360 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Colchicum continued. 



FIG. 499. COLCHICUM SPECIOSUM. 



COLDENIA (named after Conwalladcs Golden, a North 

 American botanist, who discovered numerous new plants; 

 these are published in the Upsal Acts for 1743). OED. 

 BoraginecB. A genus containing about ten species of 

 branched prostrate herbaceous plants, natives of both the 

 Old and New Worlds. Perhaps the only one in culti- 

 vation is C. procumbens an ornamental stove trailing 

 annual. Seed should be sown in March, in a hotbed, and 

 the seedlings planted out singly in pots when large enough 

 to handle. It requires a light, rich soil. 

 C. procumbens (procumbent), fl. white, axillary, usually soli- 

 tary, sessile ; corolla funnel-shaped ; throat wide, naked ; limb 

 flat. July. I. alternate, cuneiform, petiolate, having one of the 

 sides shorter than the other, coarsely serrated, plicate, beset 

 with appressed hairs above. India, 1699. 



COLEA (named in honour of General Sir G. Lowry Cole, 

 a governor of the Mauritius). OKD. Bignoniacece. Stove 

 evergreen shrubs. Calyx sub-campannlate, five-toothed; 

 corolla funnel-shaped; limb divided into five spreading 

 lobes. Fruit oblong, fleshy, indehiscent. Leaves impari- 

 pinnate, bi- or many-jugate. They thrive in a compost of 

 peat and loam, both of a fibry texture, and mixed with a 

 little sand and charcoal. Cuttings of ripe shoots will root 

 in sand, if placed in a moist bottom heat, and covered 

 with a glass. 



C. Commersoni (Commerson's). A synonym of C. undulata. 

 C. floribunda (abundant-flowering).* fl. yellowish-white, in 

 fascicles, nearly sessile, rising from the old wood. August. 

 I. pinnate, verticillate, eight pairs ; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, 

 pointed, h. 10ft. Mauritius, 1839. (B. E. 27, 19.) 

 C. undulata (undulated), fl. yellow and lilac, in racemes from 

 old wood. Summer. I. whorled, pinnate, 2ft. to 4ft. long. Stem 

 simple. Madagascar, 1870. SYN. C. Cfrnimeraoni. (B. G. 669.) 



COLEBROOKIA (named after Henry Thomas Cole- 

 brooke, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c., an accomplished botanist). 

 ORD. Labiatce. This genus contains only the two plants 

 described below, and these probably are but forms of one 

 species. Greenhouse evergreen shrubs, densely clothed 

 with whitish or sub-rufous woolly tomentum. Flowers 

 white, small; corolla tubular, contracted in the middle; 

 cymes of whorls distinct, head-formed, dense, sessile. 

 Leaves petiolate, oblong-elliptic, crenulated. Spikelets 

 lin. to Sin. long, pedunculate, paniclcd. They thrive in 



Colebrookia continued. 



a. compost of one part peat and two parts loam, with a 

 small quantity of sand added, to keep the whole porous. 

 Cuttings of half-ripened shoots, made in April or May 

 will root in sand, under a bell glass. 



C. oppositifolla /opposite-leaved). Branches, leaves, and spikes 



opposite, h. 3ft. to 4ft. Nepaul, 1820. (S. E. B. 115.) 

 C. ternifolia (ternate-leaved). Branches, leaves and spikes 

 three in a whorl. Leaves move tomentose, and on shorter 

 petioles, than in the tirst species, and spikelets more dense. 

 India, 1823. 



COLEONEMA (from koleos, a sheath, and nema, a 

 filament; the filaments are fixed into sheath-like recesses 

 of the petals). OED. Rutacece. Very ornamental small 

 Heath-like greenhouse shrubs, from the Cape of Good 

 Hope. Flowers white, axillary towards the top of the 

 branches, solitary, on short peduncles. Leaves short, 

 linear, scattered, very acute, beset with glandular dots. 

 There are four species, all natives of South-west Africa. 

 For culture, see Diosma. 



C. album (white), fl. white, small. Autumn and winter. I. sub- 

 erect, linear-lanceolate, channelled above, with a straight, pungent 

 mucro. h. 1ft. to 2ft. A small erect, nearly glabrous, shvub. 

 C. aspalathoides (Aspalathus-like). /. white. Autumn. I. 

 linear, keeled and sub-triangular, with a recurved mucro. h. (An. 

 to 3ft. 



C. juniperinum (Juniper-like), fl. white. Autumn. I. narrow 

 linear, with a short, straight mucro, concave above, convex under- 

 neath, shining, h. 1ft. to 2ft. 



irge, rec 



gent mucro, the diaphanous 

 VI. 3"" ' 



Beetles. 



C. pulchrum (beautiful), fl. large, red. Autumn. I. spreading or 

 recurved, linear, with a straight, pungent mu< 

 margin serrulate, h. 2ft. to 4ft. (B. M. 3340.) 



COLEOPTERA. 



COLEUS (from koleos, a sheath; in allusion to the 

 filaments being connected, and forming a tube at the base, 

 which sheathes the style). OED. Labiatae. A genus of 

 stove herbs, annual or perennial at the base, rarely suffruti- 

 cose. Whorls usually six-flowered, but often many-flowered, 

 sometimes very dense, and sometimes loose, cyme-formed. 

 The monadelphous stamens distinguish this genus from all 

 others of the order. The foliage of the hybrid varieties 

 and sports of Coleus are unsurpassed for beauty of colour; 

 and, whether grown as large or small plants, they are 

 extremely useful for decorative purposes. Their culture is 

 very simple, but unless a. minimum temperature of 55cleg. 

 is maintained, they cannot be wintered safely. Where such 

 conditions do not obtain, it is better to purchase plants in 

 spring, grow them on for the season, and then throw them 

 away. 



Coleus thrive well in a compost of one-half rotten turf, 

 obtained from an old pasture, one-fourth thoroughly rotted 

 cow manure, and the remainder of sharp sand and leaf 

 soil in equal proportions. Pot moderately firm, and water 

 freely when growth has commenced, giving occasional 

 doses of liquid manure when established, especially during 

 hot weather, as the plants then grow very rapidly. Plenty 

 of air and light must be afforded in summer, in order to 

 keep the plants strong and short-jointed. Care must also 

 be taken that they do not suffer for want of water, or 

 the lower leaves will drop off, and thus render them un- 

 sightly. Coleus grown for exhibition should be of globular 

 or pyramidal form, with the lower leaves covering the 

 edge of the pot, so that neither bare stems nor soil are 

 visible. When grown for ordinary decoration, useful 

 plants may be obtained, and the colours in the leaves more 

 highly developed, by cultivating in comparatively small 

 pots. Those of 5in. or 6in. diameter are large enough 

 to produce good-sized plants that are indispensable for 

 greenhouse or any indoor decorations in summer and 

 autumn. Being of quick growth, and very easily pro- 

 pagated, the loss of a Coleus when used in decorating is 

 of little consequence, compared with the majority of other 

 plants. The flowers of the foliage kinds are insignificant, 

 and the spikes, when seen, should be pinched out. The 

 cultivation above recommended also suits the green-leaved 

 species ; but, after a few pinchings, to secure bushy plants, 



