it, that nature had never produced any thing more lovely j and 

 even this deficiency might be faid to be amply recompenfed by 

 the delightful ftru&ure, and exquifite brilliancy of colour of its 

 flowers. 



Among the varieties enumerated by K^empfer, befides the 

 many different coloured flowers, white* red, yellow, purple* 

 and fcarlet, with fpots of the mod contrary hues, the foliage of 

 fome is hairy, of others fmooth ; fome produce their flowers 

 before the leaves, fome after j others are evergreen ; fome have 

 five, fome ten ftamens. The variety cultivated in Holland was 

 brought from Jaccatra ; its foliage hairy and evergreen ; flowers 

 of a refulgent pale crimfon colour, and produced in fuch 

 profufion from June to Auguft, that the upper part of the 

 fhrub looked as if covered with a beautiful crimfon garment, 

 Herman defcribes it as having four ftamens only, his 

 diffe&ed figure however fhews five : in our plant there were 

 ten, unequal in length, and (lightly declined, which together 

 with the form of the corolla and the fpotting of the fuperior 

 lacinise, feemed to unite it with Rhododendron, rather than 

 with Azalea; but in fact there are no natural limits between 

 thefe genera, or at leaft the number of ftamens affords none J 

 and raoft of the varieties of this fpecies recorded by ICempfer 

 are pentandrous. 



The anthers in the variety here figured, and probably in the 

 fpecies in general are very remarkable, ludicroufly reprefenting 

 the heads of fo many little birds juft hatched; the polliniferous- 

 cells, large and divergent, forming the eyes, and the moderately 

 curved body of the anther, terminating in an acute point, the 

 bill. 



Native of Japan and China, a hardy greenhoufe fhrub, re- 

 quiring only protection from froft ; and we are informed by 

 Mr. Anderson, the fkilful fuperintendant of Mr. Vere's col- 

 lection, is readily and fpeedily propagated by layers. Flowers ill 

 the fpring ; in the prefent inftance in March, but this was pro- 

 bably fome what earlier than its natural feafon. 



