THE FLORA r. WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 257 



THE FAIRY ORANGE MOSS. 



{With Coloured Illustration of Xertera depreua.) 



[HE charming little plant which we have ventured to call 

 the Fair}- Orange Moss, and which has been named bv 

 Banks {Gcertnjr. I., p. 121) Xertera depressa, has become 

 such a general favourite that many of our readers, we 

 feel assured, will be pleased to see its portrait, accom- 

 panied with a few words on its history and cultivation. 



Xertera depressa Las been described as a duckweed, but it is a 

 member of the natural order Rubiacese, an order in which is com- 

 prised many genera that enjoy high fame in gardens, as, for ex- 

 ample, musstenda, cyrtanthus, gardenia, cinchona, luculia, bouvardia, 

 rondeletia, and many more good things. The plant is quite 

 worthy of such respectable relationships, and is likely to become 

 one of the most popular of the important order to which it 

 belongs. 



Though nearly hardy, the Orange Moss requires peculiar treat- 

 ment. It is a native of the bleak, cold Antarctic mountains through- 

 out the Southern hemisphere, and consequently has a good consti- 

 tution ; but it is only in kind climates that it may be considered a 

 proper subject for planting on an outdoor rockery. Its proper place 

 during winter is in a cool house or frame, where it must be kept 

 near the glass, and have plenty of air ; but from June to September 

 it should be planted or plunged in the open border, both for the ripen- 

 ing of the fruit and to maintain the plant in perfect health. This 

 mode of procedure, renders it the more useful, for it may be grown 

 in quantities for employment in carpet bedding, and, indeed, it is one 

 of the most charming bedding plants in the world when densely 

 covered with its tiny orange-coloured fruit. For the drawing-room 

 table, also, it is invaluable, and endures without harm the confine- 

 ment for a ie^ hours, during which time it may be protected from the 

 drying efiect of heated air, and also from dust by covering it with a 

 bell-glass. 



The figure, for which we are indebted to " Flore des Serres," t. 

 2167, represents the plant most faithfully. The growth is dense and 

 tufted, the leaves are thick in texture, closely packed and moss-like. 

 The flowers, which appear in May, are of a yellow-green colour, and 

 altogether unattractive ; but the globose fruit follows, and then the 

 plant is marvellously pretty. It is like a tuft of moss besprinkled with 

 miniature oranges, hence, for the sake of our lady friends, who tell 

 us that Xertera depressa is hard to pronounce and impossible to 

 remember, we have named it as at the bead of this article. 



Staxdish Memorial. — It is proposed to commemorate the public labours and 

 private virtues of the late Mr. John Standisb by means of a memorial, for which 

 subscriptions of 21s. each are invited by Mr. H. J. Teitch, Eoyal Exotic Nurseries, 

 Chelsea. 



September. ^ ' 



