Othonna

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

Othonna >

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Read about Othonna in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Othonna (ancient Greek name, of no particular application here). Compositae. Herbs and shrubs,-of which one is in cultivation as a window-garden plant. Heads usually yellow, with fertile rays and sterile tubular disk-florets; torus convex or somewhat conical, usually honeycombed; scales of involucre in one series, more or less united to the base, valvate; style of disk-fls. not divided: achenes oval, with bristle-like pappus in many rows or series.—About 80 S. African species, of which only one appears to be in general cult., and this has no established vernacular name in this country, although it is sometimes dubbed "little pickles" because of its cylindrical pulpy lvs. The plant shown in Fig. 2685 is commonly known as Othonna crassifolia, but thereby arises a puzzle in nomenclature. By Linnaeus a certain flat-leaved plant was called Othonna crassifolia. Subsequently some of the species of Othonna were separated by Jaubert & Spach into a distinct genus, Othonnopsis, distinguished by involucral scales distinct and style of the disk-florets two-parted. One of the plants relegated to this new genus was Othonna cheirifolia, Linn., which then became Othonnopsis cheirifolia, Jaubert & Spach. Bentham & Hooker consider Linnaeus. Othonna crassifolia to be a horticultural form of Othonnopsis chririfolia. It was therefore a natural sequence to say that the Othonna crassifolia of horticulturists is properly Othonnopsis cheirifolia, a statement which the writer made in the revision of Gray's "Field, Forest and Garden Botany." It turns out, however, that the Othonna crassifolia of horticulturists is not the Othonna crassifolia of Linnaeus (if he has been correctly reported). The former plant is a true Othonna. It is the Othonna crassifolia of Harvey; but since this name crassifolia was used by Linnaeus, it leads to confusion to use it again in the same genus, and Harvey's plant might take some other name. In fact, before Harvey's time, the name Othonna crassifolia was used by Meyer for still another species. The O. crassifolia of Harvey was once described as O. filicaulis, but this name also has been previously used in the genus. It seemed to the writer, therefore, as if a new name must be given to the O. crassifolia of Harvey and of the horticulturists, and this was done in the Cyclopedia of American Horticulture (O. capensis); but under the International Rules, Harvey's name may hold since the other crassifolias are clearly synonyms. What, now, is Linnaeus' Othonna crassifolia As early as 1771, this plant was figured in color by Philip Miller as the "Othonna foliis lanceolatis integerrimis" of Linnaeus' "Hortus Cliffortianus." It was figured again by Edwards in 1818 (B.R. 266). It is an upright or ascending undershrub, with flat leaves reminding one of leaves of the stock. It is described in the European books, but is probably not in commercial cultivation. It is native to the north of Africa. A reproduction of part of Philip Miller's picture of the plant, reduced in size, is shown in Fig. 2686. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

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