Euterpe
(mythological: Euterpe, from euterpes, well-pleasing, was one of the nine Muses). ORD. Palmae. A small genus of about eight species of tall-growing, elegant, unarmed, stove palms, natives of tropical America and the West Indian Islands. Leaves pinnatisect; segments narrowly linear-lanceolate; leaf-sheaths long, cylindrical, pale green, "finally falling away completely along with the rest of the leaf, so that the stems always appear clean and naked up to the base of the lowest remaining leaf, forming a striking contrast to many fan-shaped Palms, where the leaves hang about the crown of the tree in every state of decay." To be grown to perfection, Euterpes should have plenty of heat, and a rich, loamy soil. They attain a height of from 40ft. to 120ft. in their native habitats.
E. edulis (edible). l., segments lanceolate, acuminate; rachis and nerves scaly beneath. Trunk cylindric, 40ft. to 100ft. high. Brazil, &c.
E. montana (mountain). l., segments lanceolate, spreading, attenuated; petioles scaly beneath. Stem 40ft. or more high. The portion of the plant (in this and other species) which is eaten, either as a fresh vegetable or as a pickle, is the terminal bud and the soft interior part of the stem.
E. oleracea (culinary). Cabbage Palm; Cabbage-tree. l., segments lanceolate-linear, acuminate, glabrescent. Spadix branches furfuraceous, tomentose. Trunk 80ft. to 120ft. high. West Indies, &c. Everlastings. This term is applied to a section of flowers with coloured bracts that retain a considerable portion of their beauty for a long time after being cut and dried. In addition, many are among the best of ornamental plants, either cultivated in pots or in the open ground. The principal genera that supply flowers suitable as Everlastings are; Acroclinium, Aphelexis, Helichrysum, Rhodanthe, Waitzia, and Xeranthemum, The title is more particularly applied to the many highly-coloured varieties of Helichrysum bracteatum. These are termed Immortelles by the French, and are more largely used by them than in this country. To obtain them in the best condition, they should be gathered on a dry day, when each flower-head is sufficiently open to show the inside of the bracts without exposing the centre. If frequently examined, the whole stock may be secured in this condition. They should be hung, head downwards, in a cool shed, and allowed to remain until dry. The individual flower-heads may be wired, and used, with good effect, among dried ornamental grasses, in winter, either in high glasses or vases. The French use large quantities to form memorial wreaths and crosses. If properly gathered and dried, many of the species will keep good, excepting that some of the colour vanishes, for two or three years. A new stock, is, however best grown and collected each year. A bunch of Helichrysums, showing the proper stage for gathering, is represented in Fig. 743.