N E R 



K E R 



which form the spike are distant from each other, 

 and sit close to the stalk : the leaves short, oval, 

 heart-shaped : the plant is hoary and strong scent- 

 ed. It is a native of Italy, flowering Ironi June 

 to August. 



The tilth has a thick knobbed root, from wliich 

 come out one or two stalks, that often decline 

 to the ground ; they are about two feet and a 

 half long, and send out two side branches op- 

 posite : the leaves are oblong, erenate, sessile, 

 deep areeii : the upper part of the stalk, for more 

 than a foot in length, has whorls of fiower.s, the 

 lower ones two inches asunder, but nearer all 

 the way up ; they sit very close to the stalks, and 

 are guarded by small bractes: the corolla is blue. 

 It is a native of Spain and Portugal, flowering 

 from .lune to August 



Culture. — These plants are capable of being 

 increased by seeds, parting the roots, slips, and 

 cuttings, but thtvflrst is the principal mode. 



The seeds niay be sown in the autumn or 

 spring, on a bed of light earth, raking it in 

 lightly : when the plants have attained some 

 growth, thev may be |)!anted nut in nursery rows, 

 to remain till the autumn, when they may be set 

 out where they are to remain ; or they may re- 

 main where sown, only thinning them properly 

 out. 



The partings of the roots may be set out se- 

 parately, where they are to remain, in the be- 

 ginning of the autumn, or spring, being after- 

 wards kept free from weeds. 



Slips or cuttings of the branches may be 

 planted out in the spring in shady situations, 

 occasional supplies of water being given till 

 they have stricken root. 



The flrst sort and varieties, as well as manv of 

 the others, may afford variety in the borders, 

 clumps, and other parts of pleasure-grounds, in 

 mixture with herbaceous plants of different de- 

 scriptions. They are likewise some of them 

 cultivated for medicinal use. 



NERIUM, a genus comprehending plants of 

 the evergreen flowering shrubby kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Pentavdria 

 Moniigi/iiia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Curiloitce. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a five- 

 parted perianthivnn, acute, very small, perma- 

 nent: the corolla is onr-petalled, funnel-form: 

 tube cvlindric, shorter than the border: border 

 very large, five-parted; segments wide, blunt, 

 oblique: nectary a crown terminating the tube, 

 short, lacerated into capillary segments : the 

 stamina have five, awl-shaped filaments, very 

 short, in the tube of the corolla : anthers sauit- 

 taic, convergin»r, terminated by a long thread: 

 the pisiillvuii a roundish germ, bifid: style cv- 



V</L. II, 



lindric, the Imglh of the lubi- : stigma Ifuncate, 

 sitting on an orblet, fastened to the anthers : the 

 pericarpinm has two follicles, round, long, acu- 

 minate, erect, one- valvcd, opening longitudinally; 

 the seeds numerous, oblong, crowned with down, 

 placed imbricately. 



The species cultivated are: 1. A'', oleander. 

 Common Rosebay, or Oleander; 9. A'^. odoruni, 

 Sweet- Scented Rosebay, or Oleander: 3. A'^, 

 cmtidyseiitericum, Oval -Leaved Rosebay; 4. A^. 

 coriD/diium, Brnad-Lcaved Rosebay. 



Ttie first rises with several stalks to the lieicht 

 of eight or ten feet : the branches come out 

 by threes round the principal stalks, and have 

 a smooth bark, which in that with red flowers is 

 of a purplish colour, but in that with white 

 flowers of a light green : the leaves for the most 

 part stand by threes round the stalks, upon very 

 short footstalks, and point upwards; they are three 

 or four inches long, and three quarters of an inch 

 broad in the middle, of a dark green, very stiff", 

 and end in acute points : the flowers come out 

 at the end of the branches in large loose bunehesy 

 and are of a bright purple, or crimson colour, 

 or of a dirty white. It is a native of the Levant, 

 flowering in July and August. 



In warm dry summers this plantmakes a fine 

 appearance, the flowers then opening in great 

 plenty ; but in cold moist seasons the flowers 

 often decay without expanding, unless the plants 

 are placed in a green-house or under a glass- 

 case. 



The variety with white flowers is the most ten- 

 der; but there arc others, as the Stripe-leavftd ; the 

 Broad-leaved Double-flowered, the Striped Dou^ 

 ble-flowered, and with diflferent shades of red 

 from purple to crimson or scarlet. 



The second species rises with shrubby stalks 

 six or seven feet high, covered with a brown 

 bark : the leaves are stiflF, from three to four 

 inches long, and not more than a quarter of an 

 inch broad, of a light green, and the edges re- 

 flexed ; they are opposite, or alternate, or 

 by threes round the branches : the flowers are 

 produced in loose bunches at the ends of the 

 branches ; thev are of a pale red, and have an 

 agreeable musky scent. It grows naturally in 

 India, flowering from June to Auoust. 



There is a variety with leaves six inches Ions, 

 and one inch broad in the middle, of a much thin- 

 ner texture than those of the first, and their ends 

 are generally refltxed ; they are of a light green, 

 and irregularly placed on the branches by pairs, 

 alternately, or by threes : the flowers are pro- 

 duced in very large bunches at the end of 

 the branches, upon long peduncles ; they have 

 three or four rows of petals one within another; 

 they are much larger than those of the coinmoa 

 U 



