StYLOPHORUM. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. SYMPLOCOS. 



S. PSEUDOCAMELLIA. A lovely flower- 

 ing tree from the mountains of Japan, 

 where it reaches a height of 50 feet. The 

 white -flowers are 2 to 3 inches across, with 

 a tuft of yellow anthers, but they look 

 smaller than this because they remain 

 half-closed like an Abutilon, and never 

 open flat as in other Stewartias. The 

 leaves are thick like those of a Camellia, 

 smooth, bright green with often a reddish 

 tinge, and finely coloured with gold and 

 crimson in the autumn. Syn., S.japonica. 



S. VIRGINICA. From the warmer 

 states of N. America, where it grows in 

 swamps, on river banks, and in shady 

 places. At its best it is one of the most 

 beautiful of flowering shrubs, though more 

 sensitive to cold and never so vigorous as 

 the other kinds, rarely exceeding 10 feet 

 in height, and with a looser habit of 



frowth. In this kind the flowers are 

 nest of all but less abundant, measuring 

 4 inches across, with pure white shell-like 

 petals, sometimes more or less streaked 

 with crimson towards the base, and with 

 red stamens in the centre. 



STYLOPHORUM. S. diphyllum is 

 a hardy Poppywort, but a much finer 

 plant, bearing large bright yellow 

 flowers in early summer. It is best 

 in partial shade in ordinary soil. N. 

 America. 



STYRAX. Trees and shrubs belong- 

 ing mostly to warm countries ; a few 

 of the hardier kinds succeed fairly well 

 with us in light moist soils. They are 

 summer-leafing, of neat habit, and with 

 abundant flowers like little white bells 

 depending from the underside of the 

 branches. The commonest and best 

 kind is S. japonicum, but there are 

 others worth growing though seldom 

 planted. Increase by layers, seed, 

 and cuttings of the soft wood in heat, 

 or of partially ripened shoots under a 

 handlight in the open air, later in 

 summer. Peat is not necessary for 

 these plants where the natural soil is 

 good and free, but heavy soils are 

 against them and they dislike chalk 

 and much lime. The following kinds 

 are in cultivation : 



S. AMERICANUM. A shrub of 6 to 8 feet, 

 grows in wet places in S. Carolina and 

 Virginia, with nodding white flowers from 

 April into June. 5. californicum, a shrub 

 of 5 to 8 feet from the mountains of 

 California, bears larger flowers, but is 

 tender with us. 



S. GRANDIFOLIUM. A pretty shrub of 

 8 to 10 feet high, and the best of the 

 American kinds for this country. To do 

 well it needs a warm and rather dry place, 

 even in our southern gardens, to ripen 

 the shoots in autumn, without which the 

 flowers are scanty and the plant liable 



to injury. The leaves, are 3 to 6 inches 

 long, tapering to a point and hairy on the 

 underside, and freely bears during early 

 summer fragrant white flowers. Moun- 

 tains of Georgia and Carolina. 



S. HEMSLEYANUM. A summer-leafing 

 small tree, native of China, of recent 

 introduction, and growing well in Corn- 

 wall, and worth trying farther north. 

 Best in warm spots and on free soil. 

 Flowers white. 



S. JAPONICUM. The most useful and 

 handsome of the group, hardy almost 

 anywhere in the south, but tender in the 

 Midlands unless grown upon a sheltered 

 wall and protected in sharp weather. 

 The habit of the plant is characteristic, 

 the branches spreading flatly into slender 

 much-branched shoots, covered with ovate 

 glossy leaves and myriads of little white 

 bells dangling clear of the leaves upon 

 their long stems, which spring from the 

 underside of the branches. In Japan it is 

 a tree 40 feet high, but so far we have none 

 approaching this height. Another Japan- 

 ese kind, 5. serrulatum, comes very near 

 this, but is less hardy. There is a pretty 

 form of S. japonicum in which the buds 

 are flushed with rose colour. 



S. OBASSIA. A Japanese plant with 

 large broadly-oval leaves sometimes 

 8 inches across, and racemes of fragrant 

 white flowers like a Snowdrop, and open- 

 ing a little earlier than in 5. japonicum. 

 Two fine plants have grown for years 

 without injury at Coombe Wood. In 

 Japan it is 30 feet high, with bold leaf 

 effect even when out of flower. 



S. OFFICINALE. A shrub from the 

 Mediterranean, 12 to 15 feet high, with 

 sweet flowers like the Orange, opening as 

 little clusters in May or June. It needs 

 the same care as S. japonicum, flowering 

 and fruiting freely against a sheltered 

 wall. 



SWERTIA (Marsh Swertia). 5. per- 

 ennis has slender erect stems, i to 3 

 feet high, terminated by erect spikes 

 of flowers, which are greyish-purple 

 spotted with black, and produced in 

 summer. It is not showy, but inter- 

 esting for the bog garden, or may be 

 naturalised in damp peaty soil. Seed 

 or division. 



SYCOPSIS SINENSIS. An ever- 

 green shrub, in its native China a low 

 tree growing at rather high altitudes. 

 It is said by Mr Bdan to be hardy at 

 Kew. It is easily increased. Neat in 

 habit and distinct in appearance. 



SYMPLOCOS CRATflSGOIDES. A 



summer-leafing shrub of elegant habit, 

 native of China and India, where its 



