530 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM, PART III. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves ovate-elliptical, or lanceo- 

 late, coriaceous, quite smooth, serrated. Flowers 

 dioecious, disposed in short racemes. (Dons 

 Mill., ii. p. 30.) An evergreen shrub, a native 

 of the south of Europe and the north of Africa; 

 in cultivation, in England, from the days of Par- 

 kinson, in 1629. There are several varieties. 



• R. A. 2 baleurica Hort. Par. The Balearic 



Alaterniis. — Leaves roundish. The /?ham- 

 nus rotundifolius of Duniont. We take 

 this as the first variet}-, assuming the 

 species to be what is called R. A. lati- 

 folius, which is the commonest variety in 

 British nurseries. 



• R. A. 3 hlspanica Hort. Par. The Spaniah Alaterniis. — Leaves 



ovate, a little toothed. 

 m R. A. i foliis maciildtis. The go\d-blotched-leaved Alatenms. 



• R. A. 5 folihs aureis- The gold-edged-leaved Alater7nis. 



• R. A. 6 foliis argenteis. The silver-edged-leaved Alaterniis. — This 



variety, which is very conspicuous from the large proportion of 

 the leaves which is white, is more tender than some of the other 

 varieties, it generally does best against a wall, and is well worth 

 a place there, on account of its splendid appearance, especially in 

 winter. 

 R . A. 7 angmtifolia, synon. R. Clusii Willd. The narrow-leaved 

 Alaterniis. — Figured in Mill. Icon., t. 16. fig. 2. This variety is so dis- 

 tinct, that it is l)y many authors considered as a species. There 

 are two subvarieties of it, the gold-striped-leaved, and the silver- 

 striped-leaved. The}' are all of remarkably free growth, more 

 especially R. A. angustifolia. 



Geographi/, History, Sfc. The alaternus is a densely branched shrub, growing 

 to the height of loft, or 20 ft. in sheltered situations, but always preserving 

 the character of a bush, unless carefully trained to a single stem. The leaves 

 are alternate, shining, and often glandular at the base, and serrated in some 

 varieties, but entire in others. The flowers are numerous, male or female, or 

 imperfect hermaphrodites, on the same or different individuals ; and hence 

 the plant is seldom seen in England bearing fruit. It is abundant in the south 

 of Europe, and was observed by Sir James Smith, in Italy, sometimes only a 

 foot or two in height, and at others as high as a low tree. Evelyn, also, 

 observed it there; and says that its blossoms, which are produced from April 

 to June, afford an " early and marvellous relief to bees." Evelyn boasts that 

 he was the first who brought the alaternus into use and reputation in Eng- 

 land, and that he had propagated it from Cornwall to Cumberland. Parkin- 

 son, however, first introduced it; and he commends it for the beauty and 

 verdure of the leaves, "abiding quite fresh all the year." In his time it 

 was called evergreen privet. The plant is mentioned by Pliny and by Dios- 

 corides, both as medicinal and as being used in dyeing. Clusius states tliat in 

 Portugal the bark is used to dye a red, and the wood to dye a blackish blue. 

 In British gardens, this shrub is particularly valuable for the rapidity of its 

 growth in almost any soil and situation, more especially the narrow-leaved 

 variety. About the end of the seventeenth century, it was one of the few 

 evergreens generally planted, not only for hedges and to conceal objects, but 

 to clothe walls, and to be clipped into artificial shapes. In London and Wise's 

 Retired Gardener, published in 1706, it is recommended to grow the alaternus 

 in cases (boxes), for ornamenting gardens and court-yards; and, when clipped 

 into the form of a bowl or ball, for placing in the borders of parterres. 

 " You give it what shape you think fit by the help of your shears, which, being 

 well guided, will make this shrub of a very agreeable figure." {Ret. Gard., 



