CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 459 



object in most of the gardens of the upper provinces : flowers 

 large, tassel-like, pale-green, diffusing widely around an ex- 

 quisite perfume, particularly at night. It seems to prefer an 

 arid climate, for it has been in such locality that I have 

 observed it thrive most vigorously. Trees of it are very 

 numerous at Cairo. 



6. A. decurrens. Sir J. Pax ton says it is " a magnificent plant, 

 with handsome foliage, occupying half a panel of conservatory- 

 wall at Chatsworth;" introduced into the Gardens of the Agri- 

 Horticultural Society by Mr. Fortune from China ; but its 

 culture was attended with no success, and it does not exist 

 there now. 



7. A. Haustoni. A large ornamental shrub, seven or eight 

 feet high ; native of Mexico ; of recent introduction ; with hand- 

 some bipinnate foliage, the small narrbw leaflets set like the 

 teeth of a comb ; bears during the Hot months large crimson 

 flowers of bottle-brush form. 



Calliandra. 



1. C. longipes. A small shrub, with delicate pinnate foliage ; 

 of no great attractiveness ;' flowers small, pink, mimosa-like. 



2. C. brevipes. Native of Brazil ; described by Curtis as a 

 " pretty branching shrub, four or five feet high ; requires 

 pruning to make it a compact handsome bush ; when in flower 

 highly ornamental, its bright-red tufts contrasting with the 

 delicate-green foliage." I have not met with this in India, but 

 in all probability it would succeed well here. 



3. C. haematocephala. Best known in Calcutta as Inga hsem- 

 toxylon; a shrub five or six feet high, handsome at all times 

 for its graceful foliage of pinnate leaves, with wedge-formed 

 smooth leaflets, an inch long ; but remarkably beautiful when 

 in full blossom, in the Cold season, with its large bright crimson 

 bottle-brush-like flowers ; yields seed sparingly. 



4. C. Portoricensis. A small shrub in the Calcutta Botanical 

 Gardens ; native of the West Indies ; with pretty, dark-green, 

 graceful, pinnate foliage ; bears in March white, moderate- 

 sized, not very ornamental flowers -of bottle-brush-like form. 



