662 



TWO bEAUTIFUL NEW PLANTS. 



Fig. 60. — iMdy LarpenCs Leadwort. 



found this exquisite Leadwort growing out 

 of an old wall near Shanghai ; and it is 

 described as one of the most ornamental 

 plants in all China. As the climate of 

 Shanghai is not unlike that of Philadel- 

 phia, — the thermometer falling as low there 

 in winter as 13=" in February, and rising 

 as high as 110° in August; and as this 

 plant is found growing along with the 

 Wistaria sinensis and the Wiegela rosea, 

 both of which have proved perfectly hardy 

 in this country, we cannot doubt that it will 

 be found to stand our winters in the mid- 

 dle states without protection. 



As our hot siimmers so much more 

 nearly resemble those of China than the 

 English summers do, and as this plant 

 likes a dry sunny exposure, it will be more 



likely to thrive and bloom abundantly here 

 than in England. 



We imagine Lady Larpent's Leadworl 

 will prove a superb addition to our list of 

 plants for "bedding out," as it extends it- 

 self near the surface of the ground, and is 

 so prolific of blossoms, that a single plant 

 last year, in the possession of Messrs. 

 Knight and Perry, English florists, bore, 

 in the month of October last, 4,000 flowers ! 



It of course requires a dry warm soil. 

 The stems are numerous, slender, and a 

 little wavy, or zig-zag, in their growth. 

 The leaves are obovate, narrow at the base, 

 and finely serrated and fringed along the 

 edges. The floAver is of an exquisite blue, 

 with a reddish or violet throat, and is borne 

 in dense terminal or axillary heads. The 



