Page images
PDF
EPUB

19. L. (? E.) SHA'WI Rom. Shaw's Box Thorn. Identification. Rom. et Schultes Syst., 4. p. 693.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 458. Synonyme. L. europæum Mill. Dict., No. 4., Shaw Afr., p. 349. f. 349.

Spec. Char., &c. Branches dependent, rather tomentose at the apex. Buds spinescent. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, thickish. Branches scattered. Prickles strong. Leaves short, thick, scattered. Flowers lateral, small, white. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 458.) A shrub, a native of Barbary, where it grows 7 ft. or 8 ft. high; flowering in June and July. It was introduced in 1700.

10. L. A FRUM L. The African Box Thorn.

Identification. Lin. Sp., 277.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 459.

Engravings. Mill. Icon., t. 171. f. 1.; Swt. Fl. Gard, 2d ser. t. 324.; Bot. Reg., t. 354.; Lam. Ill.,
I 112 f. L; N. Du Ham., 1. p. 107-110.; Trew Ehret, 4. t. 24. f. 2.; Plenck Icon., t. 127.; Mich.
Gen., p. 224. t. 105. f. 2.'; Nis. Act. Par., 1711., p. 420. t. 12.; and our figs. 1114. and 1115.
Spec. Char., &c. Erect, spiny. Leaves fascicled, linear, canescent, attenuated
at the base, obtuse, fleshy. Flowers almost axillary, solitary, drooping.
Corola tubular, times longer than the calyx. Stamens enclosed. Bark

grey-coloured; the smaller branches frequently spiny. Leaves
1114 glaucous. Filaments bearded near the base, as in all the true
species. Stigma slightly 2-lobed. Corolla violaceous rich
purple above. Berry globose, violaceous. Calyx
5-toothed. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 459.) It is a shrub,
a native of some parts of Spain, the north of Africa,
Palestine, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia Felix; where
it grows to the height of from 6 ft. to 10 ft., flower-
ing in May and June. It was introduced in 1712,
and is very commonly kept in the green-house; but
a plant in the Chelsea Botanic Garden has stood
out against a wall since 1825, where it has attained
the height of 12 ft., and flowers profusely every year.

1115

It is readily distinguished from all the other sorts by its dark blue or black fruit. Belon, in speaking of the plain of Jericho, and of the banks of the river Jordan, says, the bushes which bear the lycion grow in this plain; and we find in the Bible (Genesis, chap. l. v. 10, 11.), that the Children of Israel, in their journey from the land of Goshen to Canaan, came to the threshing-floor of Atadad; that is, in Hebrew, lycium; the plant being cultivated there for its berries, which were used in medicine as a purgative, known to the ancients by the name of lucion, and the mode of preparing which is indicated by Dioscorides. It is, however, doubtful, whether the berries of Rhamnus saxátilis, which are known to be cathartic, are not confounded with those of the Lýcium in this passage. Lycium àfrum is one of the most ornamental species of the genus; and, though rather tender, it well deserves a place in every collection, against a wall. Plants, in the London nurseries, 2s. 6d. each.

L. ovatum Hort. There are plants bearing this name in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and at Messrs. Loddiges's.

L. spathulatum Hort. There is a plant bearing this name in the Horticultural Society's Garden against the wall.

GENUS III.

GRABOWSKIA Schlecht. THE GRABOWSKIA. Lin. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.

Identification. Schlecht. in Linnæa, 7. p. 72.; Lindl. in Bot. Reg.

Synonymes. Lycium sp. Lin.; Ehretia sp. L'Hérit.; Crabowskia Don's Mill., 4. p. 480.
Derivation. In honour of Dr. H. Grabowski, one of the editors of Flora Silesiaca.

Description, &c. A shrub, with the habit of the genuine species of Lycium, much branched, furnished with axillary spines. Leaves scattered, quite entire. Flowers from fascicles of leaves, or the revolute branchlets; or subcorymbose from the tops of the branchlets: hence, they appear as if they were panicled at the tops of the branches. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 480.)

1. G. BOERHAAVIEFO`LIA Schlecht. The Boerhaavia-leaved Grabowskia. Identification. Schlecht. in Linnæa, 7. p. 72.; Lindl. in Bot. Reg. Synonymes. Lycium boerhaaviafolium Lin. Suppl., p. 150., N. Du Ham., 1. p. 128., Lam. Dict., 3. p. 510.; Ehrètia halimifolia L'Hérit. Stirp., 1. p. 45. t. 83.; Lycium heterophyllum Murr. Comm. Gött., 1783, p. 6. t. 21.; Jasminöldes spinosum Du Ham. Arb., 1. p. 306. No. 5.; Crabówskia boer. haaviafolium Don's Mill., 4. p. 480.; Lycium paniculé, Fr.

Engravings. L'Herit. Stirp., 1. t. 83.; Bot. Reg., t. 1985.; and our fig. 1116.

1116

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves coriaceous, glaucescent, with a saltish, bitterish taste. Corolla white, having the throat veined with green. Stamens white. Stigma green. Nuts the form of those of Coffea arábica, convex on one side, marked by a slender furrow in the middle, obtuse at top, and perforated by two roundish holes at the base: hence it is tridentate, the first tooth from the middle of the back, the other two from the sides: sometimes, but only by abortion, 1-celled. Albumen copious, fleshy. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 480.) A shrub, a native of the south of Brazil, in woods, where it has been collected by Sello; but which was introduced from Peru by Joseph Jussieu into France, whence it was sent to this country in 1780. It grows to the height of 6 ft., and flowers in April and May. There are fine specimens of it in the Horticultural Society's

Garden, against a wall; and in the Epsom Nursery, as a bush in the open garden; from which it appears to be as hardy as Lycium europæ'um. The whole plant has a mealy white appearance; by which, and by the singular form of its leaves, it may be known at first sight from any species of Lycium. Though it has been introduced into British gardens so many years since, and was known in France in the time of Du Hamel, it is rarely met with in collections; and, though so easily propagated by suckers, it is not to be found for sale in the nurseries.

App. I. Half-hardy ligneous Plants belonging to the Order Solanaceæ.

[graphic]

Nicotiana glauca Grah., Bot. Mag., t. 287.; and our fig. 1118.; is a splendid suffruticose plant, which will grow to 10 ft. or 12 ft., or probably to 20 ft. or upwards, against a wall, making a fine appearance in the summer season, with its large glaucous leaves, and yellowish green flowers. A plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden has stood out since 1832; and, though its stems are occasionally cut down by the frost, yet the stool always pushes out vigorously in the spring. A plant of this species in the Chelsea Botanic Garden attained the height of 14 ft., in 1835, in the open border.

[graphic][merged small][merged small]

Brugmansia sanguinea Ruiz et Pav.; B. bicolor Pers., Swt. Fl. Gard., 2d ser., t. 272.; and our fig. 1117.; has an arboreous stem, which rises to the height of from 10 ft. to 20 ft. The flowers are produced from the forks of the branches. Corolla funnel-shaped, 7 in. long, green towards the base, orange yellow farther along its length. The limb 5-lobed, of a deep orange scarlet; this colour, lessened in intensity, seems to extend down the tube, until it blends with the orange

[graphic]

yellow, which, in its turn, blends with the green below it. This species was raised in 1833, from imported seeds, at Hayes' Place, Kent, the seat of Miss Trail. "One of the plants survived the winter in the open border; and this has happened to be the first to flower, which it did in October, 1834. The rest of the plants began to blossom soon after, and all apparently varying in the degree of intensity of colour. In a sheltered bor. der, with a southern aspect, we have no doubt of its flowering quite as well as if retained in the conservatory." (Brit. Fl. Gard.) This very beautiful plant well deserves trial against a wall, more especially in the south of England, where it is almost certain to succeed.

B. suaveolens Willd. Enum., Datùra arborea Hort., is a well known ornament of the green-house; and, being deciduous, may be taken up in the autumn, when the wood is ripe, and the leaves have dropped, preserved in a cellar or pit through the winter, and turned out again in spring. Fig. 1120, will give an idea of the beauty of this plant; respecting which a great variety of information will be

1120

Vestia lycioides Willd.; Cantua ligustrifolia Juss., Bot. Reg., t. 299.; and our fig. 1121.; is a Chili

shrub, introduced in 1815, growing to the height of 3 ft., and producing its yellow flowers in abundance in June and July. It is almost hardy, having stood in the Kew Garden, against a wall, 6 years, without any protection whatever; and in various other gardens about London, where the soil is dry, as a border shrub.

CHAP. LXXXV.

OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER

SCROPHULARIA CEE.

THIS order, which is nearly allied to Solanàceæ, consists chiefly of herbaceous plants, the only hardy ligneous genus being Búddlea.

GENUS I.

BU'DDLEA L. THE BUDDLEA. Lin. Syst. Tetrándria Monogýnia. Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 140.; Reich., 146.; Schreb., 184.; Houst. Phil. Trans. et Reliq Houst., t. 3.; Gærtn., t. 49.; Jus., 118.; Lindl. Nat. Syst. Bot., p. 292.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 596. Derivation. Named by Dr. Houston, in honour of Adam Buddle, a botanical amateur, who is often mentioned in Ray's Synopsis, and whose dried collection of British plants is preserved in the British Museum.

Gen. Char., &c. Calyx 4-cleft, equal. Corolla tubular; limb 4-cleft, regular. Stamens 4, equal, enclosed. Stigma capitate or clavate. Capsule 2-celled, 2-valved; valves bifid. Placenta central, at length free. - Shrubs, with opposite branches, the young shoots quadrangular. Natives of South America, Asia, and Africa; but of which only one species, a native of China, is decidedly hardy in the neighbourhood of London.

1. B. GLOBO'SA L. The globe-flowered Buddlea.

Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., 1. p. 150.; Hope in Act. Harlem., vol. 20. pt. 2. p. 417. t. 11.; Curt. Bot. Mag., t. 174.; Don's Mill, 4. p. 597. Synonymes. Biddlea globiflora N. Du Ham., 1. p. 85. t. 25.; B. capitàta Jacq. Col., 2. p. 332., Icon. Rar., t. 307.; Pálquin Feuillée It., 3. p. 51. t. 38.; Buddleia globuleux, Fr.; Kopftragende Budleje, Ger.

Engravings. Act. Harlem., vol. 20. pt. 2. p. 417. t. 11.; Curt. Bot. Mag., t. 174.; N. Du Ham., 1. p. 85.; Feuillée It., 3. t. 38.; and our figs. 1123. and 1124.

[graphic]

Spec. Char., &c.

Branches tetragonal, clothed with hoary tomentum, as

well as the under sides of the leaves. Leaves lanceolate, acuminated, crenated, petiolate. Heads of flowers globose, pedunculate. A shrub, a native of Chili, growing to the height of 12 ft. or 15 ft. in the climate of London, and producing its bright yellow globelike heads of flowers, which are fragrant, from May to July. It was introduced in 1774, and is frequent in collections. North of London, it

1123

1124

[graphic]
« PreviousContinue »