its natural beauty has been greatly impaired. It is a peren- 
nial, covered all over with slender spreading hairs. The stems 
are round ; the leaves are opposite, stalked, ovate, crenated, 
very much marked with sunken veins, and deep green. The 
flowers, which are nearly as large as those of a Digitalis, and 
of the deep colour of Gloxinia violacea, grow singly in the 
axils of the leaves, than which they are considerably shorter. 
Their calyx appears to consist of seven narrow green leaves, 
imbricated at their base, but the number varies to eight ; they 
form a complete broken whorl, and may be understood to con- 
sist in part of bracts which stand close to the true sepals, and 
become blended with them; of these the three exterior are 
both broader and longer than the others. The corolla is tu- 
bular, two-lipped, with the upper lip broad, ovate, blunt, and 
notched, while the lower is composed of three smaller divi- 
sions placed nearly on the same plane ; in this respect however 
the flower varies, some of the specimens having four lobes in 
the lower lip. The usual number of stamens is four, of which 
two are perfect and next the upper lip, and two stunted, of the 
same length but more slender, and belonging to the lower lip; 
when an additional lobe appears in the lower lip of the corolla 
it is accompanied by an additional sterile stamen. The 
perfect anthers are constructed in an unusual manner ; at the 
end of the filament is a large globular green gland, which 
eventually shrinks up; upon this green gland are planted two 
lobes of unequal length, bursting longitudinally. The style 
and stigma too are of a singular form, the former gradually 
widening and flattening upwards till it ends in a thin broad 
plate which curves forward and forms a stigma on its anterior 
edge.” 
It has hitherto been treated as a stove plant, but will pro- 
bably prove hardy enough to stand in a greenhouse. It 
appears to grow freely in almost any sort of soil, especially 
sandy peat. In summer shading in sunny weather is neces- 
sary. In conseguence of its being subject to damp off in 
winter, it will reguire to be kept rather dry for a few weeks; 
and in fact it will probably be found necessary to give it but 
little water at any time. It will be well too to keep it in small 
pots, otherwise it becomes all foliage ; this is the only probable 
means of inducing it to flower abundantly. 
lts leaves are agreeably sweet-scented. 
Fig. 1. represents the section of a monstrous flower; 2; a 
stamen. 
