



IX 

 AZARA 



Azara microphylla . . Small-leaved Azara 



1 



Azaras, like the Darwinian barberry, the em- 

 bothrium or fire bush, and the escallonias, are 

 a Chilian contribution to our gardens. They 

 are, for the most part, only moderately hardy, and are 

 desirable for their evergreen foliage rather than for 

 their flowers, the species Azara microphylla being 

 practically the only one that is at all well known in 

 gardens in this country. The genus was so named in 

 honour of a certain Joseph Nicholas Azara, a Spanish 

 scientist, who specialised in botany, and the specific 

 name, microphylla, of the particular shrub in question, 

 refers to the fact that its leaves are extremely small. 



This Azara is usually planted against a wall, or 

 set to cover a porch, and perhaps few shrubs form 

 a better arch ; nevertheless, the shrub is seen to best 

 advantage when it is allowed free development as an 

 independent bush. Such a one, now before the writer, 

 stands in an angle of the house, sheltered from the 

 north and east winds. It is twice as tall as a man 

 F 69 



