76 



B AMBUSA BAPTISIA. 



specimen. Where it thrives it might 

 be used in the flower-garden with fine 

 effect ; where it does not thrive freely, 

 it is not worth planting. It loves a 

 deep, sandy, and rich soil, and plenty 

 of moisture when growing fast, and is 

 propagated by careful division of 

 established plants. 



Bambusa Fortune! (Fortune's Bamboo) . 

 A pretty dwarf variegated species, 

 of which I have not seen the green 

 form in cultivation, with a half 

 shrubby, very dwarf, slender, branch- 

 ing, hollow stem, with very short 

 internodes, and seldom growing more 

 than 18 in. high. Leaves, linear- 

 lanceolate, abruptly pointed, some- 

 what rounded at the base, on very 

 short hairy stalks, serrated and often 

 fringed with long hairs on the margin, 

 downy on both sides, and distinctly 

 variegated, the transverse veins being 

 often of a bottle-green colour. Native 



of Japan. This has proved hardy in 



our gardens ; but it has not the charm 

 of grace possessed by the taller kinds, 

 and is chiefly desirable in collections 

 of variegated and edging plants. 



Bambusa japonica (MetaJce Bamboo) 

 B. Metake. A large - leaved and 

 rather dwarf species, 4 to 7 ft. 

 high. Stem, entirely concealed by the 

 sheaths of the leaves, thickly tufted, 

 with erect branches. Leaves, lance- 

 shaped, dark green, persistent, with a 

 very sharp point, narrowed into a 

 short leafstalk, and nearly a foot 

 long. Spikes with from ten to twenty 

 flowers, narrov, often somewhat 



cylindrical. Japan. 1 have seen 



this thrive very freely in the late Mr. 

 Borrer's garden in Sussex, and in one 

 or two other places; but, unfortu- 

 nately, it, unlike many of the other 

 kinds, goes to seed so freely that it is 

 rarely ornamental. Loves a peat 

 soil or a very free moist and deep 

 loam, and runs a good deal at the 

 root. 



Bambusa nigra (Dark-stemmed 

 Bamboo). A rather compact-growing 

 kind. Stems, smooth, bushy, about 

 7 ft. high, of a light green, dotted and 

 striped with purple when young, 

 changing to a glistening black when 

 fully grown ; branching very much at 

 the top, and sometimes from the base 

 up. Leaves, shortly stalked, oval- 

 oblong-acute, with a hard, dry, per- 

 sistent sheath. China. As isolated 



specimens near the margins of shrub- 

 beries in the pleasure-ground, in 

 warm, sunny, and sheltered posi- 

 tions, in deep, sandy, and well-drained 

 soil. 



Bambusa viridi-glaucescens (Greyish 

 Bamboo.') This has been proved very 

 hardy and free in the Paris gardens, 

 and will probably make a more vigo- 

 rous growth, and prove a more beauti- 

 ful object than any other kind, in 

 warm parts of our islands. Stems, 

 7 to 12 ft. high, of a light yellowish 

 green, branching from the base, each 

 branch again branching very much. 

 Leaves, pale green, bluish underneath, 

 sheathing the stem for a considerable 

 length. China. As isolated speci- 

 mens in sheltered warm glades in the 

 pleasure-ground, or in snug, open 

 spots near wood- walks, in very deep, 

 rich, and light, well-drained soil. 



The following kinds are also known 

 in French gardens : B. edulis, B. Si- 

 monii, B. mitis, B. scriptoria, B. 

 verticillata, B. graminea, B. violacea, 

 B. Duquilioi. Of these, some are 

 not yet sufficiently proved ; the 

 first two are the best, and would, 

 like the others, thrive well in the 

 South of England and Ireland. 



Baptisia alba (White B.)An in- 

 teresting perennial, 2 to 3 ft. high. 

 Flowers, in early summer ; white, in 

 racemes about a foot long, on stalks 

 springing from the root. Leaves, 

 stalked, smooth, somewhat like those 



