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.