FLOWERS AND BOTANICAL NOTES. 



BY W. S. COLEMAN. 



Our group is composed of some of the more remarkable forms of leaves, licino: 

 a selection from what the gardener calls "foliage plants," or plants which depend 

 rather on their leaves than their flowers for their beauty or interest; in which 

 points many of them are hardly excelled by any tenants of the conservatory, be- 

 sides possessing the great advantage of remaining in equal perfection all the year 

 through. Some of these rival in the richness of their tints the brightest flowers, 

 such as Draccena, Caladhun, Calathea, and Cissus discolor. We figure the leaves 

 of the last mentioned; but no engraving can show the beautiful variety and grada- 

 tion on the rich velvet of its upper surface. The centre rib and i)rincipal veins are 

 marked by various shades of purple and Ijlack; between the veins are silvery patches 

 of white, and towards the edges the purple softens oflf into a lovely subdued green, 

 forming altogether one of the most harmonious little pieces of coloring with which 

 Nature indulges us. 



The pearly sonnerila {Sonnerila margaritacea) is one of the most charming of 

 recent introductions. It has glossy green leaves, studded over with lustrous pearl- 

 like spots, and in the summer is ornamented with a spike of pink flowers of much 

 beauty. 



The curious plants from Java, called AncectocMlas, well deserve a place in any 

 collection where sufficient heat is maintained. One of these plants at first sight 

 gives the idea of a number of strange insects congregated on the ground, each 

 leaf being so marked and shaped as to resemble the closed wings of a large beetle 

 or moth — blackish green or brown, with golden or silvery veins, being the usual 

 coloring. Ancectockilus setaceus is the species figured. (See page 118.) 



Several species of club-moss — half moss, half fern-like feathery little plants — 

 are very ornamental, for edging the aquarium, and for other purposes where their 

 fresh bright green is acceptable. We figure the creeping-rooted club-moss (Li/- 

 copodium stuloniferum). 



There are several genera of plants bearing pitcher-like appendages to their 

 leaves — that best known being the s^Qnxx?, Nepenthes, i\iQ old pitcher-plants; but 

 there is a little New Holland bog-plant, the Australian pitcher-plant {CephaloUis 

 follicidaris), of comparatively recent introduction, which, though of very small 

 size, is equal in interest to any of the others. It produces a circle of pouches or 

 pitchers of curious construction, resting on the ground, each being provided with 

 a membranous lid; from the centre rises a spike of small white flowers. To the 

 list of plants remarkable for their foliage we can now add one — perhaps the 

 greatest curiosity of all — the extraordinary "Lattice plant" {Ouvirandra fene- 

 stralis), lately brought from Madagascar by a missionary, and now in the posses- 

 sion of Messrs. Yeitch. It was figured and described in the Horticidturist for 

 Februarv. 



