IRISH c^\i<1)i:nino 



[AVCARY 



mantle of ijreen, criinson-vciiKd Icavos, aiul 

 producing' Ireoly sprays of while llowtis. 



/*. lomfHUfiim l)alls tVom Japan, and is oik- ot 

 the best of tiKMntcrmcdiato j^rowois. icachini; a 

 heijrht oi :^ feet. Ihe daik-^reen leaves are 

 moderately lar^'e. and tlie sprays ol uliitc 

 flowers are extremely pretty. 



P. nts/in/ii/tim, a rather well-known Japanese 

 species, is one of the j^nants oi the i^enus, often 

 reachin},- «j feet in heii^ht. It is a rampant 

 jfrower, and should be aecordi-d a position 

 where it may spread without doiui; h.irni, 

 otherwise trouble ensues. By the waler-side 

 it finds a coui^enial home, aiul piodiues lonj^. 

 ijraceful stems, clothed willi ample i^rceii 

 leaves, and producini,-- pendant tealiicry jMiiicles 

 o( creamy white llowers. 



I\ tilifonnc, also a native o\ Japan, is Ixst 

 known by its varici^aled form, a beaulilul 

 plant, produciuij shoots some 4 feet in heii;ht, 

 and lari,'-e oval leaves, prettily mottled ijreen 

 and yellow. 



/-*. /(inline nun, a tropical species, is not hard\ , 

 but is so distinct and beautiful as to be well 

 worth g-rowinj,'- for the summer i^arden. The 

 stout stems will ijrow to a height of 6 feet and 

 over, and bear enormous silvery white lea\ es, 

 which have a fine effect when the plants are 

 g-rouped or massed in association with tlu 

 other occupants of the g-arden. The roots ma\ 

 be lifted and kept in a frame through the winter. 



P. molle, a compact habited plant from the 

 Himalayas, is somewhat in the way of the 

 Japanese P. compactiim. It g-rows about a } ard 

 high and bears panicles of white flowers in Jul)-. 



P. multifloniin, from China and Japan, is a 

 rapid-g-rowing climber, attaining- a heig-ht oS. 15 

 feet. The stems are reddish, producing- rather 

 pretty medium-sized leaves, from the axils of 

 which arise panicles of white flow'ers. 



P. polys/dchvunt, another Himalayan species, 

 makes a very fine bed, and is a useful border 

 plant. It g-rows 5 or 6 feet high, and bears 

 pink flowers in sprays. 



P. siichaliiicnsc, introduced from the Sachalin 

 Islands in 1S69, is in many respects similar to 

 P. ciispidiita, but assumes even more gigantic 

 proportions, reaching occasionally a height o'i 

 \2. feet. The stems are stout and angular, in 

 which latter respect it differs from /-*. ciispiila- 

 luni, and the flowers are not so white. There 

 are two forms of P. sachaliucnsc, one bearing 

 pistillate flowers and the other staminate, the 



1. liter being sonielime^ olleied as /'. such, iiuis- 

 ciild. This is a line s|iecies for nal uralising by 

 the lake siile ami in the uoodlaml. 



/'. splfcrostachyuin, from I lie Himalayas,. 

 onl\- grows about cj inches high, but is one of 

 the loveliest members ot the genus. The lea\es 

 are l;inceolate, 4-5 inches long, and slightly 

 \\.-i\ s , while the blood-red sjiikes ot flowers are 

 ol surpassing beaut \-. .\ moist l">ut well- 

 drained position about the rock-gartlen is the 

 best place for this really fine plant. 



P.vticcinii/o/imn^ again a Himalayan plant, is 

 hardly less beautiful than the preceding, and is 

 much easier to g-row . The rather small vac- 

 ciiiium-like leaves form a dense carpet, froiii 

 which arise a profusion of spikes of bright rose- 

 coloured flowers produced over a long period. 

 The accompanying illustration, taken by Mr. 

 C". V. Ball in the nurseries of Mr. Thomas 

 Smith, Newry, gives a good idea o'i the freedom 

 and beauty of P. vacciniifoluivi. 



P. vivipaniDi, the Alpine Bistort, is recorded 

 from mountain pastures in Britain, and bears 

 pretty spikes of pink flowers. A curious feature 

 o\' this species is the occurrence of small tubers 

 or bulbils in the axils of bracts instead of flowers ; 

 in some cases half a spike will be composed 

 o'i flowers and the other half of bulbils. These 

 bulbils offer a ready means of propagation. 



The above species comprise the best of an 

 interesting set ot plants, among which will be 



A Remark-able Plant. 



Mr. II. II. W. Pe.VRSON' is g-iviiig- an interesting- serii-s 

 of urliclo.s in ihe Gardeners' Chronicle on a botanii-al 

 journey in South East Africa, made in connection with 

 tiie Percy Haclen memorial expedition, 1908-9. In the 

 first of the series an account of the vegetation of Bush- 

 manland is given, and among the remarkable plants 

 inhabiting this arid region is a gaunt-looking, pillar- 

 like apocynaceous succulent belonging to the genus 

 Pachypodium, P. nauiaguamtm. It is popularly known 

 as Elephant's Trunk. The stout, fleshy stem emerges 

 from rocks which daily become so heated in the sun 

 that a thick-soled boot is quite inadequate as a protec- 

 tion, and the nails therein become so much enlarged 

 that as soon as they cool down they fall out. The 

 inner tissues store an enormous quantity of water, and 

 the development of hard- walled cells is so slight that 

 the wliole mass can be cut through with the greatest 

 ease by a pocket knife. The large 3-ellovv flowers 

 occur in June among the lower of the leaves that crown 

 the stem. The accompanying illustration is copied from 

 part of a large, full-page illustration in the Chronicle. 



