152 HOT-HOUSE OF REPOTTING; ETC. 



There are many others of this genus belonging to the hot- 

 house, but being shy in flowering, are not generally esteemed. 

 Most of the flowers have the appearance of yellow balls of 

 down, and are hermaphrodite. The pots should all be well 

 drained. (Soil No. 1.)* 



jEschynanthus, about four species, among which jE. grandi- 

 florus, jE. Boschianus, dark velvet purple and bright scarlet, 

 and JB. parasiticus are very deserving of culture; they have 

 thick fleshy foliage, are of slender growth, producing orange- 

 coloured tubular flowers in clusters, and require treatment 

 similar to the wax-plant. (Soil No. 2.) 



Ardisias, about eighteen species. Plants highly esteemed 

 for the beauty of their foliage, flowers, and berries. The 

 most popular in our collections is A. crenulata. It has rose- 

 coloured star-like flowers, in terminal panicles, and produces 

 beautiful small red berries, which continue until other ber- 

 ries are produced the following year; and frequently there 

 may be seen on one plant the berries of three successive 

 years, thus being a very ornamental plant and very desira- 

 ble. It is vulgarly called the dwarf ever-bearing cherry. It 

 will keep in a good green-house, but not grow freely. A. so- 

 landcea has large oblong leaves, narrowed at each end, and 

 bears purple berries; A. ttegans has entire, oblong, shining 

 leaves; A. umbellata, once A. littordlis, is also a fine plant 

 for an abundance of flower and beauty of foliage. The 

 flowers are pink, in large decompound panicles. 



Allamanda, a family of half climbing plants, with large 

 chrome-yellow blossoms, requiring plenty of pot-room and 

 good culture to flower well. A. cathdrtica, A. nerii folia, and 

 A. schottii,vfe consider the finest. (Use soil No. 13.) 



Aphalandra cristata, a new plant with a brilliant spike of 

 flowers about six inches long crowning the plant. (Use soil 

 No. 9.) 



Are'ca, Cabbage-tree, ten species. They are a kind of 

 palms, with large pinnated leaves, or properly fronds. In 

 their indigenous state they are from six to forty feet high, 

 but in the hot-house they seldom exceed twenty feet. A. 

 catechu is used in medicine. A. olerdcea is cultivated exten- 

 Bively in the West Indies, and the tender part of the top 



* These numbers refer to the table of soils at the end of th 

 work. 



