Everybody’s favourite, this plant can often he seen growing in the most appalling conditions and must surely rate as one of the most durable of all house plants. There can be few schools and offices about the country that do not have their sprinkling of chloroph vtums dotted around the window-sills.

With all these attractions the plant is almost bound to be costly, even if you discount the length of time it takes to bring it to maturity: the longer plants spend in the heated greenhouses of the nursery the more the customer will have to pay for them.

Whenever the plants are mentioned among a group of people the question of leaf tips turning brown will invariably crop up. All sorts of answers are put forward and remedies suggested, but to my mind chlorophytum leaf tips turn brown simply because of starvation. As they increase in size the plants develop an astonishing number of thick, fleshy roots which wind around in the bottom of the pot and, having nothing to feed on, the paucity of nourishment is reflected in the brown leaf condition.

Universally this must surely rate as one of the most popular of all indoor plants, a popularity that never seems to wane. It has all the necessary characteristics: easy to care for, naturally glossy leaves that are serrated and in time perforated, and rather weird and exotic aerial roots. Place out of direct sunlight, keep the compost moist without ever allowing it to remain saturated for long periods, and feed regularly during the spring and summer months.

Leaves will be improved by periodic cleaning with a soft sponge, using either water or one of the proprietary leaf-cleaning agents. Avoid using chemicals too frequently and at all costs ensure that soft new leaves at the top of the plant are not treated, as they are very easily damaged. Irreparable damage may also be caused to young leaves by handling them before they unfold. When the compost in the pot becomes too wet plants will sometimes exude droplets of water from the edges of leaves, an indication that the amount of water given should be reduced. The aerial roots present problems and one is often advised that these should be removed. Unless there is an excessive number of roots it is far better to direct the tips into the soil when they are long enough, and to tie the roots in to the stem of the plant to keep them tidy.

There are two kinds suitable as house or garden room plants: Cyperus dUjiisus, the smaller of the two, is more suited to the living room, while the tall and stately C. alternifolius will do better in more spacious surroundings. Both must have a lightly shaded position in which to grow and must be kept very moist at all times. In fact, these are two of the few indoor plants that will benefit if their plant pots are left standing in water. It can be a shallow dish of an ornamental pool.

The following notes on general care apply to all the many different varieties likely to be encountered. Adequate heat is essential and the minimum temperature mentioned above would really be rock bottom; 16C. (600F.) would be more satisfictory. In the garden room light shading of the glass would be necessary, as well as the maintenance of a damp atmosphere. Water more freely in summer, and feed regularly with a liquid fertiliser. Potting on is best done between April and the end of June, using a standard house plant compost. New plants are propagated by means of stem cuttings, no leaves being required.

In the main it is generally reckoned that the more colourful the foliage the more difficult the plant is likely to prove in cultivation, but there are exceptions to almost every rule and the coleus is just that. These plants may he raised from seed or by means of cuttings, but cuttings of named varieties are far and away the best bet as they produce plants in colour and habit which are much superior.

Cuttings of firm young shoots root with little bother at, almost any time of the year, and an interesting and varied collection of these plants’ can quite quickly be built up. When they become too large and overgrown they should be replaced; in fact, it is wise always to have a few young plants coming along for this purpose.

Growing a few on to make standard plants can give a collection a new dimension, and it is much easier than may at first appear. With some varieties it is quit e,possible to produce 4-ft. tall standards in the autumn from spring-struck cuttings. Do this by allowing one strong shoot to develop unchecked in the centre of the pot, and as side growths are produced pinch them back to about two joints.

The word ‘pimento’ is derived from pimienta, the Spanish word for peppercorns, which the spice somewhat resembles. The genus Pimenta Lindl belongs to the family Myrtaceae, which also includes the clove, Syzygium aromuticum.

The first record of pimento being exported to London seems to be in 1601, when what appears to be pimento was given to Clusius by Garret, a London druggist. It must have reached Spain at a much earlier date.

The trunk is slender, with primary branches formed 1-3 in above the ground. The secondary branches are profusely branched at their extremities. The bark, which is smooth and shiny, is silvery pale brown in colour and is shed in strips 25-75 cm long at intervals. The wood is hard, close-grained, heavy, strong, durable and pink in colour. The young branchlets are flattened and four-angled.

Patrick Browne (1775) records that the export of pimento had reached 438000 pounds, valued at 21925 by 1755, that by that time it was cultivated with great care and was planted in regular groves or `walks’. He also gives what appears to be the first record of barren trees.

These are insectivorous plants with sensitive leaf hairs which, when a fly lands on them, induce the leaf to close up slowly and trap the fly inside. The plant feeds on all manner of insects in this way and an incredible number of gullible people buy this plant fondly thinking that they are going to take it home and sit indoors watching this wonder of nature methodically gobbling up all the flies in the room.

A few purchasers may well enjoy this treat, but for the few that do there must be many thousands who only see the leaves fold together when they poke them with a matchstick and in a short space of time watch the rapid decline of the plant.

These new shoots will have begun to grow by the time flowers develop. As flowers do nothing for the appearance of the plant they should be removed as they appear.

Introduced a few years ago, D. Tropic Snow is similar to amoena in habit of-growth, but has much more variegated and stiffer leaves, which makes the plants more delicate to handle. However, in spite of the supposed improvement, my preference still lies with amoena which seems much less stiff and formal.

In its native habitat a coniferous tree which will attain a height of too ft. or more, the Norfolk Island pine is, nevertheless, a plant that is superbly well equipped for cultivation as a house plant. Like the aralia mentioned previously it is a supremely elegant plant, producing tiers of well-spaced leaves of soft green colouring. It is capable of adjusting to a variety of temperatures but is really best suited to the cooler situation where the temperature ranges between 50 and 55F. Good light is also important; other than that it simply requires the standard treatment for easier indoor plants.

Growth that appears from the arils of those leaves should he allowed to develop two pairs of leaves of their own before they are severed from the parent plant. A clean cut straight across the stem should be made about half an inch below the lower leaf. Propagate in a pure peat mixture and pot on into a proper growing compost as soon as the plant has rooted through to the sides of the small pot in which it has been propagated.

Mother bulbs are expensive to purchase, but case of culture and spectacular flowers make them worthwhile acquisitions. Using pots only slightly larger than the diameter of the bulb, potting up should be undertaken in the autumn, J.I.P.3 being a suitable compost. Whatever compost is used it is essential that it should be rich, and not too thin and light.

Propagate by cuttings about 5 in. in length, preferably in spring, but non-flowering top cuttings should present little difficulty at any time provided there is a warm, close atmosphere in which to house them.

When cuttings have become established, pot them up in 3A-in. pots using a Mixture of equal parts J.I.P.2 compost and coarse peat. Following this the cuttings may be treated in various ways, but one has only to see them form a well-filled hanging basket to realise that this is by far the best effect likely to be achieved.

The variegated form does not have the dull fruit of the green ananas; instead we have a glowing pink fruit that will in time form small flowers of the most intense shade of blue at intervals from the base to the top of the fruit. In this condition, which remains for many months, it must surely rate as one of the most exciting plants in cultivation today. Alas, the fruit is rather woody and unappetising, but you cannot have everything.

For the experimentally minded grower this could well be. an interesting plant, as any piece of leaf or stem seems quite prepared to produce plants. lowever, the best means of raising new plants is undoubtedly by sowing seed very thinly on the surface of a peat and sand mixture in the spring of the year; from such sowings excellent plants will be available in August or thereabouts.

When they have attained reasonable size the seedlings can be planted directly into 5-in. half- pots filled with a mixture similar to that suggested for saintpaulias. For most of the squat plants that are similar to gloxinias the half-pots are proportionately right, and plants seem more attractive. After flowering the fbliage will die down quite naturally, and water should be withheld and the tubers kept dry until they are repotted in the spring.

Propagate from seed sown in good heat in February, or from offsets of older tubers when they are potted.

Efforts should be made to lay on a supply of rain water. Less water is needed when the plant is resting, but it is necessary to keep it moist at other times. Besides being moist at the roots, regular spraying Over of the foliage is also beneficial, but care should be taken not to damage any flowers that may be open.

Altitude does not influence the growth of fungi as much as It does that of green plants. Fungi in fact grow in the mountains alongside other vegetation.

Other species damage our society indirectly by causing economic losses through parasitic attacks on important vegetation. Many microscopic species, on the other hand, provide an invaluable service for man, for instance in the fermentation industry.

These fungi, producing certain chemical substances (enzymes) which ferment sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, have been used in the production of a range of alcoholic drinks for a very long time. Fermentation is caused by certain bacteria, yeast fungi and moulds. In the past, the process of fermentation was allowed to take its natural course. However, the resultant liquid often contained micro-organisms, which caused secondary fermentation (e.g. lactic and acetic) as well as other chemical reactions, which gave the final product an unpleasant taste, smell and colour. Today only pure cultures of a single microorganism are employed.

However, the close dependence of such Tecies on certain vegetable communities is soon evident, although in some conditions fungi are even capable of creating !heir own independent communities.