146 nELIOPHILA AEABOIBES. 



will afford some idea of the mode in which the cotyledons are packed in 

 the genus Reliophila; with this difference, however, that in the latter, the 

 folds are hut three in number. 



A glance at our figure will show that the various features to which we 

 have adverted are found occurring in the R. Araboides. The four sepals are 

 uniform in size, the two which are opposite the solitary stamens being destitute 

 of the protuberance at their base so commonly seen in the Cross-worts. The 

 petals are remarkable for a small process which occurs on one side close to the 

 base, as shown in the sketch accompanying our figure, and the two single 

 stamens are also furnished with a tooth-like process covered with papilla ; in 

 H. trifida this tooth is apparently smooth. The pod of our present species 

 is of the ordinary siliquose form, but in some other species, notably amplexi- 

 caulis and pinnata, it is beaded or moniliform, as is seen in that of the common 

 radish. 



The Heliophila Araboides is of trailing habit, and much branched. Its 

 leaves, with the exception of the terminal ones, are deeply cleft into from 

 three to five lobes, and the whole plant is more or less hairy. The flowers 

 are produced at the extremities of the stem and lateral shoots, in heads 

 which ultimately elongate into racemes. They are of a pale but clear 

 pleasing blue, and are produced in abundance for a considerable period. On 

 our specimens they do not appear to expand before noon, but remain open 

 until a late hour of the evening, when they again close to re-open on the 

 following day. Like most of the Cape annuals it is but half hardy, and 

 requires to be raised on a hot bed ; though in warm dry localities it may 

 be raised in the open borders, if not sown before the end of April. It seems 

 to prefer a sandy loam containing a portion of leaf mould, or thoroughly decayed 

 manure, or in the absence of these, a little peat; but any goodi porous soil will be 

 sufficient after the seedlings have passed the early stages of their growth. "We 

 find the exposition is not very important, though it certainly succeeds best in a 

 warm sunny border, where it is most prolific of flowers. As the blossoms are 

 small it should be planted in masses, or it may be employed as an edging to plants 

 of larger growth ; it is also well suited for rock work. As a window plant, in 

 pots, it makes a neat, though not conspicuous appearance, affording a 

 pleasing contrast to the red and scarlet tints of the ubiquitous Geraniums and 

 Fuschias. 



There are a considerable number of species, all of them natives of the Cape of 

 Good Hope, and all requiring similar treatment, though Araboides is perhaps the 

 most ornamental. The E. trifida resembles in colour the species figured, but the 

 centre of the flower is white, and the leaves narrower, with finer segments. The 

 H. pilosa has been recently advertised as a new and distinct species, but we believe 



