A L S 



ALT 



The first species rises with several erect her- 

 baceous stems, to the height of three feet, having 

 Hnear spear-shaped leaves, the branches being ter- 

 minated bv flowers on long foot-stalks, two or 

 three together, mostly of a whitish colour, but 

 very beautifully stained and varied with purple 

 and red. It flowers from the latter end of May 

 or beginning of June till October. 



The second has erect herbaceous barren stems 

 clothed with awl-shaped leaves pressed to them ; 

 terminated with spatulate-oblong leaves, placed 

 in a kind of rose. The floriferous stem also is 

 clothed with awl-shaped leaves, clasping close to 

 it, and terminated with a shorter involucre. The 

 peduncles are few, very simple, naked, longer 

 than the involucre. The three upper petals of the 

 corolla are larger, white, dotted at the base, spot- 

 ted at the tip with red ; the three lower ones 

 shorter, especially the lowest, almost awl-shaped, 

 and red. The filaments are longer than the lower 

 petals, and rugged ; the antherae twin, yellow ; 

 the pistil red. It is remarkable for the largeness 

 of the flowers, and for their fragrancy. It flowers 

 in the spring, the greater part of the summer, and 

 autumn. 



The third species rises with twining climbing 

 stems, with spear-shaped, acuminate, nervose 

 leaves ; the petioles naked. Involucre many- 

 leaved, awl-shaped, reflex. The peduncles few, 

 elongated, sustaining one or two flowers ; a bracte 

 at the branching of the peduncles : petals from 

 erect spreading, rather blunt ; the outer ones 

 jed, the inner of a greenish colour. 



The fourth species has the habit and structure 

 of the above ; but the petioles are wrinkled at the 

 edge, and the umbel is not peduncled : the many- 

 flowered involucre consists of broader leaflets; 

 the peduncles are quite simple and naked ; the 

 flowers are of the size of the Salsilla : the three 

 outer petals shorter, narrower, entire; the inner 

 truncate, or emarginate with a point. 



These are all natives of South America. 



Culture. — These plants are capable of being 

 propagated in different ways, as by seeds, cut- 

 tings of the stalks, and parting the roots. In 

 the first method, which is mostly practised in 

 raising the Spotted-flowered kind, the seed should 

 be sown in the spring in a pot of light earth, and 

 immediately plunged into a very moderate hot- 

 bed of either b;u-k or dung. In the other two 

 methods the spring is also the best season for rais- 

 ing the plauLs, the cuttings or parted roots being 

 placed in pots filled with light mould, and direct- 

 ly set in hot-beds which possess only veiy gen- 

 tle heats. They should remain in these till the 

 plants have fully stricken root ; when during the 

 summer months they may be placed under the 

 protection of the greenhouscj being occasionally 



very slightly watered, and having a pretty free ad- 

 mission of air. 



The first species is much more hardy than the 

 second, so much so as to be capable of being 

 treated as a greenhouse plant. But though this 

 may be the case, it, as well as the other sorts, not 

 only flowers, but ripens seeds better when kept 

 under the glass of a hot-bed frame, where there 

 is a full admission of air. 



These are plants, that, from the beauty of their 

 flowers, which continue in blossom in succession 

 the greatest part of the summer, deserve to occu- 

 py the more conspicuous situations in greenhouse 

 and stove collections. 



ALTH^A, a genus comprehending difie' 

 rent herbaceous perennials of the Marsh Mallow 

 kind, which are mostly plants of hardy growth. 



It belongs to the class and order Monadelphia 

 Polyandria, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Column if er ce- 

 lts characters are : that the calyx is a double 

 perianthium, outer smaller, one-leafed, unequal- 

 ly novem-fid or nine-cleft, (6 — 12,) divisions very 

 narrow, inner semiquinquefid, divisions broader 

 and sharper: the corolla is five-petalled, united 

 at the base, obcordate, prsemorse and flat : the 

 stamina have many filaments inserted into the 

 corolla; antheras subreniform : the pistillum has 

 an orbiculate germ, style cylindrical, and short, 

 stigmas many (20), setaceous, of the length of the 

 style : the pericarpium consists of arils not joint- 

 ed, forming a flat ring, about a columnar recep- 

 tacle : they are deciduous, and open on the inside : 

 the seed is one, flat-kidney-shapcd, in each aril. 



There are several species, but those mostly cul- 

 tivated are: A.officinaUs, Common Marsh Mal- 

 low; 2. A. cannalina. Hemp-leaved Marsh 

 Mallow ; 3. A. hirsuta. Hairy Marsh Mallow. 



The first species has a perennial root, and an 

 annual stalk, growing erect, to the height of four 

 or five feet, and putting out a few latcralbranches. 

 The leaves are soft, angular, and alternate. The 

 flowers axillary, being shaped like those of the 

 Mallow, but smaller and of a pale colour. They ap- 

 pear in June or July, and the seeds ripen in Sep- 

 tember. It grows naturally on salt marshes and 

 the banks of rivers. 



There is a variety of this with the leaves 

 rounder, and not ending in a point ; and another 

 with laciniated leaves. 



The second species has a woody stem, which 

 rises to the height of four or five feet, and puts 

 out many side branches. The leaves are alter- 

 nate. The flowers axillary, not so large as those 

 of the Conmion Marsh Mallow, but of a deeper 

 red colour, and the calyx much larger. It seldom 

 flowers the first year, unless the sununer prove 

 warm; but when the plants hve through the 



