4. Globiflora

Sect. Char. Flowers collected into globose heads on the tops of the peduncles. Leaves bipinnate, with few or many pairs of pinnæ, each pinna bearing few or many pairs of leaflets. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 413.)

A. Prickles stipular and straight. Legumes unarmed. Stamens 20, or more.

A. farnesiana Willd., Mimòsa farnesiana L., Mimosa scorpiöìdes Forsk., Gazia, Ital., (N. Du Ham., 388 2. t. 28., and our fig. 388.) is a charming shrub or low tree, a native of St. Domingo, but in cultivation in the south of Europe, and north of Africa, in gardens, since the year 1611; when, according to Du Hamel, the first plant was raised from seeds, in the garden of the Villa Farnese, at Rome. It grows in the open air in the south of France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, where it is highly valued for the beauty and fragrance of its flowers. It was introduced into England in 1556, and cultivated in green-houses; but, since the great influx of New Holland acacias, it has been comparatively neglected. In the year 1819, we saw it in the open ground in several Italian gardens.

B. Prickles stipular, in Pairs, usually also petiolar, and along the Ribs of the Legume. Stamens 10.

A. Cavènia Hook., Mimosa Cavènia Moll., is a tree, growing to the height of 20 ft. in the woods of Chili. The flowers are very fragrant, and the wood is considered to make the best charcoal.

C. Unarmed. Anthers smooth. Stigma simple.

A. nigricans R. Br., Mimosa nigricans Labill., (Bot. Mag. t. 2188., and our figs. 389, 390.) is a native of the south-west coast of New Holland; introduced in 1803; growing to the height of 10 ft.; and producing its fine yellow polyandrous flowers from May to July. The whole plant becomes black when dried; whence the specific name.

A. strigosa Link, A. ciliata R. Br., has the general appearance of the preceding species, but flowers from March to July.

A. glauca Willd., Mimosa glaúca L., (Mill. Icon., 4. t. 4.) is a native of Carolina, with white decandrous flowers, which are produced in June and July. It was introduced in 1690, and grows to the height of 10 ft.

A. Lambertiana D. Don (Bot. Reg., t. 721.), which has purple flowers; A. discolor Willd. (Bot. Mag., t. 1750.), which has yellow flowers; and A. angulata Desf. and A pubescens R. Br. (Bot. Mag., t. 1263.), both which have also yellow flowers, are desirable species. The last three are from New Holland, and the first from Mexico.

390

A. Julibrissin Willd., Mimosa Julibrissin Scop. Del., i. t. 8., Mimòsa arborea Forsk. and our fig. 391.; is a tree, a native of Persia, growing to the height of 30 ft. or 40 ft., which might almost have been included among our hardy species; but though, in the neighbourhood of London, it will grow against a wall without any protection, and flower in fine seasons, yet it will scarcely live in the open garden as a standard. According to Du Hamel, it is a native of Persia and China, and of various countries in the Levant, where it is also cultivated in gardens, for its large leaves, and its very large fragrant flowers, which, like those of the A. farnesiana, are distinguished by their numerous purple stamens; each of the flowers appearing, from the length of the stamens, to terminate in a little bundle of silken threads, about an inch long; whence the Persian name of Ghulibrichim (Julibrissin), that is, silk rose; from which is derived its English name of the silk tree. Dr. Walsh informs us that the Turks are particularly fond of this tree, and that it is to be found in all the gardens of the Bosphorus. A tree in the garden

of the British palace at Constantinople has a trunk 1 ft. in diameter. The foliage, he says, is highly susceptible of the variations of the atmosphere. It affords a thick shade on a bright day; but, when it threatens rain, or when a cloud obscures the sun, the leaflets immediately close their lower surfaces together till the sun again appears. This beautiful phenomenon takes place, also, with all the New Holland species in which the leaves are not caducous, and more particularly with A. dealbàta. A. Julibrissin was introduced into England in 1745, and is occasionally met with in collections. There is a large specimen of it in the Botanic Garden at Kew, which flowers frequently in Au

gust. There is one in the Fulham Nursery which also flowers. One in the Horticultural Society's Garden has not yet flowered. In the Bristol Nursery, there is one against a house, 20 ft. high, which is covered with a profusion of flowers every year. In the English garden at Caserta, near Naples, there is a tree which was upwards of 40 ft. high in January, 1835; and, at Monza, there is one, 24 years planted, which is also 40 ft. high.

A. decurrens Willd., Mimosa decurrens Vent. Mal., t. 61., has leaves with 9-11 pairs of pinnæ, each pinna bearing 30-40 pairs of narrow, linear, distant leaflets. It was introduced from New Holland in 1790, and flowers from May to July. It grows to the height of 20 ft.

A. mollissima Willd., 4. decurrens var. 8 mollis Bot. Reg., t. 371., A. mollis Sw., (Fl. Austr., t. 12., and our figs. 392, 393.); closely resembles A. decurrens, and appears to us only a variety of that species. It was introduced in 1810; grows to the height of 20 ft.; and produces its yellow flowers in July and August 393

392

A. dealbata Link Enum., ii. p. 445. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 420., and the plate of this tree in our Second Volume) is the A. affinis of many British nurseries, and the black wattle mimosa of Van Diemen's Land. The origin of the specific name affinis is thus given by Dr. Neill, in Gard. Mag., vol. xi. p. 432.:-" A. affinis seems to be a variety of A. mollíssima Willd.; which variety Link regarded as a species, and called A. dealbàta, but which De Candolle, in his Prodromus, marks as 'Priori (A. mollíssimæ) nimis affinis;' meaning that, though he had followed Link in calling it a species, he considered it too nearly allied to A. mollíssima to be so in reality from which, apparently, some person fancied the word affinis to be a specific name, and adopted it accordingly." A. dealbàta has the leaves with 15 pairs of pinnæ, and the flowers in lateral racemes. It is one of the hardiest species of the genus, and also one of the most rapid growth. It has been tried in the open air, as a standard, in various parts of Britain; and has stood out for several winters, and, in some places, grown to the height of 30 ft. There are three or four trees of this species in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, some of which are upwards of 20 ft. high; and none of them have been killed by the severe frosts of January, 1836. Some trees in the Kew Botanic Garden have stood out uninjured since 1828. In the Norwich Nursery, a tree, in November, 1834, was 16 ft. high; the trunk 5 in. in diameter; and the diameter of the head 12 ft. It grows in a light loam, with a sandy subsoil, and in a northern exposure. It had attained that height in 4 years after being planted out; and it flowers profusely in April, and sometimes ripens seeds. This tree was uninjured by the winter of 1835-6; another tree of the same species, and of nearly

the same height, which stood in a very exposed situation, lost a great part of its foliage, but was not otherwise injured, and in March was, as usual, covered with flower buds. In Somersetshire, at Beauchamp Parsonage, in March, 1835, a tree, between 16 ft. and 17 ft. in height, with a trunk 4 in. in diameter, was at that time covered with golden blossoms. This plant had only been planted out two years; when planted, it was turned out of a small pot, and was placed in a border of peat earth, where it grew to the height of 8 ft. the first summer, and showed blossoms the following autumn. (See Gard. Mag., vol. xi. p. 250.) In Scotland, at Edinburgh, in the Botanic Garden, there is a fine specimen, as a standard, which was 16 ft. high, and covered with blossoms, in April, 1835. In the Caledonian Horticultural Society's Garden, there was, at the same time, one between 12 ft. and 14 ft. high; and in Dr. Neill's garden, at Canonmills, several trees, raised from seeds received from Van Diemen's Land, which were at that time 20 ft. high, and which had not suffered from the frost, though the thermometer had been as low as 25° Fahr. At Dundee, in Mr. Urquhart's nursery, there was also a fine specimen of this tree. A number of other specimens, standing in the open air, are recorded in vols. x. and xi. of the Gardener's Magazine. The tree is one of the most beautiful of all the acacias; its light delicate foliage, of a pale glaucous green, consisting of beautifully formed and graceful bipinnate leaves; the fine bloom which covers its branches, and, in young trees, even the stem; and its numerous heads of bright yellow fragrant flowers, which resemble golden balls, and which expand precisely at the season (February and March) when flowers are most desirable, because they are most rare, render this tree a most valuable addition to any pleasure-grounds. There is one remarkable peculiarity belonging to this tree, which deserves particular notice. While the delicate foliage is not materially injured by the cold of a British winter, the bark of the stem is liable to split, or become cracked, during severe frosts, especially for a few feet above the ground; and then disease and death are extremely apt to ensue. The preventive is simple, consisting merely in tying some straw round the stem at the end of November, or in encasing it in the manner recommended for Magnòlia grandiflòra (p. 266.), and removing the covering when the severity of winter is passed. (Dr. Neill, in Gard. Mag., vol. xi. p. 432.) As confirmatory of the value of Dr. Neill's suggestions, we may refer to a case in the neighbourhood of London, where it is put in practice. A plant of A. dealbàta, in a pot, and about 6 in. high, was, in May, 1834, turned out into the open garden; and at the end of the season it had produced a main stem upwards of 11 ft. in height, with numerous long lateral shoots. It was protected about half way up the stem with spruce fir branches on the approach of winter; and, though the severe frost of the 8th of January, 1835, killed the main stem down to the protected part, yet it pushed out again in the March following. (Gard. Mag., vol. xi. p. 953.)

A. móllis Wall. (Pl. Rar. Asiat., 2. p. 76. t. 177.) This is a tree which, from the description and figure, seems to bear a considerable resemblance to the three preceding sorts; but the heads of the flowers are in fascicles on long peduncles disposed in corymbs at the tops of the branches; the filaments are very long, and monadelphous at the base. The whole plant is covered with hairs in every part. It is a native of Nepal, where it is grown in gardens, and attains the height of 40 ft. or 50 ft. It is not yet introduced; but, if it should prove to be as hardy as 4. dealbata, to which it appears closely related, it will be a most desirable species. (See the list of Himalayan Leguminacea likely to stand the open air in Britain, in p. 174.)

App. II. Remarks on cultivating the half-hardy Leguminacea in British Gardens.

Some valuable hints for raising the leguminous plants of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope from seeds, and for acclimatising them in British gardens, are given in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. viii. p. 5. These remarks are by Mr. J. Bowie, a collector at the Cape; at once a scientific botanist, and an excellent practical gardener; and we consider them of great value. As we have here given figures and descriptions of the principal half-hardy

Leguminàceæ, we think a summary of these hints on their culture will be interesting to our readers. Mr. Bowie took seeds of various species of the Australian Acàcia with him from England to the Cape of Good Hope, and sowed them there immediately on his arrival. Many of them failed; but several came up, after having been three years in the ground. Seeds, also, of Acàcia longifolia, saved at the Cape, and sown ten days after gathering, showed the same tardiness in vegetating. In both cases, the ground was duly kept moist by watering and shading, and no weeds were allowed to grow. After various experiments, Mr. Bowie found that nearly all of the Cape and Australian Leguminacea "thrive better by having water heated to 200°, or even 212° Fahr. poured over them, leaving them to steep, and the water to cool for 24 hours." Where there is a numerous collection, and the quantity of seeds of each kind are few, he advises leaving them in their respective papers, and steeping the packets. The soil he recommends for leguminous seeds in general is, one part sandy loam, and three parts thoroughly decayed leaves. The seeds ought to be sown in pots of medium size, so as to maintain a more equal degree of moisture than can be obtained in pots either very large or very small; equable moisture being essentially necessary to the health and germination of all seeds, but more especially to those of seeds which lie a long time in the soil. The spring is the best season for sowing; because steeped seeds will come up the same season, if the pots are placed in a hot-bed. The plants should be transplanted while in a growing state, allotting to each species the peculiar soil required for it, as far as the requisite information for that purpose has been procured from the collector, or other sources. ever soil may be required for the plants, Mr. Bowie very properly remarks, care must be taken not to pulverise it too finely in sifting; for the taproot, in its descent, if it meets with any obstruction to its perpendicular direction, receives an impulse approaching to animal instinct; and, rounding the impediment, forms much sooner those lateral fibres and roots, which are to become the organs of nourishment for the future tree, &c. This will not be generally the case with plants placed in earth sifted as fine as snuff: the taproot will then descend without forming any lateral fibres; and the plant, circumscribed in its organs of nourishment, will soon display its state of health, by the sickly hue of the leaves, which will prematurely fall off; and, upon examination, the root will be found embedded, as it were, in a condensed cement, which all the efforts of nature cannot penetrate with fibrous roots.

What

As soon as the young plants are established in the pots, they must be removed from the frames, and plunged in prepared beds of decayed bark, formed at or under the level of the natural ground; and occasionally supplied with water, until the middle or latter end of August; when they are to be raised, and the taproot cut off, if it should have passed the aperture at the bottom of the pot. They may remain above ground until housed for winter; during which season as much air, and as little fire heat, as possible, should be given to them. In a general collection, it is impossible to allow every species its proper atmospherical temperature; but long confined air, and damp, are as injurious to vegetable, as they are to animal, life. There are, generally, some bright days occurring during the winter season in Britain: those opportunities should be embraced to purify the houses, by throwing open the doors and sashes, and keeping up a brisk fire in the morning, as often as may be judged

necessary.

There are few Cape plants but what will resist the effects of some degrees of frost: the Plectranthus fruticòsus, a native of the Cape forests, is the most susceptible of injury from cold; and, if properly placed in the house, proves a warning thermometer against direct injury, as it is the first to suffer, and, consequently, show, the increasing harm.

Of the South African Leguminacea, the following genera form striking and beautiful ornaments in their native wilds, particularly to those who are charmed with the outward appearance and various colours of flowers; and, although the nature of the soil where they are generally found in greatest numbers

be variable, a sandy loam, with decayed leaves, is the most genial to the growth of most species of Cape Leguminàceæ, and may, therefore, be used in general collections.

Omphalòbium, Schòtia, Sophòra sylvática Cyclòpia, Sarcophyllum, Borbònia, Crotalària, Cytisus, Anthýllis, Sutherlandia, Indigófera, and Aspálathus, generally indicate the existence of a red sandy loam.

Acàcia, Virgilia, Loddigèsia, Vibórgia, Ráfnia, Psoràlea, Onònis, and Cylista, thrive with great luxuriance on the margins of streams, in alluvial and vegetable soils; but many species of the same, and of other genera, vary from the general rules, and are found, either in pure sand, or in stiff clay, exposed, through great part of the year, to excessive heat and drought, or but slightly sheltered and nurtured by the mountains; but deriving much of their subsistence from the dewy clouds which those heights, as the clouds pass over them, arrest and condense. So readily do South African plants appear to accommodate themselves to soils and situations, that it is difficult positively to recommend any particular compost for them in garden culture. Practical experience must alone decide the best for the purpose.

Mr. Bowie recommends the forming of portable houses for the reception 'of Leguminàceæ, which would amply repay the amateur for the trouble and expense, by the splendour which plants having a sufficiency of room would exhibit. He therefore advises planting in beds of prepared soil, formed in such structures as fancy might determine, or circumstances permit, masses of Cape and Australian Leguminàceæ, arranging them so that every plant might receive an equal portion of the sun's rays through the day; placing the taller in the centre, and gradually diminishing the lines to the edge, where the minor kinds would form the border, and would not exceed the height of many species of the mosses.

If young plants (say of 3 years old) are intended for the above description of houses, they should be brought as early as possible to a fit state, by giving them larger pots than they would have allowed to them, were they intended for the stage or shelf of a green-house. As young plants will be small, in proportion to the space they are hereafter to fill, several of the species may be plunged over the rim of the pots, and marked for future removal. This will, without deranging the plan, allow sufficient room for those which remain : those to be removed, having a ball of earth attached to them, will be fit specimens to try in the open air.

For this trial in the open air, Mr. Bowie recommends a northern exposure for planting, rather than a southern one; as in the latter situation, after severe frosts, a sudden thaw does most mischief, and, in many instances, is the real cause of death to the plants. If large plants, thus exposed, appear killed by cold, too much haste must not be exercised in removing the roots; but the plants must be cut down; and the stem and the stool left in the ground for one or two years. When old plants are intended for the portable house, or for a conservatory, they should be headed down to a convenient height, allowing sufficient room for their heads to form free of the roof; and, as the various species of Schòtia flower occasionally on the old wood, and the others at the extremities of the young spring and summer shoots, these habits should be strictly attended to, and borne in mind, at all seasons.

Many persons regret the loss of old established plants; and, in the vain attempt to preserve them in a confined space, permit injuries to be inflicted upon them, by injurious pruning, which eventually render them unsightly and disagreeable objects for a house. They are then condemned, and, in the autumn, are left out, and exposed to every vicissitude of season; and no opportunity is thus given them to recover. Early in the spring these plants should be selected, and planted out in sheltered situations of the shrubbery. If this were done, they would, at least, have a chance of existence; and, if they should then die, their loss would not be so apparent. It has become a very common practice in Europe to plant exotic shrubs in front of the stoves and green-houses; but this is often done indiscriminately, and without reflecting on what will