These are considered by florists as among the most elegant of tropical
plants, but like the Eranthemums, are not generally known. They are all
natives of tropical America, and require strong heat with plenty of
moisture. They are low-priced, and ought to be more extensively
cultivated. I think mine are very beautiful. _Eximia_, upper surface of
leaves striped with grayish-white; under, purplish-violet. _Leopordina_,
pale green with oblong blotches of deep green. _Mikans_, shining green
with a white feathery stripe. _Van den Heckii_, dark glossy leaves,
mid-rib silvery white. _Makayana_, a very ornamental dwarf species;
leaf-stalks slender reddish-purple, blade of the leaf ovate, ground
color, olive green, beautifully and regularly blotched with creamy
yellow of a transparent character; on each side the mid-rib are oblong
dark green blotches, while the under side is rosy red. _Tubispatha_ is
an elegant and very attractive species of erect habit of growth; leaves
some nine or ten inches long, light green, ornamented on each side the
mid-rib with oblong blotches of cinnamon brown. _Veitchii_, "The leaves
of this grand plant are upward of twelve inches in length; the under
surface of a rich purplish-wine color, the upper of a deep shining
green, blotched with conspicuous patches along each side, of a
yellowish-green, almost verging on gray. The contrast is very marked,
and the whole plant very beautiful."
ACHYRANTHES, a genus of richly colored tropical plants, are better
known, and to a limited extent are found in many gardens,
_Verschaffelti_, with its dark crimson leaf, being the most common.
_Brilliantissima_, ruby red, is a new English variety; _Wallisii_ is a
new dwarf, with small purple leaves; _Lindeni Aurea Reticulata_, foliage
netted with golden yellow, on a light green ground. These plants are of
the easiest cultivation, and endure strong sunshine without injury.
ALTERNANTHERAS are also very effective for bedding plants; habit dwarf.
Foliage is in some of a magenta-rose color, others, yellow and red;
_Purpurea_ has a purplish tint, and _Versicolor_, crimson and pink
shadings. They are unsurpassed for ribbon or carpet bedding.
DIEFFENBACHIA, a genus of stove plants with very showy foliage.
_Brasiliensis_, a handsome variety, the leaves averaging eighteen inches
in length by eight or nine inches in width; the ground color of the leaf
is deep green, and the whole surface is mottled with small blotches of
greenish-yellow and white; _Bausei_ is a stocky-growing, broad-leaved
variety, with yellowish-green leaves, which are irregularly edged and
blotched with dark green, and also spotted with white, the markings
being peculiarly effective; _Weirie_ is of dwarf habit, the foliage of a
bright green color, thickly blotched and spotted with pale yellow. One
of the finest of the species. They grow best in loam and peat equal
quantities, with a little sand. Require strong heat and frequent
watering.
A few ornamental foliage plants of rare beauty received from Mr. John
Saul merit special notice:
_Cyanaphyllum Spectandum_ is a grand plant with large, oblong, lustrous
leaves which have a rich, velvety appearance; they are beautifully
ribbed with whitish color.
_Alocacia Macrorhiza Variegata_, its large caladium-shaped leaves are
marbled and broadly splashed with white. Some leaves are nearly all
white; _Zebrina_, fine yellow leaf-stalk with distinct black marks;
_Illustris_, the leaf-stalks are erect, and have a brownish-purple tint,
color a rich green, marked between the principal veins by broad patches
of a blackish olive, and forming a striking contrast with the brighter
green portions of the leaf surface; _Sedini_, "A very beautiful hybrid
between _A. Metallica_ and _A. Lowii_. The form of the leaf is perfectly
intermediate between the two parents, whilst the coloring is a very
striking and pleasing combination of the metallic hue of one parent,
with the dark green and prominent white veins of the other." Alocasias
require a moist heat during their growing season. Soil, peat, with a
small portion of loam, sand and manure.
_Acalypha Macafeeana_ is another of the rare and beautiful foliage
plants alluded to. It is considered the best Acalypha ever offered. It
is certainly very handsome with its "sub-cordate and serrate leaves,
eight inches long and six broad, frequently cut into many forms, and
very highly colored bright red, blotched with deep bronzy crimson." It
proves to be an admirable plant for bedding out. Quite as attractive
every way is _Panax Laciniatum_, "An elegant and very distinct habited
stove plant from the South Sea islands. The leaves are tinted and
indistinctly marked with pale olive brown, and form a rather complicated
mass of narrow segments; they are bipinnate, nearly as broad as long,
and have a drooping contour; and the pinnules or segments are very
variable in size and form, presenting the appearance of a complex head
of foliage in which the lanceolate lobes or pinnules have the
preponderancy."
_Panax Fruiticosm_ has a very graceful fern-like foliage. These plants
belong to the Aralia family, a genus very ornamental, natives of the
South Sea Islands.
Another of my Washington collection, very graceful and beautiful, is
_Paulinia Thalictrifolia_. Its delicate cut leaves resemble the fronds
of a finely divided Maiden-hair Fern. The leaves are of a rich shade of
green. The young shoots and foliage are of a pinkish-brown color. It is
of slender growth and climbing habit, very similar to Capsidium
Filicifolium, which has long been a special favorite of mine. Both of
these are elegant, trained on a pot trellis.
Paulinia Thalictrifolia is a native of the southern Brazils, from whence
it was introduced to the nurseries of Messrs. Veitch & Sons of Chelsea.
If only required for decorative purposes there should be no inclination
to make the plants produce flowers which are inconspicuous; therefore
the main object should be to have plenty of healthy foliage. To secure
this, the plant should be grown in a temperature of from 65° to 70°, and
if one part of the greenhouse is more adapted to its growth than
another, it is the dampest part. After this plant came into the
possession of Messrs. Veitch, and before its true value became known,
some plants of it were placed in a corner of an old, very damp, warm
pit, in which position they grew wonderfully strong, and quite surpassed
in vigor and beauty those that were, as was then supposed, placed under
more advantageous circumstances, i.e., in dryer and lighter parts of
other houses. Care is therefore now taken to keep them where abundant
atmospheric moisture can be supplied. A compost consisting of two parts
good substantial peat and one of loam, together with some silver sand,
suits it admirably.--_Gardening Illustrated._