352 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[September 29, 1888. 



Cultural Memoranda. 



IMPATIENS GLANDTJLIFERA. 

 Foe woodland walks and wild places, or shrubbery 

 borders, this Balsam forms a very striking object, as it 

 towers up from 4 to 6 feet high, and sends out numer- 

 ous branches from base to summit that produce a con- 

 stant succession of flowers of most curious shape and 

 appearance. This species gives no trouble in raising 

 young plants, as seeds are shed with great freedom 

 about the parent plant, and readily germinate the 

 following year. All that is necessary is to limit the 

 number of plants by thinning them out, and leaving 

 them the proper distance apart if they are to be 

 grown in masses, but being so large they look very 

 well as isolated specimens. As a screen in gardens 

 the plant fulfils a useful purpose, and growing 

 quickly it soon forms a blind, which might be 

 rendered still prettier by Nasturtiums being sown 

 near, so that they may climb amongst the plants. 



Gypsophila paniculata. 

 Although this Stitchwort is not at all showy, it is 

 exceedingly useful for cutting to form a basis in 

 vases or stands, or to mix in any arrangement of 

 flowers, as the sprays or heads are so light that they 

 help to set off the whole to advantage. The plant, 

 when in bloom, grows to a height of 3 feet or so, 

 and forms a dense bush with its many-branched 

 stems, with their thread-like stalks bearing innu- 

 merable tiny white blossoms. These seed freely, and 

 plants may be readily raised in that way, "or divided, 

 the time for doing this being just when they start 

 to grow in the spring. J. S. 



LlSIANTHUS RrjSSELLIANUS. 



This showy plant is now referred to the genus 

 Eustoma, but whatever its botanical position, there 

 is, when well grown, no doubt about its excellence 

 as a decorative plant ; its comparatively large rich 

 violet-blue flowers are freely produced from the axils 

 of the leaves towards the ends of the stems, which 

 are slender, round, and furnished with rather small, 

 ovoate, lanceolate, glaucus green leaves, sessile, and 

 opposite ; altogther a neatly-balanced plant. Several 

 good examples are now in flower at Ashburnham 

 Place, and Mr. Holmes' mode of culture differs 

 somewhat from that usually practised. He sows 

 the seeds early in February, in the ordinary way, in an 

 intermediate temperature, and as soon as the seedlings 

 are fit to be handled, they are pricked out into 

 48's, several plants to a pot, similar to what is prac- 

 tised with Rhodanthes ; they are afterwards care- 

 fully tended in the way of watering and airing, and 

 grown all through in an intermediate temperature ; 

 the result is neat well-flowered specimens, about a 

 foot in height, in about six months from time of sow- 

 ing. A light rich soil, inclined to be peaty, suits 

 them well. F. B. 



DlCTAMNOS FEAXINELLA. 



This is one of the finest old border plants in culti- 

 vation, and yet it is not seen in many gardens ; but 

 now that the summer bedding out fever is lower 

 than it was, it is to be hoped that such good things 

 as the one referred to will again assume their proper 

 place. In suitable soils the Dictamnus grows from 

 2 to 3 feet high, when in flower, and forms a bold 

 striking object when the plant has attained size, 

 which it is not long in doing, as the crowns quickly 

 spread and increase in strength if proper room be 

 given for the branches and leaves to fully develope, 

 and the roots be not robbed by having others too 

 near them. Besides the ordinary form, which has 

 pale purple flowers with a deeper pencilling on the 

 petals, there is a white variety, which is not so ro- 

 bust in growth, but which is a very desirable kind to 

 have ; both sorts are agreeably and highly perfumed, 

 and the spikes are in favour with some for drying 

 and using as scent. There are two ways of propa- 

 gating the Dictamnus — the one from seed, and the 

 other by division of the crown or roots"; and if the 

 latter method is chosen the best time for doing it is 



in spring, just as the plants are starting to grow l 

 when a portion may be sliced off by using a sharp- 

 edged spade or trowel ; or the plant may be taken 

 bodily up, and the early fleshy roots cut into lengths 

 and then placed in sharp sandy soil under a hand- 

 glass. If seed be sown, that may be treated in the 

 same way 'as regards soil and shelter, and is best 

 put into the ground as soon as ripe, as then it ger- 

 minates without loss of time. 



PlEIJEONA MACEANTHCM VAE. FLOEIBUNDA. 



When this plant is grown in a pot, it makes a 

 fairly good specimen, and flowers freely, but gives 

 but a very imperfect idea of what it is capable 

 of when planted out, where, if given a good root- 

 run, it will quickly grow into a large specimen, pro- 

 ducing its purplish-blue flowers, more or less, for 

 six months of the year, which under those conditions 

 are of great substance, and differ from the prevailing 

 colours of conservatory plants. A position affording 

 plenty of light is to be preferred, yet it need not be 

 where the direct suftshine falls ; indeed, plenty of 

 light without being fully exposed to the sun seems to 

 answer best. In such a position, about two years 

 ago, I put out a small specimen, which has now 

 grown into a nice plant about 7 feet high, 

 and of proportionate width, which has been 

 flowering freely for a long time; many of the 

 flowers are nearly 7 inches across. It is planted 

 in the usual mixture of peat and loam, with enough 

 coarse sand to give free outlet for the water, 

 but I do not think the plant is very particular 

 as to soil. Almost anything that is friable in 

 its nature will do. It is not well to give an 

 excess of water at the root ; therefore, a compost 

 which can be maintained steadily moist is best. 

 The plants may have a periodical washing with the 

 hose or garden engine, to cleanse the foliage, but 

 daily syringing should be avoided, as this seems to 

 injure the leaves. It is easily increased from cut- 

 tings in the usual way in a mild propagating-pit, 

 taking care not to let them either shrivel or damp 

 off. Besides our plant, I remember seeing one planted 

 out in the Botanic Gardens at Glasgow, where it 

 was doing grandly. From what has been said it 

 will be seen that this is eminently suited for plant- 

 ing out in winter gardens or conservatories, as 

 independently of its beauty when flowering, it is 

 evergreen, having distinct characteristic foliage of 

 an ornamental type. F. Boss. 



New or Noteworthy Plants. 



PASSIFLORA MIERSII* (Fig. 46.) 

 We are indebted to the courtesy of Professor 

 Maxime Cornu, the Director of the Jardin des Plantes, 

 for a specimen of this pretty little Brasilian Passion- 

 flower. We first met with it among the collections 

 of the late Mr. Miers, to whom we dedicated the 

 species; but we have not previously seen living 

 examples. The arrangement of the coronal threads 

 differs slightly from that shown in the analysis in 

 the Flora Brasiliensis, but in spite of this minor dis- 

 crepancy there can be no doubt as to the specific 

 identity of Professor Cornu's plant. Referring the 

 botanical reader to the description in the work cited, 

 it may suffice here to say that the species is an 

 elegant one, with slender wiry stems, and very free- 

 flowering, the leaves (of which one is shown in the 

 figure) claret-coloured on the under surface ; flowers 

 white, flushed with pink ; the outer coronal threads 

 whitish, barred with purple at the base ; the inner 

 threads violet or deep purple. The ovary is oblong- 

 obtuse, glaucous, green, and marked with ten longi- 

 tudinal yellowish lines. M. T. M. 



Odontoglossum maculatum Duvivieeianum, n. var. 

 This appeared among numerous specimens of 

 Odontoglossum maculatum. It has lemon-coloured 

 sepals and petals, all spotted with brown, and a 



* Passi/lora Miersii, Masters, in Flora Brasiliensis, vol. 

 xiii., part 1, p. 599, Passifloreee spec, n. 42. 



whitish-yellow lip, spotted with same reddish-brown, 

 which has a very light hue of sepia. The callus and 

 bracts, and shape of the lip, prove it to be 

 0. maculatum, not 0. cordatum, though the sepals 

 and petals are rather long. I had a fine inflorescence, 

 with six quite fresh large flowers, kindly sent me 

 by M. L. De Smet-Duvivier, Mont St. Amand-lez- 

 Gand. It is a beauty. H. G. Bchbf. 



Oncidium bobustissimum, n. sp* 

 This is an uncommonly intricate, critical species. 

 It belongs to the group of the Pulvinata, including 

 0. divaricatum, pulvinatum ; and sphegiferum. 

 It is, however, quite distinct at first sight 

 in its strong, straight rhachis, the side branches 

 of which are not zigzag at all, but straight, too. 

 The flowers are larger, and the lip has the 

 anterior part of the blade broad as the lateral 

 ones. The sepals and petals are yellow at the 

 top, brown at the inferior part. The lip has the 

 rounded serrate lateral lacinise, as well as the anterior 

 emarginate one, with broad cinnamon-coloured 

 stripes,transverse in the anterior, parallel or oblique to 

 the outside in the lateral ones. The transverse 

 wings of the column are striped with numerous light 

 brown stripes, which are easily overlooked. Bulb 

 strong, short, elliptic, ancipitous. Leaf of the 

 neighbours [allied species ?] much keeled outside 

 under the mid-line. It was imported from Brazil, and 

 kindly sent to me by Mr. F. Horsman, Hollybrook, 

 Colchester. H. G. BchbJ. 



THE GUM CISTUS. 



Several kinds of Gum Cistus are very ornamental 

 in warm and sunny gardens during the months of 

 June and July. The worst of them is that none of 

 them are very hardy, and the flowers are very short 

 lived, lasting only a few hours, and are therefore 

 useless for cutting. On the other hand, the plants 

 are easily reproduced from cuttings, and easily pre- 

 served by a slight protection in winter, also most of 

 them flower very freely, even when the shrubs are 

 very small — not more than a year old. 



Clusius, whose information was collected nearly 

 three centuries ago, accurately describes many kinds 

 of Cistus, from which Parkinson selects only three 

 " as fit for this our garden," translating almost liter- 

 ally the description of Clusius. They are, first, 

 Cistus mas, our C. villosus, identified by Sibthorp 

 with the male Cistus of Dioscorides, and of Theo- 

 phrastus, who spells the name Cisthus ; secondly, 

 C. foemina, our C. salvitefolius, the female Cistus of 

 the same authors ; and, thirdly, C. ledon, our ladani- 

 ferus. Of more recent authorities for the genus 

 Cistus, Sweet published in 1825 a monograph of the 

 Cistineae, in which fifty-two species or varieties of 

 Cistus then in cultivation are figured in colours and 

 described. This work has been superseded by a more 

 complete monograph in Willkomm's Jcones (Leipsic, 

 1856), in which all Sweet's figures are reviewed. 



Several of the best Cistuses now in cultivation, as 

 well as some of those figured by Sweet, are known 

 to be, or suspected to be, hybrids of cultivation. 

 Here are a few of the most desirable kinds : — The 

 largest of all is Cistus ladaniferus, the old Gum 

 Cistus ; the Ledon angustifolius of Clusius, a native 

 of Spain and Portugal and South-eastern France. 

 Clusius tells us that he has ridden for twenty miles 

 in a line through thickets of this bush on the slopes 

 of the Sierra Morena, and that it supplies the inha- 

 bitants of those parts with most of their faggot 

 wood. He also observed the variety with pure white 

 unspotted flowers, which we still have in cultivation. 

 C. cyprius seems now commoner in English gardens 

 than the last mentioned, being figured under the 

 name of C. ladaniferus in Bot. Mag., t. 112, the most 

 obvious distinction being that C. cyprius bears 



* Oncidium robiistissimum, n. sp. — Aff. Oncidio divaricato, 

 Lindl. ; ramis ramulisque tortious rectis, sepalis tepalisque 

 cuneato-obloDgis acutis; labelli laciuiislateialibus semi-ovatis 

 serratis, lacinia antiea cuneato-dilatata elliptica emarginata, 

 laciniis lateralibus eequilatis, callo piloso in basi ; columnee 

 alis transversis oblongis. Ex Brasilia imp. et mis. ex Horsman, 

 Colchester. H. G. Eckb.f. 



