290 CARAGANA 



C. FRUTESCENS, De Candolle. 



A deciduous shrub up to 10 ft. in height, with long, often erect, supple 

 branches, not much divided except near the ends. Leaves composed of 

 two pairs of leaflets, which are attached near the end of the common stalk, 

 being themselves stalkless ; they are oboyate, rounded at the end, \ to over 

 I in. long, smooth, dull green. Flowers bright yellow, f to I in. long, produced 

 singly on a stalk somewhat shorter than itself. Calyx i in. long, bell-shaped, 

 smooth. Pod i^ ins. long, J in. wide ; cylindrical, smooth. 



In a wild state this species extends from the south of Russia to Japan. It 

 was introduced in 1752. It is a pretty shrub in flower, and is often quite neat 

 and graceful in habit, especially when 3 or 4 ft. high, with its numerous thin 

 twigs, rather pendulous. It is distinct in being unarmed and without down. Of 

 several forms in cultivation the most distinct is var. MOLLIS, with leaves downy 

 on both sides ; found wild in the Caucasus. 



Var. GRANDIFLORA has flowers over I in. long, with a proportionately 

 short calyx. 



C. GERARDIANA, Royle. 



A deciduous shrub, naturally of close, compact form, and from 2 to 4 ft. 

 high. Branches close-jointed, covered thickly with whitish, silky hairs. 

 Leaves pinnate, i^ to 2^ ins. long, with four to six pairs of leaflets, the common 

 stalk very downy, spine-tipped, remaining after the leaflets have fallen, and 

 becoming eventually a sharp, slender thorn. Leaflets oval or obovate with a 

 bristle-like tip, 5- to \ in. long, silky hairy. Stipules not spiny, but broad, thin 

 and papery, \ in. long. Flowers solitary on their very short stalks, pale 

 yellow or nearly white, f in. long ; calyx hairy, cylindrical, in. long. Pod 

 hairy outside, downy within, about i in. long. 



Native of the north-western Himalaya up to 13,000 ft. This shrub is 

 remarkable for its long, slender spines, and the dense woolly covering, which 

 gives the whole plant a greyish white aspect. It is hardy at Kew, but I have 

 never seen it in flower. Essentially a sun-lover, and coming from the dry 

 inner valleys of N.W. India, it finds our climate too wet and dull. On the 

 Continent it thrives better. In Messrs Simon-Louis' nursery at Metz I have 

 seen it in admirable health. It will probably be best suited in this country on 

 a well-drained sunny ledge of the rock garden. 



C. JUBATA, Poiret. 



A dwarf, deciduous, excessively spiny and hairy shrub, I to 2 ft. high, with 

 thick branches completely covered with spines, woolly stipules and leaflets. 

 Leaves I to 2j ins. long, with four to eight pairs of leaflets. The leaf-stalk is 

 downy when young, slender, spine-tipped, persisting after the leaflets have 

 fallen, and hardening, the older branches thereby become thickly furnished with 

 \\iry-looking spines I to 2^ ins. long. Leaflets oblong, j to f in. long, hairy ; 

 stipules J in. wide, each lobe ending in a stiff spine, the whole shaggy with long 

 silky hairs. As the branch is completely covered with these overlapping 

 stipules it has quite a padded appearance. Flowers solitary on short stalks, 

 white, i j ins. long ; calyx J in. long, hairy, with five narrowly triangular teeth. 

 Pod f in. long, hairy outside, smooth within. Blossoms in April and May. 



Native of Siberia and Mongolia ; introduced from near Lake Baikal in 

 1796. This remarkable shrub comes from dry desert regions, where the 

 summers are extremely hot and the winters extremely cold. In Great Britain 

 it is most successfully grown at the foot of a warm, dry wall, in well-drained, 

 light soil. The flowers are few and the shrub is not showy, yet it is worth 

 growing as a curiosity. 



