538 SPIRJEA 



2 to 4^ ins. long, | to i| ins. wide (the terminal one often larger and 

 pinnately lobed); usually deeply and doubly toothed, smooth above, furnished 

 with loose, simple hairs beneath, especially about the midrib and veins. 

 Flowers ivory white, scarcely 5- in. wide, produced in terminal, pyramidal, 

 branching panicles i to i| ft. long and 8 to 12 ins. through; flower-stalks 

 downy. Seed-vessels in panicles, often more or less pendulous. 



Native of the Himalaya ; flowering from July to September, the individual 

 blossom being, however, rather short-lived. A very handsome robust shrub 

 which, flowering on the branches of the year, may be pruned back every 

 winter or early spring. It is allied to S. Aitchisoni, but differs in its downy 

 flower-stalks, and in the leaflets being broader, doubly toothed and hairy 

 beneath. From S. sorbifolia it differs very much in its strong spreading habit. 



S. ARBOREA (Sorbaria arborea, C. K. Schneider}, recently introduced from 

 China by Wilson, is very closely allied to Lindleyana. It is apparently the 

 most tree-like of the Spiraeas, and is sometimes 30 ft. high. From Lindleyana 

 it differs chiefly in the hairs beneath the leaf being clustered (not simple), 

 and especially in the shorter calyx-tube and longer stamens. S. ARBOREA 

 var. GLABRATA, Rehder, has glabrous leaflets. It flowered at Kew in July 

 1912, and proves a very handsome addition to the Sorbaria group of Spiraeas. 

 Both this and the type are natives of Hupeh and Szechuen. 



S. LONGIGEMMIS, Maximowicz. 



A shrub 4 or 5 ft. high, with smooth, erect, angular stems, and curiously 

 flat, leaflike winter buds often \ in. long. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, wedge- 

 shaped' at the base, sharply and deeply, often doubly, toothed; i to 3 ins. 

 long, | to i \ ins. wide; bright green and smooth above, rather glaucous and 

 hairy on the veins beneath when young; stalk \ to in. long. Flowers 

 white, J in. across, produced towards the end of May in broad, rounded, 

 corymbose panicles 2 to 3^ ins. across and i to 2 ins. long ; stamens 

 prominent; flower-stalk and calyx downy. 



Native of N. China in the province of Kansu; also found by Wilson in 

 W. China. It is a very pretty white-flowered Spiraea blossoming late enough 

 to escape injury by frost. I have seen it in excellent condition in the 

 garden of Mrs Chambers, near Haslemere the upper side of the branches 

 wreathed with corymbs terminating leafy twigs. 



S. MARGARITA, Zabel. 



A shrub 4 or 5 ft. high; its stems erect, reddish brown, and downy. 

 Leaves 2 to 3^ ins. long, f to i^ ins. wide; narrowly oval or oblong, coarsely, 

 sharply, and irregularly toothed at the terminal part, entire and narrowly 

 wedge-shaped at the base. Flowers bright pink, ^ in. diameter, produced 

 from July onwards in large, flat corymbs 3 to 6 ins. across, terminating the 

 growths of the year. 



If the origin of this Spiraea is correctly deduced by the author of the 

 name, it is a hybrid in which three kinds are united, viz., japonica, corymbosa, 

 and japonica alba. However that may be, it is certainly one of the very 

 best of the late summer-flowering group. A large mass of it makes a very 

 striking effect from July to September. It should be pruned every winter or 

 early spring in the same way as recommended for the japonica group, /.<?., to 

 cut out entirely the older shoots and prune the younger ones back to within 

 i ft. of the ground, leaving only sufficient say one every 6 ins. or so to 

 furnish the plant during the ensuing summer. Treated in this way the 

 shrub does not get to be more than 3 ft. high, and becomes a sheet of 

 blossom. ' If the corymbs are cut off as they fade, a succession of flowers may 

 be obtained until September. 



