1783 by Mons. THOUIN, from Peru.
It has been considered as a greenhouse plant, and a perennial; we find
it to be more hardy than greenhouse plants in general, and scarcely
entitled to the distinction of a perennial.
It may be increased by cuttings and seeds, the latter of which
are plentifully produced. It rarely exceeds a foot in height; its
rose-coloured flowers expand during the whole of the day, and are
produced during most of the Summer months.
To guard against accidental severity of weather, sow its seeds in the
Spring with tender annuals; when the plants have acquired a proper age
and the season is favourable, plant them out singly in the open border.
[348]
CALCEOLARIA FOTHERGILLII. FOTHERGILL'S SLIPPER-WORT.
_Class and Order._
DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Corolla_ ringens inflata. _Capsula_ 2-locularis, 2 valvis.
_Calyx_ 4-partitus æqualis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
CALCEOLARIA _Fothergillii_ foliis spathulatis integerrimis,
pedunculis scapiformibus unifloris. _Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 30.
tab. 1. Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 13. Gmel. p. 39._
[Illustration: _N^o. 348_]
To this species of Calceolaria the trivial name of _Fothergillii_ has
been given in honour of Dr. JOHN FOTHERGILL, who introduced it
in 1777 with several other rare plants from Falkland-Islands, where it
is a native.
In the _Hortus Kewensis_ of Mr. AITON it was first figured,
and minutely described.
This plant of great singularity and beauty particularly merits a place
in the collections of the curious; its principal flowering season is in
May, but it will often blossom much later in the Summer.
It is not to be had in perfection, nor even preserved, without great
attention, joined to a peculiar treatment; several times it has been
nearly lost from this country. Mr. AITON makes it a biennial
greenhouse plant; it, no doubt, is one of those plants which are liable
to be killed in very severe weather, and therefore it is necessary to
keep a pot of it at least, during the Winter, either in the greenhouse
or a well-secured frame; but the plant will be found to succeed best in
the open ground, provided it be planted in bog-earth, in a situation
that is moist and moderately shady; with us it has proved perfectly
perennial.
With care it can be propagated by layers and cuttings, but with most
certainty in the former mode; possibly it may be raised from seeds,
they ripen here, but are as fine as dust.
[349]
SOLANUM LACINIATUM. CUT-LEAV'D NIGHTSHADE.
_Class and Order._
PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Corolla_ rotata. _Antheræ_ subcoalitæ, apice poro gemino
dehiscentes. _Bacca_ 2-locularis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
SOLANUM _laciniatum_ caule fruticoso inermi glaberrimo,
foliis pinnatifidis: laciniis lanceolatis acutis, paniculis
axillaribus binis ternisve. _Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 1. p. 247._
[Illustration: _N^o. 349_]
Mr. AITON in his _Hort. Kew._ mentions this plant as being a
native of New-Zealand, on the authority of Sir JOSEPH BANKS,
and that it was introduced in 1772; he regards it as a stove plant;
it has been since found to be more hardy than he imagined, and not to
require more heat than the greenhouse affords; in the Summer it will
stand abroad, and even ripen its fruit in the open air.
It is a plant of some beauty, but is more remarkable for having its
antheræ separating widely from each other, and thereby losing the
character of a _Solanum_, so far as it depends on that circumstance.
The berries when ripe are of the size of a small plum, and of a
yellowish green hue; their pulp is sweet, in some small degree
resembling that of a fig, whether it be so innocent we do not take on
us to assert.
It flowers during most of the Summer, and is easily increased by
cuttings or seeds.
[350]
ERICA VENTRICOSA. PORCELAIN HEATH.
_Class and Order._
OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Calyx_ 4-phyllus. _Corolla_ 4-fida. _Filamenta_ receptaculo
inserta. _Antheræ_ bifidæ. _Caps._ 4-locularis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
ERICA _ventricosa_ mutica, foliis quaternis trigonis ciliatis,
floribus ventricosis glabris. _Thunb. Prod. Cap. p. 71._
[Illustration: _N^o. 350_]
Of the many new Heaths which have been introduced within these few
years, none have excited greater admiration than the present one; its
blossoms, though they cannot boast the grandeur or richness of colour
so strikingly displayed in the _cerinthoides_, and some others, please
more on a near inspection, they have indeed a delicacy and beauty which
are indescribable; we have given to it the English name of Porcelain
Heath, as the flowers have somewhat the appearance of porcelain, or
enamel.
This species has been introduced from the Cape, since the publication
of the _Hortus Kewensis_; we saw it in blossom many years since, in the
Royal Garden at Kew; several varieties of it have been raised from Cape
seeds by Mr. LODDIGES, Nurseryman, at Hackney, differing in
the hairiness of their leaves, size and colour of their blossoms; but
the best variety we have seen is the one here represented.
In point of form the blossoms resemble those of the _ampullacea_, but
they are not so large, and have no viscidity; the stigma is enclosed
within the mouth of the flower, and the peduncles are usually naked; in
some very luxuriant specimens we have observed a scale or two on them.
It is with Heaths, in some respects, as it is with fruit trees: one
season they will produce blossoms most abundantly, they seem indeed
to overblow themselves, the next few appear; in different years the
blossoms of the same heath will vary also considerably in size. The
_ventricosa_ is a free blower, and will in general produce flowers in
abundance, for two or three months, from June to September.
Those who possess the knack of striking heaths, raise it by cuttings
without much difficulty.
[351]
SAXIFRAGA MUTATA. SAFFRON-COLOUR'D SAXIFRAGE.
_Class and Order._
DECANDRIA DIGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Calyx_ 5-partitus. _Corolla_ 5-petala. _Caps._ 2-rostris
1-locularis polysperma.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
SAXIFRAGA _mutata_ foliis radicalibus aggregatis lingulatis
cartilagineo-serratis, caule racemoso folioso, calyce villoso
et viscido. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 411. Jacq.
Ic. Pl. rar. Fasc. 9._
[Illustration: _N^o. 351_]
LINNÆUS has arranged several distinct species of Saxifrage
under the _Saxyfraga Cotyledon_, but very properly separates this;
though in the general form of its foliage it is as nearly related to
it as most of the others; from four of them it is indeed perfectly
distinct, instead of the sawed cartilaginous edge, it has only fine
soft hairs, more especially towards the base; towards the extremity
there is some appearance of little teeth, but widely differing from
those of the others. The whole plant is covered with viscid hairs; the
stalk about a foot high, is much branched; but the great peculiarity
of this plant consists in its flowers, the petals being long, narrow,
and pointed, and of a saffron colour, of a deeper tint when they first
open, and gradually changing to a pale yellow; the beauty of the
flowers is heightened by a glandular substance in the centre of each,
which when the flower expands is of a bright purple colour.
This rare species of Saxifrage is a native of the Alps of Switzerland
and Italy; we raised it with difficulty from seeds sent us by Mr.
DAVAL, of Orbe, in Switzerland; it was three years before the
plants flowered; those now in bloom in my garden, June 15, bid fair
to produce seeds in abundance; the plant may also be produced from
offsets, in the same way as the _Saxifraga Cotyledon_, vulgarly called
_Pyramidal Sedum_, and requires a similar treatment; though an Alpine
plant, it must be sheltered from much wet and severe frosts.
Baron HALLER describes it with spots on the petals; those
certainly did not exist on our plants.
[352]
OENOTHERA PURPUREA. PURPLE OENOTHERA.
_Class and Order._
OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Cal._ 4-fidus. _Petala_ 4. _Caps._ cylindrica infera. _Sem._
nuda.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
OENOTHERA _purpurea_ foliis ovato-lanceolatis glaucescentibus
integerrimis, capsulis sessilibus, stigmate atro-purpureo.
[Illustration: _N^o. 352_]
The species of Oenothera here figured is the one we mentioned in
treating of the _rosea_, a very ornamental species, introduced to
the Royal Garden at Kew, from the western coast of North-America, in
1791.[4] We have given to it the name of _purpurea_, it being the only
one in our gardens with purple flowers.
It is distinguished by three principal characters, the glaucous
appearance of its foliage, the purple hue of its blossoms, and the dark
colour of its stigma.
It flowers during the months of July and August, and ripens its seeds
in September; is an annual of ready growth, and worthy of being more
generally introduced to the flower-garden; its seeds should be sown
in the spring, with other tender annuals, and the seedlings when of
a proper age planted out singly in the open border, where they will
acquire the height of two feet, and produce abundance of blossoms
which, like those of the _rosea_, open during the day as well as in the
evening.
[353]
MAHERNIA INCISA. CUT-LEAV'D MAHERNIA.
_Class and Order._
PENTANDRIA PENTAGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Calix_ 5-dentatus. _Petala_ 5. _Nect._ 5 obcordata filamentis
supposita. _Capsula_ 5-locularis.
_Specific Character._
MAHERNIA _incisa_ caule hispidulo, foliis lanceolatis incisis,
stipulis integerrimis.
[Illustration: _N^o. 353_]
In point of size and mode of growth, this beautiful species comes near
to the _pinnata_ already figured in this work; but differs essentially
in the singular hispidity of its stalks, the form of its leaves, and
the colour of its flowers.
The stalks to the naked eye discover a manifest roughness, a magnifying
glass shews this roughness to be of a singular kind, that they are
beset on every side with little protuberances, from whence issue tufts
of pellucid hairs, and here and there a single hair is discoverable
with a small red viscid globule at its extremity; a portion of the
stalk, when highly magnified, somewhat resembles that of the creeping
Cereus. The leaves, which are not so manifestly hairy as the stalk and
calyces, are deeply jagged on the edges, and bear some little affinity
in their appearance to those of the _Pelargonium tricolor_. The
flowers, when in bud, are of the richest crimson imaginable; as they
open they incline to a deep orange, and finally become of a yellowish
hue.
As this plant produces abundance of blossoms, they may be seen in all
their states during most of the Summer and Autumnal months.
The plant from whence our drawing was taken, flowered this Summer with
Mr. COLVILL, Nurseryman, King's-Road, it requires the same
treatment as the _pinnata_, is probably a native of the same country,
and may be propagated by cuttings in the same manner.
[354]
MIMIMULUS AURANTIACUS. ORANGE MONKEY-FLOWER.
_Class and Order._
DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA.
_Generic Character._
_Calyx_ 4-dentatus prismaticus. _Cor._ ringens: labio
superiore lateribus replicato. _Caps._ 2-locularis polysperma.
_Specific Character._
MIMULUS _aurantiacus_ caule erecto fruticoso tereti, foliis
ovato-lanceolatis obtusiusculis.
[Illustration: _N^o. 354_]
The present species of _Mimulus_, equal in point of shew to most of
the inhabitants of our greenhouses, to which situation it is adapted,
flowered this Summer with Mr. COLVILL, Nurseryman, King's-Road.
Stalk about three feet high, much branched, shrubby, round, the
young wood green, with a tinge of purple toward the lower part of
each joint, slightly viscid, as it becomes older changing to a light
brown colour, and discovering manifest fissures; branches alternately
opposite, flower-bearing quite to the base; leaves opposite, sessile,
slightly connate, ovato-lanceolate, somewhat blunt at the extremity,
this bluntness is particularly apparent when contrasted with a leaf
of the _ringens_, toothed or slightly sawed on the edge, smooth,
veiny; flowers inodorous, large, nearly twice the size of those of
the _ringens_, uniformly pale orange, growing in pairs from the alæ
of the leaves, standing on footstalks about half the length of the
calyx; calyx five-angled and five-toothed, tube of the flower within
the calyx, narrow, cylindrical, pale yellow, bent a little downward,
gradually expanding, and dividing into two lips, the upper lip divided
into two, the lower lip into three segments, all of them irregular,
the two uppermost very much so; at the base of the middle segment of
the lower lip are two prominent ridges, of a somewhat deeper colour;
stamina four, two long, two short; antheræ deep orange, cruciform,
within the flower; stigma white, two-lip'd, lips closed or expanded
according to its age; style filiform; germen oblong; at the base of the
germen is a gland of considerable size which secretes much honey.
This plant flowers during most of the Summer, and is increased by
cuttings. We know not with certainty of what country it is a native.
[355]
OENOTHERA PUMILA. DWARF OENOTHERA.
_Class and Order._
OCTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Cal._ 4-fidus. _Petala_ 4. _Caps._ cylindrica infera. _Sem._
nuda.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
OENOTHERA _pumila_ foliis lanceolatis obtusis glabris
subpetiolatis, caulibus prostratis, capsulis acutangulis.
_Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 358. Ait. Kew. v. 2. p.
4._
OENOTHERA foliis radicalibus ovatis caulinis lanceolatis
obtusis, capsulis ovatis obtusis. _Mill. Ic. t. 188._
LYSIMACHIA siliquosa glabra minor mariana angustioribus
foliis. _Pluk. Mant. 123._
[Illustration: _N^o. 355_]
From all the species of Oenothera with yellow flowers hitherto
introduced to this country, the present one is distinguished by the
inferiority of its size; in its most luxuriant state it rarely exceeds
a foot in height, and as it commonly grows it is far more humble:
from a perennial root it sends out many flowering stems, which are
productive of blossoms in regular succession from April to July: these
are open in the morning as well as in the evening, which renders the
plant more ornamental and desirable: for the border of a small garden,
or for rock-work, it is extremely suitable, if not so shewy as some
others; it is very hardy, of ready growth, not apt to encroach, flowers
during most of the summer months, and is readily propagated by seeds,
cuttings, or dividing of the roots in autumn.
Is a native of North-America, and was cultivated here by Mr.
MILLER in 1757. _Ait. Kew._
The stalks cannot be considered as prostrate, though LINNÆUS
describes them as such; _adscendentibus_ would be a more appropriate
term.
[356]
ERICA MASSONI. MASSON'S 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 _Massoni_ antheris muticis inclusis, corollis
cylindricis grossis, floribus capitatis, foliis octofariis
imbricatis pubescentibus. _Linn. Suppl. p. 221. Ait. Kew. v.
2. p. 23._
ERICA _Massoni_ foliis quaternis oblongis serratis villosis,
floribus cylindricis viscosis. _Thunb. Prod. Cap. p. 71._
[Illustration: _N^o. 356_]
This very magnificent African Heath is first described in the _Suppl.
Pl._ of the younger LINNÆUS, and named in honour of Mr. MASSON, whose
exertions at the Cape, where he resided many years as collector of the
natural productions of that fertile spot, have so eminently contributed
to render the royal collection at Kew, in this tribe of plants
especially, rich in the extreme.
This Heath grows to a considerable height, and becomes much branched,
the branches are long and upright, covered closely with numerous hoary
leaves, nearly cylindrical, most of these terminate in a large umbel
of flowers, which continue a long while in bloom, and are so extremely
viscous that scarcely a winged insect can settle on them and escape
with its life; the formidable wasp sometimes becomes its victim, as we
once had an opportunity of seeing.
When the _Hort. Kew._ was first published, this species had not
flowered with Mr. AITON, it has since done so in many collections
near town, and no where in greater perfection than at Messrs. LEE and
KENNEDY's, Hammersmith, on some one or other of whose plants blossoms
may be seen during most of the summer.
It is raised from cuttings with extreme difficulty, is not so easily
kept as some others, and is more susceptible of injury from moisture.
[357]
BRIZA MAXIMA. GREAT QUAKING GRASS.
_Class and Order._
TRIANDRIA DIGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Cal._ 2-valvis, multiflorus. _Spicula_ disticha: valvulis
cordatis, obtusis: interiore minuta.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
BRIZA _maxima_ spiculis cordatis, flosculis septendecim.
_Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 115. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p.
103._
GRAMEN tremulum maximum. _Bauh. Pin. 2._
PHALARIS pratensis altera. _Pearle Grasse. Ger. emac. p. 87.
f. 3._
[Illustration: _N^o. 357_]
The Grasses are in general more regarded for utility than ornament, yet
in the latter point of view many of them have engaged the attention of
the curious, and long held a place in the flower-garden, to which they
have a twofold claim, as they not only decorate the garden when fresh,
but the mantle-shelf when dry; to these purposes the present species of
Briza has long been applied: JOHNSON tells us, in his time,
1633, "it was sowen yearlely in many of the London gardens."
This species, a native of Spain and Italy, blossoms in June and July,
and ripens its seeds in August.
Where it has once seeded it comes up spontaneously, without the trouble
of sowing it; autumnal seedlings make the strongest plants, they are
liable however to be cut off in very severe seasons; should that
happen, sow more seed in the spring with your other annuals.
[358]
ERICA BACCANS. ARBUTUS-FLOWERED HEATH.
_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 _baccans_ antheris cristatis inclusis, corollis
globoso-campanulatis calyce colorato inclusis, foliis
imbricatis. _Linn. Mant. p. 233._
ERICA _baccans_ antheris cristatis, corollis
globoso-campanulatis tectis, stylo incluso, foliis ternis
imbricatis. _Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 366. Ait.
Kew. v. 2. p. 18._
ERICA _baccans_ cristata foliis quaternis linearibus
serrulatis, floribus umbellatis calyce ovato æquante. _Thunb.
Prod. p. 74._
ERICA Africana glabra fruticosa arbuti flore. _Seb. Mus. 1. p.
32. t. 21. f. 3._
[Illustration: _N^o. 358_]
SEBA, a Dutch writer, appears first to have noticed this
Heath; he figures it in his Museum, and distinguishes it by the name of
Arbutus-flowered, which Mr. AITON has retained.
This very elegant and ornamental species grows to a considerable
height, and in favourable situations produces abundance of flowers
early in the summer, which are remarkable, though not peculiarly so,
for being enveloped with a calyx of same colour.
It is a native of the Cape, and was introduced by Mr. MASSON
in 1774[5].
Is raised from seeds, which it ripens with us more freely than most
of the African Heaths, a fortunate circumstance, as it is scarcely
possible to strike its cuttings.
Seedling plants rarely flower till they are three years old.
[359]
CONVOLVULUS ALTHÆOIDES. SILKY-LEAVED CONVOLVULUS.
_Class and Order._
PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
_Generic Character._
_Cor._ campanulata plicata. _Stigmata_ 2. _Caps._ 2-locularis:
loculis dispermis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
CONVOLVULUS _althæoides_ foliis cordatis sinuatis sericeis:
lobis repandis; pedunculis bifloris. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed.
14. Murr. p. 202. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 211. var. [Greek: b]._
CONVOLVULUS argenteus Althææ folio._ Bauh. Pin. p. 295._
CONVOLVULUS Althææ folio. _Clus. Hist. p. xlix. fig._
PAPAVER cornutum luteum minus. _Ger. Herb. p. 294. f. 4._
CONVOLVULUS argenteus elegantissimus foliis tenuiter incisis.
_Tournef. Inst. 85._
[Illustration: _N^o. 359_]
The name of _Althæoides_ and the description of LINNÆUS accord much
better with the figure of this plant, as given by CLUSIUS, than with
the plant itself as cultivated in our gardens: whether the foliage
of our plant becomes smaller and more finely divided by cultivation;
whether it be a distinct species, as MILLER affirms, or a permanent
variety, as Mr. AITON makes it, we have not been able satisfactorily to
ascertain; the former gives no description of the radical leaves of his
_elegantissimus_, and we have not found in any of our gardens a variety
different from the one here figured. This species of Convolvulus,
though cultivated here by J. TRADESCANT in 1656, is far from being
common, which is the more surprising, as the plant is easy of culture
and productive of flowers at once large and beautiful, and peculiarly
interesting from the extreme variableness of its silky foliage,
expanding into the most elegant forms imaginable.
Mr. STEVENS, of Camerton-House, near Bath, informs me that it
grows abundantly on the mountains near Victri, southeast of Naples, and
in the Isle of Capri, mixed with _Convolvulus Cneorum_, _Lithospermum
fruticosum_, &c. and in the adjacent islands and continent, forming a
beautiful ornament to the shrubs it entwines: CLUSIUS observed
it in Spain and Portugal.
It flowers with us in June and July, and is increased without
difficulty by parting its roots, which are of the creeping kind, in
spring or autumn. It is usually kept in the greenhouse, but will
succeed very well in the open border, guarding it against the unusual
severity of weather.
[360]
HIBISCUS SPECIOSUS. SUPERB HIBISCUS.
_Class and Order._
MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA.
_Generic Character._
_Cal._ 2-plex: exterior polyphyllus aut multifidus. _Caps._
5-valvis, 5-locularis: loculis polyspermis ramis 1-spermis.
_Specific Character and Synonyms._
HIBISCUS _Speciosus_ foliis glabris palmatis: laciniis
lanceolatis serratis, caule pedunculis calicibusque lævibus.
_Ait. Hort. Kew. 2. p. 456. Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. Gmel. p.
1063._
[Illustration: _N^o. 360_]
Those who "admire Nature's clocks more than her watches," will view,
we presume, with some pleasure our representation of this very superb
species of Hibiscus, a native of Carolina, and cultivated here by Dr.
JOHN FOTHERGILL, in 1778.
This species is altogether herbaceous, and from a perennial root yearly
throws up a stem to the height of many feet, clothed with foliage of
a beautiful form and smoothness, and supporting at its summit several
flowers, distinguished for their grandeur and richness of colour; these
usually blossom in August, and if the plant be kept in the stove, as
it most commonly is, are followed by ripe seeds, by which it is most
commonly propagated.
In the _Hort. Kew._ it is marked as a greenhouse plant; it may no
doubt be preserved in the greenhouse; there is even no impediment to
its growing in the open border, if placed in a warm and sheltered
situation; and the only motive for keeping it in the stove is its being
found to flower there more advantageously, and to ripen its seeds with
more certainty.
INDEX.
In which the Latin Names of the Plants contained in the _Tenth
Volume_ are alphabetically arranged.
_Pl._
338 Allamanda cathartica.
343 Antholyza Cunonia.
339 Arum trilobatum.
344 Aspalathus pedunculata.
357 Briza maxima.
348 Calceolaria Fothergillii.
333 Cerinthe major.
327 Chrysanthemum indicum.
359 Convolvulus althæoides.
358 Erica baccans.
356 ---- Massoni.
342 ---- persoluta.
350 ---- ventricosa.
360 Hibiscus speciosus.
334 Hypericum monogynum.
325 Justicia nasuta.
331 Kalmia angustifolia.
336 Lotus hirsutus.