GENUS XV. CALO PHACA Fisch. THE CALOPHACA. Lin. Syst. Diadélphia Decandria. Identification. Fisch. ined.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 270. Derivation. From kalos, beautiful, and phake, a lentil; in allusion to the beauty of the plant, and to its being one of the leguminaceous kind. Description, &c. There is only one species, which is a deciduous shrub, a native of Siberia. 1. C. WOLGA RICA Fisch. The Wolga Calophaca. Identification. Fisch. in Litt.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 270.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 244. Synonymes. Cytisus nigricans Pall. Itin., 3. p. 764. t. G. g. f. 3., ed. Gall. Append., No. 358. t. 101. f. 1.; Cytisus pinnatus Pall. Fl. Ross., 1. t. 47.; Cytisus wolgáricus Lin. Fil. Suppl., 327., N. Du Ham., 1. 48.; Colùtea wolgárica Lam.; Adenocarpus wolgensis Spreng. Syst., 3. p. 226. Engravings. Pall. Itin., 3. p. 764. t. G. g. f. 3., ed. Gall., Append., No. 358., t. 101. f. 1., as Cytisus nigricans; Pall. Fl. Ross., 4. t. 47., as Cytisus pinnatus; N. Du Ham., 5. t. 48., as Cytisus wolgaricus; and our fig. 316. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets 6 or 7 pairs, orbicular, velvety beneath, as well as the calyxes. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 244.) Description, &c. A deciduous shrub, found in desert places near the rivers Don and Wolga, in a gravelly or sandy soil, producing its yellow flowers in June, and ripening seeds in August. It was introduced in 1786 though, being somewhat difficult to propagate except by seeds, which, however, in fine seasons, it produces in abundance, it is not so common as it ought to be in British gardens. Grafted standard high on the common laburnum, it forms an object at once singular, picturesque, and beautiful, whether when covered with blossoms, or with its fine reddish pods. Price, in the London nurseries, 2s. 6d. each, and standard high, 7s. 6d. GENUS XVI. COLU TEA R. Br. THE COLUTEA, or BLADDER SENNA. Lin. Syst. Diadelphia Decándria. Identification. R. Br. in Hort. Kew., ed. 2., vol. 4, p. 325.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 270.; Don's Mill., 2. P. 244. Derivation. From kolouō, to amputate. The shrubs are said to die if the branches are lopped off. Koloutea is also the name of a plant mentioned by Theophrastus. Description, &c. Shrubs, with impari-pinnate leaves, and flowers disposed in axillary racemes that are shorter than the leaves; few in a raceme. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 270.) The flowers are yellow in most of the species, and are succeeded by bladdery legumes. Deciduous shrubs, and natives of the middle and south of Europe, the north of Africa, and Nepal. All that have hitherto been introduced into Europe are probably only varieties of one species. 1. C. ARBORE'SCENS Lin. The arborescent Colutea, or Bladder Senna. Identification. Lin. Sp., 1045.; Dec. Astr., No. 1.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 270.; Don's Mill, 2. p. 245. Synonymes. C. hirsuta Roth. FL. Germ., 1. p. 305. Engravings. N. Du Ham., 1. t. 22.; Curt. Bot. Mag., t. 81. ; and our fig. 317. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets elliptical, retuse. Peduncles bearing about 6 yellow flowers. Callosities of the standard short. Legumes closed. Wild in hedges and thickets in southern and middle Europe. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 270) A rapid-growing shrub, attaining the height of 12 ft. or 14 ft. in 8 or 10 years; but, in British gardens, not of long duration. It is not uncommon in Italy; and on Mount Vesuvius is found even on the ascent to the crater, where there are scarcely any other plants. It grows wild in the warmer parts of Switzerland, and in the south of Germany, and in France; varying in magnitude according to the soil and the situation. It was introduced in 1570, and produces its yellow flowers from June to August; the flowers are succeeded by large bladder-like legumes, which, as they ripen, become of a reddish colour, and contain 15 or 20 seeds. These bladders, when pressed, explode with a crackling noise. On the Continent, the leaves have been recommended as a substitute for senna, and they are also said to afford a grateful food for cattle. The seeds, in doses of a drachm or two, are said to excite vomiting. In British gardens, the plant is chiefly valuable as a bulky fast-growing shrub, of the easiest culture, and fit for almost any situation. Price, in the London nurseries, 9d. each; at Bollwyller, 50 cents; and in New York, 371⁄2 cents. 317 2. C. (A.) CRUE'NTA Ait. The bloody-flowered Colutea, or Oriental Bladder Senna. Identification. Ait. Hort. Kew., S. p. 55.; Dec. Astr., No. 3.; L'Hérit. Stirp. Nov., 2. t. 41.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 245. Synonymes. C. orientalis Lam. Dict., 1. p. 353., IU., 624 f. 3., N. Du Ham., 1. t. 23.; C. sanguínea Pall.; C. áptera Schmidt Arb., t. 119. ; C. hùmilis Scop. Engravings. Lam. Dict., 1. p. 353.; Ill., 624. f. 3.; Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets obovate, emar- 318 3. C. (A.) MEDIA Willd. The intermediate Colutea, or Bladder Senna. Identification. Willd. Enum., 771.; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 270.; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 140.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 245. Engraving. Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 140. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets obcordate, glaucescent. Peduncles usually 6-flowered Legumes closed at the apex. Flowers orange-coloured. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 245.) A shrub, rather larger than the preceding sort, and differing from it chiefly in having orange-coloured flowers. It is, perhaps, a hybrid between the two preceding sorts. 4. C. (A.) HALE'PPICA Lam. The Aleppo Colutea, or Bladder Senna. Identification. Lam. Dict., 1. p. 353.; Ill., t. 624. f. 2.; Dec. Astr., No. 2.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 245. Synonymes. C. Pocóckii Ait. Hort. Kew., 3. p. 55., Schmidt Arb., t. 129.; C. i'stria Mill. Dict., No. 2., t. 100.; C. procúmbens L'Hérit. Stirp. Nov, 2. t. 42. Pe Engravings. Schmidt Arb., t. 129.; Mill. Dict., No. 2. t. 100.; L'Hérit. Stirp. Nov., 2. t. 42. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets roundishly elliptical, very obtuse, mucronate. duncles bearing 3 yellow flowers. Callosities of the standard lengthened, ascending. Legumes closed. Smaller than C. arboréscens. It often occurs, in middle Europe, that plants of C. haléppica are killed by the winter. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 270.) A shrub, growing to the height of 6 ft., and closely resembling C. arboréscens, of which it appears to be a variety. Price the same as that of C. arboréscens. 5. C. NEPALE'NSIS Hook. The Nepal Colutea, or Bladder Senna. Identification. Hook. Bot. Mag., 2622.; Don's Mill., 2. p. 245. Engravings. Hook. Bot. Mag., t. 2622.; and our fig. 319. Spec. Char., &c. Leaflets roundish-elliptic, retuse. Racemes drooping, fewflowered. Callosities of standard papilliform. Legumes rather coriaceous, pubescent. (Don's Mill., ii. p. 245.) A shrub, from Nepal, in 1822, producing its yellow flowers in August and September. In 319 its native country, it grows to the height of 10 ft.; but it is not yet comPlants, in the Fulham Nursery, are 5s. each. mon in British gardens. GENUS XVII. ASTRA'GALUS Dec. THE MILK VETCH. Lin. Syst. Diadélphia Decandria. Identification. Dec. Astrag., No. 5. ed. maj. p. 22. and p. 79.; Prod., 2. p. 291.: Don's Mill., 2. p. 253. Synonyme. Astragalus sp. of Lin. and others. Derivation. From astragalos, the vertebræ ; the seeds in the legumes of some species being squeezed into a squarish form, so as to look something like the joints of the backbone; or, perhaps, from aster, a star, and gala, milk. It is also the name given to a shrub by Greek writers. (Don's Mill., 2. p. 253.) 1. A. TRAGACA'NTHA L. The Goat's Thorn Milk Vetch, or Great Goat's Thorn. Identification. Lin. Sp., 1073.; Pall. Astr., t. 4. f. 1, 2.; N. Du Ham., 2. t. 100.; Woodv. Med. Bot., 276. t. 98.; Wats. Dend. Brit., 84. Synonymes. 4. massiliensis Lam. Dict., 1. p. 320., Dec. Astr., No. 96., Don's Mill., 2. p. 266. Engravings. Pall. Astr., t. 4. f. 1,2.; Duh. Arb., 2. t. 100.; Spec. Char., &c. Peduncles usually 4-flow- shrub, with persistent leaves, seldom exceeding 1 ft. in height. After the leaflets drop off, the petioles become indurated, so as to give the plant the appearance of being densely covered with spines. It is a native of Marseilles and Narbonne, in sandy places, as well as of Corsica and Mauritania, and was introduced in 1640. It was treated by Miller as a distinct genus, under its old name of Tragacántha; and he describes four species; one of which was a native of Marseilles and Italy, with large white flowers, which appears to be Lamarck's A. massiliensis; a second, a native of Majorca and Minorca, and a third, a native of the islands of the Archipelago, also with white flowers; and a fourth, a native of Spain, with flowers of a dirty white. None of these, it would appear, are the same as the species now before us, which has decidedly purplish flowers. It is stated in Thompson's Dispensatory, and in books generally, that the Astragalus Tragacántha produces the gum tragacanth; but the accounts respecting the production of the gum by this plant are so unsatisfactory, that it is impossible to give credence to them. Tournefort says that he examined the plants which produce the gum tragacanth upon Mount Ida; and from his remarks it may be concluded that the gum is obtained from A. Tragacántha and A. créticus (fig. 321.); which last has not yet been introduced into Eng land; but Siebuhr, in his Voyage de Crète, could not find any proof that the A. créticus produced any gum. La Billardière, who visited Mount Lebanon, says that the gum is there obtained from a species which he calls A. gúmmifer, and that the shepherds go in search of it during night, or after a heavy dew; whereas Tournefort says that it can only be collected during the great heats of the day. On the whole, the subject of the gum appears involved in a degree of uncertainty not less than that of the species. All that we can state with certainty is. that there is a plant bearing the name of Astragalus Tragacantha in British gardens, and that it merits a place in collections, as a very curious little shrub. It is generally propagated by seeds, which it sometimes ripens in England, or by cuttings. It requires a dry soil, and a sunny situation. App. i. Other ligneous Species of Astragalus in Cultivation. In our Hortus Britannicus will be found above a dozen other species of Astragalus, marked as technically ligneous; but they are of such low growth, as to be much more fit for cultivating as herbaceous plants, than as shrubs. If we were to admit them, we should be compelled to admit the common pink and carnation, and, indeed, all those herbaceous + plants which retain their leaves during winter. On rockwork some of them may be introduced; and among these we may mention, as to be procured from Loddiges's arboretum, A. altaicus Lodd. Cab.; A aristatus 323 L'Herit. Stirp., 170., with yellow flowers, which is figured in Bot. Cab. t. 1278., and our fig. 322.; A. brevifolius, with a purplish flower, figured in Bot. Cab., t. 1388., and our fig. 323.; and A. massiliensis Lam., which is probably, as we have already stated, a variety of A. Tragacantha, with white flowers instead of purplish ones. App. ii. Hardy Species of Astragalus not yet introduced. A. aboriginòrum Richards in Franklin's Journ. Append., p. 746. Plant suffruticose, erect. Leaves with 5 pairs of lanceolate-linear hoary-pubescent leaflets. Racemes axillary, loose, extending beyond the leaves. Native of arctic America. Flowers white or bluish. The keel decidedly blue. Roots long and yellow, like those of liquorice; and gathered in the spring, by the Cree and Stone Indians, as an article of food. (Don's Mill., 2. p. 268.) App. 1. Suffruticose hardy Species belonging to the Tribe Lòtea. Dorýcnium Tourn. is a genus, the species of which were included by Linnæus under Lotus. They are herbs, or subshrubs, with trifoliolate leaves, and with the stipules in the same form as the leaflets. The flowers are usually numerous, in small heads, and white or pale red; they are natives of Europe, and grow from 1 ft. to 6 ft. in height; but, though technically they are ligneous, they are much better calculated for being treated as herbaceous plants than as shrubs. D. suffruticosum Vill., Lotus Dorýcnium L., (Lob. Icon., 2. p. 51. f. 1. and 2.) is a native of the south of Europe, with hoary leaves and shoots, and white flowers, with the keel reddish. It flowers from July to September, and has been in cultivation since 1640. D. rectum Ser. (Barrel. Icon., t. 544.), Lotus réctus L., has pale rose-coloured flowers. D. latifolium Willd. has white flowers. D. hirsutum Ser., Lotus hirsutus L., has larger pale red flowers. D. tomentosum G. Don, D. hirsutum var. incanum Ser., has large pale rose-coloured flowers, and grows to the height of 4 ft. D. argenteum Delil. (Fl. Egypt., 113. L. 40.) is a native of Egypt, and has yellow flowers, streaked with bay colour. App. II. Half-hardy ligneous Species of Lòtea. The number of half-hardy ligneous species belonging to this section is considerable: but, as they are all beautiful, and most of them natives of Australia, and not very tender, we shall notice one or two species of most of the genera; referring the reader, for other species already in the country, to our Hortus Britannicus; and, for those not yet introduced, to Don's Miller. All the species are of easy culture, in light sandy soil, in sand and peat, loam and peat, or sand, loam, and leaf mould; and they are all readily propagated by cuttings in sand under a glass. 325 Hovea R. Br. is a very beautiful genus of New Holland shrubs, with purple or violet-coloured flow. ers, all of which will grow in cold-pits, or against a wall, if the frost be completely excluded. The hand somest species is considered to be H. Célsi Bonp. (Bot. Reg., 280., and our fig. 324), a shrub, introduced in 1818, which grows to the height of 4 ft. or 5 ft. H. latifolia Lodd. (Bot. Cab., t. 30., and our fig. 325.) is a very fine species, with the standard of the flower blue, and the keel purple. H. lanceolata Sims (Bot. Mag., t. 1764.) has purplish blue flowers. One great advantage of all the species is, that they commence flowering in March, and continue profusely covered with flowers for 3 or 4 months. They are admirable conservatory plants. Plagiolobium ilicifolium Swt. (FL. Austr., No. 2, note) is a singularly beautiful plant, known in the nurseries as Hovea ilicifolia; but it is rather difficult to cultivate. P. chorozemafolium Swt. (Fl. Austr., No. 2), the Hovea chorozemæfolia of the nurseries, is a handsome little evergreen shrub, which, according to Sweet, will grow quite well in a pit, without any artificial heat. Platylobium Sm. is a genus of New Holland shrubs, of which four beautiful species have been introduced. P. formòsum Smith (Bot. 326 Mag., t. 469., and our fig. 326.) grows to the height of 4 ft., and produces its fine large yellow flowers, tinged with red, from June to August. P. triangulare R. Br. (Bot. Mag., t. 1580.) is a native of Van |