Jigured in the iBotanical Periodicals. 227 



of noyau.' " [In one of the stoves of Messrs. Young, a plant of Ipomoe^a 

 dissecta was shown me by Mr. Penny, Jan. 20. 18.32; and its foliage, when 

 bruised, effused powerfully and abundantly a bitter almond flavour.] " But 

 we are naturally led to expect prussic acid in plants of the plum tribe; 

 and Dr. Swartz assures us that the bark of the Cerasus occidentalis of 

 the West Indies, on account of its peculiar taste and smell, is used instead 

 of the ^mygdalus Persica; and of the Cerasus sphagrocarpa he says, that 

 the kernel of its nut resembles in taste that of the bitter ahnond. {Bot. 

 Mag., March, t. 3141.) 



LXXIV. Pomdccce. Pyrus ^alvifolia, sage-leaved pear, is figured in the 

 Bot. Reg. for March, t. 1482. " It is a small, inelegant tree, with short 

 crooked branches, and grey leaves, and is gay with blossoms in the spring, 

 and laden with greenish, hard, austere fruit, ripe in October, and the flesh 

 of which, when it has arrived at that state of decomposition in which we 

 eat the medlar, is sweetish, and rather pleasant." (Bot. Reg.) This species, 

 or, as it is hinted, possibly hybrid from P. nivalis, may do well for coarse 

 shrubberies. Increasable by grafting. 



LXXVIl. Legii»iinds(B. Gorapholobium tomentosum Lab, is figured in 

 the Bot. Reg. for Feb. t. 1474., as raised at Knight's from Baxter's seeds. 

 It flowered in August last, at the age of fifteen months from the germination 

 of the seed, and has reproduced seeds freely. Highly curious from the 

 linear subulate pinnae of its winged downy leaves, and in its blossoms, 

 which are small, and produced in pairs or threes at the end of the branches : 

 and the corolla is internally yellow, externally dark olive colour. Pod the 

 size of a large pea. The plant is found to require a good elevated shelf in 

 the green-house during winter ; light soil, and not to be over-watered. 



CY III, \Com2}6sitcB. Dorbnicum caucasicum {Bot. Mag., March, 3143.) 

 Appears to be the first British figure of this elegant yet showy vernal 

 flower. No mention is, however, made of the fragrance of its roots. It 

 is very easily increased by division. 

 CXXIII. Oxalidece, 



1414. O'XALIS. 

 11932a mauritiana .B. C. Mauritian tf lA) or J s.o Pa.Ko. I. ofFr. 1810. O s.p Bot. cab. 1780 



A pleasing little plant, increasing freely by offsetts. 



O'xalis Bowie«Ha, or Bowii as it is in Hbrt. Brit., No. 1 1928., is figured 

 in the Bot, Cab. for March, t. 1 782, and there it is observed of this large 

 and showy-flowered, and most desirable species : — " Its flowering stems 

 are upwards of a foot in height, and are produced in succession for a con- 

 siderable time during summer." Rich loam and the green-house are recom- 

 mended for it. The foliage of this species is large and vigorous. 



CXXIV. TropcBolecB. Tropae^olum peregrinum, the hooked-spurred 

 Indian cress, or Canary-bird flower, is figured in Sweet's Floiver-Garden for 

 March, t. 134. By the remarks there presented by Mr. D. Don, we learn 

 that T. aduncum of Smith in his Tour, of De Candolle in his Prodromus, 

 and of G. Don in his System of Botany and Gardening, vol. i. p. 746., is not 

 distinct from the T. peregrinum of Linnaeus. This interesting climbing 

 plant was blooming in a green-house in the Chelsea Botanic Garden, 

 through the month of October last. It is remarkable for the footstalks of 

 its leaves performing the clasping office of a tendril, as the leafstalks of 

 other tropffiolums do, and also those of several species of Clematis, and 

 of all the species of Jtragene, Maurandyc, and Lophospermum. The 

 name Canary-bird flower is apposite, the expanded yellow petals with their 

 cut margins resembling the opened wings of this bird, and the hooked spur 

 closely simulating the head and neck. The common columbine may be 

 cited as another ornithological flower ; the larkspur another. In odour 

 and flavour, T. peregrinum is described as exactly resembling the common 

 cabbage: this is remarkable, when the common nasturtium (T. majus) has 

 in its fruit and foliage a very high degree of pungent acrimony. Mr. D. 



Q 2 



