178 



ALPINE FLOWERS FOR GARDENS 



[PART II. 



two genera are merged into one by 

 nearly all botanists, for purposes it 

 may be convenient to treat Azalea 

 as a separate genus. Loudon united 

 it with Rhododendron upwards of 

 forty years ago, and all writers of 

 any weight have followed in his foot- 

 steps. Still, as the plants treated of 

 in this article or, at any rate, most 

 of them are, almost without excep- 

 tion, mentioned in Catalogues and 

 spoken of by gardeners as Azaleas, 

 it has been thought preferable to 

 keep up the older name. 



The introduction of a number of 

 kinds from Japan, China, India, and 

 Borneo, destroyed the old lines of 

 demarcation between the two genera, 

 for the number of stamens in some 

 of the so-called Azaleas is often ten, 

 and in several the leaves are ever- 

 green. 



No attempt is made to include here 

 any of the so-called Indian Azaleas, 

 the fact of these succeeding in the 

 open air in some parts of the south- 

 west of England and the Channel 

 Islands not being ground enough to 

 class them in a list of hardy shrubs, 

 though it is likely that most of the 

 beautiful garden plants, so deservedly 

 popular under the name of Ghent 

 Azaleas, are hybrids, derived from 

 A. calendulacea, A. nudiflora, A. vis- 

 cosa, and A. pontiea. Of late, how- 

 ever, A. sinensis (better known as A. 

 mollis), and the Western American, 

 A. occidentalism have been used for 

 crossing, and from the latter a beau- 

 tiful race of late -flowering forms has 

 sprung. Both double and single 

 varieties, ranging from white through 

 every shade of yellow, orange, and 

 red to crimson, with many uncommon 

 intermediate tints, are to be seen in 

 many gardens, and the beautiful 

 colours assumed by the decaying 



leaves in autumn make them worth 

 growing, even apart from the flowers. 



All the hardy Azaleas thrive best 

 in peat, and like best a moist situa- 

 tion, but it is astonishing how well 

 they will do without peat, provided 

 they have an abundance of leaf-mould, 

 and are well supplied with water 

 during the summer months. They 

 are readily raised from seeds, but if 

 it is desired to increase any particular 

 sort, layering is the best way. 



Azalea arborescens (Tree A.}. This is 

 a native of the Alleghany Mountains, from 

 Pennsylvania to North Carolina. Its 

 leaves are margined with short hairs, are 

 slightly leathery when mature, bright 

 green and shining above and glaucescent 

 beneath. The corolla is fully 2 inches 

 long, white or tinged with rose, and the 

 long red stamens and style add to the 

 beauty of the plant and give it a fine 

 character. It was introduced in 1818, 

 but was probably lost to cultivation soon 

 afterwards, and not re-introduced until 

 a few years ago. The leaves in dying 

 exhale an odour similar to that of the 

 Sweet Vernal Grass ; they are well 

 developed before the flowers appear in 

 June. 



A. calendulacea (Flame A.). In this 

 the corolla varies in a wild state from 

 orange-yellow to flame-red ; the flowers, 

 not fragrant, appear before or with the 

 leaves in May. It is a native of woods 

 in the mountains of Pennsylvania, Vir- 

 ginia, Kentucky, and varies in height 

 from 3 feet to 10 feet. 



A. linearifplia (Slender A.). In all 

 probability this is not so hardy as the 

 other species here mentioned, but it has 

 stood for several years without protection 

 in the open air at Kew. It is a small 

 shrub, with slender branches beset with 

 rigid, red-brown hairs ; the long, narrow 

 leaves, with wavy margins, crowded at 

 the ends of the twigs. The flowers in 

 clusters at the tips of the branches, with 

 five recurved, red-purple petals. 



A. nudiflora (Pinxter Flower). This 

 is the purple Azalea, of the United 

 States, where it occurs in swamps from 



