figured in the London Flor. and Bot. Magazines. 257 



scape, about two feet high, terminated with two or more large, 

 clear white, delightfully fragrant flowers, which remain in perfec- 

 tion an " amazing length of time." The specimen from which 

 the drawing was taken was furnished by Mr. Campbell, of the 

 Manchester Botanic Garden. It is cultivated in the same man- 

 ner as the other species. [Pax. Mag. Bot., April.) 



Jllstrcemerias. — A number of species of this beautiful family 

 are now blooming in various collections in the vicinity of Boston. 

 In the collection of J. W. Boot, Esq., A. pulchella (Hookeri 

 Swt.,) psittacina, Flos Martini, and a species, of which the name 

 is lost, are in full flower. The St. Martin's flower is the most 

 beautiful, in our opinion, of the whole. We have Pelegrina, 

 raised from seeds, psittacina, and a species, which we suppose 

 to be aurantiaca, in bloom: the latter is very handsome, with 

 bright orange flowers, elegantly striped, on the upper sepals, with 

 a deeper tint. 



Orchiddcece. 



jRENANTHE'RA 



coccinea Scarlet-flowered Air-plant. A stove epiiiliyte; crouin;; tw: he feet high; witli 

 scarlet flowers; appearing in Oclolier; a native of (.'hinii. Tax. Mag. iJi;t., Vol. III. 



For a long time previous to the introduction of this plant into 

 Europe, its beauty was partially known, both from the reports of 

 various travellers in China, and from a work of Loureiro, a mis- 

 sionary, published in 1790: the London Horticultural Society 

 also possessed a drawing of it; but it was not until it first pro- 

 duced its flowers in Britain, at Claremont, in the garden of 

 Prince Leopold, that its surpassing splendor became generally 

 known to European cultivators. The Chinese cultivate it in 

 their houses, suspended from the ceiling in a basket, or some 

 other proper utensil, from whence its gorgeous flowers hang grace- 

 fully, displaying a mass of bloom which has often been said to 

 "surpass almost every other vegetable product known." 



From the reports of its beauty great exertions were made to 

 introduce the plants into England. It was soon procured. At 

 various times it was received, and always recognized, from its 

 peculiar long leafy stems, veinless leaves, and fleshy tortuous 

 roots. A long time elapsed after the plants had become general- 

 ly introduced into the various collections, before any correct idea 

 could be formed of the precise nature of its inflorescence, and 

 all efforts to make the plants produce bloom seem to have been 

 for a long time entirely fruitless, until Mr. Fairburn, (then gar- 

 dener to Prince Leopold,) from an idea that the plants had been 

 generally grown in too dry an atmosphere, tried tiie experiment 

 of enveloping the stems with moss, and keeping ii constantly 

 moist, exposing the plants as much as possible to the sun; the 

 result was the development of a panicle of flowers, two and 



VOL. fll. NO. VII. 33 



