An Encyclopedia of Horticulture. 



Abutilon — continued. 



rose, of good size and substance, habit dwarf and very free ; Lat>y 

 OF THE Lake,* flowers medium sized, rich pink ; Louis Marignac, 

 pale pink, veined white, splendid habit, .1 charming variety : 

 PRiiNCESS Marie,!* flowers rich losy lake, very profuse, of 

 excellent form ; Ros.EFLORUM.t* pale salmon rose, veined with 

 crimson. 



Wmte-flowered. Boule de Niege,!* very fine pure white flowers, 

 the best in its cl.ass ; Purity,* very free, of good habit, and pure 

 white ; Seraph,* dwarf, and very floriferous. 



Fig. 3. Flower of Adutilon i.\sig.\e. 



Vellow-flowered. Canary Bird,** similar in habit to Boule de 

 Niege, bright primrose, very lovely; C'oukun.ne d'OR,* bright 

 yellow, of the finest form and substance, very bold foliage ; 

 UOLDEN Gem, rich canary yellow, extremely free, of dwarf habit ; 

 LEMOiNEi,t very fine, pale yellow, good size ; Queen of the 

 Yellows,* very large, lemon yellow, good substance ; Yellow 

 Pri.n'CE,* rich golden yellow, of medium size, very profuse. 



ABTSSINIAN FKIMROSE. A common name 

 for Primula Boveana (which see). 



ACACIA (from ac, a point, in Celtic ; or from aliazu. 

 to sharpen ; many of the species are furni.shed with 

 spines). See also Albizzia. Ord. Legnminoi^cv. Shrubs or 

 trees, very variable in habit and leaves. Flowers yeDow, 

 white, rarely red, disposed in globular heads or spikes, 

 decandrous or polyanclrous. Spines stipular, scattered, or 

 wanting. This is a very polymorphous genus, and the 

 majority of species described are known in this country 

 only from herbarium specimens. It is very doubtful 

 whether the entire genus is represented in our gardens 

 by more than about fifty species, many of which are only 

 to be found in botanic gardens ; but this number is. 

 without doubt, sufficiently characteristic. The num- 

 ber of species is close upon 400, and the genus one 

 of the largest known. In oui' enumeration, we have 

 strictly confined ourselves to describing such as are un- 

 questionably in cultivation, and to this end we have adopted 

 the only accurate method of deciding which are and which 

 are not grown, viz., by consulting the trade lists of nursery- 

 men, both in this country and on the Continent. Such 

 lists, however, are not always correct, from a scientific 

 point of view, in the matter of nomenclature. The 

 species best deserving of cultivation are all natives of 

 Australia, New Soutli Wales, or other temperate regions, 

 and are among the hardiest and most easily cultivated of 

 all greenhouse plants. They are very floriferous. The 

 greenhouse species are sufficiently hardy to withstand the 

 winter in a temperature very little higher than freezing 

 point. Cultivation ; Some have a tendency to make long 



Acacia — continued. 

 straight shoots ; these should be selected for training upon 

 rafters or pillars, on which they tlu'ive well and form 

 splendid ornaments in spring ; wliilst the more shrubby 

 kinds will be equally at home in pots in the form of bushes. 

 Roots and tops grow with great rapidity, and an abundance 

 of water is required at all times. Immediately after flower- 

 ing (usually about May) is the best time to prune Acacias ; 

 they may then be placed in the open air, and fully ex- 

 posed to the sun, until October. They make a far healthier, 

 cleaner growth, and ripen their wood much better outside 

 than under glass ; all they require is copious waterings, 

 never allowing them to become dry, and keeping clear of 

 weeds. In the first week in October house the plants, and 

 winter in a temperature of 40deg. to .50deg. They delight 

 in a light rich compost of equal parts turfy loam and leaf 

 mould, freely intermixed with sand, or peat may be used 

 instead of the leaf mould. Propagation : Cuttings of the 

 half-ripened wood, put in with a heel, root readily during 

 the summer. They do not bear heat well, nor do they 

 require it. The soil should be equal parts peat and sand, 

 covered with pure sand, thoroughly consolidated. Insert 

 the cuttings as soon as made ; water home, and leave them 

 in the shade till dry. Then place the bell glasses over 

 them, shade and water so as to prevent flagging. Pot off 

 as soon as rooted, and keep in a close pit or house until 

 the plants are thoroughly established. Seeds should be 

 sown as soon as ripe, in sandy peat ; about jin. deep, or 

 a little more, for large seeds. A temperature of 55deg. 

 to 60deg. suits them well. Pot off when large enough 

 to handle, and place in a cool close pit or house until quite 

 established. The culture and propagation of the stove 

 species are the same as for the greenhouse sorts, but the 

 former require, of course, greater heat. Their flowers, how- 

 ever, are much less frequently produced than their more 

 temperate congeners, consequently they are not so much 

 gromi. 



A. affinls.* Jl. yellow. May. h. 5ft. New Holland, 1822. Green- 

 house species. 



A. albicans (whitish).* fl. white ; heads, two to five, aggi'egate, 

 rising in racemes from the axils to the leaves. L with eight to 

 nine pairs of pinna?, each pinna bearing nineteen to twenty-two 

 pairs of oblong linear-leaflets, h. 5ft. Swan River. 



A. amoena (pleasing). This closely resembles A. heterophylla. 



A. angustifolia (narrow-leaved), jl. yellow, in heads two to 

 four tdgether, pedunculate. April. I. witli fifteen to twenty 

 pairs of pinuip. eacli pinna bearing thirty to forty pairs of linear- 

 acute, ciliated leaflets, h. 4ft. New South Wales, 1816. One of 

 the numerous varieties of A. longifolia. 



A. arabica (Arabian).* Gum Arabic, fl. white ; heads pedunculate, 

 axillary, usually in threes. I. with four to six pairs of pinnae, 

 each pinna bearing ten to twenty pairs of oblong-linear leaflets. 

 h. 20ft. Arabia, East Indies, &c., 1820. Greenhouse species. 

 See Fig. 4. 



A. argyrophylla (silver-leaved). A synonym of A. brachybotrya. 



A. armata (armed, simple leaved).* jl. yellow, in solitary globular 

 heads. April. I. phyllodia obliquely ovate-oblong, quite entire, 

 one-nerved. /;. 6ft. to 10ft. Australia, 1803. 



A. Benthami (Bentham's). A synonym of A. cochlcaris. 



A. brachybotrya (short-hunched).* fl. yellow, in axillary stalked 

 ghibulav heads. April. (. phyllodia silvery silky, obliquely 

 obovate, or oblong, h. 8ft. Swan River. Syn. A. argyrophylla. 



A. Catechu (catechu), fl. yellow ; spikes cylindrical, solitary, 

 twin, or tern, axillary. March. I. with ten pairs of pinnK, each 

 of which bears forty to fifty pairs of linear pubescent leaflets, 

 ft. 20ft. to 40ft. East Indies, 1790. 



A. cavenia (Cavenia).* fl. yellow, disposed in globose heads, 

 peduncles, axillary, aggregate. I. with usually about five pairs 

 iif pinn:p. each of which bears nine to ten pairs of linear-oblong 

 leaflets, clothed with scabrous pubescence, ft. 20ft. Chili. Green- 

 house species. 



A, cochlearis (spoon-leaved), fl. yellow, in solitary globlilar 

 heads. April. I. phyllodia linear lanceolate, many-nerved at the 

 base, quite entire, nmcronate. h. 4ft. West Australia, 1818. 

 Syn. a. Benthami. 



A. cultriformis (knife-formed).* fl. yellow, in crowded heads, 

 disposed in either axillary or terminal racemes. April. I. phyl- 

 lodia eight to ten lines long, four lines broad, cultriform, ending 

 in an acute hooked point, which bears to one side. h. 4ft. New 

 South Wales, 1820. 



A. cuneata (wedge-shaped).* fl. yellow. April. Swan River, 1837. 

 Greenhouse species. 



