74 HERBACEOUS PLANTS 



than for aesthetic qualities. To the genera Primula, Cyclamen, 

 Soldanella, Androsace, Dodecatheon, belong some of our most 

 lovely " Alpine Plants," and many will be found in the pots 

 round the South Tank. Here the order is represented by 

 Lysimachia and genera of larger growth. The Poor Man's 

 Weather Glass, Anagallis arvensis, was so-called because the 

 closing of its flowers was supposed to indicate an approaching 

 shower. 



Ord. no. SAPOTACEAE. Tropical Sapodillas. Palaquium gutta is a 

 source of true guttapercha. 



Ord. in. EBENACEAE. A Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, grows 

 in Plot D. 



Ord. 112. STYRACEAE are Oriental trees and shrubs yielding balsamic 

 gums. The Snowdrop Tree, Halesia tetraptera, should be more widely 

 grown. 



Ord. 113. OLEACEAE. Shrubs and trees, such as the Privet, Ligustrum 

 vulgar e ; Olive, Olea europaea ; Ash, Fraxinus ; Lilac, Syringa vulgaris ; 

 Forsythia ; Jasminum. 



Ord. 114. SALVADORACEAE. Mustard-trees, are all exotics. 



In the western beds are 



Ord. 115. APOCYNACEAE. Many of the N. American 

 Dogbanes possess strong medicinal properties, whence the 

 name. Apocynum androsaemifolium is remarkable for its 

 stamens, which contract violently on the slightest irritation, 

 such as the insertion of a hair or the proboscis of a fly. It 

 thus entraps flies in great numbers, and Burnet " has often 

 seen from 50 to 100 flies imprisoned and slain, and, as it 

 were, hung in fetters, in terrorem, by a single plant during the 

 sunshine of a summer's day." 



The Periwinkles, Vinca major and minor, belong here. 

 Nerium oleander, Allamanda, and Dipladenia will be found 

 in the Green-houses. 



Ord. 116. ASCLEPIADACEAE. Several species of Asdepias 

 are grown in gardens. Here we have A. syriaca and incarnata 

 and also Cynanchum acutum. 



Stapelia, Hoya carnosa, and Ceropegia will be found under glass. 



Ord. 117. LOQANIACEAE are extremely poisonous, Strychnos nu# 



