the plants of the Pacific 
Islands and the Orient. People with relatives or friends in the Armed Forces 
would ask what vegetables could be grown in a garden in northern India, 
what edible plants could be found in a certain Pacific Island, ete. Often 
there was no printed information about the plants of the particular locality, 
in which case the librarian would have to locate the nearest place of which 
there is a flora, or else a place with a similar climate. During one week the 
library received several calls for information about plants in a small group 
of islands near New Guinea which we have since learned was made into an 
important naval base. Some of the ex-students now in the Armed Forces 
have also been writing for books or information about the regions where 


they are located. One naval lieutenant, a former Garden research student, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 27, 


left us a standing order to send him all new botanical books in his field or 
any work which deals with the South Pacific area. Another project in 
which the Garden helped was in the making of a large wall map for the 
reception room of a drug company. The idea was to paint the drug plant 
in the area where it grows. The library assembled good colored illustrations 
from which the artist could choose her copy and assisted the company re- 
searcher in checking the botany of the plant. Incidentally, this researcher 
spent the greater part of the summer in the Garden library. 

During the year the library checked the entries for a forthcoming sup- 
plement to the 1943 edition of the ‘Union List of Serials.” For this purpose 
a booklet containing a list of several thousand new or changed titles is sent 
to all libraries whose holdings are listed. If the institution had the serial 
its symbol (MoSB for the Missouri Botanical Garden) and the volumes or 
parts, with their dates, were inserted in the space beneath the title. Cor- 
rections and insertions from the last edition were sent in at the same time. 
The work was very laborious and time-consuming, but well worth the effort 
involved, as the “Serial List”? keeps us aware of desirable or missing publica- 
tions. It also is an invaluable aid in cataloguing, especially European serials 
whose titles often have changed many times. 

Publications—Volume XXXI of the quarterly ANNaLs and Volume 
XXXII of the monthly BULLETIN were issued during the year. The volume 
of the ANNaLs consists of 419 pages, 20 plates, and 131 text-figures. 
Among the papers were the third and last installment of Part Il of Wood- 
son and Schery’s ‘Flora of Panama,” including the Index to Part If, Ander- 
son’s five Maize papers, and three Master’s thesis in taxonomy representing 
monographs of the genera Palafoxia, Psilostrophe, and Polygonatum. 

The volume of the BULLETIN contains 197 pages, 27 plates, and 34 
text-figures. The October number—Fairburn’s report on “Gravel Culture 
of Orchids”—proved so popular that the Garden supply was practically 
exhausted in a month. However, the paper was promptly reprinted in three 
installments in Southern Florist, and in December Mr. Rodney Wilcox Jones, 
President of the American Orchid Society, had it reissued as a supplement 
to the Society’s Bulletin. In September the Garden contributed the Schedule 
of Exhibits for the Greater St. Louis Victory Garden Harvest Show, and 
this was reprinted in the September BULLETIN, 

The exchange relations between the ANNALS and South American jour- 
nals has always been more or less unsatisfactory. It was felt that we were 
not receiving all the worth-while publications and that some of the institu- 
tions to which our ANNALS were being sent were not publishing things of 
equal value to us. This last year we took advantage of the fact that some 
of our ex-students are now engaged in rubber and quinine investigations in 


28 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


South America and asked them to check our exchange institutions. The 
results verified our opinion. In two countries it was found that about one- 
fourth of the exchanges could safely be removed, some institutions having 
merged, others publishing nothing in our field, etc. However, the check 
showed that we had not missed any important publication. We still have 
not heard from some of the countries but expect to find the same situation 
there. 

Until 1943 the Garden library sent ANNALS reprints annually to a 
representative list of botanists and institutions. Now they are sent only on 
request or in exchange, but about 550 were mailed out during the year. 
In addition to publications sent as exchanges, the receipts for ANNALS, 
BULLETINS, “Spring Floras,” etc., in 1944 were $3,587.37. 

New Accessions.—The English book catalogues are listing some very 
desirable things, but all too often the works are sold before our order arrives. 
Perhaps the most outstanding book received during the year was from South 
America—Descole’s ‘Genera et Species Argentinarum.” This is the first 
volume of an extensively illustrated folio work reproduced in a style as ex- 
pensive and elaborate as some of the books of the early nineteenth century 
and seldom seen nowadays. Following are some of the other important 
purchases: Ainsworth and Bisby’s A dictionary of the fungi. 1943; 
Arborists’ News, Vols. 1-10. 1935-1944; Baxter’s Pathology in forest 
practice. 1943; Burkhart’s Las Leguminosas Argentinas. 1943; Cain’s 
Foundations of plant geography. 1944; Farrer’s Alpines and bog 
plants. 1908; Hagelstein’s The Mycetozoa of North America. 1944; 
Hulten’s Flora of Alaska and Yukon. 1941, and Flora of the Aleutian 
Islands and westernmost Alaska Peninsula. 1937; Seventh International 
Congress of Genetics held at Edinburgh. 1939; Jamieson’s Vegetable fats 
and oils. 1943; Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book, 1766-1829. (Am. Philos. 
Soc. Mem. 22). 1944; Lindley and Hutton’s Fossil flora of Great Britain. 
3 vols. 1831-37; Martius’ Prodromus florae Mosquensis. 1817; Muenscher’s 
Aquatic plants of the United States. 1944; New Zealand Institute Trans- 
actions and Proceedings. Vols. 5-7, 1873-1875, and Vol. 9. 1877-1878; 
Paxton’s Flower Garden, Vols. 1-3. 1853; Proceedings of the Philosophical 
Society of Glasgow, Vols. 11, 13, 14, 18. 1877-87; Raynold’s report on the 
exploration of the Yellowstone. 1868; Rodgers’ American botany—1873- 
1892. 1944, and John Merle Coulter. 1944; Salisbury’s The reproductive 
capacity of plants. 1942; Saunders’ Floral morphology, Vols. 1 and 2. 
1940; Seckt’s Flora Cordobensis. 1929-30; Smith’s Marine algae of the 
Monterey Peninusla, California. 1944; Transit of Venus Expeditions. 1879; 
Webber and Batchelor’s The citrus industry, Vol. 1. 1943. 

Visitors.—In addition to the faculty and students in the Henry Shaw 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 29 


School of Botany the following out-of-town visitors have made use of the 
library during the year: Mr. E. J. Alexander, Assistant Curator, New York 
Botanical Garden; Mr. Harold Arrowsmith, graduate student, Cornell Uni- 
versity, Ithaca, N. Y.; Miss Helen Azevedo, Librarian at the Museu Nacional, 
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Dr. Gladys E. Baker, Assistant Professor of Botany, 
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; Mr. Raymond Baker, Manager Breed- 
ing Department, Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Co., Johnston, Iowa; Sr. Alejandro 
Bordas, of the Museo Argentina de Ciencias Naturales; Mr. C. N. Bowen, 
Assistant State Entomologist, Missouri State Department of Agriculture, 
Columbia; Miss Camilla Bradley of New Orleans, Editor of Home Garden- 
ing; Sgt. Louis G. Brenner, of the U. S. Engineers; Rev. Robert R. Brinker, 
O.F M., Instructor in Biology, Quincy College, Quincy, Ill.; Dr. Alexander F. 
Bucholtz, Bacteriologist, Pabst Brewing Co., Peoria, Ill.; Pvt. Karl Busch, 
of the U. S. Army; Dr. William L. Brown, Geneticist, Rogers Bros. Seed 
Co., Olivia, Minn.; Sr. Alcides Carvalho, Engenheiro-Agronomo, Instituto 
Agronomico, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Lt. Robert B. Clark of the U. S. 
Army Air Forces; Dr. Delzie Demaree, Chairman Natural Science and 
Mathematics, Arkansas Agricultural and Mechanical College, Monticello; 
Dr. Andre Drefus, Professor of Biology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; 
Lt. Ralph W. Emons, of Majors Field Station Hospital, Greenville, Texas; 
Pvt. Dara E. Emery of the A.S.T.P. at the Missouri School of Mines, Rolla, 
Mo.; Dr. Ralph O. Erickson, Instructor in Botany, University of Rochester, 
N. Y.; Sgt. Cedric Flewellyn of the U. S$. Army; Dr. George J. Goodman, 
Associate Professor of Botany, Iowa State College, Ames; Dr. George B. 
Happ, Professor of Biology, Principia College, Elsah, Ill.; Mr. Frank J. 
Heinl, Director Illinois State Horticultural Society, Jacksonville, Ill.; Dr. 
William E. Hoffmann, Director of Lingnan Natural History Survey and 
Museum, Lingnan University, Canton, China; Mr. Leslie Hubricht, of 
Norfolk, Va.; Mrs. Roy Arthur Hunt, well-known bibliophile of Pitts- 
burgh, Pa., and Garden Literature Editor of Bulletin Garden Club of 
America; Mrs. James Hyde, of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Mrs. Jan Jansen of 
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; Mr. Adolph Jordahn, Superintendent Montgomery 
Palmetum and Fairchild Botanic Garden, Coconut Grove, Fla.; Lt. Hubert 
C. Keith of the U. S. Army Air Forces; Dr. Mary Maxine Larisey, Chairman 
Division of Science, Judson College, Marion, Ala.; Lt. (j.g.) Wayne Lenz 
of the U. S. Navy; Dr. L. N. Leonian, Professor of Mycology, West Vir- 
ginia University, Morgantown, W. Va.; Lt. George J. Lindsay, formerly 
Director of the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Ariz.; Mr. John O. Lines, 
orchid grower at Piedmont Nurseries, Signal Mountain, Tenn.; Mr. Clint 
McDade of Piedmont Nurseries, Signal Mountain, Tenn.; Miss Elizabeth 


McSwain, graduate student in Botany, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; 


30 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Dr. Rogers McVaugh, of the Division of Plant Exploration and Introduc- 
tion, U. S. Dept. Agr., Washington, D. C.; Dr. Gustav Mehlquist, Instructor 
in Floriculture, University of California, Los Angeles; Corp. Fred G. Meyer 
of the Hospital Corps, Camp Ellis, Galesburg, Ill.; Lt. Reid Moran of the 
U.S. Army Air Forces; Sgt. Samuel French Morse of the U. S. Army Air 
Forces; Miss Violet Munger, teacher at San Domingo Day School, Bernalillo, 
N. M., member of the Cactus Society of America; Prof. Albert H. Musick, 
of the University of Tennessee School of Pharmacy, Memphis; Mrs. Merrill 
A. Newman, of San Mateo, Calif.; Miss Jean Nicholson of the Benvenue 
Laboratories (Penicillin), Bedford, Ohio; Dr. S$. N. Ou, of the Department 
of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Lt. Bradford Pring 
of the U. S. Army Air Forces; Mr. George Proctor, graduate student, Uni- 
versity of California at Los Angeles; Mrs. Edward Rodeman, of the Jefferson 
City Garden Club, Mo.; Lt. Frederick Russe, of the U. S. Navy; Professor 
Carl Sauer, Professor of Geography, University of California, Berkeley; 
Mr. Walter Scholl, orchid enthusiast, of Chicago, Ill.; Miss Kathleen Snyder, 
Assistant Editor, Chemurgic Digest, Columbus, Ohio; Mr. Hugh A. Steav- 
enson, Manager of the Soil Conservation Nursery, Elsberry, Mo.; Mr. Henry 
N. Steele, Senior Agronomist and Administrator, Office Experiment Stations, 
Washington, D. C.; Lt. R. L. Steere of the U. S. Army Air Forces, former 
student in botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Dr. Charles D. 
Swingle of the Soil Conservation Service, U. S$. Department of Agriculture, 
Petoskey, Mich.; Corp. (Dr.) W. L. Tolstead of the Med. Det., U. S. 
Army, formerly Instructor in Botany, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; 
Sr. Gino A. Tomo of the Facultad de Agronomia et Veterinaria, Buenos 
Aires, Argentina; Mrs. C. E. Van Barnevelt, of Chatsworth, Calif.; Mr. 
Frank D. Venning, research student in botany, University of Miami, Coral 
Gables, Fla.; Miss Ruth W. Webster, student of fossil botany, formerly of 
Coe College, Cedar Rapids, lowa; Mr. George O. White, State Forester of 
Missouri; Pvt. Daniel E. Wonderly, of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Mrs. Fleeta 
Brownell Woodroffe, Associate Editor Better Homes and Gardens, Des 
Moines, Ia.; Dr. Chi-tun Yung, Professof of Botany, Lingnan University, 
Canton, China; Mrs. Isabel Zucker, Garden Editor Detroit Times, Detroit, 
Mich. 

The library also loans books on the interlibrary loan plan, 166 such loans 
having been made to 30 institutions during the year. 

Statistical Information.—There have been donated to the library or re- 
ceived in exchange during the year 266 books valued at $740.15 and 1195 
pamphlets valued at $242.37. There were 166 books bought at a cost of 
$700.94, and 22 pamphlets at a cost of $15.99. The library now contains 
55,902 books, 92,343 pamphlets, and 353 manuscripts. The number of 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 31 


index cards now totals 1,097,446, of which 5497 were added during the 
year, 963 having been written by Garden employees and 4,534 purchased 
at a cost of $104.48. One hundred and twenty-six books were bound and 
10 were re-bound or repaired. 
ANNUAL BEQUESTS 

The annual flower sermon “On the 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 16, by the Rt. Rev. Karl Morgan Block, Bishop of 
California. 

The Gardeners’ Banquet Fund was used to provide turkeys for employees 


at Christmas. 
ATTENDANCE FOR 1944 


(Not including visitors to Arboretum) 


Week-days Sundays 

January 7 — 7 : 5,605 9,947 
Februar ys 2 [a ree, oes 6,796 12,305 
March.___..__- base ame = = 4,315 3,159 
April... Pu oe eer ee ae 9,420 13,467 
Mayans Bee ash aoe = 10,503 9,640 
June... ; ae & aos ee sateeateee oases - 10,506 7,023 
de cen: eeteteascesceneee 11,785 8,041 
August Ae Der ei or See EES ; a 10,013 6,814 
September — : ae Bee oteabete eee 9,495 12,287 
Octobersa% 2) wee, Potten Seoeee eee eee . 8,852 15,590 
November Racer ee eee ae ree : ee See eee 10,622 14,888 
December : ane Besac) 750 ae, a 2,800 4,318 
100,712 117,479 

100,712 

Total - a - cheeses a a 218,191 


Georce T. Moore, Director. 


Five of herd of thirteen deer which have established themselves at the Arboretum 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


George C. Hitchcock 
Daniel K. Catlin. 
Eugene Pettus 


L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 


John S. Lehmann 


President 
__ Vice-President 
ioe Second Vice-President 
Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 
A. Wessel Shapleigh 


Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO. MEMBERS 


Joseph Desloge 

Mrs. Irma Friede ave 
A. P. Kaufmann 
William Scarlett. 


Gerald Ulrici 


George T. Moore __ 
Hermann von Schrenk —__ 
Jesse M. Greenman 

Carroll W. Dodge 

Edgar Anderson nee 
Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
Henry N. Andrews - 
Robert W. Schery (on leave) 
Nell C. Horner 

George H. Pring = 
Paul A. Kohl aa 
David C. Fairburn - 
Joseph Cutak ~ 
Ladislaus Cutak 
August P. Beilmann = 
Gurney Wilson, F.L.S. 


..... President, St. Louis Academy of Science 
President, Board of Education of St. Louis 


paws Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
_.... Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 


. Acting Chancellor, Washington University 


oe eee ete Ss = Secretary 


a _ Director 

eee EEE a? Pathologist 
._ Curator of Herbarium 

_ Mycologist 

cee eek Geneticist 

_..... Assistant Curator of Herbarium 
Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 
— woeeeweeeeennseeeenne------- Research Assistant 


Wo Librarian and Editor 
_..... Superintendent 


Saas Floriculturist 


— Horticulturist 


In charge of Exotics 


In charge of Succulents 


_ Manager of the Arboretum, Gray Summit 


ans Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


SPRING FLORA OF MISSOURI 


by Julian A. Steyermark 


Price now $1.50 (former price $3.00) 
A special price to schools and garden clubs—$1.00 a copy if 10 or more 
copies are sent to one address. Add ten cents per copy to your remit- 
tance to cover postage. 

Our new low price will enable you to own this helpful 590- 
page book with which to identify the wild flowers. Profusely 
illustrated and with a key which is recognized as one of the simplest 
to use, this fine book provides a description of every Missouri spring 


flower. 


“A book that is complete. . .. Undoubtedly the book Missouri flower- 


lovers have been looking for.” 
Missouri Historical Review 


“In short, the Spring Flora of Missouri is the best ‘Spring Flora’ 
, 


available at present in the United States.’ 
American Midland Naturalist 


“Should be of great use to local garden clubs, and for the scientific 
worker who is concerned with the local flora it should be invaluable.” 
National Horticultural Magazine 


“Carefully and critically done, so that it should find wide and en- 
thusiastic reception at the hands of all who enjoy being acquainted with 
the rich native flora of Missouri.” 


Rhodora 


“The most comprehensive spring flora ever issued for any state. 
Notable for presenting its data in simple non-technical English, yet with 
thorough scientific accuracy. Book’s value not limited to Missouri.” 


Field Museum Notes 


MISSOURI] BOTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


CONTENTS 
Light Requirements for Orchids in the Midwest . .. . . 33 


INotes? 22 cs. “i 4 ue 1s Se 57 


Volume XXXII February, 1945 Number 2 


Cover: Dendrobium thyrsiflorum, native to Burma. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a “Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 


some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 
The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 

The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


PLATI 


_\ 

_~< | 

‘> 
a 


~ 


hea 
a. 


Clumps of Caffleya Trianae (indicated by arrows) growing on a tree trunk fully 
exposed to the sun. Photographed in Colombia during the 1933 orchid expedition 


from the Garden. 


4 


Missour1 Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXIII FEBRUARY, 1945 No. 2 


LIGHT REQUIREMENTS FOR ORCHIDS IN THE MIDWEST 
DAVID C. FAIRBURN ann GEORGE H. PRING 


For many years the relation of light to plant growth has been the subject 
of considerable scientific research and practical observation in the green- 
house and out of doors. Contributions from experiment stations and other 
sources have given us much valuable information on the light requirements 
of certain plants, but unfortunately very little of it pertains directly to 
orchids. So in most cases the orchid grower has had to rely on his own 
good judgment, inherited practice, or the trial-and-error method, to de- 
termine just how much light is needed for his plants. If one knew the 
natural environmental conditions for each type of orchid an attempt could 
then be made to duplicate these conditions as nearly as possible, and the 
problem would be much simpler. Apparently there is a trend in this direc- 
tion, judging from recent articles that have appeared in various orchid 
publications. Growers in Australia are becoming increasingly aware of the 
value of abundant sunlight as compared to the usual methods of shading 
practised in Europe. The writers hold the opinion that many orchid col- 
lections in the United States are overshaded. 

To manufacture the sugars, proteins, organic acids, fats, etc., that are 
absolutely essential for normal growth, plants must have a sufficient amount 
of sunlight; otherwise they suffer from malnutrition and eventually collapse. 
Furthermore, it has been conclusively demonstrated that flower production 
in many kinds of plants may be increased or reduced by regulating the 
amount of available daylight. Generally speaking, the flowering plants 
require far more sunlight than those raised only for foliage. 

Although the light requirements of orchids have not been extensively 
studied in this country, undoubtedly most orchids need a certain amount of 
direct sunlight for normal growth and flowering. But how much? Con- 
sidering the various geographical and climatic factors involved, it is apparent 


that no one set of rules will apply here. Orchid growers in different parts 


(33) 


34 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


of the country must rely on their own experience to find out the optimum 
amount of sunlight for their plants. The data in this paper are concerned 
mainly with St. Louis and the Midwest, but it is hoped that the facts 


presented will have far wider application. 
RESPONSE OF ORCHIDS TO SUNLIGHT IN THEIR NATIVE ENVIRONMENT 


On several collecting trips to Central and South America the amount of 
sunlight orchids receive in their natural state was carefully observed. Of 
course, conditions vary greatly, but as a rule exposure to the sun is deter- 
mined by altitude and specific location of the plants on trees, rocks, etc. 
Orchid growers repeatedly ask why imported Cattleyas of the same species 
show such a wide variation in growth habits; some having short, stout 
pseudobulbs and short rounded leaves, while others have long, thin pseudo- 
bulbs and long narrow leaves. This difference is definitely associated with 
light intensity; the short, sturdy plants having grown in an exposed, sunny 
location, whereas the long-leaved plants developed in a protected, shady 
spot. In the tropics Cattleyas that receive the maximum amount of sun- 
light have yellowish-green leathery leaves which break easily when bent. 
Plants growing in shaded areas have dark green leaves that bend without 
snapping. But most important is the fact that plants exposed to abundant 
sunlight produce far more flowers than those in shade. 

It is of course impossible to say definitely the amount of light orchids in 
general receive in their native habitat. However, with the Cattleya group 
full sun until about 10:00 a. m. and after 3:00 p. m. is common. During 
mid-day when the sunlight is very intense, the spreading branches of 
tropical trees provide shade. It is not unusual, though, to find certain 
Cattleyas, Oncidiums and Epidendrums growing in completely exposed 
positions, Cattleyas have been observed growing on rocks where they have 
developed from seedlings and have become accustomed to the strong noon- 
day sun. All plants exposed to such conditions were very short, stubby, and 
had extremely fibrous leaves. Experiments at the Garden have produced 
similar growth responses. 

Some interesting observations were made while collecting orchids in 
Panama and Costa Rica. At sea-level Schomburgkias were found in the tops 
of trees fully exposed to the sun. Cattleya Deckeri was often growing in 
full sun. Cattleya Skinneri was seen perched on tiled roofs of native houses 
in Costa Rica. Peristerias, which occur nearly at sea level, are terrestrial in 
habit and grow in exposed positions in association with tall grasses. Plants 
of these same genera in shaded areas produced considerably fewer flowers. 


Epidendrums, particularly the “non-bulbous” kinds, grow wild along 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 35 


the hedge rows in Colombia in full sun. A half-acre of Epidendrum radicans 
in full bloom on a rocky area exposed to intense sunlight was particularly 
impressive. 

Although certain species of orchids grow well in exposed positions, it 1s 
fatal to move them from a shady location directly into full sunlight. On 
a collecting trip in the Chiriqui region of Panama a fine specimen of 


Warscewiczella was found on a small tree about twelve feet from the 


Cattleya Mossiae recently imported from Venezuela, showing typical growth 
habit of plants found in exposed positions on tree trunks as illustrated in pl. 4. 


ground and was moved to a convenient place near the trail. Unfortunately, 
upon returning three days later it was found burned almost beyond recogni- 
tion—simply because it had been accustomed to the shade of a tree during 
mid-day. This same condition can easily be obtained in greenhouses if. the 
shading schedule is not properly handled. 

An orchid collector is indeed fortunate if he comes upon an area which 


the natives are clearing in preparation for establishing a coffee finca (plan- 


36 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


tation). Climbing over the felled trees usually nets a considerable harvest 
of “botanical” orchids. However, it is necessary to work fast because when 
the trees fall most of the plants which had been shaded suddenly find them- 
selves faced with the prospect of a third-degree sunburn. Three or four 
days is usually the limit of their endurance. In one of these felled areas an 
orchid collector from the Garden discovered the first epiphytic Lady-slipper, 
Phragmopedilum caudatum, growing on a tree which shaded it from the 
mid-day sun. Later, specimens were found planted on large rocks in the 
garden of a native, who had brought them from a finca clearing. They had 
been there for two or three years and apparently had adapted themselves to 
direct sunlight. The small green Lady-slipper, Phragmopedilum longifolium, 
is definitely terrestrial, and favors moist rocky ledges in ravines, where it 
receives only a minimum of sun. Odontoglossum Powellii, Trichopilia 
suavis, Stanhopeas and Lycastes were all collected in the Chiriqui region 
where they thrived in shaded locations. In all cases the foliage was dark 
green, except in O. Powellii, which had slightly glaucous leaves. 

Another good example of response to sunlight was obtained with plants 
of Renanthera which were taken from St. Louis to the Garden’s Tropical 
Station. They were placed on a non-deciduous tree, and had considerable 
shade because the shoots grew right up the trunk. Within two years they 
were well established and everything was fine except that there were no 
flowers. Later, other Renanthera plants were attached to a leguminous 
tree that dropped all its leaves once a year. Here they made rapid growth 
during the time when there was shade; then, when the leaves dropped off the 
tree, growth was retarded, the green color changed to yellow-red, and 
flower spikes soon appeared. 

Vanda teres and its hybrid “Miss Agnes Joaquim’ rarely flowered at 
the Garden in St. Louis, so cuttings were sent to the Tropical Station where 
they would have more favorable conditions. They were planted in pots 
and raised in a slat house. Growth was excellent, but no flowers were 
produced until the tops protruded through the roof. Since no flowers ap- 
peared on the parts of the plants under cover, it was evident that additional 
sunlight was needed. Subsequently, the Vandas were planted at the foot of 
some Royal palms. Attaching themselves to the trunk and having plenty 
of sunlight, they grew rapidly and flowered regularly every summer. Ac- 
cording to Kirch (6), the hybrid Vanda “Miss Agnes Joaquim” is grown 
by the thousands for cut flower purposes in open field plots in Hawaii; and 
in Florida it has been reported growing outdoors the year around. 

Following the information on light requirements obtained in the Canal 


Zone, the Renantheras and terete Vandas at the Garden were moved to the 


5 


PLAT! 


1945 


J 5 


33 


Bor. Garp. BuLL., VoL. 


Mo. 


Cattleya Mossiae 
in shady positions. 


with slender growth, typical of plants found 


Imported Cua/fleya Mossiae, showing short stubby 
leaves and pseudobulbs characteristic of plants growing 
in exposed locations in the Tropics. 


38 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


south-gable end of the greenhouse where they receive the major portion of 
sunlight. In this location they now flower annually. A similar response 
to additional light was obtained with a house of Cattleya gigas and its 
hybrids raised from seed at the Garden, many of which had a tendency to 
come “blind.” Recent observations on Cattleya gigas growing naturally 
in Colombia definitely indicated that it, like the Brassavolas, requires more 
sunlight than most Cattleyas to produce free flowering plants. This has 
been well demonstrated at the Garden during the past three years, flower 
production having been doubled merely by increasing the amount of avail- 
able sunlight. The typical red tint on the leaves and pseudobulbs in spring 
is a good indicator of the amount of sun needed to bring forth flower spikes 
equal to those seen in Colombia—five to seven flowers from each new 
growth. Species and varieties of Dendrobium and Cymbidium also respond 
well to considerable sunlight, but in Missouri the light intensity has to be 


reduced to avoid excess heat in the greenhouses during summer. 


CONTROL OF LIGHT IN THE GREENHOUSE 


From these experiences with light exposure in the tropics it would appear 
that orchids in greenhouses located in the temperate regions could be grown 
to better advantage if they received more sunlight than many growers deem 
advisable. To determine the optimum amount of sunlight needed through- 
cut the year in the Midwest, intermittent meter readings have been made 
for the past six years, both in the orchid laboratory at the Garden and in 
the growing range at the Arboretum, thirty-five miles outside the limits of 
St. Louis. 

Preliminary tests with the usual photometer indicated the necessity of an 
instrument with a greater range to measure intense sunlight on clear days. 
A Weston Illumination Meter, Model 603, was purchased and has been used 
for over five years with satisfactory results. This instrument is calibrated 
in foot candles with possible readings up to 10,000. When readings were 
cver 10,000 foot candles, approximate estimates of intensity had to be made. 
There are so many limiting factors associated with the intensity of sunlight 
that any data recorded on an intermittent basis are subject to frequent 
discrepancies. To reduce error to a minimum, numerous readings were taken 
at different hours of the day, under various weather conditions, and during 
every month of the year. A complete record of these readings would fill 
too many pages; besides, the fluctuations from day to day and hour to hour 
would present a rather confusing picture to anyone not familiar with this 
type of work. Table I summarizes the results of tests made in an east-west, 


even-span greenhouse (75' x 21’ with a roof pitch of 27 degrees) having 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLL., .Vot. 33, 1945 PLATE 6 


Cattleya Trianae from Colombia, growing in a 6-inch pot, carrying 10 
flowers after exposure to 30 per cent light. 


Cattleya “Eleanore” (C. Hardyana x C. gigas) raised at the Garden from 


seed and bearing 8 flowers on one spike. Without exposure to strong sunlight 


in winter and summer C. gigas hybrids would have a tendency to 


come 
“blind.” 


40 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


standard glass 16” x 24” with a 4,” lap. The object of these tests was to 
learn how much direct sunlight orchids of the Cattleya group could stand 
without burning. Confidentially, this turned out to be quite an endurance 
contest between the plants and the greenhouse attendant, with the latter 
forced to retire frequently to the head-house during the summer for a bit 


of extra shade and a cool bottle of Coca-Cola. 


TABLE I 


MONTHLY AVERAGE OF LIGHT READINGS TAKEN AT NOON ON 
CLEAR DAYS FOR A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD, BEGINNING 1940 


Month Outdoor reading Greenhouse reading Percentage of light 


(foot candles) (foot candles) | entering greenhouse 
January 10,240 | 8,200 | 81 
February 11,000 8,375 F 76 
March 11,200 8,450 + 75 
April 11,350 3,970 * 35 
May 11,375 3,750 * 33 
June | 11,388 3,490 * 31 
July 11,800 3,300 * 29 
August 11,666 | 2,914 * 26 
September | 10,833 | 3,666 * 34 
October 10,700 5,700 53 
November 9,700 7,500 77 
December 9,833 | 8,000 81 


+ Light skim of white shading needed on roof glass. 


* Summer shading required. 


The percentage of light in Table I, when graphically illustrated (fig. 1), 
clearly indicates the shading schedule needed for orchid houses in Missouri. 

The sharp drop in percentage in April reflects the type of weather that 
may be expected in St. Louis at this time of year. Usually, a rather sudden 
change from winter to almost summer conditions occurs, with very little 
moderate spring weather, making it necessary to apply considerable shading 
to avoid sunburn. If the change were more gradual, the summer shading 


could be applied to the roof glass at least a month later. 


41 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


90 


i + 80 


+70 


} +10 


MONTE J Fo M A M J J A Ss 0) N D 


T 
LIGHT SHADE SUMMER SHADE 


Figure | 


42 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Although the data in Table I were all obtained when the sky appeared 
perfectly clear to the eye, the intensity of the sunlight varied considerably 
from day to day, making the average of many outdoor readings lower than 


might be expected, particularly in midsummer. In St. Louis the intensity 


Meter used for light readings in these experiments 


undoubtedly reaches 15,000 foot candles many times during July and 
August, when the sun is really “bearing down,” but accurate readings of 
such magnitude were beyond the range of the light meter used in these 
experiments, 

From October to March the light intensity outdoors is higher than 1s 
generally realized, but at this time of year the sun’s rays strike the north 
temperate zone at an oblique angle and do not possess the same quality or 
wave length as in summer. Consequently, the meter readings may be rela- 
tively high in the greenhouse with orchids showing no sign of sunburn. 
From April on through September, however, it would be disastous to admit 
80 percent of the sunlight into the greenhouse. Even if the orchids could 
stand the light, the heat would be unbearable. As indicated in Table I, a 
very thin skim of shading is usually necessary on the south side of east-west 
houses in St. Louis about the latter part of February, especially when 


Phalaenopsis, Cypripediums, and the albino forms of Cattleyas are grown. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 43 


In north-south houses protective shading would not be needed until about 
the latter part of February. Starting in October the white shading gradually 
weathers off, leaving the glass relatively clear during November, December, 
January and most of February. Of course, small seedlings and culture 
flasks would require a bit more shade than mature plants to encourage a 
softer, quicker growth. 

Only two isolated cases of sunburn occurred in the house where the 
readings in Table I were taken. They were caused either by defects in the 
roof glass or by a weak spot in the white shading. A bit of extra shading 
applied to the glass eliminated this trouble. 

Undoubtedly, Cattleya Skinneri, Cattleya gigas, and the hybrid Brasso- 
cattleyas could stand exposure to more sun than indicated in Table I. Up 
to a certain point an increase in light intensity speeds up photosynthesis, but 
the available supply of carbon dioxide in the air is relatively small, thus 
placing a restriction on growth and making additional light useless. If the 
carbon dioxide supply is increased by artificial means, more light can be 
used effectively. Experiments at the Garden have shown that orchids re- 
spond favorably to such treatment, but the present cost of bottled carbon 
dioxide precludes its use on any commercial scale. 

The sunlight received at the earth’s surface varies from time to time in 
duration, intensity, and quality. Duration or length of day changes with 
the seasons and with latitude. Intensity varies according to the distance 
and position of the earth from the sun and is materially affected by the 
amount of dust and water vapor present in the atmosphere. Quality differs 
with the seasons and the time of day. It is also claimed that the quantity 
of heat and light given off by the sun is not constant, variations of 2 to 3 
per cent having been reported. 

The influence of some of these limiting factors is evident in Tables II 
and III, giving typical light readings for winter, spring, summer, fall, and 
days with different types of weather conditions. 

Obviously on cloudy days during winter the amount of light available 
to orchids in the greenhouse is not sufficient to maintain an adequate rate 
of photosynthesis. Prolonged spells of such weather cause a decided slump 
in flower production and general growth responses. In summer a similar 
condition occurs on cloudy days, especially with permanent shading on the 
glass. Roller blinds are ideal for regulating the light. According to the 
Eastman Kodak Sky Chart, type of daylight may be classified into four 
groups as follows: 

Bright sun. Clear blue sky, strong shadows. 
Hazy sun. Hazy sky, soft shadows. 
Cloudy bright. No sun, some haze, no shadows. 


hw bh = 


Cloudy dull. No sun, no shadows, threatening sky. 


44 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


TABLE II 


EFFECTS OF SEASONAL WEATHER CONDITIONS ON LIGHT INTENSITY 
OUTDOORS AND IN THE GREENHOUSE 


(Average readings for clear days measured in foot candles) 


|| | 
Hour February May | August | November 
(Standard — ———— = | a ace . 
time ) Out In | Out In* | Out In* Out In 
8 3000 900 | 7000 1300 10000 2000 3500 1300 
9 6000 3000 | 9200 2000 11000 2500 | 8000 4500 
10 10000 7000 | 11200 2700 12000 3300 9600 7000 
| 
11 11000 8700 12000 3000 12000+- 3500 10000 7800 
12 11500 9500 | 12000+- 3200 12000-+- 3600 10500 8300 
| 
(Noon) | | 
I 11000 | 900 | 120004+ | 3300 | 12000+ | 3600 | 9900 | 7760 
2 11000 8900 | 12000++ 3300 || 12000+- 3600 8300 5000 
3 10200 | 7800 | 12000 3000 | 12000 + 3500 | 5000 | 3000 
| | 
4 8900 4800 9400 2100 10000 2300 2000 | 1000 
5 1500 450 | 9000 1900 | 9000 1800 ( Sun down— 
| | { too dark for 
1 | readings. 


* White shading on roof glass. 


In summer the roller blinds should be down only when bright sun pre- 
vails, or when the threatening sky of No. 4 includes the possibility of hail. 


Other factors that have an important bearing on the amount and dis- 


tribution of light in a greenhouse are: 
1. 


Direction of house-—Considerable difference of opinion exists 


regarding this matter. Sometimes an east-west house is recommended 
in preference to one running north-south, in order to obtain the 
maximum amount of light during winter when the sun is low on the 
horizon. In the Midwest where the sunlight is very intense in sum- 
mer, north-south houses are more desirable for temperature control 
and distribution of light. Even with north-south houses and heavy 
shading on the roof glass, orchids may be injured by extremely high 
temperature. This fact was well demonstrated at the Garden in 1936. 
During the summer of that year 75 per cent of the flower buds on 
Cattleya labiata and on Cypripediums were blasted; wire supports 
burned the stems of Dendrobium nobile; and such plants as Miltonias, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 45 
TABLE II 
EFFECTS OF TYPE OF DAY ON LIGHT INTENSITY OUTDOORS 
AND IN THE GREENHOUSE 
(Measurements in foot candles) 
Hour 
(Stand- Cloudy day Clear day Cloudy day Clear day Changeable day 
ard in January | in January in July in July in July 
time) | M 
Out In Out In Out In* Out In* Out In* 
8 18 16 | 2800 600 || 1500 250 9800 1700 1800 300 
| (Cloudy) 
9 250 100 5500 2700 }}2700 900 10700 2300 3500 1100 
(Hazy) 
10 +500 300 9700 | 6500 || 3500 1150 11900 3200 12000 3000 
| (Clear) 
11 | 1200 600 | 10500 8000 |} 5100 1900 12000-+- 3400 6700 2300 
(Noon) | | (Cloudy) 
12 || 1400 800 i 11000 8400 |/5000 1800 12000+ 3600 12000 3300 
(Clear) 
1 | 1600 | 1000 | 11000 | 8400 |/4700 | 1450]| 120004 | 3600 12000 3300 
(Clear) 
2 1000 500 10500 | 7600 || 6600 2000 12000+ 3600 5000 1800 
| (Cloudy) 
3 900 350 8300 5100 ||}4200 1300 12000 3400 2600 750 
(Cloudy) 
4 | 350 150 | 7000 3500 || 1800 450 10000 2200 3700 1100 
! ! (Hazy) 
5 30 15 400 70 || 2900 1000 8900 1700 8500 2300 
(Clear) 


* White shading on roof glass. 


Odontoglossums, and Trichopilias, which are native to higher alti- 
tudes, were killed within a period of three weeks. Other tropical 
plants, for example Anthuriums, Adiantum fern, Cibotiums, and 


Bromeliads, were severely burned when the temperature in the 


greenhouse reached 115° F. If the houses had been facing east-west, 


the damage undoubtedly would have been greater. For additional in- 


formation on the reaction of plants to high temperatures in the green- 


house refer to the Garden BULLETIN (Vol. 24, No. 7. 1936). 


” 


With the modernistic ‘skyscraper 


type of greenhouse that was 


erected in Forest Park, St. Louis, all the light enters through the 
vertical tiered sides, reaching to a height of 50 feet. The necessary 
shade during mid-day in summer is provided by the horizontal roof 


areas covered with non-transparent, unbreakable material. Readings 


taken in this greenhouse showed about twice the light intensity of 
those recorded in the Garden’s conservatories (Mo. Bot. Gard. Bull. 


Vol. 23, p. 163. 1935). 


46 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


2. Size of house and bench arrangement.—Glass, of course, re- 
flects light. Consequently as the sun shifts with the seasons the 
amount of light entering the greenhouse changes according to the 
angle at which the rays strike the glass. In winter the angle is wide 
and a good portion of the light rays bounce off the roof, especially 
with houses facing north-south. In summer, when the sun is 
directly overhead and more rays of greater intensity penetrate the 
glass, it is necessary to use some type of shade on the roof. The size 
of the house largely determines the pitch or angle of the roof, which 
in turn influences the amount of light rays transmitted through the 
glass. 

At the Garden, medium-sized orchid houses (26’ x 100’) facing 
north-south have proved very satisfactory for the past nineteen years. 
These houses, equipped with concrete vaporizing tanks holding six 
inches of water and with flat wooden stagings on top, have given 
excellent results from the standpoint of relative humidity, tempera- 
ture control, light distribution, and root development. The water in 
the tanks presents a large area for constant evaporation in summer 
and winter, thus helping to maintain the proper humidity. Water 
also has a stabilizing influence on the temperature in the green- 
houses, since it does not heat up or cool off as quickly as the air. 
The moist cool air (especially in summer) over the water encourages 
vigorous root action. Aerial roots extend far out from the plants, 
growing along the stages and down into the water. Vandas become 
so firmly attached to the benches that it is impossible to move them 
without first severing the roots. Such root development is a fine 
example of the natural growth habit and should be encouraged as 
much as possible. The benches, being on one level throughout the 
houses instead of in the conventional staging arrangement, facilitate 
equal distribution of light to all the plants. 

Although the light, moisture, temperature, and ventilation may 
appear uniformly distributed, it often happens that a certain plant 
or group of plants has to be shifted to several places in a greenhouse 
before a spot favorable to growth is found. This clearly indicates 
that conditions in a house are not always as well-balanced as one 
might expect. 

3. Condition of glass and type of shading used.—In the city the 
accumulation of soot and dust on the glass reduces the amount of 
light available to the plants. In the absence of heavy rains and snow 
it is advisable to clean the roof with a hose, particularly during the 
short dark days of winter. Glass exposed to weather and city atmos- 


Mo. Bor. Garp. Buutt., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATE 7 


Cattleya Trianae with leaves severely sunburned due to a sudden change from 
the semi-shade of the greenhouse to full exposure outdoors for one hour in July. 


Dendrobium bigibbum, native of Australia, where it is grown in abundant sun- 
light. In Missouri this Dendrobium requires 30 per cent light in summer for free 
flowering. 


48 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


pheric conditions gradually loses some of its transparency. It has 
been estimated that the deterioration amounts to about 1 per cent a 
year in the city. In the country, of course, glass remains clear much 
longer. Tests made at the Garden have shown that clean new glass 
transmits 5.3 to 11.2 per cent more light than glass that has been 
used for about ten years. The following readings taken at noon on 
June 8, may be considered typical: 

Outside —11,500 ft. candles (full sun) 

New glass—10,600 ft. candles 

Old glass — 9,300 ft. candles 
Estimates of the loss of light due to old glass, double glazing, lapping, 
etc., vary from 13 to 36 per cent. Tests at the Garden have shown 
too that clear glass is far superior to frosted glass for growing plants 
in the greenhouse. 

There are two types of shading, permanent and movable. The 
latter type, provided by roller blinds, is most desirable from the 
standpoint of light efficiency and temperature control in summer. 
The initial cost of these blinds is high, but if handled properly they 
can be used for many years and are economical in the long run. On 
very large ranges they may not be practical unless they can be op- 
erated by machine instead of by hand. The standard orchid blind 
admits a certain amount of direct moving sunlight that is similar in 
many respects to the type of exposure orchids enjoy on trees in the 
tropics. 

Originally, the orchid houses at the Garden Arboretum were 
equipped with roller blinds. When these were taken down for re- 
pairs, it was decided to try them spread out horizontally on the cross- 
bar supports inside the greenhouses (4 ft. below the ridge). For 
several years now this method of shading has been used and is desir- 
able for the following reasons: 

a. It provides optimum direct moving sunlight without injury 
from burning. 

b. Between 11 a. m. and 2 p. m. in summer the center benches 
receive ideal light; in the morning the sun penetrates the 
blinds at an angle which provides the west benches with a 
good portion of direct light; in the afternoon the reverse con- 
dition exists, the east benches being given a “‘sun bath.” 
Consequently, all parts of these north-south houses receive 
direct moving sunlight at some time during the day. To pre- 
vent burning the plants on the side benches, the lower halves 


of the roof (up to the blinds on the cross-bars) were covered 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BULL., Vor. 33, 1945 


XN i 
SS IY. 5} 
RANG 4 wR 


SV 


SSS Q°q077~ 
SOA OA 


pe % 3 
\ agit y] 
SN ANT : Hil 
RET 3 
ER : 
SS < 


MM . 


WH) 
U4 
ra Sif, 


Orchid blinds rolled up for late 


fall and winter. 


50 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


with the conventional white shading. 
In view of the strong sun in Missouri, these blinds are left 


io) 


unrolled from April to October inclusive. During the winter 
they are rolled up and left on the cross-bars. No white 
shading is used on the glass above the blinds at any time. 

d. This method costs much less for operation and repair than 
when the blinds are placed outside. However, the tempera- 
ture is a degree or two higher in the greenhouse with the 
blinds on the inside. Therefore, the edges of the slats should 
be kept one foot away from the roof glass to permit free air 
circulation at the sides, otherwise the temperature gets too 
high in July and August. 

Some orchid growers recommend movable and stationary shades 
of muslin or cheese-cloth inside the houses. At the Garden we have 
found very little use for this type of shading. It does not permit 
any direct sunlight to fall on the plants and the muslin soon becomes 
black with soot. 

On most orchid houses permanent white shading is used during 
the summer months. It is applied to the roof with a spray gun or 
put on lightly with a brush early in the season, with more added as 
the days become warmer. When only a few houses are involved it 
is advisable to scratch thin lines or stripes in this white shading to 
give the plants a certain amount of direct moving sunlight such as 
is obtained through the standard orchid blind. 

4. Type and age of plants—The amount of light entering the 
greenhouse must be adjusted, of course, to the recognized needs of 
the plants. Some orchids revel in sunlight that would be fatal to 
others; mature plants require stronger light than newly transplanted 
seedlings or those in culture flasks. It is surprising, though, how 
much sunlight the young plants can stand without showing any sign 
of injury. 

5. Flowering date-—With commercial growers it is most im- 
portant to have a good crop of flowers come in for special occasions, 
such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Easter. By careful manipula- 
tion of temperature it is possible to retard or hasten flowering to some 
extent, so the question naturally arises: Can the blooming periods 
be further altered by proper regulation of light from the standpoints 
of duration and intensity? 

It is well known that orchid species generally bloom only once a 


year at fairly definite times, while hybrids frequently have two flow- 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLL., VoL. 33, 1945 


Aerides and Anthuriums exposed to partial sun at noon (summer). Shaded 
area at lower right received similar exposure in the morning. 


# 


Bars of direct sunlight through overhead orchid blinds in summer cause 
no burning on shade-loying Anthuriums (A. Veifchii and A. Warocqueanum). 


52 


the picture it would be necessary to segregate species of certain genera, such 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


ering seasons at intervals of one to several months, the actual dates 
being quite unpredictable. Therefore, it would seem that the bloom- 
ing periods of the species could be controlled more easily than those 
of the hybrids. The “botanical” orchids, however, do show con- 
siderable variation in time of blooming, and each kind might require 
segregation into early, intermediate or late flowering groups. For 
example, Cattleya Trianae at the Garden flowers all the way from 
November to March. Furthermore, production records for individual 
plants show that the blooming dates for C. Trianae vary as much as 
three weeks depending on prevailing weather conditions. An ex- 
cellent example of this weather factor was obtained last fall when 
an extended period of clear warm days with brilliant sunshine forced 
Cattleya Percivaliana into full bloom three weeks ahead of normal 
time. The effects of this abundant sunlight carried over until Christ- 
mas, when the Cattleya Trianae plants produced an unusually large 
crop of flowers; and the Laelia anceps bloomed two to three weeks 
earlier than usual. 

These preliminary observations clearly indicate that the duration 
and intensity of direct sunlight does influence the date of flowering, 
at least with certain species, and undoubtedly with many hybrids 
too. Experimental evidence on this subject, as well as on the use of 
artificial light, is being accumulated at the Garden. 

Table IV gives a general idea of the light requirements of the 
more common types of orchids, including unflowered seedlings. Un- 
doubtedly, growers in other sections of the country will find some 
of these recommendations at variance with their own experiences. 
That is to be expected, since the percentages given are primarily 
applicable to Midwest conditions. 


Table IV, of course, deals in generalities only. In order to complete 


as Oncidium, into all three light groups. 


Garden, accurate data on the sun hours outdoors, both in St. Louis and at 
the Arboretum, have been recorded. 


In addition to the light measurements taken in the greenhouses at the 


past twelve years is presented in Table V. 


A summary of these records for the 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


LIGHT REQUIREMENTS OF ORCHIDS IN MISSOURI 
TO 


SHADING PERIOD 


TABLE IV 


FROM LATE FEBRUARY 


Bs 


DURING THE 
EARLY OCTOBER* 


Light shade 
(Some direct sun— 
20-30% of outdoor light) 


Medium shade 
(Small amount of direct sun— 
15-20% of outdoor light) 


Heavy shade 
(Little or no direct sun— 
10-15% of outdoor light) 


Brassavola 

Cattleya gigas 

Cattleya Skinneri 
Dendrobium nobile 
Dendrobium Phalaenopsis 
Epidendrum  radicans 
Laelia anceps 

Laelia Boothiana 

Laelia purpurata 
Oncidium 

Renanthera 

Schomburgkia 
Phragmopedilum caudatum 
Vandas (terete) 


Seedlings of above plants 
(over 3 years old) 


Aecrides 

Calanthe 
Cymbidium 
Lycaste 

Oncidinm Powellii 
Peristeria 
Saccolabium 
Sobralia 

Vanda _ tricolor 


All seedlings (1-2 years old, 
and albino forms) 


Coelogyne 
Cypripedium 
Miltonia + 
Odontoglossum + 
Phaius 
Phalaenopsis 
Stanhopea 
Trichopilia 
Zygopetalum 


Seedlings of above plants, 
and culture flasks 


* The rest of the year orchids can use all available light in the greenhouse without burning, 
even though this may amount to 75 or 85% of the outdoor intensity. 


+ Miltonias and Odontoglossums cannot be grown successfully in the Midwest. 


Obviously, smoke and industrial haze are limiting factors when it comes 


to efhcient light regulation in city greenhouses. The sad part about it is the 
fact that most of the smoke occurs during winter when orchids (and people) 
need all the sunshine they can get. Furthermore, the sulphur fumes that 
accompany soft coal smoke destroy orchid flowers, unopened buds, and even 
the leaves. Certain kinds of orchids, such as Phalaenopsis, Dendrobiums 
(particularly D. Phalaenopsis), Cattleya “Enid,” and Laelia anceps are very 
susceptible to sulphur damage. When the smoke palls are heavy, all flowers 
except Cymbidiums and Cypripediums are ruined. To avoid these periodic 
set-backs to the Garden’s rare orchid collection, the plants were moved to 
the Arboretum, far outside the city limits. Here they have made excellent 
growth, and the increased flower production has more than justified the 


transfer. 


Mo. 


Bor. Garp. BuLL., Vor. 33, 1945 


Charts used for recording sun hours. Burned areas indicate periods of 
full sunshine. Upper chart shows sun around noon and at 6 P. M. Cen- 
ter chart is characteristic of a changeable day with alternating sunshine 
and clouds. Bottom chart indicates sun from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. Records 
obtained in October, 1944. 


Crystal ball sunshine recorder for outdoor use. One of these is 


maintained at the St. Louis Garden and one at the Arboretum. Note the 
chart with burned streak. 


PLATI 


10 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 55 


TABLE V 
COMPARATIVE HOURS OF CITY AND COUNTRY SUNSHINE 


| 
Year City garden Arboretum | Difference 
me | 

1933 224214 | 2385 | 14234 
1934 2322 | 2503% 181% 
1935 1879! | 196214 83 
1936 249714 26833, 18614 
1937 2086 228914 20314 
1938 | 230414 249614 192 
1932 2310 2498 188 

*1940 2199 2304 105 
1941 2197 2231Y | 34 
1942 2171 219354 22, 
1943 224914 | 242314 | 174 
1944 2141 2266 | 125 

Average 221634 23534 137% 


* City Smoke Ordinance adopted in 1940, resulting in a considerable decrease in the 
“difference” hours. 


SUMMARY 


Orchids in the tropics are exposed to more direct sunlight than is gen- 
erally realized. 

In their native environment, Cattleyas that receive the most sunlight 
produce the greater number of flowers. 

The leaves are more fibrous and the flowers have better keeping qualities 
when plants are exposed to sufficient sun. 

Red color on the leaves and new lead growths is a good indication of 
correct light for the Cattleya group. Albino forms generally require 
less sunlight than other Cattleyas, and practically none of them develop 
red color. 

Optimum sunlight is essential for maximum flower production in the 
greenhouse. 

Orchids that require only limited shade in summer should have 20-30 
per cent of the outdoor light; those requiring medium shade, 15-20 per 


56 


10 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


cent; and the ones needing heavy shade 10-15 per cent. In late fall and 
winter the plants should have full exposure, which may amount to as 
high as 85 per cent of the outdoor sunlight intensity. 

By regulating the duration and intensity of sunlight in the greenhouse, 
it might be possible to vary the normal flowering dates of many orchids. 
A suitable illumination meter is essential for measuring light. It is 
impossible to make accurate estimates with the eye. 

Roller blinds are the ideal type of shade for orchids. They provide from 
25 to 30 per cent light intensity and at the same time admit a good 
portion of moving sunlight. 


. Greenhouses that face north-south are most practical in the Midwest. 
11. 


Smoke and industrial haze reduce the amount of sunlight available in 
the city. 


. The amount of light reached in these experiments appears to be the 


optimum for orchids in the Midwest. It is probable that certain species 
and genera could be exposed to even more, but whether or not they 


would benefit from such treatment is another question. 


REFERENCES 


Arthur, J. M. Artificial light and plant growth. Agr. Eng. 13:228-291. 
1932. 

Cox, J. M. Light. Austral. Orchid Rev. 6°:48-52. 1941. 

Garner, W. W., and Allard, H. A. Effect of relative length of day and night 
and other factors of the environment on growth and reproduction in plants. 
Jour. Agr. Res. 18:553-606. 1920. 

James, W. M. Growing Cymbidium orchids out-of-doors in California. Amer. 
Orchid Soc. Bull. 13:185-189. 1944. 

Johnston, E. S. Sun rays and plant life. Ann. Rept. Smithsonian Inst. for 
1936:353-371. 1937. 

Kirch, W. Vandas in Hawaii. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 13:39-45. 1944. 
Macrae, M. Shading of Orchids. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 12:373-374. 1944. 
Miwa, A. The relative values of light in the greenhouse. Orchid Rev. 48:57- 
60. 1940. 

Montgomery, J. The effect of certain environmental factors on the growth 
of Cattleya orchids. Amer. Orchid Soc. Bull. 12:125-132. 1943. 

Poesch, G. H., and Laurie, A. The use of artificial light and reduction of 
the daylight period for flowering plants in the greenhouse. Ohio Agr. Exp. 
Sta. Bull. 559. 1935. 

Ramaley, F. Influence of supplemental light on blooming. Bot. Gaz. 96:165- 
174. 1934. 

Withrow, R. B. Plant forcing with electric lights. Purdue Agr. Exp. Sta. 
Circ. 206. 1934. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN a7 
NOTES 


Among the recent out-of-town visitors to the Garden were the follow- 
ing: Dr. Fred A. Barkley, Instructor in Botany, University of Texas, Austin; 
Miss Jean Nicholson, of Benvenue Laboratories (Penicillin), Bedford, Ohio; 
Dr. Ralph O. Erickson, Instructor in Botany, University of Rochester, 
Rochester, N. Y.; Dr. Walter Kiener, Ecologist Conservation and Survey 
Division, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Pvt. Cedric Flewellyn, of the 
U. S. Army, formerly Gardening student at the Garden; Dr. Harry J. 
Fuller, of the United States Rubber Development Corporation, George- 
town, British Guiana; Mr. Anton Hogstad, Professor of Pharmacology, 
University of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Mr. Rudolph Pabst, 
orchid grower, of Winnetka, Ill.; Mr. H. W. Li, of the Rice and Wheat 
Improvement Institute of Szechuan Provincial Agr. Improve. Inst., China; 
Mr. C. R. Beckert and Mr. Godfrey Erickson, president and orchid grower 
respectively, of Thomas Young Orchids, Inc., Boundbrook, N. J.; Dr. and 
Mrs. Friedrich Eigenburger, orchid fanciers, of Sheboygan, Wis.; Mr. Robert 
Jones, Superintendent of E. W. McLellan Co., Orchid Growers, Colma, 
Calif. 

A conference on “Gene Action in Micro-Organisms” was held at the 
Garden on February 2 and 3. The papers given, together with the proceed- 
ings, will appear in the April number of the ANNaLs (Vol. 32, No. 2). 
Following is the program of the meetings: 


FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2Nnp 


10:00 A. M.—Registration, Administration Building. 


10:30 A. M.—Chairman, Dr. L. J. Stadler, University of Missouri. 
“Mendelian and Cytoplasmic Inheritance in Yeasts” 
Dr. C. C. Lindegren, Washington University 
“Bio-Chemical Genetics of Neurospora” 


Dr. G. W. Beadle and Dr. FE. L. Tatum, of Stanford University 
1:00 P. M.—Luncheon at the Garden. 


2:00 P. M.—Chairman, Dr. C. F. Cori, Washington University School of Medicine. 
“Genetic Aspects of Changes in Staphylococcus aureus, producing Strains 
Resistant to Various Concentrations of Penicillin” 

Dr. M. Demerec, Carnegie Institution of Washington 

“The Genetics and Physiology of Adaptive Enzyme Formation in Yeasts” 
Dr. S. Spiegelman, Washington University School of Medicine 

“The Use of Radiation for the Production of Mutation with Improved 
Fermentation”... Dr. A. Hollaender, U. S. Public Health Service 


7:30 P. M.—Dinner, Informal, University Club. 
8:30 P. M.—Chairman, Dr. A. H. Sturtevant, California Insticute of Technology. 


“Nucleic Acid Protein Interaction” 


Dr. J. P. Greenstein, U. S. Public Health Service 


58 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3rp 


10:00 A. M.—Chairman, Dr. J. W. Gowen, Iowa State College. 
“Gene Action in Paramecium”... Dr. T. M. Sonneborn, University of Indiana 
“Bacterial Mutations from Virus Sensitivity to Virus Resistance” 
Dr. M. Delbruck, Vanderbilt University 
“Genetics of Bacterium—Bacterial Virus Relationship” 
Dr. Salvatore Luria, University of Indiana 
“Genetics as a Tool for Studying Gene Structure” 
Dr. Sterling Emerson, California Institute of Technology 


1:00 P. M.—Luncheon at the Garden. 


2:00 P. M.—Chairman, Dr. A. D. Hershey, Washington University School of Medicine. 
Exhibits and Demonstrations. 


4:30 P. M.—Tea. 


The following out-of-town visitors attended the meetings: Dr. Edward 
H. Anderson, Vanderbilt University; Dr. G. W. Beadle, Stanford Uni- 
versity; Dr. M. Demerec, Carnegie Institution of Washington; Dr. Max 
Delbruck, Vanderbilt University; Dr. Sterling Emerson, California Institute 
of Technology; Dr. David R. Goddard, University of Rochester; Dr. John 
W. Gowen, Iowa State College; Dr. Jesse P. Greenstein, U. S. Public Health 
Service; Dr. Alexander Hollaender, U. S. Public Health Service; Dr. S. E. 
Luria, University of Indiana; Dr. H. J. Muller, Amherst College; Dr. Ken- 
neth B. Raper, U. S. Dept. Agr.; Dr. R. R. Roepke, American Cyanamid 
Co.; Dr. E. R. Sears, University of Missouri; Dr. J. M. Severens, University 
of Illinois; Dr. T. M. Sonneborn, University of Indiana; Dr. L. J. Stadler, 
University of Missouri; Dr. Curt Stern, University of Rochester; Dr. A. H. 
Sturtevant, California Institute of Technology; Dr. E. L. Tatum, Stanford 
University; Dr. P. C. Trexler, University of Notre Dame. 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


Score Cx Piitcheoc kisah eee President 
Daniel. Ko Cathitiecc cited See ote acm ee es ees VGe- President 
Eugene Pettus _ Seene aoe = we ..Second Vice-President 

L. Ray Carter Richard J. Lockwood 

Dudley French George T. Moore 

John S. Lehmann A. Wessel Shapleigh 

Ethan A. H. Shepley 
EX-OFFICIO. MEMBERS 
Joseph Desloge President, St. Louis Academy of Science 
Mrs. Irma Friede Selene EES President, Board of Education of St. Louis 
A. P. Kaufmann_... eat ee ee -........Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
WalhameSearlett.c20- <2 ase. _.Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 
Blarry B:. Wallace. 2.042) 234 Acting Chancellor, Washington University 
Gerald Ulrici ieee ett ghia ON Ae ee _.... Secretary 
STAFF 

seoree <1. Moores: 32 ; ee ee ee DI TECtOr 
Hermann von Schrenk___ Se edo ce eee ee AE OLOPISE 
Jesse Ms “Srlenii gtx cos eee ee baton OF Hlerbaniin 
GF Valco] | TEAS Gee D0): | 4 cE 8 es RS a _Mycologist 
S60 ie baa 2 182 cis) | ce a eee Re Cae ee ke 5, Sea ee ae ines Geneticist 
Robert E Wiecdson, Vics... foe oes oe A bSStant Crator et Liesharium 
Henry N. Andrews. Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 
Robert W. Schery (on leave) Sergi Panne eae Research Assistant 
uC G) GR! is (crc | eee a eee Se Se een Librarian and Editor 
O19) Cae a cS 6 1S sae ey Re RS EO lees ee eee _..... Superintendent 
Paul A. Kohl. Saag rape ieee encanta see 08 at PO CMI EOE ISE 
75 Ce tk Gee SEs so 050: : ce ede aa ee ONS pee Coe ee 
A Let y0) 2 Gi 1: Cee TS ee ee eo Te ee (4 charge of Exotics 
Raisins Citak Se peer In charge of Succulents 
August P. Beilmann Manager of the Arboretum, Gray Summit 


Gurney Wilson, F.L.S..._..________ Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT THE 
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


SPRING FLORA OF MISSOURI. 
By Julian A. Steyermark. Price $1.50; a special price to schools 
and garden clubs—$1.00 a copy if 10 or more copies are sent to 
one address. Add 10 cents per copy to remittance to cover 
postage. 


ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
Published in February, April, September, and November. Sub- 
scription price, $10 per year. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN. 
Published monthly except July and August. Subscription price, 
$1.50 per year. 


A TOUR OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
A guide for Garden visitors. Price 25 cents. 


HENRY SHAW. 
A Biography. Price 25 cents. 


POST-CARDS 
Garden Views. Price 25 cents for set of 8. 


Garden Water-lilies. Price 25 cents for set of 8. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


CONTENTS 
Two Balkan Ivies for St. Louis Gardens . . . . . . . . 59 
Grow Your Own Strawberries . . ......2.2.24~2. 64 
Vegetable Gardening Notes for 1945 . . 2. 2. 2... Ll 68 
IMOtGSs te Ie eee eee a ee ee we ee a es ee 70 


Volume X XXIII March, 1945 Number 3 


Cover: ‘Premier’ Strawberries in Bloom, May 1, 1944. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missourxi Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a “Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 


some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


Mo. 


Bor. Garp. BuLL., VoL. 33, 1945 


PLATI 


View down the valley from the upper story of Rila Monastery. Hedera 


Helix var. “MBG Bulgaria” 
building in the foreground. 


was collected in the beech woods beyond the 


Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Volo UX XIE MARCH, 1945 No. 3 


TWO BALKAN IVIES FOR ST. LOUIS GARDENS 
EDGAR ANDERSON 


After nearly ten years’ exhaustive trials at the Missouri Botanical Garden 
two new hardy ivies of the English type are now ready for distribution to 
American gardens, Outwardly, even the expert will see little difference 
between them and the ordinary “English” ivies of the florist’s shop or of old 
southern gardens. Inwardly, they are marked by a tolerance not only of 
severe cold weather, but of dry winters and hot summers. They can stand 
the middle-western American climate better than any variety yet introduced 
into cultivation; they make it possible to grow the true ivy (Hedera Helix) 
as easily in St. Louis as it has been grown in Virginia or Mississippi. 

These new varieties did not just happen; they are the result of scientifi- 
cally planned collections. In surveying plant materials available to eastern 
American gardeners there seemed a need for easily grown evergreens which 
would keep our gardens from looking bare and lifeless in the winter. Ivy, 
yew, and boxwood, which make an English garden glow with life during 
the winter, are difficult or impossible to grow north of Philadelphia and 
west of the Atlantic seaboard; nor are there other plants to take their 
places effectively over much of this area. A little reflection suggested why 
European ivies and boxwood might be difficult subjects in this area. Like 
many other plants, the strains of these evergreens which we grow in our 
gardens come from the same parts of Europe as did our ancestors, from 
England, Germany, and the Scandinavian peninsula. These lands have a 
severe winter, but one so different from ours that we really need a different 
name in describing it. The north European winter is cold and wet, never 
cold and dry, and it is followed by a cool summer with an evenly distributed 
rainfall, It is an area which does not have our common American experi- 
ence of a brilliant winter day with the air clear as a bell, the sun shining 
brightly in a cloudless sky, and the temperature close to zero or below it. 
Small wonder that ivy, yew, and box from those parts of Europe have not 
succeeded in our gardens! 


(59) 


60 MISSOURL BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


It accordingly occurred to me to inquire if there might be a part of 
Europe which had a climate like ours; a continental climate, hot in summer, 
cold and dry in winter, with a tendency to long droughts at any time of 
year. Such a climate is to be found on the Russian steppes, but in a very 
exaggerated form. A little to the eastward, in Rumania and Bulgaria and 
Yugoslavia, there is the nearest approach to our exact climate pattern. Omaha 
and Council Bluffs are very like Bucharest, Rumania, in their average monthly 
temperatures and total monthly rainfall. Furthermore, these Balkan lands 
have a rich and varied flora. Ivy, yew, and box are to be found growing 
wild in various parts of the peninsula. In 1934, therefore, I visited Rumania, 
Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia under the joint auspices of Harvard University 
and the United States Department of Agriculture, choosing by preference 
the sun-baked areas in the northwestern Balkans, which have cold, dry 
winters like ours. I attempted to collect seeds and cuttings of four inter- 
esting evergreens, holly, ivy, yew, and box, on the theory that, even though 
they looked more or less identical with these same species in northern Europe, 
they must be different on the inside. If they could grow in Cluj, Rumania, 
they should be able to persist over winter in St. Louis. If they were hardy 
in Skoplje in southern Yugoslavia, we might be able to grow them here with 
a little protection. 

The hunch was apparently a good one. There can now be no doubt 
about the ivies. They are several degrees better than anything else for this 
climate. The boxwood is now being tried out at the Garden’s Arboretum 
at Gray Summit. It is the most promising boxwood in the extensive col- 
lections there, but it will not be released until careful tests have shown just 
what it will and will not do. The holly is apparently a failure. Even in the 
Balkans it is found very rarely, and we were able to obtain seeds only from 
Sarajevo in Bosnia, where the climate is more like that of Little Rock, 
Arkansas, than it is like St. Louis. The yews seem to be a success, but they 
are slow-growing and it is too soon to speak with certainty about them. 

In a way, however, even the ivies are not quite what we ordered. They 
have proven completely hardy in St. Louis for the past nine years, in the city 
as well as the country, but in very cold, open winters they are not com- 
pletely evergreen. In four years out of five they hold their attractive dark 
green leaves till spring, but in an intensely cold winter with little or no 
snow cover the leaves begin to turn brown and fall off some time in January 
or February. By March most of them are brown, at least in part, and many 
of them have fallen. They were bred in a climate like ours and they have 
too much sense to attempt to persist under such conditions. The vines and 


the leaf buds are absolutely uninjured, however, and the new leaves come 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 61 


Rumanian State Forest of Comarno, near Bucharest, Rumania. Hedera Helin 


var. “MBG Rumania” was collected among the trees at the right of the picture. 


out with a great rush in the spring. By the middle of April the vines are 
beautifully covered with a close mantle of bright green. 

To one who does not know and understand the differences between these 
Balkan ivies and other strains, they really look dead after a severely cold, 
open winter. More than one gardener has given them a disgusted look and 
said, “Well, those pet ivies of yours are a goner this time,” only to find them 
lustier than ever when spring brought out the new leaves. 

Aside from their hardiness and the speed with which they acquire new 
leaves in the spring, the two Balkan varieties which we are introducing 
differ only slightly from other varieties in the trade. On the whole. they 
have larger leaves, particularly when grown in rich soil. This is especially 


true of the variety from Rila, Bulgaria, which produces leaves almost. the 


62 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


size of a sugar-maple leaf when well grown. The two Balkan varieties are 
very much alike. “MBG Bulgaria” has more deeply lobed leaves on the 
average, and is particularly well adapted to growing under trees. “MBG 
Rumania” is a little shaggier looking and not quite so attractive as a ground 
cover; it seems to be slightly more tolerant of hot sun and dry winds. 

The varieties are named for the localities where they were collected in 
1934. “MBG Bulgaria” came from a roadside bank among beech woods 
below Rila Monastery at the foot of Mt. Rila in northwestern Bulgaria. 
“MBG Rumania” came from the state forest of Comarno, just south of 
Bucharest, Rumania. It was growing in rich oak woods at a sheltered spot 
in the great Danube plain, and came from a particularly vigorous vine 
which had grown high up in a tree and borne fruit. In both cases cuttings 
were made on the spot and were kept damp until they could be sent by air- 
mail to the John Innes Horticultural Institution in England, where they 
were rooted and finally brought to the United States. 

At the Missouri Botanical Garden these and other European ivies have 
been under careful and increasingly severe tests since 1936. Varieties from 
six places in the Balkans and three from Sweden were set out at that time 
and compared with each other, as well as with extensive plantings of Baltic 
ivy and other English ivies in the mausoleum. As might have been expected, 
the Swedish varieties came through the winters fairly well, but were severely 
checked by hot summer weather so that in ten years they have scarcely held 
their own. The Balkan varieties, though they started as small plants, soon 
were growing rampantly and have survived such upheavals as replanting of 
shrubbery in the bed where they were started, and digging of a new service 
tunnel through the center of the collection. Three years later, when their 
general excellence was becoming apparent, a test planting was made under 
very severe conditions. The most unfavorable site in the entire City Garden 
was deliberately selected, a narrow strip between the east wall and the main 
pathway from the Main Gate to the Administration Building. It is a spot 
which is exposed to winter winds and summer sun, and it has proved a 
difficult spot in which to grow any kind of plant material. Strong, rooted 
cuttings of Balkan ivy were set out there, along with other hardy varieties, 
such as the Baltic ivy, for comparison. Most of the English varieties died 
out completely. The Baltic ivy persisted and increased, but not as rapidly 
as the varieties from the Balkans which now make a solid mat over the 
whole area. They are spreading along the wall in both directions and are 
beginning to climb up its face. During all this time they have had no special 
attention since they were set out. As a matter of fact, they have even been 
pulled up when the annual planting of morning-glory vines has been set 
out along the wall. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 63 


Now that their hardiness has been thoroughly tested in this area, the 
Garden naturally wishes to make these new varieties available to the general 
public as soon as possible. Fortunately, ivy cuttings are very easy to root, 
and a good stock can be built up from a single cutting in quite a short time. 
In a greenhouse with a propagating bench one of the easiest ways is to lay 
the vine down horizontally and cover it with damp sand, allowing it to root 
at the base of each leaf. When the roots are well established the plant can be 
cut up into several separate rooted cuttings. However, it can be rooted in 
plain tap water in a living room window, and for the home gardener the best 
procedure to build up a stock is probably to plant out the cutting during 
the growing season and then in late summer or early fall, before there have 
been severe freezes, to cut off all the long terminal shoots and to root them 
during the winter. They may be potted in good soil when well rooted, and 
further cuttings taken from them when strong new shoots have appeared. 

In order that these hardy varicties may have a wider test and be available 
to those interested, the Garden has propagated a number of plants which 
will be distributed gratis to any of the “Friends of the Garden” group. A 
small rooted plant may be obtained by calling at the Main Entrance (Flora 
Place and Tower Grove) any week-day between the hours of 8:30 A. M. 
and 5:00 P. M. If it is not convenient to call, send 25 cents in coin or 
stamps and a plant will be mailed. 

A word of caution seems wise before these new varieties are released. 
They do so well in this area that they might conceivably become a weed in 
an area just a little warmer than ours. For that reason, they should not be 
planted south of central Missouri. There is no need for them there since 
other varieties are hardy and if these new varieties escaped to the woods 
they might in time be as much of a nuisance as the Japanese honeysuckle has 
become throughout the South. 

While these Balkan varieties have been found hardy enough to grow and 
increase in St. Louis without any special care, a little attention will keep 
them more attractive and make them increase more rapidly. They will do 
best if the ground has been well spaded up before they are set out in the 
spring or early summer, and if a light mulch of rotted leaves or grass clip- 
pings or similar litter is applied in June. A good thorough soaking with the 
hose once in every two weeks during dry weather will not only make them 
increase more rapidly, but will clear off the spider webs which sometimes 
become rather unsightly at that season. In establishing them as a ground 
cover, nothing is more useful than a small piece of bent wire such as a paper 
clip, a bobby pin, or an old-fashioned wire hair-pin. They hold the young 
shoots in place where they are wanted and if they are pushed down firmly, 
constrict the vine just enough so that rooting is encouraged. 


64 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


GROW YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES 
PAUL A. KOHL 


Strawberries have been scarce and high-priced the last two years, and 
present war-time conditions prevent any improvement in the supply. Even 
if victory should come in the next few months there would be no appre- 
ciable increase in plantings until 1946, which means that strawberries will 
not approach a normal crop until 1947 or 1948. In the spring of this year 
the strawberry plantings in the United States will have been reduced to 51 
per cent of the ten-year average of 1934 to 1943. A field of strawberries 
should be planted each year if a good cropping system is to be maintained 
commercially, and it can readily be seen how impossible that is with help 
as scarce as it is at present. Lack of help at picking time and for maintain- 
ing the fields will also seriously curtail the crop. 

All fruit crops have followed the strawberry in scarcity and high price 
since 1942, and a gardener with only a small plot of ground can do very 
little to increase his own supply. Fruit trees and the cane and bush fruits 
require much space, and while grapes might be grown the vines will not 
begin to bear until the third year. After considering the possibilities of the 
various fruits for the small garden, the choice must finally be narrowed to 
the strawberry as the only fruit which will produce a good crop within one 
year from the time of planting. 

Strawberries are not difficult to grow. It can safely be stated that very, 
very few home gardeners have ever grown their own any more than they 
have ever “rolled” their own until now. Times have changed, and the 
strawberries which were so plentiful each year from January until June have 
almost disappeared from the market bench. Fifty plants set this spring will 
yield a good supply of berries for a period of two weeks in 1946, averaging 
about a quart or more a day. The actual yield will depend upon the soil, 
the variety, the spacing, the culture and the weather. Strawberries must be 
planted very early in the spring, in March or April. If planted in May, the 
runners get such a late start that the young plants do not have sufficient 
time to develop before frost. If the soil is in workable condition in March 
and the plants have been received from the nursery, they should be planted. 
Freezing weather will not injure them after they have been set. 

Soil—A good amount of humus should be spaded into the soil as early 
as possible and sand should be added if the soil is heavy. The bed should be 
well drained, and yet strawberries need an abundance of moisture during the 
growing season and particularly when the fruit is maturing. Drought 


periods will occur during the summer, and it is at these times that the 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 65 


strawberry bed should be thoroughly soaked once or twice a week. This 
watering may be done at any time of the day, but morning or evening is 
preferred, If the soil contained vegetables or flowers in previous years, it 
is probably rich enough as strawberries require only a medium-fertile soil. 
If the fertility of the soil is low, a light dressing of a complete plant food 
should be spread over the soil before it is spaded. Chemical fertilizers ap- 
plied to the bed when the rows become matted will cause burning of the 
leaves. 

Varieties—Any one intending to plant strawberries this spring should 
lose no time in ordering the plants. Shortages in good planting stock are 
developing, and it might be difficult to secure the varieties selected. In 
most catalogs there is usually a choice of about six varieties. When space 
is limited it is difficult to select just one variety and feel confident that it 
will produce a good crop the following year. A first choice could be 


> 


“Premier,” as it is widely planted commercially in Missouri and is an ex- 
cellent variety for the home garden. It grows well and produces many 
runner plants. The berries are early, medium in size, of good color and 
flavor. A second choice could be “Senator Dunlap,” which also produces 
many runners, withstands drought and cold, and yields a good crop of 
berries. Possibly a third selection would be ‘Blakemore,’ but it is con- 
sidered more tart than either “Premier” or “Dunlap.” ‘Catskill? is a large- 
berried, mid-season variety. “Aroma,” “Chesapeake,” “Fairfax” and ‘‘Dor- 
sett” are still other varieties from which to choose. 


Planting, spacing, cultivating and watering.—As soon as the strawberry 
plants arrive, open the package and examine the plants. Remove all black 
and decayed leaves carefully and see that the roots are moist. If the planting 
must be delayed, lay the plants in a shallow V-shaped trench in a sheltered 
spot, spread the roots and cover them with moist soil. If there are only a 
few plants they may be heeled-in for a few days in a box of damp sand or 
soil. 

Make the rows 3-3'% feet apart and space the plants about 18 inches 
in the row. Carry the plants to the garden in a wet sack, newspaper, or a 
bucket of water, and do not expose the roots to the wind or sun at any 
time before the plants are set. Remove any large leaves before planting, and 
if the roots are long shorten them to four or five inches. If planted early, 
the leaves will be small but later in the season the large leaves should be 
removed to prevent excessive transpiration. Open the holes with a trowel, 
spread the roots and firm the soil. The collar of the plant should be at the 
surface of the soil and one must guard against setting the plant too deep or 
too high. If the central rosette of leaves is covered with soil the plant will 
rot, and if the plant is set too high it will dry out. If the center of any 


66 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


A good strawberry plant. 
Soil line showing proper depth to plant. 


plant becomes covered with soil during a heavy rain, lift the plant at the 
first opportunity and bring it to the right level. When all of the strawberry 
plants are set, pour a little water around each one to settle the soil about 
the roots. Cultivate the soil every week or two to kill the weeds, and while 
doing this remove any strawberry flowers which may develop, to prevent 
any fruit from forming the first year. By July the runners will begin 
growing rapidly in all directions from the mother plants. A runner is about 
as thick as a piece of stout twine, and when about a foot long a rosette of 
leaves forms at the tip while at the same time the roots develop and take hold 
of the soil. Within a few days another runner goes forth from this daugh- 
ter plant and so on they go, in leap-frog fashion, producing a new plant at 
every hop. The numerous plants which are produced in all directions by 
the mother and daughter plants soon become crowded, and it is then a little 
help should be given by spacing the plants six or more inches apart. Crowded 
plants will only choke each other and reduce the yield of fruit. As the 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 67 


young plants push their roots into the soil in mid-summer they quickly 
become established if the soil is moist, but if it is very dry and hard during 
a drought period their growth will be checked. Some varieties produce 
more runners than others and by September some of the excess runner plants 
may be removed. This method of growing strawberries is termed the matted 
row system, each row becoming about two feet wide. Watering and weed- 
ing are the two essential operations during the summer. 

Mulching.—Some mulching material should be obtained in the fall to 
be applied to the strawberry bed about the third week in November. When 
the temperature drops below 20° F. some injury might result, so it is a good 
practice to have the mulch on hand to spread over the bed to a depth of two 
to three inches as soon as cold weather is predicted. In this region Thanks- 
giving Day may be considered the dead-line for mulching plants for the 
winter. Wheat straw is about the best mulching material. The foliage of 
some ornamental grasses is also very good, as it is free from weed seeds. 
Leaves are not recommended because they mat, but if no other material can 
be obtained only oak or sycamore leaves should be used as they remain crisp 
and dry out quickly after rain or snow. Some of the mulch should be re- 
moved when growth commences in March. At that time of the year a mild 
spell of weather is often followed by a sharp drop in temperature, and it 
pays to replace some of the mulch when such a cold spell is threatened. A 
3- or 5-tined hay fork is the best tool for applying and removing the mulch. 

Picking.—This operation affords the most pleasure and it is difficult to 
resist picking the first berries before they are fully ripe. Morning is 
a good time to pick the strawberries, when they are still cool. At first they 
are gathered every second day but as the crop increases it should be harvested 
every day. Each strawberry should be picked with a quarter-inch of stem 
attached. 

Renovating the strawberry bed.—After the first harvest the bed should 
be reworked by removing some of the crowded plants and large leaves. A 
complete fertilizer may then be applied between the plants. Thoroughly 
flush the leaves with water immediately after applying the fertilizer to 
minimize leaf burn. Weed, water, and mulch as in the first year, and a fairly 
good crop may be expected the second year. After the third year the bed 
should be removed, and if more strawberries are to be grown in future years 
new beds should have been started in other locations. 

Pot-grown strawberries.—Strawberries are also available for planting in 
late summer, but these are pot-grown plants. They can be planted closer 
together as they do not make runner plants like those started in the spring. 
The harvest from the spring-set plants will be greater and the initial cost 
will be considerably less. 


68 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


VEGETABLE GARDENING NOTES FOR 1945! 
HENRY N. ANDREWS 


Cauliflower in St. Louis—Many home gardeners shy away from this 
table delicacy, believing that it is too difficult a plant to raise. However, 
excellent results were obtained at the Garden last year with Burpee’s “Dry 
Weather” variety. Seed was sown inside late in February and the plants set 
out the latter part of March, although the first week in April would prob- 
ably be safer in most years. No special cultural precautions were taken 
other than one application of Vigoro when the plants were set outdoors. 
When the heads started to develop the upper leaves were drawn up around 
them to prevent yellowing; in early July they attained medium size, were 
firm, white, and deliciously tender. Although this report is based on only 
one year’s trial, it seems worth passing along. 

A few notes on tomatoes.—This little innovation produced a_ truly 
spectacular yield of fruit in one of our gardens last year: Prepare “wells” 
for each plant about 8 inches deep and about a foot in diameter; spade and 
fertilize the soil at the bottom of the well and set out the young plants the 
last of April. This is early, too early you will say, but if a cold snap seems 
imminent it is a simple matter to cover the plants with a sheet of newspaper, 
the top leaves being only a few inches above the level of the ground. 

The well should be filled in as the season progresses, allowing develop- 
ment of supplementary roots and thus increasing the water-absorbing sur- 
face. Try this with a few plants this season. Some varieties that proved 
especially productive last summer were: ‘‘Certified Marglobe,” ‘“Beefsteak,” 
“Rutgers,” and “Golden Jubilee.” The last should be in every garden, the 
fruits being of good size, firm, of the best quality and excellent for either 
table or canning. 

Leeks for winter storage-—If you enjoy creamed onions you will find 
leeks, prepared in the same way, even tastier. We have found both the 
common “Broad London” (“Large American Flag”) and Vaughan’s 
“Elephant” easy to grow and good keepers. The latter is a real giant and 
deserves the attention of every home gardener. 

Seed may be planted outside in early spring, but preferably inside at an 
earlier date. If you have a hot-bed or space in front of a sunny window 
follow this procedure: In February start the seeds in a sandy soil in an 8- 
inch pot; when 2 or 3 inches high transplant the seedlings to shallow trays 
of soil, spacing them about an inch apart. In early to middle April set the 
plants out about 4 inches apart in the row, or 6 inches for the “Elephant” 
variety. If the row is prepared as a shallow trench when the seedlings are set 


"All dates given in this article apply to St. Louis, Mo. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 69 


out it is a simple matter to hill them with soil later in the summer. Let them 
grow until late fall, then pull up and bury them about a foot deep in some 
convenient corner of the garden. Dig as you need them during the winter. 

Corn in early July.—For a few ears of corn, a week or ten days ahead 
of your neighbor, try this: Plant seed, one to each 3-inch pot, during the 
first week in April. The pots should be placed in a deep cold-frame, allow- 
ing 12 to 14 inches for growth of the seedlings. Set them out in the garden 
about May 5. If the weather is favorable you may be harvesting at least by 
the first of July. 

Try Broccoli this year—There are very few of the early summer and 
late fall crops that will bring greater beauty to the garden and more culinary 
pleasure to the table than broccoli. All the seed companies carry the 
“Calabrese” (‘Italian Green Sprouting’) variety. Its culture is essentially 
the same as for cabbage and cauliflower. Sow the seed in a well-drained 
tray of soil indoors in late February. It is advisable to sterilize the soil in 
order to eliminate “damping off” fungi. This can be accomplished in the 
home simply by pouring a few quarts of boiling water over the soil. When 
the first leaves are well formed thin the seedlings to 3 inches apart. Set 
them out in early April, about 16 inches apart in the row. A large head 
will develop at the top of the stem in early summer. Cut the heads off but 
do not destroy the plants; side shoots will appear later and you should have 
an even better crop in the fall, although the side-branch heads will be 
smaller. 

It is surprising how many people do not know that peeling the stems of 
broccoli before cooking adds greatly to the delicacy of its flavor. Start 
peeling at the cut ends of the stems and let the peel run off into the flower 
head. We have found 15 minutes to be ample cooking time. Longer cook- 
ing darkens the color and dissipates the fresh flavor. This holds for cabbage, 
cauliflower, and kohlrabi as well. Incidentally, dusts containing rotenone 
are amazingly effective (and non-poisonous) in controlling insect pests of 
these cabbage-family plants. 

Sweet-potatoes for calories.—Ilf you like them and want a heavy-yielding 
vegetable, do not neglect sweet-potatoes. For the average home garden 
plant two potatoes just beneath the soil surface, in a box of sand about 
12 x 18 inches and 4 or 5 inches deep. Start them early in April. Put the 
box in a sunny window and keep the sand moist but not wet. Within 
three weeks an abundance of shoots will spring up from all sides of the 
potato. Have two or three other trays of sand ready, preferably a little 
larger. As the shoots attain a height of about 8 inches pull them off (a few 
roots will come along, too) and transplant to the other trays. The potatoes 


will continue to bud out shoots—50 or more from each one. 


70 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


In the meantime, get the outside garden ready. Prepare a hill about 8 
inches high and 1'% feet broad and as long as the row permits. If you 
plant more than one row allow 3! feet between rows. Set out the young 
plants 18 inches apart; give them plenty of room for the vines are great 
spreaders. And now you can take the two stock potatoes, which will 
probably be about as firm as they were to begin with, and bake them for 
dinner! 

An excellent soil conditioner—and cost zero.—On previous occasions we 
have advised, ‘Don’t burn the leaves,” but many gardeners still fail to take 
advantage of this source of organic soil conditioner. Two years ago one of 
the Garden’s nurseries was converted into a victory garden. The soil was 
a rather heavy clay, hardening, like so many St. Louis soils, into an almost 
brick-like consistency during midsummer. On an area of one-half acre 
some 10 tons of partially decayed leaves (they had by no means reached the 
“leaf mold” stage, although this would be even better) were spread and 
plowed under in the fall. The soil showed some improvement the following 
summer, but when the process was repeated the second year gardening was 
a real pleasure. The soil was blacker, much more friable, holding an 
abundance of water yet workable within a day after heavy rains. Adopting 
this procedure for smaller gardens, about 1-2 bushels of partially decayed 
leaves for each 25 square feet should be sufficient for a season. The same 
results may, of course, be obtained with an abundance of manure but the 
cost of this is prohibitive for most home gardeners. Moreover, the winds 
of autumn do not ration leaves nor are they concerned with price regu- 


lations. 
NOTES 

Cinerarias will be on display in the Floral Display House at the Garden 
during the month of March. 

Dr. Walter B. Welch, Assistant Professor of Botany, Southern Illinois 
Normal University, Carbondale, conducted a group of his students on a 
study tour of the Garden February 26. 

The first number of Volume XXXII of ANNALS OF THE Missouri 
BoTANICAL GARDEN was issued in February, consisting of an installment of 
“Flora of Panama” (Part III, Fascicle 1), by Robert E. Woodson, Jr., and 
Robert W. Schery. 

Recent visitors to the Garden include: Prof. Erling Dorf, Paleobotanist, 
Department of Geology, Princeton University, Princeton, N. J.; Chief 
Machinist Mate J. E. Whithington, of the U. S. Navy, formerly an employee 
at the Garden; Dr. Lloyd H. Shinners, Research Associate, Milwaukee 
Public Museum (on leave), Research Fellow, Southern Methodist University, 
Dallas, Texas. 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


George C. Hitchcock... 


Wanielew Catlin ce... 
Eugene Pettus.2.2. 5.2 
L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 
John S. Lehmann 


oe President 
_---------------..-.-. Wice-President 
Be. _.............._ Second Vice-President 
Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 


A. Wessel Shapleigh 


Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO. MEMBERS 


Joseph Desloge 
Mrs. Irma Friede 


W ilham Scartettin. <ccu: 
Harry B. Wallace... 


Gerald Ulrici 


George T. Moore... 


Hermann von Schrenk 
Jesse M. Greenman 
Carroll W. Dodge 
Edgar Anderson 
Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
Henry N. Andrews 


Robert W. Schery (on leave). 


Nell C. Horner ; 
George H. Pring eee 
Paul A. Kohl. 

David C. Fairburn 
Joseph Cutak 

Ladislaus Cutak. 

August P, Beilmann 
Gurney Wilson, F.L.S._ 


President, St. Louis Academy of Science 
President, Board of Education of St. Louis 
A. P. Kaufmann 


......Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
_.......... Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 
Acting Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


Director 


Pathologist 
ae Curator of Herbarium 


_ Mycologist 
Geneticist 


Sees te Ae ae Sas Assistant Curator of Herbarium 
__Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 


_......_ Research Assistant 
Librarian and Editor 

Eres? Superintendent 

_ Floriculturist 

ee Sy ge ee Horticulturist 


In charge of Exotics 
In charge of Succulents 


Manager of the Arboretum, Gray Summit 


a Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT THE 
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


SPRING FLORA OF MISSOURI. 
By Julian A. Steyermark. Price $1.50; a special price to schools 
and garden clubs—$1.00 a copy if 10 or more copies are sent to 
one address. Add 10 cents per copy to remittance to cover 
postage. 


ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
Published in February, April, September, and November. Sub- 
scription price, $10 per year. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN. 
Published monthly except July and August. Subscription price, 
$1.50 per year. 


A TOUR OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN, 
A guide for Garden visitors. Price 25 cents. 


HENRY SHAW. 
A Biography. Price 25 cents. 


POST-CARDS 
Garden Views. Price 25 cents for set of 8. 


Garden Water-lilies. Price 25 cents for set of 8. 


MISSOURI BO 
GARDEN BUI 


tot Mile del Sa bP ies il eh $i ees SPAS A aie ee a te de Sl 


CONTENTS 


William Trelease . . . Na ee a a et ee | 
Rubber Exploration in Colombia . . . . . . . 2... 73 
A Quarter Century of Tree Surgery . . ...... .. 78 
The Pine-fern—A Living Link with the Past . . . . . . 84 
INOtest ened eeepc ees eae gel brn tee eet ce ee oe ee net OT 


Volume XX XIII April, 19 45 fe E i N psn 


Cover: Narcissus Plantings and the Entrance Lodge at the Arboretum, Gray Summit. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a “Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 


some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BULL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATE 12 


WILLIAM TRELEASI 1857-1945 


First Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden 


Missour1 Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXII APRIL, 1945 No. 4 


WILLIAM TRELEASE 
J. M. GREENMAN 


The recent death of Professor William Trelease at the advanced age of 
87 years removes from the ranks of living scientists one of the most widely 
known and prominent botanists of his generation. His long and active 
scientific career of more than 60 years is replete with achievement equaled 
by few in his profession. The most outstanding characteristic of the man 
was versatility. He was a stimulating teacher, a speaker of exceptional 
talent, a scientist of broad concepts, an original investigator, and an admin- 
istrator of rare ability. William Trelease was born in Mount Vernon, New 
York, on February 22, 1857, and died in Urbana, Illinois, January 1, 1945. 

His early education was obtained in the public schools of the East, 
namely, in the high schools of Branford, Connecticut, and Brooklyn, New 
York. From the high school he entered Cornell University and graduated 
from this institution in 1880 with the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.S.). 
At Cornell he received a broad training in language and in science. This 
training manifested itself in his many writings and addresses throughout his 
life. The post-graduate work of Trelease was done at Harvard University, 
and from this institution he received the degree Doctor of Science a.) 
in 1884. His doctorate thesis concerned fungi, and the investigation was 
carried out under the direction of Professor William G. Farlow. An equal 
if not more important contact made by Trelease at Harvard was with Dr. 
Asa Gray. This contact resulted in the publication of ‘The Botanical 
Works of the Late George Engelmann,” under the joint editorship of Wil- 
liam Trelease and Asa Gray, 4to, 548 pp., pls. and figs. 1887. 

The advancement of Trelease was rapid. In 1881-83 ke was instructor 
in botany at the University of Wisconsin; 1883-84, in charge of the summer- 
school botany at Harvard University; 1884, lecturer in botany at Johns 
Hopkins University; 1883-85, professor of botany at the University of 
Wisconsin; 1885-1913, Engelmann professor of botany and head of the 


(71) 


72 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Shaw School of Botany, Washington University; in 1889 the Board of 
Trustees appointed Trelease as Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 
This position he held with distinction until 1912. In 1913 he became 
professor of botany and head of the botanical department at the University 
of Illinois. In 1926 Trelease retired from active duties with the title of 
Professor Emeritus. From the date of his retirement until shortly before his 
death he continued taxonomic research on flowering plants, notably on the 


groups Agave, Phoradendron, Piper, Peperomia, and Quercus. 


During all these years there was a continuous flow of contributions 
from the pen of Trelease; these cover a wide range of botanical subjects, 
constitute important contributions to scientific literature, and greatly en- 
hance our knowledge of plants. A complete bibliography of his publica- 
tions would approximate some three-hundred titles—much too long a list 
to be appended to this brief sketch. 


Professor Trelease was the recipient of several honorary degrees, notably 
LL.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1902; the University of Mis- 
souri in 1903; and Washington University in 1907. He held membership 
in numerous scientific societies both in America and abroad. In many of 
these he was not only an active member but served as president or in some 
other official capacity. He was secretary of the St. Louis Academy of 
Science from 1896 to 1903, and president from 1909 to 1912. He also took 
a prominent part in civic affairs and was chairman of the City Plan Com- 
mission of St. Louis from 1911 to 1912. In 1917 he was made chairman of 
the Illinois State Natural Resources and Conservation Board. 

Professor Trelease was always a strong advocate of an intensive study 
of plants in the field. He made numerous field trips, participated in many 
scientific expeditions, and visited various parts of America and the Old 
World. One of the most important of the expeditions in which he par- 
ticipated was the Harriman Alaska expedition in 1899. On this expedition 
Trelease was concerned primarily with the fungi, hepatics, mosses, ferns, 


and fern-allies. 


The esteem and high regard in which Professor William Trelease was 
held among his contemporaries is best shown by the many letters of con- 
gratulation and appreciation received by him from his friends, colleagues, 
and former students, in 1926, on the occasion of his retirement from active 


academic service at the University of Illinois. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 73 


RUBBER EXPLORATION IN COLOMBIA 
PAUL H. ALLEN* 

The Bajo Vaupes, like most frontier areas, is the gathering place of the 
selected failures and ne’er-do-wells of Colombia and Brazil, men who have 
gathered here after colorful careers ranging from larceny through laziness 
and hard-drinking to murder. Until the advent of the Rubber Development 
Corporation the region had been isolated in the extreme. It was either a 
sixty days’ paddle from Manaos, Brazil, or an equal period of unbelievable 
hardship through the unbroken forest and trackless Ilanos [ rocky, mountain 
scrub vegetation] to the base of the eastern Andes, along the narrow track 
blasted from the precipitous wall of the river gorges and across the high, 
barren pdramos [alpine meadows] to Bogota. 

The great meandering river [Rio Vaupes-Rio Negro], whose still reaches 
are broken by boulder-filled rapids and falls bearing long rhythmic names 
in Geral, has afforded the semi-wild tribes of native Indians a stoic but ef- 
fortless existence, based on the exploitation of Balata or rubber. “Tribe” is 
used with reservation, for they are not distinct ethnologic groups such as 
the San Blas Indians of Panama, but are rather a homogeneous racial group 
of presumed Carib affinities, speaking numerous, more or less related dialects 
known under their Geral names of Tucano, Desano, Piratapuya, Ciriano, 
Yuruti, Carapana, Barasana, Tariano, Tatuyo, Cubeo, etc. They live in huge 
rectangular communal houses on the banks of the rivers or tributary 
igarapes, by preference above or near rapids or falls, where elaborate fish 
traps are planted to augment the diet of farina and game. 

A curious, possibly unrelated group, seemingly speaking several dialects, 
are those Indians known under the collective name of Macu. They are little 
better than slaves, and live in primitive huts in the forest away from streams. 
They have no agriculture but depend on game secured with blow-guns and 
curare-tipped darts. This existence is supplemented by Manioc roots taken 
in payment for labor performed. 

The “Blanco” (a generic term here, meaning any one not Indian, even 
though coal-black) soon acquires an Indian squaw and sets about raising a 
half-wild troop of half-breed youngsters. If the Lord-and-Master feels that 
the lack of aguardiente has reached the point of desperation, he may be 


persuaded to lend his name and countenance to recruiting of related Indian 
*“Mr. Allen was formerly manager of the Tropical Station that the Garden maintained 
for some years in the Canal Zone. The following is the substance of a letter received in 
September of last year and relates experiences which seem to be more or less typical of thosé 
encountered by other former Garden students and staff members now engaged in the search 
for rubber and quinine. We hope to present in future issues of the BULLETIN additional 
chapters in this distinctive phase of American horticultural exploration.—Ed. 


74 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


bucks, by his squaw, for exploitation of some forest product. The Indians 
are wheedled, considerably against their will, into accepting an advance or 
gift of merchandise, such as a trade gun, or cloth, or a machete, fish-hooks, 
salt, or gunpowder, to the value of about thirty pesos, duly registered be- 
fore the “Protector de los Indijenes” in Mitu, the value to be repaid in labor, 
at 40 centavos per day. A credit advance is secured from the Rubber De- 
velopment Corporation, to be taken in the aforementioned trade goods, 
farina, rubber-working equipment such as a milling machine, coagulating 
pans, acid, or tapping knives, as well as standard provisions such as rice, 
beans, panela, coffee, painkiller (“Good for man or beast,’ Made in St. 
Louis), etc. After exhausting their credits and the patience of the entire 
R.D.C. staff and after innumerable false starts, they are finally hauled away 
from the Mitu water-front, their thatched batalones lashed to the side of our 
little panting launch with six or eight additional dugout canoes, all loaded 
to the point of suicide with Indians, farina, dogs, cats, parrots, monkeys, 
naked children and caged chickens. The cauchero is enthroned in drunken 
gravity atop a farina basket, or engaged in hurling his parting imprecations 
at the gaping group of villagers and unkempt policeman. 

Transportation on the Vaupes* and its larger tributary streams is pro- 
vided by the Company. The long, meandering, monotonous watercourse 1s 
flanked by walls of dark, palm-dotted forest, and in the present rainy season 
the river penetrates far inland below the trees, the scene resembling a 
Mangrove swamp at high tide. There is remarkably little color, but the 
varying shades of green are relieved by an occasional tree or vine in flower, 
graceful white Egrets in small groups, the follow-the-leader diving flight 
of vivid Toucans, or rowdy gangs of Parakeets shrilling protest at being 
disturbed. Occasional pairs of brilliant Macaws cross high above the dark 
river, seemingly engaged in sympathetic conversation. 

Frequent rain squalls are met driving down the river, as the launch 
struggles against the current with its unwieldy load. Head of navigation 
is finally reached at some cachoeira [rapid], and the batalones and canoes 
are released to unload cargo. The Indians drag the craft through the rush- 
ing cool water, to the united chorus of ‘Ma’, reloading above fast water, 
and continuing under their own power. The boats are rowed, galley- 
fashion, by six Indians with round-bladed paddles lashed to long poles. A 
steersman standing erect on the small platform behind the thatched shelter, 
with his huge steering oar, resembles some dusky Charon guiding his bark 


on the stream of time. 

* The Rio Vaupes flows through southwestern Colombia and is one of the major tributaries 
of the Rio Negro, which in turn is a north branch of the Amazon, joining the latter at 
Manaos, Brazil.—Ed. 


Mo. Bot. Garp. BuLL., Vor. 33, 1945 


An Indian ceremonial dance mask made. of 


cloth. 


A batalon in the rapids 


¢ 


f the Rio Vaupes. 


PLATI 


13 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BULL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATE 14 


SCENES ALONG THE Rio VAUPES, AN UPPER TRIBUTARY OF THE AMAZON IN 


SOUTHWESTERN COLOMBIA. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Tike 
ier Sk 4A 

Upon arrival at the scene of operations, far in the headwaters of the 
Querari, Cubiyu, Cananari, or Paranapichuna, axes are distributed, and an 
acre or more of the great jungle trees are brought crashing down in in- 
discriminate ruin. A stilted palm-thatched house is built near the water’s 
edge for the Patron, and long thatched baracones are erected for the Indians. 
A large-scale operator may have several side camps, housing four to ten 
tappers, whose product is brought at intervals to the main camp. The usual 
method of opening new territory is to run compass lines through unbroken 
forest, as trials, lateral paths or es/radas being run to groups of about a 
hundred trees if the initial survey has been promising. Trees must be 
selected with great care, since several species of Hevea occur in the region 
and not all are of commercial quality. These are fairly well known by their 
Brazilian names. The best grade, produced by Hevea guianensis, is known 
as Siringa fina or Boracha fina fraca, while the trees producing weak sticky 
rubber are called Siringa da Catinga, Siringa pegajosa or Borracha fraca, in 
Spanish and Portugese, and as Ay Yeca in Cubeo, or Wak sog-u-di in 
Tucano. Trees in each estrada are marked with the initial of the Patron, 
which gives him the right to exploit them. 

A tapper may be assigned two or four estradas, to be worked in successive 
days. The Indian, typically attired in a G-string, with tapping knife, col- 
lecting bucket, and muzzle-loading trade gun slung over one shoulder, 
begins tapping as soon as light permits. His task consists in opening a fresh, 
narrow cut on the bark of each tree and placing the collecting cup in 
position so that the rapidly flowing latex will be caught. After reaching 
his last tree, he usually hunts, fishes, or seats himself tranquilly atop an ant 
hill, extracting and eating the soldier ants by means of an aggravating bit 
of palm fiber. After about an hour of such felicitous pastime, he begins 
his return to camp, on the way collecting the latex from the cups attached 
to each tree. 

Production from Hevea guianensis is considerably less than that of 
Hevea brasiliensis, and probably does not average more than 100 cc. [about 
3.4 ounces] to a tree per day, although this varies considerably with the 
weather, and the frequency that the trees are tapped. The tapper usually 
reaches camp by 3-4 P. M., often with a wild turkey or even a tapir as 
side-product. 

The latex is mixed with one and one half times its volume of clean 
water, strained carefully to remove dirt and insects, and 2'% liters [about 
2.6 quarts] of it measured into each coagulating pan. Dilute acid is care- 
fully added, being thoroughly stirred so that no lumps will form. Under 


ordinary circumstances coagulation takes place in one to two hours, the 


78 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


rubber separating in a pale yellow spongy cake which floats on the pan of 
not-entirely clear water. These cakes are removed as soon as possible with- 
out breaking them to pieces, washed in clean water and milled, the laminat- 
ing machine being opened to nearly the thickness of the cake. Successive 
passages through the machine are made at finer and finer gradations until 
a paper-thinness has been attained for the sheets. These are again washed 
and hung on tightly stretched vines to dry. Usually they are passed, about 
twenty-four hours later, to a closed shed, where they are again suspended 
and subjected to intense smoking for about a week. By this time the sheets 
have acquired a deep, almost wine-red color when held against the light, 
and a strong permanent smoked smell. They can now be bound with tough 
vines into bundles weighing about fifty kilos, being then ready for ship- 
ment. Under ordinary circumstances, the Patron can expect about 150 
kilos [330 pounds] of rubber per tapper, for the season. Traditionally the 
season is from early September until early February. Then the Indian returns 
to his maloca in time for the great ceremonial dances coincident with the 
ripening of the fruits of the Papuna palm (Guilielma (Bactris) Gasipaés). 
If all has gone well, the Patron has made money which will last him about 
forty-eight hours after he sets foot in Villavicencio, After that he will 


return to the Vaupes, draw another credit, and begin the process over again. 


A QUARTER CENTURY OF TREE SURGERY 
AUGUST P. BEILMANN 


About twenty-eight years ago, in June 1917, the BULLETIN carried an 
illustrated article on the art of tree surgery, in which that phase of tree care 
now known as “cavity work” was described in considerable detail. It would 
be rather difficult to-day to honor the first man to install a filling in a de- 
cayed tree, a number of men having claimed credit or been denounced for 
originating this work. In all probability some long-forgotten gardener 
applied a poultice of cow-dung, lime, and wood ashes to a freshly barked 
tree and discovered that the cambium quickly grew over the injury. The 
applier of such a poultice knew little about tree surgery as we understand 
the term to-day. Nevertheless, he was a tree surgeon since he found a 
method of healing wounds, and the modern operator can do no more. 

From the tone of the 1917 article, we gather that the writer was dis- 
turbed by the methods of the “tree doctor.” He points out that the opera- 
tions are simple, provided the cause and the nature of decay are thoroughly 
understood. But he disliked the effort, then being made, which fostered 


a 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 79 


the impression that a “certain inner communion” is necessary between the 
tree doctor and his patient. The public acceptance of cavity filling is 
somewhat lessened to-day, and we can confine ourselves to some observa- 
tions concerning the effectiveness of fillings which have lasted a quarter of 
a century. Then too, the problem can now be approached with less heat 
than was possible some years back. Time, which heals all things, but not 
necessarily tree wounds, has since shown both the tree owner and the sur- 
geon that a filling is not a cure-all. 

There are now two schools of thought: the first insists on filling a 
cavity; the second insists on leaving a cavity open or unfilled. In part, 
the difference of opinion is due to the granting of patents covering design, 
the filling itself, the drainage, or some other development which seems 
necessary for successful work. In regard to the material used as a filler, it 
may be said that everything has been used at one time or another. Con- 
crete has probably been the most common, although asphalt, cinders, bricks, 
masonry, rubber, wax, and sawdust have been acceptable. In every case 
it was hoped to find the material which was weather-proof, rot-proof, very 
durable and at the same time flexible. Perhaps modern plastics will some 
day solve the problem. But twenty-five years ago concrete had the dur- 
ability, and the flexibility was added by dividing the filling into smaller 
units. 

In 1917 it was quite common to nail a copper or zinc sheet over the 
opening, the idea being to furnish a base on which the new bark might 
grow. After all, the most solid and durable filling accomplishes no more. 
Such “tinned” cavities are no longer installed simply because it is impossible 
to prevent re-infection, assuming that the original disease was entirely re- 
moved. Present-day solid material——no matter what they are—at least 
exclude some air and reduce the chance for re-infection if they fill the 
cavity completely. 

We recently had the opportunity to examine the fillings in some of the 
trees which were described in the 1917 BULLETIN. One elderly patient 
which survived the operation was a Soft Maple (Acer saccharinum). It 
was removed in 1943 for safety reasons, and the condition of the trunk is 
shown in fig. 1. A ring count at the time of its removal showed the plant- 
ing date to be 1861. In 82 years it had reached a height of 62 feet and a 
trunk diameter of 37 inches. For some reason the lower part of a long 
trunk cavity was filled with concrete while the upper part was covered 
with tin. Squirrels had succeeded in gaining an entrance to the tinned 
portion and further decay had loosened the concrete part. The tree had 


attempted to heal over the cavity as shown by a generous ring of callus 


80 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Fig. 1. Removal of Soft Maple which underwent the surgeon’s 
knife in 1917. 


growth. We cannot say at this time that cavity work was successful in 
this tree; nor can we say that it failed. It is not possible to tell whether 
the life span was shortened or lengthened, or if the tree continued to grow 
in spite of the work done. At any rate, the tree was much less unsightly 
than it would have been without the filling. 

Another patient treated in 1917 appears to have fared better. This was 
a Golden-Rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) which had been very poorly 
filled some years earlier. The broken filling was removed in 1917 and the 
most modern material installed, in this case being an asphalt surface with a 
backing of cinders and sawdust. There is no question but that this treat- 
ment served the purpose. The injury was far less conspicuous after the 
filling than before. With this tree, then, the cavity work was justified, and 


it was successful. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 81 


A third patient described in the BULLETIN was a Yellow-Wood (Cladrastis 
lutea). To-day very little of the tree remains; in fact, only that part of 
the tree which received no surgery is alive. The upper part of the trunk 
and some branches were decayed, and those parts which had been excavated 
and tinned have disappeared, only a very short main trunk and one large 
branch being still in position. A fourth tree which received some attention 
at the same time had a cavity of considerable size on the main trunk. A 
concrete filling, separated into four parts for flexibility, had been installed. 
It is quite possible that this tree, which was mature, did not completely re- 
cover after the operation; at least it was removed many years ago. Another 
concrete filling had been installed in a hybrid Buckeye (Aesculus hybrida). 
The filling remains but decay has continued, so the work appears to have 


failed. We may say, then, that two operations were successful, since the 


82 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


patients recovered and the wounds were partly healed. Two other trees 
failed to recover, and although some scar tissue formed the trees have since 
been removed. 

Some explanation of the functions of the various parts of the tree may 
be helpful in understanding the healing of tree wounds. The trunk of a 
tree serves to hold the leaves in the light, and at the same time it acts as a 
conveying and storage organ. Some food and some water are available here 
at all times. The roots are primarily anchors and absorbing units; they 
assemble the raw salts and the moisture. The leaves may be likened to 
stomachs; they synthesize sugar from water and carbon dioxide. The 
sugar, which is needed by all living cells, is transported downward from 
the leaves to the roots, and on the way it becomes available to all growing 
tissues. Only the outside portion of the trunk—a mucilaginous layer of 
cells just under the bark called the cambium—is alive. It is from this 
sheath of living cells that all healing of wounds takes place and no callus 
will grow over a filling or a pruning cut if these cells are injured. It will 
be seen, then, that the removal of portions of a tree trunk may have no 
effect on the tree itself. If decay enters the tree, no harm follows unless 
the trunk is so weakened that it breaks in storms. Successful cavity filling 
is based on the assumption that all dead wood can be removed and some 
material put in its place. Whatever is finally used for the filling, it should 
be weather-proof and flexible, or have this feature incorporated in the de- 
sign. It probably doesn’t matter what is used for filling, provided it stays 
in place and is not injurious to the callus growth. 

All decay is the result of wood-destroying fungi. The microscopic 
spores enter a tree through some injury to the bark. After they have 
entered and destroyed some of the trunk there is no way to stimulate the 
bark to cover such an injury except by removing all diseased wood and 
filling the cavity. The filling itself adds nothing to the strength of the 
trunk. If decay has progressed far enough, then special steel reinforcements 
are needed to replace the lost wood. 

The care used in the removal of all the diseased wood during the actual 
excavating of the cavity is usually the key to success or failure. It is of 
course very difficult, if not impossible, to remove all trace of infection 
from the trunk of a tree. There is no way, short of an elaborate laboratory 
analysis, to determine how far some wood-destroying fungi have penetrated 
apparently sound wood. Usually some strong fungicide is applied to the 
cavity before the filling is begun. Even if all disease is killed at that time, 
there is no way to guard against re-infection. No filling, no matter what 


its good qualities, becomes so much a part of the tree that diseased spores 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 83 


cannot enter alongside of it. On the other hand, it is probably true that 
any kind of filling will tend to check wood rot. The exponents of an open 
cavity, however, appear to be equally successful although they place much 
more dependence upon sanitation. 

Not every tree is attacked by the same kind of disease. Some are notably 
susceptible to heart rots, which destroy the trunk in just a few years. 
Others are seldom attacked by these, but they may be injured by fungi 
which destroy the wood much more slowly. It is always a mistake to at- 
tempt cavity work on a species known to be attacked by a serious heart rot. 
Usually the harder the wood and the slower a tree grows, the less susceptible 
it is to decay and the more likely it is to heal over a filling. The Poplars, 
Birch, Willows, Sycamore, and some Elms make very poor patients. The 
Soft Maple, if young and vigorous, may respond to treatment. The Oaks, 
the American Elm, Sweet Gum, and Linden are usually suitable patients. 

We may summarize cavity filling somewhat as follows: If a tree is 
young and vigorous and occupies an important position in the landscape, 
treatment may be justified. However, the life expectancy of the tree must 
be given consideration. If it is growing in a spot hemmed in by buildings 
and drives so that parts of the root system have been, or will be destroyed, 
or if it is so placed that no feeding is possible, the tree is a very poor risk. 
Should the tree be one, such as the Elm, which in some parts of the country 
may be attacked by one of several serious diseases, it is also a poor risk. 
Successful cavity work, then, depends on the condition of the patient. The 
best patient is a tree in the prime of life growing under relatively natural 
conditions, and a species not subject to the epidemic disease of the moment. 
It is necessary, of course, that the tree surgeon be thoroughly familiar with 
his work, but, on the other hand, no matter how experienced he may be, he 
can not transform a rotting Oak into a fine vigorous tree. He can do little 
more than arrest decay, replace the lost wood with steel bracing, control the 
insect pests, and keep his patient comfortably fed and watered. While it is 
theoretically possible to eradicate decay, in actual practice this does not 
happen. The very best the tree surgeon can hope to do is to check the 
spread of a disease and, by feeding and watering, to overcome the neglect 
which was the prime cause of the trouble. 


84 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


THE PINE-FERN—A LIVING LINK WITH THE PAST 
HENRY N. ANDREWS 


There are many plants living on the earth to-day whose direct ancestors 
have been traced back into the geologic past for tens, even scores, of millions 
of years. The antiquity of their genealogies so far surpasses our own that 
we find it difheult to think in terms of so many centuries of centuries. 
Botanists refer to these ancients of the plant world as living fossils. The 
stories of some, such as the Ginkgo, Redwood, and Pine, have been told many 
times. Yet every year fossil hunters dig into previously unknown deposits, 
or they grub around in the old ones, and new links are added to our chain 
of knowledge of the plant kingdom’s past history. There are other plants 
whose lineage is much more ancient than that of any of the trees mentioned 
above, less conspicuous in many cases, yet equally important as reminders 
of the changing landscapes that have come and gone with past geologic 
periods. 

The story of the Pine-fern has been selected, not because it is an especial- 
ly well-known fern, but rather because it is a patriarch among the ancients, 
literally older than the hills, and the solution of its ancestry reveals a few 
of the ways that fossil botanists go about their work. 

The modern Pine-fern (Anemia adiantifolia) is at home in the Pine 
woods of Florida and the Keys, favoring the barren walls of limestone sink- 
holes. Although its close relatives, the Climbing Fern (Lygodium) and the 
Curly-grass Fern (Schizaea) are found, albeit rarely, as far north as New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania, Anemia remains partial to the soft breezes of the 
Caribbean. Long ago it relinquished its last claims to the vast areas of 
temperate North America over which it roamed, but many fragmentary 
records were left here and there in the rocks—fossil leaves and stems that 
hold the secrets of forgotten ages. 

To-day the plants are small, with leaves not often exceeding a height of 
two feet and rising from slender stems that creep along just beneath the 
surface of the ground. The fronds are all pretty much alike, but sometimes 
the two lower branches (primary pinnae), instead of being typically foliar, 
bear fuzzy clusters of partially coiled leaflets on the under side of which 
are two rows of spore sacs nearly hidden by a blanket of rust-colored hairs. 

In contrast to the subtropical seasons of southern Florida and the Keys, 
let us turn to the arid sage-brush hills of southwestern Wyoming where the 
days are pleasant enough in midsummer but where the climate otherwise 
offers very little encouragement to plant life. In rocks of Cretaceous age 
that tilt upward toward the sky to form a ridge extending north and south 
for many miles there are found beautifully preserved fossil fern leaves be- 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATE 15 


Ww 


A, 
Sy? 
.\ 
eS 
E24 


\ , e> 
= — VER ( 
BgeeWin en 


( 

Ry 7 
a 
»> 

~ 3 V 
VIAN. 
ty AME 

<1) 


yo 


y 
y= \We 
CEN: 


g 
Zw AS 
SS eS 
yey a 
LZ =) 
LEY, 


VA 
Zs, 


SAN 


/ 


Wie 
We Za 
<5 


A modern Pine-fern (Anemia adiantifolia) from Florida—the two lower branches of the 
frond at the right bear rusty-brown clusters of spore sacs. At the lower right a single 
leaflet is shown with six spore sacs. 


86 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


longing to plants that grew there more than one hundred million years ago, 
in an age that knew somewhat more favorable environs. Instead of the 
desert, the gray sage, perhaps an antelope, and sharp mountains in the dis- 
tance to break the monotony, we may picture in that time wooded hills and 
streams, a lake in the background, and a warm sun all the year. This does 
not necessarily imply the “lush vegetation” of modern tropical rain forests, 
but the fossils do suggest a closer approximation to such a landscape than 
is found there now. 


Fig. 1. Petrified fern stems (Tempskya) on the former ranch of C. H. 
Thomas, near Wayan, Idaho. 


In 1843, when Captain John C. Fremont was exploring western Wyo- 
ming in search of a better route to Oregon, he gathered specimens of fossil 
Pine-ferns a few miles south of the present town of Kemmerer. Later, coal- 
mining camps mushroomed into life along one side of the ridge, and it is 
in the shales that lie above the coal seams that the fossil ferns are found. In 
more recent years additional specimens have been gathered which reveal not 
only the sterile foliage but the spore sacs and their contained spores in a 


nearly perfect state of preservation. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 87 


Fig. 2.  Gleichenites, a member of the tropical Net-fern family, 
also found in the Cretaceous rocks of Wyoming. 


In pl. 16, fig. 4, is shown, enlarged somewhat, one of the specialized spore- 
bearing lower branches of a fertile frond. These appear as flattened, black 
compressions (fossils of this sort are also referred to as mummified remains) 


on the hard gray shale, yet they may be removed from the rock by coating 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BULL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATE 16 


Figs. 1, 2. Parts of the foliage of the fossil Pine-fern from Wyoming. 3. A lower branch 
of a frond bearing tightly coiled leaflets on the under side of which the spore sacs are found. 
4. A portion of fig. 3 enlarged. 5, 6. Fossil spores, highly enlarged. 7. Spore of the living 
Florida Pine-fern. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 89 


the fossil with celloidin and then dissolving the mineral matter away with 
hydrofluoric acid. Next, small fragments of the specimen that adheres to 
the celloidin film are selected, and while watching them through a low- 
power microscope, they are immersed in a strong oxidizing chemical. Within 
a few seconds the tiny bean-like bodies will unfold into five or six finger- 
like lobes, on the under side of which the spore sacs are borne in two rows. 
It is evident in some cases that the plants were deposited just before matur- 
ity, for when the spore sacs are broken their contents tumble out, about 120 
spores from each sac, just as they normally did in life so many millions of 
years ago. 

Weathering out of rocks of a very similar age only a few miles away, as 
well as in corresponding Cretaceous deposits of Idaho, Montana, and 
Oregon, petrified fern stems are found scattered over the desert floor. Al- 
though conclusive proof is still lacking, there is reason to believe that these 
are the stems, known under the name of Tempskya, that bore the Anemia 
foliage. If so they were much more impressive plants than their modern 
Florida counterparts, for the fossil stems attain a diameter of fourteen 
inches and trunk fragments three feet long have been found. The foliage 
was borne in a crown at the apex, presenting an appearance that must have 
been similar to the living cycads and tree ferns. 

The internal structure of these Tempskyas is beautifully preserved and 
quite different from that of almost any other plant. If one examines a 
polished or weather-beaten cross-section it appears to consist of a score or 
more (depending on the size of the trunk) of small circles about one quarter 
of an inch in diameter. Commonly referred to as “eyes” by mineral col- 
lectors, they are actually woody cylinders and are enclosed in a dense tangle 
of minute roots. Tempskya was both an abundant and widely distributed 
plant in upper Cretaceous times, the petrified trunks having been found in 
various parts of Europe as well as in eastern and western United States. On 
one occasion we chanced upon some particularly fine specimens serving as 
foundation stone under a ranch house in Idaho—a rather difficult spot on 
which to collect them without unduly disturbing the owner! 

In all probability these plants with their short massive trunks grew along 
the shores of lakes or streams where spring floods readily wrenched them 
loose, whence they were carried out into the lake or swamp, deposited, and 
soon covered with the silts brought in by streams. Those ancient bodies of 
water have long since dried up, their sediments consolidated into rock, and 
the rocks elevated to form the low jagged hills that rise above the plain to- 
day. 

If a few words of pure speculation may be inserted here, it seems very 
possible, in view of the evident abundance of these plants, that the foliage 


90 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


served as a source of food for the great herbivorous dinosaurs of the period. 
Although those huge beasts had reached the zenith of their racial develop- 
ment a few million years earlier, many still remained, fighting a losing battle 
against changing climates and the rising mammals. We know very little of 
their dietary habits, but living as they did in the vicinity of swamps, equally 
ideal places for ferns, there is little doubt that these plants were attractive 
luncheon items for the great reptiles. 

Going back still farther into the past, we again pick up the trail of 
Anemia predecessors in the Coal Age (Upper Carboniferous) rocks of Illinois 
and England. Conservative estimates place this period at least 250 million 
years back in the past, and, as might be expected, Anemia’s ancestors had 
changed considerably in the eons of time that intervened between this and 
the Cretaceous. At first glance the identity of these Carboniferous fossils, 
bearing the scientific name Senftenbergia, would hardly be recognized. The 
foliage is quite different from that of the modern Pine-fern of Florida, but 
the structure of the spore sacs is close enough to leave no doubt as to their 
family relationships, and it is the reproductive structures that botanists 
consider most trustworthy in basing their classifications. 

The spore sacs of these Carboniferous relatives bear a distinct double 
ring of thick-walled cells at their apex (instead of a single row as in the 
Florida Anemia) and when the sporangia were ripe they contracted, splitting 
lengthwise, thus liberating the spores. In rocks of even greater age (Lower 
Carboniferous) other species of Senftenbergia have been found in which 
the cells of this opening mechanism were less regular in their arrangement, 
extending down along one side of the spore sac; seemingly they had not 
“settled down” to the regular organization that prevailed in later ages. 

What happened prior to this early Carboniferous age is unknown, and 
indeed there are many gaps since then that remain to be filled. In time 
some of these will be, but of course many of the plants that lived in past 
ages were not preserved as fossils and their story has been lost forever. 

A question that is bound to follow is: What is going on in the Pine- 
fern family now? What will botanists find in another one hundred million 
years? A great deal certainly depends on climatic changes. It seems doubt- 
ful that the Pine-fern or its future descendants will ever invade the more 
northerly latitudes unless warmer temperatures again become prevalent. But 
what is perhaps even more important is the sociological problem that they 
encounter in competing with the now-dominant flowering plants. The latter 
came in with a rush in Cretaceous times and were at least partially respon- 
sible for crowding the Anemias and their relatives out of the more extensive 
areas that they occupied at that time. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 91 


NOTES 


The flower exhibit in the Floral Display House during April will include 
Azaleas, Calceolarias, Canterbury Bells, Cinerarias, Foxgloves, Marguerites, 


Schizanthus, and Snapdragons. 


The annual flower sermon, provided for in Henry Shaw’s will, was 
preached at Christ Church Cathedral, April 15, by Dr. Douglas V. Steere, 
Professor at Haverford College, Haverford, Pa. 


Mr. Rodney Wilcox Jones, President of the American Orchid Society, 
ordered 1500 copies of the November 1944 and February 1945 issues of the 
Missouri BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN for distribution to members of the 


American Orchid Society. 


Recent letters from Set. Fred G. Meyer and Sgt. Gerald B. Ownbey, 
g \ g 
both former graduate students at the Garden and stationed at Army hos- 
g 
pitals in different parts of England, tell how, after much arranging and 
planning, they were able to meet in London for a visit to the Royal Botanical 
Gardens at Kew. 


A sunrise service was held in the Trail House at the Arboretum, Gray 
Summit, on Easter Sunday, April 1. The services were inter-community, 
inter-denominational, and inter-racial, the churches of Pacific, Gray Sum- 
mit, Catawissa, Labadie, Oakfield, St. Albans, and Villa Ridge co-operating. 
About 400 people attended. 


The yellow Narcissus ‘February Gold” continues to prove itself the 
best early variety for St. Louis gardens. Plantings made four years ago in 
an unfavorable site have flowered every year since and made a fine showing 
this year. Though they bloom in March rather than in February they are 
quite as early as the little old-fashioned yellow Daffodils and are a much 


better garden plant in most ways. 


Recent visitors to the Garden include: Sgt. Louis J. Brenner, of the 
U. S. Army, formerly a graduate student at the Garden; Dr. William L. 
Brown, of the Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Co., Johnston, Iowa; Mr. James G. 
Esson, Editor of Gardeners’ Chronicle, New York City; Mr. T. H. Everett, 
Horticulturist, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, N. Y.; Mr. J. W. 
Johnston, Horticultural Editor, New York Herald-Tribune; Mrs. Paul H. 


92 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Allen, of Bogota, Colombia, S. A., wife of Paul H. Allen, the Garden’s former 
Representative in the Tropics and now Field Technician, Rubber Develop- 
ment Corporation, Colombia; Dr. Norbert Wiener, Professor of Mathematics, 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston; Mr. C. M. Kilian, Orchid 
Grower, Birmingham, Ala. 


Many shrubs will be blooming outside at the Garden during the month 
of April, the most conspicuous being the deciduous Azaleas. The finest of 
all the pink Azaleas, Rhododendron Schlippenbachii, blossomed well this 
year. While the plants are still too small to give a mass effect, it is hearten- 
ing to know that they have reached flowering size here and that a finer 
display may be anticipated in future years. In the Grove, in late April, will 
be a mass of blue, pink, and white Wood Hyacinths, varieties of Scilla 
nutans and S. campanulata. These bulbs are listed in some catalogues and 
botanical works as English and Spanish Bluebells, Scilla nonscripta and S. 
hispanica. 1n this confusion of common and botanical names it would seem 
more appropriate to call them “Wood Hyacinths.” There would then be 
no excuse for calling a large mass of white Wood Hyacinths English or 
Spanish ‘‘Bluebells.” Both at the Arboretum and in the City this has been 
an unusually good year for the White-flowered Redbud. At both places the 
two color varieties have been planted intermingled and the branches of 
white and rose-pink create a very fine landscape effect. 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


George C. Hitchcock... 
Daniel K. Catlin 
Eugene Pettus 
L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 


John S. Lehmann 


Joseph Desloge 
Mrs. Irma Friede 
A. P. Kaufmann 
William Scarlett 
Harry B. Wallace 


Gerald Ulrici 


George T. Moore 


Hermann von Schrenk 


Jesse M. Greenman. 
Carroll W. Dodge 
Edgar Anderson 
Robert E. Woodson, Jr... 
Henry N. Andrews 


Robert W. Schery (on eee 
Met) blorien 2.22. ee 


George uA. Pring <2... 
Paul A. Kohl 

David C. Fairburn 
Joseph Cutak 
Ladislaus Cutak 


August P. Beilmann 
Gurney Wilson, F.L.S. 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


Pewee ee Le President 
ames __Vice-President 
See nee Vice-President 
Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 
A. Wessel Shapleigh 
Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO: MEMBERS 


_ President, St. Louis Academy of Science 
President, Board of Education of St. Louis 
..Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 


Acting Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


Director 


Pathologist 


Curator of Herbarium 
oS eae ie ns en ee Mycologist 
~_ _ Geneticist 
; __Assistant Curator of Herbarium 
Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 
Research Assistant 


Librarian and Editor 


__ Superintendent 


— Floriculturist 


Eee ear ee Horticulturist 
pene lye re eon ee In charge of Exotics 
panel A. In charge of Succulents 
eee of fe Gaheesc Gray Summit 


Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


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MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


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By Julian A. Steyermark. Price $1.50; a special price to schools 
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MISSOURI BOTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


Sea 


TT eee 


CONTENTS 


The Night-blooming Cereus and Its Allies 93 
Plants of the Season 
An Early-flowering Japanese Cherry . . . . . . . . 113 
Azaleas PE ee Ee he et ee ee a 114 
A Fine Chinese Lilac . ....... 2.2... . =. «114 
The+Hardy Orange <1 Sei, Se ee se ee es ee ee 
Your Questions Answered ee re ee me lie 
INotes==: 930i. 4-4 119 


Volume XXXII May, 1945 Number 0 


Cover: View of Crabapple Orchard at the Arboretum. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


Missour1 Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXIII MAY, 1945 No. 5 


THE NIGHT-BLOOMING CEREUS AND ITS ALLIES 
LADISLAUS CUTAK 


Night-blooming Cereus! How often have you heard this expression and 
how often has it been misapplied! Many people do not know that there are 
a great number of nocturnal cacti, and if they possess such a plant they are 
under the impression that theirs is the Night-blooming Cereus. Often a 
plant is called ‘““Night-blooming Cereus” that is wholly unrelated to it, as, 
for instance, the well-known Broad-leaf Cactus, Epiphyllum. We must 
remember that the Cerei possess certain peculiarities which distinguish them 
from other cacti. In other words, every Cereus is a Cactus but not every 
Cactus is a Cereus. Perhaps this sounds confusing, but let’s see whether 
we can explain it more fully. 

In the great Cactus family there are over 50 genera belonging to the 
subtribes Cereanae and Hylocereanae, and all these have been included under 
the genus Cereus at one time or other since the binomial system was estab- 
lished by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century. Many members of these two 
subtribes are day-blooming, but there is also a big group whose flowers do 
not open until dusk. The following is a list, alphabetically arranged, of 
the genera of nocturnal cacti. The names represent those accepted by most 
modern cactologists although slight differences of opinion do exist regarding 


a few of them, as is to be expected. 


Acanthocereus Eriocercus Mediocactus Strophocactus 
Arthrocereus Eulychnia Monvillea Trichocereus 
Binghamia Facheiroa Neoevansia W eberocereus 
Browningia Harrisia Nyctocereus Werckleocereus 
Carnegiea Hylocereus Peniocereus Wilmattea 
Cephalocereus Lemaireocereus Pilocereus Zehntnerella 
Cereus Leocereus ? Selenicereus 

Dendrocereus Lophocereus Stetsonia 


Any of the above could be called “Night-blooming Cereus,” but to be 
technically correct the name is applicable only to the genus Cereus as it is 


understood to-day. However, the term is most frequently and popularly 


(93) 


94 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


applied to certain species in the genera Hylocereus and Selenicereus, vine- 
like cacti producing the largest blooms in the Cactus family, and to the 
odd turnip-rooted Peniocereus. In the opinion of the writer, it would be 
prudent to confine this name to Hylocerei and Selenicerei, and the great 
majority of cactus-minded folks exercise this same thought. 

Nearly every lover of house plants possesses the gorgeous night-blooming 
cactus known botanically as Epiphyllum oxypetalum (or Phyllocactus lati- 
frons to the old collectors), which is almost always mistaken for a night- 
blooming Cereus. Rightfully it belongs to a separate subtribe, the 
Epiphyllanae, whose members usually grow on trees and have mostly flat 
joints. Outstanding in this exotic group are the Epiphyllums, Schlum- 
bergeras and Zygocacti. The Epiphyllums are tall, luxuriant, tropical plants 
with broad long leaves (really leaf-like stems) and magnificent diurnal or 
nocturnal flowers. The Schlumbergeras are similar to the Zygocacti in habit, 
but differ in flower and fruit characters. Schlumbergera is frequently called 
the Easter Cactus because it blooms in April. The Zygocacti are well- 
known house plants with many horticultural varieties to which the popular 
names Thanksgiving Cactus and Christmas Cactus are attached, as their 
flowering periods often coincide with those dates. 


HISTORICAL SKETCH 


The name Cereus is from the Greek, signifying a torch and refers to 
the candelabrum-like branching of the first species known. Now none of 
the flat-jointed Epiphyllanae are considered as related to the Cereanae, nor 
do they even remotely bear a likeness to any of the Cerei or Torch Cacti, so 
the name “Night-blooming Cereus” should not be applied to any of the 
Epiphyllums. 

Cereus is perhaps the oldest name given to any cactus, for it was men- 
tioned in literature as far back as the sixteenth century. It is not definitely 
known who first used the name. Philip Miller, the author of the famous 
“Gardener’s Dictionary” published in the early eighteenth century, credits 
the genus to P. Hermann in 1698, but the name itself was in use for more 
than seventy years prior to that date. 

The discovery of the Cacti must have left an indelible mark in the minds 
of the first American explorers, who referred to them as torches or candela- 
bras and thereby aided in giving the descriptive name, Cereus, to these 
curious plants. Miller, however, states that the plants were not called 
Cereus from their resemblance to a torch alone, but also from the fact that 
servants burned them as torches or tapers and carried them at nights before 
their masters. To make the torches, the spiny specimens were cut down, 
dried on the ground, and dipped in oil. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 95 


The earliest illustration of a Cereus is believed to be in Oviedo’s “La 
Historia General de las Indias,” published in 1535. This work of Oviedo’s, 
whose full name was Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, is the first 
natural history of America, one of the rarest and most important books on 
the New World. Oviedo gives a general view of Spain’s new American 
empire and the policy which should be adopted towards its people by the 
monarchy. The book was partially suppressed in Spain because this Spanish 
historian dared to tell how the Indians were abused, and this apparently 
accounts for the book’s signal rarity. The illustration is a curious and crude 
woodcut which does not lend itself to critical discussion but, because of its 
historical value, is reproduced here (fig. 1). 


puenod efta verdes 7 LAB ci 


&. 


ee 


Fig. 1. Oldest illustration of a Cereus on record, 
from Oviedo’s “La Historia General de las Indias,” 
1535. 


96 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


The first colored figure of a Cereus presumably appeared in a modest 
little Aztec herbal in 1552, which happens to be America’s earliest treatise 
on Mexican medicinal plants and native remedies. The exciting and unique 
manuscript was written in his native tongue by an Aztec physician, Martinus 
de la Cruz, and was translated into Latin by a compatriot, Juannes Badianus. 
For more than 300 years it had lain hidden on the shelves of the Vatican 
Library until Dr. Charles U. Clark brought it to light in 1929. The un- 
identified Cereus is there called teonochtli, which means “Divine Cactus,” 


and the paragraph beneath the illustration 1s devoted to the toothache and 


Fig. 2. Oldest illustration of Cereus Fig. 3. One of the earliest figures of a 
peruvianus, from L’Obel’s  “Stirpium flowering Cereus (C. peruvianus) from 
Adversaria Nova” (p. 453°. 1576. Bradley’s ‘History of Succulent Plants,” 

1716. 


how it can be cured with the root of this plant. Like Oviedo’s earlier 
woodcut, the plant in the Badianus illustration defies critical naming beyond 
the fact that it appears to be a Cereus of some sort, perhaps related to 
Lemaireocereus. 


Another interesting early illustration of a night-blooming Cereus (with- 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 97 


out the flowers of course) was published in 1576 by Matthias l’Obel 
(Lobelius) in his ‘Stirpium Adversaria Nova.” The identical figure was 
reproduced fifteen years later in his “Icones Stirpium”’ and is now identified 
as Cereus peruvianus. The famous herbalist, Jakob Theodor von Bergzabern, 
better known as Tabernaemontanus, made use of Lobel’s figure in his 
elaborate herb book, ‘“Neuw Kreuterbuch,” on which he worked for 36 
years before it was published in 1588-91. However, he apparently made a 
new woodcut as the figure is slightly altered and reversed, though hardly 
noticeable except on close scrutiny. Many of the old herbals show that 
illustrations of Dodoens, Bock, Clusius, and Lobel were frequently made use 
of. Tabernaemontanus, for one, borrowed his cuts as did many others. 

In 1716 Richard Bradley published one of the first excellent figures of a 
nocturnal Cereus in flower in his “History of Succulent Plants” (fig. 3). 
In a note to the reader he stated “whatsoever figures I shall publish, will be 
(as near as I can make them) perfect copies of those plants they are to 
represent and shall be engraved by the best hands.” The figure, executed by 
H. Hulsbergh, who made many other plates for Bradley, shows expert 
workmanship and depicts a plant then known as Cereus erectus maximus 
americanus, etc., or as we know it to-day, Cereus peruvianus. 

Worthy of mention here are two beautiful colored plates of Selenicereus 
grandiflorus (plates 31 and 32) executed by John Jacob Haid for Ehret’s 
“Plantae Selectae,” edited by bibliographer Christopher Trew in 1754. They 
show, in practically exact color and natural size, figures of stem, flower and 
fruit with their minute characteristics. There may be earlier color illustra- 
tions of a blooming nocturnal Cereus of which this writer is not aware, but 
it is doubtful if they can approach the beauty and exactness of Trew’s 
publication. In 1760 Philip Miller published in his famous “cones” another 
excellent color plate of S. grandiflorus (plate 90) under the descriptive 
name Cereus scandens minor polygonus articulatus, which he translates as 
“the lesser creeping jointed Torch-thistle with many angles,” but it does not 
compare with the one in Trew’s volume. Although the ‘‘Icones’? was 
printed in 1760, the plates were executed earlier, that of the particular 
Cereus on May 25, 1756, along with five others. 


PENTIOCEREUS OR THREAD CEREUS 


In the United States there is only one native nocturnal cactus to which 
the name “Night-blooming Cereus” is often applied. This is the curious 
Peniocereus Greggii, native to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Its stems 
are few and the most unpromising things you ever saw—mere “‘dead- 
looking” branches of dull gray-green protruding inconspicuously or inter- 


laced among desert bushes. It is a difficult cactus to find when not in 


98 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


flower, for its top growth hides in the shelter of creosote bushes (Larrea 
tridentata) or climbs into the sturdy branches of mesquite (Prosopis juli- 
flora) seeking protection from devastating winds and scorching sun. These 
stems are leafless, in color lifeless, and possess no particular beauty of form 
—yjust mere slender 4- or 5-angled sticks with tiny blackish spines in their 
areoles (small areas where the spines or flowers, or both, are borne). The 
most surprising thing about the plant is the root, which is a fleshy tuber 
resembling an overgrown turnip or carrot and weighing anywhere from 5 to 
30 pounds—even 60 to 125 pounds have been reported. These massive tubers 
are underground water reservoirs, but the contents are so bitter that the 
plant is practically immune to attack by desert rodents. 

In the picturesque deserts of the Big Bend region of western Texas the 
writer had the opportunity to examine many Peniocerei whose stems were 
tunnelled by an unidentified borer about one-half inch long. However, the 
slim branches did not afford the larvae much in the way of food. Most of 
the plants seen on the 1938 trip had already set their fruit—bright red, 
egg-shaped “apples’—much relished by birds, rodents, and other native 
fauna. 

One would hardly expect much beauty from the straggly growths of a 
Peniocereus but it produces one of the fairest flowers of the desert. The 
tiny hairy buds begin to swell and open in June. The large petals unfold 
shortly after dark and spread out into lovely waxen blossoms as big as a 
saucer. They wither on the morning of the following day. While they 
are in full bloom they fill the air with a most exquisite perfume which can 
be detected for some distance and betrays the location of this elusive plant. 
The flowers, measuring 4 or 5 inches across and from 7 to 9 inches long, 
are white with a lavender tint and tinged with maroon toward the center. 
The Night-Blooming Cereus of our southwestern deserts was first described 
about a century ago. It is sometimes called ‘“‘Deerhorn Cactus,” but the 
more descriptive name “‘Sweet-potato Cactus” is fast supplanting it. 


HYLOCEREUS OR FOREST CEREUS 


The genus Hylocereus is composed of about eighteen species of climbing 
cacti, the stems adhering to walls, tree-trunks, or other supports by means 
of numerous aerial roots. The best known of all night-blooming Cerei is 
the widely cultivated Hylocereus undatus. Its stems are elongated, 3- 
angled or winged, with horny margins, and almost inconspicuous spines in 
their areoles. Our plants in the Cactus House creep upon a trellis 25 feet 
high and then hang suspended from one of the angle irons at the roof. The 
blooming season begins in early July and continues until the end of October. 
During the summer the whole trellis is aglow with blossoms, sometimes as 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BULL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATI 


Fig. 4. Hylocereus undatus. 


Fig. 5. Hylocereus costaricensis. 


100 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


many as 50 appearing in a single night. In the fall, should the mornings 
be cool and cloudy, they remain open up to forenoon. 

The flowers of Hylocereus undatus (fig. 4) are quite succulent, especially 
the foliaceous scales that cover the ovary and flower tube. They attain a 
length of 11 to 12 inches and are shaped much like a funnel. The dazzling 
white petals are 41% inches long, oblanceolate with apiculate tips, and curve 
just enough to form a cup of pure white which reposes in a saucer of 
yellowish green sepals. The cup is filled with a great number of thread-like, 
cream-colored stamens arranged in two series, each thread topped by a 
yellowish anther. By actual count it was found that as many as 830 
stamens are produced in a single flower. A rather stout, thick, cream- 
colored, cylindric style protrudes from this mass of stamens and bears at its 
apical portion a radiating crown of yellowish stigma lobes, up to 27 in num- 
ber. The foliaceous scales on the ovary and floral tube are bright green, 
often with reddish tips and margins. The mature fruit is of a dull red 
color, nearly smooth, and contains white edible pulp sprinkled with blackish 
seed. 

Probably the most famous hedge of this night-blooming Cereus covers 
a stone wall on the campus of Punahou College in Honolulu. Here it 
stands 6 or 7 feet high, and it is said that as many as 5000 super-fragrant, 
creamy white flowers open on a single night. This massive hedge was 
started about a century ago by Mrs. Hiram Bingham, the wife of a mis- 
sionary in Honolulu, and now it has grown to one-half mile in length. 

Another Hylocereus which grows well and flowers frequently in culti- 
vation is H. costaricensis, native of Costa Rica as the specific name indicates. 
It is a vigorous vine, perhaps the stoutest of the genus, and for this reason 
produces good stock for grafting purposes. The stems are more turgid 
than those of the preceding species and of a bluish white color. The young 
flower buds are globular, tinged a dull crimson or purple, and quite con- 
spicuous along the more-or-less wavy margins of the joints. When fully 
opened individual blossoms measure 9 inches across. Scales on the ovary 
are closely set, greenish with deep purple margins and tips. Toward the 
top of the floral tube they become more elongated and deeper green with 
more reddish purple tips and margins until they merge with the narrow 
yellowish green sepals. The petals are three times as broad as the sepals and 
pure white. The stamens are numerous, about 31 inches long, with 
creamish white filaments and yellowish anthers. The style is a thickened, 


ivory-white organ, nearly 91% inches long, with 24 to 27 light creamish 
yellow stigma lobes. In our collection, H. costaricensis is a very worth- 
while plant. The flowers bloom throughout the summer and fall, and since 


they stay open long after dawn they can be photographed in all their beauty 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 101 


in daylight. On September 11, 1940, two flowers remained fully open 
until 5 o’clock in the evening. Curiously, although that morning was quite 
cool, it had warmed up considerably in the afternoon. This was one time 
when a night-bloomer became a lovely day-bloomer, to the enjoyment of 
visitors at the Garden. 

In the estimation of the writer, the most beautiful species of Hylocereus 
is H. Lemairei, which bloomed for the first time at the Garden last year. 
The flowers are somewhat small, averaging only 10 inches long, but possess 
delicate tints. Scales on the ovary and lower part of the floral tube are 
ovate to ovate-clongate, light green (Biscay Green of Ridgway*), with 
margins and tips Burnt Lake to Blackish Red-purple. Farther up the tube 
they become much elongated and greenish yellow with the usual red-purple 


margins. The outermost sepals or uppermost throat scales are a Javel Green 


. 6. Hylocerens Lemairei. 


on the outside, Wax Yellow on the inside with a purplish tip. The sepals 
proper are Wax Yellow to Cadmium Yellow tinged with rose color at the 
base. The petals are broader than the sepals, mostly oblanceolate, their lower 
portion pinkish, above white or slightly tinged with yellow. Stamens, as in 
all Hylocerei, are very numerous; the filaments creamish and the anthers 
Massicot Yellow. The style is thick, Sulphur Yellow, topped by a radiating 
cluster of 29 Amber Yellow stigma lobes, many of them two-cleft, a char- 
acter rather rarely found in the Cactaceae. 

Technical color terms used are those of Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomen- 


clature. 


102 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


The above three species are perhaps the most widely known and culti- 
vated of the genus, although there are many others equally as stunning in 
their floral raiment. We have other species growing in the Cactus House 
which have not flowered as yet. It may be of interest to the reader to learn 
that at least two of the Hylocerei produce red flowers, H. extensus and H. 


steno pterus, but they are rather rare in collections. 
SELENICEREUS OR MOON CEREUS 


In their native tropic haunts plants of the genus Selenicereus either 
climb up the trunks of large trees by means of aerial roots or, where there 
are no trees and shrubs, merely trail along the ground or hang suspended 
from rocks and cliffs. Members of this genus are most frequently called 
“Night-blooming Cereus,” or by such appealing names as “Goddess of the 
Night,” “Princess of the Night,” etc. The flowers resemble those of the 
Hylocereus but perhaps are not quite as succulent, nor do they possess such 
large conspicuous foliaceous scales on tube and ovary. Another distinguish- 
ing character is the long hair that grows out of the axils of the small scales 
on the ovary and perianth tube, along with bristles and felt. The stems are 
more slender than in the Hylocerei and mostly cylindrical and ribbed; the 
areoles are usually slightly elevated on small knobs and sometimes bear 
minute spines. The large reddish fruit is covered with clusters of spines, 
bristles, and hairs. All Selenicerei are highly prized ornamentals and great 
favorites with amateur gardeners. The plants grow easily and rapidly in a 
tub provided with a trellis, where the stems soon become a tangled mass if 
not properly tied to the support. A juice extracted from the stems of S. 
grandiflorus, S. coniflorus, and allied species is prepared as a heart tonic and 
generally used by homeopathists. In St. Louis one pharmaceutical firm has 
been manufacturing “Cactina Pillets” for fifty years while another concern 
has been making “Cactegus,” both products containing alkaloids from the 
stems of the Mexican Selenicereus. 

The oldest known species is Selenicereus grandiflorus, a West Indian 
endemic with flowers 7 inches or more long. Linnaeus first described it in 
1753 as a Cactus; Miller in 1768 as a Cereus; and Britton & Rose in 1909 
as Selenicereus. The commonest species in present-day collections, however, 
seems to be S. péeranthus, popularly known to old collectors as Cereus 
nycticalus. Its stems are snake-like, bluish green often tinged with purple, 
strongly 4-angled, bearing in their areoles small conical black spines. The 
flowers appear in June and complete their blooming cycle within one month. 
It might be added that they are highly susceptible to daylight and close with 
the approach of dawn even on days that tend to be cool or cloudy; at least 
this has been the case at the Missouri Botanical Garden since 1931. The 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 103 


blooms of S. pteranthus average 11 inches long. The outer perianth seg- 
ments or sepals are linear, about 3! inches long, yellowish with reddish 
tints, while the outermost are dull bronze-colored to purplish brown; inner 
perianth segments or petals are pure white, spatulate-oblong with acuminate 
tips. Stamens are very numerous, greenish to cream-colored, the upper row 
upturned slightly at the tips where the anthers appear, shorter than the 
unequal, elongated lower stamens which recline on the side of the tube and 
are attached along its inner face for 234 inches. The style is creamish color, 
light green at the base, 9'3 inches long, and supports about 15 linear, 
yellowish green stigma lobes at the apex. Long white silky hairs and bristles 
are borne in the axils of the tiny red-tipped greenish scales that cover the 


ovary and the furrowed floral tube. 


Fie. 7. Selenicercus pteranthus. 


I 


Of the other Selenicerei, some flowers are larger than others and the 
outer floral envelopes may have varying shades of yellow, green, or purple 
while the hairy ornament may also differ in color. Generally the species are 
practically identical but may be distinguished by the vegetative characters 
and areole armament. At least 20 species are recognized by most authori- 
ties. The Garden’s collection of Selenicerei is not too exhaustive although a 
representative lot is being grown, including S. grandiflorus, S. coniflorus, 
S. hondurensis, 8. pteranthus, S. Donkelaarii, §. Boeckmannii, S.. Macdon- 


aldiae, S. vagans, and several others whose identity is still shrouded in doubt. 


104 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Fig. 8. Selenicereus Macdonaldiae Fig. 9. Acanthocereus pentagonus. 


ACANTHOCEREUS OR THORN CEREUS 


An Acanthocereus plant is to be found in practically every cactus col- 
lection. The plants are usually weak, elongated, and many-jointed, while 
their funnel-shaped, night-blooming white flowers are usually large and 
rather beautiful. Young growth is often terete, ribbed and soft-spiny, while 
mature stems are often strongly 3-angled and stiff-spined. New growth is 
so puzzling that many people ask whether the plants are grafted. 

One of the oldest known species is the variable Acanthocereus pentagonus, 
which was described meagerly by Linnaeus in 1753. Stems at first are erect, 
but, being weak, soon make arches and root wherever they strike the ground. 
Permitted to grow like this outdoors in warm climates the plant will form 
large colonies or thickets in a short time. Young growth has 6 to 8 low 
ribs and the ridges produce areoles with numerous short acicular spines. 
Adult growth is 3- to 5-angled with conical to subulate spiny armament. 
Several races are reported, and some authorities separate them into two or 
three distinct species. A. pentagonus is commonly called “Barbed-wire 
Cactus.” Its flowers are about 7 inches long, the floral tube and ovary 
greenish blue bearing a few conspicuous areoles with tannish felt and several 


small varicolored spines. Sepals are light green; petals white, narrow, 4 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLt., Vor. 33, 1945 PLATE 18 


Fig. 10. Acanthocereus occidentalis. 


Fig. 11. Acanthocereus Pitajaya (A. colombianus 


106 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


inch wide. Stamens are very numerous, the filaments white, the anthers 
pale yellow. Style is 61% inches long, creamish, topped by twelve similar- 
colored stigma lobes. This and A. floridanus are the only Acanthocerei 
that are found wild in the United States. 

Another fascinating species is Acanthocereus occidentalis from the west- 
ern coast of Mexico. It bears flowers nearly 9 inches long, the tube and 
very small ovary taking up more than three-quarters of its length. The tube 
expands into a wide throat and is filled with a mass of erect stamens 1 to 2 
inches long, the filaments being white and the anthers Buff Yellow (Ridg- 
way). From the center of this mass protrudes a thickened style, the apex 
divided into 13 linear, pale Chalcedony Yellow stigma lobes. The petals 
are ensiform, white or slightly tinged with light yellowish green toward the 
tips, sometimes also flushed with pink. Throat scales are lanceolate, Calla 
Green, up to an inch long, while the sepals are linear, acuminate, lighter in 
color and nearly 2 inches long. 

Still another handsome species is Acanthocereus colombianus from north- 
ern South America, but, according to Dr. Croizat of the Arnold Arboretum, 
this name was reduced to synonymy under A. Pitajaya in 1943. The flower 
is one of the largest in the Cactaceae, measuring up to a foot in length. The 
floral tube and throat are approximately 9 inches long, light green (Bice 
Green) on the outside, slightly ridged. Petals number about 40, white, 
the innermost being somewhat shorter. Sepals are longer than the petals, 
brown-green to light green or flushed with pinkish brown in the middle. 
Stamens, which are attached to the wall of the tube about 31% inches above 
the ovary, possess white filaments and light yellow (Naples Yellow) anthers. 
The style is slender, white, 9 inches long, and bears at the top 13 cream- 
colored stigma lobes. Other species are cultivated and admired for their 


ornamental value. 
ERIOCEREUS AND HARRISIA 


These two genera are very much alike, the chief distinguishing features 
occurring in the fruits. The Eriocerei are usually vine-like and trailing or 
procumbent, with red and dehiscent (splitting) fruits. Harrisias, on the 
other hand, are mostly semi-erect with yellowish or orange-red fruits that 
are indehiscent (not splitting). The Eriocerei, of which there are about 
eleven common species, have their home in South America, south of the 
equator. Harrisia is native to Florida, the Bahamas, and the West Indies. 

The most popular species of Eriocereus seems to be E. Martinii from 
Argentina. It is a clambering, night-flowering vine whose stems attain a 
length of many feet. Adult and young growth is 4- to 6-angled, dotted 
with conspicuous circular areoles from which a stout, straw-colored, black- 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 107 


tipped spine protrudes. Flowers average about 9 inches long and are quite 
odoriferous. They are borne singly at areoles near the ends of the long 
branches. The ovaries are tuberculate and bright green, maturing into 
crimson-red fruits which are produced abundantly and adorn the dark green 
stems for many months. The sepals are lanceolate, light green, often flushed 
with red or pink at the tips. Petals are oblanceolate to obovate, white with 
a greenish base or flushed with pale green through the middle. Stamens ap- 
pear in two series, the inner ones being the longest and attached to the tube 
all the way up to the throat, while the outer ones are attached to the mouth 
of the throat in a single row. Style is 7 inches long, light green, topped by 
12 linear, obtuse, deep Seafoam Green stigma lobes. The seeds of this species 
germinate very easily and the seedlings grow rapidly, producing flowers 


within five or seven years. 


Fig. 12. Eriocereus tortuosus, 


Eriocereus tortuosus likewise hails from Argentina. Adult stems are 
stout and very spiny. Flowers measure about 7 or 8 inches long, and have 
a tendency to remain open on cool cloudy days for several hours. Ovary is 


tuberculate, deep Grape Green with minute purple (Ridgway’s Corinthian 


108 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Purple) scales bearing whitish hairs in their axils. Flower tube and throat 
are slightly lighter in color and often purplish tinted, their topmost scales 
merging into sepals. The sepals are Glass Green at the base, lighter to nearly 
white through the center, and usually pinkish (Pale Brownish Vinaceous) 
along the margins and apex. Petals are somewhat shorter, obovate in out- 
line, pure white or faintly greenish at base. Stamens are in two series, a 
single row attached at the mouth of the throat and the rest all along the 
lower portion of the throat down the flower tube. Style is Light Turtle 
Green, with 14 linear, Chartreuse Yellow stigma lobes. 

Eriocereus Bonplandii is a strongly 4-angled plant. Its flowers attain a 
size of 10 inches while the petals are far larger than those of the two species 
just described, being at least 4 inches long. The inner two rows are pure 
white except for the base, while the outer are Pale Glass Green throughout. 
The sepals are light green, those outermost often tinged slightly purple- 
brown at the tips. Stamens in two series, the lowermost attached to within 
a half inch of the ovary. Style is light green (Light Lumiere Green) with 
16 light yellow (Barium Yellow) stigma lobes. 

Most of the Harrisias are upright-growing cacti and ideal greenhouse 
pets producing blossoms in abundance. Three species, H. aboriginum, H. 
fragrans and H. Simpsonii, grow wild in Florida; H. Earlei, H. eriophora, 
H. Fernowii and H. Taylori, in Cuba; and the rest in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, 


and the Bahamas. 


Fig. 13. Eriocereus Martinii. Fig. 14. Mediocactus coccineus. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 109 


OTHER SLENDER, CLAMBERING OR SEMI-ERECT TYPES 

Monvillea Cavendishii is one of the most prolific nocturnal bloomers in 
the Garden. Flowers make their appearance in early April and continue to 
bloom way into September. The plant is more or less branched with stems 
cylindrical and quite spiny. The flowers are white, up to 5!% inches long, 
borne towards the tops of last year’s growths. The sepals have a reddish or 
greenish hue while the petals are pure white. Stamens have white filaments 
and creamish tan anthers. The white style, a trifle longer than the stamens, 


has 12 to 14 white stigma lobes. The fruit is a glabrous, spineless, reddish 


Fig. 15. Monvillea Cavendishii. 


“apple” about 2 inches long, which contains edible white pulp sprinkled 
with a great number of shining black seeds. M. Cavendishii is the most 
popular and best known of the group. M. Lauterbachii is a delightful part- 
ner, possessing medium-sized flowers which are quite dazzling. Sepals are 
greenish with lighter margins while the petals are entirely white. The slender 
whitish green style with its 16 linear white stigma lobes protrudes from a 


circular mass of stamens. 


110 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Nyctocereus is a slender-stemmed, many-ribbed, spiny genus of orna- 
mental cacti growing wild in Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The best 
known of its five species is N. serpentinus, which first came into prominence 
at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Many know it as the “Snake 
Cactus” or “Serpent Cactus” on account of its stems which clamber through 
bushes, over walls, or creep and hang in snake-like fashion. Flowers of this 
night-blooming Cereus are white and attain a size of 71%) inches. Its stems 
serve as excellent grafting stocks. 

Mediocactus is a South American genus containing two species of 
epiphytes, but only one, M. coccineus, is in cultivation. In vegetative char- 
acter it looks much like a Hylocereus, but the flowers are shaped more like 
those of a Selenicereus without the hairs on tube and ovary. The flower is 


large, funnel-formed, somewhat fragrant, at least 101% inches long; sepals 


linear, bright green, widely spreading; petals semi-erect, oblong to obovate 
with serrate apices, white; stamens numerous, creamish yellow with identi- 
cally colored exserted style bearing at its top 15 linear, light greenish stigma 
lobes. 

Weberocereus is a genus of Central American cacti with stems resembling 
a slender Hylocereus, or, better still, a form of Rhipsalis. Only three species 
are known, and these possess rather insignificant blossoms of light pink, 
rose color, or white. 

Werckleocereus is another Central American genus of epiphytic habit, 
much resembling a Hylocereus. However, it may be distinguished by its 
medium-sized, short, funnel-form flowers which bear many blackish-spined 
and black-felty areoles on ovary and flower-tube. Unfortunately, both of 
these genera are rarely found in collections in this country. 

Wilmattea also hails from Central America. Its slender stems resemble 
those of Hylocereus, but its flowers are much smaller with a narrow limb 
and with a very short tube. There is only one species, W. minutiflora, and 
it grows in Guatemala and Honduras. 

Strophocactus is a rare Brazilian genus of one species (monotypic) which 
inhabits swampy forests of the Amazon region. Its flat, Epiphyllum-like 
stems twist about the trunks of trees and produce elongated, large flowers 
that resemble those of Selenicereus. Strophocactus Wittii is not in cultiva- 
tion anywhere, but a novelty which should be re-introduced. 

Neoevansia, another monotypic genus proposed by William Taylor 
Marshall to contain the puzzling Cereus Diguetii, possesses dahlia-like tubers 
and slender, pencil-like stems resembling Wilcoxia, but the flowers are 
nocturnal like those of the Peniocereus. It grows under trees and shrubs 
in southeastern Arizona and in Mexico. Blooms are large, white or tinged 
with pink, and fragrant. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN va 


STOUT, COLUMNAR, NOCTURNAL CEREI 

Lophocereus is an interesting genus native to Mexico and southern Ari- 
zona. The generic name, signifying crested Cereus, refers to the bristly top 
of the flowering stem which is columnar and quite stout. Because of the 
long bristles on the fertile joints it is sometimes given the name ‘Whisker 
Cactus.” The most sought-after species is a monstrose form commonly 
known as the “Totem Pole Cactus.”” Its flowers are rather small, about 1! 
inches long, opening early in the evening and closing the following morning. 

The genus Trichocereus contains many types of growth habit. Quite 
a few of the species grow as low bushes; some are prostrate and form dense 
thickets; while a few assume gigantic proportions. The stems are usually 
characterized by many ribs, thickly set with areoles and usually very spiny. 
The large, nocturnal, funnel-shaped flowers are mostly white, often highly 
fragrant. About 28 species are recorded from the Andes Mountains of 
South America. Some of the species, as T. Spachianus, are used as stock in 
grafting, but with us they have a tendency to rot if not carefully watched. 

The genus Lemaireocereus boasts some very tall cacti. Most of them 
branch from the base or from low trunks, the branches growing erect in 
closely set fashion remindful of the pipes of an organ. Most of the species 
bear flowers that open during the day, but there are a few, L. hystrix, L. 
quevedonis, L. Cartwrightianus and L. Standleyi, for example, with noc- 
turnal blossoms. More than 20 species of Lemaireocereus are listed, each 
one highly ornamental. Their range of distribution extends from southern 
Arizona through Mexico to Peru and Venezucla and into Cuba. The stems 
of all are unexcelled as stock for grafting the globular kinds of cacti. 

Eulychnia is a Chilean genus of four species inhabiting dry hills. In 
some parts of the Chilean deserts these form the dominant feature, but as 
yet they are not plentiful in American collections. The white or pinkish 
flowers are both diurnal and nocturnal. 

Facheiroa is a rare Brazilian and Peruvian genus of bushy habit not well 
known in collections as yet. It is much branched and very spiny, its noc- 
turnal flowers borne on a cephalium (head) consisting of a compact mass of 
reddish brown wool or hair. The flowers are very small and white. 

Zehntnerella is a tall, slender, much-branching genus from Brazil. Only 
one species, Z. sguamulosa, is known to exist and it is rarely seen in collec- 
tions. It is said to produce very small white nocturnal flowers with many 
long hairs inside the throat. 

Binghamia is a bushy, more or less branched Cactus with the habit of 


Trichocereus, but lower and with smaller, white, nocturnal flowers. The 


112 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


genus is confined to Peru. The few species are of slow growth and very 
shy bloomers. 

Browningia is one of the most grotesque genera in the Cactaceae. It 
contains a lone species, B. candelaris, which grows at high altitudes in Chile 
and Peru. Specimens produce a single upright trunk with curiously spread- 
ing or drooping branches at the top. The funnel-shaped flowers are a little 
curved, nearly white, and open in the evening. 

Cephalocereus and Pilocereus are two closely allied genera with members 
native to Florida, Mexico, West Indies, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, 
Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador. For the most part, they are tall, erect, and 
columnar, with small bell-shaped flowers. The most outstanding species is 
C. senilis, the famous Old Man Cactus of Mexico which every Cactus fancier 
desires to possess. 

Stetsonia is a monotypic genus of Argentina with large nocturnal flowers 
produced on the upper part of the branches. The tree attains immense 
proportions and is much branched. It is an extremely slow grower but 
small plants are plentiful and available in the trade. 

Arthrocereus and Leocereus are rather rare Brazilian genera infrequently, 
if at all, seen in collections. 

Dendrocereus is a Cuban genus, its one species, D. nudiflorus, being a 
thick-trunked, many-branched tree with large white flowers. Our original 
specimen was damaged severely during the hailstorm of May, 1927, but it 
flowered and fruited before it died a few years later and seedlings from it 
have been established. The plant is still rare in collections. 

The stately but thorny Carnegiea, called Saguaro in the Southwest, is 
one of the largest and noblest of all cacti. It towers majestically, with 
raised, candelabra-like arms, above all other desert vegetation. Only one 
species, C. gigantea, exists, and it is plentiful in Arizona which state has 
adopted the flower officially. The trunk and branches of the Saguaro are 
fluted and armed with stout spines set in long straight rows. In late spring 
white waxy blossoms adorn the tips of the stems, growing singly but close 
together and giving a beautiful clustered effect. 

The genus Cereus contains nearly 30 species most of which are upright, 
tall, and much branched. These are the true Cerei, technically speaking, 
and are distributed throughout tropical America. The best flowering species 
in our collection is C. validus. Its slender branches reach the roof of the 
Cactus House and produce several hundred blossoms during the summer 
season. The fruits, which are produced copiously, have a habit of splitting 


while still attached to the branches, revealing the rich crimson pulp within. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 113 


Visitors who are not acquainted with cactus flowers often refer to the 
colorful dehiscing fruits as flowers. 

The night-blooming Cerei, on the whole, are easy to manage and one or 
two forms should be included even in the humblest of collections. Watching 
the lovely blossoms unfurl their immaculate petals is a thrill of a lifetime 
and you will invite your friends to enjoy this rare spectacle with you. A 
cactus fan thinks that such dazzling beauty and fragrance can be found in 


no other plant. 


PLANTS OF THE SEASON 


AN EARLY-FLOWERING JAPANESE CHERRY 


It seems a pity that one of the loveliest of all flowering trees should be 
so little known. Prunus subbirtella var. autumnalis is an early-flowering 
Japanese Cherry and a distinctive one in several ways. Now that it is being 
offered for sale by progressive nurserymen, it should be planted more, par- 
ticularly if specimens can be obtained which have been budded on an 
appropriate rootstock. As its varietal name implies, this charming little 
tree sometimes blossoms in the fall after the leaves are shed. A specimen 
has been grown in a St. Louis garden for five years, and during that time it 
produced at least a few flowers every autumn but in only one year did it 
have enough to be effective in the landscape. 

Autumn-flowering is not the only peculiar habit of this interesting 
variety, however. Its flowers are slightly double, though not enough so to 
look grotesque and artificial, even when used in a flower arrangement and 
seen close at hand. Their development on the twig is also peculiar and they 
come into flower a few at a time. As a consequence, Prunus subhirtella var. 
autumnalis stays in flower fully twice as long as any of the other early- 
flowering cherries, and during most of that time it has a delicate play of 
color due to the mingling of pinkish white flowers and deep pink buds. As 
they develop, there is a most fascinating shift of color changes. Its first 
flowers open among the bare branches at the same time as the early daffodils. 
Gradually it comes into fuller bloom until it is a mass of pink and white. 
Then the leaves begin to come out and during the end of its blooming 
period it is a mixture of delicate pink and pale green. 

Though this plant has long been known in the Orient, it did not flower 
in American gardens until 1909 and has only recently been offered in the 


trade. E. A. 


114 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


AZALEAS 


This year the azaleas were the most colorful of the shrubs in flower 
during the second half of April although their normal blooming period is 
usually in May. The most brilliant of the deciduous azaleas are Rhododendron 
japonicum and the so-called mollis hybrids which have a color range from 
pale yellow through orange, apricot, salmon to a near-rose color, They 
grow to a height of about 6 feet and readily adapt themselves to our 
alkaline soil. 

The Snow Azalea, R. mucronatum, listed as Azalea ledifolia in the 
catalogues, has the same blooming period as the mollis hybrids. This is an 
exceptionally fine semi-evergreen plant with single, white flowers about 2 
inches across, borne in such profusion as to entirely hide the leaves. In 
habit of growth it forms a broad mound about 4 feet high and 6 or more 
feet wide. A lavender companion, also evergreen, is the Korean Azalea, 
R. yedoense var. poukhanense. Still another is the Mayflower Azalea or 
Rosy Pinxterbloom, R. roseum. The rose-colored flowers are small but are 
so numerous as to cover the whole plant just as the leaves emerge. A week 
later the closely related R. nudiflorum comes into bloom. The flowers are a 
very pale pink and not nearly as attractive as those of R. roseum. 

During the past ten years all of the azaleas described have bloomed 
freely each year in their present location in the Garden near the Grove. 
They have done remarkably well and are recommended as very good shrubs 
for this locality. It is commonly supposed that Azaleas and Rhododendrons 
are difficult to grow because of their exacting requirements. This is true 
for some kinds but the deciduous and semi-evergreen species mentioned 
above will flourish in this climate. They grow best in full sun if they are 
given a heavy mulch of oak leaves or sawdust and are copiously watered 
during drought periods. (See May, 1941, Garden BULLETIN). 

+ 
P. A. K. 
A FINE CHINESE LILAC 

The first few days of April ushered in a notably successful season for 
lilacs. Looking forward to even greater enjoyment from these Balkan and 
Asiatic favorites we should like to call attention to the Little-leaf Lilac 
(Syringa microphylla). The specific name refers to the small leaves which 
are about half the length of those of the common 8S. vulgaris and nearly 
round in outline. Although plants of this species grown from seed collected 
by William Purdom were introduced into this country as early as 1913 their 
potential value has still been far from realized, at least in this region. 

Experimental plantings of Syringa microphylla at the Garden have been 
attended with considerable interest for the past two decades—long enough 


Mo. Bot. Garp. BULL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATE 19 


White wood hyacinths planted among mollis hybrid azaleas present a very effective 


combination, 


Mo. Bor. Garb. BULL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLATE 20 


Little-leaf Lilac (Syringa microphylla) 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 117 


to leave no doubt of its possibilities in St. Louis gardens. A group on one 
of the knolls produced an especially fine display this season. Neither the 
individual flowers nor the sprays are as massive as those of the widely planted 
Syringa vulgaris, yet the combination of their abundance, distinctive delicate 
appearance, and fragrance makes them second to none. Perhaps the most 
attractive single feature of $. microphylla lies in the distribution of the 
light pinkish lavender sprays over the entire plant instead of only near the 
top as is so common with lilacs. This species is suitable for any shrub 
border and is not particular about the kind of soil as long as it is reasonably 
fertile. 

At the Arnold Arboretum, where the early experimental work was done, 
Syringa microphylla is reported to flower in October as well as in the spring. 
This season plants at the Garden were in full bloom from April 10 to 16, 
coming a full week or ten days later than many of the early-blooming lilacs. 
Since everything is about two weeks ahead of schedule this year they might 
be expected ordinarily to bloom during the latter part of April. The Little- 
leaf Lilac is native to the north-central Chinese states of Kansu, Shansi, and 
Shensi, bordering on Inner Mongolia. Fin NA 


THE HARDY ORANGE 

The Hardy or Trifoliate Orange, Poncirus trifoliata (Citrus trifoliata) 
is one of those semi-tender shrubs which will do well in St. Louis if planted 
in exactly the right location. In the Arboretum, at Gray Summit, the 
bushes were planted along the north side of one of the greenhouses. In this 
site they get a little extra warmth on cold nights, and the northern exposure 
prevents the flower buds from opening too early in the spring. The Hardy 
Orange is a true citrus fruit though so bitter as to be quite inedible. The 
attractive waxy white flowers are succeeded by brilliant orange fruits no 
larger than a small walnut but quite spectacular when seen against the dark 
green twigs. In the south it is frequently planted as a hedge plant (as, for 
instance, at Thomas Jefferson’s old home at Monticello) but in St. Louis it 
is only for the lover of novelties who can give it the special care it requires 
in this climate. 

A few decades ago the Hardy Orange came into prominence in connec- 
tion with experiments in hybridizing citrus fruits, carried on in the southern 
states by the Department of Agriculture.* As a result of crosses made be- 
tween the Hardy Orange and the Sweet Orange, a new fruit, the Citrange, 
was created. The Citrange combines to some extent the hardiness of the 
Trifoliate Orange with the more favorable edible qualities of the Sweet 
Orange. Even so, the fruits are smaller than those of the latter and not 
their equal for table use. 


*See Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture for 1904. 


118 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Although these experiments did not produce as ideal a citrus fruit as 
might be desired for the southern states the Citrange did prove useful in 
the preparation of preserves and jellies, as an ‘‘ade” drink, for flavoring, and 
even as a fresh table fruit if sufficient sugar is added. | es 


YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED 


During the course of a month the Garden handles a vast number of 
gardening problems and questions that come in from all quarters. Begin- 
ning with this issue of the BULLETIN we will present our answers to as many 
of these questions as possible, selecting those that are most frequent, of 
current interest, or otherwise of special note. It is hoped that this feature 
will not only serve to place such information on permanent record, but will 
be an aid to our readers and stimulate greater interest in the facilities and 
services of the Garden. 


When should iris be transplanted? 


The common bearded iris may be transplanted any time after the flowering period, 
although if it is done during June, July, or August satisfactory blooms may be expected 
the following spring. Lift with a spade and carefully split apart the overgrown clumps, 
cutting away the older, partially decayed portions. Iris are rapid growers, so allow for 
expansion when transplanting. It is best to divide a thriving bed every three or four years 
—why not exchange some of your choice stock with your neighbor and create a really 
colorful planting? 


How are Philodendrons propagated? 


Cut your older plants into sections, each with two to four leaves (if many plants are 
desired they may be cut into sections with but one leaf) and place them in a jar of water 
or a tray of moist sand. If sand is used make sure that at least one node (the place where 
the leaf is attached to the stem) is well below the surface of the sand for it is at this point 
that new roots develop. When the roots are established, which will take about 4 to 5 
weeks, the cuttings may be transplanted to small pots. Old Philodendron plants eventually 
get straggly, that is, the basal leaves tend to die away. The best procedure is to cut them 
up and start new plants; or if only the original plant is desired the stem may be cut back 
close to ground level and new ones allowed to sprout. 


When should lilacs be fertilized? 


Spring is the time to apply fertilizer to lilacs, as that is the time foliage and flower 
buds for next year are being formed. If lilacs (or most any other shrub) are fertilized in 
the summer, the result probably will be tender succulent growth produced too late for 
proper “hardening off’? to survive the winter in good condition. The best fertilizer for 
lilacs is well-rotted manure spread liberally beneath the stems to a depth of 2 or 3 inches. 
This can be left on the surface of the ground during the summer when it will act as a 
mulch to discourage weeds and to conserve moisture. Early mexf spring cultivate the old 
manure into the soil, and add a new mulch. If manure is hard to obtain, a mulch of 
partially rotted leaves may be added, and then watered once or twice during the season 
with about a gallon watering-pot full of water to which has been added, and well mixed, 
a heaping tablespoonful of Vigoro. Unless you are sure your soil is not acid, it might be 
well to lightly cover the ground beneath your lilacs, sometime during the summer, with 
ground limestone or hydrated lime. Then water thoroughly. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 119 


I have a “Mother-in-law Tongue” plant that is flowering. Is this a rarity? 


No. It is true that Sansevierias may not bloom frequently in the home but once they 
start they usually will continue year after year. At the Garden our Sansevierias put forth 
flowers several times during the year and bear seed copiously. 


Can Camellias be started from slips? 


Before the root-promoting substances became available it was rather difficult to root 
Camellias from cuttings but it is now possible to induce roots to form in from two to four 
months if the hormone powders are used. The length of time required for rooting is 
dependent upon the time of the year the cuttings are made and the variety. Camellias 
produce new wood after the plants have flowered in mid-winter. When this wood becomes 
firm, in May or June, it is in the best condition for rooting. While it is possible to root 
some of the varieties at a later date, it will be found advisable to make the cuttings before 
the flower buds are formed, which will be about June in this region. Make the cuttings 
5—6 inches long and leave at least 3 leaves. After dipping the moistened end of the cuttings 
in one of the hormone powders insert them in a pan in a mixture of 1 part peat and 2 
parts sand, Keep the rooting medium moist at all times and shield the cuttings from the 
sun and wind in a glass box or miniature greenhouse. After 10 weeks lift several cuttings 
to determine the extent of rooting. If well rooted, pot in a mixture of soil, peat, and sand 
and protect the plants from drying winds. Camellias grow slowly and will not begin 
blooming until they are three or more years old. 


Of what value are wood ashes as a fertilizer? 

Wood ashes contain potash and lime in varying amounts, depending on the type of 
wood and the extent to which they have been exposed to the leaching action of weather. 
Unleached hardwood ashes may contain up to 10 per cent potash, softwood ashes as low 


as 2 per cent. Wood ashes should be stored in a dry place and applied in the spring or 
summer, using about 5 pounds per 100 square feet. 


How may ants be most effectively controlled? 


Destroy ants in their nests by applying carbon bisulphide early in the evening. Pour 
one tablespoonful of the liquid into the opening leading to the center of the nest, then cover 
the hole with a stone or board. Repeat this treatment several times if necessary. 

Various commercial preparations are on the market that can be used to advantage if 
handled properly. These are poison baits that kill all types of ants that can be encouraged 
to eat them. 

Dusting the ground with rotenone dust (if you can obtain it) has proven quite effective 
—and incidentally this has been found to be an excellent control measure for pill bugs. 


Is it worth while to grow peach trees from seed? 


No, seedling peach trees seldom produce quality fruit. Plant breeders develop new 
varieties by growing seedlings, but the ancestry is known and the hybridizing is controlled. 


Tree roots are damaging my sewer pipes. Is there anything that can be put 
around the pipes to keep the roots away? 


There are patented preparations on the market which are supposed to prevent tree 
roots entering a pipe joint. These work only as long as the joints remain absolutely tight. 
After a few years no vitrified clay pipe joint is tight because of misalignment due to settling 
of the soil, 


NOTES 


A recent letter from Dr. Louis O. Williams, former graduate student at 
the Garden who has been engaged in rubber investigation for the past several 
years, states that his headquarters are now at Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 
Brazil. In November he and Mrs. Williams had attended an orchid congress 
at Sao Paulo, of which he wrote enthusiastically. 


120 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, was in Portland, Oregon, 
from April 21-25, advising the Oregon Bulb Farms on their breeding work 
with narcissi and hybrid lilies. This firm has not only carried on an ex- 
tensive breeding program, but has kept complete and accurate records, 
permitting a more exact genetic analysis than is usually possible in such cases. 

Among the orchid or water-lily fanciers visiting the growing green- 
houses at the Garden recently were: Mr. Valentino Sarro, of New York 
City; Dr. Henry H. Turner, of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Mr. C. J. Bour- 
gondien, of Babylon, Long Island, N. Y.; Prof. Alexander Laurie, Professor 
of Horticulture, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Mr. W. T. Innes, 
of Philadelphia, Pa. 

Visitors to the Garden library and herbarium during April included the 
following: Dr. Carl O. Sauer, Chairman Department of Geography, Uni- 
versity of California, Berkeley, who, under the auspices of the Rockefeller 
Foundation, is spending a year in an investigation of North American food 
plants; Mrs. James McClure, of Washington, Mo., writer on horticultural 
subjects; Mrs. F. W. Schoettler, of Louisville, Ky.; Dr. I. E. Melhus, Head 
Section of Botany and Plant Pathology, Iowa State College, and Dr. Charles 
E. Friley, President Iowa State College, Ames; Prof. Pablo Martinus del Rio, 
Professor of Ancient and Medieval History, Universidad Nacional de Mexico, 
Mexico, D. F.; Dr. Rogers McVaugh, Associate Botanist U. S. Department 
of Agriculture, Beltsville, Md. 

Though few gardeners or botanists are sensitive to the difference, there 
‘are two basic kinds of tall bearded garden irises. There are a few Iris 
germanica varieties which flower a little in advance of the newer hybrid 
irises and are therefore important in a season such as this which has been 
rainy and cold during all of April. The germanicas are old-fashioned and 
are ordinarily available in only three or four color forms, but they are sturdy 
and dependable in even the worst of Missouri springs. In a warm April 
they precede the modern hybrid sorts by only a few days, but this year 
gardens which did not include one or two of these old-fashioned sorts were 
bare of bloom for at least a fortnight. One of the best of these in St. Louis 
gardens is an ancient variety variously known as “Midnight” or “Kochi.” 
It is a rich dark purple, of medium height, very floriferous, and strong 


enough to do well in the semi-shade and soggy soil of a city back-yard. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 121 


The following papers, read at the conference on “Gene-Action and the 
Micro-organism” held at the Garden on February 2 and 3, have been pub- 
lished as the April number of the ANNALS OF THE MissouRI BOTANICAL 
GarDEN (Vol. 32, No. 2): 


Mendelian and Cytoplasmic Inheritance in Yeasts . . . . . . . Carl C. Lindegren 
Biochemical Genetics of Neurospora. . x -' a, Tatum and G. W. Beadle 
Genetic Aspects of Changes in Staphylococcus aureus eh Strains Resistant 

to Various Concentrations of Penicillin 2... Geos M. Demeree 
The Physiology and Genetic Significance of eee (Caen a ck A 'S. Spiegelman 
The Mechanism of Radiation Effects and the Use of Radiation for the Production 

of Mutations with Improved Fermentation . . . oo... . « A. Hollaender 


The Influence of Nucleic Acid on Dehydrogenase Sean : 
J.P: Geenaan sai H. W. Chalkley 


Genetic Aspects of Virulence in Bacteria and Viruses . . . . . « « John W. Gowen 
Gene Action in Paramecium . 2. 2 eee ee ee ee) TM. Sonneborn 
Spontaneous Mutations of Bacteria... woe ew ee ee ee) 6M. Delbriick 
Genetics of Bacterium-Bacterial Virus Balcouiin mR: ce: ay ap Es i > AOE, Bo 
Genetics as a Tool for Studying Gene Structure . 2. 2... ee ee OS. Emerson 


Discussion. 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a ‘Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 
some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 
The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


George C. Hitchcock. 


Daniel K. Catlin. 


Eugene ‘Pettus. 2 ...2. 


L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 
John S. Lehmann 


/ oe : ae __ President 


Vice-President 
: _ Second Vice-President 
Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 
A. Wessel Shapleigh 


Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS 


Joseph Desloge 


Mrs. Irma Friede a 


A. P. Kaufmann : 
William Scarlett 
Harry B. Wallace. 


Gerald Ulrici — 


George T. Moore... 
Hermann von Schrenk 
Jesse M. Greenman____ 22: 
Catroll W. Dodeess. 2. 3s 
Edgar Anderson __..............--.. 


Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
Henry N. Andrews... 


Joseph: Guta 24 


Ladislaus Cutak 
August P. Beilmann 


Gurney Wilson, F.L.S. 


_ President, St. Louis Academy of Science 


President, Board of Education of St. Louis 


Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 


_Acting Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


Director 
eee _ Pathologist 


Re NS ne a ee Curator of Herbarium 


ane _ __ Mycologist 


poiete see foe sas otes kame akan eee eee eee Geneticist 


__ Assistant Curator of Herbarium 


Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 
Robert W. Schery Teseilars, Eecrutesbis, 
NelliG@ Horner eee ee 
George bl. Pring2 25 ee 
Paul A. Kohl 
David C. Fairburns22.20.-.22.... 


_ Research Assistant 


Ne ANAL Ree a eee eD Librarian and Editor 


Se serene eS _Superintendent 
Floriculturist 


RE SIRT ET ERED ARE TORRE Oe PRS ST _ Horticulturist 


_In charge of Exotics 


an charge of Succulents 
ahaees of fhe ene Gray Summit 
__Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT THE 
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


SPRING FLORA OF MISSOURI. 
By Julian A. Steyermark. Price $1.50; a special price to schools 
and garden clubs—$1.00 a copy if 10 or more copies are sent to 
one address. Add 10 cents per copy to remittance to cover 
postage. 


ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
Published in February, April, September, and November. Sub- 
scription price, $10 per year. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN. 
Published monthly except July and August. Subscription price, 
$1.50 per year. 


A TOUR OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
A guide for Garden visitors. Price 25 cents. 


HENRY SHAW. 
A Biography. Price 25 cents. 


POST-CARDS 
Garden Views. Price 25 cents for set of 8. 


Garden Water-lilies. Price 25 cents for set of 8. 


VMUSSOURI BOTANICAL 


ARDEN BULLETI 


CONTENTS 
Home-grown Gardenias... ee eee coe 2S 
Phloem Necrosis—A Serious Threat ie ite Bin 128 
Plants of the Season 
Rosa alba in St. Louis... BU Ney ne other ee ay eke gate SU 
An Early-biooming Red Daylily TIE sen El ee aE) 0 4 
An Evergreen for Shady Gardens . ....... . 133 
Echinocereus chisoensis ey Se ek ae) eee is 
Your Questions Answered . . . ....... . . . 136 
INOtESnien oe ee or eo eae ee oe Ae ISS 


Volume X XXIII June, 1940 Number 6 


Tia 


Cover: Climbing roses (var. ‘“Roserie’”) on the north side of Linnean Garden. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


Missour1 Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXIII JUNE, 1945 No. 6 


HOME-GROWN GARDENIAS 
DAVID C. FAIRBURN 


No house plant, except maybe the African Violet or an Orchid, is prized 
as highly as a Gardenia in bloom. The exotic beauty and fragrance of the 
flowers, combined with a sense of horticultural achievement in producing a 
respectable-looking specimen, leave little to be desired. Relatively few in- 
door gardeners ever experience such satisfaction, however, and this is not 
from any lack of cultural effort or initiative. Judging from the constant 
stream of inquiries that come to the Garden, it is apparent that Gardenias 
frequently suffer from too much tender care and unique prescriptions such 
as a tablespoonful of kerosene applied at weekly intervals. 

Having raised two Gardenia plants (Gardenia Veitchii) on the family 
window-sill last year, and harvested a total of five flowers, three of which 
opened at the same time in March, the writer has come to the inevitable 
conclusion that he is quite an authority on the subject. So by following 
directions carefully and having a compost pile handy in which to bury 
mistakes, maybe you can soon become a Gardenia expert too! 

It is essential to start with strong, healthy plants; otherwise the case is 
hopeless. Weak, chlorotic specimens are difficult to revive even in a green- 
house. Vigorous, young plants, about one year old from cuttings, offer the 
best possibilities. 

Now let us assume that the Gardenia arrives as an Easter gift. Since this 
plant is susceptible to frost injury, it must remain indoors until the weather 
is reliably warm, which means May 1 to June 1 in St. Louis, depending on 
seasonal deviations. Keep the plant in, or at least near, a south window 
where it will receive direct sunlight. Turn the pot occasionally to prevent 
the growths from leaning towards the sun. Moisture and temperature are 
very important cultural items. Never let the soil dry out until it feels like 
concrete, and give the plant a daily shower of cool water in the bathtub to 
remove dust and help keep the leaves and flower buds firm. Gardenias are 


(123) 


124 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


native to the sub-tropical regions of the eastern hemisphere, and conse- 
quently they prefer a warm growing temperature of 70° F. or slightly over. 
During summer, of course, the day temperature may go considerably higher 
without injuring the plants. Prolonged spells of cold, damp, cloudy weather 
are hard on Gardenias. Leaves turn yellow and buds drop off. On the other 
hand, lack of sufficient moisture in the soil and low atmospheric humidity 
can cause the same trouble. It is not always easy to provide the proper 
balanced conditions. On bright, warm spring days the plants should be 
moved outdoors where they will get some fresh air and possibly an invigor- 
ating spring rain. 

After all danger of frost is past, select a protected spot in the garden 
where the plant will have partial shade from the burning sun, and sink the 
pot in the ground up to the rim. In case of drought add enough water to 
keep the soil in the pot moist; and apply a level teaspoonful of a complete 
fertilizer once a month. A mulch of cattle manure on top of the soil is also 
beneficial. Inspect the plant carefully at regular intervals to see if any 
mealy bugs are present. These are small, cottony insects that hide under- 
neath the leaves and at the joints of the stems, obtaining their nourishment 
from the plant by puncturing the tissues and extracting the vital cell sap. 
They multiply rapidly and unless checked soon destroy the plant. An easy 
way to control these pests is to knock them off with a forceful spray of 
water from the garden hose. Weekly treatments of this nature will also 
discourage aphids (plant lice), red spiders (mites), and any other insects 
that may try to set up housekeeping. Pinch back (prune) all the young 
branches when they get six inches long. This makes the plant bushy and 
symmetrical. 

If the environmental conditions are satisfactory, the Gardenia plant will 
grow considerably during the summer, and may need shifting to a larger 
pot before fall. If growth has been slow and the plant is not “pot-bound” 
(roots thickly matted around the ball of soil), repotting may be omitted 
unless there is some doubt regarding the fertility of the soil. A good potting 
soil for Gardenias is composed of about three parts garden loam containing 
some sod or turf, thoroughly mixed with one part well-rotted cattle-manure, 
one part acid peat, and one part coarse sand. A four-inch pot of bone meal 
mixed with each bushel of soil is also recommended. To avoid pale green, 
chlorotic leaves keep the soil definitely acid. Simple, inexpensive test kits 
for determining soil acidity may be obtained at almost any seed store, florist 
shop, or nursery. Plants can be watered with dilute solutions of aluminum 
sulphate, iron sulphate, or vinegar to obtain the desired acidity pH (about 
5.0). Powdered sulphur mixed into the soil can be used for the same pur- 
pose. Ammonium sulphate or other acid fertilizers used at the rate of one 


PLATI 


1945 


3 
: 


3 


VOL. 


Garp. BULL.., 


Mo. Bor. 


Gardenia Veitchii flowering in April 


bho 
i) 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BuLt., Vor. 33, 1945 PLATE 


Gardenia cuttings can be rooted in a pot containing a mixture of 1% sand and 


Vy peat. A Bell jar retains the essential moisture. 


After 8 to 10 weeks in the propagation pot the cuttings are well rooted. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 127 


teaspoonful per quart of water not only helps control the acidity but also 
provides essential mineral elements. Never apply lime to a Gardenia plant. 

Before frost arrives bring the plant into the house and place it in a 
south or east window. Do everything possible to maintain high humidity, 
as dry air is the major cause of failure with Gardenias. Placing the pot on 
a tray of moist gravel will help. Pans of water on the radiators and water 
in the furnace reservoir also increases the humidity. When the paper starts 
to part company with the wall, you have just about reached the optimum 
humidity for growing Gardenias. 

During the dark days of late fall and winter, when plants are growing 
slowly, no fertilizer should be applied, and the soil should not be allowed to 
remain constantly wet or soggy. With the approach of spring, Gardenias 
grow more rapidly and can use additional food elements. Liquid manure, or 
a teaspoonful of complete fertilizer per quart of water, applied as a regular 
watering at two-week intervals, should prove beneficial. 

If all the cultural requirements have been adequately provided, flowers 
will appear on the plants from midwinter on through spring. Gardenia 
florida (Cape Jasmine) blooms during the summer, has smaller flowers than 
G. Veitchii, and is held dormant in winter by storing the plant in a cool, 
fairly dry place. In the southern states Gardenias can remain outdoors the 
year round. Several cases have been reported where the plants survived the 
winters of northeastern states when located in a protected spot, heavily 
mulched with leaves, and boxed in to prevent freezing. 

Young Gardenia plants produce the best results, so two- and three-year 
old specimens are usually discarded after cuttings are taken from the new 
growths in winter or spring. Propagate only from strong, healthy plants, 
using tip cuttings with three to four nodes or joints. Dusting the cut ends 
with Rootone or some other hormone powder is an aid to root formation. 
Insert the cuttings 2 to 3 inches deep in a flat or pot of moist sand and peat 
(1 to 1 mixture). Firm well and water thoroughly. Cover the cuttings 
with a glass jar to obtain a humid atmosphere, and maintain a temperature 
of 75°-80° F. If possible, place the flat or pot where it will have mild heat 
from below to hasten rooting. Do not expose the cuttings to strong sun- 
light as the temperature inside the glass jar would soon become excessive 
and cause burning. When the cuttings start to root, the jar can be lifted 
part way to admit some air. Frequent syringing of the leaves with water 
is necessary. In two to three months the cuttings should be well rooted, 
and ready to move into 2'3- or 3-inch pots containing the special soil 
mixture previously mentioned. Firm potting is recommended, with the 


surface of the soil about '4-inch from the rim of the pot to provide ample 


128 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


space for watering. Keep the plants in active growth, and shift them into 
larger containers as soon as the roots become crowded. 

Raising Gardenias in the home is not easy, but if you possess a consider- 
able dash of “green thumb” talent, the chances of success are reasonably 
good. Any one can grow Philodendron or Chinese Evergreen. Be exclusive 
—grow Gardenias. 


PHLOEM NECROSIS—A SERIOUS THREAT TO THE ELM 


AUGUST P. BEILMANN 


Over a period of many years we have come to regard the American Elm 
as the nearly perfect shade tree for both street and lawn. In the north- 
eastern parts of the country the tree is entitled to the high regard in which 
it is held by tree lovers; but in the Middle West, the Prairie States, and even 
the drier Southwest, it can hardly be expected to flourish and provide the 
cool shade so much a part of New England towns and roadsides. Never- 
theless, street planters and home owners in the Middle West have used 
American Elms for every situation. The tree usually transplanted success- 
fully, grew rapidly at first, was never very expensive, and it could be 
obtained in huge quantities. Sometimes city ordinances restricted the choice 
of trees. In St. Louis many thousands of American Elms have been planted 
in the hope of attaining uniformity for the whole length of a boulevard. 
Along U. S. Highway 66, from a point inside the city limits to Gray Sum- 
mit—a distance of nearly 35 miles—many lots of 10,000 each have been 
planted. 

No tree, no matter how adaptable or how vigorous, can be expected to 
succeed in every soil or in every exposure. Most of the soils in the City of 
St. Louis are loessial in origin, quite deep, well drained, and relatively fertile. 
However, they are not uniform, block after block, in any direction, and 
often grading has destroyed whatever good soil should have been encountered. 
Drainage, exposure, fertility, and moisture conditions bear no relationship 
to city ordinances, and they merely complicate a planting plan devoid of 
imagination. In the suburban communities, where other soil types are en- 
countered, other kinds of trees should be used. Along superhighways, where 
conditions change with each mile, much more care, knowledge, and fore- 
sight are required for a successful plan of tree planting. 

Aside from the fact that trees should be planted where they will grow 
and not by ordinance or availability of planting stock, there is another 
reason for using more than one species along any long street or highway. 
The reason is simply this: if a particular kind of a shade tree is attacked 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 129 


by either disease or insects and this kind dominates the planting, the results 
will be disastrous when that disease or insect reaches epidemic proportions. 
This is exactly what has happened in the past and exactly what is happening 
now with the American Elm throughout most of the Middle West. From 
Columbus, Ohio, to as far west as Kansas City, and from Chicago to central 
Kentucky, at least one-quarter million elms are being killed each year by 
phloem necrosis. 

The disease has been known for several years. Dr. R. U. Swingle de- 
scribed it in 1942 (U.S. Dept. Agr. Circ. 640). He stated that it was first 
observed in Ironton, Ohio, in 1918, and that a similar condition was de- 
scribed in botanical literature as early as 1882. The first indication to the 
tree owner of the presence of the disease may be the death of the tree. Small 
elms, appearing in good health, may have all roots and most of the bark on 
the lower trunk killed before the leaves wilt or drop. In other cases wilting 
and shedding of leaves may begin as soon as the disease gains a foothold. 
Large trees may lose several large branches, or even all branches on one side 
during the course of a year. The following year the remaining portion may 
open leaf buds, but die in mid-summer. The disease is supposed to be caused 
by a virus,’ and it can be transmitted to healthy trees by grafting infected 
bark, but the ordinary manner and method of spreading from tree to tree is 
unknown. There is no control. While some of the early symptoms resemble 
starvation and drought injury, neither feeding nor watering has had the 
slightest effect on the spread of the virus through an infected tree. Since 
the symptoms often resemble certain nutritional deficiencies in the early 
stages, every suspected tree should be carefully examined for dead and 
brown patches of inner bark. The disease attacks the soft inner bark (the 
phloem) of the trunk, roots or branches. In the very early stages, the 
slightly discolored phloem may have a faint wintergreen odor. This is 
quickly followed by the browning and complete killing of the bark. Al- 
though the manner in which the disease is spread is unknown, it is advisable 
to remove and dispose of all infected trees. 

In the company of Dr. J. C. Carter, Assistant Botanist, Illinois State 
Natural History Survey, the writer spent several days in St. Louis County 
last September. Many infected trees were found in Ladue Village; in fact 
it was not difficult to find the disease in any locality where elms were grow- 
ing. Some of the diseased trees appeared normal, especially those whose 


roots and lower trunk had been attacked. Such trees matured and shed their 


‘A virus is hard to define. It is too small to be seen under the highest magnification of 
an ordinary microscope and is not often isolated. It is known to be highly infectious and 
dependent on living tissue for multiplication and growth. Examples of virus diseases in 
man are measles, smallpox, infantile paralysis, etc.; in plants, mosaic disease and yellows, etc. 


130 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


leaves in a normal manner last fall, but failed to open buds this spring. In 
others the brown bark was splitting and peeling from the trunk. 

Evidently the only control lies in the development of resistant types of 
elms. Certainly many of our larger elms were exposed to the earlier attacks 
of phloem necrosis, and many of them survived. Mr. C. R. Runyan, Super- 
intendent, Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio, feels that many of the 
large specimens there escaped the 1918 outbreak which was especially severe 
in that territory. Although many hundreds of small elms along Cincinnati 
boulevards are dying, and many more will die, few of the older trees are 
being attacked. It appears quite probable that resistant types can be found 
and propagated. However, if American Elms, certified as to disease resist- 
ance, find their way into nursery channels they will be much more expensive 
than those available now. This may be a blessing in disguise; certainly a 
little more thought and imagination will be required when “‘certified”” Elms 
cost as much as better trees do now—it may even require a change in city 
ordinances! 

To sum up the situation: 

Phloem necrosis can be found in many towns and cities in this sec- 
tion. A great many, but not all, of the smaller American Elms will be 
killed. Some large trees will escape, many others will be killed, although 
the largest and oldest may suffer the least. 

Any crinkling of the foliage, sudden wilting of whole branches, or 
peeling away of bark is to be viewed with suspicion. 

Since the manner in which the disease is spread from infected to 
healthy trees is unknown, there is no control. 

Buy no “guaranteed”’ protection for your trees from any one; until 
the vector (possibly an insect in this case) is discovered there will be no 
control, 

A great deal of exacting laboratory and field work is needed before a 
control program is evolved. 

Don’t plant an elm now; and if you lose a tree replace it with another 


species—the nursery lists are long and interesting. 


PLANTS OF THE SEASON 


ROSA ALBA IN ST. LOUIS 


Here and there about St. Louis one may find splendid specimens of a rose 
so ancient that its history is known only to a few, so humble that it is re- 
stricted mainly to the dooryards of market gardeners and the collections of 
a few discriminating amateurs. Rosa alba is indeed so old that the usual 


Mo. Bor. Garp. BULL., VoL. 33, 1945 PLate 23 


Rosa alba in St. Louis 


132 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


term of “old-fashioned rose” is quite out of place in describing its varieties. 
In the 1600’s Parkinson was already referring to it as the oldest rose known 
to English gardens, and one who knows it well will be able to recognize its 
characteristic flattish blooms and bluish-green foliage in many paintings 
from the Middle Ages. 

Two sorts are commonly found in St. Louis gardens, differing chiefly in 
the doubleness of the flowers. Both have white petals just barely tinted 
with flesh color when they first open. The “Great Double White,” to use 
its old English name, is fully double, though not monstrously so, and when 
it is wide open a few stamens can be seen in the center. “‘Semi-plena,” the 
other variety, has a double circle of petals and a center of stamens which 
are bright gold when they open, turning to dark brown the first day. The 
wide, bluish-green foliage is borne on stout green, arching canes 5—9 feet 
high. The flowers grow at the tips of short side branches so that they are 
spaced evenly over the whole bush. It is this regular spacing seen in com- 
bination with the wide, clean foliage and the leafy-tipped calyx which gives 
Rosa alba a certain distinctive elegance. 

To city gardeners these old varieties recommend themselves quite as 
much by their constitution as by the simple beauty of their flowers. They 
are resistant to mildew and other diseases and have an amazing capacity to 
flourish on filled land and in soils penetrated by the roots of trees. They do 
not really prefer the shade but they have the ability to flower reliably, with 
little attention, in many sites which would be too exacting for other roses. 

In pruning them one should remember that they beautify the garden by 
the mass effect of the whole bush. Every year a portion of the old canes 
should be removed after blooming time, cutting them off as close to the 
ground level as possible. A few awkward branches may then be cut back 
here and there, but the pruning shears should be used sparingly since the 
flowers are succeeded by bright red berries which add color to the garden 
during the fall and winter. In the early spring a few of the branches may 
show a little dead wood in some seasons, and this should be cut out as the 
bushes come into leaf. In shady and poorly drained locations a little black 
spot may develop in wet years. This is best controlled by a strong dormant 
spray in late winter, paying particular attention to soaking all the dead 
leaves on the ground as well as the canes themselves. 

[me 
AN EARLY-BLOOMING DARK RED DAYLILY 


The last decade has seen a great increase in the varieties of daylilies 
(Hemerocallis) with dark red colors in the flowers. Some of these varieties 
are so dark that many people do not care for them when they are exhibited 
separately. Interplanted with the yellow and orange varieties, however, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 1335 


they show off to good advantage and make the lighter colors look brighter 
by contrast. One of these new varieties, ‘“Boutonniere,” blossoms at the same 
time as such early-flowering varieties as “Apricot” and is particularly ef- 
fective if planted near it in the perennial border. Like most of the daylilies, 
it grows well in sun or in semi-shade and will even do well in a city back- 
yard garden. 
| oa 3 
AN EVERGREEN FOR SHADY GARDENS 

Certainly two of the most vexing garden problems in St. Louis are: 

satisfactory plants for shady spots, and evergreens that will be presentable 


throughout the year. The Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica) offers a 


Japanese Andromeda (Picris japonica) 


notable contribution toward the solution of both. Plants have been grown 
successfully for some few years at the Garden flanking the south entrance of 
the Mausoleum. The leaves are rather small, shiny dark green, and borne 
in sufficient abundance so as to present a compact dense spot of verdure in 


the garden the year ’round. In late winter or very early spring they send 


134 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


out numerous drooping sprays of small, waxy white flowers. Preceding, as 
they do, the Narcissi and Forsythia they are truly a “pre-harbinger’’ of 
spring. Like other Ericaceous (Blueberry family) plants, they require an 
acid soil and plenty of humus. 

In a recent issue of The Home Garden magazine the Japanese Andromeda 
is referred to by Donald Wyman as one of the finest of evergreen shrubs for 
planting about the home. It is deserving of more attention in the Midwest. 

H.N. A. 
ECHINOCEREUS CHISOENSIS 

Conspicuous in the deserts of our southwestern states is a group of spiny 
plants to which the common name, “Hedgehog Cactus,” has frequently 
been applied. These plants are better known to botanists as Echinocereus, 
a word derived from the Greek meaning “hedgehog-like torch cactus.” The 
name is very appropriate, for the stems are usually very spiny and forbid- 
ding, but they also bear lovely radiant blossoms at the top. If you have a 
vivid imagination the name is certainly not deceiving. 

Britton and Rose, those two well known cactologists who published the 
monumental “‘Cactaceae” in the early twenties, listed some 60 species of 
Echinocereus. However, since that time, some have been relegated into 
synonymy while many others have been discovered through diligent search 
in the field. For the most part, Echinocerei are erect to prostrate plants 
ranging from two inches to two feet high. They grow singly or in clusters, 
a single cluster often forming a massive mound composed of 100 to 150 
heads. Their flowers are rather large, bell-shaped or funnelform, and are 
copiously produced during the spring season. Color of the blossoms ranges 
from fiery red to regal purple, from ghostly white to golden yellow, and 
from vivid green to dirty greenish-brown. Out on a sun-scorched desert 
plain or in the rocky nook of a canyon wall, a mound of hedgehog cactus 
sprinkled with glowing blossoms is really a sight to behold. 

At this time space does not permit an elaborate listing of Echinocerei, 
but I should like to introduce the reader to an interesting species which 
hails from the picturesque Big Bend country of western Texas. This one 
was described as new about five years ago by Mr. William Taylor Marshall, 
past president of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America. He named 
it Echinocereus chisoensis because it is native to the Chisos Mountains, where 
it grows usually in full shade, in loose gravelly soil. It is a rather rare species 
and a difficult one to establish in collections. 

This hedgehog cactus of the Chisos produces cylindrical stems up to 5 
inches in height, is rather flabby-textured, of a blue-green to purplish green 
color, while its ribs, 14 to 15 in number, are filled with white to tannish 


Mo. 


Bot. Garb. 


BULL., 


VoL. 


3 


3 


1945 


Echinocereus 


chisoensis 


PLATE 


24 


136 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


wool and numerous spines. The radial spines are needle-shaped, unequal, at 
first chalk-white with dark red-brown tips, later becoming dirty white or 
retaining their color in subdued tones. The smallest radials always appear 
in the upper end of the areole while the longest are in the lower end. Two 
central spines issue from each areole, although 1 to 4 have occasionally been 
noted; these are blackish with a lighter base, the upper one ascending while 
the lower one stretches out horizontally. Flowers appear in April but in the 
greenhouse they may bloom as early as February 20. Blossoms are large and 
showy, with spreading deep purple to magenta petals. From the center of 
the floral envelope springs forth a thickened style with bright green stigma 
lobes. Hugging the style are numerous stamens with pale yellow anthers. 
The fruit is club-shaped, knobby, and studded with bristles and wool. 
| re Oa 


YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED 


Hardly a day passes on which the Garden does not receive specimens of 
trees, shrubs, or flowering plants for identification. Frequently these are so 
poorly packed that they are badly broken in the mail and determination 1s 
either a guess or impossible. Small fragments of leaves, stems, or roots more 
often than not are worthless or entail more time than our staff members are 
able to devote to them. When possible obtain a representative specimen 
bearing a few leaves as well as flowers or fruit (mature seed pods). Press 
the specimen between blotters or newspaper and pack between stiff cardboard 
for shipment. Please be sure to include a stamped addressed envelope for 


reply. 


In response to a multitude of calls during the past few weeks: I have a 
large sycamore tree in front of my home; the leaves are all turning black. 
Is the tree going to die? 

The sycamore is affected by anthracnose (one of the sphere fungi, Gnomonia veneta). 


The cool wet weather is ideal for its growth. Sunny, warm days will arrest the fungus 
disease and new growth will likely follow. 


When is the best time to transplant peonies? 


During September and October. This will allow some time for re-establishment of the 
root system before winter. Older clumps should be divided so as to retain at least three or 
four eyes. When planting set the roots so that the eyes are about two inches below the 
surface. Aside from their rather short blooming period peonies are among our most satis- 
factory hardy perennials. They will tolerate some shade but full sun is necessary for best 
results, 


| have an orchid which is bearing a flower sheath and at the same time is 
producing a new growth. Should I remove the flowering sheath? 


No, you evidently have a hybrid which ofttimes produces young growth at the time of 
flowering. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 137 


What is the proper planting procedure for Regal Lily bulbs? 


The general rule for hardy bulbs is to plant them as soon after they become dormant 
as possible. In the vicinity of St. Louis, the proper time to plant Regal Lilies is about the 
first of October, If you are purchasing the bulbs from out of town, place your order about 
the first of July. When they arrive don’t delay planting, for the longer your bulbs are out 
of the ground the less are your chances for first-class flowers next spring. Regal Lilies 
prefer to be planted about 5 inches deep (from the top of the bulb) in a soil composed of 
about 3 parts good garden soil, 2 parts leaf mould, and 1 part sand. When the soil freezes 
cover the surface with a loose mulch of straw (to which some branches of the old Christmas 
tree may be added) to a depth of about 3 inches. This should be left in place until about 
the first of April. 


Is rotenone very poisonous? 


Rotenone is a very violent poison to both sucking and chewing insects, and to fishes. Its 
great advantage lies in the fact that it is not harmful to humans nor to household pets such 
as the cat or dog. However, like any dust, it may be irritating to some individuals. When 
applying as a dust be careful not to inhale it. 


What should be done with Amaryllis bulbs after they have flowered? 


As soon as warm weather is here to stay place the plants outdoors, sinking them up to 
the top of the pot in the garden. Water them sufhciently through the summer to keep the 
soil moist. In September bring the plants in, place them on their sides in the cellar, and 
leave them alone until December. When repotting, use a fertile garden loam to which has 
been added one teaspoonful of a complete fertilizer per pot. At least one-half of the bulb 
should be above the soil level. Keep them in a sunny window and water as usual through 
the flowering season. 


When should I transplant Lily-of-the-valley? 


Lily-of-the-valley plants become very crowded if left in the same location for more 
than five years. This crowding does not affect the foliage but the flower stalks become 
fewer each year. While these plants may be reset at almost any time of the year, Septem- 
ber is a good month in which to do the dividing and transplanting. At that time the plants 
have completed their growth for the season and the soil is usually more moist than during 
the summer months. 

Lily-of-the-valley grows well in the shade. The soil should be reasonably rich and 
should contain a good deal of humus. The matted plants may be lifted, divided, and 
planted with only a few pips in each group, the clumps being spaced about a foot apart. 
The plants should be given a good watering and the soil should never be permitted to dry 
out while they are becoming established.  “Top-dress with a light mulch of leaves or old 
manure in late November. 

Please recommend a hedge or shrub that will grow in the shade and form a 
nice screen, 

The Ibolium privet is a good plant for a hedge or screen in the shade. In a few years 
it will grow to a height of about-eight feet. The foliage is a lustrous dark green and the 
plants remain clothed with leaves to the base. A few other shrubs suitable for hedge or 
screen plantings in the shade are Acanthopanay Sicboldianus, various barberries, American 
holly, witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), fragrant sumac and several species of Viburnum, 


Where should bitter-sweets be planted? How high do they grow? 


Bitter-sweet vines may be planted in a sunny or shady location. If grown in full sun 
the growth is slower but very dense and there will be a heavy set of fruit in the fall; if 
grown in the shade there is almest no limit to the height a bitter-sweet vine will climb if it 
has a suitable support. In the woods the best berries are usually high up in the trees. 
What is the best type of soil for desert cacti? 

The kind of soil best suited for cactus plants is a mixture of well-decomposed leafmold, 
sand, and ordinary loam in equal parts. Clay is not recommended but if you must use 
it mix in a generous portion of wood ashes. An addition of crushed lime rubble from old 
buildings or small chat (such as is used in roadwork as foundation for macadam) is ap- 
propriate, for most desert species thrive in limestone regions. When plants are grown in 
novelty pottery and dish gardens some crushed or powdered charcoal should also be added. 


138 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
NOTES 


One result of the cool rainy weather this spring has been a fine display 
of roses, particularly the climbers. They have been full of bloom and have 
stayed in flower unusually long both in the Rose Garden and on the trellis 
around the Economic Garden. 

Groups visiting the Garden during the last month were: students in 
biology of the Wood River High School, Wood River, IIl., accompanied by 
their instructor, Mr. W. C. Hopper; students in botany from Washington 
University, accompanied by Dr. Robert E. Woodson, associate professor, and 
Mr. Charles B. Heiser, instructor; members of the Ferguson Garden Club, 
Ferguson, Mo. 

Out-of-town visitors coming to inspect the Garden’s method of growing 
orchids include the following: Dr. and Mrs. Luys de Mendonga, of Rio de 
Janeiro, Brazil, Dr. Mendonga being publisher of the Brazilian orchid journal, 
Orquidea; Mr. K. K. Frazee, of Anderson, Indiana; Mr. William B. Olsen, 
of Berkeley, Calif.; Dr. A. E. Newland, of Bedford, Ind.; Mr. Young and 
Mr. Damiata, of A. N. Pierson, Inc., Cromwell, Conn.; Mr. Robert Yohler 
and Robert Mitchell, of the Stephen Foster Co., Carmel, Ind. 

Mr. August P. Beilmann has been appointed chairman of the Severe 
Storm Warning Service in Franklin County. This service, started by the 
U. S. Weather Bureau, is designed as an aid to military and civilian aviation. 
Observers posted throughout Franklin County telephone Lambert Field on 
the approach of a storm, from where the Weather Bureau issues whatever 
instructions are deemed necessary to planes in flight and those grounded. 
Should a tornado be reported the possible path is determined and instruc- 
tions issued to airports, towns in the path, war plants, etc. 

Among the recent visitors to the Garden library and herbarium were the 
following: Lt. (Dr.) H. H. Smith, of the U. S. Naval Reserve, formerly 
assistant geneticist, U. S. Dept. of Agr.; Dr. Fred A. Barkley, research as- 
sistant, Phanerogamic Herbarium, Chicago Museum of Natural History 
(formerly Field Museum); Mr. Paul A. Allen, field technician, U. $. Rubber 
Development Corporation, Colombia, S. A.; Capt. (Dr.) George Thomas 
Johnson, of the U. S. Army, formerly research fellow at the Garden and 
Guggenheim fellow in Central and South America during 1940-42; Sgt. 
Richard P. Grossenheider, of the U. S. Army; Dr. Ada Hayden, research 
assistant professor of botany, Iowa State College, Ames; Rev. Robert R. 
Brinker, instructor in biology, Quincy College, Quincy, Ill.; Sra. Naranjo 
de Guzman, of Bogota, Colombia, S$. A., whose daughter, Miss Julia Guz- 
man Naranjo, received her Master’s degree in botany at the Washington Uni- 


versity commencement, June 7. 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


George C. Hitchcock. 

Daniel K. Catlin 

Eugene Pettus ee 
L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 
John S. Lehmann 


_ President 
sie Vice-President 
Be Second Vice-President 

Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 
A. Wessel Shapleigh 


Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO: MEMBERS 


Joseph Desloge 

Mrs. Irma Friede 

A. P. Kaufmann 

William Scarlett. 
Harry B. Wallace. 


Gerald Ulrici 


George T. Moore 


Hermann von Schrenk 


Jesse M. Greenman. 


aT WWE 210) 0 ch ge ee a ane ee 
Edgar Anderson __......------- 


Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
Henry N. Andrews. 


Robert W. Schery Gr ieee eee 


Nell C. Horner 


Gearges bey Prin pee eee 
13g Rae ae a 11) Aan ET een EE LPS OO EE NE I Soe an 


David C. Fairburn. 


August P. Beilmann 
Gurney Wilson, F.L.S. 


_ President, St. Louis Academy of Science 


President, Board of Education of St. Louis 


Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
_ Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 
Acting Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


STAFF 


_ Director 

a _ Pathologist 

Peters nro — Curator of Herbarium 
Mycologist 

Pe en eae ee _ Geneticist 
_ Assistant Curator of Herbarium 


__Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 


_ Research Assistant 
Librarian and Editor 

__ Superintendent 
Floriculturist 
Be eN AS Ae sent ee, Horticulturist 


Joseph Guta Kine a Sahai tad Roar VE ate oat ton _In charge of Exotics 
Ladislaus Cutak..............------.- 


eae of ie aoa Gray Summit 


_In charge of Succulents 


__Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a “Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 
some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL 


GARD: 


HN BULL 


4 CIN 


CONTENTS 


3romeliads are Fascinating Plants 


Notes . 


Volume XXXII 


September, 1945 


139 
161 


Number 7 


Cover: Billbergia vittata. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


Missour1 Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXIII SEPTEMBER, 1945 No. 7 


BROMELIADS ARE FASCINATING PLANTS 
LADISLAUS CUTAK anv GEORGE H. PRING 


Aside from two well-known plants, the Spanish moss and the pineapple, 
very few people are familiar with members of the Bromeliaceae family. 
However, it comprises more than 1,600 species, scattered among 50 genera, 
which in gardening circles are frequently referred to as “‘bromels” or 
“bromeliads.” Like the bizarre Cactus that boasts full American ancestry, 
so, too, the members of the Bromeliaceae are truly All-American except for 
one species in the genus Pitcairnia which has recently been reported from 
Africa. 

At one time bromeliads were greatly sought after in Europe, but here in 
America they have not been so highly esteemed. This oversight might be 
laid to the woeful lack of English literature on the subject and to the fact 
that the American nurserymen handle very few kinds. However, in recent 
years these plants have stirred up much interest among plant fanciers, and 
there is no doubt that they are beginning to take the place in horticulture 
which they so deserve. 

Members of the Bromeliaceae are classed as tropical or subtropical, even 
though some of them can withstand a certain amount of freezing weather. 
Their range extends from southeastern Virginia southward and westward 
through the coastal states to Texas and across northern Mexico. In the 
Mexican Republic—in fact in all of Central America—, the West Indies, and 
adjoining islands they are distributed over the entire land. They are also 
met with throughout South America, but their areas of thickest concen- 
tration occur along the Pacific coast, in southeastern Brazil, and northern 
Argentina. 

The plants are terrestrial (growing in the ground), epiphytic (growing 
on other plants but not deriving nourishment from them), or saxicolous 
(growing on rocks). As terrestrials they thrive in the same type of soil 
as cacti and other xerophytes, covering large dense areas on the desert floor, 


(139) 


140 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


or they may prefer the acid soil of a jungle forest where only filtered sun- 
light is available. As epiphytes they cling to forest trees high up in the air, 
often beyond the reach of man or foraging animal. Epiphytic bromels 
should never be considered as parasites for they derive all their sustenance 
from the air. They rely on the host merely for support, clinging to it with 
a tenacious grip. The few rock-dwelling bromels attach themselves to 
precipitous stone outcroppings or grow in the cracks of weather-beaten 
boulders whose surface is often so hot as to burn one’s hand. Growing in 
such a wide range, under all kinds of conditions, and in various media, it is 
no wonder that the Bromeliaceae offer some of the most unusual and 
fascinating plants ever known. 

A typical bromeliad plant is formed of a rosette of leaves, either loose 
or compact, of diminutive or massive size. The leaves may be grass-like 
or widely strap-shaped, rigid or quite flexible, smooth or rough to the 
touch, short or elongated, brightly colored or nearly lifeless, often mottled, 
marbled, striped, or spotted, and with or without marginal spines. The 
flowering stalk may be terminal or lateral, sunken in the nest of leaves or 
extending far beyond them. The inflorescence may be a panicle (compound 
flower cluster) as in Pitcairnia, or a raceme (simple flower cluster) as in 
Billbergia, capitate (head-like) as in Neoregelia, or strobiliform (pinecone- 
shaped) as in Ananas. The flowers may be small and inconspicuous or 
large and showy, lasting a few hours or at most a few days, with or without 
fragrance. The seed-pod or fruit is often richly colored, and the length of 
time it remains on the stalk varies with the genus. Most of the bromels 
possess some sort of a root system although a few of the epiphytic ones, 
like Tillandsia usneoides and T. decom posita, have dispensed with this organ 
altogether and rely on the leaves to perform the function of the roots. 
The tree- or rock-inhabiting bromels usually have short and stubby 
roots whose chief purpose is to keep the plants upright or in a_ posi- 
tion that will serve them best in life. It is often surprising how these 
short stiff roots can support massive plants on perpendicular surfaces and 
with what tenacity they cling to tree trunks when the collector tries to 
dislodge them. The terrestrial bromels usually have a more elaborate mesh- 
work of roots but it is as nothing compared with some of our common 
perennials. 

Some kind of bromeliad can be found in flower all the year round. At 
the Garden we have photographed flowering specimens in every month, but 
a greater majority seem to bloom in late winter and early spring and a 
second wave commences in July and continues up to early winter. As to 
flowers, the most intriguing pastel shades are found in the genus Billbergia. 
In shape the flowers are tubular with petals usually spreading widely or 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 141 


rolling up spirally to the base like a watch-spring. Individual blossoms are 
short-lived and the whole inflorescence usually completes its blooming cycle 
within a week. Aechmea flowers are much smaller than those of Billbergia, 
in some cases nearly microscopic, and although the petals wither shortly 
after opening the inflorescences remain highly colored for several weeks. 
This is likewise true of Hohenbergia and of several other genera. Certain 
species of Tillandsia and of Vriesia are amazingly large and beautiful and 


are much sought-after plants, particularly those possessing a distichous 


Vriesia splendens A hybrid Vriesia (x Mariae) 


(arranged in two vertical rows) or fan-shaped inflorescence. Dyckia is 
another genus popular with cactus fans. In Neoregelia the flowers are con- 
gregated in a dense flattish head resembling a shaving-brush and sunk in the 
center of a nest-like rosette of leaves. The white or lavender flowers of 
Nidularium are in a dense head issuing from the center of the leaf rosette, 
but whitish flowers also spring forth in the axils of the surrounding reduced 
leaves. In Cryptanthus the white flowers are bunched in a small tuft in 
the center of the rosette. The above genera represent those most frequently 
met with in American collections. 
HISTORY 

The discovery of the first bromel was coincident with the exploration of 

America by the Spaniards in 1493. It was then that the companions of 


Columbus first saw the pineapple on Guadeloupe Island in the Lesser 


142 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Antilles. The flavor and fragrance of the fruit astonished and delighted 
them, according to the chronicler, Peter Martyr de Anghiera. All the early 
historians, Las Casas, Oviedo, Benzoni, etc., mention the pineapple in their 
books. Oviedo, who came to America in 1513 and remained several years 
to gather knowledge about Spain’s new kingdom, describes three kinds of 
pineapples in his ‘Historia General de las Indias.’ This precious old tome, 
published in 1535, contains what is believed to be the first accurate illustra- 


tion of the fruit. 


Ne 


. "7 
aE 


Pineapple (Ananas comosus) 


No one knows just where the pineapple originated. However, it 1s pre- 
sumed that it grew in Brazil or even in the Guianas whence it was 
introduced by the Carib Indians to the West Indies long before the white 
man first set foot in the New World. Nor do we know for how many 
centuries the plant had been cultivated in tropical America, but it must 
have been from time immemorial judging from the fact that it would have 
taken years for the Indian agriculturists to develop the wild hard fruit into 
the luscious product that it was when the Spaniards arrived. The native 
varieties were further improved by the early American colonists until to- 
day the pineapple is one of the choicest of tropical fruits. 

It is presumed that the Spaniards lost no time in introducing the pine- 
apple (Ananas comosus) to the Philippines and the East Indies, whence 


it found its way to China and India. One writer claims that the fruit was 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 143 


common in India as early as 1549. Another stated that it had been natural- 
ized in Java as early as 1599. The plant was brought to Europe about the 
middle of the seventeenth century and successfully fruited in Holland in 
1686. Four years later plants were sent to England but it was not until 
1712 that they were fruited by Sir Mathew Decker in his garden at Rich- 
mond in Surrey. At first the pineapples were seen only in greenhouses where 
they were raised for rich landowners but later they were imported and 
became a common sight in English markets. The pineapple to-day is being 
cultivated in all the tropical lands of the world, and many million fruits 
are consumed annually, either eaten raw or used in jams, confections, 
beverages, etc. 

Tillandsia usneoides, better known as Spanish moss, was most likely the 
second Bromeliaceous plant seen by the early Spanish explorers. It is doubt- 


ful, however, if they realized that it was so closely related to their delicious 


Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) 


144 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


pineapple. Composed of fine long threads which are covered with silver- 
gray scales, the Spanish moss looks more like a lichen than a bromel. But 
then should you examine the plant closely the inconspicuous greenish 
flowers issuing from the transformed leaves would betray its identity. It is 
the most widely dispersed bromel in existence. Its northern limit is the 
Dismal Swamp in Virginia, while its southern limits extend to Argentina, 
thence across to Chile and up the Pacific Coast to Lower California. It is 
never found very far inland and wherever it grows it imparts a ghostly 
atmosphere. Tangled garlands of Spanish moss festoon live oaks and cypress 
trees along the streams and bayous of southern and southeastern United 
States and transform the landscapes into veritable fairylands. 

This strangely weird moss has an economic importance. The natives of 
the southern United States pull it down from the trees with hooked poles 
and rakes and sell it as stuffing for furniture and mattresses. It is the fine 
hair-like thread in the stem and leaves which is desired. An energetic 
picker can gather from 200 to 300 pounds a day but it must be cured be- 
fore it can be used. In the early days the moss was buried to hasten dis- 
integration but now it is immersed in the bayous for several days and then 
spread along fences and racks to be cured by the sun and rain. Before 
World War II cured moss, bailed, brought the moss picker about two dollars 
for each hundred pounds, which seems like a paltry sum but it sufhces for 
the swamp-dweller’s needs. 

From the time Columbus first saw the pineapple to the days of Linnaeus 
(a lapse of 260 years) only a few kinds of bromels were known. In his 
“Species Plantarum” (1753), Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who is con- 
sidered the father of modern botany, recognized two genera of Bromeliaceae: 
Bromelia, to which he assigned five species, and Tillandsia which contained 
nine. These fourteen bromels are now called Ananas comosus, Aechmea 
nudicaulis, Ae. serrata, Bromelia Karatas, B. Pinguin, Guzmania lingulata, 
G. monostachya, Tillandsia polystachia, T. recurvata, T. tenuifolia, T. utri- 
culata, T. usneoides, Vriesia paniculata, and Wittmackia lingulata. During 
the next hundred years the number of bromels had increased to such an 
extent that about 350 species, belonging to 27 genera, were recognized by 
Bentham and Hooker in their “Genera Plantarum’, published in 1862-1883. 

In the middle part of the nineteenth century some important plant 
discoveries were made in Mexico and Central America as well as in countries 
of South America. It is true that many of these explorers went in search 
of orchids but they did not overlook other promising horticultural material. 
Some of the best-known collectors of the Bromeliaceae of that time were: 
Karwinski, Andrieux, Bourgeau, Schiede, Skinner, Leibold, and Gaudichaud, 
all of whom collected in Mexico and Central America; and Blanchet, Ule, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Bromeliad Propagating House 


146 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Glaziou, Tweedie, Miers and Poeppig, who confined themselves to Brazil and 
other South American countries. The names of most of these collectors are 
now commemorated in plants. William Friedrich von Karwinski, a Bavarian 
naturalist, after having collected in Brazil, was sent in 1826 to hunt objects 
of natural history in Mexico. He remained there about five years, then went 
back in 1840 for three years more. During those eight years he sent home 
a great number of living plants. Andrieux, another collector of Mexican 
bromeliads, made his collections before 1835. Bourgeau, working for the 
French Scientific Commission to Mexico in 1865-66, is said to have made 
a more thorough search of the districts traversed than any other collector 
in Mexico. Glaziou was probably the greatest collector of Brazilian brome- 
liads and is honored in the genus Neoglazovia, plants of which furnish good 
fiber for ropes. 

From about 1850 to 1890 an intense interest developed in the Bro- 
meliaceae, particularly in France, Belgium, and Holland. Prof. Edouard 
Morren, of Liége, Belgium, was regarded as the greatest authority on this 
group of plants, and he also did more to popularize them than any other 
bromel enthusiast. He had the most complete living collection of bromels 
at that time, which after his death, in 1886, was purchased by the Kew 
Gardens in London. For twenty years he was busy accumulating notes, 
drawings, and observations on this fascinating plant family. He was editor 
of La Belgique Horticole where most of his notes on bromels were published. 
Sharing his enthusiasm for these plants were other editors of that era: 
Eduard Regel and L. Wittmack of Gartenflora, whose names are honored 
in the genera Neoregelia and Wittmackia; E. A. Carriére of Revue Horticole; 
Charles Lemaire, Edward André, and J. Linden, of L’ I/lustration Horticole. 
In 1889 J. G. Baker published a “Handbook of the Bromeliaceae,” the first 
extensive English work on this subject, in which he described over 800 
species. 

At the present time more than 1,600 species and varieties of Bromeliaceae 
are listed, and many more will probably be discovered as botanical searchers 
push deeper into American jungles or as keen observers detect differences 
in plants already known. The Bromeliaceae contain a number of species, 
particularly in the genus Vriesia, which look so alike that it is difficult to 
distinguish them when not in flower. Sometimes a new species turns up 
from regions that have been well combed over, due mostly to the fact that 
plant hunters overlooked the specimens in flowerless seasons. 

The most noted collector of bromels at present is Mulford B. Foster, of 
Orlando, Florida. Prior to World War IT he made two 6-months trips to 
Brazil and brought back many long-lost species 2s well as some 80 new 
things. The latter have already been described by Dr. Lyman B. Smith, of 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 147 


the Gray Herbarium, the present authority on this plant family. It. is 
probable that many more new species, or at least varieties, will result from 
Foster’s collecting. In his Orlando Orchidario Foster has been hybridizing 
many of his new introductions and already has developed some spectacular 
specimens which will be on the market as soon as enough stock is propa- 
gated. The Garden is the recipient of many of Foster’s new plants, and he 
claims that we have the largest number of Bromeliaceae of any botanical 
institution in the United States. More than 160 species, including a large 
number of rarities (excluding the hybrids), are represented in our collec- 
tion. Of the 50 genera recognized all but 17 are included. It may be of 
interest to list the genera represented at the Garden, with the number of 


species of each genus. 


Acanthostachys 1 Dyckia 12 Nidularium 7 
Aechmea 25 Encholirium 1 Orthophytum 1 
Ananas 4 Fascicularia 1 Pitcairnia 10 
Androlepis 1 Gravisia 1 Portea 1 
Araeococcus | Greigia 1 Pseudananas 1 
Billbergia 19 Guzmania 3 Puya 4 
Bromelia 2 Hechtia 2 Quesnelia 5 
Canistrum 2 Hohenbergia 3 Streptocalyx 1 
Catopsis 1 Lindmania 1 Tillandsia 21 
Cryptanthus 8 Neoglaziovia 1 Vriesia 9 
Deuterocohnia 1 Neoregelia 11 Wittmackia 1 


CULTURE 


Bromels are amongst the easiest plants to grow in the greenhouse and 
also make very good house plants. The spiny desert kinds can be grown 
like cacti and are often included in cactus collections. Some of the dwarf 
varieties such as Dyckias and Cryptanthi do well in dish gardens. Those 
bromels that spend their natural life on tree trunks and branches often keep 
company with orchids, aroids, and other epiphytes and will require the same 
treatment as given those plants. Many home gardeners consider these 
epiphytic bromels more suitable as house plants than the desert kinds be- 
cause they do not possess the vicious spiny armament of the latter. 

The epiphytic bromels are well supplied with moisture in their native 
habitats, even in the dry season. This is because the gutter-like leaves which 
form the rosette growth direct the rain or moisture to a natural reservoir 
in the center. It is not uncommon to find plants holding a gallon of water, 
hence the common name “tank air plant.” In the greenhouse Nature’s 
system of watering should be adopted, that is, the rosette “vase” should be 
filled. However, as it holds water only up to the imbricated base of the 
leaves the overflow reaches the roots. In their natural habitats the rosette 
is the chief means of water intake and the roots serve to support and 
fasten the plant to the bark of the tree. Tillandsia recurvata and T. 


148 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


usneoides have been observed growing upon trolley wires in the tropics. 
Most bromels do not like “wet feet,” and if planted in too large a pot root 
deterioration and subsequent discoloration of the leaf results. 

During the summer it is necessary to shade the roof of the greenhouse 
so as to permit 25-30 per cent light. A few of the highly colored species 
prefer more shade. Atmospheric conditions should be humid with a win- 
ter temperature of from 65 to 70° F. Extreme heat with dry temperature 
will cause burning of leaves as was experienced at the Garden in 1936 (see 
Mo. Bot. Gard. Bulletin 24:179. Sept. 1936). 

The best potting material for epiphytic bromels is fibrous peat, but since 
the scarcity of this substance we have been using, with good results, the 
discarded orchid peat. Like the orchids, these plants prefer firm potting. 
This may be accomplished by wedging small clumps of peat sideways into 
the pot, using a pointed potting stick as a fulcrum to cause the lateral 
pressure. Do not try to insert the peat from the top as that will create an 
upward pressure, resulting in a loosely potted plant. If the material is 
moistened it works much better. When transplanting avoid breaking the 
fine black roots which look like peat. A single potting is sufficient to carry 
the plant through to the flowering period. 

The habit of growth is usually sympodial (axial growth continued by 


successive lateral shoots). When growth is completed the flower spike 


Bromel offshoot ripe for propagation 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 149 


appears from the base of the leafy rosette. With she ripening of the seed- 
pods the life cycle of that shoot is complete, no further leaves developing 
from the rosette. The shoot, however, produces suckers from its base for 
which it provides food and water. In propagation these young shoots are 
removed when about 2 or 3 inches high, being cut close to the old base, 
and then rooted in equal parts of sand and sphagnum moss. The old plant 
will then make new suckers. If the grower wants only a few plants then 
leave the shoot until well enough rooted so that only a single potting is 
necessary. Plants of the genus Cryptanthus, frequently used in dish gar- 
dens, produce several growths from the old flower spike. These will vol- 
untarily drop off, at which time they are easily rooted in sand. The common 
pineapple is another example of this viviparous habit (sprouting while still 
attached to the parent plant). 

Most of the bromels produce plenty of seeds. Those of Billbergia when 
ripe are stuck together within the pod by a gelatinous substance which 
attracts both ants and mice. If this is not washed off the seed-pan may 
look like a fox-hole. The desert species such as Dyckias should be sown 
like cactus seed in a soil mixture of well-rotted leaf-mold, sand, and garden 
loam. Firm the soil gently and barely cover the evenly distributed seeds 
with sand. Do not water from above but place the seed pan in a shallow 
pan of water (feeding by capillary action). The water also acts as a 
partial barrier against ants. Finally place a piece of glass over the top of 
the pan to prevent change of temperature and rapid drying of the surface. 
When the seedlings are large enough to handle conveniently transplant them 
into community pans, then into single pots. Tillandsia seeds are very minute 
and have cottony appendages. They should be sown as soon as ripe since 
they soon lose their ability to germinate. Sow them on the surface of 
finely chopped sphagnum moss. The use of a Wardiar: case will give the 
best results in germination. It should be maintained at a temperature of 
70° F., which is an ideal temperature for germinating all bromels. 

Generally speaking, insects are not a problem with bromels. The soft 
seedling leaves are sometimes attacked by thrips, but these may be con- 
trolled by a rotenone or nicotine spray. Adult plants occasionally will be- 
come infested with a minute black hard-shelled scale which is hard to 
eliminate. Spraying with miscible oil is dangerous since the spray will reach 
the central leaf reservoir, then flow over the leaves to the roots. If used be 
sure to tip the plants to dump out all water and oil film. A positive remedy 
is to segregate the plants, remove all water from the center, dry them for 
a day, then fumigate with cyanogas. Where the grower has only a few 
plants the slow method may be adopted of brushing the scale with the 


miscible oil solution. 


150 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


To help the beginner to become acquainted with this fascinating group 
of plants we select a number of species for their outstandingly beautiful 


foliage and for their brilliancy of bloom. 


BEAUTIFUL FOLIAGI 


Aechmea caudata variegata Neoglaziovia variegata 
fasciata Neoregelia marmorata 
Fosteriana sarmentosa_ chlorosticta 
fulgens discolor spectabilis 
miniata discolor Nidularium amazonicum 
orlandiana fulgens 
Pineliana procerum 

Billbergia horrida tigrina Innocentii lineatum 
Meyeri Innocenti striatum 
Saundersii Tillandsia Butzii 
vittata streptophylla 
zebrina Vriesia Fosteriana 

Cryptanthus Beuckeri guttata 
zonatus hicrogly phica 

Guzmania musaica Saundersii 


splendens 


BRILLIANT FLOWERS 


Aechmea distichantha Quesnelia Liboniana 
fasciata Tillandsia Lindeni 
Mertensit Lindeniana 
Racinae Vriesia carinata 
Weilbachii X Mariae 

Billbergia Euphemiae psittacina 
pyramidalis splendens 


thyrsoidea 
DESCRIPTIONS 

The interesting bromeliads that have flowered in the Garden’s collection 
are described in the following paragraphs: 

Acanthostachys strobilacea is a rather straggly plant with several spread- 
ing and slender, few-leaved stems. It is a botanical oddity at most, hardly 
fit for home culture or even a small greenhouse, but it does produce a 
rather interesting and colorful inflorescence of Light Yellow Green* flowers 
and Carrot Red to Carnelian Red bracts. First introduced in 1840. 

The genus Aechmea is composed of about 150 species, most of them 
growing high up on gigantic trees. Some of them are unusually stunning 
with long-lasting flower-heads, but the individual flowers are generally small. 

Aechmea bracteata is a robust grower which thrives exceedingly well 
in the soil of our Palm House. Grown as a pot plant its erect rigid 
leaves form a tight, cylindrical, vase-like container but when planted out 
in the ground the plants form huge clumps with spreading leaves 5 feet or 
more in length. The leaves are bright green and armed with large, vicious, 
widely-set, marginal teeth. The flower-stalk is at least 3 feet high and 
bears at the top a slender pyramidal, branched inflorescence with tiny Pale 


* Technical color terms used are those of Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomen- 
clature. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 151 


Greenish Yellow flowers. The bright red to Rose Red scape bracts, which 
are the conspicuous feature of the flower-head, remain beautiful for at least 
eight weeks. Grows in Mexico and Central America. 

Aechmea bromeliifolia is a medium-sized plant with flexible Lettuce 
Green leaves covered underneath with minute, closely set, silvery-white scaly 
lines. The flower-stalk rises above the spreading foliage and bears an oblong, 
densely white-woolly, pinecone-shaped spike, with the flowers arranged in 8 
slightly spiral rows, 5 to 9 to a row. The individual flowers are embedded 
in the wool of the spike, only the petals and a small portion of the calyx 
protruding from it. The petals are Straw Yellow, but soon turn black. 


Grows wild in northern South America. 


Aechmea Fosteriana Aechmea fasciata 


Aechmea distichantha is another robust grower from Brazil. The broad 
inner grayish leaves form a vase about 2 feet high, but when grown in the 
ground they have a tendency to spread out and become narrow and 
elongated. The inflorescence is a dark pinkish, densely white-woolly panicle 
with crowded, claw-like branchlets upon which the Amethyst Violet flowers 
rest. 

Aechmea fasciata, one of the most fascinating of all Aechmeas, was first 
introduced into cultivation from Brazil in 1826. Picture a foot-high 
marbled greenish vase from which issues a bouquet of pink and_ bluish 
flowers and you have a mental image of this superb specimen. 

Aechmea fulgens discolor is a common and very attractive plant from 


French Guiana. Some 15 broadly strap-shaped leaves form a vase-like 


152 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


rosette from the center of which emerges a foot-long Carmine stalk bearing 
an equally colorful triangular panicle of flowers. The petals are Mulberry 
Purple, thick, boat-shaped, opening slightly in late afternoon and turning 
Rose Red on withering. The calyx, with the adherent ovary, forms a rich 
Scarlet Red berry which remains brilliant for at least two or three months. 

Aechmea Mertensii is a rare bromel from Brazil and the Guianas. Its 
bright green, scaly leaves are beset with spreading spinous dark brown teeth 
all along their margins. The 8- to 12-inch flower-stalk is covered with con- 
spicuous Jasper Red bracts and topped by a dense cylindrical spike composed 
of numerous flower clusters, 5 or 6 flowers to a cluster. The sepals are 
Light Orange-Yellow tinged faintly with red and terminated by a prominent 
blackish rigid spine. Petals are deep red and the berries, upon maturing, 
turn a Deep Chicory Blue. 

Aechmea miniata discolor is a very decorative plant, its beautiful foliage 
being Violet Carmine beneath and a soft lustrous green above. The some- 
what dense flower-head is Nopal Red to Carmine in color and bears tiny 
lilac sessile flowers on the branchlets. The berries are flesh-colored at first, 
bright cherry-red at maturity. 

Aechmea pubescens is a Central American species with none of the 
brilliancy of those mentioned above. Contains no merit at all. 

Aechmea Racinae is a Brazilian species discovered by Mulford Foster 
only a few years ago and named for his wife, who accompanied him on his 
two bromel hunts. This species is different from all the others in the genus 
in having a most startling pendent inflorescence with individual flowers 


c 


bright red, pale yellow-chrome and black, reminding one of the “corn candy” 
sold in confectionery stores. To display the flowers to best advantage the 
plant should be grown in a hanging basket or else attached to a bark slab as 
is done with orchids. 

Aechmea recurvata is a stiff, Yellow-Green plant from Uruguay whose 
inner leaves commence to turn red when the specimen is about to bloom. 
The marginal prickles are small, chocolate-tipped, and quite sharp. The 
purple flowers appear on a dense erect spike, but are hardly noticeable be- 
cause the tightly clasping leaves partially hide them. 

Aechmea victoriana is another Foster introduction from Brazil. There 
happen to be two forms of this, the red and the green. The leaves of the 
red form are richly tinged underneath with reddish-purple, while the flower- 
stalk is dull reddish and the scape bracts black. The green form, on the 
other hand, has bright green leaves, flower-stalk and bracts. The species 
has a strange flower, the petals being Raisin Purple and the ovary peach- 
colored slightly tinged with Scarlet-Red. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 1535 


Flower cluster of Billbergia thyrsoidea Neoregelia marmorata 
(Flaming Torch Plant) 


Nidularium Innocentii var. striatum Nidularium Innocentii var. lineatum 


154 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Aechmea Weilbachii is a striking stemless bromel with Oil Green to 
bronze-red leaves and a bright floral stalk supporting lilac-colored blossoms. 
It is a very good grower and easy propagator. Hails from Brazil, home of 
many fine bromels. 

Ananas comosus (the well-known pineapple) makes an interesting house 
plant which any one can grow. The crowns from the pineapples that you 
buy can be cut off, calloused and planted. There are several varieties or 
forms cultivated. The rigid flower-stalk bears a pinecone-like inflorescence 
with violet or purplish flowers. 

Androlepis Skinneri is a rare Guatemalan plant that somewhat resembles 
Aechmea mexicana in its vegetative characters, but the inflorescence 1s 
different. Its leaves are wide with serrate edges and form a nestlike rosette. 
They are usually Brick Red to purple-red on the upper surface, particularly 
when about to bloom. 

The genus Billbergia boasts of having a great array of showy members, 
not merely for the flowers but for the whole inflorescence including the 
attendant bracts and foliage. The flowers, however, are short-lived and 
turn brown immediately after blooming. B. amoena is a species with so 
many variations that it makes your head spin. In our specimens the leaves 
are rather soft-textured and the flowers are light green flushed Dark Bluish 
Violet at the petal tips. The pinkish bracts are a conspicuous part of the 
flower-stalk. 

Billbergia Euphemiae is a Brazilian bromeliad with exquisite drooping 
delicate Salmon Color and deep violet flowers. Its name commemorates the 
wife of Prof. Morren, who first flowered the plant at Liege, Belgium, in 
1868. 

Billbergia macrocalyx is a long tubular plant with bright green, pale- 
spotted and white-banded leaves and a densely white-mealy spike bearing 
several pale greenish flowers with Light Violet-Blue tips. 

Billbergia macrolepis is a slim tubular Panamanian plant which is said 
to resemble the Brazilian B. Meyeri in vegetative characters, but as we have 
not as yet flowered the latter species we cannot compare them. When Mr. 
Pring collected our plants in Panama, fifteen years ago, he thought that 
they might be slender forms of the beautiful B. zebrina. They may yet 
turn out to be something new as the floral bracts are not as long as those on 
the type sheet of B. macrolepis in the Garden herbarium. 

Billbergia nutans is one of the commonest species in this genus, but it is 
by no means one of the handsomest. Its leaves often are grass-like and 
from the tufted rosettes spring forth drooping spikes of oddly colored 
green flowers with a distinct dark Aniline-blue margin. 

Billbergia pallidiflora is a Mexican species belonging to that group whose 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 155 


petals roll up like a watch-spring. This one, however, is the least showy of 
the group and has pale green flowers as the specific name suggests. 

Billbergia Porteana is one of the showiest tubular bromeliads. The very 
firm, erect leaves are marked by irregular transverse bands of mealy white 
pubescence. The flower-stalk bears a drooping spike of satiny green flowers 
with long exserted greenish to violet stamens. Its petals roll up spirally 
from the apex to the base. 

Billbergia pyramidalis is an old-fashioned favorite found in most collec- 
tions. Its flowers appear in a dense spike and are Rose Red with violet tips. 

Billbergia Saundersii is a highly colorful species both as to foliage and 
flowers. The leaves are thickly spotted with white, pink and pale yellow, 
while the flowers are deep green with Roslyn Blue in the upper portion. 

Billbergia thyrsoidea is a bright green stoloniferous species that sends up 
a dense torch-like inflorescence of bright scarlet flowers tinged Violet- 
Purple at the tips. Although epiphytic this member thrives well on the 
jungle floor of the Palm House and lights up, literally speaking, darkened 
nooks when in blossom. 

Billbergia zebrina is a highly prized ornamental from Brazil. The 
leaves are mostly Dark Livid Brown with light greenish or pale yellow 
blotches and gray bands. Inflorescence is a drooping spike with satiny 
green flowers and greatly revolute petals. 


Although Cryptanthus is a Brazilian genus it may possibly be found also 


Cryptanthus zonatus 


156 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


in the Guianas. The genus contains about 12 species, the most popular of 
which is C. zonatus, a short, stemless, rosette plant. The leaves are marked 
with wavy cross-bands of dirty white scales suggestive of zebra stripes. 
The flowers of the Cryptanthi are white and appear freely. C. bahiensis is 
a new desert species discovered by Foster, with wavy, spiny leaf margins and 
glabrous, light green foliage. 

The genus Dyckia contains more than 75 species most of which are 
Brazilian although several are also found in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, 
and Bolivia. The majority are desert terrestrials of dwarf or large size, with 
very thick and rigid, spine-margined leaves arranged in dense, compact or 
loose rosettes. The flowers are small, somewhat bell-shaped, and bright 
yellow to orange. Cactus fanciers are most enthusiastic about the Dyckias 
and justly so. The common species are D. rariflora, D. sulphurea, and D. 
remotiflora. 

The genus Guzmania contains over 80 species of mostly epiphytic herbs 
growing wild in Central America, the West Indies, and northern South 
America. One of the oddest and best known is the Colombian G. musaica 
whose purple-tinted green leaves are peculiarly marked with fine wavy lines 
of red-brown. The stemless or slightly caulescent G. Zahnii produces a 
loose rosette nearly 3 feet broad. Its leaves are green tinged with red 
throughout and have pronounced dark red longitudinal stripes at their base. 
The flowers are yellow. The discoverer of this plant, Mr. Zahn, collec- 
tor for the nursery firm of Messrs. Veitch of London, was drowned on 
one of his collecting trips in Panama. 

The genus Hohenbergia is confined to South America and the West 
Indies. Some 30 species are recognized, the best known being the Brazilian 
H. stellata, an Aechmea-like plant with rigid spinescent foliage and a 
branched inflorescence of reddish bracts and Violet-Purple flowers. 

Lindmania contains about a dozen species of low, slender, terrestrial 
herbs. The best known is L. penduliflora but it cannot be classed as an 
ornamental in any way. The flowers are small, whitish, and pendulous on 
wiry, semi-horizontal branchlets of the 2-foot flower stalk. 

In Neoregelia are to be found some of the most outstanding members of 
the Bromeliaceae. The genus is confined mostly to Brazil. N. ampullacea is 
a very distinct slender plant with lightly marbled leaves and violet flowers. 

Neoregelia Carolinae forms a large spreading rosette of Calla Green 
leaves, the inner circle of which assumes a brilliant Pomegranate Purple 
color when the plant is about to bloom. The low flower-spike puts forth 
Violet-Blue blossoms. Neoregelia laevis has wider leaves than the preceding 
but they are not as vivid although flushed pink at the base and along the 
margins. The flowers are white. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 157 


Neoregelia marmorata should be included in every collection of house 
plants. Its green leaves are heavily blotched with Violet Carmine on both 
surfaces. The dense flower cluster consists of from 55 to 70 flowers but 
only 3 or 4 open at a time, which seems to be characteristic of the genus. 
The flowers are white, greenish at the center and light lavender at the tips. 

Neoregelia Pineliana is a rare species with linear-lanceolate, Brownish 
Vinaceous leaves arranged in a somewhat interrupted rosette. The head of 
violet flowers is surrounded by brilliantly colored bract leaves of Rosolane 
Purple. 

Neoregelia spectabilis is readily recognized by the singular bright Aster 
Purple patch, a half inch deep, at each leaf. It reminds one of a lady’s 
painted finger-nail, and is now popularly called ‘“‘finger-nail plant.” Beauty 
shops and barber shops should feature this plant in their show cases. 

Neoregelia tristis is another plant worthy of cultivation. Its narrow 
leaves are bright green with blotches of red-brown. A somewhat loose and 
dwarf replica of the more spectacular N. marmorata. 

The genus Nidularium is characterized by nest-like rosettes, the generic 
name being derived from the Latin nidus meaning “nest.” There are about 
30 species, all native to Brazil. One of the most outstanding variegated 
species is N. Innocentit var. striatum. Its rosettes are composed of 50 or 
more stiffish Lettuce Green leaves vertically striped with unequal lines of 
Chartreuse Yellow. The inner cluster of foliage turns red at the tips when 
the flower spike makes its appearance. N. Innocentii var. lineatum, with 
finer alternate green and white lines, is much rarer in collections. Flowers 
are white. 

Pitcairnia contains mostly plants that thrive on rocky bluffs, in rock 
crevices, or in the ground. Over 180 species are described, one of which, 
P. Raimondii, is probably the largest and most striking member of the 
Bromeliaceae. J. Francis Macbride states that it is used for roof timbers. 
P. Andreana is remarkable in the genus for its dwarf habit and simple close 
raceme of very large, scarlet and rich yellow flowers. 

Pitcairnia corallina is a distinctly decorative species with leaves much 
resembling those of the weevil plant, Curculigo recurvata. The remarkable 
bright red flower stalk arises from the base of the tuft of leaves, then ab- 
ruptly curves downward, causing the raceme of bright red flowers to lie 
on the ground. 

Pitcairnia latifolia is a densely tufted, grass-like plant from the West 
Indies, with a simple or few-branched inflorescence of reddish flowers. 

Pitcairnia xanthocalyx is a dense terrestrial composed of narrow flexible 
Pea Green leaves and a simple inflorescence of Light Viridine Yellow flowers. 


OQuesnelia Liboniana, discovered by the adventurous naturalist, Libon, in 


158 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Villandsia Lindeniana (Fan flower) Tillandsia streptophylla 


Tillandsia ionantha Tillandsia anceps 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 159 


the forests of Brazil about 1848, is a showy deep green bromeliad with 
highly colorful flowers. The individual flowers are sessile, 2! inches long, 
with a Coral Red to scarlet ovary and calyx and Dark Bluish Violet flowers. 

The genus Tillandsia consists of nearly 400 tropical and subtropical 
species of various habits. It is the most widely scattered genus in the 
Bromeliaceac. T. anceps is a stemless, grass-like species with an ovate- 
elliptic flower spike composed of closely imbricated white to greenish flower 
bracts. The Pale Mauve to Lavender-Violet flowers are rather poor and 
inconspicuous as compared with T. Lindeni and its relatives. 

Tillandsia Baileyi is a south Texas species with leaves involute or rolled 
inward, finely ash-scaly all over. The inflorescence is a simple spike bearing 
about six mauve to violet flowers. 

Tillandsia Balbisiana is a Florida native whose long inflated leaf sheaths 
form a characteristic ovoid pseudobulb 2-4 inches high. The inflorescence 
is typical of most Tillandsias and the flowers are Manganese Violet. 

Tillandsia bulbosa is a botanical oddity. Like the preceding, its leaf 
sheaths form a dense ovoid pseudobulb but hard and inflated, green outlined 
with red. The blades are rigid, waved, and somewhat spirally twisted. 

Tillandsia Butzii resembles T. bulbosa, but the smaller inflated pseudo- 
bulb, as well as the leaf blades and flower stalk, is Olive Green with purplish 
confluent spots. The coloring makes the plant more attractive. 

Tillandsia ionantha is a saucy, dwarfish, tufted epiphyte, only 3 to 4 
inches high. Its numerous stout leaves are covered with coarse spreading 
scales, making it look as if coated with sugar. The Haematoxylon Violet 
tubular flowers are few and half concealed in the tuft of silvery leaves. 
Highly desirable for any collection. 

Tillandsia juncea is a rush-like plant with firm, dark green, filiform 
leaves in dense rosettes 1 foot high. 

Tillandsia Leiboldiana belongs to the broad-leaved group. However, 
this not being one of the showy kinds, is ruled out as an ornamental. 

Tillandsia Lindeni and T. Lindeniana are without a doubt the showiest 
members of the Bromeliaceac and the most sought-after botanical oddities. 
Both are composed of many gracefully recurving leaves but the inflorescences 
and flowers easily separate them. 7. Lindeni has an elliptical to fan-shaped 
flower-spike Amaranth Pink in color, and the flowers are Amethyst Violet. 
T. Lindeniana grows a longer flowering stalk and its inflorescence is more 
oblong-lanceolate, perhaps tinged with more Rose Pink, and the flowers 
are slightly larger with definite white eyes. 

Tillandsia Schiedeana is a distinctly caulescent species with straggly 
silver-green leaves and a short dense spike of Lemon Chrome flowers. 


Tillandsia streptophylla is a most curious and beautiful Mexican brome- 


160 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


liad with a dense pseudobulb and twisting leaf-blades and red-tinted, imbri- 
cated, bract-like leaves—nearly hiding the purple flowers. 

Tillandsia tenuifolia is another rush-like bromel growing in graceful 
tufts. Produces typical tubular violet flowers and hails from Florida. 

Tillandsia usneoides is one of the most curious plants of the whole 
family. It hangs from trees in bunches many feet long, which habit is re- 
sponsible for its variety of common names, as Spanish Moss, Long Moss, 
Santa Claus’ Whiskers, etc. The inflorescence is reduced to one pseudo- 
terminal green flower which is hardly noticeable. 

The genus Vriesia is very close to Tillandsia, differing from it chiefly in 
its appendaged petals. Many of the species are brilliant-flowered, somewhat 
reminiscent of the bright plumage of the parrot. Others possess less spec- 
tacular flower-stalks, but their crowning glory is the leaves. 

Vriesia hieroglyphica is one of the most stunning of foliage plants. It 
has a decided protective coloration in its zigzag mottling, and, when viewed 
high on a branch with the sun shining through presents an inspiring sight. 

Vriesia scalaris produces medium-sized bright green rosettes from which 
extend foot-long red flower-stalks studded with long, tubular, green-tipped 
yellow blossoms, each one partially enclosed in a convolute Rose Red to 
Opal Red bract. 

Vriesia splendens is an outstanding foliage plant first introduced into 
cultivation about 1840. The broad green leaves are marked with very dis- 
tinct, broad, wavy cross-bands of purplish black, more pronounced beneath. 
The foot-long, green floral-stalk is covered with clasping, striped bract 
leaves. The inflorescence is a compact lanceolate spike composed of imbri- 
cating bright red bracts from which issues a yellow flower. The plant comes 
from French Guiana, the country of the famous French penal colony at 
Devils Island. It seems somewhat ironic that the most bizarre bromel mimics 
a convict’s garb so well. 

Vriesia X Mariae is a beautiful hybrid with a broadly ovate inflorescence 
on a long peduncle, its Carmine, green and yellow floral bracts tightly com- 
pressed to form a spike as in T. Lindeni. Flowers are Wax Yellow tipped 
green. This should be a “must” on your list. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 161 


NOTES 


The Greater St. Louis Victory Garden Harvest Show, sponsored by the 
Victory Garden Council, will be held in the Floral Display House at the 
Garden on September 15 and 16. The Show is for non-commercial ama- 
teurs, and all exhibits must be grown by the exhibitor, a person who does 
not sell plants, fruits, or vegetables for profit and who is not employed as 
a gardener. Prizes of $1,000 in war stamps and bonds will be awarded. In 
addition, the General MacArthur Medal will be awarded to the junior ex- 
hibitor having the highest number of points. For a schedule of exhibits 
and application blank or for further information call or visit the St. Louis 
Victory Garden Center, 4th floor Civil Courts Building, Phone 5280, 
Station 372. 


Visitors to the Garden during the summer months include the following: 
Dr. George J. Goodman, Professor of Botany, University of Oklahoma, 
Norman; Dr. Harry J. Fuller, Professor of Botany, University of Illinois, 
Urbana; Dr. Ernst Abbe, Professor of Botany, University of Minnesota, 
Minneapolis; Dr. Carl O. Sauer, Chairman Department of Geography, Uni- 
versity of California, Berkeley; Dr. Mary Maxine Larisey, Chairman Division 
of Science, Judson College, Marion, Ala.; Dr. Francis E. Drouet, Curator 
of Cryptogamic Botany, and Mr. Donald Richards, of the Chicago Natural 
History Museum (Field Museum); Mrs. Walter Hendrix Hodge, of 
Medellin, Colombia; Dr. A. H. Musick, Associate Professor of Pharmacology 
of the University of Tennessee, Memphis; Sr. Cooracy M. Franco, of the 
Instituto Agronomico, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Sr. Raul Briquet, Jr., 
Professor in Animal Breeding, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Dr. E. 
R. Sears, Research Associate, University of Missouri, Columbia; Pvt. Richard 
Speairs, of Scott Field, Il; Dr. Ralph S. Hervey, of the U. S$. Department 
of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry; Sgt. Gerald B. Ownbey, formerly 
Research Fellow at the Garden; Dr. C. R. Odel, orchid enthusiast, of 
Houston, Texas; Dr. H. I. Featherly, Professor of Botany, Oklahoma Agri- 
cultural and Mechanical College, Stillwater; Miss Martha Thurlow, Librarian, 
Department of Biology and Chemistry, University of Texas, Austin; Mr. 
Leslie Hubricht, of Norfolk, Va., formerly Research Assistant at the 
Garden. 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a “Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 


some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


George C. Hitchcock... 
Waniel: “Ky. +Cathines.c20 220 4022 
Fugene® Pettuss2 2 222.5: 


L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 
John S. Lehmann 


Joseph Desloge 
Mrs. Irma Friede 
A. P. Kaufmann 


William Scarlett 


Arthur H. Compton ~ 


Gerald Ulrici _ 


Georee: le Moore= 2-2-8 See 


Hermann von Schrenk 
Jesse M. Greenman 
Carroll W. Dodge 
Edgar Anderson 
Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
Henry N. Andrews 

Robert W. Schery (on 


Nelli @xeblorne rs. css. 22 eel as terranes 


George H. Pring 
Paul A. Kohl 
David C. Fairburn 


fol soto) ae Gh 0h cl eee 


Ladislaus Cutak. 
August P. Beilmann 
Gurney Wilson, F.L.S.. 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


President 
Vice-President 


_.......... Second Vice-President 
Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 
A. Wessel Shapleigh 

Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS 


_.. President, St. Louis Academy of Science 
__ President, Board of Education of St. Louis 
_.........Mayor of the City of St. Louis 

Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 


Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


Director 
_ Pathologist 
Herbarium 


Curator of 
a A ae ern OTE Nene NCATE __...Mycologist 
Geneticist 
Asi eee ____...Assistant Curator of Herbarium 

_..Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 
ee eee eee Research Assistant 
_.._._ Librarian and Editor 


Superintendent 


leave) 


_.. Floriculturist 


Horticulturist 


__......In charge of Exotics 


In charge of Succulents 
Manager of the Arboretum, Gray Summit 
__.......Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT THE 
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


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By Julian A. Steyermark. Price $1.50; a special price to schools 
and garden clubs—$1.00 a copy if 10 or more copies are sent to 
one address. Add 10 cents per copy to remittance to cover 
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MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN. 
Published monthly except July and August. Subscription price, 
$1.50 per year. 


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A guide for Garden visitors. Price 25 cents. 


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A Biography. Price 25 cents. 


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MISSOURI BOTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


CONTENTS 
The Hopi Sunflower... REPT As ieen- a a LOS 
Wild Animal Life at the Arboretum Sa hk as Ge es Se OF 
Why Plants Bloom Out of Season . . . . . . . 2 .). «170 
European Botanic Gardens and the War . . . . . . . . +172 
A Noteworthy Philippine Orchid—Vandopsis Davisii . . . 175 
Your Questions Answered . . . Mekhe al vey we <4 ua. LED 
Nowe. 4 «cee ee oe. gs aw 1 


Volume XXXII October, 1945 Number 8 


Cover: Nymphaea “Missouri,” a night blooming tropical water-lily created at the 
Garden. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 


Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXIII OCTOBER, 1945 No. 8 


THE HOPI SUNFLOWER 
CHARLES B. HEISER, Jr. 


Agriculture began with the dawn of civilization, and accordingly we 
must look to prehistoric times for the origin of most, if not all, of our im- 
portant cultivated plants. To study the origin of a great many of these 
plants we would have to go to Eurasia, and to trace the origin of the im- 
portant plants which were first cultivated in this hemisphere we would 
have to turn either to South or Central America. However, one plant—the 
sunflower—a native of the Great Plains region, does seem to be an important 
contribution of this country. The sunflower, called fceqa’ agaw’ u by the 
Hopi Indians of northern Arizona who have grown them for as long as we 
have record, may give us important clues to the beginnings of the cultiva- 
tion of this plant. Hopi sunflowers were grown in the economic garden of 
the Missouri Botanical Garden during the summer of 1945 from seed 
kindly supplied by Miss Katharine Bartlett of the Museum of Northern 
Arizona. 

The fact that these plants, as well as the wild sunflowers, play a very 
important role in the rituals and dances of these Indians is very significant. 
Alfred Whiting! lists several other uses of sunflowers. The plants of the 
huge golden flower are most highly valued for their large purple seeds, so 
dark as to appear almost black. Jimmy Kewanwytewa, a Hopi who now 
serves as Assistant at the Museum of Northern Arizona, related to me how 
it was one of the delights of the Hopi boys to obtain a few of these seeds 
when their elders weren’t looking and to eat them much as we do the 
peanut. These seeds were a source of food, but of still greater importance 
and probably the prime reason for their cultivation were for the purple dye 
that they yield when boiled in water. This dye is a very useful source of 
color for the basketry and textiles, and a body paint for ceremonial use. 


A lesser use of the plant is for construction purposes where the stems are 


"Ethnobotany of the Hopi. Mus. North. Ariz. Bull. No. 15. 1939, 


(163) 


164 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


employed when an extremely light “wood” is needed. They are probably 
used mainly in making a ventilation hood over the pik/ stone which is used 


for the baking of the piki bread. 


The methods of cultivation by the Hopi are of particular interest to us 
—the more so when we contrast them with modern agricultural methods. 
To-day the Soviet is the world’s foremost producer of sunflowers, and in 
this country the states of Missouri, Illinois, and California grow practically 
all of the sunflowers for commerce. Their chief use in this country at 
present is as scratch feed for poultry. 


For the details of the growing of the Hopi plants I am again indebted 
to Miss Bartlett and Jimmy Kewanwytewa. I quote from Miss Bartlett’s 
letter: 


ee 


... LT have consulted Jimmy on the planting of the Hopi sunflowers. He says that 
they are planted in the fields in sandy soil along with beans and watermelons and at 
about the same time in early May. They do not plant whole fields of sunflowers, but 
put in one or two rows in a field. They plant perhaps one row 50 yards long, or 
two rows 25 yards long, etc... . Three or four sunflower seeds are planted with a 
planting stick in a hole about 3 or 5 inches deep, and about 4 feet apart. The soil 
is broken up carefully so the plants can push through. When the young plants 
come up they are protected by a windbreak, to keep them out of the wind and 
prevent their being buried by sand. A bunch of brush is stuck into the ground 
or a slab of stone set up on the windward side. When the plants are well started 
they are given no further attention. They are not cultivated, as that disturbs the 
sand which blows away. In late September, they watch the plant carefully and 
cut the heads just before the seeds are ready to fall. They take the heads to the 
pueblo and dry them in the sun; and when they are very dry, they knock the 
heads together and the seeds fall out.” 

The heads grow much larger in the one pueblo which has irrigation than 


they do in the other pueblos. 


A careful comparison of the Hopi sunflower with other sunflowers 
brings out several differences. First of all, it is important to realize that 
there are numerous cultivated strains of sunflowers to-day. The gray- 
striped or Mammoth Russian variety is one of the most widely known and 
also must have been in cultivation for many centuries. Plants of this 
variety were grown beside the Hopi plant at the Missouri Botanical Garden 
for preliminary study and crossing experiments. ‘To-day the Hopi grow a 
limited number of these sunflowers also which they have obtained through 
the regular seed channels. The most striking apparent differences are those 
of color. The Mammoth Russian plants have gray striped seeds whereas the 
Hopi plants have shiny deep purple seeds. There is also a difference in shape 
which may be seen in the photograph (fig. 1). The difference in the seeds 
was impressed upon my mind when I left seeds of both types on my desk, 
and the next day found that mice had eaten every one of the striped seeds 
but had not touched the purple ones! 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 165 


Fig. 1. Sunflower seeds 
Upper row: Large striped seeds—Russian Mammoth; small black ones—common 
sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Lower row: Hopi sunflower. 


After the seeds have germinated we note another difference. The hypo- 
cotyl or young stem of the Hopi sunflower is a deep reddish color and that 
of the Russian plant is usually greenish or a very light red, a difference that 
may be correlated with the other color differences. Moreover, in the seed- 
lings we see that the hypocotyl elongates much more rapidly in the Hopi 
plants than in the Russian. This, of course, may be due to the fact that 
selection has played a role because the Hopi has always planted his seed 
rather deep. 

In the heads of the flowers another color difference appears. The disk 
is brownish or purplish in the Hopi plants when seen from a distance and 
that of the Russian appears golden. Upon careful examination with a lens 
we find that the tiny flowers composing the disk in the former are yellow 


with red corolla lobes whereas they are entirely yellow in the Mammoth 


166 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Russian. Most of the wild annual sunflowers and certain other cultivated 
varieties have the disk brownish or purplish also. 

At first glance the leaves appear almost identical but closer study dis- 
closes certain minute differences. The Hopi plants have a shiny, deep green 
leaf, while the leaf of the Mammoth Russian is lighter green, sometimes 
larger and deeply cut around the edges. Furthermore, there seem to be 
slight differences in the decurrence of the leaves, and the bracts of the heads 
also may show some difference in shape, color, and hairiness. Sunflowers 
resembling the Hopi plants have been found in one locality in Mexico, and 
V. H. Blackman, of the Imperial College of Science, London, writes me that 
the Russians to-day grow a variety with seeds very similar to those of the 
Hopi. 

Three species of wild or weed sunflowers are reported as growing in or 
near the Hopi Reservation by Whiting.’ The Indians utilized at one time, 
and even to-day to a certain extent, many of the wild plants growing about 
them. The wild sunflower appears to have had several uses. We find that 
they often served as adornment during various dances, that a dye is obtained 
from their yellow ray flowers, and that in addition they seem to have been 
recognized as a medicine for spider bites. The Indians had a saying that 
when the sunflowers were numerous there would be an abundant harvest. 

The most important of the weed sunflowers is the one known scientifi- 
cally as Helianthus annuus from which the cultivated varieties are thought 
to have been derived, but exactly how the giant plant came from the wild 
one is still a mystery. The Hopi sunflower may offer us a clue in the solu- 
tion of this riddle, for in many ways it appears more closely related to the 
wild plant than does the Mammoth Russian variety. The greatest difference 
between the wild and cultivated plant is one of size and the restriction of 
branching in the cultivated plants. 

All in all, we know that sunflowers played a rather important part in 
the lives of primitive man. Although, according to Whiting, “the modern 
Hopi received it as a cultivated plant”,” the study that is being undertaken 
on this plant may yield significant data toward finding the origin of culti- 
vated sunflowers. 


"Mus. North. Ariz. Bull. No. 15. 1939. 
* Mus. North. Ariz., Mus. Notes No. 10:14-16. 1937. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 167 


WILD ANIMAL LIFE AT THE ARBORETUM 


AUGUST P. BEILMANN 


If a sizeable tract of land is under protection for a number of years an 
increase in the number and kinds of animals might be expected. However, 
this increase would follow only if the area were protected from fire, were 
not grazed too heavily, and if an effort were made to restore the original 
environment. For instance, we would not expect a growth in quail popula- 
tion if conditions were not favorable, nor would we expect to find many 
deer if the whole tract were extensively cultivated. In other words, the 
most modern farming which leaves no grown-up fence rows is not suitable 
for birds nor will highly cultivated fields prove satisfactory for sheltering 
deer. The twenty years in which some parts of the Arboretum have been 
set aside as wild-flower reservations have seen an increase in game ranging 
from ground hogs through deer, wolves, and finally beaver. 

The Virginia white-tail deer probably drifted away from the state 
parks farther west or were driven to the refuge by dogs from the outskirts 
of Meramec State Park. Deer have been present at the Arboretum since 
about 1936, but not until 1939 did they make their presence known by 
feeding on soybeans. In the ensuing years the herd has increased until the 
fifteen animals present to-day seem to represent about the normal population 
for this region. Of course, more deer per acre could be carried if the 
Arboretum were fenced and all predators eliminated. But since these deer 
are able to come and go as they please, the hazards of living so close to 
civilization will probably keep the population in check. During the last 
twelve months, at least two of them have been struck by cars while crossing 
Highway 66. Then there are some so-called “fox hounds” which run deer 
at every opportunity, day or night, in and out of season, and they can drive 
deer into a section less capable of supporting them and where the every-day 
hazards are even greater. Deer behave very much like cattle. They are 
creatures of habit, feeding during certain parts of the day, traveling for 
water at another time, and usually hiding in the brush during the heat of 
the afternoon. It has been shown that the degree of browsing is an indica- 
tion of the population on any given range. We have learned to expect some 
feeding on a field of germinating soybeans, but browsing on crabapples or 
dogwood has not been noticeable. On the other hand, these deer are par- 
ticularly fond of emerging lily shoots. A planting of Regal Lily must be 
fenced, and lately there is an indication that the flower buds of Rhodo- 
dendrons are particularly attractive. On the whole, though, the deer have 
done little harm, and a visitor is likely to find the sight of two six-point 


bucks calmly grazing on a meadow as interesting as any rare wild flower. 


168 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


The presence of wolves in the area would seem to indicate that we had 
reached some stage of biological equilibrium in the development of the 
Arboretum. While the wolf is known to have invaded most of the eastern 
states in recent years, it is also true that he could not exist unless conditions 
were favorable. So far as we know, wolves do not kill deer; their diet con- 
sists largely of carrion supplemented with mice for which they dig, and of 
squirrels, rabbits, and ground hogs, which they can run down. Little more 
can be added to the story of wolves than appeared in the December 1943 
BULLETIN, except to increase the number killed to fifteen and to restate 
that many of these animals have a dog as one parent. 

The beaver has been at home along the Meramec River for several years, 
having undoubtedly come from the State Park at Sullivan. Beavers are 
noted engineers and capable of constructing huge dams across small streams. 
Along the Meramec, however, they seem to have been content to use exist- 
ing brush piles and to add only a limited amount of mud and logs to com- 
plete a suitable house. They have a preference for cottonwood (Populus sp.) 
as a food, and they do eat willow (Salix sp.) at certain seasons. Unfor- 
tunately, their feeding habits are not as cosmopolitan as they should be if 
the animals hope to exist in a civilized community. Although they have 
broken with tradition to the extent that they can and do raid corn fields, 
the injury to any particular corn field has not, in the writer’s opinion, been 
as serious as ground hogs usually inflict. The beaver is almost entirely 
nocturnal, and the average fisherman may spend days on the Meramec un- 
aware that he has been a close neighbor of a colony. As they go about their 
business of feeding and building they often slap the water with their 
flattened tails. The noise resembles a pistol shot, and when heard sporadically 
through a dark night it has been known to frighten less hardy fishermen into 
going home, much chastened, and without a single story of “the one that 
got away.” 

Both the gray and the red fox can be found, but they are noted for 
their cunning and are not frequently seen. On occasion, they are visible 
in the headlights of a car as they dart across the road at night. Unless they 
chance to learn to raid poultry yards, their food habits will probably cause 
little harm. We are inclined to believe that they assist in checking the 
rabbit population. However, they may be capable of killing quail and other 
ground-nesting birds, and we believe they had a hand in the destruction of 
nine Canadian geese which were placed on the lake some years ago. 

Ground-hog dens can be found everywhere from the river flood-plain to 
the highest hill. Their presence in a refuge is not objectionable, except 
where they raid experimental corn fields or where they begin tunneling in 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 169 


dams and road banks. Recently this animal has gained some prominence as 
a means of stretching the meat ration, and in some sections of Missouri it 
has always been considered a table delicacy. Our ground hogs seem more 
closely related to the marmots of the West; at least they sit up and whistle 
much more than does the eastern woodchuck. 

In winter the tracks of mink can always be found along the water 
courses; occasionally the animals can be seen in day time. They are great 
travelers and great killers, quite capable of attacking our largest birds and 
any small animal not gifted with speed or fighting ability. 

Muskrats are present along the river where they burrow in the bank. 
Several years ago a colony became established in the Pinetum Lake and in 
the quiet water built the typical conical house of cat-tails and mud. In 
the Arboretum, their feeding habits cause no damage. When a colony is 
well established, individuals can often be seen swimming and diving during 
some part of the day. 

“Possum and coon” are always linked together—in name at least. They 
are the largest game hunted with dogs at night. Both animals are well 
established at the Arboretum, and their tracks can be seen almost any day. 
The raccoon, of course, is nocturnal and never seen and seldom found unless 
hunted with dogs. Both the “coon” and “possum” live in the mature 
timber, but their food habits differ greatly. The “coon” is very fastidious, 
while the “possum” will eat anything from carrion to wild fruits and often 
can be found in the winter hunting for dried fruits in the crabapple orchard. 

Both the gray and the red fox squirrel are common, as well as the 
nocturnal flying squirrel. Probably they are all-important sources of food 
for larger carnivorous animals. At the same time, they are great planters 
of tree seeds, and without their assistance the better oak trees would have a 
very limited distribution. The flying squirrel is not over one fourth as 
large as the gray and, being entirely nocturnal, is never seen. It is most 
active during moonlight nights when its squeakings may be mistaken for 
that of a bird or a frog. In captivity, it will eat anything from carrots to 
hickory nuts, and when mature hardly weighs more than six ounces. 

The skunk population is falling, due perhaps to predators or perhaps to 
lack of food and den sites; at least they are less common now than they 
were in 1939. At that time they could be seen very frequently both in 
the day-time and in the headlights of a car at night. 

The rabbit population rises and falls in cycles. At the present time it is 
greater than it has been for six years. A few cottontails scurrying about 
are interesting, but when we note an upswing in their population we also 


hope for an upswing in that of the fox and the wolf. Without some natural 


170 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


check, either disease or predators or both, it would be necessary to protect 
nearly every plantation on the grounds. With many thousands of plants in 
the nursery and many more thousands permanently planted, we have cause 
for alarm when we see the cute little “bunnies” dusting themselves on 
every roadside. 

The Arboretum was designated as an inviolate game refuge some six 
years ago by the Conservation Commission. This means that no hunting of 
any sort is permitted and that authority of the Conservation Commission 
extends even to the picking of wild flowers, trees, shrubs, and vines. Since 
that time, we have become increasingly interested in the welfare of the birds 
and animals, just as we had always been interested in the behavior of the 
plants. It may seem strange that a botanical garden should pay attention 
to the animals making a home among the plants and trees. As a matter of 
fact, we have come to believe that the kind of animals which succeed in 
living on the grounds is an index to the quality of the botanical effort. For 
instance, if the deer are capable of living here under seemingly natural con- 
ditions, then surely we have begun to reestablish the kind of territory over 
which the Osage Indian hunted in 1800. Neither plants nor animals can 
succeed in an unfavorable environment. Plants can not tell us what they 
need nor what is missing, but the unfenced animal is always free to move to 
a better location. An introduced wild flower perishes, leaving us to fill in 
the blank spaces as best we can, but birds and animals released on an un- 
favorable range simply leave or disappear. There is very much interdepend- 
ence between plants and animals, and when we succeed in increasing the 
animals without the use of fences we believe we are travelling in the right 
direction toward the reestablishment of that most complex community—the 
wild flowers, the grasses, the vines, and the trees. We have achieved a state 
of biological balance when the game returns and when the disappearing 


plants begin to increase in number. 


WHY PLANTS BLOOM OUT OF SEASON 


DAVID C. FAIRBURN 


Frequent inquiries come to the Garden about various plants flowering 
entirely out of season. Magnolias that normally bloom in spring produce a 
second crop of flowers in midsummer; Forsythia bushes bloom intermittently 
until frost; and hardy chrysanthemums start flowering in summer instead of 
late fall. It is difficult, if mot impossible, to determine the exact reasons 
for many plant growth responses. The chemical, physical, and biological 


reactions which occur in and around the plant are so interwoven and com- 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 171 


plex that an accurate diagnosis of unusual plant behavior is often purely 
accidental. But since speculation is not on the ration list yet, here are a 
few opinions regarding the case in hand. 

In the first place, it will be noted that out-of-season flowering occurs 
during years when abnormal weather conditions prevail. A wet spring fol- 
lowed by a very dry summer and a long, warm, wet fall can force fruit 
trees into full bloom just prior to frost. It is of course very detrimental, 
sometimes even fatal, for the trees to be forced into active growth when 
they should be practically dormant and ready to withstand the rigors of 
winter. Prolonged cloudy, wet spells in spring and early summer tend to 
force fall-blooming plants into flower a month to six weeks or more earlier 
than normal. These fall-blooming plants (chrysanthemums, most of the 
perennial asters, the late cosmos, etc.) are what we call “short-day” plants. 
They produce flowers only when the daylight period is reduced to twelve 
hours or less. On the other hand, there are many garden ornamentals that 
are “long-day” plants, blooming only when the daylight period is fifteen 
or more hours in duration. 

Temperature is another controlling factor in the growth responses of 
plants. For example, most varieties of head lettuce “bolt” (go to flower 
and seed) when the prevailing temperature at midday rises above 80° F. in 
the shade. Tomato flowers do not set fruit very well when the day temper- 
ature goes to 95°-100° F., and fruits that have already formed are likely 
to develop “blossom-end” rot. However, such disorders are probably due in 
part to water deficiencies within the plant. 

These are but a few examples of the influence of light intensity, water, 
and temperature on plant growth. Nutrition and photosynthesis are other 
important controlling factors. If all these environmental conditions are 
ideal, vegetative growth and flower production occur normally; but when 
one or more of these gets out of balance, anything can happen, and it 
usually does. 

Briefly, it is known that flower production is definitely associated with 
an accumulation of carbohydrates in the plant. Any external or internal 
factor tnat brings about such a condition will cause the plant to bloom any 
time the weather permits. Forcing plants into bloom out of season is com- 
mon practice in the greenhouse. It is not surprising that Mother Nature 


takes pleasure in showing us a thing or two along this line occasionally. 


172 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


EUROPEAN BOTANIC GARDENS AND THE WAR 
A LETTER FROM FRED G. MEYER 


The following excerpts of a letter from Fred Meyer, a former Garden 
student, who has been stationed in England during a part of the war, should 
be of interest to those who have been wondering about the present status 
of the great English horticultural institutions. 

Near Rouen, France 
31 May, 1945 

“My outfit moved over here from England two days after V.E. Day, 
and while waiting to be set up again we are at a transient camp about four 
miles out of the city of Rouen. We have been here about three weeks now, 
and within the next few days we expect to move to Kassel, Germany, 
where we are told our hospital will be. 

“As you may know, my interests lie primarily in horticulture; conse- 
quently, in all my visits to gardens I made especial note of cultural methods 
and of plant varieties which would be of value in the States. While sta- 
tioned in England I visited the Edinburgh Botanic Garden on two different 
occasions. As I am very much interested in Rhododendrons, I made a point 
of visiting that institution during April, when they were at their best. If 
you have seen the Rhododendrons in flower there you will agree that they 
are a sight long to be remembered. I was greatly impressed with the Edin- 
burgh Botanic Garden because it is not too large and it is well kept, and the 
climate admirably suits a great variety of plants, especially Himalayan. As 
far as the war having affected them, it really hasn’t to any great extent. 
Labor shortage has necessarily cut down on many of their propagations and 
outdoor work, and much of their scientific work has by necessity been 
curtailed. However, they were never bombed. 

“T also visited Kew, with Gerald Ownbey [another former Garden 
student], but our time was very limited on that trip. Kew is in somewhat 
the same circumstance as the Missouri Botanical Garden, that is, being near 
the city and affected somewhat by city smoke. However, what I saw there 
did impress me, and the age of many of the plantings adds immeasurably to 
the beauty and refinement of the Garden. Unfortunately, Kew has suffered 
some by bombings. On several occasions bombs have dropped in the Garden, 
and the glass in some of the houses was totally destroyed. In the early part 
of 1944 a bomb landed about a hundred yards away from the Temperate 
House, and practically all the glass in that house was shattered. Many 
plants were torn to shreds, and only by quick work were the most badly 
blasted sections covered with canvas and the remainder of the plants saved. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 173 


I saw the house in March of this year, and you wouldn’t know anything 
had ever happened. 

“Another famous garden that I visited just before we left England was 
the Lord Aberconway estate, Bodnant Gardens, in North Wales. This gar- 
den possesses a marvelous collection of Rhododendrons and other temperate 
trees and shrubs. I was greatly impressed with their hybrid Rhododendrons. 
Mr. F. C. Puddle, the head gardener, has been concentrating on low-growing 
forms for small gardens. For instance, he has crossed R. repens, which is a 
prostrate species with fine red flowers but a sparse bloomer, with R. Grier- 
sonianum, which is a half-hardy but normally tall-growing species. The 
hybrid is an intermediate that is entirely hardy and very floriferous. He 
has also what is probably the largest collection of pure white Cypripediums, 
the var. ‘F. C. Puddle.’ He says there are none of this variety in the States, 
—at least he knows of none. As eager as people in the States are for white 
orchids I can imagine what they would do if they could get a white ‘cyp’. 

“Since being in France I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Paris 
with a group from my outfit for a day tour. One day is much too short 
in Paris—but you can be sure I made the most of it. I visited the Jardin 
des Plantes, and spent enough time there at least to see the effects of the 
war and the kind of botanical work that is being carried on. In the 
herbarium it was interesting to thumb through sheets of Tournefort’s, 
Jussieu’s, Lamarck’s, and Michaux’s specimens. Unfortunately, the library 
is split up all over the building, which makes it difficult to use. 

“T asked my guide at the Jardin des Plantes whether they had been 
molested during the occupation, and was informed that they hadn’t been. 
Of course, it is impossible to get paper so nothing has been done in the way 
of publication since 1940. The outdoor gardens are not especially extensive. 
There are roses, peonies, a medicinal garden, an alpine garden, and other 
small gardens with exotics. The most disheartening thing about the whole 
garden is its loss of nearly all the tropical plants last winter. Due to 
the lack of coal the houses could not be heated, and everything froze. 
I was told there had been some fine collections of Madagascar plants and 
other rare things. Imagine all the plants at the Missouri Botanical Garden 
freezing and having to start from scratch again! Perhaps it is better to 


just vanish the thought.” 


VANDOPSIS 


DAVISII 


“eg “TOA “TING ‘duvy “Log ‘OW 


Srél 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 175 


A NOTEWORTHY PHILIPPINE ORCHID—VANDOPSIS DAVISII 


GEORGE H. PRING 


In June, 1931, a small plant labelled Staurochilus Davisii was among 
the orchids in the Philippine collection received by the Garden from 
Governor-General Dwight F. Davis. This plant, which is now identified 
as Vandopsis Davisii, flowered on May 12, 1945 and continued in bloom 
until it was cut for the Garden Herbarium on July 9. As far as we are 
aware, this is the first time that this species has flowered outside the 
Philippines. 

Vandopsis Davisii was described by Oakes Ames and Eduardo Quisum- 
bing in the Philippine Journal of Science in 1932. It was named in honor 
of a St. Louisan, Dwight F. Davis, being dedicated to him “for his interest 
in orchids and particularly for his unselfish devotion and interest in his 
work when Governor-General of the Philippines.” According to the authors, 
the plant was cultivated at that time in the Bureau of Science Orchid 
House and in two gardens at Manila. Orchid peddlers in that city stated 
that the plants had been collected from the mountains near Montalban, 
Rizal Province, Luzon. 

The following is an excerpt from Ames and Quisumbing’s description 
of the plant (Philip. Jour. Sci., Vol. 49, p. 498): 

In floral structure it resembles Vandopsis lissochiloides (see Garden 
BULLETIN, Vol. 27, pl. 37.) Plant 8-23 inches high. (The Garden plant 
is now 12 inches high and possesses 8 leaves about 10 inches long and 1 inch 
wide.) Leaves leathery, strap-shaped, channeled through the middle. 
Flowers fragrant, firm; sepals and petals white on back and front washed 
with Lumiere Green* or Light Lumiere Green, and spotted with Claret 
Brown on the petals and Raw Umber on the sepals; lateral lobes of the 
labellum pale Viridine Yellow; middle lobe of the labellum white, spotted 
with Ox-blood Red above, on both sides of the keel above and Empire 
Yellow at the very tip of the tongue; callus at the base of the labellum 
between the lateral lobes cuplike, white, light Orange Yellow within. 


* Technical color terms are those of Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. 
192. 


YOUR .QUESTIONS. ANSWERED 


How may weeds in a driveway or tennis court be destroyed? 

A number of preparations may be applied with effective results. Iron sulphate may be 
used at the rate of two pounds to a gallon of water; two gallons of this solution should 
cover about 100 square feet. One of the newer weed poisons, known as Weedone, 1s also 
highly recommended. 


176 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


May potted hydrangeas, which were purchased from the florist, be planted 
outside? 


Some of the so-called florists hydrangeas are not suitable for planting outdoors, because 
the flower buds freeze each winter. The only way to prevent this is to cover the plants 
with a box or barrel filled with dry leaves or straw. Placing tar-paper over the top helps 
to shed the rain. If the stems or branches which are formed this year are brought through 
the winter without being frozen flowers should develop the next year. If, however, the 
canes are frozen back, then the flower buds are also destroyed. 


How can cuttings be made from a rubber plant? 


Rubber plants can be propagated by regular tip cuttings or “slips” such as you would 
make from geraniums. Another method is by air-layering. About 10-12 inches from the tip 
of the main stem make an upward cut through a joint and about half-way through the stem. 
Prop the cut open with a match and wrap the wound securely with a ball of wet sphagnum 
moss. Keep the moss damp at all times until roots form at the cut, two or three months 
later. Then sever the stem below the moss and pot up the rooted section. The lower 
portion, or mother plant, should in time develop two or more new shoots. 


What can be done to eliminate lice and aphids from nasturtiums? 


Apply nicotine sulphate or “Black Leaf 40” spray (one teaspoonful to a quart of water) 
once each week until the aphids or lice disappear. Be sure to spray the under side of the 
leaves as well as the top. 


How should potted geraniums be cared for? 


During winter keep the plants in south windows where they will have full sunlight. 
The soil should be moist, but never soggy. In spring when growth is rapid, give each plant 
a weekly watering with liquid fertilizer (one teaspoonful of any complete fertilizer 
to one quart of water). During summer move the plants outdoors where they will have 
fresh air, sunlight, and rain. They may be taken out of the pots and planted directly in 
the garden if desired. 

If you want to increase the number of plants: during the spring or fall cut off slips 
3—4 inches long, remove two or three of the basal leaves, and “plant” the cuttings in moist 
sand. When a root system has developed (about 6 weeks) pot them in soil. Good results 
are also generally obtained by potting them directly in soil. 


How should canna roots be cared for during the winter? 


Just before there is danger of heavy frost, cut the canna stalks to within six inches of 
the ground. Dig the roots with some soil around them and store in the coolest part of the 
basement but not where the temperature goes below 45° F. If the roots are packed in 
boxes of peat moss, sand, or soil, there is little danger of them becoming too dry. Examine 
them several times during the winter and if they are shriveling sprinkle the boxes lightly 
about once or twice a month, 


When and how should spireas be pruned? 


The Bridal Wreath, Spiraea Vanhouttei, is the spiraea most commonly planted in gardens. 
It grows about six feet high and produces many slender, arching stems, which makes it a 
little more difficult to prune than most kinds of shrubs. A young plant may be left to 
grow for several years without any pruning but in time it will become top-heavy. Re- 
moving a few of the oldest canes each year will preserve the shape for some time. This 
pruning may be done immediately after the shrub has bloomed or during the fall or winter. 
If the spiraea has become overgrown or pruning has been neglected do not try to reshape 
it but replace it with a young plant. 


When and how should a lilac be pruned? 


A lilac needs very little pruning the first few years, but as it grows older the thin and 
weak wood should be removed during the dormant period. An own-root lilac should have 
many of the suckers removed to prevent the plant from becoming too broad, and all 
suckers around a grafted lilac must be cut away. Old canes injured by borers should 
always be removed. One type of pruning which should not be neglected is the removal 
of the spent flowers before they set seed. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 177 


How should begonias be cared for? Can they be divided? 


There are so many different kinds of begonias that only a general statement can be 
made as to their care. They grow best in the greenhouse but some of them do reasonably 
well in the home if it is warm and there is an abundance of moisture around the plants. 
During the summer they grow better outdoors in a shaded part of the garden. When in 
active growth begonias need feeding with liquid cow manure or one of the prepared plant 
foods. They should be fed often but lightly; a single heavy application might injure the 
plants. 

The common fibrous-rooted begonias can be propagated by division. To do this, remove 
the plant from the pot, divide it into several pieces, then repot in fresh soil composed of 
two parts loam, one part sand, and one part well-rotted manure. If barnyard manure is 
unobtainable use the dehydrated and sterilized cow manure. 


NOTES 


Mr. George H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden, represented the 
Missouri Botanical Garden at the meetings of the American Orchid Society, 
at Chattanooga, September 14-15. On September 26 he attended a meeting 
of the Board of Directors of the Houston Flower Show, to which he was 
asked to speak on staging flower shows in St. Louis. 

Dr. Henry N. Andrews, Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist, 
spent two weeks during September collecting fossil plants in southeastern 
Idaho. This was in continuation of earlier exploration in Idaho and adjacent 
portions of Wyoming. Quantities of petrified fern trunks were collected 
that are of special interest since they represent plants that link Coal Age 
fossils from [linois with certain elements of the subtropical flora found to- 
day in the Florida Keys. 

Recent visitors to the Garden include: Dr. Arthur Cronquist, Assistant 
Curator, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, N. Y.; Dr. Harlan 
Lewis, of the Department of Botany, University of California, Los Angeles; 
Pvt. Mas. Yamada, of the U. S. Army, formerly graduate student at the 
Garden; Mr. Julian Neill, Teacher of Botany, East St. Louis High School, 
Ill.; Mr. Walter C. School, orchid enthusiast, of Chicago, IIl.; Mrs. W. D. 
Diddell, botanist and plant collector, of Jacksonville, Fla.; Mr. H. Brossman, 
Acting Superintendent, Mitchell Park Conservatory, Milwaukee, Wis. 

The September number of the ANNALS OF THE Missourt BOTANICAL 
GARDEN (Vol. 32, No. 3) was issued during the month, with contents as 
follows: A Revision of the Genus Schkuhria, Charles B. Heiser, Jr.; Multi- 
dimensional Graphical Representation for Analyzing Variation in Quanti- 
tative Characters, Ellen Marie Kern and Charlotte Alper; Right-angle Grid 
System for Mapping Plant Distribution, Ellen Marie Kern; A  Nectria 
Disease of Coffee in Western Guatemala, Dorothy Gaebler Heiser; A Pre- 
liminary Survey of Maize in the Southwestern United States, George F. 


178 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Carter and Edgar Anderson; Contributions to Our Knowledge of American 
Carboniferous Floras. VII. Some Pteridosperm Stems from Iowa, Henry N. 
Andrews; Maize in the Yanhuitlan Codex, Edgar Anderson and John Jay 
Finan; Notes on Some North American Asclepiads, Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
The Garden library has recently acquired the rare first edition of Dar- 
win’s “On the Origin of Species” published October 1, 1859. This edition 
of 1250 copies was exhausted on the day of issue. Comparing this with the 
next edition published in 1860, it is interesting to note that Darwin made 
several significant changes. Aside from the misprint “‘speceies” on page 20, 
which was corrected, he eliminated the famous reference to the possibility 
of a polar bear developing by natural selection into an aquatic animal “till 
a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale”; possibly because of the 
ridicule heaped on the author’s argument. Even more significant is the 
insertion in the final paragraph of the words “by the Creator,” so that it 
reads in the second edition: “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its 
several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few 
forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on accord- 
ing to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms 
most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being, evolved.” 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


George C. Hitchcock BI a its eo 
Daniel Key Cathini.. te. = 2 ont. 
Eugene Pettus._..............--.....--- 


L.. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 
John S. Lehmann 


Joseph Desloge 
Mrs. Irma Friede_. 
A. P. Kaufmann 
William Scarlett _ 

Arthur H. Compton 


Gerald Ulrici 


George T. Moore _ 


Hermann von Schrenk 


Jesse M. Greenman 
Carroll W. Dodge ~ 


Edgar Anderson 


Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
Henry N. Andrews 


Robert W. Schery (on leave)... 


Nell C. Horner ~ 


Georve clea Prin ge rece eee 


Paul A. Kohl 
David C. Fairburn 
Gustav A. L. Mehlquist 
Joseph Cutak 
Ladislaus Cutak__. 
August P. Beilmann 


Gurney Wilson, F.L.S. 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


President 
__Vice-President 
Second Vice-President 
Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 
A. Wessel Shapleigh 
Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO. MEMBERS 


President, St. Louis Academy of Science 
President, Board of Education of St. Louis 
_._.Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
_......... Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 


Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


Director 


Pathologist 


Curator of Herbarium 


Se ee Mycologist 

Seen anaes Geneticist 
___ Assistant Curator of Herbarium 
Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 
_ Research Assistant 
Librarian and Editor 


Superintendent 


___.._ Floriculturist 
_ Orchidologist 
_ Horticulturist 


Se a ee eee In charge of Exotics 


cone In charge of Succulents 
Manager of the Arboretum, Gray Summit 


Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a ‘Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 


some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


CONTENTS 
Growing Plants 
5. Peon 366d es ee as a ee “ae “ae ee 
II. Vegetative Propagation . . ........ =. «192 
PROCS ne ih op mee eee Se.) ear. aly one 


V olume XXXIII November, 1945 Number 9 


Cover: A Chrysanthemum Show at the Garden. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


GROWING PLANTS 


During the past two decades the BULLETIN has presented a number of 
articles on plant propagation, the most recent of which appeared in April, 
1941. Requests for this article continued unabated, and the issue was ex- 
hausted more than a year ago. As the present edition is considerably revised, 
both as to text and illustrations, it is hoped that it will be welcomed by 


both old and new subscribers. 


I. GrRowING PLANTS FROM SEED 
PAUL A. KOHL 

The degree of success in raising plants from seed depends upon the man- 
ner in which the gardener sows the seed, the soil medium he uses, and the 
care that he gives the seedlings. Some gardeners are gifted with the funda- 
mental knowledge of growing things and by intuition handle all kinds of 
seed correctly, but others strive through the long and laborious process of 
trial and error to master the comparatively simple rules. 

Lily seed, which is as thin as paper and so transparent that the miniature 
plant can be seen by transmitted light, serves as a good example of seed 
structure. Seeds differ greatly in size, thickness, the amount of food they 
contain, and in the hardness and oiliness of the outer seed coat. The major- 
ity of seeds germinate within a few days or weeks after being sown, and 
there is no real difficulty in getting them started. Some seeds need a period 
of rest or dormancy before they are ready to grow, and others have such a 
hard seed coat that it must be cut or filed to permit moisture to enter. In 
some cases this can be accomplished only by the freezing and thawing action 


of the frost which splits the seed coat. 


Planting time.-—A few slow-growing plants, such as lobelia, petunia, 
snapdragon, vinca, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, must be started as 
early as February in order to be large enough to set out in the spring. Other 
long-season plants, for example, ageratum, aster, nicotiana, verbena, zinnia, 


egg-plant, pepper, and tomato, should be started in March, or about. six 


180 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Transparent lily seed showing embryo Lily seedling with seed-case 


surrounded by endosperm. still attached. 


weeks before the plants are to be set in the garden. Seeds of various perennials 
may be sown in early spring, transferred to frames, and later planted in the 
garden. Perennials may also be started from June to August, planted out in 
the fall or held in the frame until the following spring. Seedlings started 
during the summer months are difficult to grow because of high tempera- 
tures, whereas those started in the spring are of sufficient size to live 
through the heat of the summer provided they are grown in a lath-shaded 
frame. Many kinds of seeds are sown directly in the garden, a few of 
them when the ground is still cold, but most of them after the danger of 


frost is past. 


Place for early planting.—A small greenhouse is the ideal structure in 
which to start plants, but how few gardeners are fortunate enough to own 
one. The next best place is a sun-porch where the temperature does not 
go below 45° F. The third, and a very good and inexpensive structure for 
starting seeds, is the cold-frame. If the frame is used very early in the 
season, say in February, then an electric hotbed cable with a thermostat 
will be required. The disadvantage of using a frame is that at times it 
must be serviced during disagreeable weather, while with a greenhouse or a 
sun-porch weather does not matter. 

Seedlings that are grown in frames are extremely sturdy, and for this 


reason they are moved from a greenhouse or sun-porch to a frame to be 


PLATE 26 


Banga tee 


a 


Sieves, tampers, and dibbers 


182 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


hardened-off, or accustomed to the outside temperature, before being planted 
in the garden. In locating the frame, a position should be chosen that is 
sheltered on the west and north by a fence, building, or shrubbery. The 
frame should be sloped to the south to catch the sun’s rays and to carry off 
the rain. If near-by buildings shade the garden during a part of the day, 
a position receiving the morning rather than afternoon light should be 
selected. When seeds are sown in the spring it is essential to secure as much 
sunlight as possible. However, if they are sown in July and August the 
problem is to reduce the amount of sunlight, this being accomplished by 
placing the frame with the slope to the north and placing over it shades 


made from plastering laths. 


incomm Thermostat 
tric wikesy, adjusting knob 


\ | Yor 2°,wall 


Thermostat Pe.” 
Ground - Thermostat bulb 
level ° ; capt ae ee 
th a rie f coe y 7 
Cinderste:: a ; 
‘or heat :. 
msulation * 
1" dirt 
between cable 
and divider h div; 
1 heat; esh divider 
Soil : cating 1" above cable 


4 toe “wl 


Fig. L. General Electric layout for an electric-heated hotbed. 


The last, but by no means the poorest, place to start plants is on a well- 
lighted window sill. If possible, the window garden should be supplemented 


with a cold-frame in which plants may be grown until planting-out time. 


Pots, boxes, efc.—Earthenware flower pots and pans and special boxes 
termed ‘flats’ are the best containers in which to start seeds. Two con- 
venient sizes for flats are 10 x 20 x 3 and 14 x 20 x 3 inches. Metal cans, 
discarded graniteware, and any other containers in which drainage holes 
can be punched in the bottom make good substitutes for flower pots when 


the latter are not available. 


Drainage-—No matter what type of receptacle is used the bottom should 
have means to drain off the excess moisture, otherwise the soil becomes sour 
and the plants die. If the boxes are of wood several holes should be bored 
through the bottom or the boards should be spaced at least a quarter of an 
inch apart. If the boards of the flat are too close they will swell when 


moist and make the box water-tight. Even though drainage is provided, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 183 


it is well to place some coarse material in the bottom of the receptacle to 
prevent the fine soil from clogging the holes or cracks. For this purpose 
pieces of broken flower pots (termed crocks), gravel, stones, and cinders 
may be used. 

Flower pots and pans come in various sizes according to diameter. A 
four-inch pot is the smallest size that should be used for sowing seed. 
When only a very small quantity of seed is to be sown it is best to use a 
flower pot, the seed being broadcast over the surface. If many kinds of 
seeds are to be sown, most of which will germinate in about the same 
length of time, much space can be saved by sowing them in rows in boxes 


or large pans. 


Sieves, tam pers, dibbers, labels.—Any one interested in growing plants 
from seed should secure some essential tools. They are all very simple and 
can be easily made. Sieves simplify the operation of sowing seed, especially 
fine seed, and once they are used they become a necessity. A  fine-mesh 
screen need not be more than 6 or 8 inches square, but a coarser one for 
sieving large quantities of potting soil should be 1 x 2 feet or larger. A 
fine screen may be made by tacking a piece of window-screen wire cloth to 
a wooden frame. For coarser screens wire screening ¥g, 4, or '4-inch 
mesh is used, the size of the mesh depending upon the nature of the soil 
and the purpose for which it is wanted. It would not only take a very 
long time to sift through a fine sieve all the soil necessary for some zinnias, 
but also it would not be best for the plants. Finely sifted soil packs with 
repeated watering, thus excluding the air. The soil then becomes sour, and 


the plants grown in it become stunted. 


Watering cans and methods of watering.—The average sprinkling can 
sold in the stores throws a rather coarse stream of water. Extremely fine 
seeds being barely pressed into the soil when sown are often washed away 
with a heavy stream. Better types of cans may be purchased from seed 
stores and florists’ supply houses. A rubber bulb sprayer, the kind used in 
the laundry, is a good substitute for a sprinkling can when only a few pots 
of seed are watered. 

One of the newer methods of watering, and one which insures a constant 
supply of moisture to the seedlings, is by means of a fibre-glass wick in- 
serted through the drainage hole of the pot. Water is brought up from a 
reservoir in the same way as oil moves up the wick of a lamp. If the soil 
should become too wet, however, some adjustment must be made by sup- 
plying water only periodically. The frequency of watering by the wick 
method will be governed by the type of soil, atmospheric conditions, and the 


number and size of the seedlings in the pot. 


SEED-SOWING 


REMOVING 


GERMINATION 


PLAT! 


COVER 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 185 


Types and sizes of seeds.—Seeds vary a great deal in size, shape, and the 
length of time required for germination. If the seeds of petunias and lobelias 
are covered with more than a quarter of an inch of soil, failure to germinate 
may be expected, but if barely covered or lightly pressed into the soil more 
seedlings will come up than can be used. Seeds that are sown on the surface 
of the soil indoors or in a frame where practically all conditions of soil, 
moisture, light, and heat can be controlled will germinate readily, but if 
this were done in the open failure would result. 

There is a certain relation between the depth that seeds are sown and 
their power to germinate. Seeds are frequently sown too deeply. Those 
covered with much soil do not get the proper amount of air and have the 
added burden of pushing up the layer of soil above them. Air (oxygen) is 
absolutely necessary for the germination of seeds. All small seeds should 
barely be covered, just enough fine soil or sand being passed through the 
sieve to conceal them. In sieving soil or sand over small seeds the sieve 
should be held not more than an inch or two above the surface of the soil. 
If held higher, the particles of sand or soil striking the seeds will cause them 
to jump in all directions. Some of them will then be on the surface, or 
some will have a light covering and others a heavy one, resulting in an un- 
even and many times poor germination. In sowing fine seed the tendency 1s 
to make the soil too fine. The finer the particles the more compact the mass 
of soil will become, and after wetting, such soil will bind and become hard. 
When fine seeds are sown upon such a surface their delicate roots experience 
great difhculty in penetrating the hard crust. They generally remain 
stunted at the surface and finally succumb. Fine seeds sown upon a rough 
surface are more apt to grow. Larger seeds, such as coreopsis, hollyhocks, 
asters, and zinnias, may be sown somewhat deeper, being covered with about 


a quarter of an inch of soil. 


Soil medium in which to sow seeds.—Most seeds have been, and probably 
always will be, sown in soil, since it is the commonest material available and 
gives good results. The best soil for the purpose is composed of about two 
parts loam, one part leafmold or peat moss, and one part sand. By loam 
is meant a soil that contains a liberal amount of vegetable matter in the 
form of decaying roots, leaves, etc. 

Washed and sterilized sand is a good medium in which to sow seeds. 
Although it lacks any food to sustain the seedlings after they have germ- 
inated, this can be supplied by watering the pots once a week with a solu- 
tion consisting of one teaspoonful each of superphosphate and_ potassium 
nitrate dissolved in one gallon of water. Equally good results may be 


secured from a solution of four to six teaspoonsful of a 4-12-4 commercial 


PLAT! 


Damping - oft 


disease causing snap- 
dragon seedlings to collapse. 


Pan of 


tomato seedlings tilted to 


show method of using glass-wick. 


& 


Snapdragon seedlings germinating in surface layer of sphagnum. 


28 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 187 


fertilizer to a gallon of water, this being applied once a week when the 
seedlings are small and twice a week as they grow larger. Sand dries out 
rapidly but this can be prevented if a fibre-glass wick is used. 

Seedlings can be ruined by the damping-off disease just before or after 
germinating. The thread-like parasite spreads over the surface of the soil 
and may destroy a crop of seedlings over night. Because this disease is al- 
ways associated with a great amount of humidity, seedlings just germinating 
should not be watered toward evening. A humid condition may also be 
created if the cover-glass or paper is left on the boxes or pots after the 
seedlings are up. One of the reasons why sand is so much better than soil 
for sowing seed is that it does not retain as much moisture, even theugh 
it is watered more frequently. Seedlings will also be lost by the damping- 
off disease if they are crowded. Various precautions should be taken to 
prevent the spread of the disease. Clean receptacles should always be used; 
pots should be washed and boxes brushed. Undoubtedly, steam sterilization 
will help to prevent damping-off, but practically no gardener is equipped to 
use that method unless he has a steam-pressure cooker. Heating the soil in 
an oven will kill many disease spores, but the odors will drive the family 
from the house. Boiling water poured over the surface before sowing the 
seed will help. This soil must be left to dry for a day or two, as wet soil 
will puddle and will be difficult to handle, Formaldehyde is a good dis- 
infectant and, in addition to being simple to use, it doesn’t disturb the 
physical condition of the soil. However, care must be taken to avoid 
spilling any on the skin and not to use it in the house, because the fumes 
will irritate the eyes and nose unless there is good air movement. — Soil 
should be treated twenty-four hours before it is used, at the rate of a table- 
spoonful of 40 per cent formaldehyde to an ordinary water bucket of soil. 
Cover the bucket with paper or a sack to confine the fumes. Dusting the 
seed with a disinfectant, such as Semesan, before it is sown will reduce to 
some extent the amount of damping-off. 

Sphagnum moss is an excellent sterile medium in which to sow seeds, 
but when used alone it is harder to handle than soil. It may be combined 
with soil or sand or used only as a surface dressing. Dry sphagnum must 
be rubbed through a wire sieve of 4- or %-inch mesh. This js not as 
difficult as it may seem. A tight wad of the moss rubbed over the sieve 
will pass through quickly, and there is so little danger of scufhng the 
knuckles that it is hardly necessary to wear a glove. The dry, screened 
moss must be moistened before it is used. A good way to do this is to 
place it in a flat, sprinkle it, stir it, and sprinkle a second time. Should it 


become too wet squeeze it in the hand like a sponge. The moss is then 


188 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


ready to be mixed with soil or sand or used alone. 

Granulated peat is another material which may be added to soil instead 
of leafmold. It is very dry when purchased and must be moistened before 
mixing with soil. It also is quite sterile and needs no treatment before 


being used. 


Sowing the seed—A four-inch pot or a six-inch bulb pan is large enough 
for almost any kind of seed. Place several pieces of broken crock, concave 
side down, over the drainage hole. Fill the pot with soil up to the top, 
level, and firm with a tamper. The soil surface should now be about one- 
half inch below the rim, which is the proper depth for all except the largest 
seeds. Good air circulation about the seedlings is secured if the soil surface 
is near the top of the pot, and this is a great help in combating the damping- 
off fungi which destroy so many seedlings. 

Tear off one corner of the seed packet and by lightly tapping the 
packet sow the seed evenly over the surface or in rows. Sow the seed too 
thin rather than too thick, which is a common error. Add sand to some of 
the soil and use this mixture for covering the seed. Cover small seeds with 
a thin layer of soil and large seeds to a depth twice their size. A good way 
to cover the seed evenly is to place the sandy soil in a Yg-inch mesh sieve, 
hold the sieve about two inches above the pot and lightly tap it. The flow 
of soil can be regulated in this way and any unevenness corrected by moving 
the fingers in the sieve to release additional soil. Gently tamp the soil and 
then water the pot. Use a can with a fine rose (perforated nozzle) so as 
not to wash the seed out of the soil. When the water has drained away, 
water a second time if necessary. Cover the pot with a piece of glass or 
paper, or both. Very little water need be given until the seeds germinate and 
yet the surface must never be permitted to dry out. Inspect the soil each 
morning to see if water is needed. When the seeds begin to germinate the 
glass or paper should be raised slightly at one side to admit air, and after 
the seedlings begin to push through, the pot should be uncovered. The 
close atmosphere under the cover is ideal for the spread of fungous growths, 


and a great many seedlings will be lost if the cover is left on too long. 


Transplanting seedlings.—After the seedlings are up and are sufhciently 
large to handle they are ready for transplanting. Removing seedlings from 
their pots should not be postponed too long. Even though the seeds had 
not been sown thickly the seedlings are always more or less crowded in the 
pots or flats and should be separated from their neighbors as soon as possible. 
The majority of seedling plants may be handled with the fingers, either 
being strong enough to be held by the stem or having a leaf large enough 


Transplanted seedlings of snapdragon and columbine. Notice growth of 
plants in flats compared with those in crowded condition in seed pans. 


YI Ys 
ae Se oe 


~Frkead 


Lupine Moonvine 


Chipping or filing hard-coated seeds hastens germination. 


190 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


to act as a handle. Whenever possible a seedling should be held by the leaf, 
as then there is less danger of crushing the tender plant. The box into 
which the seedlings are to be transplanted should contain some drainage 
material and should be filled with light soil. It should then be leveled and 
tamped in the same manner as when the seeds were sown. The surface 
should be finished with some finely sifted soil and tamped. If this is not 
done, especially when small seedlings are to be transplanted, the small lumps 
of soil will cause much annoyance. If the soil is very dry it should be 
watered before transplanting the seedlings and then set aside. A box of 
damp soil that needs no water is to be preferred to one that has been watered 
an hour previous. Soggy soil clings to the dibber and the fingers. 

To remove the seedlings from the seed-pan, with the right hand insert 
a stick or plant label beneath the roots and gently raise a bunch of seedlings, 
at the same time grasping them with the left hand. Do not take all of the 
seedlings from the pan at one time as they dry out very rapidly. Lay them 
on a piece of paper and bring them to the box of soil. Mark the rows on 
the surface of the soil with a straight-edged stick. Space the rows in the 
flat from one and a half to two or three inches apart, depending upon the 
size of the plants. Also space the plants the same distance in the rows. The 
size of the seedlings soon after germinating serves as a fair indication of the 
distance apart to transplant them. With the dibber make a hole in the soil 
deep enough to receive the roots without crowding. Slightly turn the 
dibber back and forth as it is withdrawn from the hole to prevent any soil 
from rolling back. If the seedlings have unusually long taproots, pinch 
them back halfway. This will do no harm and will cause the plantlet to 
send out lateral roots. After the seedling is placed in the hole the dibber 
is again thrust into the soil near the seedling and the soil firmly pushed 
against the roots. If an air pocket is left at the bottom of the hole the 
roots cannet come in contact with the soil. Seedlings should be transplanted 
to about the same depth as they were in the seed box. However, when they 
are very spindly and have a tendency to shoot up, they should be planted 
deeper in the hole. There are some kinds of seedlings, the delphinium being 
an example, in which the heart of the plant is quite low. In transplanting 
such seedlings one must be careful not to cover the center of the plant, lest 
it might rot. Again there are large seedlings that produce robust plants 
(lupines, castor-beans, etc.). These should be immediately set into two- or 
two and one-half-inch pots. 

After the flat is filled with plants it should be watered and placed in the 
frame or window. If the sun is shining brightly, shade the plants with 
paper the first and second days. Seedlings that have been crushed or broken 


in handling will wilt and die. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 191 


If the seedlings are transplanted to a pot instead of a box, and this can 
be done if only a few dozen of a kind are wanted, the surface of the soil 
should not be more than one-half inch below the top of the pot. Larger 
seedlings may be set deeper. Seedlings planted in flats will not dry out as 
rapidly as those in pots, and more can be grown in a given space if planted 
in rows in flats. If it is intended to leave the seedlings in the flats until 
time for planting directly into the garden, more space should be allowed 
in the flats when they are transplanted from the seed-pan. 

Seedlings that are to be transplanted to pots should be carefully lifted 
with a spoon or plant label and should have as much soil adhering to the 
roots as possible. The plant is held in the center of the pot. Then the soil 
is added and firmed about the seedling. Just when to water the seedlings 
after repotting will depend upon weather and soil conditions. If the day is 
cloudy and the potting soil is moist a day may elapse before watering. If, 
however, the soil is dry, but this condition could be improved when the 
soil is mixed, and the day clear and warm, the seedlings will have to be 
watered soon after potting. If very dry, the pots should be soaked before 
using, otherwise they will absorb much of the soil moisture. When a plant 
is reset the root system is disturbed, but if the potting soil is moderately 
moist new roots will form more quickly than if it is quite wet. It is always 
a good policy to keep newly potted plants a little on the “dry side” until 
root development is again active. Wilting may be prevented during this 
period by spraying the foliage lightly and shading the plants. 

When warm weather has arrived and the flower beds are prepared the 
plants may be taken out of the pots and set in their place. Roots which 
have become matted due to the length of time in the pots should be loosened 
before planting. This will break up the distinct ball the roots have been 
forming and will cause them to strike out in all directions and take hold 
of the soil in the flower bed. As soon as possible after all the plants have 
been set in beds they should receive a good watering. The same precautions 
used when transplanting from boxes to pots must be taken against wilting 
when planting the seedlings in the flower beds. Cloudy weather is ideal for 
planting flowers outside. Late afternoon and evening are better than the 
morning for transplanting, as the plants can revive during the night. Trans- 
planting should not be done on extremely hot and windy days. A good 
gardener will find ways and means to overcome the difficulties that will at 


times confront him. 


192 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Il. VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION 
DAVID C. FAIRBURN 


Many garden plants are best propagated by vegetative methods, not by 
seed. Some reproduce naturally by offshoots such as runners, suckers, bulbs, 
roots, rhizomes and leaves, whereas others are increased artificially by various 
types of cuttings, layering, and grafting. These methods of propagation 
are absolutely necessary in order to perpetuate the desirable characteristics 
of numerous hybrid specimens created by plant breeders. For instance, all 
the fine varieties of iris, peonies, roses, dahlias and gladiolus do not come true 
to color, size or shape when raised from seed, but if propagated by division 
of the clump, root and stem cuttings, or by separation of the bulbs, all of 
the varietial characters are retained in the propagations. When plants have 
been so highly specialized by hybridization that they produce no seed, 
vegetative methods of increase must be adopted. The seedless grape and 
orange are common examples of this specialization, as well as many orna- 
mentals which are infertile due to the excessive doubleness of the flowers. 
Furthermore, some plants are so difficult to raise from seed that amateurs 
can hardly devote the time and effort essential in their culture. Thus for 
various reasons many ornamental and economic plants are propagated by 
one of several methods indicated in the following outline, the choice of 
method being determined by the type of plant, the results desired, the 
equipment available, etc. 

. Cuttings 
A. Soft-wood 
B. Half-ripened wood 
C. Hard or dormant wood 
2. Rhizomes 
3. Runners 
4. Offsets 
5. Layers 
6. Bulbs, bulbels, bulblets, scales 


7. Corms, cormels 


Lg. Tubers 


f 1. Cuttings 
Root . 2 
3 


Stem 


. Suckers 

. Tuberous roots 
1. Viviparous leaves 
2. Leaf without petiole 
3. Leaf with veins severed 
4. Leaf divided into sections 
5 


- | 
Leat J 
) 
| - . ; 
Leaf with petiole 
6. Leat-bud cutting 
Entire Plant ) Division of clump or crown 


Of course it is first necessary to decide how a certain plant should be 


propagated, vegetatively or by seed. Such information can often be obtained 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 193 


by studying the plant in question, but mere observation is not always 
reliable as the visible characters do not necessarily reveal the genetic make-up 
of the individual. In other words, a striking variety of gladiolus may de- 
velop a fine lot of seed pods, but it is quite likely that only very few seeds 
will produce desirable plants. So the presence of seed is often just a detour 


sign for all except the plant breeder. 


As a general rule, plant propagation for the amateur may be summarized 
as follows: (1) seed only—practically all annuals and biennials, (2) seed 
and vegetative methods—true species of perennials and some annuals, (3) 
vegetative methods only—all hybrid varieties of perennials. To this classi- 
fication there are exceptions, but for the most part vegetative propagation 


is concerned with the hardy and tender perennials of garden and greenhouse. 
1, PROPAGATION BY MEANS OF STEMS 


Cuttings.—A cutting is a piece of root, stem, or leaf which is able to 
continue growth and establish an entire new individual when detached from 
the rest of the plant. Propagation by this method is widely practiced com- 
mercially because it is a quick and economical way to increase stock. Many 
perennials supposedly do not respond to such treatment, but there is hardly 
any doubt that cuttings of all plants could be induced to form roots and 
shoots if provided with the proper conditions. 

Success with cuttings depends largely on the methods of handling, the 
requirements varying with the different kinds of plants. Usually the cuttings 
do well if exposed to conditions favorable to the growth of the parent plant, 
but in certain cases special treatment is necessary, and even with the best of 
care, failures are apt to occur. The chances of error can be materially 


reduced if the right kind of plant material and equipment are used. 


Plants.—Always select healthy, vigorous plants as stock for cuttings. 
Those blighted with disease or infested with insects should be avoided unless 
they are thoroughly cleansed of these parasites before using. Otherwise 


success is accidental. 


Rooting medium.—Soil, peat, sphagnum moss, sand, and water may be 
used in rooting cuttings. For outdoor work a light sandy loam gives fine 
results. Peat and sphagnum moss are used to advantage with certain types 
of cuttings and for layering. Rooting in water is also possible with some 
plants, but in the majority of cases clean sharp sand of moderately coarse 
texture is the best material to use. It permits good drainage and aeration, 


which are beneficial to root formation. 


Pro pagating-pots, cases, benches.—When only a few cuttings are to be 


194 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


rooted, an eight-inch bulb pan equipped with a small pot for irrigation 
purposes makes a convenient arrangement. A handful of broken crockery 
is placed in the bottom of the pan for drainage and the sand filled in around 
the small pot which has the hole at the base tightly corked. Water grad- 
ually seeps out of the small porous clay pot and keeps the sand uniformly 
moist. This is a very handy outfit for home use. A glass bell-jar placed 
over the cuttings will protect them from the harmful dry atmosphere 
present in most dwelling houses. 

A shallow box or flat of sand, with a pane of glass on each side and on 
top to conserve the moisture, makes a fine propagating-case. An aquarium 
containing several inches of sand and fitted with a glass cover will serve the 
same purpose, provided the sand is not kept too wet. With such equipment 


Fig. 2. Propagating-pot.* 


one can carry on an interesting form of gardening in the home during the 
winter months. The propagating-case or pot should be placed where the 
cuttings can have the benefit of sunlight. Glass-enclosed cases or jars heat 
up quickly when exposed to direct sunlight, so it is necessary at times to 
prop open the lids or remove the jars to provide adequate ventilation. Slight 
bottom-heat from a steam or hot water radiator will stimulate root action. 
In the greenhouse, propagating benches are used for cuttings. Steam or hot- 
water pipes are usually placed under the benches to control the temperature 
of the sand. Some cuttings are almost impossible to root without this 
bottom-heat. 

When a confined moist atmosphere is needed for rooting, a box or frame 
is placed on top of the bench. Certain kinds of cuttings will not root un- 
less given the protection of a frame where drafts can be avoided as well as 
variations in moisture and temperature. Bell-jars or any wide-mouthed 
glass container serve the same purpose on a smaller scale, 


*Reproduced from Fairburn’s Plant Propagation for the Garden. Doubleday, Doran 
& Co. 1936. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 195 


Cuttings of most herbaceous perennials and woody plants are easily rooted 
outdoors if placed in a sash frame containing a well-drained, light, sandy 
soil. The frames require shading with lath or something to keep out the 


direct rays of the sun and prevent excessive evaporation during the summer. 


Temperature, moisture, light-—The proper rooting temperature for dif- 
ferent kinds of cuttings varies from 50° to 80° F. or over. For the majority 
of plants, however, about 65° to 70° F. is ideal. Root growth should ac- 
company or precede top growth, and for this reason bottom-heat is applied 
to keep the sand five to ten degrees warmer than the air. In frames outdoors 
this extra heat may be obtained from the soil or by several inches of fer- 
menting manure placed under the rooting medium. The latest and best 
source of heat is electricity. Cables are stretched under the sand and a 
constant temperature maintained by thermostatic control. 

Humidity is a very important factor in plant propagation and must be 
regulated to suit the kind of cuttings being handled. For example, cuttings 
of cacti and other succulents require a fairly dry environment. Too much 
moisture in the air or sand causes them to rot in a hurry. On the other 
hand, cuttings of many large-leaved conservatory plants demand the close 
humid atmosphere of a ‘“Wardian Case” to root. If kept too dry, they 
collapse. For most of the common garden and greenhouse stock, moderately 
moist conditions are recommended. The sand should never be soggy nor 
dry. Sprinkle the foliage occasionally to keep the leaves firm. 

When cuttings are first placed in the sand, they should be shaded from 
strong sunlight to avoid wilting, but as roots begin to form, more light 
can be admitted until finally they have established enough feeding roots to 
stand full sunlight. Keeping the cuttings in a shady place after the roots 
are well developed is a mistake. Without sufhcient light, photosynthesis is 
retarded, causing the young plants to become spindly and weak. Fresh air 


is also essential, but avoid drafts. 


Tools, accessories —Other equipment useful in plant propagation is 
shown in pl. 30, fig. 1. A sharp knife to trim off the cuttings, a tamping 
block to press down the sand, a straight-edge to mark off the rows if benches 
or cases are used, a dibble to make holes in the sand for the cuttings, wooden 
labels, a soft-lead pencil, a sprinkling can, newspaper for temporary shade, 
and a fair amount of patience are about all one needs. 

To avoid casualties due to disease fungi which often destroy cuttings, 
observe the following suggestions carefully: 

1. Use sterilized equipment whenever possible. 

2. Always use clean sand. 


3. Keep the sand just moderately moist, not soaking-wet. 


5. 


(From Fairburn’s Plant Propagation) 


Fig. 3. EQUIPMENT FOR VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION 


1. Propagating box with glass enclosure. 
Propagating bench without bottom heat. 


> 


a. 


6. 


Glass bell jar. 3. Fruit jar. 4. Propagating case (Wardian case). 
Propagating bench with bottom heat supplied by steam or hot water. 


961 


NLILATIONI NAGCUVO TTVOINV.LOG TYNOSSIN 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 197 


4. Fresh air and air circulation are important. 

5. Do not over-crowd the cuttings. 

6. The temperature should be about 65°-75° F. 

7. Cuttings that have started to root need lots of direct sunlight. 
8. Remove all dead or deseased cuttings from the sand. 


Soft-wood cuttings.—Stem cuttings may be separated into three general 
groups: (1) soft-wood, (2) half-ripened wood, (3) hard or dormant wood. 
To outline the various details of stem propagation by soft or green-wood 
cuttings which are commonly called “slips,” let us consider the common 
geranium (pls. 30 and 31). 

The stock plant from which the cuttings are to be taken should be 
healthy, vigorous, and well branched. The slips are made from wood that 
is brittle and snaps off readily when bent. Shoots of young succulent wood 
rot quickly in the sand, while old fibrous stems are always slow to root and 
produce inferior plants. Terminal or tip cuttings are generally preferred. 
The main shoots of some plants, such as the large-leaved rhododendrons 
which have considerable pith, are usually removed to force the development 
of lateral growths that have a greater proportion of wood and root more 
readily. Old plants can be “headed back” this way to get new lateral 
shoots for cuttings. Slips about four inches long are cut off the stock plant 
with a sharp knife. The leaves are removed from one or two nodes at the 
base of the cutting, but do not reduce the leaf area of the top unless it is 
excessively large and inconvenient. Leaves manufacture food which is 
necessary for the development of a new root system. If too many leaves 
are cut off, the plant is liable to suffer from malnutrition, and in this weak- 
ened condition is more susceptible to damping-off fungi. The cuttings will 
naturally shed any excess foliage, so do not reduce the tops unless they are 
inconvenient or have a tendency to wilt badly. 

All flower buds should be removed and the stem cut off clean just below 
the basal node. Geranium cuttings do better if lightly sprinkled with water 
and exposed to the air for several hours before being placed in the sand. This 
permits the wounded cells to heal over and discourages rot. To prevent 
wilting, most soft-wood cuttings are kept in a pail of water or wet news- 
paper until placed in the sand. Cuttings that have a milky sap are best 
dried for a few hours, as with geraniums. The base of the cutting is in- 
serted in holes or trenches made in the sand with a dibble, one or more nodes 
being covered to insure good rooting. Some propagators advocate pressing 
the slips into the sand without the aid of a dibble, but unless one is very 
careful the plant tissues are apt to be injured. The sand should be firmed 


gently around the stem to avoid air pockets and the cuttings thoroughly 


ok 


Z.STOCK PLANT 3. TAKING THE CUTTING 


ILCUTTING REMOVED S.STOCK PLANT PRUNED SAND TAMPED, ROWS MARKED OFF 


‘ 


ZCUTTINGS TRIMMED, READY TO GO IN SAND 


10. SHADE FOR SEVERAL DAYS 


G CUTTINGS SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY WATERED 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 199 


watered. Shade with newspaper, cheese-cloth, or lath for about one week, 
and then expose to full sunlight. Keep the sand barely moist. 

A temperature of 70°-75° is favorable to rooting, and if possible use 
mild bottom-heat. In about three to four weeks the cuttings will form 
roots at least one-half inch long. The young plants should then be removed 
from the sand and potted up in a heavy loam soil containing an abundance 
of organic matter (leafmold, manure, compost, or peat). Water the plants 
well and shade for a few days until the roots become established. 

House plants, as well as a large portion of the garden and greenhouse 
stock, are generally increased by soft-wood cuttings. A few examples are 
shown on pl. 31, fig. 6. Cuttings root differently at various times of the 
year. Tender plants can be propagated to advantage during fall and winter 
when the sunlight is not too intense and bottom-heat is available. Hardy 
herbaceous perennials are easily increased by this method in the spring when 
the plants have new shoots seven or eight inches tall. Select the stems 
which are firm, not too soft, and always leave a few buds on the stock 
plant for future growth. Many cuttings can also be rooted in summer if 


shaded from direct sunlight and watered properly. 


PLANTS INCREASED BY SOFT-wooOD CUTTINGS 


ANNUALS AND TENDER PERENNIALS* 


Abutilon—Flowering Maple Impatiens 

Acalypha—Chenille Plant Ipomoea—S weet-potato 
Ageratum—F loss-flower Tresine—Blood-leat 
Alternanthera Lantana 
Antirrhinum—Snapdragon Lobelia 

Ardisia Mesembryanthemum 

Begonia sem perflorens Oplismenus—Variegated Grass 
Beloperone—Shrimp Plant Pelargonium—Geranium 
Cacti Philodendron 
Cediaeum—Croton Pilea—Artillery Plant 

Coleus Plumbago capensis—Leadwort 
Conservatory plants—many kinds Salvia—Sage 

Crassula Selaginella 

Cuphea—Cigar Plant Stevia 

Dahlia Strobilanthes 
Euphorbia—Poinsettia Succulents—many_ kinds 
Ficus elastica—Rubber Plant Swainsona 

Fuchsia—Lady’s Ear-drops Tradescantia—Wandering Jew 
Gardenia Verbenas—garden varieties 
Heliotropium—Heliotrope Vinca major—Periwinkle 
Hibiscus—R ose-mallow Zebrina pendula—Purple Wandering Jew 


*AIL cultural data listed are specific for Missouri. 


Hundreds of hardy perennials can be propagated by soft-wood cuttings. 


A few of the more common ones are: 


200 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


HARDY 


Alyssum saxatile—Golden-tuft 

Amsonia 

Arabis—Rock-cress 

Arenaria—Sandwort 

Asclepias tuberosa—Butterfly-weed 

Aster 

AubrietiamPurple Rock-cress 

Boltonia 

Campanula—Bellflower 

Caryopteris 

Centaurea Cyanus—Cornflower 

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides—Blue 
Leadwort 

Chrysanthemum 

Clematis 

Delphinium—Larkspur 

Dianthus—Pink 

Eupatorium coelestinum—Muist-flower 

Gaillardia—Blanket-flower 

Gypsophila—Baby’s-breath 

Helenium 

Helianthus—Suntlower 


PERENNIALS 


Heliopsis—Orange Sunflower 
Hesperis—Sweet Rocket 


Hydrangea 
Iberis—Evergreen Candytuft 
Ivy 


Lobelia 
Lychnis—Campion 
Lythrum—Loosestrife 
Mentha—Mint 
Monarda—Horse-mint 
Myosotis—Forget-me-not 
Penstemon—Beard-tongue 
Phlox 
Ranunculus—Buttercup 
Salvia—Sage 
Saponaria—Soapwort 
Sedum—Stonecrop 
Silene—Catchfly 
Solidago—Goldenrod 


Teucrium—Germander 
Tradescantia—Spiderwort 
Veronica—Speedwell 


RIT : . ! Stal Sreeiert 
co ft heaps pra 
>. NODE —> 


Fig. 4. Cuttings placed in sand. 


Summer cuttings of woody plants.—During the summer, two types of 
cuttings can be made from ornamental shrubs and other woody plants: 
(1) soft-wood from young shoots which have a texture similar to the stems 
of a geranium, (2) half-ripened wood that has nearly completed growth. 
Cuttings made from young green shoots are handled in the same manner as 
“slips,” except that a frame or Wardian case is practically necessary for 
rooting. 

The half-ripened wood cuttings, with leaves attached, quickly strike 
root and develop into well established little plants for setting out the follow- 


PLATE 31 


Eb, 


LREMOVING ROOTED CUTTING FROM SAND 


b. SOFT- WOOD CUTTINGS OF VARIOUS PLANTS 


PLATI 


FLESHY ROOT 


(From Fairburn’s Plant Propagation) 


PROPAGATION BY RHIZOMES, CoRMs, BuLBs, AND Roots 


1. Division of rhizomatous iris. 2. Gladiolus corms and cormels. 3. Lily 
increased by scales. 4. Root cuttings of Oriental poppy. 5. Division of 
dahlia clump. 


32 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 203 


ing spring. The cuttings may be taken from May to September, the time 
depending on when the plant makes its new growth. A shaded sash frame 
outdoors or in the greenhouse is ideal for this purpose, but if only a few 
cuttings are to be rooted, a small box with a glass cover is satisfactory. 
Inverted fruit jars are also effective. 

The cuttings should be about six inches long and just brittle enough to 
snap off when bent double. The tip ends of the shoots are commonly used, 
but in some cases other parts of the stem will also root. The leaves are re- 
moved from two or three nodes at the base of the cutting and a clean cut 
made just below the basal node. The lower portion is then buried in sand 
several inches and the cuttings watered as usual. The frame should be 
covered tightly with sash to maintain a close humid atmosphere. An oc- 
casional spraying with water (in the morning) will help to prevent the 
foliage from wilting. Do not keep the sand very wet. The cuttings will 
generally root in four to six weeks, then they can be transplanted to 
nursery beds or placed in flats of soil and kept in frames. The young plants 
are benefited by a protective mulch during the winter or they may be held 
over in cold-frames to avoid alternate freezing and thawing. In spring the 
plants can be moved to permanent quarters. 

Summer cuttings can be made of the following shrubs: 


Abelia—Bush-arbutus Hibiscus syriacus—Shrub-althea 
Acanthopanax—Five-leaf Aralia Hydrangea 
Aronia—Chokeberry Kerria 

Azalea Kolkwitzia—Beauty-bush 
Berberis—Barberry Ligustrum—Privet 
Buddleia—Butterfly-bush Lonicera—Honeysuckle 
Buxus—Box wood Mahonia—Holly-grape 
Calycanthus—Sweet-shrub Philadel phus—Mock-orange 
Chionanthus—Fringe-tree Rhodotypos—Jetbead 
Cotoneaster—R ock-spray Spiraea 

Cytisus—Broom Symphoricarpos—Snowberry 
Deutzia Viburnum 
Exochorda—Pearl-bush Vitex—Chaste-tree 
Forsythia—Golden-bell Weigela 


Hard-wood cuttings.—Many shrubs, trees, and vines are propagated by 
this method. The cuttings are taken in the fall or during the winter when 
the wood of the previous season’s growth is fully ripened and dormant. It 
is an advantage to take the cuttings in autumn as they will callus and often 
root before planting out in the spring. Some hard-wood cuttings can be 
planted outdoors in the fall in ordinary soil and will callus without difficulty 
if given slight winter protection. As a rule, however, the dormant shoots 
are Cut up into pieces about six inches long and tied in convenient bundles 
with the tops all one way. The cuts are best made at or near the basal nodes 
and the lower buds rubbed off to prevent suckering when planted. The 


bundles are stored in boxes of moist sand, soil, or peat in a cool cellar. By 


204 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


the time spring arrives, the lower ends of the cuttings will have formed 
prominent calluses. The same results can be obtained outdoors by burying 
the bundles in sandy soil below the frost line. A mulch over the top of the 
soil will retard deep freezing. 

In spring the callused cuttings are planted upright in the nursery row a 
few inches apart. The planting depth varies according to the nature of the 
cutting, but it is customary to leave approximately one-third of the stem 
above the soil, thus permitting one or several buds to develop into new 
shoots. In the fall the young plants can be moved as desired. 

Short pieces of woody stem having only one eye or bud can frequently 


be used as cuttings. They should be started under glass with bottom-heat. 


Yo 


SIMPLE HEEL MALLET SINGLE - EYE 


Fig. 5. Types of hard-wood cuttings. 


The small pieces of stem are imbedded horizontally, one inch deep, in sand, 
the bud facing upward. When roots and shoots form, the young plants are 
potted up in soil and later set out in the field. 

Various types of hard-wood cuttings are illustrated in figure 5. The 
heel and mallet types are useful with plants such as evergreens which root 
very slowly. Cuttings of evergreens are handled in the same way as summer 
cuttings except that mature wood of the past season’s growth is taken in 
fall after frost. 

The following plants, as well as most of the shrubs mentioned in the 


foregoing list, may be propagated by hard-wood cuttings: 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 205 


Akebia Physocarpus—Ninebark 
Ampelopsis—Virginia Creeper Populus—Poplar 
Campsis—Trumpet Creeper Pyracantha—Firethorn 
Catalpa Rhamnus—Buckthorn 
Cephalanthus occidentalis—Buttonbush Rhus—Sumac, Smoke-tree 
Chaenomeles—Flowering Quince ee ane 
Sambucus—Elder 


Crataegus—Hawthorn Staphylea—Bladder-nut 


Elaeagnus—Russian Olive "AMAT Ne acc 
Euonymus—Burning-bush Vitis—Grape 
Nerium—Oleander Wisteria 


Rhizomes, runners, offsets, layers —Some plants are propagated naturally 
and artificially by various kinds of stems which have become radically 
modified from the typical upright leafy forms. Many stems are weak and 
slender and lie prostrate on the ground where they frequently strike root, 
while others are climbers and support themselves on suitable objects. In 
certain cases they are partly or wholly subterranean, often being mistaken 
for roots. When stems normally contact the soil, they produce young 
plants of their own accord, but occasionally the process can be hastened by 


artificial methods. 


Rhizomes or rootstocks—A_ rhizome is an underground stem which 
generally bears roots, shoots, and leaves. Some rhizomes, such as those of 
certain Iris, are only partly subterranean, while others may penetrate rather 
deeply into the soil, as exemplified by the numerous slender rootstalks of 
plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides). A rhizome is distinguished 
from roots by the presence of nodes, a true root having no such structures. 

The German or common iris is propagated by division of the rhizomes 
(pl. 32, fig. 1). A large clump is dug up and divided into a number of 
small pieces, each having two or three sprouts for new growth. These frag- 
ments, when planted separately in the garden, soon develop into sizable 
specimens. When the rhizomes are slender and bear no prominent shoots, 
they are cut up into short pieces and rooted in sand before planting outdoors. 
The cuttings are placed horizontally and covered with about one inch of 
sand or set upright with the lower portions embedded an inch or more in 
the sand. After roots and shoots have formed the young plants are potted 
up in soil and later transferred to the garden. 

Unfortunately, two very pestiferous weeds, quack grass and bindweed 
(wild morning-glory), are propagated by rhizomes. Cultivation severs the 
rootstocks, and a new vigorous crop soon appears from these cuttings. For 
this reason they are very difficult to eradicate. 


The following plants are propagated from rhizomes: 


206 MISSOURI BOTANICAI 


Achimenes 

Agropyron—Quack Grass 
Asarum—Wild Ginger 
Aspidistra—Cast-iron Plant 
Canna 

Convallaria majalis—Lily-of-the-valley 
Convolvulus—Bindweed 
Ferns—certain kinds 
Helleborus—Hellebore 

Holcus halepensis—Johnson Grass 
Hosta—Plantain Lily 


. GARDEN BULLETIN 


Iris—rhizomatous types 
Narthecium—Bog Asphodel 
Nymphaea—Hardy Water-lilies 
Podophyllum—May-apple 
Polygonatum—Solomon’s-seal 
Primula Seiboldi 

Rheum Rhaponticum—R hubarb 
Sanguinaria—Bloodroot 
Smilacina—False Solomon’s-seal 


Trillium—wW ake-robin 


Runners.—In some plants the stems are in the form of runners which 


creep along the surface of the ground and strike root at the nodes, producing 


new plants. 
or severance of the connecting stem a 
and shoots. This method of increase 


nourishment from the parent until it 


Independence from the parent plant is established by the death 


fter the offspring has developed roots 
permits the young plant to receive 


is able to shift for itself. Familiar 


examples of plants that propagate by means of runners are: 


Fragaria—Strawberry 
Nephrolepis—Boston Fern 


Saxifraga sarmentosa—Strawberry 
Saxifrage 


Offsets—Many plants produce small rosettes or leafy shoots near the 


These offsets 


base of the parent plant. 


are sometimes attached to the parent 


by a short stem (pl. 34, fig. 5), but in other cases they cling directly to the 


main stem. When the offsets are born 


e next to the surface of the soil, it is 


an easy matter for them to strike root and eventually become independent. 


Offsets that do not contact the soil can be removed and placed in moist sand 


where rooting will occur in a short time. 


The following plants increase by o 


Ananas sativus—Pineapple 
Anthericum—St. Bernard Lily 
Billbergia 

Cotyledon 

Echeveria 

Eichhornia crassipes—W ater-hyacinth 


Layers.—Sometimes the stems 


and take root at the nodes while still 


do this unaided, while others require t 


ffsets: 


Marica 

Pandanus—Screw-pine 

Phoenix dactylifera—Date Palm 
Pistia Stratiotes—Water-lettuce 
Sempervivum—Houseleek 
Tillandsia 


or branches come in contact with the soil 


attached to the parent. Many plants 


he gardener’s assistance. It is one of 


the simplest and most dependable methods of propagation and is known as 


layering. It is often successful when 


with hard-wood material. 


cuttings fail, being especially useful 


For example, some rhododendrons are almost 


impossible from cuttings but respond well to layering. 


There are several different types o 


f layering. To make a simple layer, 


a branch is bent over to the ground and partly covered with sand or soil, the 


tip being left exposed. 


material covering it or by some type of anchor. 


The branch is held in place by the weight of the 


That portion of the branch 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 207 


which is to be buried should have all the leaves removed unless they are 
sufhiciently long-stemmed to extend above the surface. With woody stems 
a short cut or notch is made at each node that is to be covered, to stimulate 
root formation. The cut should be propped open with a match or tooth- 
pick. When the layer is well rooted, connection with the parent is severed, 
and the young plant removed. Layering outdoors is usually done in the 
spring and summer. Embed the young growing shoots in a light sandy soil 
and keep the soil moist at all times. In the greenhouse, plants can be layered 


any time during the year, using sand, peat, or soil as a rooting medium. 


G 


fr < | 
| Brae J 


(From Fairburn’s Plant Propagation) 
Fig. 6. Vyrprs or Layrrinc 


A. Tip. B. Simple. C. Continuous. D. Serpentine. E. Mound. 
F. Chinese or air. G. Woody stem cut into small sections and layered 
in sand or moss. 


Tip layering is commonly used with black raspberries and similar plants. 
Tae canes are bent over in late summer and the tips anchored in the soil. 
Roots and shoots soon appear at the tips, forming new plants which are cut 
from the supporting canes in the fall or spring and planted separately. Tip 
lavering is illustrated in fig. 6, A. 

Vines with long flexible stems are often propagated by serpentine layers 


(fig. 6, D). Alternate sections of a single stem are imbedded in the sand 


208 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


or soil. Roots appear on each submerged scallop and a large number of 
plants are obtained. 

In continuous layering, practically the entire branch except the tip is 
covered. This type is used with a limited number of vines and shrubs, since 
many plants will not develop shoots from buds which are covered with sand 
or soil. Ivy, willow and high-bush cranberry are easily propagated in this 
manner (fig. 6, C, and fig. 7). 

Mound layers are used to advantage with low-growing plants which have 
stems that are too stiff to bend satisfactorily. Gooseberries lend themselves 
readily to mound layering (fig. 6, E). The plants are pruned back severely 
to encourage branching at the base. Sandy soil is then mounded up around 
the new shoots which strike root at the nodes. The young plants develop 


rather slowly, often requiring two years to establish a good root system. 


Fig. 7. Propagation by continuous layering. 
$ pas ) ) g 


Other plants propagated by this method are: 


Azalea Cydonia—Quince 
Calycanthus—Sweet-shrub Spiraca “Anthony Waterer” 
Cotoneaster Hydrangea 


Greenhouse plants such as rubber plant, Croton and Dracaena that have 
rigid woody stems are often increased by Chinese or air layering (fig. 6, F). 
A slanting upward cut is made through one or more nodes on the stem and 
the cut propped open with a toothpick. A ball of damp sphagnum moss 
is then tied securely around the stem where the cut has been made. If the 
moss is kept moist and the plant exposed to a warm temperature, roots will 
soon form. The stem should then be cut off just below the ball of moss 
and the rooted section with moss intact potted up in soil to form a new 
plant. This is one way to reduce “leggy” or spindly plants to a desirable 
size. Another method is to cut the woody stems into short pieces and place 
them horizontally in damp moss or sand. Each piece will take root and 


form a new plant (fig. 6, G). Bottom-heat encourages rooting. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 209 


Bulbs, corms, tubers —Many plants are propagated by bulbs, bulbels, 
bulb-scales, bulblets, corms, cormels, and tubers. These structures are simply 
modified stems and leaves which occur mostly underground. They contain 
large quantities of stored plant food, and under favorable conditions of 
moisture and temperature new plants are formed from dormant buds. 

A bulb is a rounded underground structure composed mostly of fleshy 
scale-like leaves. There are two general types of bulbs: (1) tunicated, such 
as the onion, hyacinth, and tulip, which are composed of close-fitting layers 
of leaf tissue covered with a dry husk, (2) scaly, illustrated by the lily, 
which is made up of thick, loose, overlapping scales. 

Bulbs are increased by natural separation. A mother bulb will produce 
one or more large bulbs or a number of small bulbels. If the bulbs are large 
enough, they will bloom within one year, but the small bulbels usually re- 
quire several years to reach blooming size. When the mother bulb is dug, 
the bulbels are removed and replanted separately in pots, flats, or beds until 
they are large enough to produce flowers. Hardy bulbs, such as those of nar- 
cissus which increase rapidly, should be transplanted frequently to avoid 
crowding and subsequent non-flowering. 

Hyacinths are propagated artificially by notching or scooping the bulbs 
when they are dug in spring and early summer (pl. 33, figs. 2 and 3). 
Making transverse cuts through the base of the bulb is known as notching. 
These cuts must not be too deep nor too shallow for good results. Any one 
not experienced in the art of making the notches will undoubtedly have some 
casualties. Scooping is also a delicate operation. The entire basal section of 
the bulb is removed in such a way that all the layers of scales are slightly 
severed. The wounded bulbs are dusted with slacked lime and placed, bottom 
up, in a moist chamber where the temperature can be maintained at 80° F. 
Within a few weeks small bulbels will start to form on the notched and 
scooped portions. The bulbs should remain in storage during summer and 
planted (with the young bulbels attached) outdoors in the fall. The bulbels 
then grow to maturity, being separated and replanted in special nursery beds 
the second year. Scooped bulbs produce more bulbels than notched ones, but 
they are small and require four to five years to reach flowering size. Notched 
bulbs form fairly large bulbels and flower in three to four years. 

Lily bulbs are propagated by separation and are easily raised from the 
fleshy scales (pl. 33, fig. 4). Shortly after the bulbs have flowered, the 
scales are removed and placed in damp sphagnum moss in a warm green- 
house. Small bulbels will soon develop at the bases of the scales, and will 
flower in about three years. Another method is to plant the scales two 


inches deep in soil outdoors during the summer and leave them undisturbed 


PLATE 33 


2. HYACINTH BULBS NOTCHED 
AND SCOOPED 


 BULBLETS ON 3. BULBELS FORMING ON SCOOPED 
TIGER LILY AND NOTCHED BULBS 


4 \ > \ 
a ni "I 


5 PROPAGATION OF GLADIOLUS, AMARYLLIS, LILY | 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 211 


until they flower some three years later. 

A few pants produce bulblets on the stems in the axils of the leaves or 
in the flower cluster (pl. 33, fig. 1). When ripe these small bulblets drop 
off or are removed by hand and planted. Their culture is the same as for 
bulbels. In one to three years they will usually flower. Some of the plants 
increased by bulblets are: 

Allium—Onion Lilium (bulbiferum, Sargentiae, 
Begon'a Evansiana—Hardy Begonia sulphureum, tigrinum)—Lily 
Ferns—certain kinds 

The Madonna and several other lilies can be propagated from the lower 
part of the flower stem. After the flower has been cut off, the base of the 
stem is pulled out of the bulb and layered in sand. Small bulbs will azise 
from the prostrate stem and will flower in two or more years. Culture the 
same as for bulbels. 

A corm is a rounded, fleshy, underground base of a stem. It is composed 
mostly of stem tissue, being solid like a potato, whereas a bulb consists 
mainly of leaf tissue and when cut open crosswise shows a numbe: of con- 
centric scaly rings. The gladiolus is a familiar plant that produces corms. 
Each year one or several new corms of flowering size are formed on top of 
the old mother corm, which deteriorates at the end of the growing season 
(pl. 33, fig. 5). When the plant is dug in the fall, these new corms are 
separated and planted individually the following spring. Large corms may 
be cut into sections like a seed potato to produce more plants. Cermels are 
also formed at the base of the new corm. These cormels should be stored 
in fairly moist sand or soil until spring and then planted in rows like seed. 
In one to three years they will develop to blooming size. 


The following plants propagate by corms: 


Calochortus Sparaxis 

Crocus Tigridia 

Cyclamen Tritonia 

Gladiolus Watsonia 
Ixia 


Some plants, such as the common Irish potato and the Jerusalem arti- 
choke, reproduce by tubers, which are thickened underground stems bearing 
conspicuous buds. These tubers may be planted whole or cut up into sev- 
eral pieces, each piece having at least one healthy bud. Seed potatoes are 
usually divided into three or four sections which are planted separately. 


Each section produces a new plant. 
2. PROPAGATION BY MEANS OF Roots 


Cuttings.—Plants with thick fleshy roots can usually be propagated 


without difficulty from root cuttings. In certain cases, however, variega- 


212 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


tions are not transmitted by this method. The roots are cut up into pieces 
two or more inches long and planted horizontally, about one inch deep, in 
sand, moss, or soil. If bottom-heat is applied, new roots and shoots soon 
appear on the cuttings. Both hardy and tender plants can be propagated 
by this method in the greenhouse, but usually root cuttings of hardy stock 
are placed in pots or flats of sandy soil in the cold-frame over winter. In 
spring the small plants are well established and ready to be set out in the 
garden. 

Root cuttings of tender plants do well in the greenhouse if exposed to a 
moderately cool temperature. The cuttings can be made at any time of the 
year. Some thrive better if placed in the sand vertically with the ends 
slightly protruding above the surface, but when in doubt use the prostrate 
method. 

The list of plants that can be propagated by root cuttings is of course 


extensive. A few examples are as follows: 


Aesculus parviflora—Dwart Buckeye Phlox—hardy type 

Ailanthus—T ree-of-heaven Radicula) Armoracia—Horseradish 
Amelanchier—Shadbush Rhus—Sumac 

Anchusa—Bugloss Robinia—Locust 
Bocconia—Plume Poppy Rosa—Rose 

Bouvardia Rubus—Raspberry, Blackberry 
Campsis—Trumpet Creeper Sambucus—Elder 
Caragana—Pea-shrub Staphylea—Bladder-nut 

Cirsium arvense—Canada Thistle Taraxacum—Dandelion 
Chaenomeles—Flowering Quince Verbascum—Mullein 

Dicentra spectabilis—Bleeding-heart Wisteria 

Euphorbia—Spurge Xanthoceras 
Gypsophila—Baby’s-breath Yucca—Adam’s-needle 
Halesia—Silver-bell Zanthoxylum americanum—Prickly Ash 


Papaver orientale—Oriental Poppy 

Suckers.—Plants which produce suckers from the roots can also be 
readily increased by root cuttings. Willow, poplar, black locust, and sassa- 
fras propagate naturally by suckers, the shoots arising at various points 
along the roots. These adventitious growths can be separated from the 


parent and planted individually. 


Tuberous roots—The enlarged, fleshy storage roots of plants, such as 
the dahlia, sweet-potato, tuberous begonia, and caladium, are used for propa- 
gating purposes. Most tuberous roots (the dahlia excepted) have the ability 
to produce adventitious buds and form new plants. Merely plant the root 
in moist sand or soil and wait for developments. Sweet-potatoes sprout 
easily in a jar of water. 

Dahlia clumps which have been stored in dry peat over winter should 
be divided in the spring when the buds begin to show at the base of the 
stem. The tuberous roots must be separated carefully in order that there 
be at least one bud to each division, otherwise no shoots will develop from 


5 .OFFSETS OF ANTHERICUM 


SAY 


2.GASTERIA LEAF CUTTING 


4. DIVISION OF VARI 
SANSEVIER 


214 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


the root when it is planted in the garden. Dahlia roots started in sand in 
the greenhouse about the latter part of April will form numerous shoots 
which can be used as cuttings (pl. 32, fig. 5). 


oF PROPAGATION BY MEANS OF LEAVES 


In addition to propagation by stems and roots, many plants have the 
ability to produce entire new individuals from leaves. This process may 
occur naturally as in the case of viviparous leaves, or artificially by various 


types of leaf cuttings. 


Viviparous leaves—Certain kinds of water-ferns, water-lilies, bryo- 
phyllums, and Tolmiea Menziesii develop young plants naturally on their 
leaves (pl. 34, fig. 3, and pl. 35, fig. 5). In due time the young plants will 
detach themselves from the parent leaf and fall to the ground or float away 
on the water to establish an independent plant. Thus a large plant may 
become surrounded with a host of offspring like a mother hen with a brood 
of chicks. In the garden and greenhouse, we usually assist nature by re- 


moving the plantlets and potting them up in soil. 


Cuttings.—Plants with thick fleshy leaves and petioles (leaf stems) con- 
taining sufhcient reserve food can generally be propagated by some form of 
leaf cutting. An entire leaf of Bryophyllum placed right side up on moist 
sand will quickly form a small plantlet at most every notch on the leaf 
(pl. 34, fig. 3). A leaf of Rex Begonia treated likewise will send forth a 
number of sprouts from the base of the leaf where all the veins intersect 
and also from the end of the petiole. Another method is to sever the veins 
of the Rex Begonia leaf in various places. When such a leaf is placed in 
close contact with moist sand and bottom-heat applied, a new plant should 
arise from each wound (pl. 35, fig. 1). Rex Begonias are also reproduced 
by cutting the leaves into sections, each section retaining a portion of the 
fleshy base of the leaf. If these pieces are placed upright in the sand, new 
shoots and roots will soon appear (pl. 35, fig. 2). The confined atmosphere 
of a Wardian case or a bell-jar and slight bottom-heat are essential for 
success with all leaf cuttings of Rex Begonias. 

Succulent plants, such as Kalanchoé, Byrnesia, Echeveria, and some 
sedums, are very easily propagated from leaf cuttings. The fleshy leaves are 
carefully detached from the parent plant and placed on moist sand. Only 
the base should be covered with sand, the rest of the leaf remain- 
ing exposed to the light. The young plant originates from the latent bud 
at the base of the leaf. When taking the leaves from the parent plant be 
careful not to wound them, as they are very subject to rot. Avoid excess 


moisture. These plants are adapted to rather dry conditions, and to keep 


Piatt 


(From Fairburn’s Plant Propagation) 


PROPAGATION BY LEAVES 


1. Leat of Rex Begonia with veins cut. 2. Rex Begonia leaf cut into 
sections. 3. Leaf cuttings of African violet. 4. Leat-bud cutting of gera- 
nium. 5. Viviparous leaf of Tolmica. 6. Leaf cuttings of Byrnesia. 7. Leaf 


cuttings of Cyperus. 8. Leaf cuttings of Sansevieria. 


45 


216 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


the sand saturated with water is to invite failure. 

The leaves of some plants must have the petioles attached in order to 
strike root (pl. 35, fig. 3). The cuttings are placed vertically in the sand 
with the petioles buried one or two inches. Young shoots and roots develop 
from the callus formed on the ends of the petioles. Plants propagated by 


this method are: 


Begonia sem perflorens—Ever-blooming Hoya—Wax Plant 

Begonia Peperomia 
Gesneria Saintpaulia—African Violet 
Gloxinia Streptocarpus—Cape Primrose 


With Cyperus alternifolius (Umbrella Plant) an entirely different type 
of propagation is necessary. The stem is cut off a few inches below the 
head of leaves which is pruned to a convenient length. The cutting is then 
placed in the sand deep enough to cover the entire head, leaving only the 
tips of the leaves exposed. Roots and shoots arise from the buds in the axils 
of the leaves, not from the stem as with most cuttings. When potting up 
the young plant, remove the old original leaves (pl. 35, fig. 7). 

Another odd type of leaf cutting is that used for propagating Sansevieria 
(Bowstring Hemp). The long leathery leaves are cut into pieces several 
inches in length and the basal ends inserted vertically in the sand, leaving 
about one-half of the cutting exposed. Roots and shoots develop from ad- 
ventitious buds formed at the base of the cutting (pl. 34, fig. 1). Avoid 
excess moisture with these succulent plants. Strangely enough, the yellow 
variegations of S. frifasciata var. Laurentii are not transmitted through leaf 
cuttings. To preserve these variegations the plant must be increased by 
division of the clump (pl. 34, fig. 4). 

A leaf-bud cutting includes the leaf, the petiole, the bud in the axil of 
the leaf, and a portion of the main stem (pl. 35, fig. 4). Roots develop 
from the “heel”? and shoots from the axillary bud. Geraniums, Begonia 
sem perflorens, Rhododendrons, Acalypha, and Chrysanthemum are easily 
reproduced in this manner. It is a good way to get a large increase from 


a limited amount of stock. 
4. PROPAGATION BY DIVISION 


Plants which form a series of stems from a large crown or those which 
spread readily by suckers and offsets, making large clumps, are effectively 
propagated by division (pl. 32, fig. 1). The old plant is dug up or knocked 
out of the pot and separated into small sections, each having roots and 
shoots. Plants that make a rampant growth are usually divided every year 
to keep them in bounds and to avoid crowding. This is especially true with 
vigorous plants in small rock gardens and flower borders. The following 


plants usually need frequent division: 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Achillea—-Yarrow 

Artemisia vulgaris—Mugwort 

Aster—hardy types 

Boltonia 

Campanula—Bell flower 

Centaurea Cyanus—Cornflower 

Cerastinm tomentosum—Snow-in-summer 

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides—Blue 
Leadwort 

Chrysanthemum—hardy types 

Dianthus—Pink 


bho 
_ 
N 


Doronicum—Leopard’s-bane 
Euphorbia—Spurge 
Helianthus—Sunflower 
Ocnothera—Evening Primrose 
Penstemon—Beardtongue 
Phlox—hardy types 
Ranunculus—Buttercup 
Sedum—Stone crop 
Solidago—Goldenrod 
Thalictrum—Meadow-rue 
Veronica—Speedwell 


Division and replanting of most garden material is usually done in early 


fall so that normal growth proceeds uninterrupted in spring. The following 


perennials are rather slow 


five years: 


Alyssum saxatile—Golden-tuft 
Aquilegia—Columbine 

Astilbe 

Delphinium—Larkspur 

Dicentra spectabilis—Bleeding-heart 
Echinacea—Coneflower 


Peonies should be divided about every seven years. 


growing and are generally divided about every 


Hemerocallis—Day-lily 
Hosta—Plantain-lily 
Iris 

Liatris—Blazing Star 
Linum—Flax 

Phlox 


Greenhouse plants, 


such as ferns, orchids, asparagus, violets, etc., are readily increased by divi- 


sion. 


Shrubs that have a tendency to spread can also be separated when 


necessary. This is best done in late fall when the plants are dormant. 


Of course to appreciate how fascinating plant propagation really is, one 


has to bolster up a discussion of this sort with actual experience. 


After 


these proposed methods have all been tried, there is still another very im- 


portant subject to consider, namely, grafting, but that is a story all by itself 


and hardly falls within the scope of the present article. 


For several years scientists have been experimenting with special growth- 


promoting chemicals to stimulate rooting of cuttings, especially the more 


difficult types. 


follows: 


The results of these investigations can be summarized as 


1. Soft-wood cuttings that root easily may or may not be benefited by 


chemical treatment, depending of course on the kind of plant used. 


2. Half-ripened or green-wood cuttings of shrubs, vines, etc., some- 


times root better with the chemicals, but certain kinds of cuttings give no 


response with or without. 


3. A limited number of hard-wood cuttings respond favorably to the 


treatment. 


Some resist all efforts to make them form roots. 


So when using these widely publicized root stimulants, it is wise not to 


think all your troubles are over. 


Even fortified with a bottle of vitamin B,, 


there is no reason to expect roots to form on a broom-handle. 


218 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
NOTES 


Ex-Set. Gerald B. Ownbey, Washington University Fellow in Botany 
during 1940-42, has recently been discharged from the Army and has re- 
sumed his research work at the Garden toward a doctor’s degree. 

Among the groups visiting the Garden library and herbarium recently 
were: the students in biology of the Pattonville High School, Pattonville, 
Mo., under the leadersihp of their teacher, Mr. M. C. Shauver; and the 
members of the Little Gardens Club, of Clayton, Mo. 

The November number (Vol. 32, No. 4) of the ANNALS OF THE 
Missourt BOTANICAL GARDEN was issued during the month, with contents 
as follows: The Yucca plant, Yucca filamentosa, and the Yucca moth, 
Tegeticula (Pronuba) yuccasella Riley: an ecologico-behavior study, Phil. 
Rau; A revision of the Central American species of Smilacina, Ralph W. 
Emons; The Clematis Fremontii var. Richlii population in the Ozarks, Ralph 
O. Erickson. 

Recent visitors to the Garden include Mr. Grail O. Fernwood, of the 
New York Botanical Garden; Mr. Thomas A. Macres, of Cornell University 
and the Paragon Greenhouses, Patchouge, Long Island; Miss Jean Nicholson, 
Research Assistant, McKee Jungle Gardens, Vero Beach, Fla.; Miss Maxine 
Kaiser, of St. Paul, Minn.; Mr. Rouhollah Rahmani, of the Dept. of Agr., 
Tehran, Iran, recently a student at the University of California, Los Angeles; 


Mr. Robert Scully, orchid grower. 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


George C. Hitchcock 


ManieleKaGatlinseee ss ot 
Eugene Pettus. 222... 4..° 


L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 
John S. Lehmann 


Joseph Desloge 
Herbert O. Winterer 
A. P. Kaufmann 
William Scarlett 
Arthur H. Compton —__ 


Gerald Ulrici 


George T. Moore 
Hermann von Schrenk 


Jesse Mi. + Greenmatie.="..5 es 
Carroll W. Dodge 
Edgar Anderson _.....- 


Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 


Henry N. Andrews... 
Robert W. Schery (on leave) 
Well-(.. Moret. cc 0 oo eae 


George H. Pring 

Paul A. Kohl. 
David C. 
Gustav A. L. 
Joseph Cutak - 
Ladislaus Cutak 


Fairburn 


August P. Beilmann 


Gurney Wilson, F.L.S. 


Mehlquist 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


: ofocsetces aes " President 

Vice-President 
Second Vice-President 

Richard J. Lockwood 

George T. Moore 

A. Wessel Shapleigh 

Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS 


President, St. Louis Academy of Science 


President, Board of Education of St. Louis 
Mayor of the City of St. Louis 
__Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 


_~ Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


STAFF 


Director 


ae ee Pathologist 


basa ae Herbarium 
Mycologist 


ON aie cr <a _Geneticist 
Assistant Curator of Herbarium 
Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 
_ Research Assistant 
Librarian and Editor 
pene Superintendent 
_ Floriculturist 
__Orchidologist 
_ Horticulturist 
_In charge of Exotics 

Fe SRE Sie DR a a TK charge of Succulents 


_ Manager of the Arboretum, Gray Summit 
Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as “Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henry 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a “Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 
some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL 
GARDEN BULLETIN 


CONTENTS 


Wy istania- as A: Ppa) eR eae ee eee eee ay. oe 
Some Fungus Diseases and Insects of Evergreens . . . 221 
Moe. SHO test Ame. ps ga Arc te ce. ea ber ees 
Can We Grow the Snow Trillium in Missouri? . . . . 227 
A Brazilian Air Cactus . . . . . . . “0 ee ees 
Annual Course in Horticulture for Amateurs . . . . . . 230 
Your Questions Answered . . . . . .. . O31 
INotesier.- is? 2: Sa: cee We, Mer eae oN SME co 232 
General Index to Volume XXXIII . . . .. 233 


Volume XX XIII December, 1945 Number 10 


lanl 


‘over: Blooming wistaria tree in foreground, barren wistaria vine in background. 


Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, 
St. Louis 10, Missouri. 

Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $1.50 a year. 

Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. 

Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Gales- 
burg, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 1879. 


Please: Do not discard a copy of the Bulletin. If you have no further use for yours 
pass it along to a friend or return it to the Garden. Return postage will 
be guaranteed. 


SOME FACTS ABOUT THE GARDEN 


The Missouri Botanical Garden was opened to the public by Mr. 
Henry Shaw about 1860. From that date until his death in 1889 it 
was maintained under his personal direction. Although popularly 
known as ‘“Shaw’s Garden” the name Missouri Botanical Garden 
was chosen by Mr. Shaw and he definitely indicated that he wished 
it called by that name. The Garden passed at his death into the 
hands of a Board of Trustees, designated in Mr. Shaw’s will, and 
the Board so constituted, exclusive of certain ex-officio members, 
is self-perpetuating. By a further provision of the will the immedi- 
ate direction of the Garden is vested in a Director, appointed by 
the Board. The Garden receives no support from city or state but 
is maintained almost exclusively from the estate left by Henrv 
Shaw. Since 1939 many Garden Clubs and interested individuals 
have contributed to a ‘Friends of the Garden Fund” which is used 
in developing the new Arboretum, located at Gray Summit, Mo. 
The Arboretum (1) serves as a source of plants, trees and shrubs 
for the city Garden; (2) affords areas for gradually establishing 
a pinetum, a wild-flower reservation and various other features 
on a scale not possible in the city; (3) provides greenhouses for 
some 20,000 orchid plants. 


The city Garden comprises 75 acres, where about 12,000 species 
of plants are grown, both out of doors and under glass. It is open 
every day in the year except New Year’s Day and Christmas; week 
days, 8:00 a. m. until sunset; Sundays, 10:00 a. m. until sunset. 


The greenhouses are closed every day at 5:00 p. m. 


The main entrance to the Garden is at Tower Grove and 
Flora Place, on the Sarah car line (No. 42). The Tower Grove bus 
(No. 21), direct from downtown, passes within three blocks of the 


main entrance. 


WISTARIA VINE 


Though the house has been vacant for seven years, this wistaria continues to 
bloom without care. 


Missouri Botanical 
Garden Bulletin 


Vol. XXXIII DECEMBER, 1945 No. 10 


WISTARIA 
PAUL 0A. “KOHL 

When a sturdy, hardy, and long-lived vine is needed in the garden, first 
choice may be accorded to the ever-popular wistaria. It is a beautiful plant 
when it blooms in spring, and during the summer it will cover a large area 
with heavy, but graceful foliage. It will bloom almost every year, and only 
occasionally will the flower buds be injured by a severe winter or a late 
freeze in April. A wistaria is not a suitable vine for a light wooden trellis, 
unless carefully trained, but is good for a pergola, a rustic arbor, an iron 
fence, or any other substantial support. By careful pruning each year it is 
possible to restrict a wistaria to a given area. It is the neglected vine which 
twists around spouts, roofs, or trellis-work, and in time either loosens or 
crushes its support. The main pruning is best done during the dormant 
season when the canes can be traced. Summer pruning in June is necessary 
to shorten exceptionally rampant runners. If only three or four main canes 
are permitted to grow in the first few years after the vine is planted, and 
these are trained to the support, there will be no twisted mass of runners 
which seldom can be separated. 

A young, vigorous wistaria about two years old is the best type to plant. 
Old vines have only a few heavy roots, which are difficult to dig, and will 
not recover from the shock of transplanting for many years. A wistaria 
should be planted out during the dormant period, from October to April. 
A pot plant, however, may be planted at any time. A rich soil will produce 
prolific growth and will delay the flowering of the vine, while a lean soil 
will retard the growth but will hasten the blooming. A little well-rotted 
manure may be used when the hole is prepared, but concentrated fertilizers 
should be avoided. If the soil is heavy clay it should be lightened with 
sand. The swollen portion of the stem of grafted vines is the place where 
the stock and scion have united, and this should be planted six inches deep. 
Since a wistaria is frequently planted near a foundation or at the base of a 
pillar, a depression should be left around the plant for frequent watering 
during the first year. 

(219) 


220 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Good varietal forms of the Chinese and Japanese wistarias are increased 
by layering or grafting, and the plants so propagated are superior to seed- 
lings. Some seedlings begin blooming in a few years, but others do not 
mature for ten or more years. The impression prevails that a grafted 
wistaria will bloom soon after planting because the scion was selected from 
a flowering plant. Grafted plants vary in this respect, just as do seedlings. 
Some plants mature early, while others will not produce flowers until after 
many years. One can only speculate as to the cause for this tardiness of 
bloom. It may be soil, location, variety, or age. Two methods of ‘‘shock”’ 
treatment are suggested to force a backward wistaria into bloom. One 


method restricts the root growth in May by severing the large roots about 


Flowering spurs on a tree wistaria 


three feet from the base of the plant. In the other method many of the 
thin canes are removed in the spring, and the laterals are shortened to about 
six eyes in June to induce the formation of flower buds. Shortening of the 
laterals does help, but it can become an arduous task and is not recommended 
for a large vine. Patience for several more years will usually be rewarded by 
an abundance of bloom once the plant has become mature. The cover illus- 
tration shows a fine tree wistaria in bloom, but a few feet away stands a 
good grafted vine, now ten years old, which has never bloomed. The lack 
of flowers on the vine cannot be attributed to location or soil, but probably 


to the fact that the tree wistaria is much older than the vine. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 221 


Two oriental species of wistaria are commonly grown. The first to 
bloom in the spring is Wistaria sinensis, the Chinese wistaria, of which there 
are blue and white varieties. The Japanese W. floribunda blooms a little 
later, and has blue, white or pink varieties. There are also varieties 
with long clusters of flowers, but these are seldom planted here. Two 
other wistarias are listed by some nurserymen, the native Wistaria frutescens, 
which has short flower clusters, and thes silky Wistaria venusta. 

A standard or tree wistaria is a fine plant for the garden and requires 
very little care. Every June it should be pruned to retain its shape, but in 
doing so as many of the flowering spurs as possible should be retained. Any 
long canes which develop later in the summer may be shortened in August 
or after the leaves have fallen. The little care given a tree wistaria is well 


repaid in the profusion of bloom during the last two weeks of April. 


SOME FUNGUS DISEASES AND INSECTS OF EVERGREENS* 
AUGUST P. BEILMANN 


In the Middle West most of the conifers—if they grow at all—are rarely 
bothered by insects or diseases. With so few native conifers, there 
is no local population of bugs ready to attack. As to diseases, all of the 
conifers in this locality have been introduced, and since nursery inspection is 
on a nation-wide basis the plants we obtain usually have a clean bill of health. 
In time, when coniferous plantings are so extensive that the same species 
can be found scattered over many square miles, a varied and comprehensive 
spray program may be as necessary here as in the East. 

There are, however, a few diseases and some insects that are bothersome. 
Chief among the diseases are several kinds of rusts which may be of major 
importance in some years. The firs, particularly the Momi Fir (Abics firma), 
may be severely injured by a fungus which causes a die-back of the new 
growth. Some specimens of White Fir (Abies concolor) are also stunted 
by a similar disease reported to be caused by the fungus Re/:miclkopsis 
bohemica. Pruning and burning the infected branches is suggested as a 
control, and Bordeaux mixture applied in the early spring may be helpful. 

The pines are attacked by a Sphaeropsis tip blight which destroys the 
new growth as far down as the first node. Here again pruning and burning 
are important control measures, and the Bordeaux spray may be of value. 
There are, in addition, a great number of leaf rusts found on pines. Many 
of these have not been identified, and many do little harm except in a very 


“This article deals with the coniferous evergreens, that is, the pines, firs, spruces, and 
their allies, rather than the broad-leaved evergreens. 


222 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


cool wet spring. If these rusts belong to the genus Coleosporium, they 
have as alternate hosts a great number of garden plants ranging from asters 
to currants and gooseberries. Elimination of the alternate hosts will suc- 
cessfully control the disease. However, garden plants should not be de- 
stroyed unless the rust has been identified and the damage is serious. 

The life histories of many of the rusts are imperfectly known, but some 
of them spend part of their lives on pines, firs, and junipers, and the remain- 
der on some wild flower or garden plant. In the Middle West, perhaps the 
best-known disease of this type is the cedar apple rust. It attacks the fruits 
and the foliage of some varieties of cultivated apples, and it produces the 
very conspicuous gall on cedar in early spring. It does small harm to the 
juniper aside from disfigurement, but it can, and often does, cause a great 
deal of harm to the commercial apple. It may also attack the hawthorn 
(Crataegus sp.) and the quince. The juniper has one more serious disease— 
a twig and branch blight which may kill the entire plant or just certain 
branches. It appears to be more severe on the Savin Juniper (Juniperus 
Sabina) and its many varieties. The best control is the planting of other 
and less susceptible species. 

The most important insect attacking conifers in the Middle West is the 
bag worm (Thyridopteryx ephemeraformis). The larvae of this insect 
feeds on the foliage of evergreens and may strip the tree while safely enclosed 
in the woven bag. At the end of the season the bag, which is also used as 
a pupal coccoon, may cause considerable damage. The silken strands by which 
it is attached to the branches are so strong that if they happen to girdle a 
twig, particularly a terminal shoot, the twig is killed. The bag worm at- 
tacks other trees as well as conifers, but it can be effectively controlled if 


arsenate of lead sprays are applied by May 15. 


Perhaps the second most serious pest is the red spider mite—the only 
close relative of the spider which is injurious to these plants. This mite 
spins a web on the surface of the needles or leaves, under which it spends 
most of the time while sucking juices from the foliage. A strong stream of 
water sprayed on the foliage may be of help, but sometimes this merely 
scatters the pest throughout the plantation. The best control is a contact 
spray such as pyrethrum. Sulphur sprays have been recommended but in 
the temperature of a middle-western summer they often kill trees faster than 
red spider. 

Short-leaf Pines in our vicinity are frequently attacked when young by 
a moth whose larvae bore in the terminal twig and cause its death. If these 
attacks are repeated annually, the tree may be stunted and the terminal 


shoot will begin to take on some of the characters of a ‘“witches-broom.” 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 223 


This does not exhaust the list of either insect pests or diseases, nor does 
it include every conifer which may be injured in the course of its life span. 
Most of the evergreens not listed are not seriously affected at the present 
time. The Canadian Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), for instance, has been 
singularly free of all troubles. The same is true of Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga 
taxifolia) and, of course, all other Junipers except the Savin. Except for 
the bag worm, which is easily controlled, the Spruce, if the trees are at all 
hardy, is not bothered with disease or pests. 

There is another serious pest of conifers which cannot be controlled by 
spraying, and this is the sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), which is one of the 
small woodpeckers. This bird may single out a particular tree for its atten- 
tion, and feed on the soft inner bark until the trunk has been riddled in a 
checker-board pattern. He may completely girdle a tree or, working only 
on one side, cause the death of a large patch of bark. The injury may be 
confined to a single tree, but in the course of twenty years a coniferous 
planting may be considerably damaged. We can offer no control in this 
case except perhaps the judicious use of a shot gun. 

As a general thing, a tree is less likely to be seriously injured by disease 
if it is in prime condition, and a rapidly growing tree, well fed, will more 
quickly recover and replace the leaves lost through insect feeding. A species 
or variety which is not entirely at home in this locality will be the first to 
die if it becomes host for either insects or diseases. Most of the pines, spruces, 
arbor-vitae, in fact, all the conifers, require good soil and good care in our 
region. Fertilization, mulching, and irrigation are essential practices for 
all but a few of the more commonly grown kinds. In short, the story boils 
down to this—in the Middle West, at least at the present time, neither 
fungus diseases nor insects are likely to limit the selection of coniferous trees 
for ornamental use; eventually, as the population of such trees increases, in- 


sects and diseases may be of greater importance. 


THE SHORT-LEAF PINE 
AUGUST P. BEILMANN 

While many species of pines from all over the world have been grown 
successfully at the Arboretum, the only native Missouri species, Pinus 
echinata, has never cooperated well with us. Thousands of seeds and seed- 
lings have been planted, but until recently it was represented by only a small 
group of unhappy trees. Assuming that this pine has some of the char- 
acteristics of another well-known Missouri character, the mule, and that it 
could not be pushed from the south to the north unless it chose to go that 
way, we have been carefully searching for the northernmost station of this 


tree. 


224 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Fig. 1. Short-leaf Pine on Gus Patke farm. 


Pinus echinata is usually considered as being indigenous to a region be- 
ginning about forty miles south of Gray Summit. Recently it has been 
found southeast of St. Clair in Franklin County. From here it follows 
the bluffs of the Meramec River for some distance northward, always grow- 
ing in the cherty soil above the solid limestone. The tree can be seen from 
a car on the gravel road between Highway 66 at St. Clair and Highway 50 
at Union (known locally as the ‘““Union-St. Clair” road), which is a point 


due west of the Arboretum. The northernmost station, recently discovered, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 225 


is on the farm of Gus Patke (figs. 1 and 2), about two miles south of the 
Missouri River, on the old road between Gildehaus and Labadie. This is about 
three miles due north of the Arboretum and perhaps twice that far west. An- 
other group, reported west of this point near a place known locally as Pikes 
Peak, now extends the known range of the tree considerably west of the 
Arboretum. In both these locations the Short-leaf Pine is demonstrating its 
aggressiveness by the number of vigorous seedlings found under the older 


trees and competing with the deciduous trees near by. 


On the Patke farm some of the largest trees are over a foot in diameter 


and fully fifty feet high. From a small group of these old trees, seedlings 
radiated in all directions. According to Mr. Patke, pine trees have been 
growing in this area for as long as any one can remember. Both of these 
groups are at least six air-line miles from the more extensive groves south 
of Union. This is all the more interesting since there seems to be no local 
recollection of pine trees ever growing between these points. 

The Short-leaf Pine is symmetrical when young but in old age only the 
very top remains well formed. However, it is picturesque, and tree planters 
should find a place for our native pine. It is essentially a timber tree, reach- 
ing fifty feet even at its northern limit with a trunk diameter a little over 
twelve inches. Perhaps it should be used ornamentally only when planted 


226 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


as a group, as a screen, or shelter belt. It has very few insect enemies, al- 
though it may be attacked by a tip moth which tunnels into the leading 
shoot, causing wilting. If this injury is continued year after year, the tree 
eventually becomes stunted. 

It has been noted in the BULLETIN of May 1940, that one of the reasons 
for failure with the Short-leaf Pine may be the absence of a mycorrhizal 
relationship.* The fungus, living on the pine roots, supplements the root 
hairs as absorbing organs. It has been shown that without the mycorrhiza 
many plants fail to grow, and that it is especially important to a plant 
growing beyond its natural range. Actually, the pine may be perfectly 
comfortable in this locality, but it may be very difficult to develop the 
mycorrhiza in our soils. Curiously this species has a preference for cherty 
soils. Although the bluffs along the Meramec River at St. Clair are lime- 
stone, the pine grows only on the cherty surface soil which is frequently 
very thin and infertile. On the Patke farm, there is a layer of sandstone 
(fig. 2) above the limestone, while the surface layer is a rather thin cherty 
soil. 

The best stand of Short-leaf Pine at the Arboretum is now in its third 
year. For planting it, a degraded site was selected, and a heavy application 
of ammonium sulphate was made to the scattered weeds. This resulted in a 
great improvement in the plant cover. The fertilizer was applied in May 
and the first lot of 1000 seedlings was planted in the fall. About one half 
of these died, although they were Missouri-grown plants from the U. S. 
Forest Service Nursery at Willow Springs, Missouri. In April of 1942 
another thousand seedlings from the Soil Conservation Service at Elsberry, 
Missouri, were planted. The loss in the secoad planting was considerably 
less. These seedlings were planted six feet apart in rows six feet apart. 
During the past spring about 400 more plants were used to fill the vacant 
spaces. It appears that this planting will be successful although the plants 
were given much more attention than is usually required for pines. They 
have been mulched with sawdust and stable manure besides receiving indi- 
vidual applications of commercial fertilizer. Short-Leaf Pine is usually 
recommended for infertile and seriously eroded sites. Perhaps this is true 
farther south, although even in Arkansas seedling pines are not found in 
abandoned fields until the huckleberry (Vaccinium arboreum Marsh) has 
been established. At Gray Summit—near the northern limit of its range— 
we cannot grow this pine without much care and attention. 


* The term mycorrhizal refers to a mutually beneficial relationship between a fungus and 
a host plant. The fungus filaments invade the outer bark tissues of the rootlets and may 
develop a thick mantel of mycelium (fungus strands) on the outside. 


i) 
bo 
N, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


CAN WE GROW THE SNOW TRILLIUM IN MISSOURI? 
EDGAR ANDERSON 


Of all the sights of early spring none is more breath-taking than a fine 
stand of the Snow Trillium seen on a bright sunny day. The flower is 
nearly as large as other trilliums, but the plant is so minute that the little 
white lilies seem to sprout directly from the soil when they first appear; one 
author has compared them to a flock of white butterflies settled upon the 
grass. The flowers are dainty, beautiful, and they appear in the very 
earliest spring, in March, along with the crocuses and long before the other 
species of the genus. 


It may seem unnecessary to ask if the Snow Trillium (T. nivale) can be 
grown in Missouri since it is actually native here. On the other hand, Mis- 
souri is the edge of its range, and it has been found in only a very few 
localities and by only a few collectors. Some gardeners who have attempted 
to grow it have kept it alive for only a few seascns. Furthermore, it is one 
of those plants which are really effective only when they are flowered in 
masses; a plant or two is interesting to the rock-garden specialist, but for 
the ordinary person there must be at least ten to twenty Snow Trilliums in 
flower before he realizes that he is looking at something other than little 
scraps of white paper down in the grass. 


The Snow Trillium is characteristically a plant of the prairies, and to 
see it in real profusion one needs to go to central Iowa. The indefatigable 
Father Link has located several stations for it in Ilinois, within driving range 
of St. Louis. In all of these places it is growing on what are technically 
known as river terraces, and even in Iowa, where it seems to be less finicky 


about where it grows, it shows a marked preference for such situations. 


To get some kind of a definite answer to the question of how growable it 
it in the St. Louis area, bulbs were secured in 1944 through the interest of 
Professor J. C. Cunningham of Iowa State College. There was approxi- 
mately a peck of bulbs, large and small. They were divided into thirds and 
planted in the Arboretum at Gray Summit at three places along the Circuit 
Drive: (1) in front of the European beeches, (2) on the south side of the 
road just to the west of the east bridge over Brush Creek, (3) on the north 
side of the road in the same vicinity. Last spring there were ten or a dozen 
flowers in each of the last two localities but none were seen at location 
No. 1. It is too early to decide whether this initial experiment is a success, 
but at least it is well started, and in a few years we should get a definite 


answer to our question “Can we grow the Snow Trillium in Missouri?”. 


228 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


A BRAZILIAN AIR CACTUS 
LADISLAUS CUTAK 


When winds start to bluster and temperatures begin to descend, plants 
of these regions prepare themselves for a long winter sleep. Leaves fall from 
trees and shrubs, flowers wither, fruits ripen and scatter their seeds to await 
another spring when the warm earth will awaken them. And while this 
preparation is taking place in the North there is hustle and bustle of another 
kind in the lands below the equator; for there the earth is making ready for 
the festive season of flowers. As you doubtless already know, the seasons 
in the southern hemisphere are opposite to those of the northern, and a 
winter-blooming plant from Brazil would be a summer-blooming plant here. 

In the great American Cactus family there is a group of winter-blooming 
plants belonging to the genus Rhipsalis. While most of them are epiphytic, 
growing upon trees in tropical forests, some clamber over rocks or become 
terrestrial when they fall and root in the humus soil at the base of the trees. 
At the Garden we have been growing Rhipsalis in soil with great success. 

Slightly more than sixty species of Rhipsalis are recognized, and each one 
of them is a potential house plant. They do well in hanging baskets set in 
the window or in sunlit porches. About half of them possess slender, terete 
(cylindrical) stems, while the other half have angled or much-flattened 
leaf-like joints, somewhat resembling the Zygocactus (Christmas Cactus) or 
the dwarf Epiphyllum (the Broad-leaf Cactus erroneously called ‘“Night- 
blooming Cereus”). Although the flowers of Rhipsalis are rather small in 
comparison with those of other Cactaceae, they are quite numerous and at- 
tractive. They are mostly white to cream, but a few have green, yellow, 
purple, or pink tints. In size they measure from '%4 inch to about an inch 
across. The largest flowers belong to Rhipsalis megalantha, a species hailing 
from Sao Sebastido, an island off the coast of Brazil, these measuring fully 
1% inches across. R. capilliformis, also from eastern Brazil, has the smallest 
flowers, being barely '4 inch across. The commonest species in cultivation 
is R. cassutha. 

One of the showiest species of Rhipsalis, in my estimation, is R. Neves- 
Armondii, which deserves to be better known to house-plant lovers. Our 
plant was received in a shipment of unidentified cacti from the U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, and was identified after it bloomed last year. This 
year it again bloomed profusely, starting in early November, and its lemon- 
like fragrance permeated the air in its immediate vicinity. The blossoms 
bore a striking resemblance to those of Pereskia aculeata, the common “Blade 
Apple” of the tropical American Atlantic coasts, which is regarded as the 
most primitive of the Cactus family. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 229 


Brazilian Air Cactus (Rhipsalis Neves-Armondii) 


Rhipsalis Neves-Armondii is composed of many cylindric stems about 5 
mm. thick, from the ends of which grow whorls of short terete branches 
5-10 cm. long. These again branch and rebranch as the plant becomes 
older and pendent, the ultimate joints being much shorter. The young 
growth is Absinthe Green to Biscay Green* (pale green-yellow), darkening 
in age to Elm Green. The tiny areoles are subtended by a microscopic 


‘Technical color terms are those of Ridgway’s Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. 


230 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


whitish scale from which, in the young stage, tufts of whitish ascending 
hairs (2-5 mm. long) often protrude. The areas below the areoles and at 
the base of the young branches are usually tinted purple. The flowers, which 
are borne near the tips of the branches, are sessile, seeming to burst out from 
the epidermis. The epidermal wall splits around the perianth into four very 
short, membranous appendages which might be mistaken for sepals although 
the “lobes” have no connection with the flower. Actually there are only 
four sepals, usually slightly greenish (sometimes with a pink midstripe) in 
the bud stage, but, because they are hardly distinguishable from the petals, 
it is prudent to refer to the floral envelope as bearing twelve perianth seg- 
ments or lobes. The lobes are 7-13 mm. long, the four outer ones being 
the shortest, white to cream-colored, oblong in shape with obtuse or some- 
what acute apices, the apical margins being somewhat dentate. Stamens are 
40-60 in number, 5-8 mm. long, the outer ones with white filaments and 
yellowish bases while the short inner ones are often golden-yellow through- 
out, imparting a lustrous touch to the center of each flower. Style is white, 
8 mm. long, topped by spreading white stigma-lobes, usually four in num- 
ber (in our plants), each lobe about 3 mm. long. The fruit, not yet seen, 
is said to be a small crimson berry, about the size of a mistletoe fruit. 


ANNUAL COURSE IN HORTICULTURE FOR AMATEURS 


A course in horticulture for amateurs, designed to acquaint the partici- 
pants with principles and practices of gardening, with particular reference 
to the culture of herbaceous plants, will be given from February 5 to May 7, 
1946. The classes will be held in the experimental greenhouse on Tuesdays 
from 10:00 to 12:00 a. m. The course will be in charge of Dr. Mehlquist. 
REGISTRATION: It is desirable that registration be made by letter, with 

check enclosed payable to the Missouri Botanical Garden, as soon after 
January 1 as possible. Tickets will be distributed at the experimental 
greenhouses on day of first lecture. 
Fee: The registration fee is $15.00 per student, and tickets are not trans- 
ferable. 
SUBJECT MATTER OF THE COURSE 


I. Fundamentals of plant growth. 
The role played by light, temperature, water and air. 
The soil and associated materials. 
Mineral nutrition. 
II. Practical points in successful gardening. 
Choice of location and soil; preparation and improvement of soil. 
The nature and use of fertilizers. 
Practical plant propagation: seed sowing, cuttings, and division. 
Potting and transplanting of seedlings and cuttings. 
Planting and handling of bulbous plants for forcing during winter. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 231 


Selection and general care of house plants. 
Identification and control of common garden pests and diseases. 
Landscaping the home grounds; design, choice of suitable plants and their care. 
Preparation and care of lawns. 
Demonstration of yarious phases of garden work. 
(About '%4 of the time will be devoted to theoretical discussions outlined in Section I: the 


remainder of the time will be devoted to subjects of Section II.) 


YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED 


The editors wish to express their appreciation for the numerous words of 
approval that have been voiced for the Question-Answer feature that was 
initiated with the May issue of this year. In order that it may more fully 
meet the needs of our readers we wish to extend them an invitation to send 
in questions. While we cannot offer assurance that all will be used, any that 


are timely and of sufficient general interest will be answered in the BULLETIN. 


Do oak leaves make good leaf-mold? 


While oak leaves will not decay as rapidly as those of many other trees, there is no 
reason why they should not be used as a source of excellent leaf-mold. When preparing the 
leaf pile in the fall add rather liberal applications of lime and a few shovels of soil between 
the layers of leaves. A few pounds of ammonium phosphate will also speed up the process of 
decay. The lime will reduce the acidity, the soil will supply the necessary bacteria and 
fungi, while the ammonium phosphate supplies these organisms with available nitrogen. 

It is best to heap the leaves into a pit two or three feet deep as a means of conserving 
moisture. But if the leaves are simply gathered together on the surface of the ground, the 
top of the pile should be worked into a broad concavity and watered occasionally. The 
rate of decay will also be greatly accelerated by turning up the lower layers every month 
or two, 


Is the yellow-wood tree (Cladrastis lutea) hardy in St. Louis? 

Yes, it is an excellent wide-spreading ornamental for larger gardens. A heavy mulch 
of manure will assist in starting a specimen. 
Does boxwood brought in from the South do well here? 

When properly placed, that is, sheltered from summer and winter winds and planted 
in good sweet soil, southern boxwood is perfectly at home. 
What causes the sap to run out of a cherry tree? 


This is called ‘“gummosis,” and is an effort of the tree to seal over an injury to the 
bark (usually from borers). A cherry tree will do this no matter how tiny the bark 
puncture and no matter what the cause. In itself this exudation is not harmful, but it is 
an indication that some harm has befallen the tree. 


Can lemon verbena be used in cooking? 


Because of its rarity little seems to be known of lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora). It 
is said to be used for the preparation of a tea in some European countries, and it affords a 
very desirable scent for the linen closet. In the 1942 issue of The Herbarist, Mary Eliza- 
beth Fitz-Gerald has presented an interesting historical sketch of this plant. 


What is the difference between a cold-frame and a hot-bed? 

A cold-frame has no source of heat except sunlight. A hot-bed is heated by steam 
or hot-water pipes, electric cables, or by fermenting farm manure. Otherwise they are 
identical in construction. 

When is the best time to transplant strawberry plants in Missouri? 


Transplanting may be done in fall if the young plants are given a protective mulch of 


232 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


straw to avoid alternate freezing and thawing during the winter. Transplanting in spring, 
however, is standard procedure in Missouri. 
When planting seeds in flats, can they be left in a basement until sprouted? 
Yes, provided the temperature and moisture factors are favorable to normal growth 
of the seeds planted. 
, ; 7h 27) ~ > snl? 
How do you improve heavy clay garden soil: 
Apply about a 3-inch top-mulch of compost soil, leaf-mold, or farm manure, add a 


generous amount of coarse sand and mix it thoroughly with the clay soil by spading, plow- 
ing, or discing. Repeat this treatment every year until soil of the desired texture is obtained. 


NOTES 


Dr. C. W. Dodge, Mycologist to the Garden, has been appointed Director 
of Botany in the Merit Badge Program, St. Louis Council, Boy Scouts of 
America. 

A group of about thirty Juniors from the Barat Catholic Action Center, 
accompanied by one of the teachers, visited the library and the chrysanthe- 
mum show at the Garden on November 19. 

Dr. Edgar Anderson, Geneticist to the Garden, attended a conference on 
hybrid corn in relation to the wet milling industry, which was held in 
Chicago, November 28-30, under the auspices of the Corn Industry Research 
Foundation. 

Dr. Hugh C. Cutler spent several days at the Garden during December 
in a study of the plants he collected in Brazil. Dr. Cutler is one of the 
nine former graduate students of the Garden who was engaged in rubber 
or quinine investigation in South America during the War. 

The following orchid growers have visited the orchid greenhouses at the 
Arboretum recently: Mr. Maxen Cohen, of Orchidville, Mass.; Mr. L. 
Ariza and Pierre Villera, of the Dominican Republic, W. I.; Mr. Walton 
M. R. Riffe, of Dayton, Ohio; Mr. Robert Yohler and Mr. Robert Mitchell, 
of the Stephen Foster Co., Carmel, Ind. 

Recent visitors to the Garden include: Prof. Jacques Rousseau, Director 
of the Montreal Botanic Gardens, Montreal, Canada; Dr. Julian A. Steyer- 
mark, Assistant Curator of the Herbarium, Chicago (Field) Museum of 
Natural History; Mrs. J. A. Steyermark (Cora Shoop); Mrs. Hazel B. De 
Lange, of the De Lange Floral Co., Littleton, Colorado; Maj. Ray Gordon, 
formerly a graduate student at the Garden, recently with the U. S. Air 
Forces in India; Mr. T. MacDougall and Mr. Clifford Poulsen; Dr. Harry J. 
Fuller, Associate Professor of Botany, University of Illinois, Urbana; Maj. 
Richard B. Walker, graduate student, University of California; Mrs. Richard 
B. Walker (Helen Bramsch); Dr. W. L. Tolstead, Biologist, Conservation 
and Survey Division, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


General Index 


Figures in italics refer to page numbers of plates and cuts. 


A 


Abies concolor and A. firma, fungus disease 
of, 221 

Acanthocereus, 104; colombianus, 104, 100; 
floridanus, 106; occidentalis, 104, 106; 
pentagonus, 104, 104; Pitajaya, 104, 106 

Acanthostachys strobilacea, 150 

Accessions during 1944: herbarium, 23, l- 
brary, 28 

Acer saccharinum, 
after tree-surgery operation, 79, do 

Aechmea, 141, 150; bracteata, 150; bromelii- 


condition of, 25 years 


folia, 151; distichantha, 151; fasciata, 
151, 151; Fosteriana, 151; fulgens dis- 
color, 151; Mertensii, 152: miniata dis- 


color, 152: pubescens, 152; Racinae, 152; 

recurvata, 152; victoriana, 152; Weil- 
bachii, 154 

Aerides growing exposed to partial sun, 50 

Aesculus hybrida, condition of, 25 years 
after tree-surgery operation, 81 

Air cactus, A Brazilian, 228, 220 

Allen, Paul H. ‘Rubber exploration in Co- 
lombia,” 73 

Aloes in South African House, 14 


Amaryllis bulbs, care of, after flowering, 
137; propagation of, 200 

Amateur gardening course in 1944, 16; in 
1945, 230 

Ananas comosus, 139, 142, 154 


Anderson, Edgar, 17; “An_ early-blooming 
dark red day-lily, 132; “Can we grow the 
Snow Trillium in Missouri?”, 227; ‘“Early- 


flowering Japanese cherry,” 113; “The 
hardy orange,” 117; “Rosa alba in St. 
Louis,” 130, 730; ‘Two Balkan ivies for 


St. Louis gardens,” 59 

Andrews, Henry N., 18; “An evergreen for 
shady gardens,” 133; “The pine-fern—a 
living link with the past,” 84; “Vegetable 
gardening notes for 1945,’’ 68 

Androlepis Skinneri, 154 

Andromeda, Japanese, 133, 133 

Anemia adiantifolia: from Florida, 84, 84; 
fossil foliage of, 89, 90 

Animal life at Arboretum, Wild, 167 

Annual bequests in 1944, 31; Flower Ser- 
mon, 11, 31; Gardeners’ Banquet Fund, 
31 

Annual course in horticulture for amateurs, 
230 

Annual report of the Director, | 

Annuals, list of, increased by 
cuttings, 199 


soft-wood 


Anthuriums growing exposed to partial and 
to direct sun through orchid blinds, 50 

Ants, control of, 119, 176 

Apple rust, 222 

Arboretum, report of, for 1944, 4; 
across Meramec at, 4; ferry across Mera- 
mec at, 4, 7; herd of cattle at, 4, 7; hours 
of sunshine compared with city, 9; orchids 
at, 9; Short-leaf Pine at, 223; Wild ani- 
mal life at the, 167 

Arthrocereus, 112 

Attendance, Garden, for 1944, 31 

Azalea !edifolia, 114 

Azaleas, 114; Korean, 114; “Mayflower,” 
114; mollis hybrids, 114, 174; snow, 114 


farm 


B 

Bag worm on conifers, 222 

Bajo Vaupes of Colombia, 73 

Balkan ivies for St. Louis gardens, Two, 59 

Beaver in the Arboretum, 168 

Begonias: care of, 177; propagation of, 177, 
214, 214 

Beilmann, August P. “Phloem necrosis—a 
serious threat to the elm,” 128; “A quar- 
ter century of tree surgery,” 78; “The 
Short-leaf Pirie,” 223; “Fungus diseases 
and insect pests of evergreens,” 221; “Wild 
animal life at the Arboretum,” 167 

Billbergia, 140, 149, 154; Euphemiac, 154; 
macrocalyx, 154; macrolepis, 154; nutans, 
154; pallidiflora, 154;  Porteana, 155; 
pyramidalis, 155; Saundersii, 155; thyrsoi- 
dea, 153, 155; zebrina, 155 

Binghamia, 111 

Bittersweet, 137 

Blinds, roller, in orchid houses, 48, 48, 50 

Blooming of plants out of season, 170 

Board of Education, nature study at Garden 
supervised by, 16 

Botanic gardens, European, and_ the 
172 

Boxwood: at Arboretum, 7; 
southern, in St. Louis, 231 

Brassavolas, 38 

Brazilian air cactus, 228 

Broccoli in St. Louis, 69 

Bromelia, 144 

Bromeliaceae, 139; in Garden collection, 12 

Bromeliads: are fascinating plants, 139: 
eroup of ornamental, /44; propagating 
house for, 744 

Bromels: culture, 147; desert, 140; epiphyt- 
ic, 140, 147; history of, 141; outstanding 


War, 


Balkan, 60; 


234 
species, 150; offshoot propagation, 148, 
149; seed sowing, 149; soil for, 148 

Browningia, 112; candelaris, 112 

Bryophyllum, propagation of, 2/2, 214 

Bulbs, propagation of, 203, 209, 200; by 
bulbels, 209, 2090; by bulblets, 209, 200, 
211; by scales, 209, 200 

Bulgaria: climate of, 60; ivy from, 62; 
view of Rila Monastery in, 50 

Byrnesia, leaf cuttings of, 214, 274 


Cc 


Cacti, new, in 1944; soil for, 137 

Cactus, 93: barbed wire, 104; blade apple, 
228; Brazilian air, 228; broad-leaf, 93, 
228; Christmas, 228; deerhorn, 98; forest, 
98; hedgehog, 134, 134; moon, 102; ser- 
pent, 110; sweet-potato, 98; thorn, 104; 
thread, 97; torch, 94; totem-pole, 111; 
whisker, 111 

Caladiums, fancy-leaved, display of, 11 

Camellias, propagation of, from slips, 119 

Canna roots, winter care of, 176 

Cape Jasmine, 127 

Carbohydrates in plants, 
flower production, 171 

Carnegiea, 112; gigantea, 112 

Cattle, herd of, at Arboretum, 4, 7 

Cattleya Deckeri, 34; “Eleanore” (C. Hardy- 
ana x C. gigas) raised at Garden from 
seed in strong sunlight, 38; gigas, 18, 38; 
Mossiae grown in exposed positions in 
tropics, 35, 30, in shady positions, 36; 
Skinneri, 34; Trianae, carrying 10 flowers 
after exposure to 30% light, 38, growing 
on sun-exposed tree trunk, 33, with leaves 
sunburned, 40 

Cattleyas: exposure of, to sunlight in tropics, 
34; tests on, for light endurance, 38 

Cauliflower in St. Louis, 68 

Cedar apple rust, 222 

Cephalocereus, 112; senilis, 112 

Cereus, Night-blooming, and its allies, 93 

Cereus, 94, 05; history of, 94; Diguetii, 
110; peruvianus, 00, 97; validus, 112 

Charts used for recording sun hours, 55 

Chemicals, growth-promoting, 217 

Cherry: An early-flowering Japanese, 113; 
sap from tree, 231 

Chinese lilac, A fine, 114 

Christmas display in floral display hours, 11 

Chrysanthemum show at Garden in 1944, 7, 
11 

Citrange, 117 

Citrus trifoliata, 117 

City garden maintenance, 10 

Cladrastis lutea: condition of, 25 years after 
tree-surgery operation, 81; hardiness of, 
in St. Louis, 231 

Clay soil, improvement of, 232 

Coal balls, 18 


relation of, to 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Coffee finca clearing, orchids found on, 35 

Colchicine treatment of orchid seeds, 16 

Cold-frame: for plant propagation, 180; dif- 
ference between, and hot-bed, 231 

Colombia: Rubber exploration in, 73; scenes 
along the Rio Vaupes in, 74, 77 


Colombian Indians, 73; ceremonial dance 
mask of, 74 
Conference on “Gene Action in Micro- 


organisms,” 57 

Conifers, Some fungus diseases and insects 
of, 221 

Conservatories, main, 
Garden in 1944, 12 

Corms, propagation by, 20/7, 211 

Corn: at Arboretum, 4; in early July in 
St. Louis, 69 

Crassulaceae, new, from Mexico, 3 

Cryptanthus, 141, 155; zonatus, 155, 156 

Crystal bal! sunshine recorder, 55 

Cutak, Ladislaus, 12, 14: “A Brazilian air 
cactus,” 228; “Echinocereus  chisoensis,” 
134; “The night-blooming Cereus and _ its 
allies,” 93; and George H. Pring. “Brome- 
liads are fascinating plants,” 139 

Cuttings, propagation by, 193: hardwood, 
203, 204; leaf, 272, 214; leaf-bud, 274, 
216; of woody plants, 200; operations in 
making, 197; placed in sand, 200, 207; 
root, 211; rooting medium for, 193; soft- 
wood, 197, 207; stem, 193; tools for, 194, 
107 

Cycas Wadei, 12 

Cymbidium, 38 

Cyperus alternifolius, propagation of, 274, 
216 


and exotic ranges at 


D 


Dahlia clump, division of, 207, 212 

Damping-off disease, 187; of snapdragons, 
185 

Day-lily, An early-blooming red, 132 

Deer, Virginia white-tail, in Arboretum, 167; 
five of herd, 37 

Degrees awarded in Shaw School of Botany, 
3; in 1944, 19 

Dendrobium, 38; bigibbum grown in abun- 
dant sunlight, 46 

Dendrocereus, 112; nudiflorus, 112 

Director, fifty-sixth annual report of the, 1 

Diseases: anthracnose of sycamore, 136; 
damping-off, 187; fungus, of evergreens, 
221; of bromels, 149; of trees, 82, 128; 
phloem necrosis of elm, 128 

Division, propagation by, 207, 272, 216 

Dodge, Dr. C. W., 17 

Dyckia, 141, 156; rariflora, 156; remotiflora, 
156; sulphurea, 156 


E 


Easter flower show at Garden, 11 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Echinocereus chisoensis, 134, 134 
Economic House in 1944, 14 
Elm, American, 128; Phloem 
serious threat to the, 128 
Engelmann professorship of botany, 2 
Epidendrum, 34;radicans, 35 
Epiphyllum, 93, 228; oxypetalum, 94 
Equipment: for sowing seeds, 187, 182; for 
vegetative propagation, 194, 100 
Eriocereus, 106; Bonplandii, 108; 
106, 108; tortuosus, 107, 107 
Ethnobotany of the Hopi Indians, 163 
Eulychnia, 111 
European plants in St. Louis gardens, 59 
European botanic gardens and the War, 172 
Evergreen for shady gardens, An, 133 
Evergreens, Some fungus diseases and insects 
of, 221 
Exotic plants received at Garden in 1944, 12 
Experimental greenhouses in 1944, 14 


necrosis—a 


Martini, 


FB 


Facheiroa, 111 
Fairburn, David C., 14; “Home-grown gar- 


denias,” 123; “Vegetative propagation of 
plants,” 192; “Why plants bloom out of 
season,” 170; and George H. Pring, “Light 


requirements for orchids in the Midwest,” 
33 

Farm across Meramec at Arboretum, 4 

Fern, Pine—a living link with the past, 84, 
S4 

Fern stems, petrified, d6 

Ferns, fossil, 18, 84, 86, 87, 8@Q 

Ferry across Meramec River 
Farm with Arboretum, 4, 7 

Fertilizer: cattle manure, 7; 
231; wood ashes as, 119 

Fertilizing: trees at Arboretum, 4; seedlings, 
187 

Fire precautions at Arboretum, 8 

Firs, fungus diseases of, 221 

Floral displays during 1944, 11 

Flower sermon in 1944, 31; 
tions at, 11 

Fossil botany, 18, 84 

Foster, Mulford B., 146 

Foxes at the Arboretum, 168 

“Friends of the Garden” Fund, 8 

Fruit crops, 64 

Fungi, wood-destroying, 82 

Fungus diseases and insects of evergreens, 221 


connecting 


leaves as, 70, 


floral decora- 


G 


Gaebler, Dorothy, 17 

Game refuge, Arboretum as a, 170 

Gardeners’ banquet fund, 31 

Gardenia florida, 127; Veitchii, 123, flower- 
ing in April, 724 

Gardenias, Home-grown, 123; cuttings, 127; 


23D 


propagation of, 127; rooted, 127; soil for, 
124 


Gardening: amateur courses in, in 1944, 4, 
16, in 1945, 230; vegetable, Notes for 
1945, 68 

“Gene Action in Micro-organisms,’ Confer- 
ence on, 57 

Geraniums: potted, care of, 176; propaga- 


tion of, 197, by stem cuttings, 797, by 
leaf-bud cuttings, 274 

Germinating seedlings, 785; in flats in base- 
ment, 232 

Gladiolus, propagation of, 207, 209 

Glass used in orchid greenhouses, 47 

Gleichenites, 86, 87 

Gnomonia veneta, 136 

Golden-rain tree, condition of, 25 
after tree-surgery operation, 80, ST 

Graduate fellowships at Garden, 3; in 1944, 
19 

Gravel-culture method of growing orchids, 
ies) 

Gray Summit, see Arboretum 

Greater St. Victory Garden Harvest 
Show, 11 

Greenhouses, orchid: bench arrangement, 46; 
blinds in, 48, 48, 50; control of light in, 
38; direction for, 44; effect of weather 
conditions on light intensity in, 44; effect 
of type of day on light intensity in, 45; 
glass and shading used, 46; light readings 
taken in, 40; size of, 46; skyscraper type, 
45 

Greenman, Dr. J. M., 17; 
lease,” 71 

Ground-hogs at the Arboretum, 168 

Grow your own strawberries, 64 

Growing plants: I. From seed, 179; II. Vege- 
tative propagation, 192 

Guzmania, 144, 156; musaica, 
156 


years 


Louis 


“William Tre- 


156; Zahnii, 


H 


Harrisia, 106; aboriginum, 108; Earlei, 108; 
eriophora, 108; Fernowii, 108; fragrans, 
108; Simpsonii, 108; Taylori, 108 

Heat, effect of, on orchids, 42 

Hedera Helix, 59; var. “M.B.G. Bulgaria,” 
62, natural habitat of, 50; var. ““M.B.G. 
Rumania,” 62, natural habitat of, 67 

Hedges for shady places, 137 

Heiser, Charles B., Jr., 19; “The Hopi sun- 
flower,” 163 

Heising, Clara M., 16 

Helianthus annuus, 166 

Hemerocallis, 132; 
“Apricot,” 133 

Hemlock, Canadian, 223 

Henry Shaw’s provision for School of Botany, 
1 

Herbarium, report of, for 1944, 23 


“Boutonniere,” 133; 


236 


Hevea brasiliensis, 77; guianensis, 77 

Hohenbergia, 141, 156; stellata, 156 

Holly, Balkan, 60 

Hopi sunflower, The, 163; seeds of, 165 

Horticultural training at Garden, 4 

Horticulture, annual course in, for amateurs, 
230 

Hot-bed: for plant propagation, electric- 
heated, 180, 782; difference between, and 
cold-frame, 231 

House plant: Gardenia as a, 123; Rhipsalis 
of 4, 228 

Hyacinth: bulbs propagated by notching 
and scooping, 209, 209; planted among 
mollis azalea hybrids, 174 

Hydrangeas: display of, in Floral Display 
House, 11; florists’, planted outside, 176 

Hydroponics, growing orchids by, 14 

Hylocereus, 94; costaricensis, o8, 100; Le- 
mairei, 101, 101; undatus, 98, O8 


I 


Insects: attacking bromels, 149, evergreens, 
221, gardenias, 124, nasturtiums, 176; bag 
worm, 222; red spider mite, 222 

Instruction, supervised, for school-children, 
16 

Iris, propagation of, 207; time for trans- 
planting, 118 

Iris germanica 
120 

Ivies, two Balkan, for St. Louis gardens, 59 

Ivy, 59; Balkan, 60; Baltic, 62; English, 
59: Swedish, 62 


“Kochi,” 120; “Midnight,” 


J 


Japanese: Andromeda, 133, 

early-flowering, 113 
Jasmine, Cape, 127 
Junipers, fungus diseases of, 222 
Juniperus Sabina, 222 


K 


cherry, 


7335 


Koelreuteria paniculata, condition of, 25 
years after tree-surgery operation, 80, 87 

Kohl, Paul A., 11; “Grow your own straw- 
berries,” 64; “Growing plants from seed,” 
179; wistaria, 219 


L 


Layering, propagation by, 206, 207; air, 207, 
208; continuous, 208, 208; mound, 207, 
208; serpentine, 207, 207; simple, 207; 
tip, 207, 207 

Leaf cuttings, 272, 214; leaf-bud cuttings, 
216 

Leaves: as soil conditioner, 70; oak, as 
source of leaf-mold, 231; propagation by 
means of, 214, 274; viviparous, 214 

Lectures, scientific and popular, by members 
of Garden staff in 1944, 21 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Leeks for winter storage, 68 

Lemaireocereus, 111; Cartwrightianus, 111; 
hystrix, 111; quevedonis, 111; Standleyi, 
111 

Lemon verbena, 231 

Leocereus, 112 

Library, report of, for 1944, 25 

Light: control of, in greenhouses, 38; dis- 
tribution, 44; effect of, on blooming of 
plants out of season, 171; for growing 
bromels, 148, for cuttings, 195; electric, as 
a stimulus to growth of orchids, 15; in- 
tensity, 34, meter used to measure, 30, 
42, outdoors and in_ greenhouses, 44; 
monthly average readings for 5-year per- 
iod, +0, 41 

Light requirements for orchids in the Mid- 
west, 33 

Lilac: A fine Chinese, 114, 777; little-leaf, 
114, 1177: common. large-flowered white 
“Jan Van Tol,” 117 

Lilacs, pruning of, 176; when to fertilize, 
118 

Lily, propagation of, 207, 209, 200; Regal, 
planting of bulbs, 137; seedling, 180; 
transparent seed of, showing embryo, 180 

Lily-of-the-valley, transplanting of, 137 

Lindegren, Dr. Carl C., 19 

Lindmania, 156; peduliflora, 156 

Lophocereus, 111 

Lupine seedlings, 1S& 

Lycastes, 36 


M 


Maize, Anderson’s research work on, 17 

Manure, cattle, use of, at Arboretum, 7 

Maple, soft, condition of, 25 years 
tree-surgery operation, 79, &0 

Media, nutrient, response of orchid growth 
to various, 15 

Mediocactus coccineus, 108, 110 

Meramec River: Garden farm on 
bank of, 4; ferry across, 7 

Meyer, Fred, “European botanic gardens and 
the War,” 172 

Midwest: conifers in, 221; Light require- 
ments for orchids in the, 33 

Mink at the Arboretum, 169 

“Mirror Lake” at Arboretum, 8 

Missouri: light requirements for orchids in, 
33, 53; Short-leaf Pine in, 223; Snow 
Trillium in, 227; time to transplant straw- 
berries in, 232 

Missouri Botanical Garden: ivy varieties, 
distribution of, 63; William Trelease as 
director of, 71 

Missouri Nature Knights, 16 

Moisture for growing cuttings, 195 

Monvillea Cavendishii, 109, 100; 
bachii, 109 

Moonvine seedlings, 788 


after 


south 


Lauter- 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Moore, George T., 2 

Moss, Spanish, 139, 143, 743 

Mother-in-law tongue, 119 

Muskrats at the Arboretum, 169 

Mycorrhizal relationship in the 
Pine, 226 


Short-leaf 


N 


Nasturtiums, lice and aphids on, 176 

Nature study at Garden, 16 

Neoevansia, 110 

Neoregelia, 141, 156; ampulilacea, 156; 
Carolinae, 156; laevis, 156; marmorata, 
153, 157; Pineliana, 157; spectabilis, 157; 
bristis, 157 

Nidularium, 141, 157; Innocentii var. line- 
afum, 153, 157, var. striatum, 153, 157 

Night-blooming Cereus and_ its allies, 93: 
Acanthocereus, 104;  Eriocereus, 106; 
Harrisia, 106; Hylocereus, 98; Penio- 
cereus, 97; Selenicereus, 102 

Nursery: at City Garden, 11; at Arboretum, 
7 

Nyctocereus, 110; serpentinus, 110 

O 


Oak leaves, leaf-mold from, 231 

Odontoglossum Powellii, 36 

Offsets, propagation by, 206, 2/2 

Orange, the hardy, 117 

Orchid, A noteworthy Philippine—Vandop- 
sis Davisti, 175 

Orchid houses: bench arrangement, 46; 
blinds in, 48, 48, 50; control of light in, 
38; direction for, 44; glass used, 46; 
shading, 48; size of, 46; skyscraper type 
of, 45 

Orchid plants: effect of various nutrient 
media on, 15; effect of increased humid- 
ity on, 16; effect of treating seeds with 
colchicine, 16; growing of, 14, by gravel- 
culture method, 14; light and, 15, 33; 
shading, 48, 48 

Orchids: at Arboretum, 9; botanical, 9, 36; 
displayed in Floral Display House, 11; 
Light requirements for, in the Midwest, 
33; time of blooming of, 50; research 
work on growth of, 14; response of, to 
sunlight, in their native environment, 34 


Pp 


Palms, new, at Garden, 13 

Pans, pots, crock, etc., used in propagating 
plants, 7&7 

Peach trees from seed, 119 

Peniocereus, 94, 97; Greggti, 97 

Peonies: propagation of, by division, 217; 
time to transplant, 136 

Perennials: list, of, increased by soft-wood 
cuttings, 199; propagated from seed, 180 


297, 


Pereskia aculeata, 228 

Peristerias, relation of sunlight to growth 
of, 34 

Philippine orchid, A 
sis Davisii, 175 

Philodendrons, propagation of, 118 

Phloem necrosis—a_ serious threat to the 
elm, 128 

Photometer, 38, 42; light readings taken in 
greenhouse by, 40 

Phragmopedilum caudatum, 36; longifolium, 
36 

Phyllocactus latifrons, 94 

Pieris japonica, 133, 133 

Pilocereus, 112 

Pineapple, 139, 742 

Pine, Short-leaf, 223: 
PPy Fee 

Pine-fern—a living link with the past, 84, 
&4, 8O 

Pines, fungus disease of, 221 

Pinus echinata, 223 

Pitcairnia, 157; Andreana, 157; corallina, 
157; latifolia, 157; Raimondii, 157; xan- 
thocalyx, 157 

Plants of the season, 113, 130 

Poncirus trifoliata, 117 

Poppy, Oriental, root cuttings of, 20/7 

“Possum” and “Coon” at Arboretum, 169 

Pring, George H., 9; “A noteworthy Philip- 
pine orchid — Vandopsis Davisii,’ 175; 
Ladislaus Cutak and. ‘Bromeliads are 
fascinating plants,’ 139; David C. Fair- 
burn and. “Light requirements for orchids 
in the Midwest,” 33 

Propagating: pots, 180, 787, 782, 193, 104; 
boxes, 180, 782; cases, benches, jars, etc., 
193, 106 

Propagation, plant, 179: from seed, 179, 
equipment for, 787, 183, operations, 180, 
783; vegetative, 192, equipment for, 196, 
197, methods of, 192 

Prunus subhirtella var. autumnalis, 113 

Pseudotsuga taxifolia, 223 

Published articles by members 
staff in 1944, 19 


noteworthy—Vandop- 


on Patke farm, 224, 


of Garden 


Q 


Quarter century of tree surgery, 78 
Quesnelia Liboniana, 157 
Questions answered, 118, 136, 175, 231 


R 


Rabbit population at Arboretum, 169 

Raccoons in the Arboretum, 169 

Red spider mite on conifers, 222 

Renantheras, 36 

Report, fifty-sixth annual, of the Director, 1 

Research and instruction at Garden in 1944, 
17 


238 


Rhipsalis, 228; capilliformis, 228; cassutha, 
228; megalantha, 228; Neves-Armondii, 
228, 220 

Rhizomes, propagation by, 207, 205 

Rhododendron japonicum, 114; mollis hy- 
brids, 114, 174; mucronatum, 114; nudi- 
florum, 114; roseum, 114; yedoense, 114, 
var. poukhanense, 114 

Rila Monastery, Bulgaria, 62; 
valley from, 59 

Rio Vanpes, 73; a batalon in the rapids of, 
74; scenes along, 77 

Roots, propagation by, 207, 211; tuberous, 
Ble 

Rosa alba im St. Louis, 130, 130; 
Double White,’ 132; ‘‘semiplena,” 

Rotenone as an insect poison, 137 

Rubber: exploration in Colombia, 73; pro- 
duction in Colombia, 77; plant, cuttings 
from, 176 

Rumania: climate of, 60; ivy from, 62; 
State Forest of Comarno, near Bucharest, 
OI, 62 

Runners, propagation by, 206 

Rusts of native conifers, 221 


S 


view down 


“Great 
132 


Saguaro, 112 

St. Louis gardens, Two Balkan ivies for, 59 

St. Louis Horticultural Society spring flow- 
er show, 11 

St, Louis: boxwood, southern, in, 231; elm 
trees in, 128; gardenias grown in, 123; 
intensity of sun in, during summer, 42; 
light requirements for orchids in, 33; Rosa 
alba in, 130, 130; Snow Trilliums in, 227; 
vegetable gardening notes for, 68 

Sand as a medium, for sowing seeds, 185 

Sansevieria: flowering of, 119; 
of, 212, 214 

Sapsuckers, injury to conifers by, 223 

Scales, lily increased by, 207, 209 

Schlumbergeras, 94 

Schomburgkias, growth of, in Panama and 
Costa Rica, 34 

School of Botany, 2 

School-children, supervised 
16 

Seed: Growing plants from, 179; germinat- 
ing, 185, 187; lily, showing embryo sur- 
rounded by endosperm, 1/80; planted in 
flats in basement, 232; soil medium for, 
185; sowing, 180, 183; types and sizes of, 
185 

Seedlings: damping-off disease of, 785, 187; 
lily, 780; transplanting, 188, 788; tools 
for growing, 183, 183 

Selenicereus, 94,102; coniflorus, 102; grandi- 
florus, 97, 102; Macdonaldiae, 104; nycti- 
calus, 102; pteranthus, 102, 103 


propagation 


instruction for, 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


Senftenbergia, 90 

Shading: bromel houses, 148; orchid houses, 
40, 48, 50; period for, 53; roller blinds 
for, 45, 40 

Shady gardens: An 
hedges for, 137 

Short-leaf Pine, 223; on Patke farm, 224, 
224, 225 

Shrubs: increased by  soft-wood 
203; by hard-wood cuttings, 203 

Sieves, tampers, and dibbers used for propa- 
gating plants, 780, 183 

Skunk population at Arboretum, 169 

Smoke, effect of, on orchid growth, 53 

Snapdragon seedlings: affected with damp- 
ing-off disease, 785; germinating in_ sur- 
face layer of sphagnum, 1&5; transplanted, 
188 

Snow Trillium in Missouri, Can we grow?, 
227 

Soil: clay, improving, 232; for bromels, 148; 
for desert cacti, 137; leaves as condition- 
er, 70; granulated peat in, 188; oak leaves 
for, 231; sterilizing, 187; used in rooting 
cuttings, 193 

South African House, succulents in, 13 

Sphagnum moss, seed sown in, 785, 187 

Spireas, pruning of, 176 

Spruces in the Midwest, 223 

Squirrels: at Arboretum, 169; in 
greenhouses, 14 

Stanhopeas, 36 

Stanrochilus Davisii, 175 

112 

Strawberries: Grow your own, 64; soil for, 
64; time to transplant in Missouri, 232; 
varieties of, 65 

Strawberry: plant, 65, 00 

Strophocactus, 110; Wittii, 110 

Students, graduate, in Henry Shaw School 
of Botany, 3 

Succulents in South African House, 13 

Succulents, new, in 1944, 12 

Suckers, propagation by, 212 

Sun hours: charts used for recording, 55; 
crystal ball for recording, 55 

Sunflower: common, 165; The Hopi, 163, 
seeds of, 765; Russian Mammoth, 164, 
seeds, 105 

Sunlight: effect of, in growing plants from 
seed, 182; relation of, to growth of or- 


evergreen for, 133; 


cuttings, 


Garden 


Stetsonia, 


chids, 15, 33; in their native environ- 
ment, 34 
Sunshine at Arboretum and City garden 


compared, 9, 55 
Surgery, tree, A quarter century of, 78 
Sweet potatoes for St. Louis, 69 
Sycamore, disease of, 136 
Syringa microphylla, 114, 117; vulgaris, 117 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 


T 


Temperature: effect of, on growth responses 
of plants, 171; for growing cuttings, 195; 
relation of, to flowering period of orchids, 
50 

Tempskya, petrified stems of, 86, 89 

Tillandsia, 139, 141, 159: anceps, 158, 159; 
Baileyi, 159; Balbisiana, 159;  bulbosa, 
159; Butzii, 159; decom posita, 140; 1onan- 
tha, 158, 159; juncea, 159; Lieboldiana, 
159; Lindeni, 159; Lindeniana, 158, 159; 
polystachia, 144; recurvata, 144, 147; 
Schiedeana, 159; streptophylla, 158, 159; 
tennifolia, 144, 160; usneoides, 140, 143, 
143, 148, 160; utriculata, 144 

Tolmica Menziesii, propagation of, 214 

Tomatoes in St. Louis, 68 

Tools used in plant propagation, 7&7, 182, 
195, 107, 198 

Transplanting seedlings, 188 

Tree: elm, 128; Short-leaf Pine, 223; sur- 
gery, A quarter century of, 78 

Trees: coniferous, 223; damage to 
pipes by roots of, 119; fungus diseases 
and insect pests of evergreens, 221 

Trelease, William, 77, 71 

Trichocereus, 111; Spachianus, 111 

Trichopilia suavis, 36 

Trillium nivale, 223 

Tropics, orchids in the, 34 

Tubers, prcpagation by, 211 


sewer 


U 
Umbrella plant, propagation of, 214, 216 
V 


Vanda teres, 36; “Miss Agnes Joaquim,” 36 

Vandopsis Davisii, 175, 175 

Vegetable gardening notes for 1945, 68 

Vegetative propagation, 192; by division, 
216; by means of leaves, 214 by roots, 
211; by stems, 193 

Verbena, lemon, 231 

Vriesia, 141, 160; hieroglyphica, 160; Mariae, 
T41, 160; paniculata, 144; scalaris, 160; 
splendens, I4I, 160 


239 
W 
War: cffect of; on management of Arbo- 
‘retum, 4; European botanic gardens and 
the, 172 
Wardian cases: for propagating bromels, 


149; for growing orchids, 16; for seed- 
lings, 100 

Warscewiczella, effect of strong sunlight on, 
35 

Washington University, 
Garden and, 1 

Water, effect of,,on blooming of plants, 171 

Watering seedling, 183; by wick method, 
183, 185 

Weather: effect of, on light intensity, 44; 
on blooming of plants out of season, 170 

Weberocereus, 110 

Weeds, destruction of, 175 

Werckleocereus, 110 

Why plants bloom out of season, 170 

Wick seedlings, 
185 

Wilcoxia, 110 

Wild animal life at the Arboretum, 167 

Willmatea, 110; minutiflora, 110 

Wistaria, 219: propagation, 220; tree, 220, 
2213; varieties, 221; vine, 219, 270 

Wistaria floribunda, 282; frutescens, 282; 
sinensis, 282; venusta, 282 

Wittmackia lingulata, 144 

Wolves in the Arboretum, 168 

Wood ashes as fertilizer, 119 

Wood-destroying fungi, 82 

Woodson, Dr. Robert E., 18 

Woody plants, propagation of, by 
200 


relation between 


method of watering 183, 


cuttings, 


Y 


Yellow-wood: condition of, 25 years after 
tree-surgery operation, 81; hardiness of, 
in St. Louis, 231 

Yews, Balkan, 60 


Yugoslavia: climate of, 60 


z 


Zehntnerella, he squamulosa, J44 
Zygocactus, 94, 228 


THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


George C. Hitchcock 
Daniel K. Catlin _ 
Eugene Pettus. 
L. Ray Carter 
Dudley French 
John S$. Lehmann 


Joseph Desloge ~ 
Herbert O. Winterer 
A. P. Kaufmann 
William Scarlett 
Arthur H. Compton 


Gerald Ulrici 


George T. Moore 
Hermann von Schrenk 
Jesse M. Greenman - 
Carroll W. Dodge 
Edgar Anderson _ 
Robert E. Woodson, Jr. 
Henry N. Andrews 
Robert W. Schery 
Nell C. Horner 
George H. Pring 
Paul A. Kohl 
David C. 
Gustav A. L. 
Joseph Cutak _ 
Ladislaus Cutak_ 
August P. Beilmann_ 
Gurney Wilson, F.L.S. 


Fairburn ~ 
Mehl quist 


(on leave) 


BOARD OF TRUSTEES 


President 
Vice-President 
Second Vice-President 
Richard J. Lockwood 
George T. Moore 
A. Wessel Shapleigh 
Ethan A. H. Shepley 


EX-OFFICIO. MEMBERS 

President, St. Louis Academy of Science 
Board of Education of St. Louis 
Mayor of the City of St. 


Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri 


President, 


Louis 


Chancellor, Washington University 


Secretary 


Director 


Pathologist 
Curator of Herbarium 
Mycologist 


Geneticist 


ree Curator of Herbarium 


__Assistant to the Director and Paleobotanist 


Research Assistant 


Librarian and Editor 


Superintendent 


Floriculturist 


Orchidologist 


Horticulturist 
_-............In charge of Exotics 
ae Ae charge of Succulents 
eae of the beret, Gray Summit 
Representative in England, Hove, Sussex 


PUBLICATIONS FOR SALE AT THE 
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 


SPRING FLORA OF MISSOURI. 
By Julian A. Steyermark. Price $1.50; a special price to schools 
and garden clubs—$1.00 a copy if 10 or more copies are sent to 
one address, Add 10 cents per copy to remittance to cover 
postage. 


ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
Published in February, April, September, and November. Sub- 


scription price, $10 per year. 


MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN. 
Published monthly except July and August. Subscription price, 
$1.50 per year. 


A TOUR OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
A guide for Garden visitors. Price 25 cents. 


HENRY SHAW. 
A Biography. Price 25 cents. 


POST-CARDS 
Garden Views. Price 25 cents for set of 8. 


Garden Water-lilies. Price 25 cents for set of 8.