Botanic Gardens. 67 



and grows many feet high. In Hooker's Flora of 

 New Zealand, the country of the Cordylines, lie 

 names and describes several species, some of which 

 are almost unknown in Ireland at all events in out- 

 door culture. 



A few years ago, I particularly observed in a con- 

 servatory at Kew yoimg plants of Cordi/Jine Banksii, 

 the first of the species I knew of in this country. 

 One of these made its way to Grlasnevin, and has 

 spent the last few years in an open bor.der, where it 

 lias grown into a vigorous tuft ; from several shoots 

 of which there were, in July, 1876, strong stems 

 with abundance of flower, which afterwards seeded. 

 The first of the species which I know of having bloomed 

 in Ireland is at Merton, near Queenstown, county of 

 ork, where I learn it has flowered yearly for the last 

 six or seven years, but without ripening seed. 



By far the showiest of this group which I know of 

 having borne an Irish climate is Cordyline ihdivisa, 

 from New Zealand. The only place where I have seen 

 it permanently out of doors is Lakelands, near Cork, 

 where it has been in a garden border several years. 

 There, in 1874, I saw three plants forming a group 

 which appeared to be offsets from one centre plant 

 that decayed or was taken away. The principal 

 leaves of each of those which I saw were about four feet 

 long, and somewhat more than four inches broad in 

 the widest part, of peculiar olive green, with an orange 

 stripe or rib along the centre of each. Some years 

 ago, this very ornamental and interesting plant could 



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