86 Ornamental Shrubs. 



as growing on mountains two to three thousand feet above 

 the level of the sea, and also as found in swamps, as well 

 as in dry situations. It thus appears on Mount Hakkodo, 

 where it is a slender tree fifteen to twenty feet high, with 

 ovate, acute leaves, light green above and silvery white 

 below. These are some six inches long, two inches broad, 

 and borne on slender, short petioles. As he did not see 

 the tree in flower and it is not known to have blossomed 

 in this country or Europe the peculiarities of the flower 

 are not fully known. 



M. soulangeana is one of the hardiest members of the 

 family. It is an importation from China, and supposed by 

 some authorities to be a hybrid, produced, through natural 

 causes, between M. conspicua and M. p^lrpurea. The tree 

 does not grow so tall as the former, but forms a low, spread- 

 ing head, and produces immense blossoms, white, with 

 purple at the base, affording a very attractive combination. 

 It has the advantage of blossoming later than the conspicua, 

 and so helps maintain a succession. M. speciosa is also a 

 Chinese hybrid. The flowers are somewhat smaller than 

 those of the soulangeana, appear still later, and remain 

 longer on the tree. They are red and white, or rose- 

 colored, and afford a marked contrast with some of the 

 others described. This variation from the prevailing 

 colors and the period of blossoming makes it especially 

 desirable in grouping. 



M. stellata. Few small trees or shrubs are more beauti- 

 ful than this, whether planted singly or in groups of three 

 or four. It is a low-growing species from Japan, seldom 

 rising more than eight feet, with spreading branches which 



