Stove and Greenhouse Plants and Flowers 125 



outdoor decoration in summer, the variegated form with rich creamy-yellow 

 stripes being most popular. In a small state young plants find a fairly 

 good sale during the year. They are easily grown in a mixture of loam 

 and old mortar rubble; and require but little water and attention, but must 

 have plenty of sunlight. They may be raised by detaching suckers from 

 the base of the old plants (fig. 259). 



Ag > eratum mexicanum. This dwarf Mexican Composite is valued for 

 bedding out in summer, and is easily raised from seeds sown early in 

 spring or from cuttings. The fluffy flower-heads vary from pale to very 

 deep blue, but there is also a white-flowered variety. Any good garden 

 soil will suit. 



Allamanda. Splendid South American trailing plants with smooth 

 leaves and tubular bell-shaped yellow flowers. The best-known kinds are 

 Hendersoni and grandiflora, the former having very large blooms. Others 

 are nobilis, Schotti, Aubleti, Chelsoni, neriifolia (a bushy plant), and verti- 

 cillata, all yellow flowered; while violacea is a rare species with violet- rose 

 flowers. Allamandas are easily grown in sandy loam in a warm and moist 

 house, and may be raised from cuttings of the young half-ripened shoots. 



Alocasia. These plants are chiefly valuable for their large, coloured, 

 and variegated leaves, some as much as a yard from top to bottom, and 

 are more or less oval triangular in shape with a deep sinus at the base. 

 The under surface is generally distinct in colour from the upper, while the 

 leaf stalks in many cases are beautifully marked or blotched with different 

 colours. The true species are natives of the Malayan Archipelago and 

 tropical America, but there are many very fine hybrids now in commerce. 

 They like plenty of heat and moisture, and rich organic but well-drained 

 soil, and may be increased by offsets from the old stools in spring. 



Aloe. Out of nearly 100 species only a few are grown in any 

 quantity the most popular being the South African A. variegata, the 

 well-known "partridge-breasted" Aloe. The stout leaves 6-8 in. long are 

 deep green spotted with grey and edged and keeled with white. It is- 

 easily grown in loam and mortar rubble in a greenhouse, and is increased 

 by offsets from the base. 



Aloysia (Lippia) citriodora. This is the well-known lemon -seen ted 

 Verbena, a native of Chili. It is a shrubby plant with pale-green lance- 

 shaped leaves remarkable for their deliciously fragrant scent. It was at 

 one time grown in hundreds of thousands from cuttings of the young 

 shoots in the same way as Fuchsias, but dropped down considerably of late 

 years. There is, however, a revival in its trade, and nice bushy plants in 

 3J-in. and 5 -in. pots find a ready sale. Older plants grown as bushes 

 or standards are also in request. Growers should encourage florists to use 

 shoots with cut flowers, but the plants must be grown hard for this pur- 

 pose, otherwise the shoots are apt to wither too soon. 



Alpinia vittata. A Gingerwort from the South Sea Islands having 

 stems about a yard high furnished with pale -green lance-shaped leaves 

 striped with creamy white. Small specimens are likely to sell best. They 



