559 



middle. (Don's Mill.} A pyramidal shrub. South of Europe, in the region 

 of the Mediterranean ; and Cunnemara, on the western coast of Ireland. 

 Height 4 ft. to 6 ft. sometimes 10 ft. Cultivated in 1596. Flowers red, 

 with dark anthers ; March to May. 



The hardiest of arboreous heaths in British gardens ; though plants at 

 Syon, which had stood upwards of half a century, and were above 10 ft. 

 high, were killed to the ground by the winter of 1837-8. 



GENUS III. 



CALLITNA Sal. THE CALLUNA. Lin. Syst. Octandria Monogynia. 



Identification. Salisbury in Lin. Soc. Trans., 6. p. 317. ; Don's Mill, 3. p. 828. 



Synonyme. Er\c& sp. Lin. and others. 



Derivation. The name of Calluna is derived from kalluno, which, as Sir J. E. Smith observes, " is 

 doubly suitable ; whether, with Mr. Salisbury and Dr. Hull, we take it to express a cleansing 

 property, brooms being made of ling ; or whether we adopt the more common sense of the word, 

 to ornament or adorn, which is very applicable to the flowers." (Eng. Flora, ii. p. 224.) 



Gen. Char. Calyx 4-parted, membranous, coloured, furnished with 4 bracteas 

 at the base. Corolla campanulate, 4-lobed, shorter than the calyx. Stamens 

 enclosed. Filaments dilated. Anthers bipartite, biappendiculate at the base; 

 cells of anthers mucronulate, dehiscing lengthwise. Stigma capitate. Capsule 

 with a septicidal dehiscence. Seeds ovoid, smooth. (Don's Mill.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, evergreen ; acerose, trigonal, obtuse, 

 very short, imbricating in 4 rows, having the margins revolute, and the 

 base sagittate. Flowers disposed in long, terminal, spicate racemes. Under- 

 shrub, small, spreading ; native of Europe on poor soils. 



ju 1. C. VULGA V RIS Sal. The common Ling, or Heather. 



Identification. Salisb. Lin. Trans., 6. p. 317. ; Eng. Flora, 2. p. 224. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 828. 

 Synonymes. Erica, vulgaris Lin. Sp. p. 501. ; la Bruyere, Fr. ; Heide, Ger. ; Lyng, Dan. ; Liung, 



Szced. ; Brentoli, Cecchia, or Scopa, Ital. ; Brezo, Span. ; Urze, Port. ; Weresk, Kuss. 

 Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 1013. ; and our fig. 1035. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves 3-cornered in a transverse section of 

 them, arrow-shaped at the base, obtuse at the point, revolute in 

 the lateral margins, imbricate in 4 rows. Flowers disposed in 

 long, terminal, spicate racemes. (Don's Mill.) A small, spread- 

 ing, evergreen shrub. Europe, plentiful in Britain. Height 

 6 in. to 3 ft. Flowers purplish ; July to September. 



Varieties. 



ju. C. v. 1 purpiirea. Flowers purplish red. 



u C. v. 2 spiiria. Branches tufted. Racemes short. Flow- 



ers purplish red. 

 *~ C. v. 3 decumbens. Branches decumbent. Racemes short. Flowers 



purplish red. 

 a~ C. v. 4 tomentosa. Leaves and branches woolly. Flowers purplish 



red. 



*~ C. v. 5 alba. Flowers white, less crowded. Corolla shorter. 

 *~ C. v. ftflore plena. Flowers double, pale purplish red. 

 X- C. v. 1 foliis variegdtis. Leaves variegated. Flowers purplish. 

 *-. C. v. 8 aurea. Leaves variegated with yellow. 

 ft- C. v. 9 coccinea. Flowers deep red. 

 !U C. v. \Qspicata. Racemes long. Flowers red or white, 

 t, C. v. \ 1 and 12 Two varieties are mentioned by Sir W. J. Hooker, 



as being in cultivation in the Glasgow Botanic Garden, where they 



have retained their differences for years. They have both pubes- 



