1877.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



227 



The florets (or separate flowers), are about two 

 inches in diameter. The flowers in shape arc 

 broadly canipanulate, the lobes or divisions 

 being undulate; in color they are of a rosy pur- 

 ple, to a clear, almost violet purple; they vary 

 with age; the upper lobes are yellowish, or 

 cream color, spotted within. The stamens are 

 shorter than the corolla, the filament being in- 

 curved. 



Rhododendron Californicum is only found in 

 the northern part of the State. It has one near 

 relation in California, R. Occidentale, which I 

 shall describe at another time. How it will do 

 in cultivation I cannot say, but will be a valu- 

 able acquisition, undoubtedly. 



CERCIS JAPONICA.—JAPAN JUDAS TREE. 



BY W, H. MOON, MORRISVILLE, BUCKS CO., PA. 



The Japan Judas is one of the most beautiful 

 and attractive of tlie early flowermg shrubs, and 

 deserves a much more general appreciation and 

 use than it has received. It is a bush of slow 

 growth, attaining a height of from eight to ten 

 feet in as many years; very symmetrical and 

 compact in habit, which makes it valuable as a 

 decorative plant for small yards, and does lessen 

 its value as an ornament for large lawns or 

 parks. It differs greatly from the old and Avell 

 known American Judas Tree, and is vastly supe- 

 rior to it in being dwarf and compact in habit of 

 growth. The flowers are larger, more thickly set 

 on the stem, and of a much brighter and pret- 

 tier color. Tlie foliage is larger, darker green, 

 and much more abundant. 



The flowers open about the first of the Fifth 

 month, and are in perfection before the fifteenth. 

 They are small, with stems so short as to be 

 Bcarcely visible, and borne in clusters or knots 

 all along the branches, looking as though they 

 had burst forth from the hard, apparently lifeless 

 wood. Every limb and twig on the whole plant, 

 from the ground to the top of the tallest branches, 

 is then clothed with a dense mass of bloom of 

 the brightest shade of rosy pink, before the leaves 

 appear. When planted amidst evergreens or 

 early starting shrubbery to supply a green back- 

 ground, when in full bloom, it is certainly one 

 of the most attractive and gorgeous sights to be 

 found among blooming shrubs. The leaves 

 ■which appear soon after the flowers are faded 

 are particularly pretty, being nearly round in 

 ehape, four to six iaches in diameter, thick and 



^eathery, of a rich, dark green color, and pro- 

 duced in such abundance that the bush appears 

 to be a solid mass of verdure, making it an espe- 

 cially attractive shrub during the Summer, when 

 not in bloom. 



It appears to be generally hardy in the lati- 

 tude of Philadelphia, though the flower buds are 

 occasionally injured by very severe Winters. 

 To guard against this, a situation protected 

 from cutting winds, and where water w'll not lie 

 around the tree, is desirable. 



It has been in this country at least twenty 

 years, but the difficulty of propagating it is such 

 that the market has never yet been supplied. 



LAURUS SASSAFRAS. 



BY PHILADELPHIA. 



There was a request made in the Monthly a 

 short time ago for information in regard to any 

 fine specimens of trees. I recently met with a 

 very large Laurus sassafras. It is growing on a 

 farm rented by John Gaul, on Cox's Lane, near 

 the Island Road, in the lower part of Philadel- 

 phia. The circumference of the trunk at three 

 feet from the ground is over twelve feet. The 

 tree itself is about fifty to sixty feet in height. 

 The first branches are about twelve feet from 

 the ground, and where they leave the trunk are 

 curiously flattened, being about nine inches 

 thick to two feet wide. 



There are a great many fine old trees in that 

 section of Philadelphia, and some day I may 

 give you particulars of more of them. 



NOTES ON RARE PLANTS OF SOUTHERM 

 UTAH. 



BY A. L. SILER, RANCH, UTAH. 



You were pleased to publish some notes in the 

 June number of last year on plants of Southern 

 Utah, from my pen. I will try again. 



Spirxa csespitosa is a low growing shrub, 

 found in tlie South-eastern part of Nevada on 

 Hmestonc rocks, in Southern Utah and Northern 

 Arizona on sandstone, and about Mt. Nebo, in 

 the northern part of Utah, on limestone ledges. 

 It is perfectly hardy, evererreen, growing to the 

 height of two inches, hugging the face of the 

 rock. It throws up flower stems four to five 

 inches high, with very small white flowers. 



