OSMUND A. 



7W.fi: ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



OSTROWSKYA. 



695 



entire. The following have been given 

 varietal names : AUREO MARGINATUS. 

 Leaves similar to those of the green 

 plant, but margined with creamy yellow. 

 ARGENTENEO-MARGINATUS. - Leaves 

 like those of the preceding, but edged 

 with white instead of yellow. LATIFOLIUS 

 MARGINATUS. Leaves larger than those 

 of either of the preceding, the margin 

 creamy white : PURPURASCENS. The 

 young leaves of this variety are tinged 

 with purple, especially on the under side. 

 It is undoubtedly the best of all the 

 Osmanthuses for outdoor work, being 

 much hardier than the variegated forms. 

 At Kew there is a group of this purple- 

 leaved variety near the Palm house, 

 amongst which is planted Lilium candi- 

 dum, and nothing could more happily 

 set off the beauty of this Lily. O. 

 MYRTIFOLIUS. There is an Osman- 

 thus at Kew the lower part of which is 

 ilicifolious, the upper part myrtifolious. 

 The origin of the latter is therefore con- 

 clusively proved. It appears, however, 

 to be itself constant, and when grown on 

 its own roots I have never noticed any 

 reversion. It makes a neat bush, with 

 leaves like those of the Myrtle in shape, 

 but larger and firmer in texture. 



0. rotundifolius. This is the dwarfest 

 and slowest growing of all the Osman- 

 thuses, and is, moreover, one of the most 

 distinct. Its leaves are very stiff and 

 leathery, and distinguish the variety by 

 their more or less obovate outline. The 

 margins are not distinctly serrated, but 

 have a very shallow irregular lobing. 

 The leaves are each from i in. to ij in. 

 long and a little more than half as wide. 



The Osmanthuses may all be propa- 

 gated by cuttings, and although it takes 

 longer to obtain plants on their own roots, 

 they are much to be preferred to those 

 grafted on the Privet. Cuttings should i 

 be taken in August when the wood has j 

 become firm, and they may be struck in : 

 a cool propagating frame. An open soil | 

 of fair quality and depth is better than a | 

 very rich one for all the forms, but more 

 especially for those that are variegated. 

 W. J. B. 



OSMUNDA (Royal Fern). So-called 

 " flowering " Ferns made familiar by our 

 native Royal Fern (O. regalis), which is j 

 found in many bogs and marshy woods, I 

 and is well worth cultivating, as it is the 

 largest and most striking of our native 

 Ferns, sometimes attaining a height of 

 8 ft. It should be planted in moist peaty 

 soil, and the most suitable spots are half- 

 shady places on the banks of streams 

 or of pieces of .water. It may also be 



planted in the water. When exposed to 

 the full sun, it does well, with its roots in 

 a constantly moist, porous, moss-covered 

 soil, if sheltered from strong winds. In 

 shady positions and in deep bog soil it 

 attains a great size. 



The various North American Osmundas 

 may be associated with it. O. cinna- 

 momea is an elegant N. American Fern 

 with pale green fronds ; the variety 

 angustata is smaller, and the fronds are 

 less inclined to droop. This species, like 

 O. regalis, is deciduous. O. Claytoniana 

 is another deciduous species, and has 

 vivid green fronds, 2 to 3 ft. high. O. 

 interrupta is the same. O. gracilis is a 

 native of Canada, somewhat resembling 

 a dwarf form of our Royal Fern, the 

 fronds about 2 ft. high. O. spectabilis is 

 a slender form of O. regalis ; its fronds 

 are smaller, and the young ones come up 

 reddish-purple. North America. These 

 exotic species are of the simplest culture 

 in the hardy fernery, in moist peaty soil. 



OSTROWSKYA (Great Oriental Bell- 

 flower}.- O. magnified is a remarkable and 

 handsome hardy plant found by Dr. Regel 



Ostrowskya magnifica. 



on the higher mountains ot Chanat 

 Darwas, in Eastern Bokhara, and is like 

 a huge Platycodon in aspect, but distinct, 

 the flowers being of great beauty, several 

 inches across, of a delicate purple, veined 

 and varying from seed ; the leaves are in 

 whorls. The plant likes a deep sandy 

 loam, as the carrot-like roots when of full 

 size go down to a depth of 2 ft. They 

 must be carefully handled as they are 

 very brittle. The Ostrowskya does not 



