314 
BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
AMHERSTIA NOBILIS. 
If, as we suppose, it must be conceded that the Victoria Regine* is 
the most splendid flowering herbaceous plant yet known to us, we 
may with equal justice say that the fuAerstia nobilis is the most 
superb flowering arborescent plant. Dr. Faleoner writes to us from 
the Honourable East India Company's Botanie Garden (May 1850)— 
“Our Amherstia has been in great glory this year, and after a sad 
tendency to decay, I have brought the tree back to the highest promise 
of vigour by a treatment, I belieye, unknown to English gardening. 
There were, I suppose, upwards of 500 racemes} of flowers upon it 
about six wecks ago, and abundance of young leaves in the green and 
bronze state, all at the same time. Three pods set upon it, one of 
which has ripened. The new mode of treatment is to sink vertical 
pipes of bamboo four and a half feet long, in three rings (or circles) 
extending nearly as far as the extremities of the roots, and filling them 
with water at night. "The pipes are left open, and the double purpose 
petalis hypogynis estivatione valvatis oblongo-lanceolatis coriaceis trinerviis concavis, 
apice acutis glanduligeris, demum reversis. Stamina 10, alternis longioribus, ad tori 
basin externam cum petalis inserta; filamenta tæniæformia; anther oblouge, 
obtuse, versatiles, 2-loculares, loculis intus longitrorsum dehiscentibus. „Discus 
hypogynus, sessilis, cupulæformis, 5-fidus, laciniis costatis 2-dentatis, ovarii basin 
eingens. Ovarium in floribus hermaphroditis 4—5-costatum, 5-loculare vel ssepius 
abortu 4-loculare, in floribus masculis effetum. Ovułum in quoque loculo unicum, 
angulo centrali ab apice loculi pendulum.. S/y/i 5, vel abortu 4, brevissimi, crassi, 
apice clavati, obtusi, intus fissi, stigmatibus papillatis per rimam decurrentibus. 
Fructus . . . .? 
* The specifi name of this plant has been differently written by authors, all of 
whom have alike intended it to be indicative of the highest mark of rank. Tt, has 
been called V. Regina, V. regia, and F. regalis. We ourselves, in a late volume 
of the * Botanical Magazine, adopted the name of regia, from a belief that the 
plant was first clearly defined under that name by Dr. Lindley. Mr. J. E. Gray, 
of the British Museum, has lately shown that we were misled in regard to his and 
. Sehomburgk's earlier name of “ Regina,” which was published in the * Magazine of 
Zoology and Botany, of the lst of November, 1837; whereas the volume of that 
work incorrectly bears 1838 on its title-page. 
We give the preference, in point of date, to the name “Regina ;" but we venture 
to place it in the genitive case (Regine), as was done by the learned Dryander in 
` regard to the “ Strelitzia Regine" oes = aa 
+ See Dr. Wallich, in ‘ Plantz Asiatiee Rariores, for a full account of the size 
. of these flowers and the length of their raeemes. 
