BOUVAKMV ATJRANTIACA. lo3 



as well as most of the species, arc sometimes increased by short pieces of the roots, 

 in spring, which should be planted in pots of light soil, with the ends of the 

 cuttings exposed above the surface. If placed in a good cucumber frame, they will 

 soon make nice plants. As, however, most of the other species may be easily 

 increased by cuttings of the young shoots, we venture to recommend them in pre- 

 ference to triphylla. Any of them may be purchased for a shilling, or even less, 

 in some places. They will flourish most in the same description of soil as that 

 employed for Verbenas, and other bedding plants; but with proper precautions 

 against drought in summer, they will succeed in most soils, except those of a stiff 



clayey kind. . 



As window plants, they deserve especial attention, the abundance of their flowers, 

 and their neat habit, render them in our opinion extremely desirable. During 

 winter they require but little attention, as most of them lose their foliage, and 

 maybe kept dormant, like the Fuschia, Lemon-scented Verbena, and other window 

 plants. In spring, they should be pruned rather closely and repotted m fresh soil, 

 with a pot suited to the size of the plant. 



BotanicaUv, the genus Bouvardia is characterised by a four-parted calyx, with 

 intermediatc'teeth in some species, as shown in aurantiaca, our illustration ; corolla 

 tubular, from an inch to an inch and a half long, the mouth four-lobed ; stamens 

 four, included in the throat of the corolla, alternate with the lobes ; capsule inferior, 

 with a central depression externally, separating when ripe into two divisions, each 

 containing many seeds, furnished with a narrow wing or edge. 



Among many other interesting examples of the adaptation of the length of the 

 style and stigma to the position of the flower, so as to ensure fertilization, the 

 present genus may be cited as an illustration. 



In most of the species, the corolla is more or less erect ; in these the style, which 

 is terminated by a two-cleft stigma, does not exceed half the length of the tube ; 

 and the stigma is, therefore, below the stamens. In versicolor, fima, and aurantiaca, 

 the flowers are pendant ; and we find, therefore, that the style is elongated so 

 as to protrude from the mouth of the flower ; and by this change, it is brought 

 within reach of the pollen. As in all the plants of the Cinchonacea, stipules are 

 observable between the leaves of the Bouvardias, forming, by their partial union, 

 a kind of sheath round the stem. 



Although they have no known economical uses, the order to which they belong 

 is one of the most important in the vegetable kingdom ; furnishing the various 

 species of Cinchona, or Jesuit's Baric, from which the invaluable Quinines prepared; 

 the Ipecacuanha; and the Coffee plant, whose produce, if not more useful, is at all 

 events less unpalatable, and more generally welcomed. 



The genus, Bouvardia, was named in honour of Dr. Charles Bouvard, Curator of 

 1 lie Paris Botanic Garden. 



