Epicharmus

“ A question which it will be necessary to leave to wiser heads, only observing that these epiphytes do appear, under certain atmospheric conditions, to invade some plants that had previously seemed to be in perfect health. That they are transported upon the air, in the form of very minute sporules, is unquestioned, and that their growth is dependent upon certain atmospheric conditions, is equally admitted, but whether they induce disease, or are only able to take possession of a plant that is not in a perfectly healthy condition, does not yet appear so clear. ”

“ Many fungi, however, cannot complete their life-history apart from the host-plant. Such obligate parasites may be epiphytic (Erysipheae) , the mycelium remaining on the outside and at most merely sending haustoria into the epidermal cells, or endophytic (Uredineae, Ustilagineae, &c.) , when the mycelium is entirely inside the organs of the host. An epiphytic fungus is not necessarily a parasite, however, as many saprophytes (moulds, &c.) germinate and develop a loose mycelium on living leaves, but only enter and destroy the tissues after the leaf has fallen ”

“ Some of them are protected by a clothing of hairs. Many epiphytes are characterized by superficial extensions of their organs at relatively small heights above their substratum; quite usual are the arrangement in rosettes of the leaves at the base of the stem, thickenings of the stem into knots, and a creeping or climbing habit—all peculiarities denoting adaptation to the absorption of water and food, and to the gaining of a secure footing on the substratum. ”

“ Of all the plants of such regions the epiphytes are the most light-demanding. They must not be mistaken for parasites, as they have roots of their own through which they absorb nourishment, mostly as water vapor, but also as liquid water held in the bark and refuse in which they grow. Thousands of orchids are epiphytes, also ferns, and, only in the American tropics, thousands of different relatives of the pineapple. Many of the latter are among the most gorgeously colored of all plants, their superb foliage being much sought after and the specimens largely grown in our greenhouses. ”

“ Epiphragm, ep′i-fram, n. (bot.) the dilated apex of the columella in urn-mosses: the disc with which certain molluscs close the aperture of their shell.
Epiphyllospermous, ep-i-fil-ō-sper′mus, adj. (bot.) bearing fruit on the back of the fronds, as ferns.
Epiphyllous, ep-i-fil′us, adj. (bot.) growing upon a leaf, esp. on its upper surface.
Epiphysis, ep-if′i-sis, n. any portion of a bone having its own centre of ossification: the pineal gland: a small upper piece of each half of an alveolus of a sea-urchin:—pl. Epiph′yses. ”

“ The Epicarida include an immense number of Isopods, parasitic upon other Crustacea. In the adult state they become greatly deformed, and offer very few characters of classificatory value, but they all pass through certain highly characteristic larval stages which are essentially similar in the different families. All the species are protandric hermaphrodites, each individual being male while in a larval state, and then losing its male organisation and becoming female as the parasitic habit is assumed. ”

“ The Epiphyllums here are grown for flowering in the conservatory, and are usually gay from the first week in November till February. During the remainder of the year, they occupy a three-quarter span-roof house, in which an intermediate temperature is maintained. All our Epiphyllums are grafted on the Pereskia aculeata. We graft a few at intervals of two or three years, so, if any of the older plants become sickly or shabby, they are thrown away, and the younger ones grown on. Some of the stocks are worked to form pyramids, and some to form standards. ”

“ It may be unable to penetrate into the plant, and finding no suitable food outside it dies: or it may be satisfied with the traces of organic matter on the epidermis and then lives the life of a saprophyte. Or it may be able to establish a hold-fast on the tender epidermal surface, but without entering the cells, and irritate the developing organ by contact stimulation, inducing slight abnormalities; if in its further, purely superficial growth such an epiphyte covers large areas of the leaf, and especially if the hyphae are dark coloured—e.g. ”

“ In many cases such epicormic shoots are stimulated to grow out by suddenly exposing an old tree to more favourable conditions of root-action and assimilatory activity, owing to the felling of competing trees which previously hemmed it in from light and air, and restricted the spread and action of its roots in the soil. ”

“ The thallus has one or more apical cells, grows principally by apical growth, and may be differentiated into root, stem, and leaf. The chromatophores vary in form, but have a red or brownish colour, due to chlorophyll and phycoerythrin. Asexual reproduction by motionless tetraspores, which generally arise by the division into four of the contents of the tetrasporangium. The carpogonium has a trichogyne, and the carpospores, which are formed indirectly from the fertilised oosphere, possess a cell-wall. ”

“ The colors and markings are much as in sylvestris, but the abdomen is often darker, and the middle light stripe on the front more distinct. The epigynum has a larger middle lobe, and the lateral lobes are straighter and do not meet in the middle. The males are colored like the females and have the thorax wider and the legs longer. The palpi of the male have the tarsus short and round. ”

“ This aphid is usually controlled with nicotine sulfate (40 percent nicotine) , 3/8 pint plus summer oil emulsion, 2 quarts per 100 gallons of spray. Parathion and benzene hexachloride have given good results in experimental work but are not yet generally recommended.
~Pecan phylloxera.~ The pecan phylloxera [16] is related to aphids. It attacks principally the vegetative parts of the tree such as the leaves, petioles, and shoots on which galls (Fig. 6) are produced. Pecans, hickories, and other species of nuts are subject to infestation. ”

“ The outer wall of the ephippium is divided up into small hexagonal cells, which become filled with air, causing the ephippium to float at the surface of the water. In this position the ephippia readily become entangled in the feathers of birds, and in some cases the shell is provided with spines or hooks, which facilitate transport to other localities by such means.
The appearance of males and the production of ephippial eggs—in other words, the "sexual period"—is generally more or less restricted to one season [168] of the year. ”

“ It not only secretes nectar, but is often modelled into variously shaped receptacles for holding this fluid, or is itself rendered attractive so as to be gnawed by insects. Unless the flowers were by some means rendered attractive, most of the species would be cursed with perpetual sterility. The labellum always stands in front of the rostellum, and its outer portion often serves as a landing-place for the necessary visitors. In Epipactis palustris this part is flexible and elastic, and apparently compels insects in retreating to brush against the rostellum. ”

“ In cases where the black spots on a fossil stem or leaf possess a definite form and structure, it is perfectly legitimate to refer them to a group of fungi; but in very many instances the forms referred to such genera as Sphaerites and others are of little or no value. 210Many forms of scale-insects and galls on leaves present an obvious superficial resemblance to epiphyllous fungi, and might readily be mistaken for the fructifications of certain Ascomycetous species. ”

“ The orchids are mostly small or moderate-sized plants, few of them being more than a metre or so in height. All of our native species, with the exception of a few from the extreme south, grow from fibrous roots or tubers, but many tropical orchids, as is well known, are “epiphytes”; that is, they grow upon the trunks and branches of trees. One genus, Vanilla, is a twining epiphyte; the fruit of this plant furnishes the vanilla of commerce. ”

“ We have found this Epidendrum to do well in the Odontoglossum-house in a compost of peat and sphagnum moss. It does equally well in a pot or in a basket, and should receive a fair supply of water while growing. The plant seems to revel in a good amount of sunlight, but it must be kept from the burning rays of the sun by a slight shading, too much sunshine being apt to make the foliage become blotched and sickly-looking. ”

“ When grown on their own roots, Epiphyllums are useful for planting in wire baskets intended to hang near the glass; large and very handsome specimens form in a few years, if young rooted plants are placed rather thickly round the sides of the baskets, and grown in a warm house. Epiphyllums are employed with good effect for covering walls, which are first covered with peaty soil by means of wire netting, and then cuttings of the Epiphyllums are stuck in at intervals of about 1 ft. ”

“ Ergot in this primary or mycelium stage was regarded as an independent fungus by Léveillé (1827) , who named it Sphacelia segetum. According to Kühn (1863) , it may even be directly by germination of the conidia within the ears of rye.
The mycelium penetrates and envelops the caryopsis, with the exception of the apex, and thereby prevents its further growth, destroying especially the epicarp and the embryo. ”

“ In the complicated life-history of another cantharid, Epicauta vittata, as worked out by Riley (Fig. 642) , we have the same acquisition of new habits and forms after the first larval stage, which evidently were at the outset the result of an adaptation to a change of food and surroundings. The female Epicauta lays its eggs in the same warm, sunny situation as that chosen by locusts (Caloptenus) for depositing their eggs. On hatching, the active minute carnivorous triungulin, ever on the search for eggs, on happening upon a locust egg gnaws into it, and then sucks the contents. ”

“ Epiphytes abound in the tropics. Certain orchids are among the best known examples (Fig. 37) . The Spanish moss or tillandsia of the South is another. Mosses and lichens that grow on trees and fences may also be called epiphytes. In the struggle for existence, the plants probably have been driven to these special places in which to find opportunity to grow. Plants grow where they must, not where they will.
Suggestions.—114. Is a puffball a plant? Why do you think so? 115. Are mushrooms ever cultivated, and where and how? 116. In what locations are mushrooms and toadstools usually found? ”

“ In the spring the eggs hatch, and the aphids begin feeding on the leaves. Many generations are completed each year. Only females, which may be wingless or winged, are produced during the growing season. The winged individuals fly to different parts of the tree or to other trees. In the fall, males and females appear and eggs are deposited under the bark.
Figure 13. Pupa of the second generation of the pecan nut casebearer in a hollowed out nut. ”

“ Agaricus Campestris, Field Agaric, or Common Mushroom, rises from the ground in its perfect form, with an erect robust stipes or stem, one inch or more high, crowned with a round, convex, thick, fleshy, white head or hat, pileus, with lamellæ, or gills, underneath, of a reddish flesh colour; it is supposed the flower and seed, if any, are concealed between the lamellæ. When the plant arrives at full growth, the head expanding almost flat, forms a large flap, and falls on the ground over the supposed seed. ”

“ Aphis persicæ, or the Peach Tree-louse, punctures the leaves of this plant, and Dr. Fitch [34] thinks, is the common though not the only cause of the curl in the peach tree leaves. Our intelligent orchardists have found these insects occasionally in the curled leaves of the peach, but do not agree with this distinguished entomologist, in considering them a cause of that malady.
Aphis vitis?, or the Vine Aphis, is often quite troublesome on vigorous young shoots of the grape vine, both wild and cultivated, particularly the former. These [318] insects soon cripple the growth of the shoot. ”

“ The diseases that affect the pecan, especially those caused by fungi, are rapidly spread throughout the trees in an orchard in the early spring. During this season of frequent rains, the spores of the disease fungi germinate and invade the young tender tissues of the shoots, leaves and nuts. Under conditions of prolonged damp weather, when the humidity remains high, the disease organisms reproduce at a rapid rate and cause severe shedding of leaves and nuts. ”

“ By this growth, the remains of the caryopsis, still recognizable by their hairs and by the rudiments of the style, as well as by the surviving portions of the mycelium-tissue, become visible above the paleæ on the apex of the mature ergot, now projecting prominently from the ear. Very rarely the ergot is crowned by a fully developed seed; in the commercial drug, the apex is usually broken off. ”

“ Plants are usually terrestrial, that is, growing on earth, or aquatic, i. e. growing in water; but sometimes they may be found attached by their roots to other plants, in which case they are epiphytes when simply growing upon other plants without penetrating into their tissue, parasites when their roots penetrate into and derive more or less nutriment from the plant to which they are attached. ”

“ Epicalyx (epicalyx) . A whorl of bracts closely surrounding a flower and resembling an outer calyx.
Epicarp (epicarpium) . The outermost layer of the pericarp.
Epigynous (epigynus) . Inserted at the upper edge of a concave receptacle which is united with the ovary.
Epiphyte (epiphyticus) . Growing upon other plants without deriving nourishment from them.
Ex- (ex-) . Without. Exalbuminous = without albumen. Exstipulate = without stipules.
Exocarp (exocarpium) . The outermost layer of the pericarp.
Exserted (exsertus) . Projecting beyond the tube of the perianth or corolla. ”