AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



115 



AUBRIETIA (named after M. Aubriet, a famous 

 French botanical draughtsman). OED. Crucifercs. A small 

 genus of hardy evergreen trailers. Racemes opposite the 

 leaves, and terminal, lax, few-flowered. Leaves ovate or 

 oblong, entire or angularly toothed, hairy. They make 

 excellent rock plants, and will thrive in a deep rich 

 loam anywhere, excepting under the shelter of trees. 

 Cuttings struck, or seeds sown, during April or May 

 generally make fine, dense, cushion-like growths, if trans- 

 planted on to a somewhat cool or shaded border, and care- 

 fully lifted in t,Le autumn ; the cuttings are best " drawn," 

 or grown until they are soft, in a frame before they are 

 removed. Where a stock of old plants exist, layer the long 

 slender branches any time after flowering, and cover with 

 a mixture of sand and leaf soil ; they will then root freely 

 and establish themselves in time for spring blossoming, for 

 which purpose, when grrwn en masse, they are most useful. 

 After flowering, they may be divided and transplanted. 



FlO. 193. AL'BRIETIA DELT01DFA. 



A. deltoidea (deltoid).* /. purple ; petals twice the length of the 

 calyx ; pedtcels short, filiform ; racemes opposite the leaves and 

 terminal, lax, few-flowered. Early spring. I. with one or two 

 large teeth on each side (therefore they are rhomboidal, not truly 

 deltoid), scabrous, with short branchy stellate hairs, h. 2in. to 

 4m. Naples, Ac., 1710. There are several garden varieties, the 

 best of whicli are described below ; most of them are regarded as 

 di.stinct species. See Fit?. 193. (S. F. G. 628.) 



FlO. 194. AUBRIETIA PURPUREA. 



A. d. Bonganyillel (Bonganville's).* JL light violet purple, with 



very even imbricated petals. Habit very dwarf and compact, with 



short peduncles. A pretty form. 

 A. d. Campbell! (Campbell's).* Larger deep violet blue flowers, 



and of far more vigorous constitution than the typical form. 



Grandijfora comes very near this. SYN. A. nendertonii. 



Aubrietia continued. 



A. d, Eyre! (Eyre's).* A very fine variety, with a free branching 

 habit, and large flowers of a rich violet-purple colour, rather 

 A ' lympica fa very ? " not "lexical 



^X* f ca (Grecian).* fl. light purple. A. 4in. Greece, 1872. 

 One of the best and largest flowered forms ; very vigorous 

 grower, with neat compact habit A variety of this, named 

 superba, has rather deeper-coloured flowers, produced over a very 

 extended period. (R. G. 697.) 



A. d. pnrpnrea (purp!e). Larger flowers and more erect habit 

 than the type. i. broader, with two to five teeth. Stems more 

 leafy. There is a variegated form, which is very pleasing and 

 effective, useful for carpeting or edging small beds. See 



Fig. 194 



A. d. violacea (violet).* This is a hybrid form, even finer thnu 

 Campbelli, with large deep violet-purple flowers, fading to reddish - 

 violet, and is more effective than any of the others. 



A. Henderson!! (Henderson's). A synonym of A. d. Campbelli. 

 AUCUBA (the Japanese name of the shrub). ORD. 

 Cornacece. A genus of hardy evergreen shrubs, thriving 

 better than any other in the smoky atmosphere of demo 

 cities. They grow in ordinary well-drained garden soil, and 

 require no special culture. If grown in pots, they should bo 

 planted firmly in rather sandy yellow loam, with plenty of 

 drainage. They should not be allowed too large pots, or 

 an unfruitful growth is likely to result. During the grow- 

 ing season, an abundance of water is needed, which must be 

 lessened when the plants are fully developed. If cultivated 

 in the greenhouse or conservatory, they should be plunged 

 out of doors during summer. To insure a good supply of 

 the very ornamental berries, which are produced on the 

 female plant, careful fertilising is necessary. The time 

 for applying the pollen is when the pistil exudes a slightly 

 gummy substance, and otherwise shows signs of maturity. 

 When it happens, as is sometimes the case, that the male 

 flowers are open and the pollen mature before the female 

 flowers are ready, the pollen should be collected on a dry 

 camel-hair pencil, transferred to a piece of glass, and 

 covered over by another piece, both of which must also be 

 dry. It may be applied afterwards when wanted, as it 

 retains its power for some weeks. Propagated by cut- 

 tings, inserted in any light sandy soil, with or without a 

 covering, in spring or autumn ; or readily increased from 

 seeds, sown as soon as ripe. 



A. himalaica (Himalayan).* I. lanceolate, or lanceolate acumi- 

 nate ; branches of the panicle very pilose. Berries spherical, not 

 oblong. Himalaya. (F. d. S. 12, 1271.) 



A. japonica (Japanese).* I. opposite, petiolate, broad, ovate- 

 lanceolate, acuminated, toothed, leathery, glabrous, shining, pale 

 green, beautifully spotted with yellow, having the midrib rather 

 prominent, the rest of the leaf reticulately veined, h. 6ft to 10ft. 

 Japan, 1783. The numerous varieties, both of the male and 

 female forms, among which will be found many of great beauty, 

 all differ, more or less, in the variegation of their leaves. They 

 are in very general cultivation, and nearly every nurseryman 

 has an assortment Among the best of them are the following : 

 albo-variegata, aurea, tricolor, latimaculata, limbata, lonfftfolia, 

 macrophyua, ovata, pyymcea, and pygmcea tulphurea. 

 ATJDOUINIA (in honour of V. Audouin, a profound 

 entomologist). ORD. Bruniacece. An ornamental green- 

 house evergreen shrub, thriving in a mixture of peat and 

 sandy loam. Propagated by cuttings of half-ripened 

 wood, inserted in sand, under a bell glass, in gentle heat. 

 A. capitata (headed) /. purple, crowded into oblong, spike- 

 like, terminal heads. May. i. spirally inserted, a little keeled. 

 Branches erect, h. 1ft. to 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1790. 

 AUGUSTA. A sjnonym of Stifftia. 

 AULACOSPERMUM. See Pleurospermum. 

 AUItAX (from aulax, a furrow ; the under surface of 

 the leaves of the original species being furrowed). ORD. 

 Proteacece. Greenhouse evergreen shrubs, from the Cape of 

 Good Hope, thriving best in a compost of fibrous loam, leaf 

 soil, and sharp sand, with thorough drainage. Ripened 

 cuttings, taken off at a joint, and inserted in pots of sandy 

 soil, will root readily under a hand glass, in a cool house. 

 A, pinlfolla (Pine-leaved)t fl. yellow, racemose. July. L fili- 

 form, channelled. A. 2ft. 1780. 



A. umbellate (umbelled). fl. yellow. June. I flat, spathulate- 

 linear. A. 2ft. 1774. (B. B, 12, 10:5.) 



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