GLADIOLUS, a genus of monocotyledonous plants, belonging to the natural order Iridaceae. They are herbaceous plants growing from a solid fibrous-coated bulb (or corm), with long narrow plaited leaves and a terminal one-sided spike of generally bright-coloured irregular flowers. The segments of the limb of the perianth are very unequal, the perianth tube is curved, funnel-shaped and widening upwards, the segments equalling or exceeding the tube in length. There are about 150 known species, a large number of which are South African, but the genus extends into tropical Africa, forming a characteristic feature of the mountain vegetation, and as far north as central Europe and western Asia. One species _G. illyricus_ (sometimes regarded as a variety of _G. communis_) is found wild in England, in the New Forest and the Isle of Wight. Some of the species have been cultivated for a long period in English flower-gardens, where both the introduced species and the modern varieties bred from them are very ornamental and popular. _G. segetum_ has been cultivated since 1596, and _G. byzantinus_ since 1629, while many additional species were introduced during the latter half of the 18th century. One of the earlier of the hybrids originated in gardens was the beautiful _G. Colvillei_, raised in the nursery of Mr Colville of Chelsea in 1823 from _G. tristis_ fertilized by _G. cardinalis_. In the first decade of the 19th century, however, the Hon. and Rev. W. Herbert had successfully crossed the showy _G. cardinalis_ with the smaller but more free-flowering _G. blandus_, and the result was the production of a race of great beauty and fertility. Other crosses were made with _G. tristis_, _G. oppositiflorus_, _G. hirsutus_, _G. alatus_ and _G. psittacinus_; but it was not till after the production of _G. gandavensis_ that the gladiolus really became a general favourite in gardens. This fine hybrid was raised in 1837 by M. Bedinghaus, gardener to the duc d'Aremberg, at Enghien, crossing _G. psittacinus_ and _G. cardinalis_. There can, however, be little doubt that before the _gandavensis_ type had become fairly fixed the services of other species were brought into force, and the most likely of these were _G. oppositiflorus_ (which shows in the white forms), _G. blandus_ and _G. ramosus_. Other species may also have been used, but in any case the _gandavensis_ gladiolus, as we now know it, is the result of much crossing and inter-crossing between the best forms as they developed (J. Weathers, _Practical Guide to Garden Plants_). Since that time innumerable varieties have appeared only to sink into oblivion upon being replaced by still finer productions. Entry: GLADIOLUS
LORIS, a name of uncertain origin applied to the Indo-Malay representatives of the lemurs, which, together with the African pottos, constitute the section _Nycticebinae_ of the family _Nycticebidae_ (see PRIMATES). From their extremely slow movements and lethargic habits in the daytime these weird little creatures are commonly called sloths by Anglo-Indians. Their soft fur, huge staring eyes, rudimentary tails and imperfectly developed index-fingers render lorises easy of recognition. The smallest is the slender loris (_Loris gracilis_) of the forests of Madras and Ceylon, a creature smaller than a squirrel. It is of such exceeding strangeness and beauty that it might have been thought it would be protected by the natives; but they hold it alive before a fire till its beautiful eyes burst in order to afford a supposed remedy for ophthalmia! The mainland and Cingalese animals form distinct races. Both in this species and the slow loris there is a pair of rudimentary abdominal teats in addition to the normal pectoral pair. The slow loris (_Nycticebus tardigradus_) is a heavier built and larger animal, ranging from eastern Bengal to Cochin China, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Java and Sumatra. There are several races, mostly grey in colour, but the Sumatran _N. t. hilleri_ is reddish. (R. L.*) Entry: LORIS
In the order PSEUDAXONIA the colonies are upright and branched, consisting of a number of short zooids whose proximal ends are imbedded in a coenenchyma containing numerous ramifying solenia and spicules. The coenenchyma is further differentiated into a medullary portion and a cortex. The latter contains the proximal moieties of the zooids and numerous but separate spicules. The medullary portion is densely crowded with spicules of different shape from those in the cortex, and in some forms the spicules are cemented together to form a hard supporting axis. There are four families of Pseudaxonia--the _Briareidae, Sclerogorgidae, Melitodidae_, and _Corallidae_. In the first-named the medulla is penetrated by solenia and forms an indistinct axis; in the remainder the medulla is devoid of solenia, and in the _Melitodidae_ and _Corallidae_ it forms a dense axis, which in the _Melitodidae_ consists of alternate calcareous and horny joints. The precious red coral of commerce, _Corallium rubrum_ (fig. 6), a member of the family _Corallidae_, is found at depths varying from 15 to 120 fathoms the Mediterranean Sea, chiefly on the African coast. It owes its commercial value to the beauty of its hard red calcareous axis which in life is covered by a cortex in which the proximal moieties of the zooids are imbedded. _Corallium rubrum_ has been the subject of a beautifully-illustrated memoir by de Lacaze-Duthiers, which should be consulted for details of anatomy. Entry: B