OSMANTHUS 111 



adult stage the upper part of the shrub bears quite entire leaves, i to 2 ins. 

 long, narrow oval, and unarmed except for the sometimes spine-tipped apex. 

 A similar transformation in the shape of the uppermost leaves is seen in 

 the holly, the assumption being that having grown out of reach of browsing 

 animals, the armature of spines on the leaves is no longer needed. Cuttings 

 of these uppermost branches take root easily, and as they do not revert to the 

 spiny-leaved type, they are known as the " myrtle-leaved Osmanthus." On its 

 own roots this state of O. Aquifolium is dwarfer and more spreading than 

 the type with toothed leaves. 



Var. PURPUREUS. In this variety, which was raised at Kew in 1880, the 

 young leaves are of a black-purple shade ; they and the very young shoots, 

 in their black glossiness, have much the aspect of having been dipped in 

 tar. It is the hardiest of all the forms of this Osmanthus. The frosts of 

 February 1895 left it quite unaffected, whilst all the others here mentioned 

 were more or less seriously injured at Kew. 



Var. ROTUNDIFOLIUS. A dwarf, very slow-growing shrub, with rigid, 

 leathery leaves, I to i^ ins. long, half to two-thirds as wide, more or less 

 obovate, with a marginal vein, wavy at the margins. It is usually regarded 

 as a variety of O. Aquifolium, but I think it may, when it flowers, prove to be 

 a distinct species. 



There are several variegated forms of O. Aquifolium whose leaves are 

 bordered with creamy white or yellow, and one of var. myrtifolius bordered 

 with yellow. They are less hardy than the type. 



O. ARMATUS, Diets, 



An evergreen shrub or small tree, 8 to 15 ft. high ; young shoots stiff, at 

 first clothed with minute down, turning greyish white by autumn ; slightly 

 warted. Leaves very leathery, oblong-lanceolate, 3 to 6 ins. or even more 

 long on young specimens, f to i| ins. wide, abruptly narrowed to the rounded 

 or slightly heart-shaped base, taper-pointed ; coarsely toothed, the teeth 

 triangular and with slender spiny points, dark dull green, prominently net- 

 veined and quite smooth, minutely dotted beneath ; \ to J in. long, downy, 

 reddish. Flowers produced during autumn in clusters in the leaf-axils, creamy 

 white, in. diameter, fragrant ; each on a slender smooth stalk J in. long. Fruit 

 dark violet, egg-shaped, f in. long. 



Native of W. China ; introduced for Messrs Veitch by Wilson in 1902, 

 and strikingly distinct in the length of the leaf from the other hardy species. 

 Although the spine-tipped teeth are a prominent feature of the leaves of young 

 plants, they are often quite absent in adult specimens. According to Wilson, 

 it grows on humus-clad cliffs and boulders, either in dense shade or fully 

 exposed to sunshine. 



O. DELAVAYI, Franchet. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 8459.) 



An evergreen shrub, described as reaching 6 ft. in height ; its branches 

 spreading, stiff, downy when young. They are densely clothed with stiff 

 leathery leaves that are dark glossy green above, dotted with tiny dark spots 

 beneath, ovate or oval, tapered about equally at both ends, toothed ; \ to I in. 

 long, half as wide ; shortly stalked. Flowers fragrant, pure white, in terminal 

 and axillary clusters of four to eight ; corolla with a cylindrical tube \ in. long, 

 spreading at the mouth into four reflexed oblong lobes, and about \ in. across, 

 Fruit roundish egg-shaped, blue-black. 



Native of Yunnan, China ; raised from seeds sent to M. Maurice de 

 Vilmorin in 1890 by the Abbe Delavay, of which only one germinated. This 



