CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 355 



seen : bears in May, before the appearance of the leaves, short- 

 scaped, large, clavate spikes, with the fertile bracts of a beautiful 

 pale pink, and the barren ones of a lovely rosy red." 



4. C. Zedoaria. WILD TURMERIC KED ZEDOARY. Native of 

 Bengal : common in gardens about Calcutta. Scape rises before 

 the leaves in the Hot season as thick as a man's forefinger, bear- 

 ing beautiful large, rosy, tufted spikes. Dr. Koxburgh says : 



" This plant, when in flower, is highly ornamental, few sur- 

 passing it in beauty ; at the same time it possesses a considerable 

 degree of delicate aromatic fragrance." 



Ksempferia. 



A genus containing several species of tuberous-rooted plants, 

 the pretty delicate flowers of which are produced so close to the 

 ground that unless the plants are grown in pots they are lost to 

 sight. Their leaves die down in the Cold weather, when the 

 roots may be separated and repotted in a light good soil. Not 

 more than about the two following, which are very common, are 

 met with generally in the gardens in India. 



1. K. rotunda. Bhooin-chumpa. A plant with large oval- 

 lanceolate leaves, which die down towards the end of November, 

 and do not appear again till after the plant has finished flower- 

 ing in April. Flowers, with two petals white and two deep 

 lilac, of moderate size, borne not more than two or three inches 

 from the ground, in a crowded manner, opening day by day in 

 succession in the morning and fading by the evening, and 

 diffusing a most exquisite fragrance. 



2. K. Galanga. Has roundish leaves of a beautiful refreshing 

 green, overlapping each other, and lying flat upon the ground, 

 and forming a delightful relief to the delicate flowers, which 

 seem just to rest upon them. The flowers, of a pearly white 

 with two purple spots, are borne throughout the Kains, and are 

 quite scentless ; but the root, as well as the leaves, when bruised 

 has a fine fragrance. 



3. K. sp. A very pretty species is to be seen in the 

 Calcutta Botanical Gardens in all respects similar to the last, 

 except that the flowers are entirely purple. 



Hedychium. 



Dr. Voigt enumerates as many as twenty-four species of this 



2 A 2 



