THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



GENISTA. 



571 



subbipinnata y subulata, tenuifolia, uniflora, 

 varians. 



GENISTA (Rock Broom}. Some of 

 these are good garden and rock-garden 

 shrubs, thriving in almost any soil which is 

 not too wet, and readily raised from seeds. 



G. setnensis, a native of Sicily, is one 

 of the best kinds. In a young state 

 the twigs are sparsely clothed with linear 

 silky leaves, but when old no leaves 

 are developed, and the green slender 

 twigs perform the functions of leaves. 

 An old tree for this species attains a 

 height of 12 ft. or more is a beautiful 

 sight in July or August when in full 

 flower. 



G. anglica (Needle Furze] is a prostrate 

 spiny shrub, sometimes growing to a 



Gazania nivea. 



height of 2 ft., widely distributed through- 

 out Western Europe, and in Britain 

 occurring on moist moors from Ross 

 southwards. The short leafy racemes of 

 yellow flowers appear in May and June. 



G. aspalathoides, a native of South- 

 western Europe, makes a densely- 

 branched, compact, spiny bush from I ft. 

 to 2 ft. in height. It flowers in July 

 and August (the yellow blossoms are 

 somewhat smaller than those of G. 

 anglica), and is a good shrub for the rock- 

 garden. Other names for it are Spartium 

 aspalathoides and S. erinaceoides. 



G. anxantica, found wild in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Naples, is very nearly allied 

 to our native Dyer's Greenweed (G. 

 tinctoria). It is very dwarf in habit, 

 and its racemes of golden-yellow flowers 

 are produced in great profusion in late 

 summer. A beautiful rock-garden plant. 

 ~ G. ephedroides, a native of Sardinia, is 



a much-branched shrub, 2 ft. in height, 

 bearing yellow flowers from June to 

 August. The aspect of the plant much 

 resembles that of Ephedra distachya. 



G. germanica, a species widely dis- 

 tributed throughout Europe, makes a 



Genista pilosa. 



bright rock-garden shrub not more than a 

 couple of feet in height. It flowers very 

 freely during the summer and autumn 

 months, and the stems are inclined to- 

 arch when i ft. or more high. Some- 

 times met with under the name of Scorpius 

 spinosus. 



G. hispanica, a native of South-western 

 Europe, is a compact undershrub, ever- 

 green from the colour of its shoots. It 

 scarcely attains more than i ft. or 18 in. 

 in height, and the crowded racemes of 

 yellow flowers are borne at the tips of the 

 spiny twigs from May onwards. 



G. pilosa, a widely distributed European 

 species, is a dense, prostrate bush and a 

 delightful rock-garden plant. In Britain 

 it is rare and local, being confined to- 

 gravelly heaths in the south and south- 

 west of England. It grows freely and 

 flowers abundantly in May and June- 

 Like the rest of the British species of 

 the genus, it has bright yellow blossoms. 



G. radiata is a native of Central and 

 Southern Europe, 3 ft. or 4 ft. in height, ever- 

 green from the colour of its much-branched! 

 spiny twigs. The ter- r -^ 



minal heads of bright 

 yellow flowers are pro- 

 duced throughout the 

 summer months. It is 

 quite hardy at any rate 

 in the South of Eng- 

 land. 



G. ramosissima. A 

 native of Southern Spain, 

 and one of the best gar- 

 den plants in the genus, 

 growing about 3 ft. high, the slender twigs 

 laden in July with bright yellow flowers. 

 This also passes under the name of G- 

 cinerea. 



G. sagittalis is widely distributed 

 throughout Europe. In habit it differs 



Genista radiata. 



