CHAP. LXXX.

OF THE HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS OR SUFFRUTICOSE PLANTS
BELONGING TO THE ORDER COBEA CEE.

Coba a scandens Cav. Icon. Rar. 1. p. 11. t. 16., N. Du Ham., 4.
t. 50., and our fig. 1098., is a tendriled climber, well known for
the rapidity of its growth, the fine glaucous green of its smooth
leaves and shoots, and the beauty of its large, solitary, axillary,
nodding flowers, with bell-shaped violet or purple corollas, and
its large, oval, pendent fruit. Plants should either be raised in
autumn, and preserved in a pit, and turned out in spring (which
is the general practice about London), or they may be sown in
spring, and brought forward in a hot-bed. In mild winters,
plants, in dry soil, against a conservative wall, may be preserved
alive by covering them with mats. A plant of Cobo a scandens
against the veranda at the Castle Inn at Slough, in 1806, is said
to have extended its shoots upwards of 100 ft., on each side of
the root, in one season. Astonishing effects might be produced
by this plant in a single season, if it were thought desirable to
incur a little extra expense. By preparing a large mass of turfy
loam well enriched with leaf mould, or thoroughly decomposed
manure, and by mixing this mass with a quantity of small sand-
stones, as recommended by Mr. M'Nab for the culture of the genus
Erica, a large fund of nourishment would be produced. Now,
in order that this nourishment might be rapidly imbibed by the
roots, it would be necessary to supply it with bottom heat early
in the season, and with liquid manure from a surrounding
trench, three parts filled with that material, during the whole
A plant so treated would cover several thousand
square feet of surface, either of wall, roof, or of the open ground,
in one season.

CHAP. LXXXI.

OF THE HARDY AND HALF-HARDY SUFFRUTICOSE PLANTS BELONGING TO THE ORDER CONVOLVULA CEE.

THERE are a few species of Convolvulus which are technically considered shrubby; and, though for all practical purposes they may be treated as herbaceous plants, we shall, for the sake of those who wish to gather every thing into an arboretum that can be included in it, here notice two or three species.

Convolvulus Dorýcnium L., Fl. Græc., t. 200., and our fig. 1100., is a native of the Levant, and is common on the road sides near Corinth, where it forms a little bush about the height of 13 ft., producing its fine rose-coloured flowers in

1100

1099

June and July. It was introduced in 1806, and is occasionally met with in collections. It is suit.

able for rock work.

. C. Cneòrum L., Fl. Græc., t. 200., and our

fig. 1099., is a native of Spain, Crete, &c., with a

shrubby-branched stem, and the whole plant covered with soft silvery down. It was introduced in 1640.; grows to the height of 2 ft. or 3 ft.; and produces its white and pale red flowers from May to September. It is about as hardy as Cnedrum tricóccum (see p. 560.).

C. scoparius L., and C. flóridus L., are natives of the Canaries, where they form trailing shrubs, from 1 ft. to 3 ft. in height; and they might probably be treated as half-hardy.

CHAP. LXXXII.

OF THE HARDY AND HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS BELONGING TO THE ORDER BORAGINA CEE.

n Lithospermum fruticosum L. (Garid. Aiz., p. 68. t. 15.) is a native of the south of Europe and north of Africa, where it forms a shrub from 1ft. to 3 ft. high, producing its blue flowers in May and June. It was introduced in 1683, but is not common in collections.

L fruticosum majus Lehm.; L. rosmarinifolium Tenore, Bot. Reg., t. 1736. ; and our fig. 1101. is a native of Naples, and on the mountains of the Grecian Archipelago.

1101

L prostratum Lois. Fl. Gall., 1. p. 105. t. 4., is a prostrate suffruticose plant, a native of France. Introduced in 1825. The corolla is of a bluish purple; and the whole plant is pilose and canescent. It is, in all probability, only a variety of L. fruticosum.

Echium L. There are some species of this genus natives of Teneriffe, the Canary Islands, and Madeira, on rocks. They have mostly splendid blue or white flowers, and some of them, such as E. giganteum, grow as high as 10 ft. On dry rockwork, in a warm sheltered situation, we have no doubt they would all prove half-hardy. E. candicans L., Bot. Reg., and t. 44., our fig. 1102., is one of the most common species in British green-houses. It is a native of Madeira, on high rocks; was introduced in 1777; grows to the height of from 2 ft. to 4 ft.; and produces its blue, campanulate flowers in May and June.

Heliotropium peruvianum L., H. p. hybridum Hort. Brit., and H. corym bosum Ruiz et Pav., Bot. Mag., t. 1609., are Peruvian under-shrubs, well known

1102

for their fragrant flowers, and on that account introduced into every flower-garden. Plants are raised by cuttings early in spring; and, being turned out into a bed of rich light soil, they flower freely all the summer, till they are destroyed by frost. Two or three stock plants should be kept through the winter, in the green-house or pit, to be ready to be placed in a hot-bed or stove, in order to furnish abundance of cuttings in spring. (See the mode of treating Ròsa indica by Mr. Elles, noticed p. 801.)

CHAP. LXXXIII.

OF THE HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER CORDIA CEE

Ehrèfia serrata Roxb. Cor., 1. t. 55., and our fig. 1103., is a low tree, a native of the East Indies and China. Introduced in 1795, and generally kept in stoves; but a plant has stood, since 1830, against a wall in the Horticultural Society's Garden; where it grows rapidly, flowers freely, and appears quite hardy. A plant, as a standard, in the open garden, at Messrs, Loddiges's, has the shoots killed down every year to within 1 ft. of the ground; but the stool sends out fresh shoots every spring, which generally attain the height of 3 ft. or 4 ft. in the course of the summer, and make a fine appear. ance, from the large size of their leaves. The circumstance of a plant like this, a native of the East Indies, and so long considered as a stove plant in England, having lived in the open garden for several years; and, against a wall, having not only lived, but flowered freely; ought to be a great encouragement to cultivators to try almost every kind of plant, whatever be its native country, in the open air, when they have an opportunity. We do not recommend the trial of scarce and valuable stove plants; and from the palms, Orchidaceæ, and other endogenous orders or tribes, perhaps little is to be hoped for in the way of acelimatisation: but all herbaceous plants that die down annually to the ground, and all exogenous ligneous plants, deserve a trial, when a plant can be spared without injuring the collection to which it belongs. If, after a thousand trials, one species only should have proved sufficiently hardy to endure the open air in our climate, the recompense to the cultivator will be ample. Let him not forget, in making experiments of this kind, that Aucuba japonica was originally treated as a stove plant, and Kérria japónica as an inhabitant of the green- house.

CHAP. LXXXIV.

OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER SOLANA CEÆ.

THE few ligneous or suffruticose hardy plants contained in this order are included in the genera Solànum, Lycium, and Crabówskia, which are thus characterised:

SOLANUM Pliny. Calyx 5-cleft, rarely 4-cleft. Corolla rotate, rarely campanulate, usually 5-cleft. Anthers connivent, dehiscing by pores at the apex. Berry 2-celled, rarely 4-celled. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 398.)

LYCIUM L. Calyx 5-toothed, or 3-5-lobed. Corolla funnel-shaped or tubular. Anthers usually exserted, and not connivent, opening lengthwise. Berry 2-celled. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 398.) CRABOWSKIA Schlecht. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla funnel-shaped. Limb convolute in æstivation, reflexed. Drupe containing two, 2-celled, bony carpels. Cells 1-seeded. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 400.)

GENUS I.

SOLA'NUM Pliny. THE NIGHTSHADE. Lin. Syst. Pentándria Monogynia Identification. Tourn. Inst., p. 149. t. 62.; Lin. Gen., No. 251.; Schreb. Gen., No. 387.; Juss. Gen., 126., ed. Usteri, p. 141.; Moench Meth., p. 473.; R. Br. Prod., 444.; Dunal Mon. Sol., 115.; Lindl. Nat. Syst. Bot., p. 295.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 400.

Synonymes. Melongèna Tourn. Inst., p. 151. t. 65.; Pseudo-Capsicum Manch Meth., p. 476.; Nycterium Vent. Jard. Malm., p. 85.; Aquártia Jacq. Amer., p. 15. t. 12.; Morelle, Fr.; Nachtschatten, Ger.

Derivation. The first use of the word Solanum occurs in the writings of Tragus, who applied it to Chenopodium hybridum. It is said to be derived from solari, to console. The Greeks called our European solanums struchnoi, a name which Linnæus transferred to the genus of tropical shrubs, Strychnos, to which the nux vomica belongs. (Bot. Reg., t. 1516.)

Gen. Char., &c. Caly permanent, 5-, rarely 4-, cleft. Corolla rotate, rarely campanulate, 5-, rarely 4-, cleft. Anthers oblong, connivent, opening by 2 pores at the apex. Berry almost globose, 2-3-4-celled, but usually 2-celled. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 400.)- Herbs or shrubs, unarmed or prickly, rarely spiny. Leaves undivided, sinuated, lobed, impari-pinnate, or decompound, usually alternate; but, in many species, twin, rarely ternary. Peduncles solitary or numerous, simple or multifid, axillary or extra-axillary, 1- or many-flowered, opposite the leaves, or scattered, or terminal. The pedicels in S. tuberosum are articulated under the flower. The fruit of S. esculéntum is large and 5-celled. In some species, the flowers are sometimes 6-9-cleft.

1. S. DULCAMARA L. The Bitter-sweet, or woody Nightshade. Identification. Lin. Sp., p. 264.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 409.; Smith's Eng. Fl., 1. p. 317.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. Synonymes. S. scandens, Neck, Gallo-Bel., 119.; Dulcamàra flexuòsa Moench Meth.; p. 514.; S. scándens seu Dulcamara Tourn. Inst., p. 149.; Amara dúlcis Gerard Emac., 350.; Dúlcis amàra Trag., 816.; Glycýpicros seu Dulcamara Bauh. Hist., 2. p. 109. icon.; la Morelle grimpante, Régnault Bot. Icon. Engravings. Engl. Bot., t. 565.; Baxt. Brit. Fl. Pl., vol. 2. t. 110. ;+ Curt. Fl. Lond., 1. t. 14.; Fl. Dan., t. 607.; Woodv. Med. Bot., 97. t. 33.; Stev. et Church. Med. Bot. Icon.; and our fig. 1104. Spec. Char., &c. Shrubby, scandent, flexuous. Leaves ovate-cordate; superior ones hastate. Corymbs almost opposite the leaves. Shrub glabrous. Leaves cordate; superior ones hastate, all quite entire. Corymbs panicled. Corolla violet-coloured, with reflexed segments, each segment furnished with 2 green spots at the base. Berries elliptic, red. (Don's Mill., iv.

1104

p.409.) A climbing shrub, a native of Europe, Asia, and North America, in hedges and among bushes; plentiful in Britain; flowers in June and July. Varieties.

S. D. 1 violacea Hort. Eyst., p. 385. t. 384. No. 3. — Corollas violet. 1 S. D. 2 álba Lin. Fl. Suec., p. 66. - Corollas white. There are plants of this variety in the collection of Messrs. Loddiges. S. D. 3 cárnea Cels. Ups., 32.- Corollas flesh-coloured.

S. D. 4 plena Tourn. Inst., 149., Hort. Eyst., 1. c.- Corollas double. 1 S. D. 5 variegata Munt., fig. 156., Tourn. Inst., 149., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.- Leaves variegated.

S. D. 6 hirsuta Don's Mill., iv. p. 409.; S. littorale Hort. - Plant hairy or downy. Flowers violet. Found on the sea coast. There are plants in Messrs. Loddiges's collection.

S. D. 7 rupestris Schmidt Fl. Bot., p. 69.— Stem erect. Leaves ovate, quite entire. Racemes few-flowered, dichotomous. A native of Bohemia. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 409.)

Description, Properties, &c. The stems of this species are roundish, branched, twisted, and climbing by elongation, among other shrubs, and in hedges, to the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft. or upwards. When bruised, broken, or rubbed, they yield a strong and peculiar odour, not unlike that which proceeds from rats and mice. The roots smell like potatoes; and both roots and stalks, upon being chewed, first cause a sensation of bitterness, which is soon followed by a considerable degree of sweetness, whence the specific name. The plant has been in repute for its medical virtues since the days of Theophrastus, by whom it was called Vitis sylvéstris; by Pliny, it was called Melortum. Gerard, Boerhaave, Cullen, and others, attribute to the berries, and also to the leaves and stalks, many virtues; and the plant is still in great repute among rustic practitioners. In Wales a salve is made from the leaves, which is considered infallible in removing bruises. A decoction of the whole plant, or an infusion of the young twigs, is considered excellent in rheumatic cases, and also in jaundice and scurvy. The berries are poisonous; and, as they are common in hedges, they are very frequently eaten by children, on whom they operate by exciting violent vomiting and purging. To lessen their deleterious effects, warm water should be administered immediately, and in large quantities, to dilute the poison, and provoke vomiting. To prevent vomiting, when an infusion or decoction of the plant is taken medicinally, it is diluted with milk. (Smith's Eng. Fl., i. p. 118.) Trained to a single stem, to the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft., and supported by a strong iron rod, with a parasol top, this common hedge weed might form a very handsome gardenesque pendulous tree. The Acheróntia A tropos Fab., in its larva state (fig. 1081. in p. 1253.) feeds on the bitter-sweet and the elder, as well as on the common white jasmine.

2. S. SUFFRUTICO'SUM Schousb. The suffruticose Nightshade. Identification. Schousb. ex Willd. Enum., p. 236.; Dun. Sol., p. 154. ; Syn., p. 13.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 413. Spec. Char., &c. Stem unarmed, suffruticose. Leaves ovate, dentately angular, nearly glabrous, ciliated. Flowers subpanicled (ex Dun.). Umbels extra-foliaceous, pedunculate (ex Willd.). Branches 2-edged, or quadrangularly winged from the decurrence of the petioles. Angles toothed, Leaves large, glaucous, covered above with soft hairs while young. Flowers white. Berries black. Very like S. nigrum; but the stem is shrubby, the leaves larger, and the flowers more numerous, &c. (Don's Mill., 4. p. 413.) A shrub, a native of Barbary, where it grows to the height of 4 ft., and flowers from May till September. It was introduced in 1804; but we have not seen the plant.

3. S. CRI'SPUM R. & S. The curled-leaved Solanum. Identification. Rom. et Schult. Sp. Pl., 4 p. 595.; Fl. Peruv., 2. f. 1. t. 158. f. a. ; Dunal Solan., 159.; Syn. p. 16. No. 78.; Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 1516.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 414. Engravings. Bot. Keg., t. 1516. ; and our fig. 1105.

Spec. Char., &c. Stem shrubby. Leaves ovate, subcordate, wavedly curled, acuminate. Flowers corymbose. (Rom. et Schult. Sp. Pl., iv. p. 95.) Leaves all simple, undivided, ovate, or cordate, acuminate, petiolate, slightly curled at the margin; younger leaves powdery, but full-grown ones green. Cymes

many-flowered, terminal, all the parts powdery. Bracteas none. Calyx short, 5-toothed. Corolla middle-sized, of a bluish lead-colour. Anthers equal, yellow. (Lindl.) A native of Chiloe, in waste places and hedges. Introduced by Mr. Anderson, collector to Mr. Lowe of the Clapton Nursery, in 1830. It is a hardy vigorous-growing plant, of a much more ligneous character than S. Dulcamàra, subevergreen, and covered with flowers nearly the whole summer. A plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden attained the height of 10 ft., against a wall, in 3 years; and its stem is between 3 in. and 4 in. in diameter: one in the Clapton Nursery is still larger. As this species will grow in any soil, and is readily propagated by cuttings, it promises to be of great value as an ornamental climber, for rapidly covering naked walls. Dr. Lindley observes that, "if tied to a stake, and thus forced to grow erect, it will throw out a great number of lateral branchlets, at the end of every one of which is a bunch of flowers. It this state it was exhibited by Mr. Lowe of Clapton, at a meeting of the Horticultural Society, in April, 1832, and was greatly admired." (Bot. Reg., t. 1516.) It is readily propagated by cuttings, and promises to be a most valuable shrub for covering naked walls, or varying ruins or rockwork. The smooth shining green of its leaves, which are seldom eaten by insects, and the profusion of its flowers, which are bluish, render it highly ornamental.

1105

4. S. BONARIE'NSE L. The Buenos Ayres Nightshade.

Identification. Lin. Sp., No. 264., exclusive of the syn. of Plum.; Dun. Sol., 198., Syn., p. 34.; Dill. Elth., p. 264.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 429.

Engravings. Dill. Elth., p. 264. t. 272. f. 351.; and our fig. 1106.

Spec. Char., &c. Shrubby, almost un

armed. Leaves ovate-oblong sinuately repanded, smoothish. Racemes corymbose, lateral, or extrafoliaceous. Stem green, prickly at the base ; adult stems unarmed. Leaves sometimes entire, rarely prickly. Corymbs large. Calyx 4-5-cleft. Segments subulate. Corolla large, white, downy outside. Berry globose, ? yellow, 4-celled, size of a small pea. Root creeping. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 429.) A shrub, a native of Buenos Ayres, where it grows from 6 ft. to 10 ft. in height, flowering from June to Sep

tember. It was introduced in 1727; and a plant in the Chelsea Garden has stood against the wall for 50 years, and is now 8 ft. high.

App. i. Half-hardy ligneous or fruticose Species of Solanum.

Solanum Balbisii Dunal, Bot. Reg., t. 140., is a native of South America, with blue flowers, which are produced from April to September. It was introduced in 1816, and, at first, treated as a green house plant; but a specimen planted against the wall in the Horticultural Society's Garden, in 1833, grows vigorously, and flowers freely every year. It belongs to the section Dulcamara, of which there are a number of species or varieties indigenous to almost every part of the world, which are, in all probability, half-hardy or hardy. There are several shrubby sorts, unnamed, from Valparaiso, which have stood out several years in the Chelsea Botanic Garden; and a number of names in the enumeration in our Hortus Britannicus seem to indicate that the plants might be tried in the open

air in favourable situations.