figured in the Lond. Flor. and Bot. Magazines. 179 

 Primidaceoe. 



DOUGLA'SM Lindl. (in compliment to Mr. Dnujilns, whose zeal in the collection of seedg 

 and plants, and whose untimely end, have nciily earned for him a niche in the long gal- 

 lery of departed science.) 

 nivalis Lindl. Snnwy Douglasia. A hardy perennial herbaceous plant ; growing a foot or 

 more in heiffht ; with purple flowers, appearina in June (.') ; increased by seeds ; a native 

 of the Rocky Mountains ; introiluced in 1829.' Bot. Reg., 1886. 



This genus is commemorative of the indefatigable zeal of the late 

 Mr. Douglas, in collecting seeds and plants. Perhaps it may be thought 

 by soma that a more showy plant might have been selected, among the 

 very many which he has described, for adding thereto his name — one 

 that would be more likely to be generally diffused in gardens than in all 

 probability the present subject ever will. But botanists seem not to 

 regard this. The genus Linnae'a is composed of only one species and 

 one variety, plants not growing more than three or four inches high, and 

 rarely known, only in botanical works, beyond their native localities. 

 Douglasirt nivalis will, however, carry down his name to posterity, and 

 wherever it is grown, it will not fail to remind the amateur of the un- 

 timely fate of this excellent botanist, and of the value to our gardens 

 of the numerous plants and shrubs he discovered and introduced into 

 Britain. From an account, published by Dr. Lindley, in Brande^s 

 Journal, in 1828, we learn that — 



" Upon his [Mr. Douglas's] journey across the Rocky Mountains, in 

 April, 1827, in latitude 52^ N., longitude 118^ W., at an estimated 

 elevation of 12.000 feet above the level of the sea, the attention of Mr. 

 Douglas was attracted by a brilliant purple patch amidst the sur- 

 rounding snow. On approaching it, he was surprised to find that the 

 color which had arrested his eye was caused by the blossoms of a little 

 plant, from which the superincumbent'snow had not yet melted away. 

 The well known iSaxIfraga oppositifolia immediately occurred to his 

 recollection, and he at first imagined he had either discovered that 

 species, or one nearly allied to it; but, upon a closer inspection, he per- 

 ceived that it was not a -Saxifraga, but a genus apparently new." 



From the description of the plant, drawn up from specimens, sub- 

 mitted to Dr. Lindley for examination, we condense the following : 

 Stems round, with rigid branched short hairs, densely clothed with 

 opposite spreading leaves; leaves dull glaucous green, semi-amplexcaul, 

 linear obtuse, covered with hairs; flowers of a vivid purple, infundibuli- 

 form, proceeding from the axils of the upper leaves, from three to six 

 on each branch ; they are at first sessile, but their footstalks subse- 

 quently lengthen; calyx hairy, obconical, angular, about the length of 

 the tube, which is ventricose, and rather longer than the calyx; limb 

 spreading, five-parted, with cuneate oblong, obtuse segments; anthers 

 linear, oblong, nearly sessile; ovarium superior, obovate one-celled; 

 capsule of a cartillaginous texture, surrounded by the persistent cal3'x, 

 one-celled, with five recurring valves; seeds two peltate oblong. From 

 these characters, Dr. Lindley refers the plant to Primulacese. 



Since the above account- was published, plants have been raised 

 from seeds collected by Mr. Douglas, in California, in the London Hor- 

 ticultural Society's garden, where they flowered in July, 1835, and sub- 

 sequently in Ajjril, 1836. It grows freely in peat and sand, and ripens 

 its seeds in small quantities. Only two plants were raised at first, and 

 these were kept in the green-house; but it is probable that it will thrive 

 best with the treatment of Alpine plants; undoubtedly it would flourish 

 better in our gardens than in those of Britain. 



The flowers are very numerous, entirely covering the plant; and, from 

 its early iilooming and Alpine character, will prove a valuable addition 

 to our collections; as it ripens seeds, it will be, probably, soon intro- 

 duced. {Bot, Reg., Sept.) 



