202 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



Down, in 1815, or before. It is very upright in its growth, and attains the 

 height, in good soils, of from 6ft. to 10 ft. in as many years. Its branches 

 are so soft and succulent that sheep and cattle eat them without injuring their 

 mouths, and are very fond of them. It forms excellent garden hedges, and, 

 in rather moist climates, is a most excellent forage plant, as has been already 

 stated under U. europa^a. It only rarely flowers, and has very seldom pro- 

 duced seeds ; but it is easily propagated by cuttings. 



Other Species of Wlex. U. genistmdes Brot., U. mitis Hort,, Stauracan- 

 thus aphyllus Link, is a leafless shrub, with the habit of CTlex ; a native of 

 Portugal in sandy pine woods ; and differing from C7 v lex nana chiefly in the 

 spines branching into two small ones at the sides. It was introduced in 1823 ; 

 and grows to the height of 1 ft. to 2 ft. It is rather tender in the climate of 

 London, but sometimes stands the winter among rock work. 



GENUS V. 



SPA'RTIUM Dec. 



THE SPARTIUM, or SPANISH BROOM. 

 Monadelphia Decandria. 



Lin. Syst. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 995. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 145. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 148. 

 Synonymes. Spartianthus Link Enum. 2. p. 223. ; Genista sp. Lam. and Mcench ; Sparzio, Ital. 

 Derivation. From spartan, cordage ; in allusion to the use of the plant in early ages generally, and 

 in Spain, even to the present day, for making ropes. 



Gen. Char., fyc. Calyx membranous, spathaceous, cleft above, 5 toothed at 

 the apex, somewhat labiate. Corolla with a roundish complicated vexillum, 

 and an acuminated keeL Petals a little agglutinated, but partable. Sta- 

 mens monadelphous. Legume compressed, many-seeded, glandless. (Don's 

 Mill.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, caducous ; lanceolate. Flowers in 

 terminal racemes, large, distant, and yellow. A shrub, a native of Spain 

 and Portugal. 



* 1. S. JU'NCEUM L. The Rush-^&e Spartium, or Spanish Broom. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 995. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 145. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 148. 



Synonymes. Genista ^'uncea Lam. and Du Ham. ; G. odorata Mcench ; Spartianthus jtinceus 



Mcench ; Genet d'Espagne, Fr. ; Binsenartige Pfriemen, Ger. ; Ginestra di Spagna, ItaJL . 

 Engravings. N. Du Ham., 2. t. 22. ; Bot. Mag., t. 85. ; and our fig. 305. 



Spec. Char., $c. Branches upright, round, of a deep green colour, smooth, 

 and with but few leaves, which are lanceolate, and soon drop off. An up- 

 right shrub, evergreen from the colour of its numerous shoots. Spain, 

 Portugal, and the South of France, in gravelly soils. Height 5 ft. to 8 ft. ; 

 in British gardens 8ft. to 12ft. In- 

 troduced in 1548. Flowers dark yel- 

 low, large ; July to September. Pods 

 brown ; ripe in October. Naked 

 young wood smooth and dark green. 



Varieties. 



& S. j. 2 odoratissimum (S. odora- 



tissimum D. Don Brit. Fl. 



Gard. 2. st. 390. ; S. acutifo- 



lium Lindl. Bot. Reg. ; and our 



fig. 304.) has the flowers sweet- 

 scented, and the leaves more 



acute than those of the species. 



Raised from Turkish seeds. 

 st S. j. SJtdre pleno has double flowers. 



301. Spartium junceurr odoratissimum. 



