t^ K£W SYLVA. 



665. Spirea (Ch.) italica or reticulata 

 Raf. hypericifolia Sm. and many Authors, type 

 in Bocc. mus. t. 96. Quite smooth, branches 

 angular purplish, leaves sessile cuneate entire 

 obtuse concolor, beneath nerves reticulate, flow- 

 ers in small pauciflore umbels sessile at the end 

 of branchlets, calix venose, each segments ovate 

 with 3 veins — Native of the hills of Umbria in 

 Italy where discovered by Bocconi, and again 

 by Sir James Smith see Rees Cycl. it has be- 

 come common in gardens, where it is blended 

 with the next, and botanists have been perplex- 

 ed for its locality: hypericifolia having become 

 equivocal ought to be changed as I propose. 

 Leaves small semiuncial not glaucons nor tri- 

 nerve, but slightly trinervate sometimes, umbels 

 of 3 to 7 flowers, petals white obovate. 



666. Spirea (Ch.) virgata Raf. hypericifo- 

 lia of Lin and many botanists, hyper, var. plu- 

 kenetiana Dec. Hooker, Beck. Pluk. aim. 218. 

 5 — Branches fuscate angular rugose virgate, 

 leaves sessile cuneate obtuse or retuse, entire 

 smooth above, pubescent and glaucous beneath, 

 nerves with paralel branches not reticulate, um- 

 bels pauciflore lateral subsessile foliose at base, 

 pedicels angular, calix decangular at base, seg- 

 ments uninerve. — This is the real American 

 Species, so long deemed doubtful, native of bo- 

 real America and New Sibiria, common in our 

 gardens ; flowers vernal in white umbels almost 

 sessile at first, but peduncled and foliose as the 

 leaves unfold, these are small semiuncial nearly 

 similar to the last in shape and size, but thick- 

 er and quite different beneath, the calix is very 

 peculiar by its 10 angles or nerves. Var. hook- 

 eriana Raf. Leaves smooth entire, umbels 

 corymbose sessile, of N. W. America is proba- 



