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

Bignoniaceæ.

Bignonia crucigera Plum. Icon., t. 58., has the leaflets large; the flowers yellow, and whitish beneath; and the follicles, or pods, 1 ft. long. A transverse section of the stem represents a cross; and hence the trivial name. It is a

1093

climbing shrub, a native of Virginia, Mexico,
&c.; and was introduced in 1759. Perhaps it
might be grafted or inarched on B. capreo-
làta; and, if so, it might then be tried against
a conservative wall.

Técoma austràlis R. Br.; Bignonia Pandora
Vent., Bot. Mag., t. 865.; and our fig. 1093.;
has the flowers a pale red, with a dark purple
bearded throat. It is a climbing shrub, a
native of New Holland, within the tropics,
and of New South Wales. It was introduced
in 1793; and, in green-houses, its flowers
have a very fine appearance. It is tolerably
hardy, and would succeed against a conser-
vative wall in favourable situations,

T. capensis LindL; Bignonia capensis Thunb. Bot. Reg., t. 1117.; and our fig. 1094.; is a Cape shrub, with orange scarlet flowers, 3 in. long. It is tolerably hardy; and, by

1094

grafting on T. radicans, might, in all probability, live against a conservative wall. In the warmest parts of Devonshire, we are informed, it stands out without any protection at all.

GENUS III.

CATALPA Juss. THE CATALPA.

Lin. Syst. Diándria Monogynia.

Identification. Juss. Gen., 138., ed. Usteri, p. 155.; Spreng. Gen., 1. p. 25.; Sims Bot. Mag., t. 1094.; Schkuhr Handb., t. 175.; Lindl. Nat. Syst. Bot., 2d edit., p. 282.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 230. Synonymes. Bignonia sp. of Lin. and others; Bignone Catalpa, Fr.; gemeine Trompetenblume, Ger. Derivation. The Indian name of a species of Bignonia.

Gen. Char., &c. Calyx 2-parted. Corolla campanulate, with a ventricose tube, and an unequal 4-lobed limb. Stamens 5, 2 of which are fertile, and 3 of them sterile. Stigma bilamellate. Capsule silique-formed, long, cylinSeeds membranously drical, 2-valved. Dissepiment opposite the valves. margined, and pappose at the base and apex. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 230.Trees, with simple leaves, opposite, or disposed 3 in a whorl. Flowers terminal, panicled.

1. C. SYRINGEFO`LIA Sims. The Lilac-like-leaved Catalpa. Identification. Sims Bot. Mag., t. 1094.; Schkuhr Handb., t. 175.; Don's Mill., 4. p. 230.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.

Synonymes. Bignonia Catalpa Lin. Sp., 868., Willd. Sp., 3. p. 289.; Wangenh. Amer., p. 58. t. 20. f. 45.; Catalpa bignoniöldes Walt. Fl. Car., p. 64.; C. cordifolia Nut. Gen. Amer., 1. p. 10., Du Ham. Arb., 1. p. 104. t. 41., Catesb. Car., 1. p. 49. t. 21., Lin. Hort. Cliff., 317.; Bois Shavanon, Catalpa de l'Amérique, Fr.; Trompeten-baum, Ger. ; Catalpa-boom, Dutch.

Derivation. The French of Upper Louisiana call this tree Bois Shavanon, from its being found in abundance on the banks of the river Shavanon, now called the Cumberland. Catalpa is supposed to be a corruption of Catawba, an Indian tribe that formerly occupied a great part of Georgia and the Carolinas.

Engravings. Schmidt Baum., 1. t. 14.; Bot. Mag., t. 1094.; Schkuhr Handb., t. 175.; and the plates in our last Volume.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves cordate, flat, 3 in a whorl, large and deciduous. Corollas white, Branches strong. Panicles large, branchy, terminal. speckled with purple and yellow. (Don's Mill., iv. p. 230.) A deciduous tree, a native of North America. Introduced in 1726, and flowering in July and August. The seed-pods are remarkably long, narrow, and horny, The leaves come out very late, and the flowers appear in August. The tree thrives best near the banks of rivers; but, in some situations, it is very liable to die off by large limbs at a time. The branches dye wool a kind of cinnamon colour. This beautiful tree is a native of North America, where it is found on the banks of rivers in the upper part of the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Floridas; though, as Michaux observes, it is remarkable that it does not exist in the lower part of these provinces.

*4 N 8

"In these

southern regions," says Michaux, "it frequently exceeds 50 ft. in height, with a diameter of from 18 in. to 24 in. It is easily recognised by its bark, which is of silver grey, and but slightly furrowed; by its ample leaves, and by its wide-spreading head, disproportioned in size to the diameter of its trunk. It differs from other trees, also, in the fewness of its branches." (N. Amer. Sylva, ii. p. 64.) The catalpa is a tree of rapid growth, and its timber is remarkably light, of very fine texture, and brilliant when polished its colour is of a greyish white; and, when properly seasoned, it is very durable. If a portion of the bark of this tree be removed in spring, "a venomous and offensive odour is exhaled." The bark is said to be tonic, stimulant, and more powerfully antiseptic than the Peruvian bark; and the honey collected from its flowers to be poisonous, and analogous in its effects to that made from the flowers of Gelsèmium nítidum. The catalpa is generally propagated by seeds, which are imported from America; but it will grow readily by cuttings of the root; and, of course, plants so raised will flower much sooner than those which are raised from seed. The tree is of rapid growth till it attains the height of 20 ft., which, in deep free soil, in the neighbourhood of London, it does in 10 years. Seedling plants begin to flower, under favourable circumstances, in 12 or 15 years; and, in soils and situations where the wood is well ripened, they continue flowering every year, making a splendid appearance, not only from the large size and lively colour of the flowers, which are white, marked with purple and yellow spots, but from the fine pale green of its very large leaves, which are of a different shade of green from those of almost every other tree; the nearest approach to it being that of the leaves of Negúndo fraxinifòlium. In fine seasons, the flowers are succeeded by seed-pods, which somewhat resemble those of the common cabbage, but on a large scale; being frequently 2 ft. long, and curved upwards so as to resemble horns.

Statistics. Catálpa syringæ folia in the Environs of London. At Kenwood, 40 years planted, 40 ft. high; diameter of trunk 1 ft. 5 in., and that of the head 35 ft.; head irregular; in sandy loam on clay. At Fulham Palace, 150 years planted, and 25 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 20 ft. At Syon, the tree figured in our last Volume, 52 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 3 ft., and that of the space covered by the branches 50 ft. At Kensington Gravel Pits, in the grounds or S. C. Hall, Esq., 30 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and of the head 40 ft.; on gravelly soil; and flowering abundantly every year. At Muswell Hill, 31 ft. high, with a head 30 ft. in diameter. In the Mile End Nursery, 35 ft. high.

Catalpa syringafolia South of London. In Devonshire, at Luscombe, 19 years planted, and 27 ft. high; diameter of trunk 11 in., and that of the space covered by the branches 24 ft.; estimated height, in 10 years, 15 ft.; in loam on gravel. In Kent, at Cobham Hall, 50 years planted, and 30 ft. high, diameter of trunk 2 ft. 3 in., and that of the head 35 ft.; at Eastwell Park, 50 ft. high. In Wiltshire, at Longleat, 65 years planted, and 35 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 2 ft. 5 in., and of the head 37 ft.; at Wardour Castle, 50 years planted, and 30 ft. high; at Longford Castle, 25 years planted, and 30 ft. high.

Catalpa syringafòlia North of London. In Bedfordshire, at Ampthill, 38 years planted, and 30 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 40 ft. In Berkshire, at White Knights, 25 years planted, and 30 ft. high. In Buckinghamshire, at Temple House, 35 years planted, and 27 ft. high. In Cheshire, at Eaton Hall, 13 years planted, 14 ft. high. In Essex, at Hylands, 10 years planted, 21 ft. high: at Witham, two trees, from 40 to 50 years planted; one with a trunk free from branches to the height of 174 ft., and the other to the height of 194 ft.; both have wide-spreading heads, and flower abundantly every year. In Gloucestershire, at Doddington, 20 years planted, and 20 ft. high. In Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt, 10 years planted, 18 ft. high. In Lancashire, at Latham House, 60 years planted, and 33 ft. high. In Oxfordshire, at Blenheim, several fine old trees, upwards of 30 ft. high, with heads from 30 ft. to 50 ft. in diameter. In Pembrokeshire, at Stackpole Court, 6 years planted, and 6 ft. high. In Suffolk, in the Bury Botanic Garden, 11 years planted, and 13 ft. high. In Warwickshire, at Combe Abbey, 20 years planted, and 10 ft. high. In Worcestershire, at Croome, 40 years old, 60 ft. high; at Hagley, 8 years planted, 8 feet high. In Yorkshire, in the Hull Botanic Garden, 8 years old, and 6 ft. high.

C. syringafolia in Scotland. At Gosford House, 12 years planted, and 15 ft. high. In the Glasgow Botanic Garden, almost herbaceous, even under the shelter of a wall; a proof of the coldness and moisture of the autumnal months in that part of Scotland, so very different from the climate of the east coast.

C. syringafolia in Ireland. In the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, 30 years old, and 16 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 12 in., and of the top 15 ft.; at Cypress Grove, 16 ft. high, diameter of trunk 14 in., and of the top 12 ft.; at Terenure, 8 years planted, and 7 ft. high. In Galway, at Cool, 25 ft. high.

Catalpa syringafòlia in France. In the Jardin des Plantes, 60 years planted, it is 40 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 20 in., and that of the head 40 ft.; at Sceaux, 50 years planted, it is 50 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 30 ft.; in the Botanic Garden at Toulon, 36 years planted, it is 36 ft. high, with a trunk 14 ft. in diameter; at Nantes, in the nursery of M. De Nerrières, 30 years planted, it is 29 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 ft.; in the Botanic Garden at Avranches, 29 years planted, it is 89 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 8 in., and of the head 20 ft.

Catalpa syringæfòlia in Germany. In Hanover, at Schwöbber, it is 30 ft. high; in the Göttingen

Botanic Garden, 10 years planted, it is 16 ft. high. In Cassel, at Wilhelmshoe, 40 years planted, it is only 5 ft. high, with a trunk 8 in. diameter, the shoots being killed back every year by the autumnal frosts. In Austria, at Vienna, in the University Botanic Garden, 26 years planted, it is 40 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 18 in., and that of the head 24 ft.; at Laxenburg, 20 years planted, it is 18 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 6 in., and of the head 10 ft.; at Kopenzel, 25 years planted, it is 24 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 2 in., and of the head 8 ft., against a wall; at Brück on the Leytha, 40 years planted, it is 34 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 13 ft., and of the head 24 ft. In Prussia, at Sans Souci, 20 years planted, it is 11 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 4 in.; in the Pfauen-Insel, 9 years planted, it is 10 ft. high.

Catalpa syringaefolia in Russia. At Petersburg and Moscow, it is a green-house plant; in the Government Garden at Odessa, in the Crimea, it forms a splendid tree, flowering every year, and sometimes ripening seeds; though in the winter of 1835, M. Descemet informs us, it was very much injured by frost.

Catalpa syringaefolia in Italy. In various parts of Italy and the south of France, and particu. larly in the neighbourhood of Milan and Montpelier, the Catalpa is planted as a road-side tree, and along the avenues to country houses; where, with Mèlia Azedarach and the tulip tree, and in some places, where the soil is moist, with Magnòlia acuminàta and other species, it forms a scene of splendour and beauty worthy of a climate so congenial to vegetation. In Lombardy, at Monza, 29 years planted, it is 24 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 16 in., and that of the head 24 ft.

Commercial Statistics. Price, in the London nurseries, seedlings 5s. per 100; transplanted seedlings, from 2 ft. to 4 ft., from 25s. to 75s. per 100; single plants from Is. to 28.6d. each, according to their size; and seeds 28. per oz. At Bollwyller, plants are from 1 franc to 1 francs each, and 2 years' seedlings 15 francs per 100. At New York, plants are 50 cents each.

App. I. Of the half-hardy ligneous Plants of the Order

Calámpelis scabra D. Don; Eccremocarpus scaber Ruiz et Pav., Bot. Reg., t. 939.; and our figs. 1096. and 1097. Introduced from Chili in 1824. Leaves bipinnate, with the leaflets alternate, obliquely cordate, ovate,, serrated or entire. The calyx is green; the corolla scarlet, or of a deep orange red; and the capsule large and muricated. It requires exactly the same treatment as Eccremocarpus; and, where young plants cannot be preserved through the winter in a pit or green-house, they may be raised from seeds (which the plant ripens abundantly in the open air, in the neighbourhood of London), early in spring, in a hot-bed, and shifted from smaller pots to larger ones, so as to be ready to be turned out in the open ground about the end of May. In mild seasons, this species, and also Eccremocarpus longiflorus, live through the winter with very little protection, and shoot up again in the spring. A plant of Calámpelis scabra, in the Horticultural Society's Garden, has stood out against a wall in this way since 1830. Perhaps it may be objected to our introducing such plants as Eccremocarpus and Calámpelis, that they are not truly ligneous; and that, north of London, they require to be treated more as herbaceous summer climbers or conservatory plants, than as hardy ligneous ones. We readily admit that such plants as these form, as it were, the boundary of the ligneous kingdom; but still we think they are more woody than herbaceous, and that the same kind of garden culture which is applicable to ligneous plants is the best adapted for them. Besides, in the south of England, the stems of the species of both these genera assume a decidedly more ligneous character than they do in the climate of London, and the plants endure in the open air, against a wall, for several years.

CHAP. LXXX.

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

- 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 Coba 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.

summer.

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 14 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 suitable 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.

Lithospermum fruticosum L. (Garid. Aix., p. 68. t. 15.) is a native of the south of Europe and north of Africa, where it forms a shrub from ift. 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. gigantèum, 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. cándicans 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 índica by Mr. Elles, noticed p. 801.)

CHAP. LXXXIII.

OF THE HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER CORDIA CEÆ.

Ehretia 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 appearance, 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 acclimatisation: 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 japónica was originally treated as a stove plant, and Kérria japónica as an inhabitant of the green- house.