OLEARIA 105 



with leaves silvery beneath, shining green above, bearing corymbs of 

 white flowers 6 ins. across. The last two both succeed well in the open 

 in Miss Willmott's garden at Warley Place, in Essex. 



O. HAASTII, Hooker fit. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 6592.) 



An evergreen shrub of bushy, rounded habit, 4 to 9 ft. high ; young 

 branches covered with a close, greyish white down. Leaves crowded on the 

 branches, alternate, oval or ovate, \ to I in. long, about half as wide ; not 

 toothed, rounded or blunt at the apex, thick and leathery, dark shining green 

 and smooth above, white-felted beneath ; stalk about in. long. Flower-heads 

 produced during July and August in a series of axillary corymbose clusters 

 standing out beyond the leaves, the whole forming a flattish cluster 2 to 3 ins. 

 across at the end of each twig. Ray florets white, disk florets yellow ; each 

 flower-head is \ in. across. 



Native of N. Zealand, in the province of Canterbury, at 4000 ft. to 5000 ft. 

 elevation ; introduced in 1858 by Veitch of Exeter. This is the only Olearia 

 at Kew of proved hardiness. I have never seen it killed outright by cold, 

 although in February 1895 it was cut to the ground, but sprang up again freely 

 a few months later. It flowers when there are few shrubs in blossom, and its 

 abundant white flowers show up well against the dark green leaves ; they 

 have besides the charm of a sweet hawthorn-like fragrance. The flower-heads 

 in the seeding state are covered with brown-grey down, which some people 

 object to and cut off, as it persists through the winter. This shrub is 

 admirable for maritime districts. In Sir Herbert Maxwell's garden at 

 Monreith some years ago I saw a specimen 9 ft. high and 15 ft. in diameter. 

 I believe it thrives extremely well in the Orkneys. Pruning, which it bears 

 well, should be done in early spring. It should consist merely of a shortening 

 back of plants that have become lanky or too large for their place. 



O. MACRODONTA, Baker. 

 (Bot Mag., t. 7065.) 



An evergreen shrub up to 20 ft. high, or even a small tree in a wild state, 

 with bark peeling in long strips ; young shoots angled, downy. Leaves 

 alternate, firm and leathery, ovate to narrowly oval, rounded or tapering* at 

 the base, pointed at the apex ; 2 to 5 ins. long, I to 2 ins. wide ; the margins 

 wavy and furnished with coarse sharp teeth, the hollows between them 

 rounded ; upper surface dark glossy green, downy only when quite young, 

 lower surface covered with a close, silvery white felt ; leaf-stalk \ to f in. 

 long. Flower-heads produced in one or more branched clusters 3 to 6 ins. 

 across, at the termination of the previous season's growth, each cluster on a 

 silvery white, downy stalk 3 to 6 ins. long. The flower-head is \ in. across, 

 with ten or more white ray florets and a few reddish disk florets. 



Native of New Zealand up to elevations of 4000 ft., and only hardy in the 

 mild parts of the kingdom. It succeeds in Ireland, Cornwall, and on the west 

 coast of Scotland up to Ross-shire, where in July I have seen bushes 15 ft. 

 through, almost hidden by their own white blossom. At Kew it has to be 

 grown on a wall, where it flowers in June. The plant has a musky odour 

 when crushed. This species is often grown as O. dentata, but the true shrub 

 of that name has its leaves clothed with a thick red-brown felt beneath, and is 

 very uncommon. 



Var. MINOR (syn. nana). A very dwarf,' compact form with much smaller 

 leaves. 



II H 



