112 



OSMANTHTTS 



charming little shrub is very distinct from the well-known Aquifolium group 

 in having terminal as well as axillary flower clusters that open in April ; in the 

 long-tubed corolla ; and in the small leaves. It appears to be hardy, but has 

 only been cultivated in Britain a few years. 



O. FORTUNEI, Carriere. 



(O. ilicifolius, Hort. ; Gard. Chron., 1877, vii., fig. 37 (as O. A qui folium).) 



An evergreen shrub of rounded, bushy habit, rarely more than 6 ft. high in 

 inland counties, but 15 to 20 ft. high in Cornwall, the whole plant devoid of 

 down. Leaves leathery, 2^ to 4 ins. long, i^ to 3 ins. wide ; oval or slightly 



OSMANTHUS DELAVAYI. 



ovate, broadly wedge-shaped at the base, taper-pointed and spine-tipped, the 

 margins armed like one of the large broad-leaved forms of common holly with 

 large, triangular, spine-tipped teeth ; stalk \ in. long. Some of the leaves, 

 however, especially those at the base of the twig, are not toothed at all. 

 Flower about \ in. across, white and delightfully fragrant, produced in clusters 

 in the leaf-axils during autumn. 



A hybrid of Japanese origin between O. Aquifolium and O. fragrans ; 

 introduced by T. Lobb in 1856 and by Fortune in 1862. It is usually 

 cultivated in gardens either as O. ilicifolius or O. Aquifolium, and in this 



