flowers

In that elaborate and inestimable work, the Hortus Malabaricus, we have a good figure of the plant here exhibited, accompanied by a minute description, the author informs us that it grows spontaneously in India, attaining the height even of five or six feet, and affecting a sandy soil, the natives consider it as an antidote to poisons in general, and regard the bruised root as peculiarly efficacious in curing the bite of the serpent, called Cobra de Copella.We raised plants of it last year from seeds imparted to us by J. Ibbettson, Esq. of the Admiralty, this year, during the months of August and September, many of them have flowered, and capsules are forming which have every appearance of producing perfect seeds, the root of this plant is yellow, and tuberous like that of the Iris, the leaves also greatly resemble those of that tribe, it grows to the height of about three feet, and produces a considerable number of flowers in succession each of which is of short duration.The root and radical leaves as represented on the plate are much smaller than in plants which have been long established.Our plants stood in pots in the open ground through the winter of 1790 1 without injury, but it must be remembered, that the weather during that period was uncommonly mild, it will be safest therefore to consider it as a tender herbaceous plant.It differs so much in its fructification from many others of the genus, that Prof. Murray has considered it as a Mor?a, with which, in our humble opinion, it has scarcely any affinity.

Few of the plants of this genus have been thought to possess sufficient beauty for the flower garden, the present one excepted, the magnificence of whose blossoms justly entitles it to rank with the more curious, if not the most beautiful of the vegetable tribes.Though not common in our gardens, it has long been introduced, having been cultivated and accurately described, though badly figured, by Parkinson in his Parad. terr.It grows spontaneously in the woods of Italy and Hungary, and flowers with us about the latter end of April, at which time, if cold winds prevail, it is apt to be injured, unless placed in a sheltered part of the garden.It may be propagated either by seeds, or by parting its roots in autumn, is a hardy plant and grows readily.

This genus, of which there is only one known species, has been named by the younger Linn?us, in honour of Mr. William Aiton, author of the Hortus Kewensis, and Botanic Gardener to his Majesty. The great length of time, Mr. Aiton has been engaged in the cultivation of plants, the immense numbers which have been the constant objects of his care through every period of their growth, joined to his superior discernment, give him a decided superiority in the prima facie knowledge of living plants over most Botanists the present day, his abilities in the other line of his profession, are displayed in the eulogies of all who have seen the royal collection at Kew, which he has the honour to superintend.The Aitonia is a native of the Cape, and was introduced by Mr. Masson, in the year 1774.It is a greenhouse shrub of slow growth, seldom exceeding three feet in height, producing, when of sufficient age, flowers and fruit through most of the year, the fruit is a large dry angular berry, of a fine red colour.Our drawing was made from a very fine plant, formerly Dr. Fothergills, now in the collection of Messrs. Grimwood and Co. Kensington.It is only to be raised from seeds, which are sparingly produced in this country.

Mr. Adam Buddle, in honour of whom the present genus has been originally named by Dr. Houston, was an ingenious English Botanist, cotemporary with, and the friend of Petiver, his name is often mentioned in the Synopsis of Mr. Ray and his Hortus Siccus, or dried collection of British plants, preserved in the British Museum, still resorted to in doubtful cases.The present species not enumerated either by Linn?us or Miller, is a native of Chili, and according to the Hort. Kew. was introduced by Messrs. Kennedy and Lee, in 1774.It has been customary, in consideration of its native place of growth, to treat it here as a greenhouse plant, for which situation it soon becomes unfit from its magnitude, some have ventured to plant it in the open borders in warm sheltered situations, where it has been found to succeed very well, producing its beautiful yellow blossoms in abundance, care must be taken, however, to guard it carefully from severe frosts, which are apt to destroy it.It flowers in May and June, and is usually propagated by cuttings or layers.

Professor Kalm (in honour of whom Linn?us, as before has been observed, named this genus of plants) in his travels into North America, published in English by Mr. Forster, relates that he found this species in various provinces of that extensive continent, as Pensylvania, New Jersey, and New York, growing most commonly on the sides of hills, sometimes in woods, that it flourished most on the northern sides of the hills, especially where they were intersected by rivulets, he observes, that when all the other trees had lost their ornaments, this enlivened the woods by the verdure of its foliage, and that about the month of May, it was covered with a profusion of blossoms of unrivalled beauty.

Of the Laburnum, our nurseries afford two principal varieties, the broad and narrow leavd, the latter (which is the one here figured) Mr. Miller was induced to make a species of under the name of alpinum, it certainly differs very materially from the broad leavd one, yet is most probably only a seminal variety, the Laburnum figured in its wild state by Professor Jacquin, in his Flora Austriaca, has much broader leaves than ours, no mention is made by him of its being subject to vary.Both Miller and Hanbury recommend the Laburnum to be cultivated not only as an ornamental but as a timber tree, the wood having a very close grain, a good colour, and bearing a high polish,[6] they urge in its favour, that it is very hardy, a quick grower, and one that will thrive in almost any soil, the latter says, it will become a timber tree of more than a yard in girt whatever success may attend its cultivation for the more useful purposes, as a hardy, deciduous, ornamental tree, it has long been the pride of our shrubberies and plantations.It blossoms in May, and is usually very productive of seeds, by which it may be propagated most readily.Hares and rabbits being fond of its bark, do great damage to plantations of Laburnum, especially in severe weather, I remember somewhere to have read, that these animals will not touch a tree if soot has been placed about it, perhaps, a circle drawn round the base of the tree with the new coal tar, which has a powerful smell of long duration, might keep off these noxious animals.

The Professor does not mention the precise height which he had observed these trees to attain in North America, but it is evident that they acquire a considerable thickness, as the wood of the root as well as the body of the tree is manufactured into various utensils by the natives, and by the Indians into spoons in particular, whence it has obtained the name of the Spoon Tree.The leaves have been found to prove poisonous to kine, horses, and sheep, but the deer are observed to brouse on them with impunity.Peter Collinson, Esq. who was highly instrumental in enriching this country with the native plants of North America, is said to have introduced this elegant species about the year 1734.With us it succeeds best when planted with a northern aspect, well sheltered, in a soil composed of loam and bog earth, in a situation moderately moist, where the air is perfectly pure.Being with difficulty propagated by suckers or layers, it is most commonly raised from American seeds.

This species (much inferior in size to the latifolia, as it rarely exceeds two feet in height) is a native of Newfoundland, where it was discovered by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. and by him introduced to this country in the year 1767.It is of course not described by Mr. Miller, nor is it mentioned the in the 14th edition of Linn?uss Syst. Vegetab. by Professor Murray, in the Hort. Kew. of Mr. Aiton, it is both described and figured.It flowers in April and May, is propagated in the same manner and requires the same treatment as the latifolia.

There is an elegance and neatness in most of this tribe, and none possess those qualities in a greater degree than the present species, which is a charming little evergreen, admirably adapted for the greenhouse, as it forms a pretty bulb, and flowers during most of the summer.It grows spontaneously in the South of Europe, and many parts of the Levant, Honorius Bellus, in his epistle Clusius (vid. Clus. op.) describes it as growing on the hilly parts of the island of Crete.Mr. Lee, of Hammersmith, received it about four years since from the Crimea.It is propagated by cuttings.

The term sempervirens applied to this plant by Linn?us, originated in the description given of it by Cornutus, (vid. Syn.) the impropriety of calling an annual plant (for such it undoubtedly is with us, and must be in Canada, its native place of growth) an evergreen, has appeared to us too glaring to be continued, we have thought the promotion of the science required a change in the name, and have therefore altered it to that of glauca, as coinciding with the English name of glaucous, given it by Mr. Aiton in his Hortus Kewensis, for to the delicate, pleasing, glaucous hue of its foliage, it owes its beauty, as much as to the lively colours of its blossoms.It is a hardy annual, coming up spontaneously in the open border where it has once flowered and seeded, and sometimes reaching the height of two feet.It flowers from June to September.Mr. Aiton informs us of its having been cultivated by Mr. James Sutherland in the year 1683. Strange! that it should yet be a rarity in our gardens.

Whether the variety of the Azalea nudiflora here figured, was originally introduced to this country by Mrs. Norman of Bromley in Kent, or Mr. Bewick of Clapham in Surrey (both celebrated for their collections of American plants) we cannot with certainty assert, true it is, the Azalea coccinea was little known here till the sale of Mr. Bewicks plant in 1722, a considerable number of these shrubs formed the choicest part of that collection, and sold at high prices, one of them produced twenty guineas prior to this period, Mr. Bewick had presented one of the same sort of shrubs to Mr. Thoburn, the fruits of whose skill and assiduous care in the cultivation of American plants are apparent in his late nursery at Brompton, now Mr. Whitleys, and from the produce of which plant our figure was taken.The original species, found abundantly in the more southern parts of North America, was introduced, according to Mr. Aitons account, by Peter Collinson, Esq. about the year 1724.

The brilliancy of colour and a happy combination of form, unite in rendering the variety here figured, one of the most beautiful plants in nature yet it wants the fragrance of some of the varieties of the viscosa.It flowers in June and continues in blossom about three weeks, requires a sheltered but not too shady a situation, more dry than moist, and a soil composed of loam and bog earth, or rotten leaves.The usual mode of propagating it is by layers, care must be taken not to remove the offspring too soon from the mother plant.