62 LYCIUM 



between London and the south coast, plants may often be seen beautifully in 

 fruit on cottage walls in August and September. 



Var. MEGISTOCARPUM. A name sometimes given to a form with larger 

 fruits, but probably not really distinguishable. 



Var. RHOMBIFOLIUM (L. rhombifolium, Dippel}. Leaves broader and more 

 lozenge-shaped than in the type. Fruits blunter at the end. 



L. GREVILLEANUM, Gillies. 



A deciduous shrub, 4 to 6 ft. high, forming a dense mass of overlaying 

 branches ; young shoots pale, more or less downy or scurfy. Leaves obovate 

 or oblanceolate, & to 2 ins. long, to | in. wide ; tapered to the base, more 

 abruptly towards the apex, densely arranged, ciliate, rather fleshy. The 

 larger-sized leaves are only on young vigorous sucker-growths ; most of the 

 leaves are less than I in. long. Flowers solitary or in pairs in the leaf-axils, 

 \ in. diameter ; corolla funnel-shaped, deeply five-lobed (the lobes longer than 

 the tube), purple and yellowish white ; calyx bell-shaped, the triangular-pointed 

 lobes ciliate ; stamens hairy at the base. Fruit orange-red, globular, \ in % 

 diameter. 



Native of the Argentine, but hardy. It flowers freely, but does not develop 

 fruit well ; distinct from all the other hardy species in the downy stems, leaves 

 and calyx, although this character is much more evident in wild than in 

 cultivated examples. 



L. HALIMIFOLIUM, Miller. 



(L. vulgare, Dunal.} 



A deciduous shrub, with slender, smooth branches, and sometimes 8 or 9 ft. 

 high ; twigs smooth, spiny. Leaves variable, narrowly oval or lance-shaped, 

 i to 2-g ins. long, blunt or pointed at the apex, wedge-shaped at the base, grey- 

 green. Flowers axillary, produced each on a slender stalk singly, in pairs, or 

 threes ; corolla dull lilac-purple, i in. across, the tube longer than the lobes ; 

 stamens bearded at the base. Berry scarlet, oval, -f in. long. 



The origin of this box thorn is not definitely known, but it is perhaps 

 S. European. It is very closely allied to L. chinense, and scarcely specifically 

 distinct. It is considered to be of less vigorous growth and of more bushy, 

 less rambling habit. The lobes of the corolla as compared with the tube are 

 distinctly shorter in halimifolium than in chinense, neither is the fruit so long. 



This species, like L. chinense, is often grown as L. EUROPIUM, a species 

 that differs from both in having quite smooth stamens (not bearded at the 

 base), in the longer-tubed corolla, and smaller narrow leaves. 



L. PALLIDUM, Miers. FREMONT'S BOX THORN. 

 (Bot. Mag., t. 8440.) 



A deciduous shrub of rather thin, lax, sprawling habit, at present 5 or 6 ft. 

 high in cultivation ; branches long, tortuous, or semi-pendulous, quite smooth, 

 but armed with spines which are really arrested branches, often bearing leaves, 

 sometimes flowers. Leaves oval lance-shaped, up to 2 ins. long by f in. wide 

 on the young, non-flowering shoots ; but narrowly obovate, I in. or less long, 

 and produced in rosettes on the year-old, flowering shoots ; quite smooth, 

 entire, of a glaucous green ; tapering at the base to a short stalk. Flowers 

 nodding on stalks in. long, often solitary or in pairs at each joint. Corolla 

 funnel-shaped, f- in. long, ^ in. wide at the mouth, where are five shallow, 

 rounded lobes ; pale green "veined with darker lines, and tinged with purple. 

 Calyx bell-shaped, about in. long, with five-pointed lobes. Style much 



