May j; 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



227 



years in botanical gardens, notably at Kevv, where a plant of it 

 is in bloom now. The root-stock of this species is rather 

 woody and it bears thick fleshy roots not unlike those of 

 Dahlias. The branches are annual, pushing into vigorous 

 growth in early spring and perishing in the autumn. In winter no 

 water is given. The Kew plant was repotted at the end of 

 January into a ten-inch pot. It was then placed in the hottest 

 and moistest house in a position close to the glass. The 

 flower-buds, when the plant is strong enough to flower, are 

 produced at the base of the new growth and they show almost 

 as soon as growth begins. They develop very rapidly and 

 when expanded they are in the form of the Dutchman's Pipe 

 (A. Sipho), twenty-eight inches long from the base to the apex 

 of the limb, with a constriction and sudden bend at about a 

 foot from the base. From this bend the tube gradually 

 widens upward until at the mouth it is sixteen inches across 

 and is large enough to almost completely hide a man's head 

 if put on as a hat. The three lobes are defined by three tails 

 •about three inches long. The color of the lower half of the 

 flower is yellowish green, the upper half dull yellow ribbed and 



sub-horizontal branches and pendent, axillary flowers, each on 

 a stalk three inches long, and in form, substance and color not 

 unlike the flowers of the pretty Clematis coccineaj in other 

 words, the flowers are fleshy, arceolate, over an inch broad, 

 and of the brightest crimson color. W. 



Kew. 



Notes on American Plants. 



CEYERAL of the Dog's-tooth Violets (Erythroniums) are 

 •^ now in flower, but by far the most charming species we 

 have seen is E. Hendersoni, which was described and figured 

 in Garden and Forest, vol. i., page 317. The flowers of this 

 plant have colors as rich and delicate as those of the Calypso. 

 Of course there is nothing fantastic in their shape, as is the 

 case with the Calypso, but in their way they are quite as pretty. 

 The plants seem to be healthy in this climate. Ours were pro- 

 tected during winter with a covering of leaves, but we think 

 that if the bulbs are set six or eight inches below the surface 

 they would be perfectly hardy. Another interesting species 

 from Oregon was sent us under the name of E. Howellii. 



Hyde Park : River Front. — See page 222 



veined with purple on the outside, the inside beingdull orange- 

 yellow marbled with purple. 



It is difficult to convey a correct idea of the plant by means 

 of a description, but when seen it cannot fail to astonish even 

 those who are well acquainted with plants. For botanical col- 

 lections it is a splendid subject, and even in private gardens it 

 is worth growing, the unpleasantness of its odor being more 

 than counterbalanced by its wondrous size and form. It is 

 easily cultivated, the only time when it requires extra care be- 

 ing for about a week when the buds are very small, as at this 

 time the slightest check causes them to fall, when all chance 

 of flowers for that year is gone. 



Crinodendron Hookerianum. — Although a native of the 

 American continent (Chili), and an old introduction into Eng- 

 lish gardens, I venture to recommend this beautiful-flowered 

 greenhouse shrub to the notice of your readers as a plant 

 worth the attention of every one who delights in distinct, 

 elegant, bright-colored flowers. Veitch introduced it into 

 England many years ago, and tried to grow it outside, but 

 failed. The Garden published a colored plate of it about ten 

 years ago, but still it remains a rarity in cultivation. A plant 

 now flowering at Kew is one of the prettiest little objects. 

 Imagine a Vaccinium-like plant, eighteen inches high, with 



This has smaller, light cream colored flowers, slightly tinged 

 with red, with a yellow centre. Both species thrive in a loamy 

 soil in open sunlight. 



One of the most interesting Trilliums at this time of spring- 

 is the T. sessile. Not on account of its flowers, for they have 

 not yet opened, but for its three large spotted green leaves. It 

 seems to give the finest display of foliage of any of this genus. 

 A bed of this species planted last August is now in full leaf, a 

 solid mass of the deep green. Each plant has three leaves in 

 a whorl, and on the finest specimens each leaf is fully three 

 inches wide. 



Erigenia bnlbosa (Harbinger of Spring), now in flower, is a 

 small and dainty little plant, seldom more than five inches high, 

 with a tuberous root. Its flowers are in a compound umbel, 

 small and white. It seems to like the shade, or at least to be 

 slightly shaded. 



Syn'tharys reniformis, from Oregon, is an early flowering 

 plant. Its blue flowers are borne in a dense spike about an 

 inch long by half an inch in diameter. The reniform leaf is 

 notched around its entire margin. The plant grows only a 

 few inches high and is quite interesting, not only on account 

 of earliness, but for its foliage and flowers. 



Cerydalis aurea, a not uncommon biennial, is a valuable 

 plant for cultivation. It forms large clumps or masses of its 



