shrub, growing to the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft. in the south of France, Italy, Sicily, and Mauritania. Introduced in 1640, and flowering in June and July. It is frequent in gardens; and plants, in the London nurseries, are charged as in the preceding species. It is sometimes grafted standard high; but neither as a standard nor as a dwarf is it of great duration. 7. C. MO'LLIS Willd. The soft Cytisus. Identification. Willd. Enum. Suppl., 51.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 155. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets oblong, clothed with soft down, at both ends acute. Peduncles axillary, usually in threes. Calyxes subglobose, trifid, scarious. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 154.) A shrub, from 2 ft. to 4 ft. high; introduced in 1818, from what country is uncertain, and, perhaps, only a variety of C. triflorus. 8. C. PA TENS L. The spreading Cytisus. Identification. Lin. Syst. Vég., 555., according to L'Hérit. Stirp., 184.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 155. Synonymes. C. pendulinus Lin. Fil. Supp., 328.; Genísta tomentosa Poir. Supp., 2. p. 719.; Spartium patens Lin. Syst., 535., Brot. Fl. Lus., 2. p. 83., but not of Cav. Spec. Char., &c. Branches striated and pubescent. Leaves trifoliolate, petiolate; the upper ones simple, and obovate, as are the leaflets; covered with closely pressed down. Flowers axillary, usually in pairs, pedicellate, nodding. Pods very hairy. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 154.) A native of Portugal; growing to the height of from 4 ft. to 6 ft. Introduced in 1752, and flowering in June and July. A very handsome shrub, not so common in collections as it ought to be. Plants are in the arboretum of the Messrs. Loddiges. 9. C. GRANDIFLO`RUS Dec. The great-flowered Cytisus. Identification. Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 155. Spec. Char., &c. Branches angled, usually glabrous. Leaves petioled, grouped, trifoliolate, or, in many instances, simple. Leaflets and simple leaf ovate-lanceolate; primary leaflets roundish. Flowers lateral, upon pedicels, solitary or in pairs. Legume woolly all over. (Dec. Prod, ii p. 154.) Inhabits hedges, hills, river sides, and copses, in Portugal, and grows there to the height of 3 ft. or 4ft.; flowering in June and July. Introduced in 1816. 10. C. SCOPA'RIUS Link. The common Broom. Identification. Link Enum., 2. p. 241.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 155. Synonymes. Spártium scoparium Lin. Sp., 998., Ed. Fl. Dan., t. $13, Smith Eng. Bot., 1339. Genista scoparia Lam. Dict., 2. p. 623., but not of Vill.; G. hirsuta Manch Meth., 144.; Genet à Balais, ou Genét commun, Fr.; gemeine Pfriemen, Ger. Engravings. Ed. Fl. Dan., t. $13.; Smith Engl. Bot., t. 1339.; and our fig. 287. Spec. Char., &c. Branches angled, glabrous. Leaves petioled, trifoliolate; the uppermost simple, these and the leaflets oblong. Flowers axillary, pedicelled, solitary. Legumes pilose at the margins. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 154.) A shrub, growing to the height of from 3 ft. to 6 ft., or even 12 ft., according to the soil and situation; a native of dry sandy or gravelly soils, throughout Europe; and producing its fine large yellow flowers in May and June. The roots are straight, and penetrate perpendicularly to a great depth. The leaves are trifoliolate or simple; the branches numerous, long, straight, angular, dark green, smooth, and tough. The flowers are of a deep golden yellow, sometimes tinged with orange, and occasionally of a uniform pale lemon colour: they are succeeded by pods above an inch long, black when ripe, and each containing 15 or 16 seeds. The flowers are larger than those of any other species of the genus; and, were the species not so common, it would, doubtless, be considered the most ornamental. Varieties. 287 C. s. 2 álbus Hort. has the flowers white, or of a very pale yellow. When the broom is found in abundance in a wild state, it varies considerably in the colour of the flowers, and in the smoothness or hairiness of the pods. Sometimes, also, the calyx takes a purple tinge. None of these varieties, however, are in cultivation, except the first, which, indeed, is of little value. Geography, History, &c. The broom is found in a wild state in most parts of Europe, from Norway and Sweden to the shores of the Mediterranean. It is also found in the Mediterranean islands, in Greece, Turkey, but not, as it would appear, in Russia. At great elevations, it is a shrub not exceeding 1 ft. in height; but in the woods of Galicia it attains a timber-like size, growing to the height of 20 ft. or 30 ft. or upwards. In Britain, it is found to the height of 1800 ft. or 1900 ft., on the Grampian Mountains, and as far north as Sutherlandshire. Properties and Uses. The whole plant is exceedingly tough, and bitter to the taste, and has a strong disagreeable smell. Though it is at present comparatively neglected, yet in former times it was one of very great importance in rural and domestic economy. The branches are eaten by sheep and cattle, and, on poor gravelly soils, formed, before the general improvement of grass lands which has taken place within the last century, the principal herbage. In the mountainous districts of Scotland, and also in France and Spain, it still constitutes, with the heath, the principal winter food for store sheep. In Scotland, during the winter season, when the ground was long covered with snow, the broom was cut, and carried to the farm-yards and sheepfolds as the only provender; and, though it is not readily eaten by horses and cows, yet, at that season, they, as well as the sheep, fed on it. Sheep, at all seasons, eat it greedily. The branches were also used for litter, for thatching ricks and houses, and for making fences or screens, in the same manner as reeds. In One of the principal modern uses of the broom, both in Britain and on the Continent, is to form brooms, or besoms, for which purpose, as the specific name would imply, it appears to have been used from time immemorial. the woods of Spain and the south of France, more especially in Galicia, where, in schistose soils, the broom attains a timber-like size, the wood becomes an object of value. It is much used for veneering, from being finely veined; and many beautiful little articles of turnery are made of it. The most durable of all stakes for supporting vines are made of its branches; and of its twigs ties are made for the vine-dresser, and for a variety of other purposes. The branches were formerly used for tanning leather, and also for dyeing yellow; and, when treated in the same manner as those of Spártium júnceum (see p. 577.), they afford a fibre which may be spun and woven into a very good coarse cloth. An excellent paper may also be made of this fibre. The branches, and the whole plant, used at one time, in France, to be burned for the sake of the ashes, from which a potass was procured, by lixiviation and evaporation; the coarsest kind of which was sold to the glass-works, and the finer kind to the apothecaries. In Britany there are extensive tracts of very poor sandy and gravelly soil, upon which scarcely any thing grows but the heath and the broom. These are regularly pastured by immense flocks of sheep; and the tufts of broom, which here and there grow up and form bushes, are periodically cut down; and, after being burned on the spot, their ashes are spread over the surface of the ground as manure. In domestic economy, the young shoots were formerly used as a substitutefor hops in brewing beer; and the flower buds, just before they become yellow, are pickled in the manner of capers. In medicine, the tops and leaves of broom are purgative and diuretic; and dropsical patients have been cured by taking half a pint of the decoction of green broom tops, with a spoonful of white mustard seed, every morning and evening. Dr. Cullen gave two table-spoonfuls of the decoction every hour, and cured several dropsies with it. The efficacy of the broom in dropsies is said by Sydenham, Monro, and others, to depend upon the alkali contained in the plant. The principal uses of the broom in Britain, in plantations, are as a shelter for game; and, when cut down, for besoms, fuel, shelters (that is, for filling in hurdles or railings of fences, in the manner of reed-hurdles), and for thatch for ricks and cottages. It has been sometimes sown on poor exposed soils, in order to form a shelter, preparatory to the insertion of plants or seeds of timber trees, in the same manner as furze (see p. 573.) is on rich soils; but, though it affords shelter to the tops of the plants, yet it exhausts the soil to such a degree as to do them more harm than good. As an undergrowth, to protect game, among trees, whatever may be the nature of the soil, it doubtless exhausts it, and naturally checks the growth of the trees. It can only, therefore, be recommended as undergrowth where game is considered of more value than timber. In ornamental plantations, it forms a splendid plant when allowed to attain a large size; and, for this purpose, it is sometimes grafted standard high on Cytisus (L.) alpinus. Propagation and Culture. The broom produces abundance of seeds, which, according to M. Hartig, retain their germinating quality for a very long time: some that he kept 25 years, in a room which was occupied, having come up as Hence fields that have been many years in pasture, well as new seed. when broken up for corn, sometimes produce abundance of young plants of broom; or, when woods have been grubbed up, or even the surface of the ground burned, the same thing has happened. (See Gard. Mag., x. p. 81.) The seeds, when sown as soon as gathered, or in the following spring, come up in part in the June following, and in part remain in the ground till the next April or May. When sown as a shelter for game, the ground, if an open field, is prepared by ploughing, or, if among trees, by digging in patches, and scattering the seeds in the same manner as recommended for furze. No farther culture is requisite than pulling out the larger weeds the first year. Price of the seeds, in London, is 1s. a pound; price of plants of C. s. álbus, from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; of C. s. flòre plèno, 2s. 6d.; at New York, where it is called Scotch broom, plants are 37 cents each. § iii. Calycótome Link. Derivation. From kalyr, a calyx, and tome, a cutting; in reference to the calyx, the upper part of which, after some time, falls off, in such a manner as to give the remainder the appearance of being cut round. Sect. Char. Calyx campanulate, somewhat bilabiate, at length becoming Shrubs with spiny Pod thickened on the upper suture. truncate. branches and yellow flowers. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 154.) 11. C. SPINO`sus Lam. The spiny Cytisus. Identification. Lam. Dict., 2. p. 247.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 155. Engravings. J. Bauh. Hist., 1. p. 2. p. 376., icon.; Lob. Icon., 2. t. 95. Spec. Char., &c. Branches angled, spiny. Leaves trifoliolate; leaflets obovate-oblong. Legumes perfectly smooth. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 154.) Upon bills and rough places from Perpignan to Genoa, in Corsica, and in the Algerine country, where it attains the height of from 2 ft. to 10 ft.; producing its yellow flowers in June and July. It was introduced in 1596, but is not very common in British collections. 12. C. LANI GERUS Dec. The wool-bearing Cytisus. Identification. Dec. Prod., 2. p. 154.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 155. Synonymes. Spartium lanigerum Desf. Fl. Atl., 2. p. 135.; Calycótome villòsa Link Enum.; Spártium villosum Brot. Fl. Lus., 2. p. 85., and Poir. Voy., 2. p. 207. Spec. Char., &c. Branches furrowed, spiny. Leaves trifoliolate; leaflets obovate-elliptical. Legumes very hairy in a woolly manner. (Dec. Prod., ii, p. 154.) Variety. C. 1. 2 rigidus Dec. Spines very strong. Description. The species is a shrub, between 2 ft. and 10 ft. high, wild on hills and in rough places in Corsica, Crete, the Archipelago, Mauritania, Gibraltar, and Portugal; producing its yellow flowers from June to July. It was introduced in 1821, but is not common in collections: in all probability, it is nothing more than a variety of the preceding species. S$ 4 § iv. Tubocytisus Dec. Derivation. From tubus, a tube, and cytisus; in reference to the tubular shape of the calyx. Sect. Char. Calyx tubular, with the apex toothed-lipped. Thornless shrubs (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 155.) A. Flowers white or whitish. 13. C. LEUCANTHUS Waldst. et Kit. The white-flowered Cytisus. Identification. Waldst. et Kit., 2. p. 141. t. 132.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 155.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 156. Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 1438.; and our fig. 288. Spec. Char., &c. Stem erect. Branches round, and, as well as the leaves, clothed with closely pressed pubescence. Leaflets elliptic and acute. Flowers at the points of the branches; heads of flowers bracteated by two leaves. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 155.) A shrub, growing to the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft. in Croatia, in woods. Introduced in 1806, and producing its yellowish white flowers in June and July. It is very ornamental, and well deserves a place among other species of the genus. Price of plants, in the London nurseries, ls. 6d. each. B. Flowers purple. 288 14. C. PURPUREUS Scop. The purple-flowered Cytisus. Identification. Scop. Carn., No. 905. t. 43.; Dec. Prod. 2. p. 155.; Don's Mill., 2 p. 156. Engravings. Jacq. Aust. Append., t. 48.; Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 892.; Bot. Mag., t. 1176.; and our figs. 289, 290. 289 Spec. Char., &c. Stems procumbent, twiggy. Leaves, calyxes, and legumes glabrous. Leaflets oblong. Flowers axillary, solitary, on short pedicels. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 156.) A procumbent shrub, a native of Carniola, in exposed places. Introduced in 1792, and flowering from May to August. It seldom exceeds 1 ft. in height, but is very ornamental on rockwork, or when grafted on the laburnum, standard high. Of all the different species of Cytisus, when grafted standard high, this forms the most graceful tree; and a plant of it covered with its purple flowers, placed on a lawn, or in a border near a standard of Genísta triquetra, covered with its golden yellow flowers, will produce a very striking effect. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 1s. 6d. each; grafted standard high, they are from 2s. 6d. to 5s.: at Bollwyller, they are 50 cents each; and for two years' seedlings, 4 francs for 25. Variety. There is a C. p. 2 flore albo Hort. has the flowers of a pure white. C. Flowers yellow. 15. C. ELONGA'TUS Waldst. et Kit. The elongated Cytisus. Identification. Waldst. et Kit. Hung., 2. p. 200. t. 183.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 155.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 155. Engraving. Waldst, et Kit. Hung., t. 183. Spec. Char., &c. Stems erect. Branches elongated and round; young ones hairy. Leaflets obovate, clothed beneath with closely pressed hairs. Flowers lateral, usually in fours, on short pedicels. Calyxes hairy. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 155.) A native of Hungary, in woods, where it grows to the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft., flowering in May and June. It was introduced in 1804. Price, in London, 1s. 6d. each. 16. C. MULTIFLO'RUS Lindl. The many-flowered Cytisus. Identification. Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 1191.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 156. Synonymes. C. elongatus Hortul., but not of Kit.; C. elongatus 3 multifidrus Dec. Prod., 2. p. 155. Spec. Char., &c. Stems erect. Branches elongated, terete, younger ones 17. C. FALCA'TUS Waldst. et Kit. The sickle-like-podded Cytisus. Identification. Waldst. et Kit. Hung., S. p. 264.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 155.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 156. Engravings. Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 520.; Waldst. et Kit. Hung., 3. t. 238. Spec. Char., &c. Stems declinate. Branches round and twiggy; the young Identification. Lin. Sp., 1042.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 156. ; Don's Mill., Spec. Char., &c. Stems upright. Branches round 19. C. SUPINUS Jacq. The supine Cytisus. Identification. Jacq. Fl. Austr., 1. t. 20.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 156. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 156. Synonymes. C. lotoides Pour. Act. Toul., 3. t. 318. Engravings. Clus, Hist., p. 96., No. 7., icon.; Jacq. Fl. Austr., 1. t. 20.; and our fig. 292. 20. C. HIRSUTUS L. The hairy Cytisus. Identification. Lin. Sp., 1042.; Jacq. Obs., 4. t. 96.; Dec. Prod, 2. p. 156.; Don's Synonymes. C. supinus Bertol. Pl. Gen., but not of Lin.; C. triflorus Lam. Dict, not of L'Herit.; C. Tournefortiànus Loisel. in N. Du Ham, 5. p. 157. 291 292 REESE ARY OF THE UNIVERSITY CAT TRORNIA |