ILTJCIUM INDIGOFERA 653 



smooth. Flowers borne singly near the end of the shoots, each one composed 

 of from twenty to thirty strap-shaped, pointed petals, f to I in. long, maroon- 

 purple. Fruit a little over i in. wide. 



Native of the southern United States ; first found by Bartram in W. Florida 

 in 1766, and introduced to England five years later. A small specimen has 

 lived outside for a long time without protection in the Coombe Wood nursery, 

 where it stands on a sunny slope, but as a rule near London it requires the 

 shelter of a wall or some winter covering. It is really best adapted for 

 Cornwall and places with a similar climate. The whole plant is permeated 

 with an agreeable aromatic fragrance. 



I. RELIGIOSUM, Siebold. 

 (Bot. Mag., t. 3965.) 



A shrub or small tree, the young branches of which are smooth, green 

 spotted with brown. Leaves 2 to 3 ins. long, | to i in. wide, narrowly oval, 

 blunt at the apex, tapering at the base to a short, thick stalk. Flowers about 

 i in. across, produced singly or in pairs from the leaf-axils, not fragrant. 

 Petals narrow, numerous (up to thirty), pale greenish yellow. 



Native of Japan and China ; introduced in 1790. Flowers from March to 

 May. Hardy in Cornwall, Scilly, the south of Ireland, etc., this, near London, 

 is suitable for a wall or specially sheltered spot. The leaves and wood 

 have a strong aromatic and agreeable fragrance. This shrub was long thought 

 to be the " star anise " of the Japanese and Chinese, but that tree is really 

 quite a different species, now known as I. VERUM. (See J. D. Hooker in 

 Bot. Mag., t. 7005.) I. religiosum thrives well at Leonardslee. 



INDIGOFERA. LEGUMINOS^. 



A large genus of herbs and shrubs, notable in containing the indigo 

 plant (I. tinctoria). Of the shrubby species a few may be grown out-of- 

 doors 1n Britain, but the shoots in our climate, although woody, are 

 usually of only annual duration, unless given the protection of a wall. 

 Leaves pinnate; flowers pea-shaped, and produced -in axillary racemes. 

 Pod long and narrow. 



The four species here included are all handsome plants, requiring 

 a good, but not a heavy, loamy soil, and a sunny position. They are 

 increased by cuttings made of half-ripened shoots placed in a close, 

 slightly heated frame. The cuttings should be kept under glass the first 

 winter, remaining in their pots until spring. 



I. DECORA, Lindley. 



CBot. Mag., t. 5063.) 



A lo.w deciduous shrub, i to 2 ft. high, perhaps more in milcl districts. 

 Stems reddish brown, slender, bearing pinnate leaves 4 to 6 ins. long at 

 intervals of i to i^ ins. Leaflets in three and a half to six and a half pairs on 

 each leaf; i to 2^ ins. long, | to i in. wide ; ovate-lanceolate to oval, with a 

 short, abrupt, bristle-like tip ; smooth above, furnished beneath with fine hairs 

 attached by the centre. Racemes 6 ins. long, produced in the leaf-axils, 

 twenty to forty flowers on each. Flowers f to f in. long, each borne on a 



