Part 2

Of this genus 28 species are enumerated in the _Hortus Kewensis_ of Mr. AITON, 42 in Prof. MURRAY's _ed._ of the _Systema Vegetab._ and 64 in Prof. GMELIN's 13th ed. of _Linn. Syst. Nat._ of the latter number 14 are described with 5 styles, 46 with 3, 2 with 2 styles, and 2 with 1; when the term _monogynum_ was first applied to this species, it was a proper one, there being then only one in that predicament, another having since been discovered it ceases to be so now; some have indeed doubted the propriety of using the word _monogynum_ at all, alleging that in reality there are five styles, which manifestly shew themselves above, though they coalesce below; such is the opinion of my friend, Dr. GWYN; this is a point on which Botanists will think differently.

This elegant native of China, now common in our greenhouses, appears from Mr. MILLER to have been first introduced to this country in 1753, by HUGH, Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND; he tells us, that the plants were raised in his Grace's curious garden at Stanwick, from whence the Apothecaries garden at Chelsea was furnished with it.

Mr. MILLER has given us a minute description of this plant, which he observes is the more valuable, as it continues in flower great part of the year; he observes further, that if planted in a very warm situation, it will live in the open air, but that those plants which stand abroad will not flower in winter, as those do which are removed into shelter in autumn.

It may be propagated by slips from the root, or by layers.

[335]

ONONIS ROTUNDIFOLIA. ROUND-LEAVED REST-HARROW.

_Class and Order._

DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 5-partitus: laciniis linearibus. _Vexillum_ striatum. _Legumen_ turgidum sessile. _Filamenta_ connata absque fissura.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ONONIS _rotundifolia_ fructicosa, foliis ternatis ovatis dentatis, calycibus triphyllo-bracteatis, pendunculis subtrifloris. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 653. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 25._

ONONIS _rotundifolia_ fructicosa, pedunculis trifloris, calycibus triphyllo-bracteatis, foliis ternatis subrotundis. _Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 1010._

CICER sylvestre latifolium triphyllum. _Bauh. Pin. 347._

CICER sylvestre tertium. _Dod. Pempt. 525._

Prof. JACQUIN, and most modern writers on Botany, consider the _Ononis_ here figured, as the _rotundifolia_ of LINNÆUS; it accords certainly with the figure of _Dodon._ to which that author refers, but is irreconcileable with his description; the leaves for example are neither _parva_, _integerrima_, nor _glabra_, the words by which LINNÆUS describes them; they are indeed evidently serrated in the figure of _Dodon._ which he quotes: by the name of _rotundifolia_, however, this plant is now very generally known in our nurseries, to which its beauty has gained it admission. LOBEL tells us in his _Adversaria_, printed in 1576, that the plant was then growing in the garden of a Mr. MORGAN; as it is not enumerated in Mr. MILLER's Dictionary, ed. 6, 4to,[2] we suspect that it has been lost out of the country and re-introduced.

Baron HALLER informs us, that it is found wild in abundance at the bottom of the Alps in Switzerland; it is found also in other parts of Europe.

It flowers in our open borders from May to July, in which it ripens its seeds, by which it is in general propagated, as also by slips; it grows to about the height of a foot and a half, is very hardy, and easy of culture.

[336]

LOTUS HIRSUTUS. HAIRY BIRD'S-FOOT-TREFOIL.

_Class and Order._

DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA.

_Generic Character._

_Legumen_ cylindricum striatum. _Alæ_ sursum longitudinaliter conniventes. _Cal._ tubulosus.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

LOTUS _hirsutus_ capitulis subrotundis, caule erecto hirto, leguminibus ovatis. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 691. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 93._

LOTUS polyceratos frutescens incana alba, siliquis erectis crassioribus et brevioribus rectis. _Moris. Hist. 2. p. 177. s. 2. t. 18. f. 14._

LOTUS pentaphyllos siliquosus villosus. _Bauh. Pin. 332._

The _Lotus hirsutus_, according to LINNÆUS, is a native of the South of France, Italy, and the East.

In mild winters it will bear the open border with us, but it is more generally kept in the greenhouse, of which indeed it has long had possession, being cultivated, according to Mr. AITON, in 1683, by Mr. JAMES SUTHERLAND.

It flowers from June to August.

Its blossoms are of a white colour, which being contrasted with the redness of the calyx, gives them a pleasing appearance; CASP. BAUH. informs us, that they are purple also.

This shrub will acquire the height of several feet; its flowers are usually succeeded by seed-vessels, which in favourable situations produce perfect seeds, by which the plant is easily propagated, as also by cuttings.

[337]

PRUNELLA GRANDIFLORA. GREAT-FLOWERED SELF-HEAL.

_Class and Order._

DIDYNAMIA GYMNOSPERMIA.

_Generic Character._

_Filamenta_ bifurca; altero apice antherifera. _Stigma_ bifidum.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

PRUNELLA _grandiflora_ foliis omnibus ovato oblongis subserratis, calicis labio superiore profunde trilobo. _Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 13. Gmel. p. 920. Jacq. Fl. Austr. v. 4. t. 377._

PRUNELLA prima. _Clus. Hist._ xlii.

PRUNELLA cærulea magno flore. _Bauh. Pin. 261._

The plant here figured, which we have several years cultivated in our garden at Brompton, without discovering in it the least disposition to vary, is undoubtedly the same as is figured by Prof. JACQUIN, in his _Fl. Austr._ under the name of _grandiflora_; he regards it as a distinct species, and as such it is introduced in Prof. GMELIN's ed. of the _Syst. Nat._ of LINNÆUS: Mr. AITON, in his _Hort. Kew._ following LINNÆUS, makes it a variety of the _vulgaris_, a common English plant, which we have never seen to vary much in the size of its flowers.

Prof. JACQUIN informs us, that it grows wild, mixed with the _laciniata_ (a kindred species with yellowish flowers) on the Alps; it is found also in similar situations in various other parts of Europe.

In July and August, it puts forth its large shewy blossoms, of a fine purple colour.

Such as are partial to hardy herbaceous plants, of ready growth, which are ornamental, take up but little room, and are not apt to entrench on their neighbours, will be induced to add this to their collection.

It is propagated by parting its roots in autumn.

[338]

ALLAMANDA CATHARTICA. WILLOW-LEAV'D ALLAMANDA.

_Class and Order._

PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

Contorta. _Caps._ lenticularis erecta echinata 1-locularis polysperma. _Semina_ bractæata.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ALLAMANDA _cathartica_. _Linn. Mant. p. 214. Suppl. p. 165. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 252. Ait. Kew. V. 3. p. 489._

ORELIA _grandiflora_. _Aubl. Guian. p. 271. t. 106._

This beautiful stove plant (a native of Cayenne and Guiana, where it is said to grow by the sides of rivers) was introduced to this country in 1785, by Baron HAKE[3]; it has since flowered in many of our collections, usually in June and July.

Stem or trunk shrubby, upright, climbing to a considerable height; bark of the old wood pale brown, of the young wood green and smooth; leaves generally growing four together, sometimes only two, and those opposite, sessile, smooth and glossy above, paler green beneath, the midrib on the underside evidently villous, veiny, veins as in _Plumeria_, terminating before they reach the margin, chewed discovering little taste; flowers very large, produced even on young plants, of a fine yellow colour, and somewhat spicy smell, not terminal, but growing from the sides of the branches, sometimes singly, more frequently three or four together, standing on short footstalks; calyx composed of five leaves, lanceolate, smooth, unequal, short compared with the flower; corolla mono-petalous, funnel-shaped, tube nearly cylindrical, limb dilated below and bellying out, on the inside striped with orange-coloured veins, above divided into five segments, which roll over each other before they open, when Open broad, somewhat truncated, one side rounded, the other terminating in a short point; at the base Of the divisions the yellow colour on the inside of the flower becomes nearly white, forming so many spots; the mouth of the tube is perfectly closed with villi converging to a point, and which serve as a covering or species of thatch to five long, pointed, rigid, arrow-shaped antheræ beneath them, which sit on the top of so many ridges, projecting from the inside of the tube, and which just beneath the antheræ are villous; germen nearly round, with a slight ridge on each side of it, surrounded at its base by a greenish glandular substance; style filiform, the length of the tube of the corolla, enlarging as it comes near to the stigma; stigma divisible into three distinct parts, the lowermost of a yellowish hue, in the form of a rim turning downwards, the middle of a dark green colour, secreting honey in considerable quantity; the summit, which perhaps is the true stigma, a short conical point, rising from the centre of the middle part, bifid at top with a furrow running down each side of it; seed-vessels according to the figure in AUBLET, are very large and prickly.

Of this genus, which has a considerable affinity with that of _Vinca_ and _Plumeria_, only one species is described in LINNÆUS's works, and this is usually increased by cuttings.

[339]

ARUM TRILOBATUM. THREE-LOBED ARUM.

_Class and Order._

GYNANDRIA POLYANDRIA.

_Generic Character._

_Spatha_ monophylla cucullata. _Spadix_ supra nudus, inferne femineus, medio stamineus.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ARUM _trilobatum_ acaule, foliis sagittato trilobis, flore sessili. _Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 828. Ait. Kew. V. 3. p. 316. Mill. Icon. t. 52. f. 2._

ARISARUM amboynicum. _Rumph. Amb. 5. p. 320. t. 110. f. 2._

Mr. MILLER in his figure of this plant, to which LINNÆUS refers, has been more happy in his representation than in that of many others; RUMPHIUS' figure and description accord also with our plant, some of his leaves indeed are more perfectly three-lobed than any we have seen here on the living plant and to this variation, he informs us, they are subject.

We learn from Mr. MILLER, that roots of this Arum were brought from Ceylon in the year 1752. It flowers in May and June, and is regarded both by Mr. MILLER and Mr. AITON as a stove plant; we have seen it succeed very well with the treatment of a tender greenhouse plant.

It is one of the least of the tribe; its root is like that of the common Arum, and extremely acrid: but the plant is more particularly distinguished by the rich, brown, velvety appearance of its flowers; the length of its tapering spadix, which on its lower part is full of little cavities, and resembles a piece of metal corroded by long exposure; and by the intolerable stench which the whole of the flower, but more especially the spadix, sends forth.

It is a native of Amboyna, as well as of Ceylon. RUMPHIUS informs us that the roots, sometimes eaten raw by mistake, cause violent inflammations of the mouth and throat, and that they do not lose their acrimony even when boiled.

The plant increases freely by offsets from its roots.

[340]

POLYGALA HEISTERIA. HEATH-LEAVED MILKWORT.

_Class and Order._

DIADELPHIA OCTANDRIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 5-phyllus: foliolis 2 majoribus alæformibus, ante maturitatem seminis coloratis. _Capsula_ obcordata 2-locularis, _Semina_ solitaria.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

POLYGALA _Heisteria_ floribus imberbibus lateralibus, caule arborescente, foliis triquetris mucronato-spinosis. _Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 639. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 6._

SPARTIUM africanum frutescens ericæ folio. _Comm. Hort. 2. p. 193. t. 97._

THYMBRA capensis nepetæ Theophrasti foliis aculeatis flore parvo purpureo. _Pluk. Alm. 366. t. 229. f. 5._

HEISTERIA. _Hort. Cliff._ 352.

After receiving various names, this plant has been finally placed by LINNÆUS among the Milkworts; it retains the trivial name of _Heisteria_, instead of the generic one previously bestowed on it, in honour of Prof. HEISTER, the celebrated German Surgeon.

In Holland it appears to have been long since known; but was a stranger here, till introduced from the Cape, by Mr. MASSON, in 1787. _Ait. Kew._

In the course of a few years it becomes a shrub of considerable size, equalling a small furze bush, to which, in its habit, it bears a distant resemblance; and furze-leaved, in our humble opinion, would have been a more expressive name than heath-leaved, which Mr. AITON has given it in accordance with COMMELIN's idea.

The purple of the flowers is brilliant in the extreme, and as those are plentifully produced almost the year through, it has very generally obtained a place in collections of greenhouse plants about London.

It is commonly increased by cuttings, but not easily.

[341]

SCILLA AMÆNA. BYZANTINE SQUILL.

_Class and Order._

HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cor._ 6-petala patens, decidua. _Filamenta_ filiformia.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

SCILLA _amæna_ floribus lateralibus alternis subnutantibus, scapo angulato. _Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 328. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 444. Jacq. Fl. Austr. v. 3. t. 218._

HYACINTHUS stellaris cæruleus amænus. _Bauh. Pin. 46._

HYACINTHUS stellaris Bizantinus. _Hort. Eyst. Vern. 2d. ord. fol. 13._

HYACINTHUS stellatus Byzantinus alter sive flore Boraginis. The other Starry Jacinth of Constantinople. _Park. Parad. p. 128. t. 131. f. 4._

HYACINTHUS stellaris, caulibus pluribus ex eodum bulbo ortis singulis pluribus floribus oneratis. _Moris. Hist. 2. p. 374. s. 4. t. 12. f. 17._

The _Scilla amæna_, a hardy bulbous plant of small growth, is a native of the Levant, and has long been cultivated in this country for ornament, being introduced about the year 1600, by ED. Lord ZOUCH, (vid. _Park. Parad. & Lobel. Avers._); when it grows luxuriantly, many flowering stems will spring from the same root, which, when the plant is in flower, are altogether upright; as the seed-vessels advance in size and weight, they bend down, the blossoms are violet-colored, and the germen in the centre of each is distinguished for the paleness of its colour, a character which did not escape the observation of PARKINSON.

It flowers early in May, and, in favourable situations, ripens its seeds in the beginning of June.

Is usually increased by offsets, which are produced in tolerable abundance; will grow in almost any soil or situation; but will succeed best if planted in a sandy loam, and a warm sheltered part of the garden.

Its seeds are of a pale amber colour, and drop soon.

Though Professor JACQUIN figures it in his _Fl. Austriaca_, he suspects that it had originally been introduced from Constantinople.

[342]

ERICA PERSOLUTA. BLUSH-FLOWERED HEATH.

_Class and Order._

OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 4-phyllus. _Cor._ 4-fida. _Filamenta_ receptaculo inserta. _Antheræ_ bifidæ. _Caps._ 4-locularis.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ERICA _persoluta_ antheris aristatis inclusis, corollis campanulatis, calycibus ciliatis, foliis quaternis. _Linn. Mant. p. 230.Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 17._

ERICA _subdivaricata_. _Berg. Cap. 114._

ERICA _persoluta_ aristata foliis ternis quaternisque trigonis glabris, floribus umbellatis, calice ciliato. _Thunb. Prod. Pl. Cap. p. 73._

The different species and varieties of the African Heaths are now become so numerous, that there is scarcely any period of the year in which some of them may not be found to delight the eye with their blossoms: the _persoluta_ here figured is one of those which flower early in the spring; through the months of March, April and May, its branches are loaded with a profusion of bright purple flowers, which, joined to the lively verdure of its foliage, places it among the most desirable of the tribe.

If suffered to grow, it will form a shrub of considerable height: there is a variety of it, called _alba_, whose flowers are nearly white, yet not wholly divested of a red tinge; to this variety the term blush-coloured, which Mr. AITON has given to the species, seems most applicable.

This heath was introduced, from the Cape, by Mr. MASSON, in 1774. _Ait. Kew._

It is increased without much difficulty from cuttings, and is more easily preserved than many of the others.

[343]

ANTHOLYZA CUNONIA. SCARLET-FLOWERED ANTHOLYZA.

_Class and Order._

TRIANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cor._ tubulosa irregularis recurvata. _Caps._ infera.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ANTHOLYZA _Cunonia_ corollis rectis, labii quinquepartiti lobis duobus externis latioribus adscendentibus. _Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3 p. 54. Ait. Kew. v. 1 p. 66._

ANTHOLYZA _Cunonia_ corollis subpapilionaceis: labii lobis duobus externis latioribus adscendentibus. _Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 87._

ANTHOLYZA _Cunonia_ foliis ensiformibus glabris striatis, spica oblonga disticha. _Thunb. Prod. Pl. Cap. p. 7._

CUNONIA floribus sessilibus spathis maximis. _Butt. cun. 211. t. 1._

CUNONIA _Antholyza_. _Mill. Dict._

Amidst that variety of tender bulbous plants which the Cape affords, there are none whose flowers can boast a richer scarlet, than the _Antholyza_ here figured; in their form also, there is a great singularity, and in their mode of growth much elegance; to us indeed it is matter of surprise that this plant should not be more generally cultivated, especially as its culture is attended with so little trouble: Mr. MILLER, who grew it in 1756, has minutely described it in his Dictionary; he informs us, that it is easily propagated by offsets, or raised from seeds; the latter, as the plant flowers in April and May, ripen about the middle of June, and should be sown about the middle of August; the plant with the pot in which it has grown, after it has ripened its seeds, should be set by the shed or some dry place, and in the autumn the largest roots should be selected, and three of them planted in a pot of a moderate size, keeping them in an open frame till the approach of winter, when they are to be removed into the house with other greenhouse plants.

This species is found wild in Persia as well as at the Cape.

[344]

ASPALATHUS PENDUNCULATA. SMALL-LEAVED ASPALATHUS.

_Class and Order._

DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 5-fidus: lacinia superiore majore. _Legumen_ ovatum muticum subdispermum.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ASPALATHUS _pendunculata_ foliis fasciculatis subulatis glabris, pedunculis filiformibus folio duplo longioribus. _L'Herit. Sert. Angl. t. 26. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 16._

Of the five species of Aspalathus enumerated in the _Hortus Kewensis_, four are natives of the Cape; of those, three have been introduced by Mr. MASSON: the _albens_ and _candicans_ in 1774, the present species in 1775.

This is one of the plants figured by Mons. L'HERITIER, in a work of his, entitled _Sertum Anglicum_, containing new species observed by him during his excursion to this country a few years since, most of which flowered in the royal garden at Kew.

It will grow to the height of several feet, produces abundance of blossoms, which open during most of the summer months, and is propagated by cuttings.

[345]

POLYGALA BRACTEOLATA. SPEAR-LEAVED MILKWORT.

_Class and Order._

DIADELPHIA OCTANDRIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 5-phyllus: foliolis alæformibus coloratis. _Legumen_ obcordatum biloculare.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

POLYGALA _bracteolata_ floribus cristatis racemosis, bractæis triphyllis, foliis lineari-lanceolatis, caule fruticoso. _Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 638. Berg. Cap. 182. Buxb. Cent. 3. p. 4. t. 71. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 4._

To the vast number or ornamental plants introduced from the Cape of Good Hope by Mr. MASSON, we here add another, imported in 1787; when Mr. AITON published his _Hortus Kewensis_, it most probably had not flowered with him, as he does not notice its particular time of blowing: we now see it in most of the Nurserymen's collections of greenhouse plants, flowering from May to July. It is a plant of great singularity and beauty, the purple of its flowers is brilliant in the extreme.

It is increased by cuttings.

[346]

PROTEA MELLIFERA. HONEY-BEARING PROTEA.

_Class and Order._

TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cor._ 4-petala: interdum basi vel apice coherentibus. _Antheræ_ lineares vel oblongæ petalis infra apicem insertæ. _Cal._ propius 0. _Nux_ supera, 1-locularis, evalvis.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

PROTEA _mellifera_ foliis lanceolato-ellipticis capituloque terminali oblongo glabris. _Thunb. Prot. n. 37. Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 139. Ait. Kew. vol. 1. p. 127._

LEUCADENDRON repens foliis lanceolatis, floribus oblongis, calycum squamis glabris. _Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 135._

LEPIDOCARPODENDRON foliis angustis brevioribus salignis, calycis squamis elegantissimi ex roseo aureo albo atro rubro variegatis, florum plumis albis. _Boerh. Lugd. 2. p. 187._

To a magnificent appearance, the blossom of the Protea joins a structure extremely curious and interesting; but, at the same time, difficult to be understood by students, who are apt to consider the whole as one great simple flower, while in reality it is composed of a number of florets enclosed within a common calyx formed of numerous leaves or scales placed one over the other, and sitting on one common receptacle, being in fact what Botanists term an aggregate flower, approaching indeed near to a compound one, there being in the structure and union of the antheræ a considerable similarity to those of the Syngenesia class, much more so than in the flowers of Plantain, Scabious, Teasel, and others.

The florets of the present species correspond extremely well with the character of the genus Leucadendron in the sixth edition of the _Genera Pl._ of LINNÆUS, but not with that of Protea, as given in the _Hort. Kew._ and _Gmel. ed. Linn. Syst. Nat._ to which it is now united; the corolla being most evidently composed of two (not four) petals, the largest of these is trifid at top, each segment of it, as well as the summit of the smaller petal, terminates in a twisted kind of plume, not peculiar to this species; of the antheræ, which are long, linear, and form a kind of cylinder, three are attached to the largest petal, the fourth (which appears to be less perfect than the others) to the smaller petal; the germen is enveloped with numerous orange-coloured hairs, having the gloss of the richest sattin; the antheræ terminate in small appendages of a brown colour.

This magnificent shrub, a principal ornament of the Cape-House at Kew, is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, from whence it was introduced by Mr. MASSON, in 1774 (_Ait. Kew._); it flowers chiefly in the Spring, and often during the Summer; is propagated principally by layers.

Our drawing was made from a plant raised from Cape seeds, which flowered this season, among a number of others equally curious, in the collection of Mr. BARR, Nurseryman and Florist, near Ball's-Turnpike, Kingsland.

[347]

OENOTHERA ROSEA. ROSE-COLOURED OENOTHERA.

_Class and Order._

OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 4-fidus. _Petala_ 4. _Caps._ cylindrica infera. _Sem._ nuda.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

OENOTHERA _rosea_ foliis ovatis dentatis, inferioribus lyratis: capsulis clavatis. _Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 3._