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Ardisia (From ardis a point)

(from ardis, a point; in reference to the acute, spear-pointed anthers). SYN. Pyrgus. ORD. Myrsineae. An extensive genus of greenhouse or stove, mostly ornamental, evergreen trees and shrubs. Flowers white or rose-coloured, more or less panicled; panicles sometimes many-flowered at the extremities of the branches, and longer than the leaves, sometimes few-flowered and in the axils of the leaves. Leaves alternate, rarely almost opposite, or three in a whorl, dotted. Propagated by cuttings of the half-ripened wood taken from the side shoots of the plant any time from March to September; but, as the points of these side shoots bear the blossoms and fruit, they are not well adapted for making good plants. To obtain the best plants, the largest, ripest, and best-coloured berries should be sown early in spring, as soon as gathered, in a wide-mouthed pot or seed pan, well drained and filled with loam and peat in equal parts, with the addition of some sand, and plunged in bottom heat, the soil being kept moderately moist. The seeds will germinate in a few weeks after sowing, and when about 2in. high, the strongest seedlings should be selected and placed in 3in. pots, the same mixture of soil being used, with the addition of a fourth part well decomposed manure. After potting, the plants must be moistened overhead twice a day with a fine rose or syringe, and be kept in a close atmosphere until the roots have taken to the fresh soil. When the plants begin to grow again, they should be removed to a light situation in the house; and when the pots are well filled with roots, a shift into 6in. pots may be effected, water being given judiciously until well established, and here they may remain to fruit. Until the berries are coloured, clear manure water, given once or twice a week, will be found beneficial. The plants arrive at their best when about 18in. or 2ft. high; after that, they begin to get naked at the bottom. It will then be wise to cut the worst plants down to within 2in. of the pots, in early spring, allowing them to become dry at the roots before this operation is performed. By giving moisture to the roots when the cut has become dry, the plants will soon break into growth again, when some of the worst placed shoots should be rubbed off, leaving only one or two of the strongest and best placed, calculated to develop into a well formed plant. When the shoots have grown 2in. or 3in., the plants should be turned out of their pots, the soil shaken out from the roots, and the long ends of the roots trimmed in a little with a knife; they must then be placed in a pot sufficiently large to hold the roots without squeezing. The plants should now occupy the warmest end of the house in which they are grown, care being taken in watering until new roots are formed, when they may have more air and somewhat liberal supplies of water. As soon as they are sufficiently advanced in growth, they should be transferred to a larger-sized pot. With proper treatment, they will flower and fruit the same season as they are cut down, and form handsome plants. Although most species of this genus are classed as stove plants, they will succeed very well in a temperature that does not fall below 45deg. in winter; and, when so grown, they are not so liable to become infested with large brown scale and other insect pests. This is particularly the case with A. crenulata, and cool treatment is also favourable to the ripe berries hanging on the plants for a much longer time than when grown in a stove. Moreover, they do not suffer so much when removed for decorative purposes.

A. acuminata (taper-pointed). fl. nearly white; petals small, acute, dotted; panicles terminal and axillary, many-flowered. July. l. entire, glabrous, oblong, acuminated, attenuated at the base. h. 6ft. to 8ft. Guiana, 1803. A. crenulata (round-notched-leaved).* fl. reddish violet; panicles terminal; pedicels umbellate. June. Berries numerous, bright coral-like. l. lanceolate-ovate, tapering at both ends, repandly crenulated, pilose. h. 3ft. to 6ft. Mexico, 1809. When grown in a cool atmosphere, as previously alluded to, it is quite common for one crop of berries to hang on the plants until another crop is ripe. This is a splendid plant, superior even to the red-berried Solanums for decorative purposes, for which it is largely grown. A. crispa (curled). fl. small, drooping, red; cymes terminal, usually solitary, often compound; pedicels smooth, finely veined, umbellate, drooping. July. Berries red, size of peas. l. bluntish, oblong-lanceolate, attenuated at both ends, with repandly crenulated glandular edges, glabrous. h. 4ft. India, 1809.

A. humilis (humble). fl. rose-coloured; peduncles solitary, bearing each a simple racemose umbel of many pretty, large, drooping flowers; petals lanceolate, first recurved, afterwards revolute. June. Berries size of peas, shining, black, juicy. l. oblong-lanceolate, acuminated at both ends, glabrous, veined, shining. h. 4ft. India, 1820.

A. japonica (Japanese).* fl. white; pedicels red, sub-umbellate, secund, drooping; racemes simple, axillary. June. l. nearly opposite, or three to five in a whorl, on short petioles, cuneate-oblong, acute, glabrous, serrated; 4in. long. h. 1ft. Japan. Perhaps the hardiest of all the species. A. macrocarpa (large-fruited).* fl. flesh-coloured, dotted; petals ovate, obtuse; racemes terminal, corymbose, almost sessile, slightly hairy. Berries vermilion coloured, as large as goose-berries. l. oblong, acute, tapering downwards, glandulariy crenated, dotted, close together, leathery, 6in. to 8in. long, paler beneath, veinless. h. 5ft. to 6ft. Nepaul, 1824. A beautiful shrub.

A. Oliveri (Oliver's).* fl. rose pink, white eye; corolla rotate, 1/2in. across; lobes obtuse; heads terminal, consisting of a number of stalked, many-flowered corymbs; pedicels about twice as long as the flower. July. l. nearly sessile, entire, glabrous, 6in. to 8in. long, by 2in. in the broadest portion; oblanceolate, acuminate, tapering towards the base. Costa Rica, 1876. A. paniculata (panicled).* fl. rose-coloured; panicles terminal, composed of many alternate compound branches, large and elegant; petals and sepals ovate. July. Berries red, smooth, size of a pea, juicy. l. glabrous, cuneate-oblong, almost sessile, reflexed, 6in. to 20in. long, and from 3in. to 5in. broad, crowded at the ends of the branches. h. 8ft. to 10ft. India, 1818. A. punctata (dotted). fl. greyish white, sub-campanulate, secund, beset with dark dots, and the pedicels with dark lines; peduncles umbellate, terminal, and axillary; umbels involucrated by deciduous bracts. June. l. glabrous, lanceolate, leathery, repandly crenated, tapering to the base. h. 6ft. to 10ft. China, 1822.

A. serrulata (finely serrated).* fl. deep red; petals ciliated; calyces and pedicels coloured; panicles terminal; pedicels umbellate. July. l. glabrous, lanceolate, acuminated, wrinkled, serrulated, beset with rusty dots beneath; branches downy. h. 2ft. to 3ft. China, 1820.

A. villosa (hairy). fl. whitish; umbels axillary and terminal, very villous. October. Berries villous. l. lanceolate, acuminated, villous beneath, crenulated, 5in. to 7in. long, tapering to the base, copiously dotted. China. All the upper parts of the plant are densely beset with hairs. A. v. mollis (soft).* This variety has very fine red berries, and is superior to the type.

A. Wallichii (Wallich's). fl. red, in loose racemes; peduncles axillary, one-half shorter than the leaves, and are, as well as the pedicels, pilose. July. l. obovate, acute, or obtuse, narrowed into the marginate petioles, repandly crenulated, 4in. to 5in. long, and 2in. broad, thickish. h. 2ft. India.