PHOBMIUM. 



235 



PHTSIANTHUS. 



flower-beds or growing in pots. When 

 raised from seeds, this species should 

 he treated like a tender annual ; and 

 after being raised in a hotbed in 

 February or March, it should be 

 turned out in the open ground about 

 the middle of !May ; or it may be 

 sown in April or May in the open 

 ground. In fine seasons it ripens 

 seeds ; but where it does not it may 

 be preserved through the winter by 

 striking cuttings in autumn, and 

 preserving them in pots placed on 

 the front shelf of a greenhouse or 

 in a frame. The varieties vary from 

 purple to light-rose, and generally 

 come true from seed. On the whole, 

 the genus Phlox is one of the most 

 beautiful of herbaceous plants, and 

 a garden ought to be no more with- 

 out some of the species than it ought 

 to be without Roses or bulbs. 



Phce'nix. — Pdlmce. — P. dacti/- 

 l if era, the Date Palm, is a well- 

 known stove-plant, which should be 

 gro'wn in a sandy loam. Yoimg 

 plants may be raised from the stones 

 of the dates sold in the shops, and 

 if kept in sufficient heat they will 

 grow fi-eely ; though the trees must 

 be of considerable age and size be- 

 fore they bear fruit. 



Pho'rmium. — Aspkodelece. — P. 

 tenax, the New Zealand Flax, is 

 a very singular plant, with large 

 bunches of orange flowers, and very 

 long, broad, lily-Hke leaves, the 

 fibres of which are so strong, that 

 they are used in New Zealand for 

 making baskets, and various other 

 articles, in their coarse state, and 

 in the same manner as flax for ma- 

 king sails, &c. In England the 

 plant is at present rare, but it may 

 be grown in a greenhouse in a very 

 rich sandy loam, frequently watered; 

 the principal objection to its culture 

 being the great size of its leaves, 

 which occupy too much space for it 

 to be grown in a small house. 



Photi'kta. — Rosacece. — A very 

 beautiful evergreen shrub or low tree 

 formerly called Cvatce^gus glabra, 

 which is nearly hardy, but thrives 

 best when trained against a wall in 

 a sheltered situation. The soil should 

 be sandy loam, and the plants are 

 ' propagated sometimes by cuttings 

 of the ripened wood, but more fre- 

 quently by grafting or inarching on 

 some of the hardy kinds of Cra- 

 ta^'gus. 



Phygelius. — Scrophularia^ece. 

 — A splendid suflruticose plant 

 from the Cape, somewhat resem- 

 bling a Pentstemon, with bright scar- 

 let flowers. It flowers in the open 

 ground, but will probably require a 

 gi'eenhouse in winter. 



Pht'lica. — RhamnacecE. — Pretty 

 little heath-like plants, natives of 

 the Cape of Good Hope, Avith narrow 

 leaves, and little terminal heads of 

 fragrant white flowers, which begin 

 to appear in autumn, and continue 

 during winter and early spring. 

 They are generally grown in a green- 

 house, and require the same treat- 

 ment as the Cape Heaths. 



Phy'salis. — SolanacecE. — The 



Winter Cherry. Dwarf, shrubby 



and herbaceous plants, with showy 



flowers. The fruit is a bright-red 



I berry in a bladdery calyx ; and when 



; the calyx has been macerated by 



j soaking it in water, it has a verj- 



I pretty efl'ect. Some of the species 



I are shrubby, but the greater part 



! are annual plants ; they are gene- 



, rally only half hardy, and they suc- 



i ceed best when grown in sandy 



I loam. 



Physia^nthus. — AsdepiddecB. — 

 A climbing plant from Mexico, which 

 has proved hardy in the London 

 Horticultural Society's garden. It 

 has small whitish flowers, and very 

 large and handsome fleshy seed-ves- 

 sels, which look like oval gourds, 

 and which, when opened, are found 



