CERASUS. 



0< 



CERCIS. 



on a hotbed and ijlanted out in May. 

 C. henedicta L., Ciucus benedictus 

 Dec, , the Blessed Thistle, is a hardy 

 annual, which maybe aovni in March 

 or April, and v/ill flower all the sum- 

 mer ; and 0. suaveolens and C. 

 moschata L., the yellow and purple 

 Sweet Sultans, have been formed into 

 the genus Amberboa by Professor de 

 Candolle. 



Centaury. — A British plant 

 with clusters of small pink flowers, 

 growing in chalky soils, the bota- 

 nical name of Avhich is Erythrje'a 

 Centaiirium. 



Cephae^lis. — Ruhiacece. — See 

 Ipecacua'nha. — This plant is in- 

 teresting from its producing the 

 medicine called Ipecacuanha; though 

 it has been long known in medicine, 

 and large quantities of it have been 

 imported every year from Brazil, it 

 has only lately been introduced into 

 England, having flowered for the 

 first time in this country in the 

 stove at Kew, in January, 1843. 

 The word Ipecacuanha is derived 

 from "/pe (bark), caa (plant), cua 

 (scented), and nlia (striped) ; thus 

 forming the words ' hark of a 

 scented and striped plant.'' " 



Ce'rasus. — Rosacea;. — The 

 Cherry. — Hardy trees and shrubs, 

 for the most part deciduous, and 

 all more or less ornamental on 

 account of their flowers. The com- 

 mon double Cherry, and the French 

 double Cherry, deserve a place in 

 every garden ; and equally so do 

 the Chinese Cherry, C. Pseudo- 

 cerasus ; the All-Saints' Cherry, 

 C. semperflorens ; the Bird Cherry, 

 C. Padus ; the Yirginian Bird 

 Cherry, C. virginiana ; the Maha- 

 leb Plum or Cherry, C. Mahaleh ; 

 and the Japan Cherry, C. japoiiica, 

 known in the nurseries as the double 

 Dwarf Almond. Many of the plants 

 here enumerated are known at some 

 of the nurseries by the name of 



Prunus : as P. Mahaleh, P. Pddus, 

 &c. ; but in others they are called 

 Cerasus. It is necessary to know 

 this to avoid bujdng the same plant 

 under different names. All the 

 species grow in common soil, and 

 are propagated by grafting or seeds. 

 The common Laurel, Cerasus Lauro- 

 cerasus, and the Portugal Laurel, | 

 Cerasus lusitdnica, which also be- 

 long to this genus, have showy 

 spikes of flowers, and deserve cul- 

 ture on that account, indepen- 

 dently of their shining evergreen 

 leaves. 



Cerato'nta. — Leguminbsce. — 



An evergreen greenhouse shrub, a 



native of the South of Europe and 



Asia. The pod is fleshy, like that 



of the Tamarind, and it is said to 



have been the food St. John fed on 



in the Wilderness, the seeds being 



called "locusts," and the pulp 



"wild honey." Hence the popular 



name of St. John's Bread. It is 



also called the Carob-tree. The 



tree is of very slow growth, and 



the flowers have no beauty ; but the 



plant is worth cultivation for its 



I dark-green leathery leaves. It 



; should be grown in a mixture of 



I equal parts of loam and peat, well- 



; drained and frequently watered ; 



and it is propagated by cuttings of 



the old wood struck in sand. 



Cerato'stema. — Vacchiece. — A 

 I showy plant ■v\nth large, tubular, 

 i scarlet flowers ; a native of the 

 j Andes of Peru, at a height of twelve 

 I thousand feet above the level of 

 j the sea, and consequently very^ 

 I nearly hardy. It was introduced 

 i in 1854. 



I Ce'rcis. — Leguminbsce. — The 

 Judas-tree. — Few trees are more 

 j ornamental in a shrubbery than the 

 ! two species of this genus : but Cer- 

 I CIS S'diqudstrum, the common kind, 

 I is decidedly the handsomest. The 

 I leaves are curiously shaped, and 



