Stylidium
(from stylos, a column; the stamens and styles are joined). SYNS. Candollea (of Labillardiere), Ventenatia (of Smith). ORD. Stylidieae. A genus of eightyfour species of beautiful but rare, greenhouse, herbaceous perennials, of which one is a native of the East Indies, and the rest are Australian (one being also dispersed over tropical Asia). Flowers in racemes, panicles, or corymbose cymes, on terminal peduncles or radical scapes; calyx lobes five, more or less united in two lips; corolla irregular, one of the lobes (labellum) much smaller and turned down, or rarely nearly as long and curved upwards, the other four ascending in pairs; column elongated and bent down or folded, elastic. Fruit a two-celled capsule, globose, linear, or lanceolate. The species best known to cultivation are described below. They thrive in a compost of sandy loam and peat. Propagation may be effected by seeds, or, in a few cases, by division of the roots; the few shrubby kinds may be increased by cuttings.
S. adnatum (adhering). fl. pink, in nearly sessile clusters along the rachis; spike-like panicles or compound racemes dense, usually rather short and nearly sessile, but sometimes 6in. to 10in. long. July. l. scattered along the stem; upper ones crowded in a terminal, whorl-like tuft, linear, but sometimes all very narrow, in other specimens rather broad, and from 1/2in. to 1 1/2in. long. Stems 2in. to nearly 12in. long. 1824. (B. M. 3816 and B. R. 1459, under name of S. fasciculatum.) S. a. abbreviatum (shortened). fl., inflorescence rarely above 2in. long and very dense. l. narrow or broad. (B. M. 2598, and B. R. 914, under name of S. adnatum.) S. armeria (Armeria-like). A synonym of S. graminifolium. S. Brunonianum (Brown's). fl. pink; calyx lobes free; corolla with appendages to the throat; raceme loose, 2in. to 4in. long, many-flowered; scapes 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. long, with two to five whorls of narrow leaves. June. l., radical ones linear to oblanceolate, acute or rarely almost obtuse, 1in. to 2in. or more long, rather flaccid. 1841. (B. R. 1841, 15.) S. bulbiferum macrocarpum (bulb-bearing, large-fruited).* fl. greenish-purple; calyx lobes free, very obtuse; corolla without appendages; scapes or pedicels 1/2in. to 2in. long, with a loose, almost corymbose raceme of three to seven flowers. May. fr. almost sessile, eight to nine lines long. l. very narrow-linear, scarcely acute, 1/4in. to over 1/2in. long, densely tufted at the ends and bases of the branches. h. 6in. 1840. (B. M. 3913, under name of S. recurvum.) S. ciliatum (ciliated). fl. yellow or sometimes white or pink; corolla variable in size, the appendages small or wanting; panicle or raceme short and pyramidal or narrow and 3in. to 4in. long; scape 6in. to 12in. high. June. l. linear, 1in. to 1 1/2in. long, terminating in a hair-like point. 1842. (B. M. 3883; B. M. 4529 and L. J. F. 34, under name of S. saxifragoides.) S. dichotomum (dichotomous). fl. yellow, in a more or less thyrsoid panicle or compound raceme; scapes 2in. to 4in. high, glandular-pubescent. April. l. crowded at the bases and ends of the branches, and scattered between the tufts, sometimes 1in. or more long, narrow-linear, acute. 1850. (B. M. 4538, F. d. S. 606, and L. J. F. 59, under name of S. mucronifolium; F. d. S. 229, under name of S. Hookeri.) S. graminifolium (Grass-leaved).* Grass-leaved Trigger Plant. fl. pink, nearly sessile or shortly pedicellate; corolla lobes nearly equal, the lip rather long; scapes 6in. to 18in. high, bearing a narrow, simple raceme or interrupted spike. July. l. linear, rather rigid, acute or obtuse, nearly flat, variable in breadth, 2in. to 6in. or even 9in. long, sometimes cartilaginously denticulated on the margins. 1803. (B. M. 1918; B. R. 90.) S. armeria (L. J. F. 286) is a form with broad leaves.
S. hirsutum (hairy). fl. pink or red, nearly sessile, forming a dense, oblong, spike-like raceme, rarely above 1in. long, very hairy; larger corolla lobes nearly equal; lip with crisped margins and usually short appendages; scapes 6in. to over 12in. high, with spreading hairs. June. l. narrow-linear, acutely acuminate, 2in. to 6in. or 8in. long, glabrous or glandular-pubescent. 1830. (B. M. 3194.) S. Hookeri (Hooker's). A synonym of S. dichotomum.
S. laricifolium (Larch-leaved). fl. pink; corolla with appendages to the lip, but usually none to the throat; panicle or raceme loose, pedunculate, often above 6in. long. July. l. scattered but rather crowded along the branches, not collected in terminal tufts, narrow-linear, mucronate, 1/2in. to 1in. long. h. 1ft. 1818. Sub-shrub. (B. R. 550; H. E. F. 32; B. M. 2249, under name of S. ternifolium.) S. mucronifolium (mucronate-leaved). A synonym of S. dichotomum. S. reduplicatum (reduplicate). fl. yellowish-white or pale pink, the lower ones on long pedicels; two larger corolla lobes 1/2in. to 3/4in. long, connate to the middle; raceme short, loose; scapes leafless, 6in. to 1 1/2ft. long, with spreading hairs. November. l. all radical, linear, acuminate, narrowed into long petioles, broad and nearly flat to narrow with revolute margins, 3in. or 4in. to nearly 12in. long, glabrous or minutely glandular-pubescent. 1841. (B. 213, under name of S. Drummondii; B. R. 1842, 41, under name of S. pilosum.) S. saxifragoides (Saxifrage-like). A synonym of S. ciliatum. S. scandens (climbing). fl. pink; corolla with more or less prominent appendages to the throat and lip; racemes terminal, solitary or two or three together, shortly pedunculate. June. l. all collected in dense, whorl-like, distant tufts, linear, 1in. to 2in. or more long. h. 2ft. 1803. Climber. (B. M. 3136; P. M. B. xv. p. 149.) S. spathulatum (spathulate).* fl. pale yellow, small; corolla with appendages to both throat and lip; racemes loose, simple, elongated; scapes glabrous or pubescent, sometimes 1 1/2ft. high. Summer. l. radical, rosulate, obovate to oblong-spathulate, obtuse or acute, more or less pubescent or sprinkled with glandular hairs on both sides, 1/2in. to 1 1/2in. long, including the petiole. h. 6in. 1872. (B. M. 5953.)