Trees, Shrubs and Vines 



thorns of the CratcBgus genus (hawthorn, black thorn, 

 etc.) that it will hardly come into popular favor. 



Some genera, like acacia, contain several hundred 

 species ; but occasionally a genus-type has but a single 

 representation, like Stephanandra, in the rose family, 

 in many respects resembling spiraea; but a marked dif- 

 ference is in its more ornamental foliage, which is red- 

 dish-purple in spring, then changes to a lustrous green, 

 and in autumn resumes its spring-tint. In the flowering 

 season the whole plant is enveloped in white bloom ; its 

 native haunts seem to be in Japan. 



Few genera call for such extended notice, for their 

 contributions in ornamental trees and shrubs, as the uni- 

 versally popular magnolia; and the shrubs of this group 

 are perhaps its most important section. Among the 

 early spring flowers nothing is more conspicuous than 

 the large purple and white blossoms of the M. purpurea 

 and M. soulangeana, so profuse that the leafless branches 

 are completely enveloped in bloom. The former has 

 purple on the outside and pure white on the inside of 

 the flower, whereas the latter, probably a hybrid, has a 

 white flower that is suffused with purple. Even 3f. pur- 

 purea is regarded by some as a hybrid. Both come 

 from China and are perfectly hardy. In tint and text- 

 ure of petal they do not compare with the more elegant 

 rhododendron and azalea, but in mass of showy color 

 they eclipse every other shrub we have. The buds, 

 formed in the previous year, are large and prominent 

 throughout the winter, as if eager to throw off their vel- 

 vet wrappings with the first warm touch of spring. An- 

 other foreign species, M. alexa?idrina, has large pink 



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