Autumn
l. ovate acuminate, olive green, beautifully banded with silvery white, whilst the under side is of a uniform purplish violet. h. 1 1/2ft. New Grenada, 1874.
A. Leopoldi (Leopold's).* fl. citron-yellow. l. opposite, ovate-oblong, acuminate; ground colour on the upper surface dark green, the midrib and primary veins pure white; under surface uniformly pale green. Brazil, 1854. A. medio-aurata (golden-centred). fl. unknown. l. ovate-lanceolate, sinuate, bright green, with yellow central brand. Brazil, 1871. SYN. Graptophyllum medio-auratum.
A. nitens (shining).* fl. glowing vermilion-scarlet, very large, in erect, simple, terminal spikes, which, after the flowers have fallen, are clothed with the imbricating, lanceolate, appressed bracts. l. ovate, sub-acute, leathery, brilliant glossy on the upper surface, dark vinous purple underneath. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Columbia, 1867.
A. Porteana (Porte's).* fl. in fine terminal heads; corolla and bracts bright orange. l. rich green, with metallic silvery-white veins. h. 2ft. Brazil, 1854.
A. pumila (dwarfish).* fl. orange-coloured; upper lip erect, concave, entire; bracts large, purplish. l. large, cordate, ovate-oblong, acute. h. 8in. Brazil, 1878. Very distinct from all others.
A. punctata (dotted).* fl. bright yellow, in large and rather dense spikes; the spiny-edged long pointed bracts are also yellow, with the exception of the tip, which is green, and forms a pleasing contrast. November. l. opposite, elliptic, acuminate; the green midrib is conspicuous in the middle of a white central band, which also extends beside the green veins, this silvery band breaking up on its margin into numerous small white dots, producing a pretty and distinct form of variegation. South America, 1881. A. Roezlii. A synonym of A. aurantiaca Roezlii.
A. variegata (variegated). fl. yellow; spike, 6in. long, with bright orange-red bracts. l. ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, dark green with white veins. h. 1 1/2ft. Brazil.
APHELEXIS (from apheles, simple, and exis, habit). ORD. Compositae. A genus of elegant dwarf evergreen greenhouse shrubs. Flower-heads large, solitary, or small and two or more together. Leaves small. These plants are valuable for exhibition purposes, on account of their bright colours, and the length of time they last in perfection; they are included among what are familiarly known as "everlastings." The most suitable soil is a compost of two parts of good fibrous peat and one of leaf mould, with a liberal supply of silver sand, and a few pieces of charcoal added to it. Repot the plants firmly in February, and allow thorough drainage. Cuttings can be made in spring or summer; small half-ripened side shoots are best; and these will root in sandy soil, under a bell glass, in a cool greenhouse.
A. ericoides(Heath-like).* fl.-heads white. April. l. very small, three-cornered, imbricated, appressed; branches numerous, very fine, filiform. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1796.
A. fasciculata (fascicled). fl.-heads purplish, solitary, terminal; peduncies scaly. March. l. acerose linear, roundish, downy above; lower spreading; upper appressed. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1779. There are two or three forms of this species, varying in the colour of the flowers.
A. humilis(humble, or dwarf).* fl.-heads pink, solitary, terminal, opening only in sunshine; peduncles scaly. April. l. subulate, erect, imbricate. Branches numerous, slender, covered with white tomentum. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1810. A handsome greenhouse plant, with much-branched stems, terminated by the flower-head. SYNS. A. macrantha and Helipterum humile. A. h. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl.-heads rosy-purple, produced in great abundance. Habit rather dwarf, and free branching. Very highly esteemed. A. h. purpurea (purple).* fl. dark purple, very abundant. l. silvery white and shining. A vigorous grower, and perhaps the best for exhibition purposes. It is known in gardens as A. macrantha purpurea; also under the name of A. spectabilis.
A. h. rosea (rose-coloured).* fl.-heads delicate rose, very profuse. Habit very compact and free-branching. A very showy and desirable variety, known in gardens as A. macrantha rosea.
A. macrantha (large-flowered). Synonymous with A. humilis. A. sesamoides (Sesamum-like). fl.-heads purple and white, sessile, solitary, terminal. April. l. acerose linear, keeled, smooth, appressed. h. 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1739.
APHIDES, or PLANT LICE. These belong to the order Homoptera, meaning "same winged," and the name has reference to the fact that the fore wings are uniform in their structure from base to apex, not divided into a leathery base and a membranous tip. Aphides are all minute in size, soft bodied, and generally long legged; the mouth is furnished with a curiously-constructed beak, or rostrum, for sucking the juice of plants; the antennae, or feelers, are long and slender; the legs have usually two joints in the tarsi, one of which is generally very ill-developed; and near the tip of the abdomen, on the back of a ring, in many kinds, stand two prominent tubes, called honey-tubes, from which a sweet secretion, much sought after by ants, is emitted. They are very destructive, and nearly every plant has its own peculiar Aphis; but among the worst are the cherry fly and bean fly. All these insects are very destructive to the young shoots and foliage of plants, on which they cluster in large numbers, sometimes completely hiding the stems, increasing with marvellous rapidity. They produce eggs in autumn, which lie dormant through the winter, and upon the approach of warm weather in spring, hatch and produce individuals which, during the summer, are viviparous, budding off young insects at a surprising rate, which quickly in turn become possessed of the same marvellous power; hence the enormous number which are produced in so surprisingly short a time. It has been computed that in a few weeks many millions of young might be produced directly or descended from a single female. See also Black Fly and Bean Fly.
The following remedies may be successfully employed: Tobacco. This is applied, as a rule, in three forms, each of which is useful for particular purposes. Tobacco powder is useful as a dry application to plants where, from any cause, the other modes of employing it are not desirable. It causes no smell, and is useful in conservatories, &c., for that reason. The mode of applying it is to dredge or dust it over the foliage of the plants affected, and to syringe off in from three to thirty hours, according to the nature of the plants. Fumigation with tobacco, if done in a proper way, is very effective, but it leaves an unpleasant smell. The foliage of the plants should be quite dry, and a still day must be chosen for the work; the house should be filled with smoke, but no flame must arise in the burning. The plants should be well syringed the next morning, and full ventilation allowed; if the fumigation is repeated twice or thrice, it will prove very effectual. Tobacco water is made by soaking a pound of coarse shag in 6gals. of hot water, to which 1/2lb. of size or soft soap has been added. The plants should be dipped into or syringed with this mixture, and well syringed with clean tepid water about twelve hours after. It should not be employed for plants having woolly or hairy foliage. Tobacco paper and cloth are used for fumigating in the same manner as tobacco; but as they vary in strength, more care is necessary, as they sometimes cause the leaves to become spotted. Judiciously employed, they are cheaper than Tobacco. Quassia. Boil 1lb. quassia chips in 4gals. of soft water, for about ten minutes, and after straining off the chips, add 1lb. of soft soap. Apply in the same way as Tobacco water, and syringe the plants with clean water after ten minutes or a quarter of an hour.
Soft Soap. This, in proportion of 8lb. to 12gals. of rain water, and 1gal. of tobacco water added after it is cold, is a cheap and good remedy out of doors, and requires the same mode of application as tobacco water. Soap Suds. Where bleaching powder, or much soda, is not mixed with these, they make a good insect killer for hard-foliaged plants, but should be washed off with clean water in twelve hours. No mixture containing chloride of lime should be used.
Various. Fir-tree Oil, Gishurst's Compound, and Fowler's Insecticide, are all serviceable, if used as directed on the labels. Hardeman's Beetle Powder, applied with the little French powder-bellows which is sold with it, is very efficacious. For outdoor work, nothing surpasses clean cold water, applied often and forcibly with a syringe.
The best mode of clearing Aphis off Beans, Currants, &c., is to remove the tops of the infested shoots, and to wash the plants with soapy water, or a solution of Gishurst's Compound. In some cases, a good dusting with soot and wood ashes, while the plants are wet, will keep them in check. The "Golden Eyes" or "Lacewing" fly, and also ladybirds, are to be encouraged, as the larvae of each of these wage incessant war against Aphides, especially the green varieties, and thin them out considerably.