The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening

Every genus a Victorian gardener could grow — Abelia to Zygopetalum across four volumes, with each plant's history, species, and culture, by the Curator of Kew.

X

22 entries in this part of The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening.

Xanthisma

(from xanthisma, yellowness; alluding to the colour of the flowers). SYN. Centauridium. ORD. Compositae. A monotypic genus. The species is…

Xanthium

(the old Greek name used by Dioscorides, from xanthos, yellow; the plants were formerly used by the Greeks for dyeing hair). Cockle Bur…

Xanthocephalum

(from xanthos, yellow, and cephale, a head; alluding to the yellow flower-heads). SYN. Xanthocoma. ORD. Compositae. A genus consisting of…

Xanthoceras

(from xanthos, yellow, and keras, a horn; alluding to the yellow, horn-like glands or nectaries between the petals). ORD. Sapindaceae. A…

Xanthochymus

(from xanthos, yellow, and chymos, juice; the plants contain an abundance of yellow juice). SYN. Stalagmites. ORD. Guttiferae. A small…

Xanthorhiza

(from xanthos, yellow, and rhiza, a root; alluding to the bright yellow colour of the long roots and rootstock). SYN. Zanthorhiza. ORD…

Xanthorrhoea

(from xanthos, yellow, and rheo, to flow; referring to the resinous juice extracted from the plants). Black Boy; Grass Gum-tree…

Xanthosia

(from xanthos, yellow; alluding to the yellow down with which some of the species are covered). SYN. Leucoloena. ORD. Umbelliferae. A genus…

Xanthosoma (From xanthos yellow and soma)

(from xanthos, yellow, and soma, a body; alluding to the large, lobed, depressed, yellow stigma). Including Acontias and Phyllotoenium…

Xeranthemum

(from xeros, dry, and anthemon, a blossom; alluding to the dry nature of the flowers, which retain their form and colour for years)…

Xeronema

(from xeros, dry, and nema, a thread; the filaments dry and persist). SYN. Scleronema. ORD. Liliaceae. A monotypic genus. The species is an…

Xerophyllum

(from xeros, dry, and phyllon, a leaf; alluding to the dry, Grass-like leaves). ORD Liliaceae. According to Baker, a monotypic genus. The…

Xerotes

(from xerotes, dryness; alluding to the arid herbage). SYN. Lomandra. ORD. Juncaceae. A genus comprising thirty species of greenhouse…

Ximenia

(named after Francis Ximenes, a Spanish monk, who wrote a work on Mexican plants in 1615). SYN. Heymassoli. ORD. Olacineae. A small genus…

Xiphidium

(from xiphos, a sword, and eides, likeness; alluding to the shape of the leaves). ORD. Haemodoraceae. A genus consisting of two species…

Xylobium

(from xylon, wood, and bios, life; in allusion to the substance on which the plants grow). ORD. Orchideae. A genus comprising about sixteen…

Xylomelum

(from xylon, wood, and melon, an apple; alluding to the woody fruit). ORD. Proteaceae. A small genus (four species) of greenhouse trees or…

Xylopia

(abridged from xylopicron, which is from xylon, wood, and pikros, bitter; the wood of some of the species is intensely bitter). Bitter…

Xyrideae

A small natural order of perennial or rarely annual, Rush-like or Sedge-like, tufted herbs, broadly dispersed over the warmer regions of…

Xyris

(an old Greek name used by Dioscorides for Iris faetidissima). Yellow-eyed Grass of North America. ORD. Xyrideae. A genus comprising about…

Xysmalobium

(from xysma, a fragment, and lobos, a division; alluding to the minute divisions of the corona). ORD. Asclepiadeae. A genus consisting of…

Xanthosoma (To the species described on pp)

To the species described on pp. 223-4, the following variety should now be added: X. Lindeni magnificum (magnificent). A handsome variety…

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of The Illustrated Dictionary of Gardening (1884) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.