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Aphelandra (From apheles simple and aner)

(from apheles, simple, and aner, a male; the anthers being one-celled). ORD. Acanthaceae. Very handsome stove evergreen shrubs, mostly of an erect habit of growth, and having handsome shining leaves, which in some instances are variegated. Flowers produced in terminal four-sided spikes--the preponderating colours being brilliant shades of orange or scarlet--conspicuously situated above the foliage; they are exceedingly attractive; corolla ringent, two-lipped, upper lip three-lobed; central lobe large. They blossom generally during the autumn months, and if the plants are removed to a warm dry atmosphere so soon as the flowers begin to open, they will continue much longer in perfection than if left in the moisture-laden atmosphere of the stove. From the time the flower spikes are at first seen till they blossom, the plants will derive much benefit from frequent applications of clear manure water. When the plants have finished flowering, they should be allowed to rest, by reducing the supply of water, but never allow them to shrivel. During this time they may be kept in a house or pit, where the atmosphere is rather dry, with a night temperature of 50deg. to 55deg. Here they may remain till March, when they should be pruned. This operation is commenced by thinning out the weakest shoots altogether, and cutting the others back to one or two of the strongest joints or buds above the old wood in order to keep the plants dwarf and bushy. When pruned, the plants should be placed in the stove, giving moderate supplies of water at the roots, and occasionally sprinkling the stems overhead till growth commences. When the young shoots have attained an inch or so in length, the plants should be turned out of the pots, removing the crocks and as much of the old soil as can be got away easily, at the same time shortening-in any of the straggling roots. They should then be placed into smaller-sized pots, keeping them rather close, and watering them carefully for a time till growth has commenced. When fairly started, they may be transferred into larger-sized pots, in which they are to flower. During the summer, these plants require a moist atmosphere, with a temperature of 65deg. by night, allowing it to rise 15deg. or 20deg. by day, and whilst active growth is taking place they should be frequently supplied with moisture at the roots, keeping them well exposed on all sides to the light. After growth has commenced, it is not advisable to stop the shoots, for the stouter and stronger they grow up the finer will be the flower spikes when they appear. The compost should consist of equal parts fibry loam, leaf soil, and peat, with a good proportion of sand added. In preparing it, it should be rather lumpy, and, before using, should be warmed to about the temperature of the house in which the plants are grown. Clean pots and perfect drainage are most essential. Cuttings are best prepared from half ripened wood, or taken off when young with a heel. The base of each cutting should invariably be cut clean across. These may be inserted an inch apart, in pots of sandy soil, and plunged in a brisk bottom heat. To obtain young shoots for cuttings, if the old plants break freely after pruning, and very large specimens are not required, when the shoots are 2in. long they should be thinned out, leaving the requisite number of the strongest to form the plant. If the surplus pieces are removed with a slight heel of the older wood, they make good cuttings, and should be treated the same as the others. These cuttings strike root quickest, and when rooted, if potted into 5in. or 6in. pots, and allowed to grow up without stopping or pinching out the tops, they will flower the first season. Although Aphelandras can be grown into large sized specimens, it will be found to be more generally satisfactory to have specimens of neat and moderate dimensions. The mealy bug and scale insects are very troublesome, and must be kept down, otherwise they will prove most prejudicial to the plants.

A. acutifolia (acute-leaved). fl. large, deep vermilion red; the upper lip of corolla concave, and projected forward, the lower one consists of three oblong-obtuse spreading lobes. October. l. broad, oblong-ovate, acuminate. Columbia, 1868.

A. aurantiaca (orange-coloured).* fl. deep orange scarlet; upper lip of corolla erect, bidentate, concave; lower one spreading horizontally, three lobed. December. l. broad, ovate, opposite, dark green, somewhat wavy at the edge. h. 3ft. Mexico, 1844.

A.a.Roezlii (Roezl's).* Differs chiefly from the type in the curiously twisted leaves, which are dark green, shaded with a silvery hue between the primary veins; in the brighter scarlet of the flowers; and a few other, but purely technical, points. It is one of the best. Mexico, 1867. SYN. A. Roezlii. A. cristata (crested).* fl. brilliant orange scarlet, 2in. or 3in. long, in large terminal branching spikes. August to November. l. large, broadly ovate, and tapering to a point. h. 3ft. West Indies, 1733. A handsome and continuous blossomer. SYN. Justicia pulcherrima.

A. fascinator (fascinating).* fl. bright vermilion, in very large spikes.