SWAINSONA 



Australian undershrubs and herbs, differing from 

 Colutea chiefly in smaller stature and the large lateral 

 stigma. Flowers pea-liue, in axillary racemes, purple, 

 blue, red, yellow or white, often showy; standard or 

 vexillum large and showy, orbicular; wings oblong, 

 twisted or falcate ; stamens 9 and 1 : f r. a turgid or 

 inflated pod, which is sometimes divided by a partition 

 and sometimes with the upper suture depressed ; seeds 

 small and kidney-shaped: lvs. unequally pinnate, usu- 

 ally with several or many small leaflets. Now and then 

 various species are seen in the collections of amateurs 

 or botanic gardens, and 8 species are offered by one 

 German dealer, but by far the most popular kind is S. 

 galegifolia, var. albiflora. 



galegifdlia, R. Br. ( Yicia galegifdlia, Andr. Colutea 

 galegifdlia, Sims. S. Osbornii, Moore). Small, gla- 

 brous, attractive shrub, with long, flexuose or half -climb- 

 ing branches: lfts. 5-10 pairs and an odd terminal one, 

 small, oblong and obtuse or somewhat emarginate: ra- 

 cemes axillary and mostly exceeding the foliage, bear- 

 ing rather large deep red fls.: pod 1-2 in. long, much 

 inflated, stipitate. Australia. B.M. 792.— Swainsona 

 galegifolia is an old-time garden plant, blooming freely 

 in a cool or intermediate house along with carnations 

 and roses. It thrives well either as a pot-plant or in 

 beds. It is hardy at San Francisco. It is a nearly con- 

 tinuous bloomer. Cuttings taken in late winter bloom in 

 summer; these plants may then be transferred to the 

 house for winter bloom, although maiden plants are to 

 be preferred. By eutting back old plants, new bloom 

 may be secured. Cuttings grow readily. The plant is 

 easy to manage. The original form of Swainsona is 

 little known in cultivation, but the advent of the white 

 form has brought the species to the fore. 



Var. albifldra, Lindl. (var. alba, Hort, 8. albiflbra, 

 G.Don). Fig. 2440. Flowers pure white. B.R. 12:994. 

 L.B.C. 17:1642. A.F. 8:1173; 10:611; 11:1180. Gng. 

 5:185. — In North America this is now one of the most 

 popular of white florists' flowers for use in winter dec- 

 orations. It has been called the "Winter Sweet Pea" 

 because of the shape of the flowers, but it has no fra- 

 grance. The delicate bright green foliage affords an 

 excellent contrast with the pure white flowers. This 

 variety is often grown at the end of a rose or carnation 

 house, or trained on a trellis. It likes abundant sun- 

 light, rich soil and liquid manure. When allowed too 

 much root room the plants become very large and are 

 slow to bloom, wherefore a large pot or tub is prefer- 

 able to the border. 



Var. violacea, Hort., has rose-violet fls., and is some- 

 what dwarf. S. coronillce folia, Salish., probably repre- 

 sents this form or something verv like it. B.M. 1725. 

 S. eoronillcefolia is an older name than *'. galegifolia, 

 and if the two names are considered to represent the 

 same species the former should be used. 



Var. rosea, Hort., has pink flowers. 



S. Ferrandi, Hort., is called a " garden variety " by Kew au- 

 thorities. Var. alba is described in R.H. 1886, p. 502, and var. 

 a the American trade. L. H. B. 



SWEET HERBS 



1751 



SWALLOW THORN. HippophaS rhamnoides. 



SWAN RIVER DAISY is Brachycome iberidifolia. 



SWEET ALYSSUM. See Alyssum maritimum. 



SWEET BASIL. See Basil. 



SWEET BAY of general literature is Laurus nobilis 

 In America, Magnolia glauea. 



SWEET BRIER. Bosa 



igi not" 



SWEET CICELY, or SWEET-SCENTED CHERVIL 



[Myrrh is odor&ta, Scop., which see), indigenous to 

 Europe upon the banks of streams, is a graceful, hardy 

 perennial 3 ft. tall, with very large, downy, grayish 

 green, much-divided leaves, hairy stems and leaf-stalks, 

 small, fragrant white flowers, and large brown seeds of 

 transient vitality. The leaves, which have an aromatic, 

 anise-like, sweetish flavor and odor, characteristic of 



the whole plant, are still occasionally employed in fla- 

 voring soups and salads, though their use as a culi- 

 nary adjunct, even in Europe, is steadily declining. In 

 American cookery, the plant is almost confined to our 

 unassimilated, distinctly foreign population. Though 

 easily propagated by division, best results are obtained 

 from seed sown in the autumn either spontaneously or 

 artificially; the seedlings, which appear in the follow- 



2440. Swainsona galegifolia var. albiflora (X %) 



ing spring, are set 2 ft. apart each way in almost any 

 ordinary garden soil. Spring-sown seed frequently 

 fails to germinate. When once established common 

 care will be sufficient. jj^ q_ Kains. 



SWEET CLOVER. Melilotus alba. 



SWEET FERN. Myrica Gale. 



SWEET FLAG. Acorus Calamus. 



SWEET GALE. Myrica Gale. 



SWEET GUM. Liguidambar. 



SWEET HERBS. The term " Sweet Herbs " has long 

 been applied to the fragrant and aromatic plants used 

 in cookery to add zest to various culinary preparations, 

 principal among which are dressings, soups, stews and 

 salads. At the commencement of the nineteenth cen- 

 tury many were to be found in gardens and kitchens 

 that now have been dropped entirely or have but very 

 limited use. Perhaps no group of garden plants dur- 

 ing this time has been marked by so little improve- 

 ment. Except in parsley, very few distinctly new or 

 valuable varieties have been produced or disseminated. 

 This is mainly due to the prevailing ignorance of their 

 good qualities, to which ignorance may be charged the 

 improper handling, not only by the grower, but by the 

 seller and often by the filial purchaser. With the public 



