Part 3

"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._

[455]

Aloe Retusa. Cushion Aloe.

_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.

[456]

Diosma Serratifolia. Serrated or Saw-Leaved Diosma.

_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.

[457]

Aloe Plicatilis. Fan Aloe.

_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. [Greek: e]. _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.

[458]

Aristea Cyanea. Grass-Leaved Aristea.

_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.

[459]

Convolvulus Cneorum. Silvery-Leaved Bind-Weed.

_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.

[460]

Maurandya Semperflorens. Climbing Maurandya, or Bastard Foxglove.

_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[6], 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.

FOOTNOTE:

[6] 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.

[461]

Jasminum Fruticans. Yellow Jasmine.

_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._

[462]

Anthemis Pyrethrum. Pellitory of Spain.

_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.

[463]

Epidendrum Ciliare. Fringed Epidendrum.

_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.

[464]

Sisyrinchium Gramineum. Grass-Leaved Sisyrinchium.

_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[7] been cultivated in our gardens.

FOOTNOTE:

[7] By Mr. Jacob Bobart, in 1693. _Ait. Kew._

[465]

Indigofera Angustifolia. Narrow-Leaved Indigo.

_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[8], 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.

FOOTNOTE:

[8] _Ait. Kew._

[466]

Calycanthus Præcox. Japan All-Spice.

_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._