ALANGIUM ALBIZZIA 177 



ALANGIUM TLATANIFOLIUM, Harms. ALANGIACE^:. 



(Marlea platanifolia, Siebold.") 



A deciduous shrub, 6 ft. or more high, with erect, zigzagged, but not 

 much branched stems ; branches very pithy and slightly downy ; winter 

 buds hairy. Leaves alternate, roundish, or broadly ovate in main out- 

 line, 4 to 8 ins. long, nearly as wide, with two to seven (usually three or 

 five) large pointed lobes towards the apex ; upper surface dark green, and 

 smooth except for scattered hairs ; lower surface covered with pale down ; 

 stalk i to 3 ins. long. Flowers white, the petals linear, forming a slender 

 tube i to i^ ins. long; produced during June and July in a one- to four- 

 flowered cyme from the leaf-axils of the current year's shoots; flower- 

 stalks i to 2 ins. long. Fruit thin-shelled, ovate, J in. long, with the 

 calyx persisting at the top. 



Native of Japan, whence it was introduced by Maries for Messrs 

 Veitch about 1879. It is also a native of China, where it was found in 

 Hupeh by Henry. This shrub must be regarded more as a curiosity 

 than as an ornament in gardens, although the large maple-like leaves are 

 handsome. It is hardy at Kew, although its soft pithy shoots are 

 sometimes cut back by severe winter cold. Although allied to Cornus, 

 it has a very different aspect, and is, indeed, quite distinct from any other 

 hardy shrub we cultivate. Its old generic name of Marlea is an adapta- 

 tion of a native name for an Indian species, but it has recently been 

 removed from that genus and the natural order Cornaceae, and given the 

 name here adopted. 



ALBIZZIA JULIBRISSIN, Durrazo. PINK SlRlS. 



LEGUMINOS^:. 

 (Acacia Julibrissin, Willdenow.') 



A deciduous tree 30 to 40 ft. high, with smooth branchlets. Leaves 

 doubly pinnate, with from six to twelve pairs of main divisions (pinnae), 

 each of which consists of twenty to thirty pairs of leaflets ; the entire leaf 

 being 9 to 18 ins. long, half as wide. Each leaflet is J to \ in. long, 

 i in. wide, oblong, with a curious one-sided appearance, due to" the blade 

 developing only on the lower side of the midrib. Flowers in a terminal 

 cluster of dense heads each terminating a stalk i to 2 ins. long, the chief 

 feature of the flower being the numerous thread-like rosy purple stamens, 

 i in. or more long, which give the flower-head the appearance of a brush. 

 Pod about 5 ins. long, f in. wide, constricted between the seeds. 



Native of the Orient, whence it was introduced in 1745 ; also common, 

 cultivated or wild, in China and many other countries. It is now very 

 well known in gardens in its juvenile state as an ornamental plant for sub- 

 tropical bedding. For this purpose seeds are sown in heat in spring in 

 pots, and the plants gradually hardened off by the end of May, then 

 planted out in good soil. When the frosts come they are either destroyed, 

 or potted up and housed in a cool greenhouse until the following spring. 



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