LESCHENAULTTA. 



1S3 



LESCHENAULTIA. 



Pea ; some of them have pea-flowers, 

 and others have tassel-like flowers, 

 like those of the Acacias. 



Leiopht'llum. — Another name 

 for Ledum haxifolium. 



Le'mx A. — Duckweed. 



Lemox. — See Ci'trus. 



Leono'tis, — Labidtce. — Lion's- 

 ear. — Shrubby plants, from the Cape 

 of Good Hope, with scarlet or orange 

 flowers, which are produced in 

 whorls round the joints of the 

 stems. The flowers are produced in 

 autumn, and the plants require a 

 light rich soil. 



Leopard's Bane.— See Doro'ni- 



CUM. 



Leperiza. — Amarylliddcece. — 

 A very handsome South American 

 bulb, nearly allied to Pancratium, 

 but with yellow flowers tipped with 

 green. The plant requires a green- 

 house. 



Leptoda'ctylon. — Polemonld- 

 cecE. — A Calif omian shrub nearly 

 allied to Gilia and quite hardy in 

 British Gardens. Its flowers are 

 pink, and they are produced in such 

 great profusion, as frequently quite 

 to conceal the leaves and branches. 



Leptosi^phox. — Polemonidcece.-- 

 Pretty Californian annuals, now 

 nnited to Gilia, which will bear a 

 moderate degree of cold better than 

 too much heat. — For their culture, 1 

 see Annuals. I 



Leptospe'rmum:. — Myrtacece. — I 

 Very pretty Australian half-hardy I 

 shrubs, with white flowers, which j 

 are generally kept in a greenhouse 

 in England, but which may be 

 grown in the open air, with a slight ' 

 protection during winter. They ' 

 require a sandy loam, mixed with 

 peat in nearly equal quantities ; and 

 they are generally propagated by 

 cuttings, as the plants which are 

 raised from seed are a long time | 

 before they flower. | 



Leschenau'ltia. — GoodenovicB. \ 



— The two best known species of 

 this genus are both natives of New 

 Holland, and both conspicuous for 

 the great abundance of their dark 

 scarlet flowers. L. formosa is very 

 common in windows, greenhouses, 

 and small balconies ; but though it 

 is so general a favourite, few people 

 can keep it long. The fact is, that 

 though it does not belong to the 

 same natural order as the Heath, it 

 very much resembles it in habit, and 

 is even more easily killed. The 

 Leschenau'ltia should be grown in 

 heath -mould mixed with a little 

 loam, and treated exactly like a 

 Heath ; that is, never suffered to 

 become too dry, and never saturated 

 with water. It should be potted 

 high, so as to leave the collar above 

 the mould in the centre of the pot : 

 and when kept in a balcony, the pot 

 in which it grows should be placed 

 within another pot, so that the roots 

 may not be injured by the outside 

 of the pot becoming heated by the 

 sun. The most impoi*tant point, 

 however, is to allow the plant 

 plenty of air, as it will not live 

 without abundance of both air and 

 light. L. Baxter i is a very beautiful 

 variety of the old species, as the 

 flowers are much larger and more 

 brilliant, but it requires the same 

 treatment. It was once supposed 

 that the flowers of all the species of 

 the Leschenaultia were of a bright 

 scarlet ; but this is found to be a 

 mistake. In 1842, L. hiloha, a blue- 

 flowered Leschenaultia, was intro- 

 duced from the Swan River, and 

 since that period several other j 

 species have been introduced ; one \ 

 of which, L. arcuata, has flowers 

 with three large yellow segments, 

 and the other two of a dark purple 

 or crimson. It is a prostrate green- 

 house plant, with the branches 

 spreading and curved downwards, 

 and very large flowers . L. splen dens 



