58 

 MI KB ELI A speciosa. 



Showy Mirbelia. 



DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



Nat. ord. Leguminos.e or Fabaceje, § Papilionace.e. 

 MIRBELIA. Botanical Register, vol. 12. fol. 1041. 



M. speciosa ; ramis pubescentibus, foliis sparsis s. ternatim verticillatis linea- 

 vibus margine revolutis glabris apice uncinulatis, floribus axillaribus bre- 

 viter pedicellatis, calycibus sericeis, ovario pluri-ovulato. 

 M. speciosa. Sieb.pl. exsicc. nov. koll.367. BeCand. prodr. 2. 114. 



Frutex ramosus, ramulis sericeis tetragonis. Folia linearia, vix lucida, 

 glabra, apiculata, pilis quibusdam adpressis in costa et margine ; ternatim 

 verticillata. Flores axillares, solitarii, pedicellati. Calyx sericeus, dentibus 

 lateralibus acuminatis. Corolla violacea vexilli medio lutea. Ovarium glabrum, 

 ovulis 10. 



A handsome New Holland shrub, in its native country 

 forming a scrubby bush, with thinly scattered flowers ; but 

 in cultivation becoming much more twiggy, with interrupted 

 racemes of flowers. The latter are of bright but purple 

 violet ; with a yellow spot in the centre of the vexillum. 



The accompanying drawing was made in the Nursery of 

 Messrs. Loddiges in March last. Fig. 1. represents a section 

 of the ovary, shewing the number of the ovules. 



There appears to be little difference between this and 

 M. floribunda, except in the very short lucid retuse leaves, 

 deeper flowers, and more hairy calyxes and branches of the 

 latter j which is a Swan River shrub, of greater beauty than 

 this. 



This shrub, grows more freely than many of the genus to 

 which it belongs, and requires, like most of the less robust 

 plants belonging to Australia, to be grown in a light sandy 

 soil which is rather poor and well drained j for if the soil is 



