232 Ncii- or in/nesting Planis 



CCXIV. Acanthdcctp. 



1785. DARLE'R/y<. 



lup.iliiia LitidJ. UnpAfadrd • □ or 2 au Y Mauritius 1824. C p.l Bot. ri-g. 14SJ 

 Dicliptcra spiiibsa, LuJ. liol. Cab. li;44. ; Ilort Brit. No. i.'7ll87., p. 4C8. 



A compact leafy shrub, very handsome, ahnost always in flower, and 

 particularly remarkable for its rich deep green leaves, marked with a bright 

 red midrib. The imbricate bracteas of the ovate spike form a head like 

 that of tlic hop. Flowers fugitive, but produced in long succession. At 

 the axil of each leaf (the leaves are all opposite) are two stiff" prickly spines 

 near an inch in length. These, Professor Lindley states, arc nothing but 

 transformations of the first leaves of an abortive bud : there arc, he 

 remarks, two buds in the axil of every leaf, of which one produces foliage, 

 and the other is abortive of them j and from this latter the spines arise. Is 

 easily cultivated and multiplied. {Bot. licg., Feb.) 



Aphelandra cristata, a magnificent specimen of, figured in the Bot. 

 Beg. for March, t. l+TT. In the plant at Alton Towers, from which the 

 figure was taken, the branches of the inflorescence were at one time 

 densely covered with blossoms, so that the inflorescence was a compact 

 mass of crhnson, forming a tuft which measured 8 or 9 in. every way. In 

 this state it was a most splendid object for several days; between 800 and 

 > 900 flowers contributing to its brilliancy. The plant should be grown in 

 peat [heath mould], loam, and sand, in a high temperature, with an atmo- 

 sphere well filled with moisture. (Liiidlci/.) In the above place, Aphelandra 

 cristiita is stated to be com{)aratively scarce out of botanical collections: 

 this should not be the case with a plant so beautiful, antl increasable witii- 

 out much difficulty by cuttings. A plant of A. cristata was blooming in a 

 stove at Knight'.s Exotic Nursery, October, 1830; and, on ceasing to flower, 

 was succeeded in November by the plentifiilly proiluced blossoms of the 

 equally beautifully and closely allied Geissomeria longiflora. The latter 

 seems free of growth and blossom too ; and the season at which both plants 

 flower, added to their beauty, renders both exceedingly desirable. 



CCXXI. Labintcc. Westring/a longifolia is figured in the Bot. Beg. 

 for March, t. 1481. It has narrower leaves, which are obliquely directed, 

 and somewhat twisted occasionally, im[)arting to this species perfect dis- 

 tinctness of aspect from the old W. rostnarinifurmis. The latter, I think, 

 blossoms not while small; but W. longifolia, at 2 ft. high, was, from No- 

 vember, 1831, to the end of January, 183"^, (|uite pretty, with its rather 

 numerous grey blossoms, in a green-house at Knight's Exotic Nursery. 



76. SA LVIA. „,-r 



607o strictillbra //oo*. :crcct.flw(i • □ or 3d Bt.R Peru 1831. Clt Bot mag. 3135 



Assimilates closely to S. biflura B. and P., but that is described as being 



superlatively villous ; S. strictiflora is glabrous every where except the 



corolla. It* is a pretty s[)ecies, with rather bright rcil tubular blossoms 



[and apparently .something of the habit of .V. s|)lenilens, but its leaves are 



broad and cordate] : its connectivum is remarkably long. The whole plant, 



on being touched, yielils a strong but not agreeable scent. {But. Mag.^ 



Feb.) 



MONOCOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 



CCXXVIII. Amar^mdex. 



'■^■''p"milus'/AC'., dwarf tf lA) or Jau U Chile 18;31. O s.lJJBot. cab. 1771 



Lately introduced. The flowers seem large in proportion to the stature 



of the plant, and are often followed by seeds which ripen in this country. 



The plant is readily nuiltii)licd by these, and also occasionally by oflsets. 



(Bot. Cub., Feb.) 



7537ii!.tdUlIr\V//lf./'.''starry.y7<r,/. tf A or 1 my W.c ... Ifi29. O co .Sw.fl.Kar C.s.132 



We have Vol. VII. p. i79. noticed the narcissinean genera of Mr. Ha- 



