specimens to Kew, where it flowered first in May 1869. From the material
a figure of the plant was published in the _Botanical Magazine_ of the
same year. This figure, however, does not accurately represent the plant
as it is known in its native habitat and in local cultivation. The
flowers are lilac, and not almost white, as indicated in the _Botanical
Magazine_. The late Dr. Medley Wood reproduced a pencil drawing of the
plant in “Natal Plants” in 1912, and states it “is a handsome shrub, but
it is of no economic value; it is found only in the coast and midland
districts of Natal, and does not seem to be very common.” _MacKaya
bella_ differs from _Crossandra Greenstockii_ (see Plate 77), which also
belongs to the _Acanthaceae_, in having almost a regular, not a 1-lipped
corolla.
Dr. Harvey, who first described the genus, dedicated it to Dr. J. T.
MacKay, keeper of the Dublin University Botanic Garden. Our figure was
prepared from plants growing in the “Flanagan Arboretum,” Union
Buildings, Pretoria.
DESCRIPTION:--A shrub about 1-1·5 m. high. _Branches_ pubescent.
_Leaves_ opposite, petioled; blade 3-6 cm. long, 1·3-3·5 cm. broad,
elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, obtuse, usually narrowed at
the base, margins lobulate or subentire, with the nerves distinct
beneath, glabrous; petioles about 1 cm. long, pubescent. _Flowers_
opposite in a terminal lax raceme; the internodes almost 2 cm. long.
_Bracts_ 4·5 mm. long, subulate; bracteoles 2, at the base of the
pedicels. _Pedicel_ 5-7 mm. long, pubescent. _Calyx_ divided almost to
the base; lobes 8 mm. long, acuminate from a base 1 mm. broad, very
finely pubescent, and ciliate on the margins. _Corolla-tube_ 3·5 cm.
long, 2 cm. in diameter at the throat, campanulate above, becoming
cylindric below, finely pubescent; lobes 2 cm. long, 1-1·5 cm. broad,
ovate, obtuse, very finely pubescent or glabrous. _Fertile stamens_ two;
filaments fixed to narrow portion of corolla-tube, 1·5 cm. long, terete,
with a few scattered short stiff hairs; anthers 7 mm. long, bluntly
sagittate at the base, hirsute on the back; sterile stamens represented
by filaments only. _Ovary_ 3 mm. long, 2-celled, with 2 superposed
ovules in each cell, glabrous; style 3·3 cm. long, filiform, with a few
scattered hairs at the base; stigma shortly bifid. (National Herb.
Pretoria, No. 2638.)
PLATE 104.--Fig. 1, calyx; 2, corolla; 3, anther back view and
filament; 4, anther front view; 5, ovary; 6, apex of style showing
shortly bifid stigma; 7, longitudinal section of ovary.
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _105._
S Gower del.]
PLATE 105.
ADENIUM OLEIFOLIUM.
_Transvaal. Cape Province._
APOCYNACEAE. Tribe ECHITIDEAE.
ADENIUM, _Roem. et Schult._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. ii. p. 722.
=Adenium oleifolium=, _Stapf_, var. angustifolium, _Phillips_ var. nov., a
typo foliis angustis differt.
The genus _Adenium_ is represented in South Africa by three species
found in the Transvaal, Swaziland and the North-Western Cape Province.
Species of the genus are also found extending through tropical Africa to
Socotra. On Plate 16 we figured _Adenium multiflorum_, from which the
present plant differs in having long narrow leaves; both, however, have
very large tuberous underground stems from which the branches arise. The
peculiar tailed anthers and the scales in the corolla-throat which
sometimes form small pouches are characteristic of the genus.
Specimens were submitted to Kew for confirmation of the name, and the
Director reports “very probably _A. oleifolium_, Stapf, but leaves are
much narrower than in the type,” and it was thought advisable to
describe this as a narrow-leaved variety.
Our plate was prepared from specimens collected by Dr. W. M. Borcherds
at Upington, and forwarded by him to the Division of Botany, Pretoria.
DESCRIPTION:--Plant with large underground tuberous stems from which the
branches arise. _Branches_ densely pubescent when young, at length
becoming glabrous. _Leaves_ crowded at the ends of the branches, 6-10
cm. long, 2-4 mm. broad, linear, acute, pubescent. _Flowers_ terminal.
_Sepals_ 6·5 mm. long, ovate, acuminate, acute, densely pilose, united
at the base. _Corolla-tube_ 3·5 cm. long, cylindric and 3 mm. in
diameter in lowest third, campanulate and 1·1 cm. in diameter in
uppermost ⅔, pubescent without and within and with pockets in the
angles formed by the lobes; lobes 1·3 cm. long, 8-9 mm. broad,
broadly-elliptic, acuminate, sub-acute, minutely ciliate. _Filaments_ 4
mm. long, thick, terete, densely pilose; anthers 4 mm. long, hairy on
the backs, sagittate at the base and produced into a long coiled apical
hairy appendage 1 cm. long. _Ovary_ 2 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, glabrous,
separating into 2 carpels; style 1·6 cm. long, cylindric, glabrous;
stigmas 3 mm. long, lanceolate, subacuminate, with a mass of glandular
hairs at the back which fix the stigmas to the connective of the
anthers. (National Herb. Pretoria, No. 2598.)
PLATE 105.--Fig. 1, plant reduced; 2, corolla laid open; 3, corolla
from above; 4, pocket in corolla; 5, calyx; 6, stamens; 7, style
and stigma; 8, carpels; 9, median longitudinal section of flower.
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _106._
S. Gower del.]
PLATE 106.
CRATEROSTIGMA PLANTAGINEUM.
_Transvaal._
SCROPHULARIACEAE. Tribe GRATIOLEAE.
CRATEROSTIGMA, _Hochst._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. ii. p. 954.
=Craterostigma plantagineum=, _Hochst. in Flora_, 1841, 669; _Fl. Cap._
vol. iv. sect. 2, p. 361.
The _Craterostigma_ figured on the accompanying plate is known from
various localities in the Transvaal. It is also recorded from the
neighbourhood of Bulawayo in Rhodesia and from other parts of tropical
Africa reaching as far north as Arabia and Abyssinia. The genus is
mainly a tropical one, and is represented by about a dozen species,
three of which are found in South Africa.
_C. plantagineum_ is a charming little plant which would be well worth
cultivation in the greenhouse and should be easily grown. Our plate was
prepared from specimens collected by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans, C.M.G., on
the portion of the farm Rietfontein 448, near Pretoria, belonging to Mr.
J. F. Ludorf. The plants were found growing in great profusion in
shallow soil not more than one inch deep on a large quartzite outcrop.
They were in flower during November and December.
DESCRIPTION:--An acaulescent plant with a rosette of radical leaves.
_Leaves_ 6-6·5 cm. long, 3-3·5 cm. broad (the inner smaller), ovate,
obtuse, narrowed at the base, with crenulate, ciliated margins and with
the nerves depressed above, prominent beneath, glabrous above, pubescent
beneath, especially on the veins. _Peduncles_ 3 or more to a plant,
3·5-4 cm. long, terete, pubescent, bearing about 8 opposite flowers in a
raceme. _Bracts_ 1 cm. long, 5 mm. broad, ovate-lanceolate, acute,
slightly connate at the base, glabrous except on the keel, ciliate.
_Pedicel_ 7 mm. long, flat on the upper surface, convex on the lower
surface, pubescent, ciliate. _Calyx-tube_ 4·5 mm. long, 2·5 mm. in
diameter, deeply fluted, pubescent; lobes 1 mm. long, ovate, sub-acute,
ciliated. _Corolla_ 2-lipped; tube 7 mm. long, tubular; lower lip 9 mm.
long, 1 cm. broad, 3-lobed, with the lobes obovate, crenulate; upper lip
7 mm. long, oblong-ovate, bilobed at the apex. _Stamens_ of two
different kinds; those attached to the lower lip with filaments 7 mm.
long, bent at right angles below and then swollen to form two
callosities on the lip; those attached to the upper lip 2 mm. long;
anther cells diverging, those of each pair of stamens joined. _Ovary_ 2
mm. long, 1·25 mm. in diameter, ovoid; style 8 mm. long, terete,
gradually widening above, glabrous; stigma bilobed, with the lobes
broadly ovate and somewhat membranous. (National Herb. Pretoria, No.
2644.)
PLATE 106.--Fig. 1, median longitudinal section of flower; 2, front
view of flower enlarged; 3, bract; 4, calyx; 5, stamens; 6, pistil;
7, lower portion of under surface of leaf; 8, section of pedicel
snowing convex and flat surfaces.
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _107._
S. Gower del.]
PLATE 107.
ALOE COMOSA.
_Cape Province._
LILIACEAE. Tribe ALOINEAE.
ALOE, _Linn._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. iii. p. 776.
=Aloe comosa=, _Marloth and A. Berg. in Engl. Bot. Jahrb._ vol. 38, p. 86.
The Aloe which forms the subject of this plate is, so far as is known,
only found on the Bokkeveld beds in the Clanwilliam and Van Rhynsdorp
Districts of the Cape Province. Full-grown plants attain a height of
12-15 ft., and when in full bloom, which is usually during December and
January, their long massive inflorescences make such a display of colour
in the veld that they cannot fail to attract the notice of the
traveller. As will be seen from the illustration, the uppermost flowers
are hidden by the long bracts, the flowers in the middle portion of the
inflorescence are pink and spreading, while those at the base are
pendulous and greenish-white. The stamens are only exserted from the
pendulous flowers, and after pollination the filaments contract and are
withdrawn into the perianth, which closes round them, leaving the style
exserted. This phenomenon is also found in _Aloe saponaria_ figured on
Plate 96, and is probably fairly general in the genus _Aloe_.
The material from which our plate was made was collected by Dr. I. B.
Pole Evans, C.M.G., on the Doorn River near Van Rhynsdorp, and brought
to Pretoria, where the plants flower regularly every year during
December and January. _Aloe comosa_ was first collected and described by
Dr. R. Marloth, who found it between Clanwilliam and Van Rhynsdorp in
1904.
DESCRIPTION:--Plant with a short stout stem or sometimes up to 12 ft.
bearing a rosette of fleshy leaves at the apex, _Leaves_ up to 52 cm.
long, 10 cm. broad in the widest part, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate,
acute, flat above, slightly convex beneath, deeply channelled on the
upper surface above, with the veins somewhat distinct on the upper
surface and with the margins covered with sharp teeth; teeth 5-7 mm.
apart, 2 mm. long, ovate. _Inflorescence_ lateral about 1·3 m. long,
racemose, narrowly cylindric, with the lowermost flowers pendulous, the
upper flowers erect and adpressed and the median flowers spreading.
_Peduncle_ about 60 cm. long, 1·5 cm. in diameter, terete, covered with
long membranous ovate-acuminate bracts 5 cm. long, 1 cm. broad.
_Floral-bracts_ 6 cm. long, lanceolate, long acuminate, acute, with
membranous margins, encircling the pedicel. _Pedicel_ 1·8-2 cm. long, at
first erect, at length becoming curved, terete. _Perianth-tube_ 1·2 cm.
long, campanulate; outer lobes grenadine-pink, 2 cm. long, 5 mm. broad,
lanceolate, hooded at the apex, 3-nerved; inner lobes whitish, 2 cm.
long, obtuse and hooded at the apex, 1-nerved. _Filaments_ 1·8 cm. long,
lengthening to 4 cm. long in old flowers; anthers 3 mm. long, oblong.
_Ovary_ ellipsoid; style 2 cm. long, lengthening to 4 cm. in old
flowers; stigma simple with a ring of papillose hairs. (National Herb.
Pretoria, No. 2643.)
PLATE 107.--Fig. 1, entire plant much reduced; 2, inflorescence ×
⅔; 3, leaf × ⅔; 4, median longitudinal section of flower; 5, bract;
6, young flower; 7, mature flower with stamens exserted; 8, inner
perianth segment; 9, outer perianth segment.
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _108._
S. Gower del.]
PLATE 108.
PROTEA PITYPHYLLA var. LATIFOLIA.
_Cape Province._
PROTEACEAE. Tribe PROTEAE.
PROTEA, _Linn._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. iii. p. 169.
=Protea pityphylla=, _Phill._ var. latifolia, _Phillips_ var. nov.,
a typo foliis latis differt.
The _Protea_ figured on the accompanying plate is readily distinguished
from the species by its flat, linear leaves, and on this character alone
has been described as a variety of _P. pityphylla_, Phill. We are
indebted to Miss L. Guthrie of the Bolus Herbarium for the specimens,
which she received from Mr. de Wet of Ceres. The plant is stated to grow
in the same habitat and to be found associated with _P. pityphylla_ and
_P. Marlothii_. It has the characteristic involucre of the former
species, namely, the long leaf-like appendages from the apices of the
lowermost bracts and also the same pendulous heads. The section of the
genus (§ _Pinifoliæ_), comprising species with narrowly linear, filiform
or needle-shaped leaves, to which this plant belongs is illustrated here
for the first time.
DESCRIPTION:--_Branches_ glabrous. _Leaves_ 5·5-6·5 cm. long, 3 mm.
broad, linear, bluntly apiculate, slightly narrowed to the base,
glabrous. _Head_ sessile, 4·5 cm. long, about 6·5 cm. in diameter,
cernuous. _Involucral-bracts_ 7-8-seriate, glabrous; the outer ovate,
obtuse, sometimes subacuminate, minutely ciliate, the lowermost produced
into long foliaceous appendages resembling the leaves; inner 3·5 cm.
long, 1·3 cm. broad, concave, arching over and exceeding the flowers.
_Perianth-sheath_ 2 cm. long, dilated and 3-keeled below, setulose on
the uppermost portion, otherwise glabrous; lip 5·5 mm. long, 3-toothed,
3-keeled, setulose below; teeth subequal, ·5 mm. long, the middle tooth
smaller than the two lateral. _Filaments_ ·5 mm. long; anthers 3·5 mm.
long, linear, with an ovate fleshy apical gland less than ·5 mm. long.
_Ovary_ covered with long golden hairs; style over 2·5 cm. long, widened
and much compressed at the base, sickle-shaped, glabrous; stigma 4 mm.
long, scarcely swollen at the junction with the style, obtuse. (National
Herb. Pretoria, No. 2586.)
PLATE 108.--Fig. 1, receptacle; 2, unopened flower; 3, flower with
perianth segments separated; 4, base of style showing the flattened
portion.
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _109._
S. Gower del.]
PLATE 109.
TRIASPIS NELSONI.
_Transvaal._
MALPIGHIACEAE. Tribe HIRRAE.
TRIASPIS, _Burch._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. i. p. 259.
=Triaspis Nelsoni=, _Oliv. in Hook. Ic. Pl._ t. 1418.
_Triaspis Nelsoni_ was first described and figured in 1883 from material
collected by Mr. W. Nelson at Pretoria. The figure given by Hooker is
incorrect in a few small details. The pedicels, for instance, are
articulated and bear 2 small bracteoles; the three styles are not equal,
but one is longer than the other two and is deflexed at an angle of
about 45°; the anterior petal is exterior in the bud and larger than the
other petals.
The genus Triaspis is found in Madagascar, tropical and southern Africa,
and was first recorded by the famous traveller Burchell, who collected
specimens of a plant he described as _T. hypericoides_ at Kosi Fountain
in Bechuanaland in 1812. Since then several species have been recorded
from the Transvaal.
The species figured on the accompanying plate is of frequent occurrence
on the soils overlying the dolomite outcrops south of Pretoria at an
elevation of 4000-5000 ft. above sea-level. It forms a subherbaceous
bush not more than two feet high, and the main branches always tend to
droop. When in flower it is a most attractive and beautiful object in
the veld, and is well worth cultivation in our gardens. In addition to
the beauty of its flowers, its large copper-coloured orbicular winged
fruits add considerably to its charm and gracefulness. The material from
which our plate was prepared was collected by Dr. I. B. Pole Evans,
C.M.G., on the farm Doornkloof, Irene, near Pretoria, belonging to
General the Rt. Hon. J. C. Smuts.
DESCRIPTION:--A subherbaceous plant with long slender and graceful
branches from an underground rootstock. _Branches_ terete, pubescent.
_Leaves_ opposite, decussate, 2-3 cm. long, 1-2·2 cm. broad, the upper
leaves smaller than the lower, ovate, sub-apiculate, cordate at the
base, with distinct reticulate veining and with the midrib prominent
beneath, sparsely pubescent, with ciliated margins. _Inflorescence_ a
5-6-flowered axillary raceme, arranged in the axils of the upper leaves.
_Peduncle_ 1·3 cm. long, terete, pubescent. _Pedicels_ 1·5 cm. long,
articulated in the lowermost ⅓, pubescent, bearing 2 small bracts.
_Sepals_ 3·5 mm. long, 1·5 mm. broad, oblong, rounded above, sparsely
pubescent. _Petals_ 1 cm. long, 6 mm. broad, concave, oblong, rounded
above, produced into a claw at the base, with fimbriated margins; the
lowermost petal overlapping the others in bud and larger than the rest.
_Stamens_ 10; filaments 5 mm. long, glabrous; stamens 2 mm. long,
linear-oblong. _Ovary_ 2 mm. long, globose, villous; styles 3, two stand
erect; the posterior style reflexed and smaller than the other two.
_Fruit_ 3-winged with the wings deeply saucer-shaped. (National Herb.
Pretoria, No. 2642.)
PLATE 109.--Fig. 1, bud; 2, median longitudinal section of flower;
3, pistil; 4, fruit..
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _110._
S. Gower del.]
PLATE 110.
MESEMBRYANTHEMUM PILLANSII.
_Cape Province._
FICOIDEAE. Tribe MESEMBRYEAE.
_Mesembryanthemum_, _Linn._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. i. p. 853.
=Mesembryanthemum Pillansii=, _Kensit in Plant. Nov. Hort. Then._ II.
tab. 57 (1908); _Botanical Mag._ t. 8703.
Dr. R. Marloth supplies the following interesting note on this plant.
“Originally found by Mr. Eustace Pillans (not Mr. N. Pillans, as stated
in the _Botanical Magazine_) on the farm Mouton Valley on the Piquetberg
mountains to the north-west of Piquetberg.
The present plants were gathered by me at the same locality in October
1922 on sandstone hills among _Protea_ trees (waabom, _P. grandiflora_),
forming shrublets 1½ to 2 ft. high with erect virgate branches.
The description in the _Botanical Magazine_ is fairly correct, but the
coloured petals are all radiating on the wild plants (not some erect and
conniving, as stated in the _Botanical Magazine_ for the cultivated
plants). They are arranged in 5 groups in front of the sepals. The
stigmata are distinct and papillate in the later stages of the flower.
The plant is easily cultivated at Cape Town, and I have had it in flower
for several years from September to December.
The flowers are of special biological interest. The stamens do not stand
erect as in most other species, but are incurved towards the centre to
such an extent that the filaments from opposite stamens meet and the
anthers are consequently enclosed in the lentil-shaped cavity thus
formed above the concave apex of the ovary. The roof of this cavity is
further strengthened by the filiform white inner petals which possess a
rough surface and are also tightly incurved inwards, meeting at the
centre.
The pollen is produced in profusion, and a mass of white powder is
found in every flower when slit open at this stage. In all the flowers
examined by me I found a number of small black beetles not more than 2
mm. long and a few specimens of haplothrips, all thoroughly covered with
pollen. These insects are able to force their way in between the
filaments and inner petals, but cannot escape until the stamens wither.
Up to that time no stigmatic surfaces are visible in the centre of the
flower, but within a few days, when the flower is about a week old and
when the pollen at first accumulated in the concave apex of the ovary
has been blown away by the wind, the stigmas develop to a length of 2-3
mm., showing a papillate surface, and are then in a condition to be
cross-pollinated by the insects released from flowers in the first
stage.”
DESCRIPTION:--A succulent plant. _Branches_ glabrous, angled and
somewhat winged. _Leaves_ connate 2·8-4 cm. long, ovate, acute, flat
above, acutely keeled beneath, with the margins somewhat scarious.
_Flowers_ terminal, about 4 cm. in diameter when expanded. _Sepals_
unequal, ovate, acuminate, acute, two of the sepals have membranous
appendages on the inner face. _Petals_ 1·7 cm. long, obovate, produced
into a long claw. _Stamens_ bending over into cavity of receptacle;
filaments linear. _Stigmas_ sessile on floor of receptacle. (National
Herb. Pretoria, No. 2646.)
PLATE 110.--Fig. 1, median longitudinal section of flower with
sepals and petals removed; 2, sepals; 3, petal enlarged; 4, stamen;
5, cross section of ovary; 6, fruit; 7, section of leaf.
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _111._
S. Gower del.]
PLATE 111.
ALOE MICROCANTHA.
_Cape Province, Swaziland, Transvaal._
LILIACEAE. Tribe ALOINEAE.
ALOE, _Linn._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. iii. p. 776.
=Aloe microcantha=, _Haw. Suppl._ 105; _Fl. Cap._ vol. vi. p. 306; _Sims in
Bot. Mag._ t. 2272.
_Aloe microcantha_, which forms the subject of the accompanying plate,
occurs frequently in the open grass veld along the eastern mountain
range from Grahamstown northwards as far as the valley of the Limpopo.
In Swaziland and the eastern Transvaal it is usually found along the
edges of streams and in marshy places. In localities of high rainfall,
such as Haenertsberg on the Drakensbergen in the Transvaal, this plant
is often a conspicuous and beautiful object on the grassy slopes facing
east. It flowers during January and February. As soon as the seed has
set, a few months later, the leaves wither almost completely to their
bases, leaving a short stem surrounded by a few dried leaves to weather
the winter drought.
We are indebted to Mr. Chas. Maggs of Pretoria for the specimen figured
in our illustration. It was collected by Mr. Maggs on his Waterval
Estate, near Sabie, on the Drakensberg, in January 1921, and forwarded
to the Division of Botany, where it flowered in January the following
year.
_Aloe microcantha_ was first collected by Bowie and introduced into
cultivation in 1819. It was figured in Curtis’ _Botanical Magazine_ in
1821 as a plant of great rarity from the Cape of Good Hope.
DESCRIPTION:--An acaulescent plant. _Leaves_ up to 33 cm. long, 4·5 cm.
broad at the base, lanceolate, acuminate, acute, concave, sparsely
covered with greenish-white spots near the base and with rigidly
ciliated margins. _Inflorescence_ about 50 cm. long, terete, glabrous,
bearing a few distant membranous ovate acuminate acute bracts.
_Inflorescence_ congested, corymbose. _Bracts_ 1·5 cm. long, ovate,
acuminate, acute. _Pedicels_ 3 cm. long, terete, glabrous. _Perianth_
2·8 to 3·2 cm. long; lobes 2·7 cm. long, 6 mm. broad, linear, obtuse.
_Filaments_ 2 cm. long, filiform; anthers linear. _Ovary_ 1 cm. long,
cylindric; style 2·7 cm. long, filiform; stigma simple. (National Herb.
Pretoria, No. 2645.)
PLATE 111.--Fig. 1, plant much reduced; 2, median longitudinal
section of flower; 3, perianth segments; 4, anther; 5, style; 6,
cross-section of leaf about the middle.
F.P.S.A., 1923.
[Illustration: _112._
K.A. Lansdell del.]
PLATE 112.
ERYTHRINA HUMEANA.
_Cape Province, Natal._
LEGUMINOSAE. Tribe PHASEOLEAE.
ERYTHRINA, _Linn._; _Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant._ vol. i. p. 531.
=Erythrina Humeana=, _Spreng. Syst._ iii. 243; _E. Humei, E. Mey. Comm.
Pl. Afr. Austr._ 150; _Fl. Cap._ vol. i. p. 237.
In a previous issue, on Plate 59, we figured the Kaffir Boom (_Erythrina
caffra_), from which the present species differs in being of a dwarf
habit and having the nerves of the leaves and petioles covered with
prickles. It is a common plant on the slopes of the Drakensberg in
Natal, extending southward to Grahamstown, and during the summer months
the bright red flowers are very conspicuous in the veld. The leaves of
this species, as well as those of _E. caffra_, are attacked by a
gall-producing insect, and the seeds are attacked by insects to such an
extent that it is difficult to find ripe seed.
The species has been known to cultivators in Europe for over 100 years,
and was figured in the _Botanical Magazine_ as early as 1823. It is a
very handsome shrub which stands from 4 to 8 ft. high, and is well worth
cultivation.