CHAP. XCI.
CHENOPODIA'CE.®. DIO'TIS.
1291
Derivation. From dis, twice, and ous, otos, an ear. The calyx of the female flower ends in two seg-ments, which fancy may compare to ears, although they more resemble horns : and this secondidea is doubtless that referred to in Tournefort ’s. generic name Ceratoides, from keras, a horn, gen.keratos, and eidos, likeness.
m 1. D. Ceratoi'des IV. The two-horned-calyxed Diotis.
Identification. Willd. Sp. PI., 4. p.368.
Synonymes. A'xyris Ceratoides Lin. Sp. PL, 1389.; Jacq. Icon. Rar., 1. t. 189. j Ceratospermumpappbsum Pers.; A'xyris fruticbsa, flbribus fcemineis lan&tis, Gmel. Sib., 3. p. 17. No. 10. t. 2. f. 1. jAchyr&nthes pappbsa Forsk. 2)escr.,4S.‘, Kraschenitmikbvirt Guildenst. Act. Petrop., 16. p. 548.1.17-;Z7rtlca fbliis lanceol&tis, fceminlnis hirsfltus, Hoy. Lugdb., 210.; Ceratoides orientMis fruticbsaElaagni fblio Town. Cor.,-5*2. ; Orientalisches Doppelohr, Ger.
Engravings. Jacq. Ic, Rar., 1. 1.189. j Gmel. Sib., 3. p. 17. No. 10. t. 2. f. 1 .; Act. Petrop., 16. t. 17.}and our fig. 1160.
Description, fyc. A shrub, a native of Siberia and Tartary. Introducedin 1780, and producing its obscure apetalous flowers in March and April. Itgrows 2 ft. or more high, much more across,and abounds in slender spreading branches. Itsleaves are lanceolate, narrow, and alternate. Thewhole plant is hoary. The male flowers are veryabundant, and disposed mostly in approximateaxillary groups about the terminal part of thebranches. The female flowers are less numerous,and mostly upon a lower part of the branch,axillary, and generally two in an axil. Both maleand female flowers are sessile, or nearly so. Thefemale flowers are not obvious. The male flowersare not showy; though their number, groupedcharacter, and the yellow anthers prominent fromthem, render the flowering of the shrub obvious.
They have a slight scent of a honey-like sweet-ness. The stocky part of this plant is persistentlyligneous. D. Ceratoides thrives in a light soil,and is easily propagated by layers, or by cuttingsinserted in the soil and kept covered with a hand-glass. Plants in theCambridge Botanic Garden, in August, 1836, growing, some in calcareoussoil, and one or more in heath mould, were about 2 ft. high, and with widelyspreading recumbent branches. This shrub, therefore, appears particularlywell adapted for rockwork; and, if gardens were laid out with a view to thegeographical or topographical distribution of plants, the D. Ceratoides, withthe different species of Nitraria, Calligonum, &e., would form suitable speciesfor the rockwork of Siberia .
tL £>. landta Pursh Ft. Amet. Sept.> 2. p. 602., Nutt.Gen. N. Amer.,2. p .207., resembles D. Ceratoides,but is easily distinguished, at first sight, by the long, woolly, white tomentum which pervades all itsparts. The stem is zigzag. The groups of flowers are so crowded as to produce the resemblance ofspites.
App. I. Half-hardy Species of ChenopodiacecE.
Anabasis tamariscifolia L., Cav. Ic., 3. 293., is a curious little salsola-like plant, a native of Spain ,where it grows 2 ft. high. It was introduced in 1752; but, being of little interest, except to thebotanist, it is rarely to be met with even in botanic gardens. A. aphylla L., Salsbla articulata Forst.,is another plant of the same genus, a native of Asia Minor .
Kdch'ia. prostrdfa Schr., Jacq. Au., 3. 294.; Salsbla prostr&ta X.; is a native of the south of Europe ,growing to the height of 5 ft., with the general habit of a salsola. It is almost sufficiently hardy tostand in the open air without protection. A plant in the Cambridge Botanic Garden, in a partlyopen border, is a freely growing shrub, about 5 ft. high, with its lower branches prostrate, and itsupper ones drooping. It is clothed with abundance of narrow, pointed, pubescent leaves, which are alittle canescent.
Hosea . Yervamora L.,Walt. Hort., 24. t. 10., Encyc. of Plants , f. 3453., is a native of the Canaries,wnere it grows to the height of 8 ft. or 10 ft. A plant in the Horticultural Society’s Garden hasrood out since 1834, against a wall. It is generally killed to the ground during winter, but grows upagain vigorously during summer, and usually reaches from 5 ft. to 6 ft. high.
isamphorosma monspeliaca Schk. Hand., 1.1. 26., is a low heath-like shrub, a native of the south ofTf common in various places in France ; for instance, at Avignon , on the ruins of the old castle.
• ot a decumbent habit, with red bark to its young shoots, and with hairy narrow-pointed leaves,a the branches. It is a most desirable plant for conservative rockwork; and if trainedo/a ^-, wa » w ® have no doubt it would cover several square yards of wall in a very short time.
Vh 1er (jene f a belonging to Chenopodiacecc contain species which may be reckoned half-hardy ; buteive Th ma Z be readil y ^ ound hy turning to the enumeration in our Hortus Britannicus, we do not