IRISH GARDENING. 



23 



Notes* 



Prunus Pissardii. 



Tins is the commonest name of a pretty early 

 flowering tree which should properly be called 

 Prunus cerasifera atropurpurea. There seems 

 little likelihood of the popular name being dis- 

 carded at present, and so we retain it at the 

 head of this note. 



It is one of the earliest of the plums to come 

 into flower, and our illustration is of a fine 

 specimen which flowered in February, 1918, in 

 the grounds of Eoebuck Castle, the residence of 

 Mr. Westby. 



Few of our flowering trees give a greater 

 wealth of bloom in a good season and few have 

 greater claims on the attention of planters. 

 The leaves, appearing just when the flowers are 

 fading, beconae a rich bronze colour, and even 

 without the flowers provide an effective bit of 

 colour throughout the summer and autumn. 

 This small tree may be put to good use when 

 planting for colour effect is carried out ; a group, 

 in contrast with green-leaved trees, is always 

 effective, while there is the additonal charm of 

 the flowers in early spring. X. 



The Oso Berry. 



NUTT.VLLI.V CkrASIFORMIS. 



Tins interesting early flowering shrub is a 

 native of California, and was introduced in 

 1848, and grows to a height of 8 feet or more, 

 pi'oducing numerous branches from the base. 

 Tlie flowers, borne on the leafless twigs, are 

 ])i'oduced in short racemes, are pure white, 

 and have a faint hawthorn-like scent. 



The male and female flowers are usually pro- 

 duced on separate plants, the latter being the 

 moi'e floriferous. \A'hen ])lants of different 

 sexes are grouped together fi'uits are produced ; 

 the fruits are something like very small 

 damsons, at first red, then turning purple. 

 One bush in the Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin, 

 far removed from any other, occasionally bears 

 fruits. When the flowers are just opening, 

 longish shoots cut and brought into a room 

 make a useful winter decoration when arranged 

 with some evergreens such as " Mahonia." 



J. \Y. B. 



Alnus incana ramulis coccineis. 



This is an excellent tree to plant for winter 

 effect. The young shoots are of a wami, 

 reddish colour, and if not quite so conspicuous 

 at a distance as some of the willows, it is never- 

 theless quite attractive when suitably placed. 



Just at present it is well furnished with the 

 male catkins, which are of the same colour as 

 the young shoots and, dangling from the 

 branches, give the whole tree a most pictur- 

 esque appearance. 



Lithospermum rosmarinifolium. 



The note on Lithospermum (page 178) does 

 not do full justice to this plant, which is much 

 hardier than supposed, and if planted on a 

 sunny rockwoi'k, with perfect drainage and 

 protected by a piece of glass from excessive 

 rain, is the most free flowering and attractive 

 rock plant in the month of November, when no 

 other plant of its type is in perfection. 



As, however, it is liable to die off in severe 

 winters, it should be propagated by cuttings, 

 and the plants renewed when they become 



it has also the virtue of growing on soil 

 which contains too much lime for L. pros- 



^'■='t""^- H. J. Elwks. 



Colesbo)'ne. 



The Gromwells. 



Ix " Alpine's " note upon the charming genus 

 Lithospermum (page 178) he draws a distinction 

 between JMoltkia petroea and Lithospermum 

 rosmarini folium, which I have hitherto followed 

 Mr. G. Weathers in regarding as synonyms for 

 a single species. I should be grateful for infor- 

 mation whether authorities differ on this point. 

 We have grown Moltkia petroea on a retaining 

 wall for many years. It is one of the loveliest 

 of Gromwells, more compact than L. gi'amini- 

 folium, but equally profuse in bloom. 



Monreith. Hkkdeht M.\xwell. 



Mohkia petraea- 



MoLTKi.v petraea is quite distinct from Litho- 

 spermum rosmarinifolium. Botanically they 

 diffei', inasmuch as Moltkia has exserted 

 stamens — that is, they are longer than the 

 corolla, while in Lithospermum they are in- 

 cluded, or shoi'ter than the corolla. 



Moltkia petraea forms a woody, low shrub, 

 with narrow leaves densely furnished with for- 

 ward pointing hairs on both surfaces, giving the 

 plant a grey appearance, while the flowers, pro- 

 duced in clusters at the ends of the young 

 shoots, are small and of a light blue colour. 



L. rosmarinifolium has broader leaves, less 

 hairy, while the flowers are large and open, of 

 a deeper blue, and borne in fewer flowered 

 clusters, and solitary flowers are often pro- 

 duced in the axils of the leaves below the point. 



Moltkia petraea is figured in the Botanical 

 Magazine, t. 59-12, and L. rosmai'inifolium in 

 Flora Italiana, page 329. 



