DESCRIPTIVE LIST OP FLOWERING SHRUBS. 399 



is commonly a fine pink, varying to a deep red, which is 

 rare. Their beauty is much increased by the thread- 

 like stamens being much longer than the corolla. 



There are several indigenous species, besides many va- 

 rieties to be found in different parts of our country ; all 

 handsome and worthy the attention of the florist. 



Some of the cultivated varieties are the following; 

 A., coccinea, with scarlet flowers ; A., rutilans, with deep 

 red flowers ; A. carnea, with pale-red flowers ; A. alba, 

 with white flowers ; A. partita, with flesh-colored flowers 

 parted to the base ; A. papilionacea, with red flowers, 

 the lower divisions white ; A. potyandria, with rose-col- 

 ored flowers, with from ten to twenty stamens. 



A. Pdntica is a beautiful species from Pontus, with yel- 

 low flowers, emitting the most exquisite odor. The juice 

 "in the bottom of the flower is said to be poisonous, and 

 communicates its bad properties to the unwholesome hon- 

 ey of that country ; the famous honey of Trebizond 

 spoken of by Xenophon, in his history of the retreat of 

 the ten thousand Greeks, as having produced the effect 

 of temporary madness, or rather drunkenness, on all who 

 eat of it, without, however, producing any serious 

 consequences. All the beautiful varieties now in cultiva- 

 tion, have been raised from hybridized seeds of the Pontic 

 and American species. 



The Azalea is a well-known plant throughout Belgium, 

 and forms one of tlje most splendid decorations of the 

 flower-garden. It is generally considered to be the most 

 beautiful genus of the flowering shrubs. The neat form 

 and bushy growth, the vast profusion of its flowers, the 

 extensive variety and splendor of colors in the flowers, 

 their appearance at a season when few other flowers are 

 in bloom, and the little trouble which the plant requires 

 when grown in a suitable soil and a good situation, all 

 combine to cause the plant to be much admired, sought 



