[Illustration:
_Vol. IX.
of the_
Botanists Repository
_Comprising
Colour’d Engravings_
of
_New and Rare Plants_
ONLY
With Botanical Descriptions _&c.
in
Latin and English
after the_
Linnæan System.
_by
H. Andrews_
_Botanical Painter Engraver &c._
Mo. Bot. Garden
1904.
]
PLATE DLIII.
LOBELIA ASSURGENS.
_Assurgent Lobelia._
CLASS V. ORDER I.
_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX quinquefidus, Corolla monopetala, irregularis. Antheræ
cohærentes. Capsula infera, 2-seu 3-locularis.
EMPALEMENT five-cleft. Blossom of one petal, irregular. Anthers
cohering. Seed-vessel below, with 2 or 3 partitions.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
LOBELIA foliis lanceolatis serratis, infernè denticulatis
decurrentibus, racemis compositis terminalibus.
LOBELIA with leaves lance-shaped, serrate, toothed towards the
base, and running down the stem; the racemes compound and terminal.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A blossom spread open.
2. The chives spread open.
3. The seed-bud and pointal.
* * * * *
This curious species of Lobelia is a native of high mountains in
Jamaica, where Brown informs us it grows to the height of 5 or 6 feet.
The plant is at present so scarce as not to be enumerated in the
Catalogue of the Cambridge Garden; nor has any figure of it, to our
knowledge, been before published. Specimens were communicated by A. B.
Lambert, esq. from his stove at Boyton, where he informs us that the
plant is now about five feet high, with some of the lower leaves a foot
and a half long; that it began to blossom in the middle of July, and
continued to the end of November; four or five racemes flowering at the
same time, and nodding in the manner of ostrich plumes; the blossoms
gradually opening in succession towards the top, and the racemes
continuing to lengthen until more than a foot long. The flowers have
withered without producing any seed. The plant appears to be perennial.
[Illustration: [Plate 553]]
PLATE DLIV.
VOLKAMERIA ANGUSTIFOLIA.
_Narrow-leaved Volkameria._
CLASS XIV. ORDER II.
_DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA._ Two Chives longer. Seeds covered.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX quinquefidus: Corollæ laciniis secundis. Drupa 2-locularis.
Semina 4, seu abortu tantum 2.
EMPALEMENT five-cleft. Blossom with the divisions pointing one way.
Berry 2-celled. Seeds 4, or from abortion only 2.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
VOLKAMERIA fruticosa glaberrima, foliis oblongo-lanceolatis
integerrimis, pedunculis trichotomis axillaribus et terminalibus.
VOLKAMERIA shrubby and very smooth, with oblong-lanced very entire
leaves, and peduncles divided by threes, both axillary and
terminal.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open, one tip detached and magnified.
3. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
4. The seed-bud magnified.
* * * * *
Volkameria angustifolia is a dwarf branchy shrub flowering in great
profusion about the middle of August. The blossoms are white and
remarkably sweet-scented. It was communicated by Mr. Donn, Curator of
the Cambridge Botanic garden, and is to be enumerated in the new edition
of his Catalogue now in the press. It requires to be kept in the
bark-bed in the hot-house, and is supposed to be a native of the Isle of
France. We believe no other figure of it has been given.
[Illustration: [Plate 554]]
PLATE DLV.
ZINGIBER CLIFFORDIÆ.
_Cliffordian Zingiber._
CLASS I. ORDER I.
_MONANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ One Chive. One Pointal.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX monophyllus. Corolla 4-5-fida. Antheræ 2. Filamentum simplex
ultra antheras productum.
EMPALEMENT of one leaf. Blossom either 4-or 5-cleft. Anthers two.
Filament simple, extended beyond the anthers.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
ZINGIBER scapo simplicissimo, crasso, brevi, capitulo subovato,
bracteis inferioribus lato-ovatis obtusis; corollâ 4-fidâ, laciniis
tribus exterioribus oblongis marginibus involutis; alteris
sub-cordatis duplo majoribus, mox convolutis.
GINGER with an unbranched, thick, short flower-stalk, the lower
flower-scales broadly-oval and blunt: the blossom 4-cleft, the
three outer divisions oblong with their margins turned inwards, the
inner inversely nearly heart-shaped and doubly larger, soon folding
together.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. Sheath at the base of the calyx.
2. A detached flower.
3. Seed-bud, anthers, and pointal, summit magnified.
4. The plant in miniature.
* * * * *
This fine species of Ginger, we are informed, is a native of Guinea, and
in the gardens has long been supposed to be the plant which produced the
Grains of Paradise, Amomum Granum Paradisi of Linnæus; but it certainly
by no means accords with the character of that plant, either as given in
the Hortus Kewensis or by Linnæus himself. From the other species of
Zingiber enumerated in the eighth volume of the Linnæan Society’s
Transactions it is easily distinguished. Having as yet only blossomed in
England in the collection of Lady de Clifford at Paddington, in honour
of that patroness and lover of botany we have given its specific
designation. The culture is the same as for other plants of the family.
Our drawing was taken in 1804.
[Illustration: [Plate 555]]
PLATE DLVI.
PANCRATIUM AMŒNUM.
_Broad-leaved Pancratium._
CLASS VI. ORDER I.
_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
PETALA 6. Nectarium 12-fidum. Stamina nectario imposita.
PETALS 6. Honey-cup 12-cleft. Stamens seated on the nectary.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
PANCRATIUM spathâ multiflorâ, fragrantissimâ: foliis longo-lanceolatis,
corollæ laciniis tubum excedentibus: nectario 6-lobato, sinubus
sub-denticulatis. _Willd. Sp._
PANCRATIUM with the sheath many-flowered, and very sweet-scented: the
leaves long-lanced, the divisions of the blossom longer than its tube:
and the nectary 6-lobed, mostly with little teeth between.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower spread open.
* * * * *
Several species of the genus Pancratium approach so very near to each
other, that it is a difficult task to discriminate them with accuracy.
We have little doubt that the _Pancratium foliis amplis ovatis_ of Ehret
(Trew’s Plantæ Selectæ, tab. 28.) belongs to our plant, notwithstanding
the absence of the little teeth between the lobes of the nectary.
Indeed, that character appears so variable in the synonyms commonly
given to this species, that we are rather inclined to doubt of its
constancy. Neither are the painters of those days always safely to be
trusted in such minutiæ. Mr. Lambert, who favoured us with the specimen
in March 1808, informs us that he received the bulbs from Lord Seaforth,
on his return to England from the West Indies, from the _Pancratium
caribæum_, cultivated in the same collection. It is certainly distinct;
the blossoms are extremely fragrant, and we are not yet certain whether
the amœnum and fragrans of botanists may not be the same species.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLVII.
PERIPLOCA AFRICANA.
_African Periploca._
CLASS V. ORDER II.
_PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA._ Five Chives. Two Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CONTORTA. Nectarium ambiens genitalia, filamenta 5, exserentia.
CONTORTED. Honey-cup surrounding the stamens. Threads 5, standing
out.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
PERIPLOCA foliis ovato-acutis, pilosis: floribus corymbosis: caule
volubili, hirsuto. _Willd. Sp. Pl._
PERIPLOCA with ovate-pointed hairy leaves: flowers corymbose: stem
twining and hairy.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. The outer part of the blossom.
3. The tubular part of the same detached.
4. The same spread open.
5. One of the lobes of the nectary surrounding
the parts of fructification.
6. Seed-buds, chives, and pointals, magnified.
* * * * *
The Periploca Africana is at present a rare plant to the gardens,
although, according to Donn’s Catalogue, it has been introduced to this
country as long ago as the year 1726. There are several figures of it
among the older botanists, but not one that does it any justice, as an
ornamental green-house plant, which it undoubtedly is, and continues in
bloom almost from June till January.
Our figure represents the entire plant, just as we received it from
Messrs. Whitley and Brames.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLVIII.
FERULA PERSICA.
_Persian Ferula._
CLASS V. ORDER II.
_PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA._ Five Chives. Two Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
FRUCTUS ovalis, compresso-planus, striis utrinque 3.
FRUIT oval, flatly compressed, with three stripes on both sides.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
FERULA foliis supra-decompositis: foliolis multifidis,
decurrentibus: umbellâ primordiali sessili.
FERULA with leaves more than doubly compound: leaflets many-cleft
and decurrent: the first umbel of flowers sessile.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A perfect flower.
2. A male or abortive flower.
3. The pointals.
* * * * *
Assa fœtida grows naturally near Gilan in Persia; and from seeds sent
from thence to the Academy at St. Petersburgh plants were obtained, two
of which were sent to Dr. Hope at Edinburgh, by Dr. Guthrie, to whom
they had been presented by Professor Pallas, in whose herbarium we have
seen specimens of it, but without fructification. One of these plants
flowered and ripened seeds in the Botanic Garden at Edinburgh, and is
described by Dr. Hope in the lxxvth vol. of the Philosophical
Transactions, and a figure annexed, the only one hitherto published of
the species; the Assa fœtida of Kæmpfer being undoubtedly a different
plant. Our specimens were obligingly communicated by Dr. Williams from
the Botanic Garden at Oxford; which, with that of Edinburgh above
mentioned, the Cambridge Garden, the Physic Gardens at Chelsea, and Mr.
Dickson’s private collection at Croydon, are the only gardens in
Britain, as we are informed, that yet possess the plant. The gum exudes
from the roots, which are tuberous and perennial, on the slightest
incision being made; and every part of the plant, even to the
extremities of the leaves, smells strongly of it. It is hardy enough to
bear our climate, and even ripen its seeds in mild seasons. It is not
improbable that at a future time we may be furnished with this valuable
article of the Materia Medica, of English growth. The long list of its
virtues mentioned by Dr. Woodville we need not here enumerate; its
reputation as a cordial for low spirits alone, in these days, entitles
it to notice.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLIX.
CAMELLIA JAPONICA, _semi-duplex_.
_Semidouble-flowered Camellia._
CLASS XVI. ORDER VI.
_MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA._ Threads united. Many Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX imbricatus, polyphyllus: interioribus majoribus.
EMPALEMENT tiled, many-leaved: the inner ones the largest.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
CAMELLIA floribus semi-duplicibus, staminibus divergentibus in
petalos.
CAMELLIA with semi-double flowers, the stamens growing into petals.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. The stamens growing into petals.
3. Seed-bud and pointals.
4. A transverse section of the seed-bud.
* * * * *
This Camellia with semi-double flowers was communicated to us by Mr.
Davey, nurseryman and florist in the King’s Road, Chelsea; who informs
us it was a cutting from a plant brought by a gentleman from the coast
of China, and regarded as distinct in its flowers from all those in
cultivation with us. It certainly has a very different appearance; and
as every variety in this short but splendid genus is particularly
admired and sought after, this one, which possesses parts of its botanic
character entire, will doubtless be considered by the amateurs of plants
in general as a variety equally interesting.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLX.
VEREA ACUTIFLORA.
_Pointed-flowered Verea._
CLASS VIII. ORDER IV.
_OCTANDRIA TETRAGYNIA._ Eight Chives. Four Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 4-phyllus. Corolla hypocrateriformis, 4-fida: tubo
ventricoso, Nectaria 4, ad basin germinum. Capsulæ 4, superæ,
1-loculares, polyspermæ.
EMPALEMENT 4-leaved. Blossom funnel-shaped, 4-sided: tube bellied.
Nectaries 4, at the base of the seed-buds. Capsules 4, above,
one-celled, many-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
VEREA foliis lato-lanceolatis, oppositis, crenatis, crassis:
floribus paniculatis, terminalibus: corollis albentibus: laciniis
oris acutissimis.
VEREA with leaves broadly lance-shaped, opposite, scolloped, and
thick. Flowers paniculated and terminal. Blossom whitish: segments
of the border very pointed.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-buds and pointals.
4. The same magnified.
* * * * *
This new species of Verea flowered (we believe, for the first time in
this country) in the collection of the Hon. C. Greville at Paddington,
whence our drawing was taken. The foliage is compact, and rather
handsome. The flowers are by no means specious; but, as it blossoms in
the depth of winter, its rivals are but few. This considered, with the
addition of its novelty, renders it a valuable acquisition to the
hot-stove.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXI.
XERANTHEMUM FRAGRANS.
_Fragrant Xeranthemum._
CLASS XIX. ORDER II.
_SYNGENESIA POLYGAMIA SUPERFLUA._ Tips united Superfluous.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
RECEPTACULUM paleaceum aut nudum. Pappus setaceus. Calyx
imbricatus, radiatus: radio colorato.
RECEPTACLE chaffy, or naked. Feather bristly, Empalement tiled,
rayed: the ray coloured.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
XERANTHEMUM foliis undulatis, lanatis, apice reflexis: floribus
parvis, odoratis, terminalibus: radiis calycis exterioribus rubris:
radio interiore albo.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
XERANTHEMUM with waved woolly leaves reflexed at the point: flowers
small, sweet-scented and terminal: the outer rays of the empalement
red, the inner one white.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A scale from the outer ray of the empalement.
2. A scale from the inner ray.
3. A flower of the disk.
* * * * *
This little Xeranthemum is a native of the Cape, perfectly new, and very
sweet-scented. As fragrance is very unusual in this fine tribe of
plants, we have on that account considered it as a good specific title.
It was introduced to the Clapham gardens about the year 1803; and as we
have not seen it since that period, we are inclined to think it is not
at present in this country. In the herbarium of A. B. Lambert, esq. we
found a fine native specimen of an unnamed species very much resembling
our plant, but with a profusion of flowers--a habit which ours would in
all probability have assumed as soon as it had been familiarized to the
change of climate.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXII.
CYNANCHUM BICOLOR.
_Two-coloured Cynanchum._
CLASS V. ORDER II.
_PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA._ Five Chives. Two Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CONTORTA. Nectarium cylindricum, quinque-dentatum.
CONTORTED. Honey-cup cylindrical, five-toothed.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
CYNANCHUM foliis cordatis, acutis, pilosis: floribus in umbellis
proliferis: corollis bicoloribus: petalis ad basin hirsutis: caule
volubili.
CYNANCHUM with heart-shaped, pointed, hairy leaves: flowers grow in
proliferous umbels: blossoms two-coloured: petals hirsute at the
base: stem twining.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. The parts of fructification magnified.
4. The seed-bud, shaft, summit, and chives.
5. The same magnified.
* * * * *
This Cynanchum is, we believe, a perfectly new species, and continues to
flower during the summer and autumnal months, running to a great length.
In that, as well as in other particulars, it bears a considerable
resemblance to the Cynanchum extensum of Jacquin’s Icones, but is far
superior to that species from its petals being enlivened with a rich
purple spot, a slight tinge of which is even visible on the smallest
buds. There is an abundant succession of bloom, and the flowers appear
to expand with freedom. Our drawing was made last August from a fine
plant in the hot-stove of the Countess de Vandes.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXIII.
MIMOSA ELEGANS.
_Elegant Mimosa._
CLASS XXIII. ORDER I.
_POLYGAMIA MONŒCIA._ Various Dispositions upon one Plant.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
HERMAPH. Calyx 5-dentatus. Corolla 5-fida. Stamina 5, sive plura.
Pistillum 1, legumen.
MASCUL. Calyx 5-dentatus. Corolla 5-fida. Stamina 5-10, sive plura.
HERMAPH. Empalement 5-toothed. Blossom 5-cleft. Chives 5 or more.
Pointal 1, a pod.
MALE. Empalement 5-toothed. Blossom 5-cleft. Chives 5-10, or more.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
MIMOSA frutescens, inermis: ramis verrucosis foliis bipinnatis,
pennis propriis 8-ad 9-jugis, partialibus 20-ad 24-jugis, cum
impari ad imum minore; spicis axillaribus oblongis divaricatis.
MIMOSA shrubby, unarmed: with warty branches: leaves doubly winged,
the first of 8 or 9 pairs, the second of 20 to 24 with a small odd
leaflet at the bottom: spikes of flowers axillary, oblong, and
divaricate.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower.
2. The same spread open.
3. The same shown from the inner side, one tip magnified.
4. The seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
* * * * *
Mimosa elegans is one of the handsomest of the family that yet been
introduced from New Holland, and very rare, being at this time in no
other private collection in this country, but that of A. B. Lambert,
esq. from whom we received our specimens; and in whose conservatory it
is now in full flower, his plant being about ten feet high and very much
branched, with profusion of flowers. It is hardly possible to express
the extreme delicacy of the blossoms. The stamens are united
(monadelphous) towards the base, and are above two hundred in a single
flower. What an apparatus for the impregnation of a single stigma!
From what we have already seen of the beautiful and interesting plants
of this country, cultivators will do well to give them as much both of
pot and branch room as their houses will afford; as well for the health
of the plant as to advantage the size of its fine foliage, of which the
circumscribed scale of our work would only allow us to represent one
half.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXIV.
IXIA CURTA.
_Short Ixia._
CLASS III. ORDER I.
_TRIANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Three Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA 6-petala, patens, æqualis. Stigmata tria erectiuscula,
patula.
BLOSSOM six petals, spreading and equal. Summits three, nearly
upright, and spreading.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
IXIA foliis falcatis: floribus alternis, tri-coloribus: caule
humili.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
IXIA with scimitar-shaped leaves: flowers alternate, and
three-coloured. Stem low.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The two sheaths of the empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
* * * * *
This new species of Ixia was delineated from a plant in the collection
of J. Vere, esq. the summer before last, and although low in stature is
certainly high in beauty, and surpassed by very few of loftier growth.
It flowers about the middle of April, and requires the same treatment as
most other Cape species.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXV.
RUTA LINIFOLIA.
_Flax-leaved Ruta._
CLASS X. ORDER I.
_DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Ten Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 5-partitus. Petala concava. Receptaculum punctis melliferis
decem cinctum. Capsula lobata.
EMPALEMENT 5-parted. Petals concave. Receptacle beset with ten
honey-bearing points. Capsule lobed.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
RUTA foliis simplicibus, lanceolatis, glabris: filamentis ciliatis:
caule simplici, herbaceo.
Habitat in Hispania.
Ruta linifolia. _Willd. Sp. Pl._
RUE with simple leaves, lance-shaped and smooth: threads ciliated.
Stem simple and herbaceous.
Native of Spain.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A petal.
2. Empalement, chives, and pointal.
3. A chive.
4. The empalement, seed-bud, and pointal.
* * * * *
The Ruta linifolia is a new plant to the gardens, and we believe is not
at present in any other collection but that of Cambridge, where it was
raised from seed by Mr. Donn. It is a handsome little herbaceous shrub,
and requires the protection of the green-house to preserve it in this
climate. Flowers in September and October.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXVI.
CALLICOMA SERRATIFOLIA.
_Sawed-leaved Callicoma._
CLASS XI. ORDER II.
_DODECANDRIA DIGYNIA._ Stamens 11 to 19. Styles 2.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
FLORES in capitulis subrotundis, pedunculatis; involucro sub
4-phyllo. Calyx 4-5-phyllus, foliolis lanceolatis. Corolla O.
Stamina 11-19, calyce triplo longiora, e receptaculo. Styli 2,
filiformes: stigmate simplici: germen superum, monoloculare,
polyspermum.
FLOWERS in little round heads, upon footstalks; with an involucre
of about 4 leaves. Calyx of 4 or 5 leaves, the leaflets lanced.
Blossom none. Stamens from 11 to 19, thrice as long as the calyx,
growing from the receptacle. Styles 2, thread-shaped. Stigma
simple. Germen above, 1-celled, and many-seeded.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower.
2. The same spread open, one tip magnified.
3. The seed-bud and pointals.
4. The same magnified.
* * * * *
Callicoma serratifolia is a native of New South Wales, and has now for
several years in some choice collections adorned the green-house and
conservatory in early spring with its fine heads of flowers; but to whom
we are indebted for its first introduction we are uncertain. Some
botanists have considered it as a congener of Forster’s _Codia_, to
which it has certainly a considerable affinity; but as we cannot exactly
see the propriety of coupling an apetalous flower having so many stamens
with one that is penta-petalous and octandrous, and of which we have no
description of the germen or fruit; and there being great probability
that more plants of this family may be discovered in the vast tracts of
New Holland yet unexplored, we have rather chose to describe it as
distinct, than to excuse ourselves by leaving it to be separated at some
future period and create more changes of names, a circumstance always to
be deprecated and avoided as much as possible by Naturalists. Callicoma
is a middle-sized shrub with the leaves finely cottony and whitish on
the under side, and has considerable beauty even when out of blossom. It
is propagated by layers.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXVII.
CERATONIA SILIQUA.
_Pod-bearing Ceratonia._
CLASS XXIII. ORDER II.
_POLYGAMIA DIŒCIA._ Many Nuptials on separate Plants.
GENERIC CHARACTER.
HERMAPH. Calyx 5-partitus. Corolla 0. Stamina 5-8. Stylus
filiformis. Stigma capitatum. Legumen coriaceum, pulpâ plenum,
polyspermum.
HERMAPH. Empalement 5-parted. Blossom none. Chives 5 to 8. Shaft
thread-shaped. Summit headed. Pod leathery, full of pulp, and
many-seeded.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower shown from the outside.
2. A dry pod a little opened, one seed detached.
* * * * *
Instead of a new plant, we here submit to our readers one that according
to the Kew Catalogue has been an inhabitant of our gardens 239 years:
but neither Mr. Alton nor Mr. Miller had ever seen it blossom, nor
during all this long period have we any account of its flowering in this
country. Its male flowers however appeared in the Cambridge Botanic
Garden the beginning of last February, and from a specimen communicated
by Mr. Donn to A. B. Lambert, esq. the present drawing was taken. Mr.
Donn’s plant was between 4 and 5 feet high, moderately branched, and had
the same treatment as his other green-house shrubs. We are uncertain
whether the hermaphrodite or female plant be yet in this country; but as
the propagation is principally from seed, we think it is very probable.
The stamens in our specimen vary in number, being commonly 5, sometimes
6, and more rarely 8. The fruit is added from a dried legume in the
Lambertian collection, which was sent from Spain by the late Abbé
Cavanilles, who in his _Icones Plantarum_, _vol._ 2. _p._ 8. and _tab._
113. (in addition to what was formerly known of the Ceratonia) informs
us, that it grows spontaneously on little hills and dry fields in
Valencia, and is yet more impatient of cold and moisture than the olive,
vast numbers being sometimes killed there by the frost in severe
winters. It is in this province also, that the principal cultivation of
this useful plant in Spain is situated. The propagation is from seeds,
and the diœcious plants are always selected in preference to the
hermaphrodites, being better bearers. Some of the more skilful
cultivators engraft a male bough upon their female plants for their
impregnation, and by this means have no sterile plants in their
collections. They flower twice a year, first in February, and again more
plentifully in August and September; which is also the time of the
fruit’s ripening, and the trees are seen at the same time adorned with
blossoms, and laden with ripe fruit. Eighty pounds of legumes are
sometimes collected from a single tree. They are known to be mature by
their putting on a chesnut colour, and are then beaten from the trees by
canes of the _Arundo Donax_ from 16 to 20 feet long, with part of their
crooked roots left, which serve as hooks. Rain is said to be beneficial
to the ripe fruits, and even to improve them after they are laid in
heaps on the ground. They are finally dried and stored up in barns for
use. The cultivators enumerate three varieties, which they call
_Melars_, _Llandars_, and _Costelluts_. The last they distinguish by
having larger leaves and of a deeper green, with legumes often a foot
long, but with little solidity or sweetness; the second has shorter
legumes, but more solid and very sweet; the leaves also are shorter. The
first are called Melars (_quasi Melleas_) from _Mel_ honey, of which the
fruit contains small drops, and sometimes in such abundance that it
distils upon the ground, and is fed upon by the bees. The fruits are the
principal food of the cattle in the province of Valencia, and also form
part of the sustenance of the poor people. The leaves are used in the
preparation of leather. Monsieur Olivier also informs us in his _Travels
in the Ottoman Empire_, that the Carob-tree grows all over the Island of
Crete, and delights most in stony grounds and the clefts of rocks; that
the fruits are conveyed thence to Constantinople, to Syria and Egypt,
and serve for food to the poor and to children. They are also an
ingredient in the sherbets of which the Mussulmans make daily use.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXVIII.
LIPARIA SPHÆRICA.
_Round-headed Liparia._
CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.
_DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA._ Two Brotherhoods. Ten Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX quinquefidus, lacinia infima elongata. Corollæ alæ inferius
bilobæ. Filamenta alternatim breviora. Legumen polyspermum.
CALYX 5-cleft, the lower segment very long. Wings of the blossom
two-lobed on the lower side. Chives alternately shorter. Pod
many-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
LIPARIA floribus capitatis; foliis lanceolatis, nervosis, glabris.
_Willd. Sp. Pl. vol._ iii.
LIPARIA with flowers in heads; the leaves lance-shaped, nerved, and
smooth.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A bract.
2. The empalement.
3. A flower spread open.
4. The chives.
5. The same spread open.
6. Seed-bud and pointal.
7. A back view of the head of flowers.
* * * * *
Africa has long been celebrated as the land of wonders and novelties,
and its vegetable as well as animal productions well entitle it to that
character. The beauty and astonishing variety of ever-varying Geraniums,
delicate Ixias, elegant Ericas, superb Amaryllises, and magnificent
Proteas, received from the Cape of Good Hope alone within these few
years, and many of them totally unknown before, have given to our
gardens that splendour and perpetual novelty which justly make them the
admiration of the world. What still more enhances the pleasure is, that
the mine is yet unexhausted, as our present charming subject, not before
enumerated in any of our catalogues of cultivated plants will testify.
Mr. Milne, gardener at Fonthill, well known for his zeal and skill in
the cultivation of rare plants, obligingly communicated the specimens.
Having forwarded the first a little too early, being struck with the
singular beauty, and not knowing the habits of the plant, a fortnight
after he forwarded a third specimen fully expanded, from which the
figure is taken. Mr. Milne informs us, that he raised the Liparia from
Cape seeds some years ago, and has kept it in the conservatory, where it
is now in blossom. The plant is branchy, and between four and five feet
in height. He thinks he possesses two more new species of the genus
raised at the same time, which have not yet blossomed with him.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXIX.
CEANOTHUS LANIGER.
_Woolly Ceanothus._
CLASS V. ORDER I.
_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
PETALA 5, saccata. Bacca sicca, 3-locularis, 3-sperma.
PETALS 5, bagged. Berry dry, three-celled, three-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
CEANOTHUS foliis oblongo-lanceolatis, integerrimis, subtus
lanuginosis; ramulis, pedunculis, petiolis, calycibusque hirsutis.
CEANOTHUS with the leaves oblong-lanced, entire, and woolly
beneath; the branches, footstalks, flowerstalks, and calyxes hairy.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower.
2. A segment of the calyx, with a petal and stamen attached.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
* * * * *
To New Holland we export criminals for our convenience and safety, and
from thence import furs for our covering and flowers for our amusement.
So far the balance of trade is in our favour. But by whose hands, or at
what time, our present subject was first brought over, we have not been
able to learn. The specimen was communicated by A. B. Lambert, esq. in
the beginning of April from his collection at Boyton, and we have also
seen the plant very finely in flower at Mr. Whitley’s nursery, Brompton.
Its woolly leaves and branches, contrasted with the Mimosas and other
hard-leaved plants from the same country, make an agreeable variety, and
the early blossoms are very ornamental. The plants we have seen are
moderate-sized branchy shrubs, are kept in the green-house like other
New Holland plants, and require no particular treatment. We have seen
more species from the same country in herbariums, and some are now alive
in this country, although they have not yet blossomed.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXX.
JUSTICIA NITIDA.
_Shining-leaved Justicia._
CLASS II. ORDER I.
_DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Two Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX simplex seu duplex. Corolla 1-petala, irregularis. Capsula
ungue elastico dissiliens: dissepimentum contrarium; adnatum.
EMPALEMENT simple or double. Blossom one-petalled, irregular.
Capsule splitting with an elastic claw: partition contrary to the
valve; affixed.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER
JUSTICIA fruticosa: foliis ellipticis, acuminatis: racemis
spicæformibus, verticillatis: bracteis minutis: pedicellis
calycibusque glabris.
_Swartz._ _Flora Indiæ occidentalis._
Habitat in insulis Jamaicæ, S. Christophori, Martiniquæ, S. Crucis,
et Guadalupæ.
JUSTICIA with a shrubby stem: leaves elliptic and pointed: raceme
in the form of a spike, whorled: floral leaves small: footstalks
and calyx smooth.
Native of Jamaica, St. Christopher, Martinique, St. Croix, and
Guadaloupe.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower spread open.
2. Seed-bud and pointal,
3. The capsule.
4. The same split open.
* * * * *
Of this species of Justicia the only figure extant that we know of is a
very indifferent representation of it in Sloane’s Jamaica, evidently
from a dried specimen. The fine glossy character of the foliage has
furnished it with a specific title. The flowers are abundant in
succession, but, like most of this genus, of a deciduous or short-lived
character. It was introduced to the British gardens, according to Donn’s
Catalogue, in 1793, Our drawing was made from a plant brought from the
West Indies by Lord Seaforth, which flowered in August 1808 in the
hot-stove of A. B. Lambert, esq.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXI.
SIDA PATENS.
_Spreading Sida._
CLASS XVI. ORDER VIII.
_MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA._ Threads united. Many Chives.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX simplex. Stylus multipartitus. Capsulæ plures, mono-seu
tri-spermæ.
CALYX simple. Pointal many-parted. Seed-vessels many, one-or
three-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
SIDA foliis cordatis, dentatis, longè acuminatis, leviter
pubescentibus; pedunculis solitariis petiolis longioribus; corollis
patentibus; stylis quinquepartitis; capsulis quinque, birostratis.
SIDA with heart-shaped, toothed, long-pointed, and slightly woolly
leaves; solitary flower-stalks longer than the footstalks;
spreading corollas, five-parted styles, and five two-beaked
capsules.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. The chives spread open, one tip magnified.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
* * * * *
Another African novelty introduced by Viscount Valentia in 1806 from
Abyssinia; and from specimens obligingly communicated by him from his
gardens at Arly the drawing is taken. From the seeds already introduced
by his Lordship from that yet unexplored, and hitherto almost
inaccessible country, and from the connexions he is now endeavouring to
establish there, Mr. Salt, who travelled in his Lordship’s suite, being
now dispatched on an embassy to the King of that country at Gondar, we
may soon hope to have a few more specimens of its vegetable productions;
at present as imperfectly known as the sources of the Nile, which have
eluded the researches of philosophers above two thousand years.
Sida patens, in the natural arrangement of the genus, should be placed
next to _Sida reflexa_ of Cavanilles and Willdenow.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXII.
PROTEA SALIGNA.
_Willow-leaved Protea._
CLASS IV. ORDER I.
_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA 4-fida, seu 4-petala. Antheræ lineares, petalis infra
apices insertæ. Calyx proprius, nullus. Semina solitaria.
BLOSSOM four-cleft, or of four petals. Tips linear, inserted into
the petals below the points. Cup proper, none. Seeds solitary.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
PROTEA foliis obliquis, lanceolatis, pubescentibus: capitulis
oblongis, involucratis, terminalibus.
Feminei flores ramos terminant cum cono ovato magnitudine pisi,
involucro bicolori circumdato.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
PROTEA with oblique, lance-shaped, hairy leaves: heads of flowers
oblong, involucrated, and terminal.
Female flowers terminate the branches with an ovate cone about the
size of a pea, surrounded by a two-coloured involucrum.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower, one tip magnified.
2. Seed-bud and pointal, summit magnified.
3. Section of a head of flowers from the female plant.
4. Seed-bud and pointal, magnified.
* * * * *
Protea saligna, in the Species Plantarum of Linnæus, is considered as
only a variety of P. conifera, but is certainly specifically distinct in
its foliage, however resembling in other particulars. Finding, soon
after we had made our drawing, a female plant in fine bloom, we have
annexed a branch of it on the same plate, to elucidate as much as
possible the apparent confusion that at present seems to pervade this
section of the Genus Protea. The P. saligna of Thunberg, enumerated by
Willdenow, we have no doubt, describes the female specimen we have
represented, the cone being there mentioned as about the size of a pea,
and which exactly accords with our figure. The drawings were made from
plants introduced to this country from the Cape of Good Hope, in the
year 1806, by G. Hibbert, esq.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXIII.
MAGNOLIA AURICULATA.
_Ear-leaved Magnolia._
CLASS XIII. ORDER VII.
_POLYANDRIA POLYGYNIA._ Many Chives. Many Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 3-phyllus. Petala 6-12. Capsulæ 2-valves, imbricatæ. Semina
baccata, pendula.
CUP 3-leaved. Petals 6-12. Capsules 2-valved, tiled. Seeds berried,
pendulous.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
MAGNOLIA foliis obovato-lanceolatis, basi attenuatis, auritis,
glabris, subtus glaucis.
Habitat in America boreali.
MAGNOLIA with obovate lance-shaped leaves, attenuated towards the
base, eared, smooth, and glaucous beneath.
Native of North America.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A chive.
2. Seed-bud and pointals.
* * * * *
Amongst the finest hardy exotics that ornament the gardens, the
Magnolias are eminently conspicuous. A fine species of that description
our figure represents, drawn from a plant seven feet high in the
nursery-ground of Messrs. Whitley and Brames, who inform me that it was
sent to them from Maryland in North America, by Mr. Bartram, about the
year 1793. It does not seed with us, as very few of the genus do; and
when any of them appear to have ripened their seed perfectly, we
understand they have very rarely if ever vegetated. This species is
perfectly hardy, but is with difficulty raised by layers; which accounts
for its being (after a period of sixteen years since its first
introduction to this country) not so generally known as it deserves to
be. It flowers in the month of May.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXIV.
PULTENÆA OBCORDATA.
_Inversely Heart-leaved Pultenæa._
CLASS X. ORDER I.
_DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Ten Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX quinque-dentatus, utrinque appendiculatus. Corolla
papilionacea, alis vexillo brevioribus. Legumen uniloculare,
dispermum.
CUP five-toothed, with an appendage on each side. Blossom
butterfly-shaped, with the wings shorter than the standard. Pod of
one cell, with two seeds.
See Pultenæa Daphnoides, Pl. XCVIII. Vol. II.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
PULTENÆA foliis obcordatis, mucronatis, nitidis.
PULTENÆA with inversely heart-shaped leaves, mucronated, and
shining.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. The vexillum.
3. One of the wings.
4. The two petals of the keel.
5. The chives and pointal, one tip magnified.
6. Seed-bud and pointal.
* * * * *
This nondescript species of Pultenæa is a native of New Holland, and was
discovered on Van Diemen’s Land by Mr. Littlejohn, one of the residents
on Governor Collins’s settlement. It possesses lively yellow flowers,
and singularly obcordate leaves, and is a handsome addition to the genus
Pultenæa, of which it is a genuine member, having the two little
appendages on the cup, the principal (although trivial) leading feature
that characterizes the genus. Our drawing was made from a specimen
communicated by A. B. Lambert, esq. with whom it has flowered for the
first time in this country.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXV.
MARTYNIA DIANDRA.
_Diandrous Martynia._
CLASS XIV. ORDER II.
_DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA._ Two Chives longer. Seeds covered.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 5-fidus. Corolla ringens. Capsula lignosa, corticata, rostro
hamata, 4-locularis, 4-valvis.
CALYX five-cleft. Corolla gaping. Capsule woody, covered, with a
hooked beak; 4 divisions, and 4 openings.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
MARTYNIA caule ramoso, foliis oppositis, cordatis, dentatis,
floribus diandris. _Willd. Sp. Pl._
MARTYNIA with the stem branching, leaves opposite, heart-shaped,
and toothed, and flowers diandrous.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. The chives.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
4. The capsule.
* * * * *
We are glad to have an opportunity of giving a figure of a plant so very
ornamental, and so rarely met with in our collections. Martynia diandra
is a native of Mexico about Vera Cruz, and requires to be kept in the
hothouse, or glass frame with artificial heat, and has much the same
delicate texture as the Martynia proboscidea. Of the figures that have
before been published of it, that of Jacquin in his Hortus
Schœnbrunnensis, vol. iii. plate 289, is by far the best. A specimen was
communicated by A. B. Lambert, esq., in November 1808, and another in
May last from a plant which had outlived the winter, and from which the
present figure is taken. All the species of Martynia are considered as
annuals.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXVI.
LITHOSPERMUM TINCTORIUM.
_Dyers’ Bugloss._
CLASS V. ORDER I.
_PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Five Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA infundibuliformis, fauce perforata, nuda. Calyx 5-partitus.
BLOSSOM funnel-shaped, with the mouth open and naked. Cup 5-cleft.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
LITHOSPERMUM villosum caulibus procumbentibus. _Sp. Pl. editio
prima._
LITHOSPERMUM hairy. Stem procumbent.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-bud and pointal.
* * * * *
This rare plant, enumerated in the Hortus Kewensis upon the authority of
Sutherland’s Catalogue of the Plants in the Physic Garden at Edinburgh,
published in 1683, has been long a desideratum in our collections. It
grows naturally in dry sandy places about Montpelier, and also in the
southern provinces of the Russian empire, from whence we have seen fine
specimens collected by Professor Pallas in Mr. Lambert’s Herbarium,
which now contains the whole collection made at the expense of the
Russian Government, during the space of 30 years, by that great
naturalist and his assistants. The plant is well calculated for
ornamenting rock-works, or light sandy and gravelly borders. The roots
are an article of trade, and used to give a red colour to oils, wax, and
spirits of wine. Linnæus, after having very properly arranged this plant
as a Lithospermum in the first edition of his Species Plantarum,
afterwards removed it to the genus Anchusa, which alteration has since
been adopted by every editor of his works. The character, however, is
decidedly that of a Lithospermum; and the alteration would be difficult
to account for, were it not for a memorandum of the late M. L’Heritier
(published in the Flore Française), stating that he had seen another
plant under that name in the Linnæan herbarium. It therefore appears
that Linnæus, after having described the true plant, from his not
possessing a specimen of it had afterwards mistaken some species of
Anchusa for it. The plant, however, was retained in its proper genus by
Gerard in his Flora Gallico-Provincialis, and he has since been followed
by Decandolle in the Flore Française. We are aware of Professor Vahl and
Willdenow’s having given to another Lithospermum the name of tinctorium;
but if the genus Arnebia of Forskahl is given up, the characteristic
specific of tetrastigma applied to it by Lamarck may be restored. We
have never seen any figure of the plant but that of Plenck, Aubriet’s in
Alyon’s Cours de Botanique, and the wooden cut of John Bauhin; the plant
figured under the name of Anchusa tinctoria in Woodville’s Medical
Botany being the Anchusa officinalis. Specimens were communicated by A.
B. Lambert, esq., and there is also a fine spreading plant of it now in
blossom (May 27th) in the natural ground, in Mr. Harrison’s nursery at
Brompton.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXVII.
PROTEA VIRGATA.
_Twiggy Protea._
CLASS IV. ORDER I.
_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
COROLLA 4-fida, seu 4-petala. Antheræ lineares, petalis infra
apices insertæ. Calyx proprius, nullus. Semina solitaria.
BLOSSOM four-cleft, or of four petals. Tips linear, inserted into
the petals below the points. Cup proper, none. Seeds solitary.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
PROTEA foliis linearibus acutis, supra concavis, subtus convexis:
floribus confertis, procumbentibus.
Habitat ad Caput Bonæ Spei.
PROTEA with linear pointed leaves, concave above, and convex
beneath. Flowers crowded, and lying on the ground.
Native of the Cape of Good Hope.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower complete, summit magnified.
* * * * *
The application of specific titles to this wide-spreading family of
plants is now become an arduous task; and considering how many of the
best are already occupied, an exclusive reference cannot be expected.
This species of Protea is altogether new, but bears a powerful
resemblance in the flowers to the P. humiflora: but the distinct
character of its foliage gives to the tout ensemble a perfect air of
novelty; nor is there any figure or description of it extant, that we
know of.
Our drawing was made from a fine plant at the nursery of Mr. Knight in
the King’s Road, Chelsea.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXVIII.
ÆGIPHILA DIFFUSA. Fig. 1.
_Spreading Ægiphila._
CLASS IV. ORDER I.
_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX 4-dentatus. Corolla 4-fida. Stylus semibifidus. Bacca
bilocularis, loculis dispermis.
CUP four-toothed. Blossom four-cleft. Shaft cleft half-way down.
Berry two-celled, cells two-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
ÆGIPHILA foliis ovato-lanceolatis, longè acuminatis, utrinque
glabris; paniculis diffusis axillaribus et terminalibus; staminibus
tubo vix excedentibus, stylo longissimo.
ÆGIPHILA with oval-lanced, long pointed leaves, smooth on both
sides; panicles spreading, axillary, and terminal; stamens scarcely
longer than the tube, and shaft very long.
ÆGIPHILA OBOVATA. Fig. 2.
_Inversely Oval-leaved Ægiphila_
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
ÆGIPHILA foliis obovatis acuminatis, utrinque glabris; paniculis
axillaribus et terminalibus; pedicellis calycibusque minutè
pubescentibus.
ÆGIPHILA with leaves inversely oval, pointed and smooth; panicles
axillary and terminal; flower-stalks and calyxes minutely
pubescent.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. The empalement.
2. A blossom spread open.
3. Seed-bud and pointal, as it appears in the opening buds.
4. The same when fully expanded.
* * * * *
This very natural genus was established by Jacquin from the Bois Cabril
of the Creoles in Martinico, a shrub, the young shoots of which are
greedily sought for and eaten by their cattle, particularly goats,
whence the name (in English) Goatwood; and which Jacquin, following the
botanical canon, elegantly turned into Ægiphila. With this species the
celebrated Swartz has conjoined the Knoxia of Browne’s Jamaica and
Manabea lævis of Aublet’s Guiana, and added two more species, Æ. fœtida
and Æ. trifida, discovered by himself; and Willdenow has yet further
augmented it with the Manabea villosa and arborescens of Aublet, and the
Nuxia of Lamarck: the last, however, we consider as a very doubtful
species. That fine collection of plants from the West Indies, introduced
in 1807 by lord Seaforth, and by him presented to A. B. Lambert, esq.
and which we have already so often quoted, has brought to our knowledge
two more species, which we have denominated diffusa and obovata, from
what appeared to us to be their most prominent features. Both shrubs are
natives of the West Indies, and were sent to us in flower in August
1808. They are propagated by cuttings, and have not yet ripened seeds in
England, but produce flowers annually in abundance during the months of
July and August.
[Illustration]
PLATE DLXXIX.
CRATÆGUS AZAROLUS.
_The Azarole._
CLASS II. ORDER XII.
_ICOSANDRIA DIGYNIA._ Twenty Chives. Two Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
CALYX quinquefidus. Petala quinque. Bacca infera, 1-5-sperma.
CUP five-cleft. Blossom five petals. Berry below, with from 1 to 5
seeds.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER.
CRATÆGUS foliis obtusis, subtrifidis, dentatis, pubescentibus.
CRATÆGUS with blunt, pubescent, toothed leaves generally 3-cleft.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. A flower spread open.
2. The same shown from the outer side.
* * * * *