Tab. 5684 

 COTYLEDON velutina. 



Velvety-leaved Cotyledon. 



Nat. Ord. Cbassttlace^. — Decandria Pentaoynia. 

 Gen. Char. {Vide supra, Tab. 5602.) 



Cotyledon velutina; ramulis foliisque junioribus velutino-pubescentibus, 

 caule erecto tercti, folds oppositis obovato- v. subpaiidurato-oblongis 

 obtusis mtegerrimis basi cordato-amplexicaulibus crassis enerviis viri- 

 dibus marginibus apices versus brunneis, panieulae corymbose rami's 

 subbonzoiitalibiis, floribus magnis pendulis pedicellatis, calycis lobis 

 ovato-triangularibus corollse tubo pallide virescente multo brevioribus, 

 corollas lobis lineari-oblongis subacutis patentibus flavis purpureo- 

 marginatis, filamentis basi dilatatis. 



This is another of the noble South African plants intro- 

 duced by W. W. Saunders, F.R.S., of Reigate, through his 

 energetic collector, Mr. Cooper, and liberally presented, in 

 1858, to the Royal Gardens, where it is, when in flower, a 

 great ornament to the Succulent House. As a species, it 

 approaches, firstly, C. cuneata, Thunb., in the form of the 

 leaves, differing, however, in their being semiamplexicaul at 

 the base, and in not being hispid ; and secondly, C. tomentosa, 

 Harv., which is a slender, more densely pubescent plant, 

 with subpetioled leaves. 



The genus Cotyledon contains upwards of twenty Cape 

 species, described in Harvey and Sonder's ' Flora Capensis ;' 

 and that this number must foil far short of the total South 

 African species, is evident from this being the second that 

 has flowered since the publication of those descriptions 

 (1862), and been figured in the 'Botanical Magazine ' (see 

 Tab. 5602). Amongst the species are some with the most 

 beautifully-coloured foliage, and others with very handsome 

 flowers, and which, together with the facility with which 

 they are cultivated in dwelling-houses or small greenhouses, 

 if even of indifferent construction, rondos thorn well adapted 

 for supplying the horticultural requirements of the less 

 JANUARY 1st, 1868. 



