frost. The shoots produced in one season, from a plant cut down, are 5 ft. or 6 ft. in length, and the leaves about twice the length of those of the common species, much less silvery, and so closely resembling those of Salix viminalis, as to make the shoots from a plant that has been cut down liable to be mistaken for shoots of that species at a short distance. The plant in the London Horticultural Society's Garden is of the female sex, and flowered in 1835, when it was about 15 ft. high. Statistics. In the environs of London, the largest plants are in the Horticultural Society's Garden, where they are 20 ft. high. In Surrey, at Deepdene, 9 years planted, it is 22 ft. high. In Wor cestershire, at Croome, 10 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In Scotland, in Edinburghshire, at Gosford House, 13 years planted, it is 15 ft. high. In France, in the neighbourhood of Paris, it is upwards of 50 ft. high. GENUS III. SHEPHERDIA Nutt. THE SHEPHERDIA. Lin. Syst. Diœ'cia Identification. Nutt. Gen. Amer., 2. p. 240. Synonyme. Hippophae L., as to the species S. canadensis Nutt. Derivation. Named by Nuttall, in honour of the late Mr. John Shepherd, curator of the Botanic Garden of Liverpool, a scientific horticulturist, to whose exertions, and the patronage of the celebrated Roscoe, that institution owes its present eminence. Description, &c. Small spinescent trees, with the aspect of Elæágnus. Leaves entire, covered with silvery scales. Flowers small, laterally aggregate. Berries diaphanous, scarlet, acid. (Nutt.) Culture, in British gardens, as in Hippophae. 1. S. ARGENTEA Nutt. Identification. Nutt. Gen. Amer., 2. p. 240. The silvery-leaved Shepherdia. Synonymes. Hippophae argentea Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 1. p. 115.; Missouri Silver Leaf, and Buffalo Berry Tree, Amer.; Rabbit Berry, and Beef Suet Tree, Amer. Indians; Graise de Buffle, or Buffalo Fat, French Traders. Engravings. Our fig. 1208. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves oblong-ovate, obtuse; on both surfaces glabrous, and covered with silvery peltate scales. (Pursh and Nutt.) A small tree, from 12 ft. to 18 ft. high; a native of North America, on the banks of the Missouri, and its tributary streams, and of other places; flowering in April and May. It was introduced in 1818, and is not uncommon in collections. The plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden, in 1835, was 7 ft. high, though crowded among other shrubs. It forms a very elegant small tree, particularly well adapted for suburban gardens. In the Brighton Nursery, near Boston, in North America, there is a standard tree which, in 1831, was 14 ft. high, though only 8 years old, from the seed. The tree is perfectly hardy in every part of America, where it is one of the earliest-flowering trees, producing its blossoms 1208 in March. "Its fruit is about the size of the red Antwerp currant, much richer to the taste, and forms one continued cluster on every branch and twig." (Gard. Mag., vii. p. 571.) The largest plant in the neighbourhood of London is in the Twickenham Botanic Garden, where it is called Elæágnus argentea, and in 1836 it was 5 ft. high. It flowers freely every year. Price of plants, in the London nurseries, 2s. 6d. each. 2. S. CANADE'NSIS Nutt. The Canadian Shepherdia. Identification. Nutt. Gen. Amer., 2. p. 241. Synonyme. Hippophae canadensis Lin. Sp. Pl., 1453., Mill. Dict., No. 2., Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 744., Spec. Char., &c. Leaves ovate, or cordate-ovate, opposite; green, and nearly 1209 glabrous upon the upper surface; upon the under one stellately pilose, silvery, and scaly; the scales rusty, deciduous. Branches opposite. Flowers disposed in upright racemes between the first leaves, and of half the length of these. (Nutt., Willd., and obs.) A deciduous shrub, a native of North America, on the borders of lakes, in the western parts of the state of New York, in Canada, and along the St. Lawrence to its source, where it grows to the height of 6 ft. or 8 ft. It has been in cultivation, in British gardens, since 1759, but is not frequent in collections. The fruit is sweetish, but scarcely eatable. A plant of this species, in the Cambridge Botanic Garden, is a thinly branched shrub, about 5 ft. high, and not striking in its general aspect; the plant in the Hackney arboretum is about the same height; one in the arboretum at Kew is only 3 ft. high. One in the Twickenham Botanic Garden is 4 ft. high. CHAP. XCVIII. OF THE HARDY AND HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER ARISTOLOCHIA CEÆ. THOSE of which we shall treat are included in the genus Aristolochia L., which has the following characters: ARISTOLO'CHIA L. Calyx of some other colour than green, and in colour and texture resembling a corolla; in its lowest part connate with the ovary; inflated above this part, then tubular, and ending in an expanded border, which has 3 segments, and these are valvate in æstivation. Stamens 6, adhering to the style and stigmas. Style 1. Stigmas 6, radiating. Capsule with 6 cells and numerous seeds. Embryo very minute, placed in the base of fleshy albumen. Habit of growth, in most, twining. Wood without concentric zones. Leaves alternate, undivided in most. Calyx, which is the obvious part of the flower, yellow, brown, dark brown, and, in some, spotted on a yellow ground. (Lindley, Nat. Syst. of Bot.; Willd. Sp. Pl.; and observation.) Twining shrubs. The hardy species natives of North America, and the half-hardy of Africa and the Levant. "The most remarkable species of the genus Aristolochia are those which, in many of the tropical parts of America, excite the wonder of travellers, by the gigantic size or grotesque appearance of the flowers; such as A. cymbifera, the border of the calyx of which resembles one of the lappets of a Norman woman's cap, and measures 7 in. or 8 in. in length;" (see Bot. Reg., vol. xviii. t. 1543.) and A. cordiflòra and A. gigantea, the flowers of which are from 15 in. to 16 in. across, and are large enough to form bonnets for the Indian children." (Penny Cyc., vol. ii. p. 328.) GENUS II. ARISTOLO'CHIA L. The BirthworT. Lin. Syst. Gynándria Hexándria. Identification. Schreb. Lin. Gen., No. 1383.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 151. Synonymes. Aristoloche, Fr.; Osterluzey, Ger. Derivation. Aristolochia was the name of a plant mentioned by Dioscorides, and considered as of sovereign use in the disorders incident to childbirth: it is derived from ariston, best, and lochia, parturition. CHAP. XCVIII. ARISTOLOCHIA CEAE. ARISTOLO CHIA. 1329 31. A. SI PHO L'Herit. The Siphon-like, or tube-flowered, Birthwort. Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., 3. p. 311.; L'Hérit. Stirp. Nov., 13. t. 7.; Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. p. 161.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 155.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. Synonymes. A. macrophylla Lam. Encycl., 1. p. 252.; Aristoloche Syphon, Fr.; grossblättrige Osterluzey, Ger.; Pipe Vine, or Birthwort, Amer. Engravings. L'Hérit. Stirp. Nov., t. 7.; N. Du Ham., 4. t. 10.; Bot. Mag., t. 534.; and our fig. 1210 Spec. Char., &c. Stem twining. Leaves cordate, acute. Bractea of the peduncle ovate. Corolla ascending; its limb in 3 equal portions, not expanding flat, brown. (Willd.) A deciduous twining shrub; a native of North America, on the Alleghany Mountains, from Pennsylvania to Carolina; producing its yellowish brown flowers in May and June. It was introduced in 1763, and is frequent in gardens, where it forms a tall twining shrub, flowering abundantly. In favourable situations it reaches to a considerable height: a plant in the Cambridge Botanic Garden, after reaching the top of the wall it was planted against, ascended a tree in the next garden; in all 20 ft. The appearance of the magnificent leaves of this species is striking. In its native country, it climbs and twines to the summits of the very highest trees; flowering early in summer, and ripening its seeds in autumn, though but sparingly. This species is remarkable for the form of its flower, which is bent like a siphon; for the trifid border of its corolla; for the very large bractea placed on the middle of the peduncle; and for the disposition of the seeds, and the aril common to all the seeds of each cell. The roots are woody, and have the smell of camphor. The stems, branches, and twigs are also strongly scented, as are the flowers. In British gardens, this species, to grow freely, requires a deep free soil, dry rather than moist, and a warm situation. It is propagated by division of the root, by suckers, or by seeds, which are sometimes received from North America. Price of plants, in the London nurseries, 1s. 6d. each; at Bollwyller, 2 francs; and at New York, 50 cents. 2. A. TOMENTO'SA Sims. The tomentose Birthwort. Identification. Sims in Bot. Mag., t. 1369.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836. Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 1369.; Bot. Cab., t. 641.; and our fig. 1211. Spec. Char., &c. Stem twining. Leaves cordate, downy beneath. Peduncle solitary, without a bractea. Corolla with its tube twisted back, and much more deeply divided than in A. sìpho, expanding flat, and yellow, with the mouth of the tube of a deep purple. (Encyc. of Pl.) A native of North America; introduced in 1799, There is a plant in the Chelsea Botanic Garden, which is 12 ft. high; but we are not without considerable doubts as to its being any thing more than a variety of 4. sìpho. Being tolerably distinct, however, it merits a place in collections. App. i. Half-hardy Species of Aristolochia. A. sempervirens L, Bot. Mag., t. 1116., Bot. Cab., t. 231., is a native of Candia; introduced in 1727, and produces its flowers in May and June. In green-houses, it is seldom seen more than 4 ft. or 5 ft. in height; but, against a conservative wall, it would probably grow much higher. A. glauca Desf., Bot. Mag., t. 1115., Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836, is a native of Barbary; introduced in 1785. It is evergreen, like the preceding sort. A. altissima Desf., A. caudata Desf., and A. trilobata Willd., are described in the Nouv. Du Hamel as growing in French gardens, with protection during winter. A. trilobàta Bot. Reg., t. 1399., is a native of South America, where it grows to the height of 6 ft. or 7 ft. There is a species of Aristolochia, a native of China, against a wall in the Horticultural Society's Garden, which is not yet named. It has stood there four years, and appears quite hardy. CHAP. XCIX. OF THE HARDY AND HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER EUPHORBIA CEÆ. THE hardy species belonging to this order are included in 3 genera, namely Euphorbia L., Stillingia Garden, and Búxus Tourn.; and these have the following characters: — EUPHORBIA L. What seem flowers, and were formerly deemed flowers, are now regarded as each an inflorescence. This consists of an involucre, within which flowers of both sexes are associated, many male flowers around a solitary central female one. Involucre of one leaf, bell-shaped or topshaped, with a limb in 8-10 segments, the outer coloured and resembling petals. Male flower. This consists of a stamen, articulated upon a supporting column that is attended, (?) at its base, by, mostly minute, chaffy scales. -Female flower. Pistil solitary, central, upon a long pedicel, and becoming protruded. Ovary roundish, of 3 cells, each containing 1 ovule, affixed to the angle next the centre of the ovary. Styles 3, connate at the base, each ending in a bifid stigma. Fruit a regma. (Lindley's Intr. to Bot.) Valves 3, with a partition from the centre of each, by which they form 3 cells. Seeds 1 in a cell; cells bursting elastically.-Sap, in all, milky, resinous; and, in most, acrid. Leaves, in most, alternate. Inflorescences disposed in umbels or panicles. (T. Nees ab Esenbeck, Gen. Pl. Fl. Germ.; Smith, Eng. Fl.; and observation.) - STILLINGIA Garden. Flowers unisexual. Males in a spike; females at the base of the same spike: (?) the two kinds, in S. ligústrina, upon distinct plants. - Male. Seven flowers together, within an entire involucre; or, in S. ligústrina, with the flowers not involucrated, but solitary in the axil of a bractea. Calyx like a corolla, of 1 piece, funnel-shaped, its margin jagged; in S. ligústrina the calyx is 3-cleft, and rather flat. Stamens 2-3; in S. ligústrina, prominent, the filaments very slightly connected at the base. Female. Involucre 1-flowered; otherwise as in the male. Calyx superior, shaped as in the male. Ovary roundish. Style thread-shaped. Stigmas 3. Fruit a regma (Lindley's Intr. to Bot.), surrounded at the base by the involucre a little enlarged, somewhat turbinate, bluntly triangular, 3-lobed, 3-celled, 1-seed in each cell.-Sap milky. Leaves alternate, stipuled, entire. Spikes of flowers solitary or dichotomous, terminal or lateral. (Smith in Rees's Cyclop.; and Nutt. in his Gen. Amer.) Buxus Tourn. Flowers in axillary groups; unisexual in effect, but the male flowers have a rudiment of a pistil; those of both sexes borne on one plant. Male. Calyx of 4 minute leaves. Stamens 4, inserted under the rudiment of a pistil.- Female. Flowers singly, at the tip of groups of male ones. Calyx as in the male. Ovary sessile, roundish, of 3 cells, and 2 ovules in each cell. Styles 3. Stigmas 3. Fruit a regma, leathery, beaked with the styles; consisting of 3 incomplete cells that open down the centre and divide the style, and of 3 valves that bear the incomplete dissepiments in their centres. Seeds 2 in a cell, pendulous, both enclosed in the endocarpial lining of the cell; and this endocarpial lining, after the seed is ripe, disparts elastically, to admit of, and conduce to, their dispersion. (T. Nees ab Esenbeck's Gen. Pl. Fl. Ger.)—Evergreen shrubs, or small trees, with rigid, smooth, stalked, opposite, entire leaves. Flowers aggregate, from axillary buds, whitish. Fruit green. (Smith Eng. Fl., iv. p. 132.) GENUS I. EUPHORBIA L. THE EUPHORBIA, or SPURGE. Lin. Syst. Monce`cia Monándria. Identification. Lin. Gen., 243.; Lam. Ill., t. 411.; Smith Eng. Fl., 4. p. 58. Synonymes. Tithymalus Tourn. Inst.,t. 18., Gartn. Fruct., t. 107.; Euphorbe, Fr.; Wolfsmilch, Ger. Derivation. From Euphorbus, physician to Juba, king of Mauritania, who is said first to have used some of the plants of this genus in medicine. Description, &c. This genus consists of milky plants, most of which are herbaceous, but two or three of which are rather woody. The flowers of the hardy kinds are generally of a greenish colour, which renders them inconspicuous; and they have all an extremely acrid juice, which has the appearance of milk. This juice was formerly considered medicinal, and is still used occasionally to destroy warts, or for raising slight blisters. The plants are propagated by division. The only two worth cultivating, as shrubby, appear to us to be the E. Charàcias L. and E. spinòsa L. 1212 E. Characias L., Mart. Mill., No. 95., Smith Eng. Fl., iv. p. 68., Eng. Bot., t. 442.; E. aléppica of some gardens; and our fig. 1212.- An upright, bushy, leafy plant, green in its foliage, and purplish brown in the bark of its shoots, which are mostly unbranched. The flowers are in stalked panicles a few in each panicle, and the panicles are disposed racemosely along the upper portions of the shoots. The more obviously coloured part of the inflorescence is of a dark purple. The scent of the flowers is powerfully fetid and disagreeable. The plant, in a sheltered nook, under a wall, will attain to the height of 3 ft. or more (in Martyn's Miller, 5 ft. or 6 ft.); and is interesting, even when not in flower, from its being evergreen, and from the character of its foliage; the leaves being lanceolate, acute, entire, downy, dark green, and spreading every way. (Smith Eng. Fl., and observation.) It is indigenous in France, Spain, and Italy, according to Willd. Sp. Pl.; and, according to Mr. Whately, as quoted in Eng. Fl., it is very plentiful in the Forest of Needwood, Staffordshire, and undoubtedly wild there. A plant which we have had in our garden, at Bayswater, since 1828, was found wild by us, in the July of that year, in a wood belonging to John Perry, Esq., at Stroud House, near Hazlemere. It forms a dense evergreen bush, admirably adapted for rockwork; its fine, dark, bluish green, shining leaves, with which the shoots are densely clothed, render it highly ornamental at every season of the year; and its flowers, which appear in February, continue on the plant through the spring and part of the following summer. E. spinosa L., Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 45, and our fig. 1209.- A leafy, shrubby plant; a native of the south of Europe; generally kept in green-houses in Britain, where it assumes the character of an erect shrub, about 2 ft. high, with a decidedly ligneous stem. The tips of the branches become dry with age, and as, though withered, they continue on the plant, they have the appearance of spines. It was cultivated by Miller, in 1752, but is rare in British collections. In the open air, in the Botanic Garden at Cambridge, it is a recumbent shrub. It is not easily propagated by cuttings made in the common way, but is said to grow readily from cuttings of the roots. + 1213 |