io LA MORTOLA. 



of the Ananas. There are the charming blossoms of the 

 Amaryllidacea, Beschorneria yuccoides from Mexico, and of the 

 Calendulaceae, belonging to the genus Othonna, all from the Cape 

 except Othonna cheirifolia. From the Canary Isles there is the 

 Kleinia neriifolia, with its strong growth and fresh green. Other 

 South African kinds of these splendid Senecionidse for instance 

 Kleinia anteiiphorbia, with its cylindrical fleshy stems devoid of 

 foliage nearly agree in external appearance with those species of 

 Euphorbia which have the leaves and stipules reduced to a pair of 

 spines or scales. Thus with Kleinia anteiiphorbia there is to be 

 classed Euphorbia rhipsaloides, whose cylindrical leafless stems 

 differ more than the angular kinds from the herbaceous Euphorbias 

 of Central Europe ; the widely-differing types of Euphorbise are 

 consequently remarkably well represented in the garden of the 

 Palazzo Orengo. Near the low -growing cactus -like Euphorbia 

 caput Medusa rise vigorously two woody species which are provided 

 with leafy blades viz. Euphorbia mellifera and E. neriifolia, L. 

 The latter is sacred in India to the serpent goddess Mansa. It is 

 frequently planted by Hindoos, who still pray to the goddess and 

 offer sacrifices under this tree for protection from serpents 

 (Dymockt "The Vegetable Materia Medica of Western India," 

 Bombay, 1884, p. 567). Both these kinds are surpassed in 

 elegance by the native-growing E. dendroides, L., which, with its 

 forked branches, presents the appearance of a beautifully arched 

 umbel. This is one of the most remarkable plants on the west 

 coast of Italy ; it grows to the height of 6^ feet, with a diameter 

 near the ground of 2 inches. Euphorbia dendroides is not met 

 with along the Adriatic, with the exception of Monte Gargano ; it 

 makes its appearance, however, again in Greece. This charming 

 plant was noticed by the ancients. Dioscorides distinguished it by 

 the appellation SevSpoiSij? (" Materia Medica," ed. Ktihn, iv. 162), 

 and Pliny called the foliage of the " Tithymalus dendroides," by 

 far the richest of all the Euphorbias " comosissimum ex omnibus 

 maxime" (" Naturalis Historia," xxvi. 45). All along the sunny 

 coasts numberless bushes of E. dendroides, with their rich display 

 of bright yellow blossoms, calling to mind the Sarothamnus, the 

 common Broom, which blooms in early summer in Central Europe 

 and in England. The deliciously honey-scented and low-growing 

 E. spinosa also covers the rocks with its thick cushions ; it might 

 be mistaken for a graceful small specimen of the E. dendroides, 



