530 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
Spec. Char., §c. Leaves ovate-elliptical, or lanceo- 
late, coriaceous, quite smooth, serrated. Flowers 
dieecious, disposed in short racemes, (Don’s 
Mill., ii. p. 30.) An evergreen shrub, a native 
of the south of Europe and the north of Africa ; 
in cultivation, in England, from the days of Par- 
kinson, in 1629. There are several varieties. 
@ R. A. 2 baledrica Hort. Par. The Balearic 
Alaternus.—Leaves roundish. The Rham- _ 
nus rotundifolius of Dumont. We take # 
this as the first variety, assuming the 
species to be what is called R. A. lati- 
folius, which is the commonest variety in 
British nurseries. 
# R. A. 3 hispanica Hort. Par. The Spanish Alaternus. — Leaves 
ovate, a little toothed. 
« R.A. 4 foliis maculatis. The gold-blotched-leaved Alaternus. 
# R.A. 5 foliis atireis. The gold-edged-leaved Alaternus. 
# R.A. 6 foliis argénteis. The silver-edged-leaved Alaternus. — This 
variety, which is very conspicuous from the large proportion of 
the leaves which is white, is more tender than some of the other 
varieties, it generally does best against a» wall, and is well worth 
a place there, on account of its splendid appearance, especially in 
winter. 
R.A.7 angustifolia, synon. R. Clusii Willd. The narrow-leaved 
Alaternus.—Figured in Mill. Icon., t.16. fig. 2. This variety is so dis- 
tinct, that it is by many authors considered as a species. There 
are two subvarieties of it, the gold-striped-leaved, and the silver- 
striped-leaved. They are all of remarkably free growth, more 
especially R. A. angustifolia. 

Geography, History, §c. The alaternus is a densely branched shrub, growing 
to the height of 15 ft. or 20 ft. in sheltered situations, but always preserving 
the character of a bush, unless carefully trained to a single stem. The leaves 
are alternate, shining, and often glandular at the base, and serrated in some 
varieties, but entire in others. The fiowers are numerous, male or female, or 
imperfect hermaphrodites, on the same or different individuals; and hence 
the plant isseldom seen in England bearing fruit. It is abundant in the south 
of Europe, and was observed by Sir James Smith, in Italy, sometimes only a 
foot or two in height, and at others as high as a low tree. Evelyn, also, 
observed it there; and says that its blossoms, which are produced from April 
to June, afford an “ early and marvellous relief to bees.” Evelyn boasts that 
he was the first who brought the alaternus into use and reputation in Eng- 
land, and that he had propagated it from Cornwall to Cumberland. Parkin- 
son, however, first introduced it; and he commends it for the beauty and 
verdure of the leaves, “abiding quite fresh all the year.” In his time it 
was called evergreen privet. The plant is mentioned by Pliny and by Dios- 
corides, both as medicinal and as being used in dyeing. Clusius states that in 
Portugal the bark is used to dye a red, and the wood to dye a blackish blue. 
In British gardens, this shrub is particularly valuable for the rapidity of its 
growth in almost any soil and situation, more especially the narrow-leaved 
variety. About the end of the seventeenth century, it was one of the few 
evergreens generally planted, not only for hedges and to conceal objects, but 
to clothe walls, and to be clipped into artificial shapes. In London and Wise’s 
Retired Gardener, published in 1706, it is recommended to grow the alaternus 
in cases (boxes), for ornamenting gardens and court-yards ; and, when clipped 
into the form of a bowl or ball, for placing in the borders of parterres. 
** You give it what shape you think fit by the help of your shears, which, being 
well guided, will make this shrub of a very agreeable figure.” (Ret. Gard., 
