Chapter II: Part 2

In size, habit, &c. this species has some affinity to the _Convolvulis linearis_, figured pl. 289, but differs from it, and other species usually cultivated with us, in the silky appearance of its foliage, which it is not in the artist's power to imitate, and for the beauty of which, more than that of its flowers, it is very generally kept in collections of green-house plants; its blossoms are nearly white and rarely or never productive of seeds in this country, hence it is increased by cuttings.

It is a hardy green-house plant, requiring a dry rather than a moist regimen.

[460]

Maurandya Semperflorens. Climbing Maurandya, or Bastard Foxglove.

_Class and Order._

Didynamia Angiospermia.

_Generic Character._

_Caps._ bilocularis, truncata, bisulca, apice inæqualiter
dehiscens. _Cor._ ringens, tubulosa campanulata, ventricosa,
bisulcato-plicata.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

MAURANDYA _semperflorens_ caule fruticoso scandente, foliis
hastatis nervosis. _C. G. Orteg. Nov. Pol. Dec. 2. p. 21._

USTERIA. _Cavanill. Icon. vol. 2. p. 5. num. 126. t. 116._

The plant whose elegant form is here so happily delineated by the masterly pencil of Mr. Edwards, according to Dr. Ortega, is an inhabitant of Mexico, where its seeds originally were collected by Dr. Martin Sesse, and sent to the royal garden at Madrid, in which the plant produced flowers and seeds in abundance; from thence seeds were obtained by the Marchioness of Bute, about the year 1786, who most kindly communicated them to different persons in the neighbourhood of London, and among others to my most generous benefactor, James Vere, Esq. in whose collection at his villa, Kensington-Gore, by the careful management of his Gardener, William Anderson, it was first brought to flower in this country, anno 1797.

Mons. Cavanille, who resides at Madrid, where he seizes every opportunity of publishing whatever new plants appear there, has figured and described the present one, under the name of _Usteria_, not aware that Wildenou had previously bestowed that name on a different plant; for this and other reasons[6], Dr. Ortega, in a new work of his above referred to, has changed the term _Usteria_ to that of _Maurandya_; and, though we cannot cordially coincide with the Doctor in the propriety either of his generic or trivial name, we have adopted them.

This climber rises with a shrubby stalk to the height of many feet, is very prolific in branches, and produces flowers abundantly from July to September, which are succeeded by ripe seed-vessels and seeds.--As the plant is easily propagated by cuttings, as well as by seeds, it will soon become common to our greenhouses, though it is rather better suited to the conservatory; if its blossoms, which have a great affinity to those of the Foxglove, had more colour in them, the plant would be more desirable: at some future period such may probably be obtained from seeds.

FOOTNOTE:

[6] Observ. Quandoquidem Usteriæ nomen huic Generi à clar. Cavanilles, qui primus id descripsit, impositum permanere non potest ut pote antea ab illust. Wildenou alii Generi inditum; propterea illud D. Catharinæ Pancratiæ Maurandy, lectissimæ feminæ, D. Augustini Juan, Reg. Botanic. Horti Carthaginensis Professoris uxori, et Botanicorum laborum sociæ, nuncupandum duxi; oblataque opportunitate usus plantam denuo recognovi, et tum Characterem genericum, tum etiam descriptionem specificam ad incudem revocans reformavi.

[461]

Jasminum Fruticans. Yellow Jasmine.

_Class and Order._

Diandria Monogynia.

_Generic Character._

_Cor._ 5-fida. _Bacca_ dicocca. _Sem._ arillata. _Antheræ_ intra tubum.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

JASMINUM _fruticans_ foliis alternis ternatis simplicibusque ramis
angulatis. _Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14._ _Murr. p. 56._

JASMINUM _fruticans_ foliis alternis ternatis foliolis obovatis
cuneiformibusque obtusis ramis angulatis laciniis calycinis
subulatis. _Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 9._

JASMINUM _luteum_, vulgo dictum bacciferum. _Bauh. Pin. 298._

POLEMONIUM sieu Trifolium fruticans. Shrubby Trefoil. _Ger. Herb.
p. 1129. f._

The Yellow Jasmine is often planted against walls, pales, &c. as the branches are weak and slender and it will grow to be ten or twelve feet high if thus supported; it may however be planted in shrubbery quarters, to which it is better suited than the White Jasmine. The young shoots are of a fine strong green colour, angular, and a little hairy. The leaves are trifoliate, though sometimes they grow singly. They are placed alternately on the branches, are of a thick consistence, smooth, and of a fine deep green colour. These leaves in well-sheltered places remain until the spring before they fall off, so that this plant may not improperly be planted among the Evergreens, especially as the young shoots are always of a strong green. The flowers are yellow, and do not possess the fragrance of the common Jasmine. They are produced chiefly in June, and the blow is soon over. They are succeeded by berries, which when ripe are black, whence its name of Berry-bearing Jasmine. Although this shrub possesses a certain stiffness, which gives it somewhat the appearance of an artificial flower, yet the fine yellow colour of its blossoms contrasts so well with the rich green of the foliage, that in the flower-pot or bouquet it never fails to have a conspicuous and pleasing effect.

Is a native of the South of Europe and the Levant, was cultivated by Mr. John Gerard, in 1597, and flowers from May to October. _Ait. Kew._

Is easily propagated by suckers or layers; as the flowers have no scent, is not so much cultivated as formerly. _Miller's Dict._

[462]

Anthemis Pyrethrum. Pellitory of Spain.

_Class and Order._

Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua.

_Generic Character._

_Recept._ paleaceum. _Pappus_ nullus. _Cal._ hemisphæricus,
subæqualis. _Flosculi_ radii plures quam 5.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ANTHEMIS _Pyrethrum_ caulibus simplicibus unifloris decumbentibus
foliis pinnato multifidis. _Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14._ _Murr. p.
776._ _Woodville's Medical Botany, p. 286._

CHAMÆMELUM specioso flore, radice longa fervida. _Shaw. Afr. 138._

PYRETHRUM flore bellidis. _Bauh. Pin. 148._

The Pellitory of Spain is more celebrated as an useful than an ornamental plant, the root which is of a very hot and biting nature being a common application for the cure of the tooth-ach; but, divested of its utility as a medicinal plant, it merits a place in collections on account of the beauty both of its foliage and flowers, the latter are more handsome when in bud than when fully expanded, the underside of the florets being of a fine purple colour, the upper pure white; it is moreover a very rare plant in this country, notwithstanding it was cultivated here so long since as 1570: Parkinson evidently grew it, as he observes that the roots of the cultivated plant, were much larger than those of the wild one; he tells us also, that it was too tender to endure our winters: to the latter cause, as well as to the difficulty of propagating it, for it does not ripen its seeds in this country, we may attribute its present scarcity: Mr. Miller raised this plant in 1732, in a very curious way, from seeds picked out from among raisins.

In its place of growth it is not confined to Spain, but is found in the Levant, Syria, Arabia, and elsewhere; flowers with us from May to July, and may be increased by cuttings of the roots, a mode of propagating by which we sometimes happily succeed with rare and valuable plants when all others fail.

It is a plant not very nice as to the quality of the soil in which it grows, but must have a warm dry situation, will succeed very well in a pot, or it may be planted in the open border; but especial care must be taken to secure it against frost in the winter.

[463]

Epidendrum Ciliare. Fringed Epidendrum.

_Class and Order._

Gynandria Diandria.

_Generic Character._

_Cor._ 6-petala. _Nectarium_ turbinatum, obliquum reflexum. _Caps._
infera 1-locularis, 3-valvis, fenestrata.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

EPIDENDRUM _ciliare_ foliis oblongis aveniis, nectarii labio
tripartito ciliato: intermedia lineari, cauli bifolio. _Linn. Syst.
Vegetab. ed. 14._ _Murr. p. 818._ _Jacq. Amer. pict. p. 110. t.
209._

Of this parasitical tribe the number of species described in the third edition of the _Sp. Pl. Linn. 1764_, amounts to thirty; in Gmelin's thirteenth edition of the _Syst. Nat. Linn. 1791_, no less than seventy-five are enumerated, which is a vast accession in so short a period; most of these are natives of hot climates, and on that account require a stove heat in this country; from their nature also they require a situation not to be exactly imitated, they are therefore to be regarded as plants very difficult of culture, and we are not to be surprised that three species only are enumerated in the _Hort. Kew._--but, since the publication of that work, many others have been added to the royal collection, and this among the rest.

The rare and singular species here represented, a native of the warmer parts of America, and the West-Indies, flowered with Mr. Whitley, Nurseryman, Old-Brompton, in Feb. 1799, and at irregular periods before that time; he informs me that it is not constant as to the time of its blowing, and that though the plant flowers with him, it never assumes a fine healthy green appearance, he propagates it by dividing its limbs or branches, which often put forth small roots; the plant grows in a pot, in a mixture of loam and peat or bog-earth, and is kept constantly plunged in the tan-pit of the stove.

[464]

Sisyrinchium Gramineum. Grass-Leaved Sisyrinchium.

_Class and Order._

Gynandria Triandria.

_Generic Character._

_Spatha_ 2-phylla. _Petala_ 6-plana. _Caps._ 3-locularis infera
3-valvis.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

SISYRINCHIUM _gramineum_ caule ancipiti lato, germinibus glabris.

SISYRINCHIUM _angustifolium_ foliis lineari-gladiolatis, pedunculis
longioribus. _Mill. Dict._

SISYRINCHIUM _cæruleum_ parvum, gladiato caule, virginianum. _Pluk.
alm. 348. t. 61. f. 1._

BERMUDIANA graminea, flore minore cæruleo. _Dill. Elth. 49. t. 41.
f. 49._

GLADIOLUS cæruleus hexapetalus caule etiam gladiato. _Banist. virg.
1926._

In a former Number of this Work, we gave a figure of the large variety of _Sisyrinch. Bermud._ of _Linn._ regarding it as a distinct species, and naming it _iridioides_, conformably to Dillenius's specific description; we regret now that we did not continue to it the name of _Bermudiana_ (it being the true Bermudas plant) and which cannot with propriety be applied to the present species, a native of Virginia, far more diminutive, with flowers much smaller, of a paler blue colour, a much hardier plant also, and of more ready growth; it is indeed a truly hardy perennial, adapted to the open border, in which it will grow readily, and produce abundance of flowering stems in June and July; the flowers expand to the sun, and are followed by numerous seed-vessels which ripen their seeds, by which the plant may be increased, or by parting its roots in the autumn. Its stalk affords an excellent example of the _caulis anceps_. We readily embrace the opportunity here afforded us of correcting an error in regard to the hardiness of the _Sisyrinch. iridioides_, which we were led into partly by Miller's account, and partly from observing the plant to survive a mild winter in the open ground; we have since found that it is a tender plant, and to be ranked with those of the greenhouse; an additional proof of its being a distinct species from the one here figured, which has long[7] been cultivated in our gardens.

FOOTNOTE:

[7] By Mr. Jacob Bobart, in 1693. _Ait. Kew._

[465]

Indigofera Angustifolia. Narrow-Leaved Indigo.

_Class and Order._

Diadelphia Decandria.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ patens. _Cor._ carina, utrinque calcari subulato patulo.
_Legumen_ lineare.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

INDIGOFERA _angustifolia_ foliis pinnatis linearibus, racemis
elongatis, caule fruticoso. _Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14._ _Murr. p.
678._ _Mant. 272._ _Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 69._

This small, delicate, and rather elegant species of Indigo, to be found in most collections of greenhouse plants near town, rises with an upright, shrubby stem, to the height of several feet; its leaves, of a lively green colour, are furnished with pinnæ, which are numerous and unusually narrow, whence its name; its flowers, produced on long racemi springing from the sides of the stem or branches, are of a singular dull red colour, and rarely followed by seeds with us.

It is a native of the Cape[8], from whence it was introduced by Mr. Masson, in 1774; flowers from June to October, and is usually increased by cuttings.

There is a description of this species in the _Mantiss. Pl. Linn._ but we know of no figure of it that has yet been published.

FOOTNOTE:

[8] _Ait. Kew._

[466]

Calycanthus Præcox. Japan All-Spice.

_Class and Order._

Icosandria Polygynia.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 1-phyllus, urceolatus, squarrosus: foliolis coloratis.
_Cor._ calycina. _Styli_ plurimi, stigmati glanduloso. _Sem._
plurima, caudata, intra calycem succulentum.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

CALYCANTHUS _præcox_ petalis interioribus minutis. _Linn. Sp. Pl.
ed. 3. p. 718._ _Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 220. tab. x._

OBAI _s. Robai_. Jasminum flore pleno suavi foetido, fructu
turbinato, semine phascoli. _Kæmpf. Amæn. exot. p. 878._

The learned and instructive Kæmpfer in his _Amæn. Exot._ that vast fund of most useful information, gives a figure of this plant, in which it is represented both with flowers and seed-vessels, accompanied with a description and short account of it; from which we learn that it is cultivated in Japan as an ornamental plant, that the flowers are produced in February, before the leaves, that they have the scent of the violet, but become unpleasant on being long smelt to.

Hearing that Lord Coventry was the first who possessed this plant in England, I took the liberty of writing to his Lordship in January 1799, to request some information on this point, as well as some others relative to its culture, &c. On the 13th of the same month, his Lordship had the goodness to send me a beautiful specimen of the plant in bloom, a seedling plant one year old, together with a seed-vessel of the year 1798, and some seeds; in the Earl's letter is the following passage:--"the beauty of the _Calycanthus præcox_ at this moment surpasses all description, it is covered with blossoms from top to bottom, and the fragrance of it may be perceived at the distance of fifty yards from the conservatory."

By his Lordship's direction, I received at the same time from his Gardener, Mr. William Dean, the following information, in answer to my queries:--"My Lord received the plant from China in 1766:--it was planted in a conservatory, is now sixteen feet high, and expands ten feet wide:--bears a succession of flowers from September to March:--the time of its first blowing I cannot precisely ascertain, but believe it to be nearly twenty years back:--it is propagated by layers, cuttings, and seeds, the latter it produces most years at Croome, but I believe at no other place in England:--there are plants of it at Croome six feet high, in a warm situation in the open border, which have stood out several years by being covered with a single mat in severe weather."

Not expecting to receive a plant from Lord Coventry in bloom, our drawing was made from one which flowered with Mr. Whitley, Nurseryman, Old-Brompton, December 22, 1798, and which came originally from Croome, his Lordship having presented most of the Nurserymen about town with plants of it; the blossoms of that from Croome were somewhat larger than those here represented, and the petals were less striped, indeed almost wholly tinged with purple, the leaves also proceeded more from the summit of the stalks and were of a much greener hue, owing no doubt to its being kept in the conservatory, while Mr. Whitley's plant was tacked to the outside of the bottom of the greenhouse.

In the number of its stamina, which is rarely more than five, it does not accord with the character of the class icosandria, nor do the seeds agree with the generic character as described by Linnæus.

[467]

Dracocephalum Virginianum. Virginian Dragon's-Head.

_Class and Order._

Didynamia Gymnospermia.

_Generic Character._

_Cor._ faux inflata: labium superius fornicatum.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

DRACOCEPHALUM _virginianum_ foliis lineari-lanceolatis serratis,
floribus confertis. _Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 13. Gmel. p. 915._

DRACOCEPHALUM _virginianum_ floribus spicatis, foliis lanceolatis
serratis. _Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 14. Murr. p. 543._

DRACOCEPHALUM _virginianum_ floribus spicatis confertis, foliis
lineari-lanceolatis serratis. _Ait. Kew. v. 2. p. 317._

This elegant species of _Dracocephalum_, a native of Virginia, and other parts of North-America, is a hardy herbaceous plant, rising to the height of about two feet, and producing numerous flowers in long spikes, usually arranged on each side of the stalk.

It comes near to the _denticulatum_ already figured, but differs in its superior height, the form of its leaves, the number of its flowers, and many other particulars.

It flowers from July to September, and with me has generally ripened much of its seed, from which it may be easily raised, as also by parting of its roots in spring or autumn; it succeeds best in a moist situation, and its stalks require to be carefully and timely sticked.

Was cultivated as long since as 1683, by Mr. James Sutherland.

[468]

Oenothera Tetraptera. White-Flowered Oenothera.

_Class and Order._

Octandria Monogynia.

_Generic Character._

_Cal._ 4-fidus. _Petala 4._ _Caps._ cylindrica infera. _Sem._ nuda.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

OENOTHERA _tetraptera_ foliis lanceolatis, basi
pinnatifido-dentatis, capsulis pedicellatis obovatis quadrialatis.
_Linn. Sp. Pl. edit. Wildenou._

OENOTHERA foliis alternis subpinnatis crispis, flore mutabili
fructû tetraptero. _Cavanill. Icon. t. 3. p. 40. tab. 279._

Of this genus we have already figured six different species; this is another newly discovered one, which, like most of its kind, displays its beauties chiefly in the night. It is the only one, as far as we yet know, that has white blossoms; these, when first expanded, are beautifully so, but in the morning they change to a purple colour, fade, and their place is supplied by a fresh succession. In this remarkable change of colour, it bears some affinity to the _Oenothera anomala_, which may be considered as strengthening our opinion that the latter plant belongs to this genus rather than to that of _Gaura_. The _Oenothera tetraptera_ is a native of Mexico, its duration as yet not certainly ascertained, but may be treated as a tender annual; and such plants as do not flower the first year, may be preserved under glasses through the winter. It was raised from seeds sent by Mr. Donn, from Cambridge; but was probably first introduced into this country from seeds sent to the Marchioness of Bute, by Prof. Ortega, of Madrid.

INDEX.

In which the Latin Names of the Plants contained in the _Thirteenth
Volume_ are alphabetically arranged.

_Pl._
457 Alöe plicatilis.
455 Alöe retusa.
453 Amaryllis Reginæ.
462 Anthemis Pyrethrum.
441 Antholyza Merianella.
458 Aristea cyanea.
433 Azalea pontica.
451 Blakea trinervia.
466 Calycanthus præcox.
444 Canarina Campanula.
454 Canna indica.
452 Cardamine trifolia.
459 Convolvulus Cneorum.
445 Coronilla Emerus.
449 Dillenia speciosa.
456 Diosma serratifolia.
467 Dracocephalum virginianum.
463 Epidendrum ciliare.
440 Erica albens.
447 Erica empetrifolia.
443 Erica physodes.
442 Genista linifolia.
450 Gladiolus Watsonius.
435 Gnaphalium ericoides.
436 Hibiscus præmorsus.
437 Hydrangea Arborescens.
438 Hydrangea Hortensis.
461 Jasminum fruticans.
439 Illicium floridanum.
465 Indigofera angustifolia.
460 Maurandya semperflorens.
448 Mesembryanthemum micans.
468 Oenothera tetraptera.
434 Oxybaphus viscosus.
446 Psoralea bracteata.
464 Sisyrinchium gramineum.

INDEX.

In which the English Names of the Plants contained in the
_Thirteenth Volume_ are alphabetically arranged.

_Pl._
466 Allspice, Japan.
455 Aloe, cushion.
457 Aloe, fan.
441 Antholyza, dwarf.
458 Aristea, grass-leaved.
433 Azalea, yellow.
444 Bell-flower, canary.
459 Bindweed, silvery-leaved.
451 Blakea, three-ribbed.
442 Broom, flax-leaved.
450 Corn-Flag, Watson's.
452 Cuckow-Flower, three-leav'd.
449 Dillenia, shewy.
456 Diosma, serrated or saw-leaved.
467 Dragon's Head, virginian.
463 Epidendrum, fringed.
448 Fig-Marygold, glittering.
435 Gnaphalium or Everlasting, heath-leaved.
447 Heath, crowberry-leaved.
443 Heath, sticky-flowered.
440 Heath, pallid.
436 Hibiscus, bitten-leaved.
438 Hydrangea, garden.
437 Hydrangea, shrubby.
461 Jasmine, yellow.
439 Illicium, red-flowered or Aniseed tree.
454 Indian Reed or Shot, common.
465 Indigo, narrow-leaved.
453 Lily, Mexican.
460 Maurandya or Bastard Foxglove, climbing.
468 Oenothera, white-flowered.
462 Pellitory of Spain.
446 Psoralea, oval-spiked.
445 Senna, scorpion.
464 Sisyrinchium, grass-leaved.
434 Umbrella Wort, viscid.

_London_: Printed by STEPHEN COUCHMAN, Throgmorton-Street.