1136 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART 111. 



6 in. to 1 ft. in height, and flowering in June and July. Pallas found it in 

 Kamtschatka, growing in the hollows at the foot of mountains, and 

 by the margins of stagnant pools. It is indigenous through the whole of 

 Siberia, from Lake Baical to the river Lena ; thriving equally on the tops 

 of mountains covered with snow, and in the peat bogs of the valley. It 

 was introduced in 1796, but is not common in collections, being very dif- 

 ficult to keep. The best plants, in the neighbourhood of London, arc at 

 the Knaphill Nm-sery, Woking, Surrey. Tiiis shrub has a place in ti>e British 

 materia medica, ami is frequently prescribed as a substitute for colch'cum, 

 in the cure of the gout and rheumatism. Its value as a medicine was first 

 discovered by (imeiiu and Steller, when travelling in Siberia, who inform us 

 that the Siberians have recourse to it in rheumatic and other affections of 

 the muscles and joints. The manner of using the plant by the Siberians is, 

 by i)Utting two drachms of the dried leaves in an earthen pot, with about 

 10 oz. of boiling water, and keeping it nearly at a boiling heat for a night : 

 this they take in the morning, and, by repeating the dose three or four times, 

 generally effect a cure. It is said to occasion heat, thirst, a degree of de- 

 lirium, and a peculiar sensation of the parts affected. i^WoodvUle.) 



7. R. CAf ca'sicum Pall. 



The Caucasian Rhododendron. 



LtKld. Cat., ed. 1S36. 



934 



Iiirnt'fication. Pall. FL Ross., 1. p. 4S L 30 ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 8+4. 

 Engraviti^s Bot. Mag., t 1146.; and oury?/,'. !».}i. 



Spec. Char., Sfc. Leaves ovate-oblong, clothed with 

 rusty tomentmn beneath, rugged and green above. 

 Peduncles hairy. Bracteas elongated, tomentose. 

 Ovarium downy. Root creeping. Branches pro- 

 cumbent. Flowers purple or white, disposed in 

 umbellate corymbs. Corollas rotate, with wavv, 

 rounded segments. (Dun's j\Iill., iii. p. 844.) A 

 native of (Caucasus, on high rocks, near the limits 

 of perpetual snow; where it forms an evergreen 

 shrub, growing 1 ft. high, and flowering in August. 

 It was introduced in 1803, but is rare in col- 

 lections. There are plants at Messrs. Loddiges's, 

 and at Knaphill. 



Variclirs. The following hybrids are among the handsomest rhododendrons 

 in cultivation : — 



n. R. c. 2 stranihieum Hook. Bot. Mag., t. 3422., has straw-coloured co- 

 rollas. A plant of this variety in the Glasgow Botanic Garden, in 

 April, 1835, was 2 ft. high, and 3 ft. in diameter, with the extre- 

 mities of its fine leafy branches terminated with clusters of lar^e, 

 beautiful, straw-coloured flowers. The climate of Scotland seems 

 to suit this, and some of the other species found in the coldest parts 

 of the Russian empire, better than that of the south of England. 



• R. r. 3 pulchcn-imum Lindl. Bot. Reg., t. 1820. f. 2., is a hvbrid, ob- 



tained by Mr. Waterer of the Knaphill Nursery, between K. arbd- 

 reum and R. caucasicum, in 1832. It is described as a " most beau- 

 tiful variety," (juite hardy, and an abundant flowerer. 



• R. c. 4^ Kohleiinum Hurt. ^ Rot. Rci^., t. 1820. f. 1., is a hybrid, very 



much like the preceding one in all respects, except that'its flowers 

 are of a deep and brilliant rose colour. 



» 8. R. punctaVum Amir. The dotted-Z^ai-erf Rhododendron. 



Iilentification. Andr. Bot. Rep., 36. ; Vent. Cels, t. 15. ; Don's Mill., 3. p 844 • Lodd Cat ed 1836 

 Sijnonymes. R. forrugiiieum var. minus Pt-rs. Ench., 1. p. 478. ; H. minus iiiclix. Fl Bor Amer \ 



p. 2jS. ; R. punct^tum far. minus XVals. Dend. Rrit., 10'.'. a. 

 Engravings. Andr. Bot. Rep., 3(1. ; Vent. Cels. t. l.""). ; Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 162. ». ; and our fg. 935. 



Spec. Char., ^-c. Leaves oval-lanceolate, acute at both ends, glabrous, beset 

 with rusty resinous dots beneath. Pedicels short. Calycine teeth short. 



