448 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Nerium— continued. 
preatum. Flowers large, single, copper-coloured ; lobes well 
expanded. Free-flowering. 
Felix Bourguet. Flowers, inside pale saffron, outside rosy 
previous to opening, single. Very free- flowering. 
Mares. Flowers rosy-pink ; corolla double. A beautiful 
shade of colour. 
Madame Peyre. Flowers cream, semi-double. A good variety. 
Madonna grandiflorum. Flowers creamy-white, large; lobes 
broad ; corolla double. Very fine. 
Mons, er. Flowers very pale pink, 
panded. A delicate colour. 
Paulin Gregoire. Flowers large, single. 
rose colour. 
arge, well ex- 
Beautiful bright 
FIG. 686. FLOWERING BRANCHLET OF NERIUM OLEANDER 
ALBUM PLENUM. 
Professor Du: 
Flowers deep rosy-purple, of medium 
size ; corolla double. 
Fine and distinct. 
r Durand. Flowers pale yellow, hose-in-hose. Very 
free-flowering. 
Rose Double. Flowers bright rose, double. Large and fine. 
Sœur Agnes. Flowers pure white, single. Very pretty. 
Souvenir du Felix 
corolla double. Very good 
Splendens, Flowers bright red, double. 
Variegatum. Flowers red ; leaves edged with white or yellow. 
NERTERA (from nerteros, lowly; referring to the 
habit of the species). Syns. Cunina, Erythrodanum, 
Leptostigma, Nerteria. ORD. Rubiacee. A genus com- 
prising about half-a-dozen species of very small, slender, 
creeping herbs, indigenous to the mountains of Java, the 
Philippine and Sandwich Islands, the Andes of South 
America, Australia, New Zealand, and the Antarctic lands. 
Flowers axillary, inconspicuous, sessile. Berry red, ovoid 
or globose, two-stoned. Leaves small, opposite, sessile or 
petiolate, ovate or ovate-lanceolate. N.depressa, commonly 
known under the absurd name of Flowering or Fruiting 
Duckweed, the only species introduced, is a charming 
hardy, alpine, perennial rock plant, which forms a dense 
Carpet, close on the ground, of creeping stems and tiny 
leaves, and is exceedingly attractive when covered with 
orange-red or crimson berries. It may be increased from 
, but is more frequently propagated by division of 
root ; any small pieces will grow freely, especially if 
in a little warmth. The plants thrive in a sandy 
Dunal. Flowers bright rose, large; 
Nertera—continued. 
loam, to which the addition of some leaf soil is recom- 
mended. They prefer shade to bright sunshine, in summer, 
and if grown in the open, should be protected with a bell 
glass in winter. N. depressa is also well adapted for 
culture in pots or shallow pans. The plants, when in- 
serted in early spring, should be placed in a little 
warmth until established, when a cool, airy position will 
be more suitable for the production of flowers, and, sub- 
sequently, berries. When the latter are set, the pots 
are sometimes utilised for plunging in carpet-bedding 
designs, where they prove most interesting and effective. 
The plants require plentiful supplies of water at the roots. 
Fic. 687. NERTERA DEPRESSA, showing Plants in Flower and 
Fruit, and detached Flower and Fruit. 
N. depressa (d epressed).* Bead Plant. fl. 
spicuous, ote.. Jr. bright orange, globose, the size ‘of small 
peas, P produced in great profusion. J. small, Orage almost fleshy. 
tems smooth, creeping, rooting, thickly clothed with leaves. 
_ Antarctic Mountains, 1868. See Fig. 687. (B. M. 5799.) 
NERTERIA. A synonym of Nertera (which see). 
NERVES. The strong veins upon leaves or flowers. 
NERVOSE, NERVOUS. Full of nerves. 
NESZA (said to be from mesos, an island; on 
account of its having been found in the Island of 
Mauritius). Including Heimia. ORD. Lythrariee. A 
genus comprising about a dozen species of glabrous or 
tomentose, erect, leafy, half-hardy herbs or sub-shrubs, 
with quadrigonal branches inhabiting the warmer parts 
of America and Africa. Flowers yellow, purple, or blue, 
disposed in axillary and often trichotomously divided 
peduncles, sometimes capitate; petals four to seven, 
inserted in the mouth of the calyx. Leaves opposite, 
rarely ternately whorled or alternate, entire. Seeds of 
the annual species must be sown in heat, in spring, and 
the plants hardened off and inserted in the open border 
at the end of May or beginning of June. The sub-shrubs, 
&c., succeed in sheltered spots, in any common garden 
soil. Propagated by seeds, by divisions of the root, or 
by cuttings. The two species here described are pro- 
bably the only ones yet introduced. 
N. salicifolia (Willow-leaved). jl, petals obovate. August. 
J. ternate or opposite, the uppermost ones often alternate, very 
shortly stalked, lanceolate, acute, narrow at base. h. 5ft. 
Mexico, &c., 1821. Sub-shrab. SYN. Heimia salicifolia. 
N. triflora (tee Senet. fl. sing in threes, on the apex 8 
the peduncle. Augus 1 
acute, on short pon ope h to Mee Mauritius, &e., 1802. 75 
slender, half-hardy annual. 
b NETTED. Covered with reticulated 1 
ines. 
nish, incon- 
