No433.
IN WHICH
The most Ornamental Foreign Plants, cultivated in the Open Ground, the Green-House, and the Stove, are accurately represented in their natural Colours.
TO WHICH ARE ADDED,
Their Names, Class, Order, Generic and Specific Characters, according to the celebrated Linnæus; their Places of Growth, and Times of Flowering:
TOGETHER WITH
THE MOST APPROVED METHODS OF CULTURE.
A WORK
Intended for the Use of such Ladies, Gentlemen, and Gardeners, as wish to become scientifically acquainted with the Plants they cultivate.
By WILLIAM CURTIS,
Author of the Flora Londinensis.
VOL. XIII.
LONDON:
Printed by Stephen Couchman, Throgmorton-Street,
For W. CURTIS, No 3, St. George's-Crescent, Black-Friars-Road;
And Sold by the principal Booksellers in Great-Britain and Ireland.
M DCC XCIX.
Class and Order.
Pentandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. campanulata. Stamina receptaculo inserta. Caps. 2-5 locularis polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
AZALEA pontica foliis nitidis lanceolatis, utrinque glabris, racemis terminalibus. Linn. Sp. Pl. App. p. 1669. Pall. Fl. Ross. t. 69. p. 51.
CHAMÆRHODENDROS Pontica maxima Mespili folio flore luteo. Tourn. Cor. Hist. Rei. Herb. 42. Act. Paris 1704. p. 348. Buxb. Cent. 5. p. 36. t. 69.
Descr. Shrub from two to three feet or more in height, the thickest part of the stem not exceeding the size of the little finger, covered with a smooth brown bark, irregularly branched; Flowers appearing before the leaves are fully expanded, and produced in umbels at the extremities of the branches, from eight to twelve or more in an umbel, of a fine yellow colour and agreeable fragrance; each blossom is about the size of that of the horse-chestnut, and as some of them are produced much earlier than others, the plant of course continues a considerable time in bloom, standing on short peduncles; Calyx very short, viscous, and irregularly divided, most commonly into five ovato-lanceolate segments; Corolla, tube cylindrical, viscous, grooved, brim divided into five segments, undulated and somewhat wrinkled, ovate, pointed, three turning upwards, two downwards, of the three uppermost segments the middle one more intensely yellow than the others and inclining to orange, with which it is sometimes spotted; Stamina usually five, yellow, projecting beyond the corolla, and turning upwards near their extremities; Antheræ orange-coloured; Pollen whitish and thready; Germen somewhat conical, evidently hairy, and somewhat angular; Style yellowish, filiform, projecting beyond the stamina, and turning upwards; Stigma forming a round green head.
The figure and description here given were taken from a plant which flowered by means of artificial heat, in the spring of 1798, at Mr. Watson's, Nurseryman, Islington, and which had been introduced the same year, by Mr. Anthony Hove, of Warsaw.
As an hardy ornamental shrub, it bids fair to prove an acquisition truly valuable, its flowers produced in the months of June and July, being highly ornamental as well as fragrant.
We have the best authority for regarding this plant as the Chamærhodendros Pontica of Tournefort, it agrees with his own specimens in Sir Joseph Banks's Herbarium, it accords also with his description, and figures, more especially of those flowers which are of their natural size; nor have we any doubts of its being the Azalea Pontica of Prof. Pallas, figured in the Flor. Rossica, since it corresponds generally with his description, though not in all points with his figure, which bears evident marks of inaccuracy, the stigma, for instance, is represented as trifid.
Tournefort found this plant on the eastern side of the Black Sea, Mr. Hove on the north side near Oczakow, and elsewhere; Professor Pallas on Mount Caucasus.
As yet there has been no opportunity of ascertaining the best means of propagating this new denizen, but there is every reason to suppose that it will succeed with the treatment bestowed on the other Azalea's.
Prof. Pallas relates that the honey of bees frequenting the flowers of this plant is supposed to be narcotic, and that goats, kine, and sheep on eating its leaves have been poisoned thereby.
By permission and with the approbation of Mr. Anthony Hove, the following extracts from his journal are here inserted.
"June 9, 1796, found a few of this species of Azalea on the river Dnieper in swampy ground, four feet high, beginning to blow, called here the stupifying shrub, and considered by some as highly efficacious in curing the venereal disease.
"June 20, found this species on the river Dniester, on the estate of Count Stanislaus Sczesny Potocki, about sixteen English miles from the town of Mohilow, in peat earth, from four to twenty feet high; regarded by the common people as intoxicating, and used in the cure of various diseases.
"July 4, near Oczakow, found thousands of these plants fully blown, in a marsh, every spring-tide overflown by the sea; found there also, a Tartarian farmer, who lived entirely by the profits arising from the honey which the bees extracted from the flowers of this plant, sold to Constantinople and other parts of Turkey for medicinal uses.
"July 15, arrived at Trebizond, found a valley about ten English miles from the sea covered with these plants."
On cultivation, Mr. Hove relates that he found the Azalea's from Trebizond much more tender than those from the borders of the Dnieper and the Dniester, and was therefore inclined to regard them as strong varieties if not distinct species.
The leaves, when fully expanded, are in size and figure like those on the plate, hairy on both sides, and terminating in a very remarkable blunt mucro or point, which has not been noticed either by those who have described or figured the plant as it deserves, for it appears to form a very strong character.
Class and Order.
Triandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 5-fidus campanulatus. Cor. infundibuliformis. Nux 5-gona 1-sperma calyce explanato persistenti circumdata.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
OXYBAPHUS viscosus. L'Herit. Monograph.
MIRABILIS viscosa floribus racemosis; foliis cordatis orbiculato-acutis tomentosis. Cav. Icon. I. n. 17. t. 19.
The present is one of those plants which is entitled to our admiration, for its curious and singular structure, rather than for any extraordinary figure it makes in a collection; not that its flowers are without a certain share of beauty.
It is an annual, growing to about the height of two feet; the whole plant is viscous, and, if bruised, smells somewhat disagreeably; the flowers do not open at any particular time as those of the Mirabilis do, and each contains only three stamina; when they fall off, which they do soon after expanding, the calyx closes on the germen, enlarges, droops, and becomes deeply plaited; on the ripening of the seed it turns brown, expands, and is suspended like a little umbrella over the seed, which when perfectly ripe drops out on the ground; the expanded calyx in this state appears somewhat like the flower of a Physalis.
This plant flowers from June to October, and ripens its seeds in the open air; it is not difficult of culture, requires the same treatment as other tender annuals from Peru.
Our figure was drawn from a plant which flowered 1796, in the collection of the Marchioness of Bute, and was raised from Peruvian seeds, sent her by Prof. Ortega of Madrid, under the name of Mirabilis triandra; Mons. Cavanille has figured and described it as the Mirabilis viscosa; Mons. L'Heritier, from a consideration of all its characters, has been induced to make a new genus of it, which he has called Oxybaphus.
Class and Order.
Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua.
Generic Character.
Recept. nudum. Pappus plumosus. Cal. imbricatus: squamis marginalibus rotundatis scariosis coloratis.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
GNAPHALIUM ericoides fruticosum foliis sessilibus linearibus, calycibus exterioribus rudibus, interioribus incarnatis. Linn. Am. Acad. v. 6. p. 99. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 746. Ait. Hort. Kew. p. 174.
In the 6th vol. of the Amœnitates Academicæ, Linnæus describes this species of Gnaphalium, most probably from dried specimens collected at the Cape, where it is a native; so insignificant did the plant appear to him, that in his description, he calls it misera; compared with the more magnificent species, such a term might not perhaps be inapplicable: but, though small, the plant possesses much beauty when cultivated, and hence is generally kept in our green-houses.
It flowers from March to August.
Its branches, naturally weak and trailing, require to be carefully tied up; if this business be executed with taste and judgment, the natural beauty of the plant may be considerably heightened.
It is readily increased by cuttings.
Was introduced to the royal garden at Kew, by Mr. Masson, in 1774.
Class and Order.
Monadelphia Polyandria.
Generic Character.
Cal. duplex: exterior polyphyllus. Caps. 5-locularis, polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
HIBISCUS præmorsus foliis subrotundis, dentato-serratis retusis pubescentibus. Ait. Kew. v. 2. 454.
HIBISCUS præmorsus hirsutus, foliis ovatis basi angustato-cordatis apice præmorsis crenatis, calycibus tomentosis, seminibus tuberculatis. Linn. Suppl. Pl. p. 309.
PAVONIA cuneifolia. Cavan. Diff. 3. p. 139. t. 45. f. 1.
URENA præmorsa. L'Herit. Stirp. nov. t. 51.
Though not so shewy a plant as many of the genus, we find this species of Hibiscus in most collections of green-house plants about London, flowering from June to September.
Its foliage is singular, its blossoms sulphur coloured with a tint of orange on the under side and without scent; if suffered to grow, this shrub will acquire a considerable height; it seeds freely, by which the plant is readily increased, and by these it requires to be renewed once in two or three years.
Is a native of the Cape, from whence it was introduced, by Mr. Masson, in 1774. Ait. Kew.
It will be seen by the synonyms, that authors have been divided in their opinions as to the genus of this plant; Linnæus the younger, in his Suppl. makes it an Hibiscus; Cavanille, a Pavonia; L'Heritier, an Urena; Mr. Aiton, an Hibiscus; not partial to the multiplying of genera, unless there be an obvious necessity for it, we have in the present instance followed the first and last of these writers.
Class and Order.
Decandria Digynia.
Generic Character.
Caps. 2-locularis, 2-rostris, infera, foramine inter stylos dehiscens.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
HYDRANGEA arborescens caule arboreo. Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 13. Gmel. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 410. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 76.
ANONYMOS floribus albis parvis, in umbella lata magna dispositis odoratis, foliis amplis acuminatis serratis pediculis insidentibus ex adverso binis, caule fruticoso præalto non ramoso, vasculo parvo, bicapsulari, seminibus minutissimis repleto, duobus parvis filamentis seu corniculis recurvis coronato. Clayt. n. 79. Mill. Icon. t. 251. Duham. Arb. 1. t. 3.
As a shrub commonly cultivated for ornament in our gardens and plantations, the Hydrangea arborescens has a right to appear in this work, nevertheless it is more with a view to illustrate a peculiar character of the genus that it is here figured.
This shrub is a native of Virginia, and was introduced in 1736, by P. Collinson, Esq. it is of low growth, rarely exceeding four feet in height; its flowers are produced on the summits of the branches, somewhat in the manner of the Laurustinus; they are small, crowded, nearly white, with a tinge of red in them which is not very brilliant, and some fragrance; they are produced in July and August, and sometimes followed by ripe seeds here.
Is easily propagated by parting its roots the latter end of October, prefers a moist soil, but will grow in a dry one; if in severe frosts the stalks, which are rather soft, should be killed, new ones will be put up the following Spring.
HYDRANGEA hortensis foliis ellipticis serratis glaberrimis staminibus æqualibus. Smith icon. rar. t. 12.
HORTENSIA. Commmers. Jussieu Gen. 214.
PRIMULA mutabilis caule suffruticoso multiplici, foliis ovatis serratis, floribus nudis. Loureir Coch. Chin. v. 1. p. 104.
VIBURNUM tomentosum foliis ovatis acuminatis serratis venosis subtus tomentosis, umbellis lateralibus. Thunb. Jap. p. 123. ?
SAMBUCUS aquatica surculis pinguibus punctatis, &c. Sijo vulgo Adsai et Ansai et Adsiki. Kæmpf. Am. Exot. p. 854. var. fl. albo, pila florida major.
It appears to be a point not yet fully determined, whether the present plant exhibits the appearances belonging to it in a state of nature, or those which are in a certain degree the effect of accident, or of art; in its fructification it certainly is not so completely barren as the Guilder Rose, Viburnum Opulus, cultivated in our gardens, since it has most of its parts perfect; yet as none of the authors who have seen it in China or Japan (where it is said not only to be much cultivated but indigenous[1]) describe its fruit, we are inclined on that account to regard it, in a certain degree, as monstrous.
It will appear by the synonyms, that authors have entertained very different opinions as to what this plant really is; Jussieu following Commerson makes it an Hortensia, Thunberg a Viburnum, Loureiro, ridiculously enough, a Primula, and Dr. Smith an Hydrangea.
In the original description of the characters of the genus Hydrangea by Linnæus, there is no mention made of two different kinds of florets, as in the Viburnum, nor has any author that I am acquainted with described the Hydrangea arbor. as producing such; yet, to my great surprise, in a plant of this sort which flowered in my garden at Brompton in July 1797, three of the Cymæ, and three only, threw out each of them from their circumference a very different flower from those in the centre, smaller indeed, but very similar to the flowers of the Hydrang. hort. see Pl. 437. In 1788, Mr. Walter published his Fl. Carolin. in which he describes a second species of Hydrangea, which he calls radiata,[2] having very distinctly, as in the Viburnum, two different kinds of florets in the same Cyma, this variation in the florets is added by him to the generic character: the similarity which exists between the flowers of Mr. Walter's Hydrangea radiata, and those of the present plant sufficiently justify Dr. Smith in making it an Hydrangea; the appearances observed by Loureiro[3] on dissecting the germen, and our discovery of the existence of two different kinds of flowers in the Hydrangea arborescens, tend still more to confirm its propriety; we may add, that in the very habit of these several plants there exists a considerable similarity; still, however, it is only by ripe seed-vessels of the present plant, that this doubtful matter can be satisfactorily cleared up; but it will not follow, that if it be not an Hydrangea it must be a Viburnum.
This magnificent and highly ornamental plant, according to Dr. Smith, was introduced from China to the royal garden at Kew, by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. in 1790; it was imported by Mr. Slater about the same time, with whom it is said to have first flowered in this country.
If room were allowed us, it would be superfluous to describe minutely a plant now so very common; suffice it to say, that from a strong perennial root, rise a number of half-shrubby, irregular, somewhat spongy stalks, strongly spotted when young with purple, from one to three feet high, terminated by large bunches of flowers, at first green, then rose-coloured, and finally green a second time; these are the most common changes to which they are liable: but it will sometimes happen that a plant which has produced red flowers one year, shall produce blue another, though growing in the same pot; this we saw happen in the year 1796 to a plant in the possession of the Countess of Upper Ossory, whose refined taste and superior judgment have in several instances contributed to render our works more acceptable to the public: the coloured changeable part of the flower is regarded as the calyx, in the centre of which is the corolla, containing the stamina, &c. all varying greatly in point of number; besides these, there are other flowers without any calyx, but the parts which they contain do not seem to be more perfect than those of the others, nor more productive of ripe fruit.
Since the introduction of this plant, trials have been made in regard to its hardiness, and it is found to survive mild winters if planted in very warm sheltered situations; but in others, both stalks and leaves are liable to be killed by slight frosts, though the roots are not; if persons are anxious to have it in the open border, the best mode will be to cut down the stems at the approach of winter, and cover over the root with rotten tan, or some light substance; in the spring fresh stalks will shoot forth, but it is more common to keep this plant during winter in a green-house or well secured frame; by artificial heat it may be brought to flower in April or May, without such, it begins to blossom about June, and continues in bloom till October; when successfully treated, it will acquire the height of three feet, and produce bunches of flowers supremely magnificent: such plants in pots are admirably adapted for decorating court-yards, balconies, &c. unless carefully cut in, it is apt to grow too large for the green-house, therefore it is proper to have a succession of young plants from cuttings, which strike very freely; this plant loves water, is indeed almost an aquatic, a rich soil, and plenty of pot room.
[1] Habitat et ob pulchritudinem colitur Cantone Sinarum, Loureir. Coch. Chin. v. 1. p. 104. Crescit in sylvis variis, inter Miaco et Jedo, etiam cultum, Thunb. Fl. Jap. p. 123, who refers to Kæmpfer, whose plant is certainly ours; yet it must be acknowledged that Thunberg's description does not well accord with it.
[2] This plant, or one extremely similar to it, was introduced by Mr. Williams, Nurseryman at Paris, a few years since; we saw it in full bloom, at Mr. Colvill's, King's-Road, in the Summer of 1796.
[3] Pericarpium abortit, quod ex dissecto germine et per microscopium viso apparet polyspermum.
Class and Order.
Polyandria Polygynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 6-phyllus. Petala 27. Caps. plures, in orbem digestæ, bivalves, monospermæ.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ILLICIUM floridanum floribus rubris. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 507. Ellis Act. Angl. 1770. (v. 60.) p. 524. t. 12. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 250.
Of the genus Illicium there are at present only two known species, viz. the anisatum and floridanum, the former a native of China and Japan, the latter of Florida; both of them are cultivated in this country, but the latter more generally, on account of the superior beauty of its flowers, which are of a fine deep red colour, and have the appearance of being double, though the petals are not preternaturally multiplied; when the plant is in bloom the peduncles hang down, when the petals drop they become erect; the blossoms are not distinguished by their fragrance, though the seed-vessels, and seeds (which do not come to perfection with us) are said to be strongly odoriferous; the foliage of this plant is also much admired: taking it indeed altogether, there are few shrubs held in higher estimation.
According to Mr. Aiton, this species was introduced by John Ellis, Esq. in 1776; but Isaac Walker, Esq. of Southgate, was the first who possessed it in this country, he informs me by letter, that he received plants of it from Pensacola in 1771, by the hands of Mr. John Bradley, and that he communicated some of them to Dr. Fothergill, Dr. Pitcairn, and Mr. Ellis. It flowers from April to July.
Cultivators differ widely as to their treatment of this plant, some keeping it in the stove, others in the green-house, while some have ventured to plant it in the open ground in warm situations; it probably is more hardy than we imagine; all agree in propagating it by layers, or by seeds if they can be procured. Linnæus, contrary to his usual practice, distinguishes the two species by their colour only, and Thunberg is disposed to regard them as mere varieties.
Class and Order.
Octandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 4-phyllus. Cor. 4-fida. Filamenta receptaculo inserta. Antheræ apice bifidæ, pertusæ. Caps. 4-locularis, 4-valvis, polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ERICA albens antheris muticis inclusis, corollis ovatis oblongis acutis, foliis ternis, racemis secundis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. Murr. ed. 14. p. 367. Mant. 233.
ERICA albens mutica, foliis ternis trigonis pilosis, floribus lateralibus, calyce villoso. Thunb. Prodr. p. 70.
This species, a native of the Cape, has been introduced since the publication of the Hort. Kew. and is now to be found in most green-house collections near town.
In its habit, its foliage, and its flowers, it is very distinct from all our other heaths; flowers from April to June, is readily increased by cuttings, and easily kept with the common treatment.
Class and Order.
Triandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. tubulosa, irregularis, recurvata. Caps. infera.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ANTHOLYZA Merianella corollis infundibuliformibus, foliis linearibus. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 87. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 67.
WATSONIA humilis foliis lineari-ensiformibus, tubo floris longissimo. Mill. ic. 198. t. 297. f. 2.
This very rare species is perfectly distinct from the Meriana, of more humble growth, the flowering stem seldom rising to more than a foot in height, and producing from four to six flowers, which are proportionably longer, more closed, and of a deeper red colour than those of Meriana.
Was introduced from the Cape by Capt. Hutchinson, in 1754. Ait. Kew.
Is readily increased by offsets, and requires the same treatment as the Anthol. Meriana already figured.
Flowers in May and June.
Our drawing was made from a plant which flowered with Mr. Fairbairn, at the Apothecaries Garden, Chelsea, May 2, 1798.
Class and Order.
Diadelphia Decandria.
Generic Character.
Cal. 2-labiatus 2/3. Vexillum oblongum, a pistillo staminibusque deorsum reflexum.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
GENISTA linifolia foliis ternatis sessilibus linearibus subtus sericeis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 645. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 14.
CYTISUS argenteus linifolius insularum stæchadum. Tourn. Inst. 648.
The Genista linifolia is a native of Spain, and was introduced to the royal garden at Kew, by Sir Francis Drake, in the year 1786. Ait. Kew.
The bright yellow flowers, which are abundantly produced on this plant during May and June, joined to the silky appearance of its foliage, has rendered it worthy the notice of most lovers of plants, in whose collections it is now generally found.
It is most successfully propagated by seeds, which usually ripen in this country; it may also be raised from cuttings, but not readily, agreeing in this respect with leguminous plants in general.
We do not find in Linnæus's works any figure of this plant referred to; but there is a minute description of it in his Sp. Pl.
It is usually kept in the greenhouse; being a native of Spain, it may probably be more hardy than we imagine.
Class and Order.
Octandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 4-phyllus. Cor. 4-fida. Filamenta receptaculo inserta. Antheræ apice bifidæ pertusæ. Caps. 4-locularis, 4-valvis, polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ERICA physodes antheris cristatis, corollis ovatis inflatis, stylo incluso, foliis quaternis, floribus subsolitariis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. Murr. p. 366. Berg. Cup. 108.
ERICA physodes cristata, foliis quaternis linearibus, floribus umbellatis viscosis, calyce ovato brevi. Thunb. Prodr. p. 74.
The Erica physodes is a native of the Cape, and another of those species which have been introduced since the publication of the Hort. Kew. of Mr. Aiton.
It is principally distinguished by the form, and delicate whiteness of its blossoms, which are so extremely viscid as to retain flies and other insects which settle on them.
Is scarcely to be increased by cuttings, more readily by seeds, which sometimes ripen here.
Class and Order.
Hexandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 6-phyllus. Cor. 6-fida, campanulata. Stigmata 6. Caps. infera, 6-locularis, polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
CANARINA Campanula caule erecto, foliis hastatis ternis oppositisve. Martyn Mill. Dict. Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 344. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 480. Linn. Mant. p. 225.
CAMPANULA canariensis capsulis quinquelocularibus, foliis hastatis dentatis oppositis petiolatis. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 238.
CAMPANULA canariensis regia s. medium radice tuberosa, foliis sinuatis cæsiis atriplicis æmulis ternis circum caulem ambientibus, flore amplo pendulo colore flammeo rutilante. Pluk. Alm. 76. t. 276. f. 1.
The flowers of this plant so strongly resemble those of the Campanula, that it is no wonder the older Botanists regarded it as such, Linnæus himself did so at first, and Miller also; and even now it may perhaps be doubted whether it ought to be made a distinct genus of, since it is found to differ principally in the number of its parts of fructification.
It is a native of the Canary Islands, whence its name, was cultivated in the royal garden, Hampton-Court, as long since as the year 1696[1], and is a tender herbaceous plant, to be found in most of our greenhouses; its stem rises to the height of six or more feet, its flowers produced singly from the fork of the stalk are large and shewy, they begin to open at the commencement of winter, and continue to blow till March.
"Is propagated by parting of its roots, which must be done with caution; for, as the root is fleshy, if they are broken or wounded, the milky juice will flow out plentifully; so that if these are planted before the wounds are skinned over, it occasions their rotting: the best time for transplanting and parting of their roots is in July, soon after the stalks are decayed; the soil should he a light sandy loam, mixed with a fourth part of screened lime rubbish." Miller.
[1] Ait. Kew.
Class and Order.
Diadelphia Decandria.
Generic Character.
Cal. 2-labiatus: 2/3: dentibus superioribus connatis. Vexillum vix alis longius. Legumen isthmis interceptum.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
CORONILLA Emerus fruticosa, pedunculis subtrifloris, corollarum unguibus calyce triplo longioribus, caule angulato. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 669. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 57.
COLUTEA siliquosa s. scorpioides major. Bauh. Pin. p. 1046.
Authors have given to this plant the name of Scorpion Senna, its seed-vessels, from their slender and jointed appearance, bearing some resemblance to the tail of a scorpion.
It is a native of France and Germany, and a very old inhabitant of our gardens, having been cultivated by Gerard in 1596; it is of low and slow growth: there is a shrub of it in the Apothecaries Garden, Chelsea, which grew there in the time of Miller, and which now is not more than five feet high.
In the nurseries we have observed two varieties of it, one in which the flowers have been tinged with bright red inclining to orange and which is by far the most common, the other with flowers wholly yellow, scarcely worth cultivating.
Its blossoms are produced in May and June, and sometimes again in autumn; neatly trained to a wall or paling, it makes a beautiful appearance when in flower, the shortness of its shoots renders it a very proper object for this purpose.
Is propagated by seeds, layers, and cuttings; the first are not produced in any great plenty with us.
The leaves by a proper fermentation are said to produce a dye like that of Indigo.
Class and Order.
Diadelphia Decandria.
Generic Character.
Cal. punctis callosis adspersus longitudine leguminis monspermi.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
PSORALEA bracteata foliis ternatis obovatis recurvato-mucronatis, mucronatis, spicis ovatis. Linn. Mant. 264. Berg. Cap. 224. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 79.
TRIFOLIUM fruticans. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 1085.
TRIFOLIUM africanum fruticans flore purpurascente. Comm. Hort. 2. p. 211. t. 106.
The old authors, and indeed Linnæus himself at first, regarded this plant as a Trifolium; afterwards the latter changed it to Psoralea, and minutely described it in his Mantissa.
As a green-house plant, this small and delicate species has long been cultivated[1], and still continues to hold a place in all collections of note.
Its inflorence to us has more the appearance of a capitulum than a spike, and which when the plant is in full bloom, is by no means ovate, but rather hemispherical; the purple colour of the vexillum, contrasted with the white of the alæ, gives to the flowers a very pleasing parti-coloured appearance.
In its leaves we have a good example of the folium mucronatum.
It is a native of the Cape, flowers in June and July, and is usually propagated by cuttings.
[1] By Miller, in 1731.
Class and Order.
Octandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 4-phyllus. Cor. 4-fida. Filamenta receptaculo inserta. Antheræ apice bifidæ pertusæ. Caps. 4-locularis, 4-valvis, polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ERICA empetrifolia foliis oblongis ciliatis, floribus verticillatis: calyce ciliato. Thunb. Prodr. p. 73. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 13. Gmel. p. 627. Linn. Pflanzen Syst. 3. t. 23. f. 2.
ERICA empetrifolia antheris cristatis, corollis ovatis, foliis quaternis, floribus sessilibus lateralibus. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 366. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 19.
It is a most pleasing circumstance, when plants afford characters by which they may with certainty be distinguished; most of the Heaths are of this kind, and the present one in particular: exclusive of its great peculiarity of growth, so obviously expressed in our representation of it, its flowers diffuse a strong honey-like fragrance, which, if other characters were wanting, would at once discriminate it.
It is one of those Heaths which are enumerated in the Hort. Kew. of Mr. Aiton, and was introduced to the royal garden by Mr. Masson, in 1774; is now to be met with in most of the collections of green-house plants about town, and flowers in May and June.
Is usually propagated by cuttings.
Class and Order.
Icosandria Pentagynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 5-fidus. Petala numerosa, linearia. Caps. carnosa, infera, polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
MESEMBRYANTHEMUM micans foliis subcylindricis papulosis distinctis, caule scabro. Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 470. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 190.
MESEMBRYANTHEMUM micans flore phœniceo: filamentis atris. Dill. Elth. 292. t. 215. f. 1282.
FICOIDES capensis, tereti folio, flore croceo. Pet. gaz. t. 7. f. 9.
FICOIDES capensis, folio tereti argenteo, petalis perplurimis aurantiacis. Bradl. Succ. 1. p. 9. t. 8.
The Mesembryanthemum micans, so called from the glittering particles which are conspicuous on its stalks and leaves, is a species which has long been introduced to our gardens (having been cultivated by Prof. Bradley in 1716) for the beauty of its flowers, which in richness of colour are indeed surpassed by few; they are produced in the months of July and August, but do not expand fully, unless the sun shines powerfully on them; nor do they long retain that regular expansion observable in some species, but quickly assume a somewhat ragged appearance; nevertheless, upon the whole, it is one of those species which is highly deserving of culture, by those who are partial to this tribe of plants.
It is a native of the Cape, and readily propagated by cuttings.
Varies with flowers of a paler hue.
Class and Order.
Polyandria Polygynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 5-phyllus. Petala 5. Caps. polyspermæ, connatæ, pulpa repletæ.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
DILLENIA speciosa foliis oblongis rotundato-acutis denticulatis, pedunculis unifloris. Thunb. in Linn. Trans. 1. p. 200.
DILLENIA indica. Linn. Syst Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 507.
SYALITA Malabaris. Rheede Hort. Malab. tom. iii. p. 39. t. 38. 39.
The name of Dillenia was given by Linnæus to this genus of plants, in honour of John James Dillenius, Professor of Botany at Oxford, and the celebrated author of the Hist. Muscorum, Hort. Elthamensis, &c.
Until the publication of the first volume of the Linnean Transactions, only one species of Dillenia was generally known; in that work Prof. Thunberg minutely describes five others, three of which are there figured; all these, and one more described by Dr. Roxburgh in his work on the Coromandel plants, are inserted by Prof. Martyn in his new and highly improved edition of Miller's Dictionary.
The present species, which now loses its name of indica in that of speciosa, and which though not enumerated in the Hort. Kew. has many years been cultivated at Kew, and in the stoves of the curious near town, is a native of Malabar and Java; in its native soil it becomes a vast tree, here we rarely see it more than two or three feet high; its flowers are large and shewy, but quickly deciduous, and remarkable for the unpleasantness of their scent, which is like that of the Lycium japonicum, but not being readily exhaled does not infect the air of the stove.
This species is increased without difficulty by cuttings, which quickly produce flowering plants.
Class and Order.
Triandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. 6-partita, tubulosa, ringens. Stamina adscendentia.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
GLADIOLUS Watsonius corollis infundibuliformibus, limbi laciniis subæqualibus, foliis linearibus ad oras revolutis. Jacq. Icon. rar. 2. t. 233. Collect. 3. p. 257. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. Wilden. p. 214.
GLADIOLUS Watsonius monostachyus corollis cernuis, tubo duplici, limbi laciniis oblongis, foliis linearibus glabris. Thunb. Prod. p. 8.
Professors Jacquin and Thunberg have both described this rare bulbous plant, a native of the Cape, and newly introduced to this country from Holland among a great variety of others: it seems highly probable that the descriptions of both these authors were taken from dried specimens, since they accord so little with the living plant as it flowers with us.
At first sight, one would be led to regard this plant as an Antholyza rather than a Gladiolus, its flowers bearing a great affinity to those of the Antholyza Meriana, which differs widely from those of the Gladiolus communis: Prof. Thunberg having thought fit to make a Gladiolus of that plant, he could do no less than regard this as a Gladiolus also; we regret that the infinite variety to which all the productions of nature are subject should give occasion to versatile minds perpetually to alter genera, often without due consideration. This species flowers in February and March, requires the same treatment as other Cape bulbs, and is propagated in the same manner.
Descr. Stalk from twelve to eighteen inches high, upright, smooth; Leaves about three or four, the lowermost a sheath merely, the second leaf springs from a long sheath, is puckered at its base, three inches in length, upright, rigid, flat, linear-lanceolate, having three strong ribs, one in the middle, two at the margin, which, projecting on each side, give to the edge of the leaf a thick appearance, the leaves as they ascend, gradually differ from this, and finally become hollow bracteæ, which at first envelope the flowers, and afterwards contribute to support them; Flowers from two to three, each standing on a peduncle-like tube, enclosed by a bifid spatha, contained within and about half the length of the bracteæ; Corolla bright red, funnel-shaped, tube bent somewhat downwards, nearly cylindrical, a little flattened, and glossy, limb divided into six ovato-lanceolate segments, spreading outwards, the uppermost segment incumbent, the three lowermost smaller than the others; Filaments three, whitish, nearly straight; Antheræ oblong, straight, purple; Style red; Stigma trifid, each segment dividing into two villous lips.
Class and Order.
Dodecandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. inferus, 6-phyllus, superus, integer. Petala 6. Capsula 6-locularis, polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
BLAKEA trinervia bicalyculata, foliis enerviis transversim subtilissime striatis. Linn. Suppl. p. 246. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 442.
BLAKEA foliis ellipticis trinerviis nitidis, floribus lateralibus. Brown. Jam. 323. t. 35. The wild Rose.
"This vegetable is certainly one of the most beautiful productions of America. It is but a weakly plant at first, and supports itself for a time by the help of some neighbouring shrub or tree; but it grows gradually more robust, and at length acquires a pretty moderate stem, which divides into a thousand weakly declining branches, well supplied with beautiful rosy blossoms on all sides that give it a most pleasing appearance in the season.
"It is chiefly found in cool, moist, and shady places, and grows generally to the height of ten or fourteen feet; but rises always higher when it remains a climber, in which state it continues sometimes. It thrives best on the sides of ponds or rivulets, and those that would choose to have it flourish in their gardens, where it must naturally make a very elegant appearance, ought to supply it with some support while it continues young and weakly.
"It is called Blakea, after Mr. Martin Blake, of Antigua, a great promoter of every sort of useful knowledge, and a gentleman to whose friendship the Natural History of Jamaica chiefly owes its early appearance." Brown's Jamaic.
Our figure was drawn from a very fine healthy plant which flowered in the collection of Lady Downe, at her villa of Bookham-Grove, near Leatherhead, in April 1799; though not enumerated in the Hortus Kewensis, it had produced blossoms in several other collections near town long before this period; those when they once expand are of short duration, but the foliage when healthy is always handsome.
It is usually kept in the stove with other Jamaica plants, and propagated by layers.
We cannot see the propriety of applying foliis enerviis to the description of this species, since Linnæus himself, in his Sp. Pl. describes the leaves as trinervia; three strong ribs they always have, and usually two others near the margin which are finer.
Class and Order.
Tetradynamia Siliquosa.
Generic Character.
Siliqua elastice dissiliens valvulis revolutis. Stigma integrum. Cal. subhians.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
CARDAMINE trifolia foliis ternatis obtusis, caule subnudo. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 593. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 387.
NASTURTIUM alpinum trifolium. Bauh. Pin. 104.
CARDAMINE trifolia. Trefoile Ladies smockes. Parkins. Parad. p. 389.
Such as are attached to the smaller alpine plants, will regard this species of Cardamine as worthy a place in their collections; one would scarcely have expected to find it in Parkinson's Parad. yet there it is described, and the following account given of its introduction: "It was sent me by my especial good friend John Tradescante, who brought it among other dainty plants from beyond the seas, and imparted thereof a root to me."
This species is perennial, hardy, and of very humble growth; the leaves grow thickly together, forming a kind of tuft; the flowering stems rarely rise above the height of six inches, and produce on their summits numerous flowers, waved on their edges; all those which we have had an opportunity of seeing have been perfectly white, Parkinson and Haller describe them as being sometimes tinged with red or purple; they begin to appear towards the end of March and continue through April, the shelter of a hand-glass open at top is often necessary to protect and improve the flowering of this and other such early-blowing plants.
It grows readily either in a pot or in the open border, succeeds best when planted in bog earth in a situation moderately moist and shady, and is readily increased by parting its roots, which are somewhat of the creeping kind.
Grows spontaneously in most of the northern parts of Europe, especially Lapland, Switzerland, and Austria.
Class and Order.
Hexandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. hexapetaloidea irregularis. Filamenta fauci tubi inserta, declinata, inæqualia proportione vel directione. Linn. fil.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
AMARYLLIS reginæ spatha subbiflora, pedicellis divaricatis, corollis campanulatis breve tubulosis nutantibus, fauce tubi hirsuta, foliis lanceolatis patulis. Linn. fil. Ait. Kew. 416. Mill. ic. p. 16. t. 24.
LILIUM americanum puniceo flore Belladonna dictum. Herm. par. 194. t. 194.
Descr. "Bulb green, scape round, somewhat flattened: Corolla scarlet, with a bottom of a whitish green, the three outer petals round at the tip, the three inner fringed at the base; the style red, the flower stems seldom rise more than one foot high; each stem supports two, three, or four flowers, rarely more; they are large, and of a bright copper colour, inclining to red; the spathe which cover the buds before they open, divides into two parts to the bottom, standing on each side the umbel of flowers joined to the peduncles.
"It flowered in Mr. Fairchild's garden at Hoxton, in 1728, when the late Dr. James Douglass caused a figure of it to be drawn, and wrote a folio pamphlet on it. He gave it the title of Lilium Reginæ, because it was in full beauty on the first of March, which was the late queen's birth-day. Mr. Fairchild told me the roots were brought from Mexico; so he gave it the name of Mexican Lily, which is still continued to it by the English gardeners. It flowers constantly in the spring, when it is placed in a very warm stove. It is in beauty in February, and those which are in a moderate temperature of air will flower in March or April.
"Not being so hardy as some others, it must be placed in a warm stove, and if the pots are plunged into a hot-bed of tanner's bark, the roots will thrive better, and the flowers will be strong.
"It is increased by offsets." Mill. Dict. ed. Mart.
Class and Order.
Monandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Corolla 6-partita erecta: labio bipartito, revoluto. Stylus lanceolatus, corollæ adnatus. Calyx 3-phyllus.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
CANNA Indica foliis ovatis utrinque acuminatis nervosis. Sp. Pl. 1. Ait. Kew. vol. 1. p. 1.
CANNACORUS. Rumph. amb. 5. p. 177. t. 71. f. 2.
ARUNDO indica latifolia. Bauh. Pin. 19.
CANNA Indica flore rubro. Red flowred Indian Reede. Park. Parad. p. 376.
The Canna indica, a native of both the Indies, is a plant greatly admired for the beauty of its foliage and flowers, and on that account generally cultivated; it has been called by some Indian Shot, from the roundness and hardness of its seeds.
We find it to have existed in our gardens in the time of Gerard, 1596. Parkinson was acquainted with that variety of it which has yellow spotted flowers: Prof. Martyn, in his edition of Miller's Dict. has quoted the chief of what these authors say of it, which as a matter of curiosity we shall here transcribe: "Gerard informs us, that in his time it was in the garden at Padua, that he had planted it in his garden divers times, but it never came to flowering; and that it must be set or sown in a pot, with fine earth, or in a bed made of horse-dung, in such manner as Cucumbers and Musk-Melons are: Parkinson says, in some kindly years this beautiful plant has borne its brave flowers, but never any ripe seed, and that it will not abide the extremities of our winters, unless it meet with a stove, or hot-house, such as are used in Germany; for neither house nor cellar will preserve it: Clusius saw it flowering by house-sides in Spain and Portugal, and says, that the inhabitants there use the seeds for making their rosaries."
Mr. Aiton enumerates four varieties of it, viz. rubra, lutea, coccinea, and patens.
"Being a native of the warmest parts of America, it requires to be placed in a moderate stove in winter, where they always flower in that season, at which time they make a fine appearance, and in the summer place them abroad in a sheltered situation with other tender exotic plants, where they generally flower again, and produce ripe seeds annually." Mill. Dict.
"These plants will continue many years with proper management, but as young plants always flower better than the old root, so it is scarce worth while to continue them after they have borne good seeds, which should be sown on a hot-bed in the spring." Mill. Dict.
Class and Order.
Hexandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. erecta, ore patulo fundo nectarifero. Filam. receptaculo inserta.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ALOE retusa acaulis foliis quinquefariis deltoideis. Thunb. Aloe, n. 15. Ait. Kew. 471.
ALOE retusa floribus sessilibus triquetris bilabiatis labio inferiore revoluto. Linn. Sp. Pl. 459.
ALOE africana brevissimo crassissimoque folio, flore viridi. Comm. hort. 2. p. 11. t. 6. Till. pis. 6. t. 5.
Though the flowers of this Aloe have little to recommend them, there is much to admire in the form and structure of its leaves; and this pleasing circumstance attends it, it is perfectly distinct from all the other species: when first introduced, it was no doubt an object of great admiration; Fairchild, the celebrated Gardener of Hoxton, who preceded Miller, had it engraved, with several other succulents, on a plate which is prefixed to Dr. Blair's Botanic Essays, and which he described to the Doctor, betwixt whom and Mr. Fairchild there appears to have subsisted a great degree of intimacy: the Essays were printed in 1720.
This species is a native of the Cape, and flowers in June, but not regularly so, increases very fast by offsets: Mr. Aiton makes it as he does all the Aloes indiscriminately, Dry Stove Plants, but it may be kept in a good green-house, taking care to place it in the driest and most airy part, and to guard it at all times from much wet, but more especially in the winter season.
Class and Order.
Pentandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. 5-petala. Nectaria 5 supra germen. Caps. 3. s. 5. coalitæ. Sem. calyptrata.
Specific Character.
DIOSMA serratifolia follis lanceolatis glanduloso-serrulatis, pedunculis axillaribus oppositis subunifloris.
It was in the green-house of Mr. Whitley, Nurseryman at Old Brampton, that we first saw this plant in flower, on the 25th of March 1799; previous to this period it had flowered in the Royal Garden at Kew, and specimens of it had been deposited in the Herbarium of Sir Joseph Banks, under the name of Diosma serratifolia.
It forms a neat pretty shrub, which is rendered more desirable by its early flowering; its blossoms are pure white, set off by Antheræ of a lively purple colour; the whole plant has a strong scent very like that of Pennyroyal, but more powerful.
This shrub is one of the many which have been raised within these few years from Botany-Bay seeds, is a greenhouse plant, of easy culture, blows freely, and is readily increased by cuttings.
Descr. Twigs somewhat angular, reddish purple; Leaves opposite, narrow, on very short footstalks, spreading, slightly truncated at the extremity, finely toothed, a transparent gland in the angle of each tooth, beset on both sides with numerous glands, which project and give to the upper surface a manifest roughness; Flowers from the alæ of the leaves, opposite, on peduncles about one-third of an inch long, usually supporting one, sometimes two flowers; Calyx composed of five leaves which are tinged with red and permanent; Corolla five petals, white, ovato-lanceolate; Stamina filaments five, white, hairy, at first upright, afterwards bending back betwixt the petals; Antheræ before they open purple; Pollen yellow; Nectaries of two kinds, five white, springing up between each filament, and which may perhaps be considered as so many imperfect stamina, they are broader, much smoother, and about one-third of the length of the filaments, terminating in a transparent gland instead of an anthera; five green, forming a kind of calyx to the germen, from the top of which they spring, they consist of five roundish, fleshy, spreading, green leaves, edged with hairs; besides these, there is a glandular ring at the base of the germen; Style white, tapering, very hairy; Stigma simple; Flowers usually dropping off without ripening the seeds.
Class and Order.
Hexandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. erecta, ore patulo, fundo nectarifero. Filam. receptaculo inserta.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ALOE plicatilis subacaulis, foliis linguæformibus lævibus distichis, floribus racemosis pendulis cylindricis. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 470.
ALOE disticha var. ε. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 459.
ALOE plicatilis foliis ensiformibus inermis ancipitibus, floribus laxe spicatis, caule fruticoso. Mill. Dict. ed. 6. 4to.
ALOE africana arborescens montana non spinosa, folio longissimo plicatili, flore rubro. Comm. Hort. 2. p. 5. t. 3.
"The Fan Aloe grows to the height of six or seven feet, with a strong stem, towards the upper part of which are produced two, three, or four heads, composed of long, compressed, pliable leaves, of a sea-green colour, and ending obtusely; these are placed in a double row, lying over each other, with their edges the same way; the flowers are produced in short loose spikes, are of a red colour, and appear at different times of the year." Mill. Dict.
Linnæus originally made this plant a variety of his Aloe disticha, the leaves in their mode of growth are indeed truly distichous, few plants afford a better example of such, but they differ materially from those of the real disticha both in form and colour: Mr. Miller, with great propriety, made a distinct species of it, by the name of plicatilis, or Fan Aloe, which Mr. Aiton has continued; and by the name of Fan Aloe it is very generally known: we may remark, however, that though this term may be justified by the form into which the leaves expand, the folium plicatile of Linnæus is a very different kind of a leaf.
Both the foliage and flowers of this plant are very handsome, in the course of many years it grows to a great size; in the Chelsea Garden there are some fine plants of it, which grew there in the time of Miller, by whom it was cultivated in 1731.
It is native of Africa, requires the same treatment as the other Aloes, and is propagated by dividing and planting its heads.
Class and Order.
Triandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Petala 6. Stylus declinatus. Stigma infundibuliforme hians. Caps. infera polysperma.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ARISTEA cyanea. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 67.
IXIA africana floribus capitatis, spathis laceris. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 51.
MORÆA africana floribus capitatis spathis laceris. Murr. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. p. 93.
IXIA foliis ad radicem nervosis gramineis, floribus ac fructu convolutis. Burm. Afric. 191. t. 70. f. 2.
BERMUDIANA capensis, capitulis lanuginosis. Pet. sicc. 242.
GRAMEN eriophorum africanum flore lanato. Pluk. Mant. 98.
It will be seen, on consulting the synonyms, that this native of the Cape, though introduced to the Kew Garden by Mr. Masson in 1774, was long before known to a considerable number of Botanists, and it is curious to see the different opinions which they entertained of it; we abide by that of Mr. Aiton, who has called it Aristea, from the bearded appearance, we apprehend, of the Spathæ.
It is a small fibrous-rooted plant, rarely exceeding when in bloom the height of six or eight inches, and would be too insignificant for a green-house collection, were not its flowers of a very brilliant blue colour; indeed Miller, who appears evidently to have cultivated it, says, the flowers make little appearance, and so the plant is only kept for the sake of variety. Dict. 4to. ed. 6. Ixia africana.
Mr. Aiton tells us, that it flowers from April to June, yet Mr. Andrews, intent on giving to Messrs. Lee and Kennedy the credit of flowering it first, disregards this information, and is pleased to conjecture that the plant never flowered at Kew, because Mr. Aiton, as he alleges, has not given to it any specific character; not aware that, as a new genus, its parts of fructification are described at the end of the Hort. Kew. and that no specific character is ever given to a plant, where there is only one of a genus, and that for the most obvious reason.
The Aristea is a plant easily propagated by parting its roots, as well as by seeds, will succeed in a small pot, and though a green-house plant, will not be hurt by the moderate heat of the stove, but flower the better for it.
The blossoms do not expand fully unless the sun shines hot on them.
Class and Order.
Pentandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. campanulata, plicata. Stigmata 2. Caps. 2-locularis loculis dispermis.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
CONVOLVULUS Cneorum foliis lanceolatis tomentosis, floribus umbellatis, calycibus hirsutis, caule erecto. Linn. Syst. Veg. 203. Ait. Kew. vol. 1. p. 213.
CONVOLVULUS argenteus umbellatus erectus. Tournef. Inst. 84.
CONVOLVULUS major erectus creticus argenteus. Moris. Hist. 2. p. 11 s. 1. t. 3. f. 1.
CONVOLVULUS saxatilis erectus villosus perennis. Barr. rar. 4. t. 470. Bocc. Mus. 2. p. 79. t. 70.
CNEORUM album folio argenteo molli. Bauh. Pin. 463.
The Convolvulus Cneorum is a native of Spain and the Levant, was cultivated in the Botanic Garden at Chelsea in 1739, and flowers from May to September. Ait. Kew.
In size, habit, &c. this species has some affinity to the Convolvulis linearis, figured pl. 289, but differs from it, and other species usually cultivated with us, in the silky appearance of its foliage, which it is not in the artist's power to imitate, and for the beauty of which, more than that of its flowers, it is very generally kept in collections of green-house plants; its blossoms are nearly white and rarely or never productive of seeds in this country, hence it is increased by cuttings.
It is a hardy green-house plant, requiring a dry rather than a moist regimen.
Class and Order.
Didynamia Angiospermia.
Generic Character.
Caps. bilocularis, truncata, bisulca, apice inæqualiter dehiscens. Cor. ringens, tubulosa campanulata, ventricosa, bisulcato-plicata.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
MAURANDYA semperflorens caule fruticoso scandente, foliis hastatis nervosis. C. G. Orteg. Nov. Pol. Dec. 2. p. 21.
USTERIA. Cavanill. Icon. vol. 2. p. 5. num. 126. t. 116.
The plant whose elegant form is here so happily delineated by the masterly pencil of Mr. Edwards, according to Dr. Ortega, is an inhabitant of Mexico, where its seeds originally were collected by Dr. Martin Sesse, and sent to the royal garden at Madrid, in which the plant produced flowers and seeds in abundance; from thence seeds were obtained by the Marchioness of Bute, about the year 1786, who most kindly communicated them to different persons in the neighbourhood of London, and among others to my most generous benefactor, James Vere, Esq. in whose collection at his villa, Kensington-Gore, by the careful management of his Gardener, William Anderson, it was first brought to flower in this country, anno 1797.
Mons. Cavanille, who resides at Madrid, where he seizes every opportunity of publishing whatever new plants appear there, has figured and described the present one, under the name of Usteria, not aware that Wildenou had previously bestowed that name on a different plant; for this and other reasons[1], Dr. Ortega, in a new work of his above referred to, has changed the term Usteria to that of Maurandya; and, though we cannot cordially coincide with the Doctor in the propriety either of his generic or trivial name, we have adopted them.
This climber rises with a shrubby stalk to the height of many feet, is very prolific in branches, and produces flowers abundantly from July to September, which are succeeded by ripe seed-vessels and seeds.—As the plant is easily propagated by cuttings, as well as by seeds, it will soon become common to our greenhouses, though it is rather better suited to the conservatory; if its blossoms, which have a great affinity to those of the Foxglove, had more colour in them, the plant would be more desirable: at some future period such may probably be obtained from seeds.
[1] Observ. Quandoquidem Usteriæ nomen huic Generi à clar. Cavanilles, qui primus id descripsit, impositum permanere non potest ut pote antea ab illust. Wildenou alii Generi inditum; propterea illud D. Catharinæ Pancratiæ Maurandy, lectissimæ feminæ, D. Augustini Juan, Reg. Botanic. Horti Carthaginensis Professoris uxori, et Botanicorum laborum sociæ, nuncupandum duxi; oblataque opportunitate usus plantam denuo recognovi, et tum Characterem genericum, tum etiam descriptionem specificam ad incudem revocans reformavi.
Class and Order.
Diandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cor. 5-fida. Bacca dicocca. Sem. arillata. Antheræ intra tubum.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
JASMINUM fruticans foliis alternis ternatis simplicibusque ramis angulatis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 56.
JASMINUM fruticans foliis alternis ternatis foliolis obovatis cuneiformibusque obtusis ramis angulatis laciniis calycinis subulatis. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 9.
JASMINUM luteum, vulgo dictum bacciferum. Bauh. Pin. 298.
POLEMONIUM sieu Trifolium fruticans. Shrubby Trefoil. Ger. Herb. p. 1129. f.
The Yellow Jasmine is often planted against walls, pales, &c. as the branches are weak and slender and it will grow to be ten or twelve feet high if thus supported; it may however be planted in shrubbery quarters, to which it is better suited than the White Jasmine. The young shoots are of a fine strong green colour, angular, and a little hairy. The leaves are trifoliate, though sometimes they grow singly. They are placed alternately on the branches, are of a thick consistence, smooth, and of a fine deep green colour. These leaves in well-sheltered places remain until the spring before they fall off, so that this plant may not improperly be planted among the Evergreens, especially as the young shoots are always of a strong green. The flowers are yellow, and do not possess the fragrance of the common Jasmine. They are produced chiefly in June, and the blow is soon over. They are succeeded by berries, which when ripe are black, whence its name of Berry-bearing Jasmine. Although this shrub possesses a certain stiffness, which gives it somewhat the appearance of an artificial flower, yet the fine yellow colour of its blossoms contrasts so well with the rich green of the foliage, that in the flower-pot or bouquet it never fails to have a conspicuous and pleasing effect.
Is a native of the South of Europe and the Levant, was cultivated by Mr. John Gerard, in 1597, and flowers from May to October. Ait. Kew.
Is easily propagated by suckers or layers; as the flowers have no scent, is not so much cultivated as formerly. Miller's Dict.
Class and Order.
Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua.
Generic Character.
Recept. paleaceum. Pappus nullus. Cal. hemisphæricus, subæqualis. Flosculi radii plures quam 5.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ANTHEMIS Pyrethrum caulibus simplicibus unifloris decumbentibus foliis pinnato multifidis. Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 776. Woodville's Medical Botany, p. 286.
CHAMÆMELUM specioso flore, radice longa fervida. Shaw. Afr. 138.
PYRETHRUM flore bellidis. Bauh. Pin. 148.
The Pellitory of Spain is more celebrated as an useful than an ornamental plant, the root which is of a very hot and biting nature being a common application for the cure of the tooth-ach; but, divested of its utility as a medicinal plant, it merits a place in collections on account of the beauty both of its foliage and flowers, the latter are more handsome when in bud than when fully expanded, the underside of the florets being of a fine purple colour, the upper pure white; it is moreover a very rare plant in this country, notwithstanding it was cultivated here so long since as 1570: Parkinson evidently grew it, as he observes that the roots of the cultivated plant, were much larger than those of the wild one; he tells us also, that it was too tender to endure our winters: to the latter cause, as well as to the difficulty of propagating it, for it does not ripen its seeds in this country, we may attribute its present scarcity: Mr. Miller raised this plant in 1732, in a very curious way, from seeds picked out from among raisins.
In its place of growth it is not confined to Spain, but is found in the Levant, Syria, Arabia, and elsewhere; flowers with us from May to July, and may be increased by cuttings of the roots, a mode of propagating by which we sometimes happily succeed with rare and valuable plants when all others fail.
It is a plant not very nice as to the quality of the soil in which it grows, but must have a warm dry situation, will succeed very well in a pot, or it may be planted in the open border; but especial care must be taken to secure it against frost in the winter.
Class and Order.
Gynandria Diandria.
Generic Character.
Cor. 6-petala. Nectarium turbinatum, obliquum reflexum. Caps. infera 1-locularis, 3-valvis, fenestrata.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
EPIDENDRUM ciliare foliis oblongis aveniis, nectarii labio tripartito ciliato: intermedia lineari, cauli bifolio. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 818. Jacq. Amer. pict. p. 110. t. 209.
Of this parasitical tribe the number of species described in the third edition of the Sp. Pl. Linn. 1764, amounts to thirty; in Gmelin's thirteenth edition of the Syst. Nat. Linn. 1791, no less than seventy-five are enumerated, which is a vast accession in so short a period; most of these are natives of hot climates, and on that account require a stove heat in this country; from their nature also they require a situation not to be exactly imitated, they are therefore to be regarded as plants very difficult of culture, and we are not to be surprised that three species only are enumerated in the Hort. Kew.—but, since the publication of that work, many others have been added to the royal collection, and this among the rest.
The rare and singular species here represented, a native of the warmer parts of America, and the West-Indies, flowered with Mr. Whitley, Nurseryman, Old-Brompton, in Feb. 1799, and at irregular periods before that time; he informs me that it is not constant as to the time of its blowing, and that though the plant flowers with him, it never assumes a fine healthy green appearance, he propagates it by dividing its limbs or branches, which often put forth small roots; the plant grows in a pot, in a mixture of loam and peat or bog-earth, and is kept constantly plunged in the tan-pit of the stove.
Class and Order.
Gynandria Triandria.
Generic Character.
Spatha 2-phylla. Petala 6-plana. Caps. 3-locularis infera 3-valvis.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
SISYRINCHIUM gramineum caule ancipiti lato, germinibus glabris.
SISYRINCHIUM angustifolium foliis lineari-gladiolatis, pedunculis longioribus. Mill. Dict.
SISYRINCHIUM cæruleum parvum, gladiato caule, virginianum. Pluk. alm. 348. t. 61. f. 1.
BERMUDIANA graminea, flore minore cæruleo. Dill. Elth. 49. t. 41. f. 49.
GLADIOLUS cæruleus hexapetalus caule etiam gladiato. Banist. virg. 1926.
In a former Number of this Work, we gave a figure of the large variety of Sisyrinch. Bermud. of Linn. regarding it as a distinct species, and naming it iridioides, conformably to Dillenius's specific description; we regret now that we did not continue to it the name of Bermudiana (it being the true Bermudas plant) and which cannot with propriety be applied to the present species, a native of Virginia, far more diminutive, with flowers much smaller, of a paler blue colour, a much hardier plant also, and of more ready growth; it is indeed a truly hardy perennial, adapted to the open border, in which it will grow readily, and produce abundance of flowering stems in June and July; the flowers expand to the sun, and are followed by numerous seed-vessels which ripen their seeds, by which the plant may be increased, or by parting its roots in the autumn. Its stalk affords an excellent example of the caulis anceps. We readily embrace the opportunity here afforded us of correcting an error in regard to the hardiness of the Sisyrinch. iridioides, which we were led into partly by Miller's account, and partly from observing the plant to survive a mild winter in the open ground; we have since found that it is a tender plant, and to be ranked with those of the greenhouse; an additional proof of its being a distinct species from the one here figured, which has long[1] been cultivated in our gardens.
[1] By Mr. Jacob Bobart, in 1693. Ait. Kew.
Class and Order.
Diadelphia Decandria.
Generic Character.
Cal. patens. Cor. carina, utrinque calcari subulato patulo. Legumen lineare.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
INDIGOFERA angustifolia foliis pinnatis linearibus, racemis elongatis, caule fruticoso. Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 678. Mant. 272. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 69.
This small, delicate, and rather elegant species of Indigo, to be found in most collections of greenhouse plants near town, rises with an upright, shrubby stem, to the height of several feet; its leaves, of a lively green colour, are furnished with pinnæ, which are numerous and unusually narrow, whence its name; its flowers, produced on long racemi springing from the sides of the stem or branches, are of a singular dull red colour, and rarely followed by seeds with us.
It is a native of the Cape[1], from whence it was introduced by Mr. Masson, in 1774; flowers from June to October, and is usually increased by cuttings.
There is a description of this species in the Mantiss. Pl. Linn. but we know of no figure of it that has yet been published.
[1] Ait. Kew.
Class and Order.
Icosandria Polygynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 1-phyllus, urceolatus, squarrosus: foliolis coloratis. Cor. calycina. Styli plurimi, stigmati glanduloso. Sem. plurima, caudata, intra calycem succulentum.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
CALYCANTHUS præcox petalis interioribus minutis. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 718. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 220. tab. x.
OBAI s. Robai. Jasminum flore pleno suavi fœtido, fructu turbinato, semine phascoli. Kæmpf. Amæn. exot. p. 878.
The learned and instructive Kæmpfer in his Amæn. Exot. that vast fund of most useful information, gives a figure of this plant, in which it is represented both with flowers and seed-vessels, accompanied with a description and short account of it; from which we learn that it is cultivated in Japan as an ornamental plant, that the flowers are produced in February, before the leaves, that they have the scent of the violet, but become unpleasant on being long smelt to.
Hearing that Lord Coventry was the first who possessed this plant in England, I took the liberty of writing to his Lordship in January 1799, to request some information on this point, as well as some others relative to its culture, &c. On the 13th of the same month, his Lordship had the goodness to send me a beautiful specimen of the plant in bloom, a seedling plant one year old, together with a seed-vessel of the year 1798, and some seeds; in the Earl's letter is the following passage:—"the beauty of the Calycanthus præcox at this moment surpasses all description, it is covered with blossoms from top to bottom, and the fragrance of it may be perceived at the distance of fifty yards from the conservatory."
By his Lordship's direction, I received at the same time from his Gardener, Mr. William Dean, the following information, in answer to my queries:—"My Lord received the plant from China in 1766:—it was planted in a conservatory, is now sixteen feet high, and expands ten feet wide:—bears a succession of flowers from September to March:—the time of its first blowing I cannot precisely ascertain, but believe it to be nearly twenty years back:—it is propagated by layers, cuttings, and seeds, the latter it produces most years at Croome, but I believe at no other place in England:—there are plants of it at Croome six feet high, in a warm situation in the open border, which have stood out several years by being covered with a single mat in severe weather."
Not expecting to receive a plant from Lord Coventry in bloom, our drawing was made from one which flowered with Mr. Whitley, Nurseryman, Old-Brompton, December 22, 1798, and which came originally from Croome, his Lordship having presented most of the Nurserymen about town with plants of it; the blossoms of that from Croome were somewhat larger than those here represented, and the petals were less striped, indeed almost wholly tinged with purple, the leaves also proceeded more from the summit of the stalks and were of a much greener hue, owing no doubt to its being kept in the conservatory, while Mr. Whitley's plant was tacked to the outside of the bottom of the greenhouse.
In the number of its stamina, which is rarely more than five, it does not accord with the character of the class icosandria, nor do the seeds agree with the generic character as described by Linnæus.
Class and Order.
Didynamia Gymnospermia.
Generic Character.
Cor. faux inflata: labium superius fornicatum.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
DRACOCEPHALUM virginianum foliis lineari-lanceolatis serratis, floribus confertis. Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 13. Gmel. p. 915.
DRACOCEPHALUM virginianum floribus spicatis, foliis lanceolatis serratis. Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 543.
DRACOCEPHALUM virginianum floribus spicatis confertis, foliis lineari-lanceolatis serratis. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 317.
This elegant species of Dracocephalum, a native of Virginia, and other parts of North-America, is a hardy herbaceous plant, rising to the height of about two feet, and producing numerous flowers in long spikes, usually arranged on each side of the stalk.
It comes near to the denticulatum already figured, but differs in its superior height, the form of its leaves, the number of its flowers, and many other particulars.
It flowers from July to September, and with me has generally ripened much of its seed, from which it may be easily raised, as also by parting of its roots in spring or autumn; it succeeds best in a moist situation, and its stalks require to be carefully and timely sticked.
Was cultivated as long since as 1683, by Mr. James Sutherland.
Class and Order.
Octandria Monogynia.
Generic Character.
Cal. 4-fidus. Petala 4. Caps. cylindrica infera. Sem. nuda.
Specific Character and Synonyms.
ŒNOTHERA tetraptera foliis lanceolatis, basi pinnatifido-dentatis, capsulis pedicellatis obovatis quadrialatis. Linn. Sp. Pl. edit. Wildenou.
ŒNOTHERA foliis alternis subpinnatis crispis, flore mutabili fructû tetraptero. Cavanill. Icon. t. 3. p. 40. tab. 279.
Of this genus we have already figured six different species; this is another newly discovered one, which, like most of its kind, displays its beauties chiefly in the night. It is the only one, as far as we yet know, that has white blossoms; these, when first expanded, are beautifully so, but in the morning they change to a purple colour, fade, and their place is supplied by a fresh succession. In this remarkable change of colour, it bears some affinity to the Œnothera anomala, which may be considered as strengthening our opinion that the latter plant belongs to this genus rather than to that of Gaura. The Œnothera tetraptera is a native of Mexico, its duration as yet not certainly ascertained, but may be treated as a tender annual; and such plants as do not flower the first year, may be preserved under glasses through the winter. It was raised from seeds sent by Mr. Donn, from Cambridge; but was probably first introduced into this country from seeds sent to the Marchioness of Bute, by Prof. Ortega, of Madrid.
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