46 University of California Publications in Botany. L VoL - 4 



Streptosolen Jamesonii Miers. 

 STREPTOSOLEN. 



An evergreen rough-pubescent shrub, usually 3 to 6 ft. high: leaves 

 short-stalked, oval, narrowed to each end, entire, % to 1% in. long: 

 flowers showy, rich orange, in loose terminal clusters: calyx tubular, 

 5-toothed: corolla tubular-campanulate, 5-lobed, 1 in. long, % to % in. 

 wide across the expanded limb, the tube twisted below: perfect stamens 

 4: capsule 4-lobed. Synonym: Browallia Jamesonii Hort. Family Solan- 

 aceae. U. S. of Columbia. Illustrations: Bot. Mag., pi. 4605; Bailey, 

 fig. 2436. 



Commonly grown as a flowering shrub, Streptosolen is equally- 

 satisfactory when trained against walls or on a trellis, since in 

 habit it is half-climbing. Left to itself it spreads out into 

 irregular but graceful masses 15 or 20 feet across and 4 to 6 

 feet high; if taken in hand when young and carefully pruned 

 it may be made to assume an upright form with a more or less 

 distinct trunk, and has been trained on walls to heights of 10 

 feet or more. Whatever the habit, it blooms profusely at all 

 seasons and is especially adapted to situations calling for masses 

 of color during the winter months. Partial shade does not 

 seem to discourage this shrub, for in San Mateo County I have 

 seen it blooming profusely beneath oak trees in April. A light 

 soil is necessary for its best development. It is therefore rec- 

 ommended for almost any situation where the color harmonizes 

 with its surroundings and where the temperature does not fall 

 much below the freezing point. It might well replace much of 

 the Lantana so commonly grown in California. 



It must be remembered, however, that Streptosolen is a 

 tender plant. It sometimes freezes in the San Francisco Bay 

 district, but only when grown on low ground. In the coastal 

 region from San Luis Obispo south it is perfectly safe except 

 in the coldest situations. It is used as far inland as Redlands, 

 but at that place it is necessary to select warm situations. 



Cuttings grow readily and afford a very satisfactory method 

 of propagation. In England cuttings are struck in the spring 

 and grown in 10-inch pots without pinching, the result being 

 tall plants for the greenhouse, clothed with fine trusses of bloom 

 during the winter months. (See further in Gardeners' Chron- 

 icle, ser. 3, xxxi, 84 and xxxvii, 375;) 



