THE

Botanical Magazine;

OR,

Flower-Garden Displayed:

IN WHICH

The most Ornamental Foreign Plants, cultivated in the Open
Ground, the Green-House, and the Stove, are accurately represented in
their natural Colours.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED,

Their Names, Class, Order, Generic and Specific Characters, according to
the celebrated Linnæus; their Places of Growth, and Times of
Flowering:

TOGETHER WITH

THE MOST APPROVED METHODS OF CULTURE.

A WORK

Intended for the Use of such Ladies, Gentlemen, and
Gardeners, as wish to become scientifically acquainted with the
Plants they cultivate.

By WILLIAM CURTIS,

Author of the Flora Londinensis.

VOL. V.

Armstrong.

LONDON:

Printed by Couchman and Fry, Throgmorton-Street. For
W. CURTIS, No 3, St. George’s-Crescent, Black-Friars-Road; And Sold by
the principal Booksellers in Great-Britain and Ireland.

M DCC XCI.

[145]

Monarda Fistulosa, var. Crimson Monarda

Class and Order.

Diandra Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o145.

The Monarda fistulosa, a hardy herbaceous plant, growing spontaneously
in Canada, and other parts of North-America, has long been cultivated in
the English gardens, to which it recommends itself as much by the
fragrance of its foliage, as the beauty of its flowers; of this species
the plant here figured is an uncommonly beautiful variety, its blossoms
far surpassing those of the original in size, as well as brilliancy of
colour, the floral leaves also are highly coloured; we have represented
a single blossom of the common Monarda fistulosa, that the difference
of the two may be rendered obvious.

This variety has been very lately introduced from Holland, by Messrs.
Grimwood and Co. Kensington; it flowers from June to September,
and is propagated by parting its roots in spring or autumn.

[146]

Hypericum Calycinum. Large-Flower’d St. John’s-Wort.

Class and Order.

Polyadelphia Polyandria.

Generic Character.

N^o146.

This species of St. John’s-Wort, particularly distinguished by the
largeness of its flowers, has very generally been considered as the
Ascyron of Linnæus, owing to his giving to that plant the
synonyms which properly belong to the present one: in his Mantissa,
this species is called calycinum, which name is adopted in the 14th
edition of the Systema Vegetabilium, and also in the Hortus
Kewensis, where the proper synonyms are applied to it, and from which
we learn, that it is a native of the country near Constantinople, and
was introduced into this country by Sir George Wheler, Bart. in
1676.

It is a hardy perennial, increasing much by its roots, which are of the
creeping kind, and by parting of which in the autumn it is most readily
propagated; like the periwinkle, it is a plant well adapted to cover a
bank, or bare, spots under trees, where other plants will not thrive.

It flowers from July to September.

[147]

Dais Cotinifolia. Cotinus-Leav’d Dais.

Class and Order.

Decandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o147.

The Dais cotinifolia is an ornamental Green-house Shrub, of the
deciduous kind, and though it appears from the Hortus Kewensis to have
been introduced by Mr. James Gordon, of Mile-End, in 1776, is
yet a great rarity with us, and only to be found in some of the first
collections.

Its scarcity, and consequent very high price, is attributed to the
Nursery-men’s not having yet discovered the means of propagating it
freely.

Messrs. Grimwood and Co. of Kensington, have some very fine
plants of it, which flower every year in the months of June and July,
but as yet have produced no perfect seeds, which they may be expected to
do when grown older; such having been known to ripen them in Holland.

It is a native of the Cape, and appears to have been long possessed by
the Dutch, as its Generic Character taken from D. V. Royen, is
printed in the Genera Plantarum of Linnæus in 1764.

There are only two known species, and they vary in the number of their
Stamina, and divisions of the Corolla.

[148]

Pelargonium Betulinum. Birch-leav’d Crane’s-Bill.

Class and Order.

Monadelphia Heptandria.

Generic Character.

N^o148.

Though long since described, we have been in possession of this species
of Crane’s-Bill but a few years; it is one of the many new ones
introduced by Mr. Masson from the Cape, and at the same time
one of the most desirable, as its blossoms which are ornamental, are
freely produced during most of the summer, and the plant itself is
readily propagated by cuttings.

The flowers vary considerably, both in size, and colour; its foliage is
different from that of most others, and, as its name imports, like that
of the Birch-Tree.

It requires the same treatment as most other Green-House Plants.

[149]

Zinnia Multiflora. Many-Flowered Zinnia.

Class and Order.

Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua.

Generic Character.

N^o149.

The Zinnia, multiflora, a native of Louisania, is a plant of more
modern introduction, but requires the same treatment, and flowers at the
same time, as the Tagetes patula, with which, though far inferior in
brilliancy of colour, it contributes to decorate the borders of the
flower-garden from June to September.

There is a variety of it with yellow flowers, nearly as common in our
gardens as the present plant.

Linnæus gave to this genus the name of Zinnia, in
honour of Joh. Gottfr. Zinn, the pupil of Haller, and
his successor at the University of Gottingen.

The plant we have figured, answers to the name and to the specific
description of Linnæus’s multiflora; having never seen his
pauciflora, we cannot say whether there be any just cause for
suspecting them to be varieties of each other.

[150]

Tagetes Patula. Spreading Tagetes, or French Marigold.

Class and Order.

Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua.

Generic Character.

N^o150.

For richness and variety of tints few flowers can vie with this species
of Tagetes, which forms one of the chief ornaments of our gardens at the
close of summer.

Some authors make it a native of Africa, others of America.

Two principal varieties are usually kept in the gardens, the common
small sort with a strong disagreeable smell, and a larger one here
figured, usually called sweet-scented, the former is of more humble
growth, its branches more spreading, its blossoms smaller than those of
the latter, the flowers of which have usually a greater portion of the
yellow tint, and the smell of the other so modified as to be far less
disagreeable; sweet-scented we fear it can scarcely be called: from the
seed of both sorts some flowers will be produced extremely double, and
others single.

Miller recommends the seed to be frequently changed, to prevent
them from degenerating.

It is one of our tender annuals which require to be raised on a gentle
hot-bed, if we are desirous of having them early; if that be not an
object, they may be sown under a common hand-glass on a warm border the
beginning of May, and, when large enough, planted out in the
flower-beds, where they are to remain.

Dodonæus observes, that the leaves, if held up to the light,
appear as if perforated; and he adduces some instances, which prove the
plant to be of a poisonous nature.

[151]

Lotus Tetragonolobus. Winged Lotus.

Class and Order.

Diadelphia Decandria.

Generic Character.

N^o151.

A common annual in our gardens, where it has been long cultivated; is a
native of Sicily, and flowers in the open borders in July and August;
requires the same management as other hardy annuals.

Miller observes, that it was formerly cultivated as an esculent
plant, the green pods being dressed and eaten as peas.

[152]

Epidendrum Cochleatum. Two-Leav’d Epidendrum.

Class and Order.

Gynandria Diandria.

Generic Character.

N^o152.

Plants which draw their support from other living ones, of which there
are numerous instances, are by Botanists termed parasitical, and of this
kind are most of the present family; deriving their generic name, which
is of Greek extraction, from growing on trees, into the bark of which
they fix their roots; some of them are also found to grow on dead wood,
as the present plant, which is described by Sir Hans Sloane, in
his history of Jamaica, V. 1. p. 250. t. 121. f. 2. as not only
growing plentifully on trees, but also on the palisadoes of St. Jago de
la Vega.

Instances of these plants flowering in England are very rare; Commodore
Gardner, in the year 1789, presented to the Apothecaries
company some roots of this plant, taken up in the woods of Jamaica with
great care, and which being successfully treated by Mr.
Fairbairn in their garden at Chelsea, one of them threw up a
flowering stem last February, from whence our drawing was made.

Mr. Fairbairn planted the roots in pots of earth, composed of
rotten wood and decayed leaves, plunging them into the tan-bed of a pit
of considerable size.

In its fructification, the Epidendrum obviously agrees with the Orchis
tribe, but differs essentially in the œconomy of its roots; in the
Orchis the roots spring from the crown of the bulb, which is formed in
the earth; in the Epidendrum the bulb, or the part which appears to be
analogous to a bulb, though of a green colour, is produced above ground,
while the roots or fibres proceed from below it.

[153]

Bulbocodium Vernum. Vernal Bulbocodium.

Class and Order.

Hexandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o153.

The excellent and learned Clusius, in the second appendix to
his history of rare plants, gives a very good figure of this plant, both
in flower and seed, accompanied with its history; our Parkinson
also represents it in his Parad. terr. and gives such a minute
description of it, as convinces us he must have cultivated it at the
time he wrote: Mr. Miller appears not to have been well
acquainted with it, or he would not have described its root to be like
that of the Snowdrop; had he said Colchicum, he would not have misled:
Retzius also in his Bot. Obs. gives a figure of it with the
flower dissected.

The Bulbocodium, of which there is only one species, is a mountainous
plant, a native of Spain, and flowers in the open ground at the same
time as the Crocus, for a purple variety of which it might easily be
mistaken at first sight; but it differs from the Crocus in having six
stamina, and from the Colchicum, to which it is very nearly allied, in
having one style instead of three.

It is at present a rare plant in our gardens, which we attribute to its
bulbs not admitting of much increase, as well as to its being liable to
be killed by frost, and hence requiring more care than it may be thought
entitled to from its appearance.

It varies in the colour of its flowers.

[154]

Saponaria Ocymoides, Basil Soap-Wort.

Class and Order.

Decandria Digynia.

Generic Character.

N^o154.

The Saponaria Ocymoides has been figured in the appendix to the fifth
volume of the Flora Austriaca in its wild state, as in similar works
every plant is expected to be; our figure represents a branch of it
only, taken (as all ours in this work professedly are) from a garden
specimen which grew on a wall of a particular construction in our garden
at Brompton, and of which it was the principal ornament through the
months of May, June, and July, during most of which time it was covered
with a profusion of bloom[1].

Though it produces blossoms in abundance, it affords but little seed,
but may be increased by slips or cuttings.

It is a hardy perennial, a native of France, Italy, Switzerland, and
Carinthia, loves a pure air and a dry situation[2], grows best among
rocks, stones, or out of a wall, and certainly is one of the best plants
imaginable for ornamenting of rock-work.

I received seeds of it, and many other rare plants, from my very kind
friend Mr. Daval, of Orbe, in Switzerland.

[155]

Oxalis Versicolor. Striped-Flower’d Wood-Sorrel.

Class and Order.

Decandria Pentagynia.

Generic Character.

N^o155.

The Oxalis-versicolor is considered as one of the most beautiful of
the many species cultivated in gardens; and, though well known to, and
described by several of the older Botanists, has graced our collections
but a few years, being introduced to the Royal Garden at Kew, from the
Cape (where, as well as in Ethiopia, it grows spontaneously) by Mr.
Masson, in the Year 1774.

Many of this genus flower early in the spring, the season in which this
species also puts forth its blossoms, but by dexterous management it may
be made to flower during most of the year; and this is effected by
placing the pea-like tubera or knobs which the root sends forth, and by
which the plant is propagated, in pots filled with loam and bog-earth at
stated distant periods.

Like most of the Cape plants, it is well adapted to the greenhouse, and
succeeds best when placed on a front shelf of the house, where it can
have plenty of light and air; some keep it in the stove, but there the
plant is drawn up, and the flowers lose a part of their brilliancy: in
no situation do they ever expand but when the sun shines on them; this
is the less to be regretted, as they are most beautiful when closed.

[156]

Coreopsis Verticillata. Whorled Coreopsis.

Class and Order.

Syngenesia Polygamia Frustranea.

Generic Character.

N^o156.

The Coreopsis verticillata is a hardy, perennial, herbaceous plant, a
native of North-America; producing its blossoms, which are uncommonly
shewy, from July to October, and is readily propagated by parting its
roots in Autumn.

It grows to a great height, and is therefore rather adapted to the
shrubbery than the flower-garden.

Clayton remarks, that the petals, though of a yellow
colour, are used by the inhabitants to dye cloth red.

[157]

Hyacinthus Botryoides. Grape Hyacinth.

Class and Order.

Hexandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o157.

The Hyacinthus botryoides, a native of Italy, and cultivated in the
time of Gerard and Parkinson, is now
become scarce with us, being only to be accidentally met with in
long-established gardens; we first saw it in the garden of our very
worthy and much valued friend, Mr. John Chorley, of
Tottenham, to whose lady my collection stands indebted for several rare
and valuable plants.

This species increases sufficiently fast by offsets, but in the open
border does not very readily produce flowering stems: as both it and the
racemosus are apt to become troublesome in a garden from their great
increase, we would recommend their bulbs to be placed in moderately
sized pots filled with light earth, and plunged in the borders where
they are designed to flower; in the autumn they should be regularly
taken out, the offsets thrown away, and about half a dozen of the
largest bulbs left, all of which will most probably flower at the usual
time, the end of March or beginning of April.

Parkinson, who most admirably describes this and the
racemosus, enumerates three varieties, viz. the white, the
blush-coloured, and the branched; the first is frequently imported
with other bulbs from Holland, the second and third we have not seen;
the latter, if we may judge from Parkinson’s fig. in
his Parad. is a most curious plant, and was obtained, as
Clusius reports, from seeds of the white variety;
whether it now exists is deserving of inquiry.

The botryoides differs from the racemosus, in having its leaves
upright, its bunch of flowers smaller, the flowers themselves larger,
rounder, of a paler and brighter blue.

[158]

Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis. China-Rose Hibiscus.

Class and Order.

Monadelphia Polyandria.

Generic Character.

N^o158.

Rumphius in his Herbarium Amboinense gives an excellent
account of this beautiful native of the East-Indies, accompanied by a
representation of it with double flowers, in which state it is more
particularly cultivated in all the gardens in India, as well as China;
he informs us that it grows to the full size of our hazel, and that it
varies with white flowers.

The inhabitants of India, he observes, are extremely partial to whatever
is red, they consider it as a colour which tends to exhilarate; and
hence they not only cultivate this plant universally in their gardens,
but use its flowers on all occasions of festivity, and even in their
sepulchral rites: he mentions also an œconomical purpose to which the
flowers are applied, little consistent with their elegance and beauty,
that of blacking shoes, whence their name of Rosæ calceolariæ; the
shoes, after the colour is imparted to them, are rubbed with the hand,
to give them a gloss, and which thereby receives a blueish tinge, to
discharge which they have recourse to lemon juice.

With us it is kept in the stove, where it thrives and flowers readily
during most of the summer; the single blossoms last but a short time,
yet their superiority arising from the curious and beautiful structure
of the interior parts of the flower, compensates for the shortness of
their duration.

It is usually increased by cuttings.

[159]

Alyssum Saxatile. Yellow Alyssum.

Class and Order.

Tetradynamia Siliculosa.

Generic Character.

N^o159.

As this plant has very generally obtained in gardens and nurseries the
name of yellow Alyssum, we have retained it; for though it is not the
only one of the genus which produces yellow flowers, it may still be
called yellow by way of eminence, such is the extreme brilliancy and
profusion of its blossoms.

It is a native of Crete, and was first cultivated in this country by Mr.
Miller, in 1731[3], at Chelsea garden.

It begins to flower about the latter end of April, and continues to
blossom through great part of May; and it is not uncommon for it to
flower again in autumn.

If it has a pure air and a dry situation, it will grow in almost any
soil.

The usual mode of propagating it is by slips, or cuttings. As it is a
small, shewy, hardy plant, and not disposed to over-run others, it is
very suitable to embellish rock-work.

[160]

Pulmonaria Virginica. Virginia Lungwort.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o160.

Miller informs us in his Dictionary, that the Pulmonaria
Virginica grows naturally upon mountains in most parts of
North-America, that the seeds were sent many years since by Mr.
Banister, from Virginia; and some of the plants were raised in
the garden of the Bishop of London, at Fulham, where for several years
it was growing.

Though a native of Virginia, it ranks with the hardy herbaceous plants
of our gardens, and flowers in the open border about the middle of
April; the blossoms before their expansion are of a reddish purple
colour, when fully blown they become of a light bright blue, the foliage
is glaucous, or blueish green; it is said to vary with white and
flesh-coloured flowers.

In favourable seasons, the Flower-Garden owes much of its gaiety to this
elegant plant, and at a time when ornament is most desirable.

It requires a pure air, and a situation moderately sheltered, as the
cold easterly winds which too readily prevail in April, when it is in
flower, are apt to deface it.

It is usually propagated by parting its roots in autumn, and is a free
grower.

[161]

Amygdalus Nana. Dwarf Almond.

Class and Order.

Icosandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o161.

The Dwarf Almond, a native of Russia and Tartary, is justly considered
as one of our most ornamental shrubs; it rarely rises above the height
of three feet, and hence becomes very suitable for the shrubbery of
small extent. It flowers about the middle of April, somewhat later than
the common Almond.

Miller observes, that the roots are apt to put out suckers, by
which the plant may be increased in plenty; and if those are not
annually taken away, they will starve the old plant.

Cultivated in 1683, by Mr. James Sutherland. Ait. Hort.
Kew.

[162]

Sanguinaria Canadensis. Canada Puccoon, or Bloodwort.

Class and Order.

Polyandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o162.

Though the Sanguinaria cannot be considered as a handsome shewy plant,
yet we scarcely know its equal in point of delicacy and singularity;
there is something in it to admire, from the time that its leaves emerge
from the ground, and embosom the infant blossom, to their full
expansion, and the ripening of its seed vessels.

The woods of Canada, as well as of other parts of North-America, produce
this plant in abundance with us it flowers in the beginning of April:
its blossoms are fugacious, and fully expand only in fine warm weather.
It is a hardy perennial, and is usually propagated by parting its roots
in autumn; a situation moderately shady, and a soil having a mixture of
bog-earth or rotten leaves in it suits it best.

Its knobby roots, when broken asunder, pour forth a juice of a bright
red or orange colour, whence its name of Sanguinaria: with this liquid
the Indians are said to paint themselves.

Dillenius, has figured it in his admirable work, the Hortus
Elthamensis, where three varieties of it are represented, viz. a large
one, a small one, and one in which the petals are multiplied, but which
can scarcely be called double.

It appears from Morison[4], that the Sanguinaria was cultivated
in this country in 1680, the date of his work.

[163]

Phlox Divaricata. Early-Flowering Lychnidea.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o163.

Most of the plants of this genus are natives of North-America, and
remarkable for their beauty; they were first introduced under the name
of Lychnidea, which, though a Latin term, is now familiarized to the
English ear.

Mr. Aiton has given to this species the name of
early-flowering, it coming much sooner into blossom than any of the
others, beginning to flower in May with the yellow Alyssum; its
blossoms, however, are not of so long duration, nor so ornamental as
some others of the same family.

It seldom exceeds a foot in height, and, on this account, may be
regarded as a suitable rock-plant.

It rarely ripens its seeds with us, but is readily increased either by
cuttings or layers; succeeds best in a pure air and a situation
moderately dry.

Like most other American plants, it is of modern introduction, was
cultivated by Mr. Miller, in 1758, and figured in his
Icones.

[164]

Ranunculus Gramineus. Grass-Leaved Crowfoot.

Class and Order.

Polyandria Polygnia.

Generic Character.

N^o164.

This species of Ranunculus, an inhabitant of the dry pastures South of
France and Italy, and a hardy herbaceous plant of ready growth,
recommends itself by the earliness of its flowering and the delicate
glaucous colour of its foliage. Parkinson figures it with
double flowers, though he describes it with semi-double ones only; we
have not observed either of these varieties in the gardens about London,
they have most probably fallen victims to the rage for novelty, at the
shrine of which many a fair and goodly flower is yearly sacrificed.

It flowers towards the end of April, and is propagated by parting its
roots in autumn.

The synonyms of this and other species of Ranunculus described in
Gerard’s Fl. Gallopr. are very inaccurately quoted in
Professor Murray’s edition of the Syst. Vegetab.

[165]

Pelargonium Cordifolium. Heart-Leaved Geranium.

Class and Order.

Monadelphia Heptandria.

Generic Character.

N^o165.

Our readers are here presented with the figure of another Geranium
of modern introduction, not enumerated by Linnæus or
Miller, and which in point of beauty, duration of flowering,
and facility of culture, is equal to most.

It was introduced to the Royal Garden, at Kew, from the Cape, by Mr.
Masson, in 1774.

There are several varieties of it, but the one here figured is the most
beautiful.

It strikes readily from cuttings, by which it is usually propagated.

Requires the same treatment as the more common Geraniums, and
flowers, from March to July.

[166]

Cheiranthus Maritimus. Mediterranean Stock.

Class and Order.

Tetradynamia Siliquosa.

Generic Character.

N^o166.

Linnæus has described this plant minutely in his Mantissa
Plant, so that no doubt remains of its being his maritimus.

With us, it has been customary for Gardeners and Nurserymen to
distinguish this species by the name of Virginia Stock, a name highly
improper, as it is found to be a native of the Mediterranean coast.

The blossoms which this plant first puts forth are of a lively red, in a
few days they become of a blueish purple colour; to this variety of hues
the plant owes its chief beauty.

Being of humble growth, and producing a profusion of bloom, which is of
long duration, it is frequently used as an edging to borders, and
sometimes sown in little patches with other annuals; in whatever way
used, it contributes greatly to enliven the borders of the
flower-garden.

It is one of those annuals whose seeds should be sown in the autumn, as
it thereby comes much forwarder into bloom, and its blossoms are more
lively than those arising from seeds sown in the spring; by varying the
time of sowing, it may be had to flower in spring, summer, and autumn.

Small pots of it in bloom have a pretty appearance, and may be used to
decorate the windows of those who reside in cities or great towns, where
the pleasures of the garden are not to be enjoyed.

[167]

Sophora Tetraptera. Winged-Podded Sophora.

Class and Order.

Decandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o167.

The magnificent and highly curious species of Sophora here represented,
is one of the many plants discovered by Sir Joseph Banks at
New-Zealand, where it forms a tree of a considerable size.

A finer sight can scarcely be imagined than a tree of this sort,
extending to a great breadth on a wall with a western aspect, in the
Apothecaries Garden at Chelsea, where it was planted by Mr.
Forsyth about the year 1774, and which at this moment (April
28, 1791) is thickly covered with large pendulous branches of yellow, I
had almost said golden flowers; for they have a peculiar richness, which
it is impossible to represent in colouring; in the winter care is taken
to cover it carefully with mats, least it should suffer from any
extraordinarily severe weather.

It usually produces a few seed vessels of an uncommon form, having four
wings, whence its name of tetraptera; from some of the seeds which
have ripened in this country plants have been raised, and by these the
plant is found to be propagated with the most success; it may also be
increased by cuttings and layers.

[168]

Iris Pavonia. Peacock Iris.

Class and Order.

Triandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o168.

We have our doubts whether the plant here figured be the pavonia of
the Systema Vegetabilium, as it does not accord so well with the
description there given, as we could wish; as such however it has been
regarded by some here, and it must be allowed to answer extremely well
to the name.

It is a small delicate Iris, about a foot and a half high, with very
narrow leaves, bearing on the top of the stalk one or at most two
flowers, three of the petals are large and white, with a brilliant blue
spot at the base of each, edged on the outer side with deep purple; the
delicacy of the flower, and the eye-like spot at the base of three of
the petals, render at one of the most striking plants of the genus.

The figure here given was drawn from a plant which flowered with Messrs.
Grimwood and Co. last June, who received it from Holland, and
treat it in the same way as their Cape bulbs, of which country it is
said to be a native.

It is not mentioned either in Mr. Miller’s Gardener’s
Dictionary, or the Hortus Kewensis.

[169]

Ixora Coccinea. Scarlet Ixora.

Class and Order.

Tetrandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o169.

It will appear strange, we presume, to most of our readers, when they
are informed, that the Ixora coccinea, a plant at present in few
hands, and which a short time since was sold in some of our nurseries
for five guineas, should have been known in this country a hundred years
ago; and yet Mr. Aiton, who has so laudably exerted himself, in
ascertaining the precise period, when most of the exotics cultivated in
the royal garden at Kew first made their appearance in Great-Britain,
informs us on very respectable authority, that this plant was introduced
by Mr. Bentick in 1690.

There is every reason to suppose, that this splendid exotic did not long
survive its introduction; on inquiry, we learn that it was reintroduced
about fifteen years ago, by the late Dr. John Fothergill, a
name, to medicine and botany ever dear, in whose rich and magnificent
collection at Upton was first known to flower; about the same time, the
late Mr. Thoburn, Nurseryman at Brompton, raised a few Ixoras
from foreign seeds, and from these (an accident having happened to the
plant which was Dr. Fothergill’s) are said to have arisen the
plants at present in this country.

Both Rheede and Rumphius describe and figure this
plant in their respective works, the Hortus Malabaricus and Herbarium
Amboinense; it is mentioned also by several other authors: from their
various accounts we discover, that in different parts of India, where it
grows wild, it forms a slender shrub, or tree, about six feet high,
rising generally with a single stem; that its clusters of flowers, seen
from afar are so brilliant as to resemble a burning coal, especially in
a dark wood, whence its name of Flamma Sylvarum; that it grows in the
woods, and flowers in September and October, producing a black fruit,
the size of small cherries, on which the peacocks are supposed to feed,
and from whence they have obtained the name of Cerasa Pavonina. The
Chinese call it Santanhoa; with them it produces flowers and fruit the
year through, and they hold the blossoms in such veneration, as to use
them in the sacrifices they make to their idol Ixora, whence
Linnæus has taken the name applied by him to this genus. The
root is said to possess some acrimony, and to be made use of by the
natives in curing the toothach.

It is customary in this country, to treat the Ixora as a stove plant;
perhaps it may be less tender than we are aware of; it flowers in July
and August, but has not been known to produce fruit; is increased from
cuttings, without much difficulty.

Our drawing was taken from a small but very healthy plant in the stove
of Mr. Whitley (late Thoburn and Whitley,
Brompton).

Linnæus describes, and some authors figure this plant with
stipulæ, which our plant had not, not being arrived at an age, perhaps,
to produce them.

[170]

Draba Aizoides. Sengreen Draba, or

Whitlow-Grass.

Class and Order.

Tetradynamia Siliculosa.

Generic Character.

N^o170.

The plant here figured, a native of the German Alps, is one of those
whose beauty cannot be shewn in a small detached piece of it; to be
admired, it must be seen in a tuft of some considerable size, which it
is much disposed to form when growing among rock-work, for which, like
many other small Alpine plants, it is well suited; thus elevated above
the surface of the ground, the various beauties of this humble race are
more distinctly seen, and their curious structure more readily
inspected.

This species is the more to be esteemed, as it flowers very early in the
spring, in March, and the beginning of April, and continues in blossom
about six weeks.

Linnæus originally confounded it with a similar plant, the
Draba alpina, a mistake since rectified in his Mantissa Plant. p.
91.

[171]

Ixia Chinensis. Chinese Ixia.

Class and Order.

Triandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o171.

In that elaborate and inestimable work, the Hortus Malabaricus, we
have a good figure of the plant here exhibited, accompanied by a minute
description; the author informs us that it grows spontaneously in India,
attaining the height even of five or six feet, and affecting a sandy
soil; the natives consider it as an antidote to poisons in general, and
regard the bruised root as peculiarly efficacious in curing the bite of
the serpent, called Cobra de Copella.

We raised plants of it last year from seeds imparted to us by J.
Ibbettson, Esq. of the Admiralty; this year, during the months of
August and September, many of them have flowered, and capsules are
forming which have every appearance of producing perfect seeds; the root
of this plant is yellow, and tuberous like that of the Iris, the leaves
also greatly resemble those of that tribe, it grows to the height of
about three feet, and produces a considerable number of flowers in
succession each of which is of short duration.

The root and radical leaves as represented on the plate are much smaller
than in plants which have been long established.

Our plants stood in pots in the open ground through the winter of 1790-1
without injury, but it must be remembered, that the weather during that
period was uncommonly mild; it will be safest therefore to consider
it as a tender herbaceous plant.

It differs so much in its fructification from many others of the genus,
that Prof. Murray has considered it as a Moræa, with which,
in our humble opinion, it has scarcely any affinity.

[172]

Lamium Orvala. Balm-Leaved Archangel, or Dead-Nettle.

Class and Order.

Didynamia Gymnospermia.

Generic Character.

N^o172.

Few of the plants of this genus have been thought to possess sufficient
beauty for the flower-garden, the present one excepted, the magnificence
of whose blossoms justly entitles it to rank with the more curious, if
not the most beautiful of the vegetable tribes.

Though not common in our gardens, it has long been introduced, having
been cultivated and accurately described, though badly figured, by
Parkinson in his Parad. terr.

It grows spontaneously in the woods of Italy and Hungary, and flowers
with us about the latter end of April, at which time, if cold winds
prevail, it is apt to be injured, unless placed in a sheltered part of
the garden.

It may be propagated either by seeds, or by parting its roots in autumn,
is a hardy plant and grows readily.

[173]

Aitonia Capensis. Cape Aitonia.

Class and Order.

Monadelphia Octandria.

Generic Character.

N^o173.

This genus, of which there is only one known species, has been named by
the younger Linnæus, in honour of Mr. William Aiton,
author of the Hortus Kewensis, and Botanic Gardener to his Majesty.
The great length of time[5], Mr. Aiton has been engaged in the
cultivation of plants, the immense numbers which have been the constant
objects of his care through every period of their growth, joined to his
superior discernment, give him a decided superiority in the prima
facie knowledge of living plants over most Botanists the present day;
his abilities in the other line of his profession, are displayed in the
eulogies of all who have seen the royal collection at Kew, which he has
the honour to superintend.

The Aitonia is a native of the Cape, and was introduced by Mr.
Masson, in the year 1774.

It is a greenhouse shrub of slow growth, seldom exceeding three feet in
height; producing, when of sufficient age, flowers and fruit through
most of the year; the fruit is a large dry angular berry, of a fine red
colour.

Our drawing was made from a very fine plant, formerly Dr.
Fothergill’s, now in the collection of Messrs.
Grimwood and Co. Kensington.

It is only to be raised from seeds, which are sparingly produced in this
country.

[174]

Buddlea Globosa. Round-Headed Buddlea.

Class and Order.

Tetrandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o174.

Mr. Adam Buddle, in honour of whom the present genus has been
originally named by Dr. Houston, was an ingenious English
Botanist, cotemporary with, and the friend of Petiver; his name
is often mentioned in the Synopsis of Mr. Ray and his Hortus
Siccus, or dried collection of British plants, preserved in the British
Museum, still resorted to in doubtful cases.

The present species not enumerated either by Linnæus or
Miller, is a native of Chili, and according to the Hort. Kew.
was introduced by Messrs. Kennedy and Lee, in 1774.

It has been customary, in consideration of its native place of growth,
to treat it here as a greenhouse plant, for which situation it soon
becomes unfit from its magnitude; some have ventured to plant it in the
open borders in warm sheltered situations, where it has been found to
succeed very well, producing its beautiful yellow blossoms in abundance;
care must be taken, however, to guard it carefully from severe frosts,
which are apt to destroy it.

It flowers in May and June, and is usually propagated by cuttings or
layers.

[175]

Kalmia Latifolia. Broad-Leav’d Kalmia.

Class and Order.

Decandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o175.

Professor Kalm (in honour of whom Linnæus, as before
has been observed, named this genus of plants) in his travels into
North-America, published in English by Mr. Forster, relates
that he found this species in various provinces of that extensive
continent, as Pensylvania, New-Jersey, and New-York, growing most
commonly on the sides of hills, sometimes in woods; that it flourished
most on the northern sides of the hills, especially where they were
intersected by rivulets; he observes, that when all the other trees had
lost their ornaments, this enlivened the woods by the verdure of its
foliage, and that about the month of May, it was covered with a
profusion of blossoms of unrivalled beauty.

[176]

Cytisus Laburnum. Common Laburnum.

Class and Order.

Diadelphia Decandria.

Generic Character.

N^o176.

Of the Laburnum, our nurseries afford two principal varieties, the broad
and narrow-leav’d; the latter (which is the one here figured) Mr.
Miller was induced to make a species of under the name of
alpinum; it certainly differs very materially from the broad-leav’d
one, yet is most probably only a seminal variety; the Laburnum figured
in its wild state by Professor Jacquin, in his Flora
Austriaca, has much broader leaves than ours, no mention is made by him
of its being subject to vary.

Both Miller and Hanbury recommend the Laburnum to be
cultivated not only as an ornamental but as a timber tree, the wood
having a very close grain, a good colour, and bearing a high polish;[6]
they urge in its favour, that it is very hardy, a quick grower, and one
that will thrive in almost any soil; the latter says, it will become a
timber tree of more than a yard in girt: whatever success may attend its
cultivation for the more useful purposes, as a hardy, deciduous,
ornamental tree, it has long been the pride of our shrubberies and
plantations.

It blossoms in May, and is usually very productive of seeds, by which it
may be propagated most readily.

Hares and rabbits being fond of its bark, do great damage to plantations
of Laburnum, especially in severe weather; I remember somewhere to have
read, that these animals will not touch a tree if soot has been placed
about it; perhaps, a circle drawn round the base of the tree with the
new coal tar, which has a powerful smell of long duration, might keep
off these noxious animals.

The Professor does not mention the precise height which he had observed
these trees to attain in North-America, but it is evident that they
acquire a considerable thickness, as the wood of the root as well as the
body of the tree is manufactured into various utensils by the natives,
and by the Indians into spoons in particular, whence it has obtained the
name of the Spoon Tree.

The leaves have been found to prove poisonous to kine, horses, and
sheep, but the deer are observed to brouse on them with impunity.

Peter Collinson, Esq. who was highly instrumental in enriching
this country with the native plants of North-America, is said to have
introduced this elegant species about the year 1734.

With us it succeeds best when planted with a northern aspect, well
sheltered, in a soil composed of loam and bog earth, in a situation
moderately moist, where the air is perfectly pure.

Being with difficulty propagated by suckers or layers, it is most
commonly raised from American seeds.

[177]

Kalmia Glauca. Glaucous Kalmia.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

N^o177.

This species (much inferior in size to the latifolia, as it rarely
exceeds two feet in height) is a native of Newfoundland, where it was
discovered by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. and by him introduced to
this country in the year 1767.

It is of course not described by Mr. Miller, nor is it
mentioned the in the 14th edition of Linnæus’s Syst. Vegetab.
by Professor Murray; in the Hort. Kew. of Mr. Aiton,
it is both described and figured.

It flowers in April and May, is propagated in the same manner and
requires the same treatment as the latifolia.

[178]

Hypericum Coris. Heath-Leav’d. St. John’s-Wort.

Class and Order.

Polyadelphia Polyandria.

Generic Character.

N^o178.

There is an elegance and neatness in most of this tribe, and none
possess those qualities in a greater degree than the present species,
which is a charming little evergreen, admirably adapted for the
greenhouse, as it forms a pretty bulb, and flowers during most of the
summer.

It grows spontaneously in the South of Europe, and many parts of the
Levant; Honorius Bellus, in his epistle Clusius (vid.
Clus. op.) describes it as growing on the hilly parts of the island of
Crete.

Mr. Lee, of Hammersmith, received it about four years since
from the Crimea.

It is propagated by cuttings.

[179]

Fumaria Glauca. Glaucous Fumitory.

Class and Order.

Diadelphia Hexandria.

Generic Character.

N^o179.

The term sempervirens applied to this plant by Linnæus,
originated in the description given of it by Cornutus; (vid.
Syn.) the impropriety of calling an annual plant (for such it
undoubtedly is with us, and must be in Canada, its native place of
growth) an evergreen, has appeared to us too glaring to be continued;
we have thought the promotion of the science required a change in the
name, and have therefore altered it to that of glauca, as coinciding
with the English name of glaucous, given it by Mr. Aiton in
his Hortus Kewensis; for to the delicate, pleasing, glaucous hue of
its foliage, it owes its beauty, as much as to the lively colours of its
blossoms.

It is a hardy annual, coming up spontaneously in the open border where
it has once flowered and seeded, and sometimes reaching the height of
two feet.

It flowers from June to September.

Mr. Aiton informs us of its having been cultivated by Mr.
James Sutherland in the year 1683. Strange! that it should yet
be a rarity in our gardens.

[180]

Azalea Nudiflora var. Coccinea. Scarlet Azalea.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

N^o180.

Whether the variety of the Azalea nudiflora here figured, was originally
introduced to this country by Mrs. Norman of Bromley in Kent,
or Mr. Bewick of Clapham in Surrey (both celebrated for their
collections of American plants) we cannot with certainty assert; true it
is, the Azalea coccinea was little known here till the sale of Mr.
Bewick’s plant in 1722; a considerable number of these shrubs
formed the choicest part of that collection, and sold at high prices,
one of them produced twenty guineas: prior to this period, Mr.
Bewick had presented one of the same sort of shrubs to Mr.
Thoburn, the fruits of whose skill and assiduous care in the
cultivation of American plants are apparent in his late nursery at
Brompton, now Mr. Whitley’s, and from the produce of which
plant our figure was taken.

The original species, found abundantly in the more southern parts of
North-America, was introduced, according to Mr. Aiton’s
account, by Peter Collinson, Esq. about the year 1724.

The brilliancy of colour and a happy combination of form, unite in
rendering the variety here figured, one of the most beautiful plants in
nature: yet it wants the fragrance of some of the varieties of the
viscosa.

It flowers in June and continues in blossom about three weeks, requires
a sheltered but not too shady a situation, more dry than moist, and a
soil composed of loam and bog earth, or rotten leaves.

The usual mode of propagating it is by layers; care must be taken not to
remove the offspring too soon from the mother plant.

INDEX.

In which the Latin Names of the Plants contained in the Third Volume
are alphabetically arranged.

INDEX.

In which the English Names of the Plants contained in the Third Volume
are alphabetically arranged.