Chapter 8

LYCIUM BARBARUM.--Box Thorn, or Tea Tree. North Asia, 1696. A pretty lax, trailing shrub, with long, slender, flexible twigs, small linear-lanceolate leaves, and rather sparsely-produced lilac or violet flowers. Planted against a wall, or beside a stout-growing, open-habited shrub, where the peculiarly lithe branches can find support, this plant does best. Probably nowhere is the Box Thorn so much at home as in seaside places, it then attaining to sometimes 12 feet in height, and bearing freely its showy flowers during summer, and the bright scarlet or orange berries in winter.

L. EUROPAEUM.--European Box Thorn. South Europe, 1730. This is a spiny, rambling shrub, that may often be seen clambering over some cottage porch, or used as a fence or wall plant in many parts of England. It often grows nearly 20 feet long, and is then a plant of great beauty, with linear-spathulate leaves of the freshest green, and pretty little pink or reddish flowers. For quickly covering steep, dry banks and mounds where few other plants could exist this European Box Thorn is invaluable. Either species will grow in very poor, dry soil, and is readily propagated by means of cuttings.

LYONIA.

LYONIA PANICULATA (_syns L. ligustrina, Andromeda globulifera, A. pilifera_, and _Menziesia globularis_).--North America, 1806. This species grows about a yard high, with clustered, ovate leaves, and pretty, pinky, drooping flowers.

MACLURA.

MACLURA AURANTIACA.--Osage Orange, or Bow-wood. North America, 1818. This is a wide-spreading tree with deciduous foliage, and armed with spines along the branches. The leaves are three inches long, ovate and pointed, and of a bright shining green. Flowers rather inconspicuous, being green with a light tinge of yellow, and succeeded by fruit bearing a resemblance when ripe to the Seville orange. It is hardy, and grows freely in rather sandy or gravelly soil.

MAGNOLIA.

MAGNOLIA ACUMINATA.--Cucumber Tree. North America, 1736. This is a large and handsome species, of often as much as 50 feet in height, and with a head that is bushy in proportion. The leaves are 6 inches long, ovate and pointed, and of a refreshing shade of green. Flowers greenish-yellow, sweetly scented, and produced abundantly all over the tree. They are succeeded by small, roughish fruit, resembling an infant cucumber, but they usually fall off before becoming ripe.

M. CAMPBELII.--Sikkim, 1868. This is a magnificent Indian species, but, unfortunately, it is not hardy except in the favoured English and Irish localities. The leaves are large, and silky on the undersides, while the flowers are crimson and white, and equally as large as those of the better-known M. grandiflora.

M. CONSPICUA (_syn M. Yulan_).--Yulan. China, 1789. A large-growing shrub, with Pea-green, deciduous foliage, and large, pure white flowers that oft get damaged by the spring frosts. M. conspicua Soulangeana is a supposed hybrid between M. conspicua and M. obovata. Whatever may be the origin of this Magnolia, it is certainly a handsome and showy plant of very vigorous growth, producing freely its white, purple-tinted flowers, and which last for a long time in perfection. There are several other varieties, including M. conspicua Soulangeana nigra, with dark purplish flowers; M. conspicua Alexandrina, M. conspicua Soulangeana speciosa, and M. conspicua Norbertii.

M. CORDATA, a native of the Southern Alleghanies (1801), is still rare in collections. It is a small-growing, deciduous species, with yellow flowers, that are neither scented nor showy.

M. FRASERI (_syn M. auriculata_).--Long-leaved Cucumber Tree. North America, 1786. This species has distinctly auriculated leaves and large, yellowish-white, fragrant flowers.

M. GLAUCA.--Laurel Magnolia. North America, 1688. This is one of the commonest species in our gardens, and at the same time one of the hardiest. It is of shrub size, with Laurel-like leaves, and sweetly-scented, small, pure white flowers, produced about the end of June.

M. GRANDIFLORA.--North America, 1737. One of the handsomest species, with very large, glossy, evergreen leaves, and deliciously odoriferous, creamy-white flowers, that are often fully 6 inches across. It is usually seen as a wall plant, and the slight protection thus afforded is almost a necessity in so far as the development of the foliage and flowers is concerned. M. grandiflora exoniensis (Exmouth Magnolia) is a very handsome form.

M. LENNEI.--This is a garden hybrid between M. conspicua and M. obovata discolor, and has flowers as large as a goose's egg, of a rosy-purple colour, and produced profusely.

M. MACROPHYLLA.--North America, 1800. This species has very large leaves and flowers, larger, perhaps, than those of any other species. They are very showy, being white with a purple centre. It attains a height of 30 feet.

M. OBOVATA DISCOLOR (_syn M. purpurea_).--Japan, 1790. This is a small-growing, deciduous shrub, with large, dark green leaves, and Tulip-shaped flowers, that are purple on the outside and almost white within.

M. PARVIFLORA, from Japan, with creamy-white, fragrant flowers, that are globular in shape, is a very distinct and attractive species, but cannot generally be relied upon as hardy.

M. STELLATA (_syn M. Halleana_).--Japan, 1878. A neat, small-growing, Japanese species, of bushy habit, and quite hardy in this country. The small, white, fragrant flowers are produced abundantly, even on young plants, and as early as April. One of the most desirable and handsome of the small-growing species. M. stellata (pink variety) received an Award of Merit at the meeting of the Royal Horticultural Society on March 28, 1893. This bids fair to be really a good thing, and may best be described as a pink-flowered form of the now well-known and popular species.

M. UMBRELLA (_syn M. tripetala_).--Umbrella Tree. North America, 1752. A noble species, with large, deep green leaves, that are often 16 inches long. It is quite hardy around London, and produces its large, white, fragrant flowers in succession during May and June. The fruit is large and showy, and of a deep purplish-red colour.

MEDICAGO.

MEDICAGO ARBOREA.--South Europe, 1596. This species grows to the height of 6 feet or 8 feet, and produces its Pea-shaped flowers from June onwards. The leaves are broadly oval and serrated at the tips, but they vary in this respect. It is not hardy unless in warm, sheltered corners of southern England and Ireland, although it stood unharmed for many years at Kew. It succeeds best, and is less apt to receive injury, when planted in rather dry and warm soil.

MENISPERMUM.

MENISPERMUM CANADENSE.--Moonseed. North America, 1691. This shrub is principally remarkable for the large, reniform, peltate leaves, which are of value for covering pergolas, bowers and walls. The flowers are of no great account, being rather inconspicuous and paniculate. It is hardy in most places, and is worthy of culture for its graceful habit and handsome foliage.

MICROGLOSSA.

MICROGLOSSA ALBESCENS (_syn Aster albescens_ and _A. cabulicus_).--Himalayas, 1842. This member of the Compositae family is a much-branched shrub, with grayish lanceolate foliage, and clusters of flowers about 6 inches in diameter, and of a bluish or mauve colour. It is a native of Nepaul, and, with the protection of a wall, perfectly hardy around London.

MITCHELLA.

MITCHELLA REPENS.--Partridge Berry. North America, 1761. A low-growing, creeping plant, having oval, persistent leaves, white flowers, and brilliant scarlet fruit. It is a neat little bog plant, resembling Fuchsia procumbens in habit, and with bunches of the brightest Cotoneaster-like fruit. For rock gardening, or planting on the margins of beds in light, peaty soil, this is one of the handsomest and most beautiful of hardy creeping shrubs.

MITRARIA.

MITRARIA COCCINEA.--Scarlet Mitre Pod. Chiloe, 1848. This is only hardy in the South of England and Ireland, and even there it requires wall protection. It is a pretty little shrub, with long, slender shoots, which, during the early part of the summer, are studded with the bright red, drooping blossoms, which are urn-shaped, and often nearly 2 inches long. It delights in damp, lumpy, peat.

MYRICA.

MYRICA ASPLENIFOLIA (_syn Comptonia asplenifolia_).--Sweet Fern. North America, 1714. A North American plant of somewhat straggling growth, growing to about 4 feet high, and with linear, pinnatified, sweet-smelling leaves. The flowers are of no decorative value, being small and inconspicuous, but for the fragrant leaves alone the shrub will always be prized. It grows well in peaty soil, is very hardy, and may be increased by means of offsets. This shrub is nearly allied to our native Myrica or Sweet Gale.

M. CALIFORNICA.--Californian Wax Myrtle. California, 1848. In this we have a valuable evergreen shrub that is hardy beyond a doubt, and that will thrive in the very poorest classes of soils. In appearance it somewhat resembles our native plant, but is preferable to it on account of the deep green, persistent leaves. The leaves are about 3 inches long, narrow, and produced in tufts along the branches. Unlike our native species, the Californian Wax Myrtle has no pleasant aroma to the leaves.

M. CERIFERA.--Common Candle-berry Myrtle. Canada, 1699. This is a neat little shrub, usually about 4 feet high, with oblong-lanceolate leaves, and inconspicuous catkins.

M. GALE.--Sweet Gale or Bog Myrtle. This has inconspicuous flowers, and is included here on account of the deliciously fragrant foliage, and which makes it a favourite with cultivators generally. It is a native shrub, growing from 3 feet to 4 feet high, with deciduous, linear-lanceolate leaves, and clustered catkins appearing before the leaves. A moor or bog plant, and of great value for planting by the pond or lake side, or along with the so-called American plants, for the aroma given off by the foliage.

The Myricas are all worthy of cultivation, although the flowers are inconspicuous--their neat and in most cases fragrant foliage, and adaptability to poor soil or swampy hollows, being extra recommendations.

MYRTUS.

MYRTUS COMMUNIS.--Common Myrtle. South Europe, 1597. A well-known shrub, which, unless in very favoured spots and by the sea-side, cannot survive our winters. Where it does well, and then only as a wall plant, this and its varieties are charming shrubs with neat foliage and an abundance of showy flowers. The double-flowered varieties are very handsome, but they are more suitable for glass culture than planting in the open.

M. LUMA (_syn Eugenia apiculata_ and _E. Luma_).--Chili. Though sometimes seen growing out of doors, this is not to be recommended for general planting, it being best suited for greenhouse culture.

M. UGNI (_syn Eugenia Ugni_).--Valdivia, 1845. A small-growing, Myrtle-like shrub, that is only hardy in favoured parts of the country. It is of branching habit, with small, wiry stems, oval, coriacious leaves, and pretty pinky flowers. The edible fruit is highly ornamental, being of a pleasing ruddy tinge tinted with white. This dwarf-growing shrub wants the protection of a wall, and when so situated in warm seaside parts of the country soon forms a bush of neat and pleasing appearance.

NEILLIA.

NEILLIA OPULIFOLIA (_syn Spiraea opulifolia_).--Nine Bark. North America, 1690. A hardy shrub, nearly allied to Spiraea. It produces a profusion of umbel-like corymbs of pretty white flowers, that are succeeded by curious swollen membraneous purplish fruit. N. opulifolia aurea is worthy of culture, it being of free growth and distinct from the parent plant.

N. THYRSIFLORA, Nepaul, 1850, would seem to be quite as hardy as N. opulifolia, and is of more evergreen habit. The leaves are doubly serrated and three lobed, and cordate-ovate. Flowers white in spicate, thyrsoid racemes, and produced rather sparsely.

NESAEA.

NESAEA SALICIFOLIA (_syn Heimia salicifolia_).--Mexico, 1821. This can only be styled as half hardy, but with wall protection it forms a pretty bush often fully a yard in height. The leaves resemble those of some species of Willow, being long and narrow, while the showy yellow flowers are freely produced in August and September. It thrives best when planted in light, dry soil, and in a sheltered position.

NEVIUSA.

NEVIUSA ALABAMENSIS.--Alabama Snow Wreath. Alabama, 1879. This is a rare American shrub, with leaves reminding one of those of the Nine Bark, Neillia opulifolia, and the flowers, which are freely produced along the full length of the shoots, are white or yellowish-green, with prominent stamens of a tufted brush-like character. It is usually treated as a green-house plant, but may be seen growing and flowering freely in the open ground at Kew.

NUTTALLIA.

NUTTALLIA CERASIFORMIS.--Osoberry. California, 1848. This shrub is of great value on account of the flowers being produced in the early weeks of the year, and when flowers are few and far between. It grows from 6 feet to 10 feet high, with a thick, twiggy head, and drooping racemes of white flowers borne thickly all over the plant. Few soils come amiss to this neglected shrub, it growing and flowering freely even on poor gravelly clay, and where only a limited number of shrubs could succeed.

OLEARIA.

OLEARIA HAASTII.--New Zealand, 1872. This Composite shrub is only hardy in the milder parts of England and Ireland. It is of stiff, dwarf growth, rarely growing more than 4 feet high, but of neat and compact habit. Flowering as it does in late summer it is rendered of special value, the Daisy-like white blossoms being produced in large and flat clusters at the branch tips. The leaves are neat and of leathery texture, and being evergreen lend an additional charm to the shrub.

O. MACRODONTA (_syn O. dentata_), from New Zealand, 1886, is tolerably hardy, and may be seen in good form both at Kew and in the South of Ireland. The large Holly-like leaves are of a peculiar silvery-green tint above, and almost white on the under sides. Flowers white, and produced in dense heads in June and July.

O. Forsterii and O. Gunniana (_syn Eurybia Gunniana_) are nearly hardy species, the latter, from New Zealand, bearing a profusion of white Daisy-like flowers on dense, twiggy branches.

ONONIS.

ONONIS ARVENSIS.--Restharrow. A native undershrub of very variable size, according to the position in which it is found growing. It creeps along the ground, the shoots sending out roots as they proceed, and is usually found on dry sandy banks. The flowers when at their best are very ornamental, being bright pink, and with the standard streaked with a deeper shade. They are abundantly produced, and render the plant very conspicuous during the summer and autumn months. When planted on an old wall, and allowed to roam at will, the Restharrow is, perhaps, seen to best advantage.

OSMANTHUS.

OSMANTHUS AQUIFOLIUM ILLICIFOLIUS.--Holly-leaved Osmanthus. Japan. This is a handsome evergreen shrub, with Holly-like leaves, and not very conspicuous greenish-white flowers. It is a very desirable shrub, of which there are varieties named O.A. ilicifolius argenteo-variegatus, O.A. ilicifolius aureo-variegatus, and O.A. ilicifolius nanus, the names of which will be sufficient to define their characters.

O.A. ILICIFOLIUS MYRTIFOLIUS.--Myrtle-leaved Osmanthus. A very distinct and beautiful shrub, with unarmed leaves. It is of dwarf, compact growth, with small, sharply-pointed leaves, and inconspicuous flowers. For the front line of a shrubbery this is an invaluable shrub, its pretty leaves and neat twiggy habit making it a favourite with planters. The variety rotundifolius is seldom seen in cultivation, but being distinct in foliage from any of the others is to be recommended. They grow freely in any good garden soil, but all the better if a little peat is added at the time of planting.

OSTRYA.

OSTRYA CARPINIFOLIA (_syn O. vulgaris_).--Common Hop Hornbeam. South Europe, 1724. A much-branched, round-headed tree, with cordate-ovate, acuminate leaves. Both this and the following species, by reason of the resemblance between their female catkins and those of the Hop, and between their leaves and those of the Hornbeam, have acquired the very descriptive name of Hop Hornbeam. This is a large-growing tree, specimens in various parts of the country ranging in height from 50 feet to 60 feet.

O. VIRGINICA.--Virginian Hop Hornbeam. Eastern United States, 1692. Resembles the latter, but is of smaller growth, rarely exceeding 40 feet in height. They grow fairly well in almost any class of soil, and on account of the long and showy catkins are well worthy of cultivation.

OXYDENDRUM.

OXYDENDRUM ARBOREUM (_syn Andromeda arborea_).--Sorrel-tree. Eastern United States, 1752. Unfortunately this species is not often found under cultivation, being unsuitable generally for our climate. In some instances, however, it has done well, a specimen in the Knap Hill Nursery, Surrey, being 30 feet high, and with a dense rounded head. The flowers are very beautiful, being of a waxy white, and produced abundantly. It wants a free rich soil, and not too exposed site.

OZOTHAMNUS.

OZOTHAMNUS ROSMARINIFOLIUS.--Australia, 1827. A pretty little Australian Composite, forming a dense, twiggy shrub, with narrow, Rosemary-like leaves, and small, whitish, Aster-like flowers which resemble those of its near relative, the Olearia, and are produced so thickly that the plant looks like a sheet of white when the blooms are fully developed. It flowers in June and July. In most parts of the country it will require protection, but can be classed as fairly hardy. Cuttings root freely if placed in sandy soil in a cool frame.

PAEONIA.

PAEONIA MOUTAN.--Moutan Paeony, or Chinese Tree Paeony. China and Japan, 1789. A beautiful shrubby species introduced from China about one hundred years ago. The first of the kind introduced to England had single flowers, and the plant is figured in Andrews' _Botanists' Repository_ (tab. 463) under the name of P. papaveracea. The flowers are white with a dark red centre. In the _Botanical Magazine_ (tab. 2175), the same plant is figured under the name of P. Moutan var. papaveracea. This is perfectly hardy in our gardens, and is the parent of many beautiful and distinct varieties, including double and single white, pink, crimson, purple, and striped.

PALIURUS.

PALIURUS ACULEATUS (_syn P. australis_).--Christ's Thorn, or Garden Thorn. Mediterranean region, 1596. A densely-branched, spiny shrub, with small leaves, and not very showy, yellowish-green flowers. It grows and flowers freely enough in light, peaty earth, but is not very hardy, the tips of the branches being usually killed back should the winter be at all severe.

PARROTIA.

PARROTIA PERSICA.--Persia, 1848. Well known for the lovely autumnal tints displayed by the foliage when dying off. But for the flowers, too, it is well worthy of culture, the crimson-tipped stamens of the male flowers being singularly beautiful and uncommon. In February it is no unusual sight to see on well-established plants whole branches that are profusely furnished with these showy flowers. For planting in a warm corner of a rather dry border it seems to be well suited; but it is perfectly hardy and free of growth when suited with soil and site. It is as yet rare in cultivation, but is sure, when better known and more widely disseminated, to become a general favourite with lovers of hardy shrubs.

PASSIFLORA.

PASSIFLORA CAERULEA.--Passion Flower. Brazil and Peru, 1699. Though not perfectly hardy, yet this handsome climbing plant, if cut down to the ground, usually shoots up freely again in the spring. The flowers, which are produced very freely, but particularly in maritime districts, vary from white to blue, and the prettily-fringed corona and centre of the flower render the whole peculiarly interesting and beautiful. P. caerulea Constance Elliott has greenish-white flowers; and P. caerulea Colvillei has white sepals and a blue fringe. The latter is of more robust growth, and more floriferous than the species.

PAULOWNIA.

PAULOWNIA IMPERIALIS.--Japan, 1840. This is a handsome, fast-growing tree, and one that is particularly valuable for its ample foliage, and distinct and showy flowers. Though perfectly hardy, in other respects it is unfortunate that the season at which the Paulownia flowers is so early that, unless the conditions are unusually favourable, the flower buds get destroyed by the frost. The tree grows to fully 40 feet high in this country, and is a grandly decorative object in its foliage alone, and for which, should the flowers never be produced, it is well worthy of cultivation. They are ovate-cordate, thickly covered with a grayish woolly tomentum, and often measure, but particularly in young and healthy trees, as much as 10 inches in length. The Foxglove-like flowers are purplish-violet and spotted, and borne in terminal panicles. They are sweetly-scented. When favourably situated, and in cool, sandy loam or peaty earth, the growth of the tree is very rapid, and when a tree has been cut over, the shoots sent out often exceed 6 feet in length in one season, and nearly 2 inches in diameter. There are many fine old trees throughout the country, and which testify to the general hardihood of the Paulownia.

PERIPLOCA.

PERIPLOCA GRAECA.--Poison Vine. South Eastern Europe, and Orient, 1597. A tall, climbing shrub, with small, ovate-lanceolate leaves, and clusters of curious purplish-brown, green-tipped flowers produced in summer. The long, incurved appendages, in the shape of a crown, and placed so as to protect the style and anthers, render the flowers of peculiar interest. Though often used as a greenhouse plant, it is perfectly hardy, and makes a neat, deciduous wall or arch covering, thriving to perfection in rich soil that is well-drained. It is readily propagated from cuttings.

PERNETTYA.

PERNETTYA MUCRONATA (_syn Arbutus mucronata_).--Prickly Heath. Magellan, 1828. This is a dwarf-growing, wiry shrub, with narrow, stiff leaves, and bears an abundance of white, bell-shaped flowers. It is a capital wind screen, and may be used to advantage on the exposed side of rockwork or flower beds, or as an ornamental shrub by the pond or lake side. The small dark-green leaves, the tiny white flowers, and great abundance of deep purple berries in winter, are all points that are in favour of the shrub for extended cultivation. The pretty, pinky shoots, too, help to make the plant attractive even in mid-winter. Propagation by layers or seed is readily brought about. To grow this shrub to perfection, peaty soil or decayed vegetable matter will be found most suitable. There is a narrow-leaved form named P. mucronata angustifolia, and another on which the name of P. mucronata speciosa has been bestowed.

There are many beautiful-berried forms of the Pernettya, but as their flowers are small can hardly be included in our list.

PHILADELPHUS.

PHILADELPHUS CORONARIUS.--Mock Orange, or Syringa. South Europe, 1596. A well-known and valuable garden shrub, of from 6 feet to 10 feet high, with ovate and serrulated leaves, and pretty racemes of white or yellowish-white, fragrant flowers. P. coronarius aureo-variegatus is one of the numerous forms of this shrub, having brightly-tinted, golden foliage, but the flowers are in no way superior to those of the parent. It is, if only for the foliage, an extremely pretty and distinct variety. P. coronarius argenteo-variegatus has silvery-tinted leaves; P. coronarius flore-pleno, full double flowers; and P. coronarius Keteleeri flore-pleno is the best double-flowered form in cultivation.

P. GORDONIANUS, an American species (1839), is a well-known and beautiful shrub, in which the flowers are usually double the size of those of the common species, and which are not produced till July, while those of P. coronarius appear in early May.