October 29, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



529 



smaller and with fewer purple lines. The broad, drooping 

 petals are between four and five inches long and are fringed 

 with grizzly blackish hairs on the margins, while the surface, 

 which is olive-green just at the base, passing into pale yellow- 

 ish white, is densely covered with large irregularly shaped 

 blotches, these being purplish pink on the anterior portion and 

 dark purple at the base, the difference in their color being due 

 no doubt to the variation in the ground color. The pouch is 

 very large and pointed, and may be described as purplish 

 pink at the end and gradually softening into rosy brown 

 under the edge of the mouth. The inflexed basal lobes are 

 creamy white, spotted with purple, and the large shield-like 

 staminode is buff-yellow and pubescent. 



Last year a variety known as Superbum appeared in the col- 

 lection of Sir Trevor Lawrence, having been raised from the 

 best varieties of C. superbiens and C. Stonei obtainable at the 

 time of crossing. This variety is characterized by having more 

 highly colored flowers, and slightly shorter, broader and more 

 heavily blotched petals than the ordinary variety. It is finely 

 figured in the last issue of Reichcnbachia. 



As mentioned before, C. Morgania is a very vigorous 

 grower, and consequently may be easily cultivated. It likes a 

 tolerably warm and moist house, and may be potted in a com- 

 post of fibrous peat and loam in about equal proportions. 

 Water may be freely given during growth, and more or less 

 frequently at other times, except in very dull and cold weather, 

 when little will suffice. TTr , 



isieworth, London. John Weathers. 



A Few Flowering Plants. 



Rogiera gratissima is a useful ornament for the intermediate 

 house, or warm greenhouse, and deserves to be more widely 

 known and grown ; for though this plant has been in cultiva- 

 tion for many years it has not yet become common. It might 

 be described in a general way as being the cool-house repre- 

 sentative of the Ixora type of decorative plants, the Rogieras 

 also belonging to the Rubiacea, as do the Ixoras, though the 

 former are found at much greater elevations than the latter. 



Rogiera gratissima is a hard-wooded shrub with simple, 

 opposite leaves of bright green, and terminal clusters of pink 

 flowers which have some resemblance to those of a Bouvardia. 

 The flowers are fragrant and last fairly well when cut, and 

 as they are freely produced at intervals during both summer 

 and winter, the value of this plant will readily be seen. 

 Rogiera gratissima is propagated by means of cuttings, 

 which should be made of firm growth ; for instance, from 

 short side shoots that are about half ripened. The cuttings 

 require a rather close atmosphere until they become calloused, 

 after which they soon produce roots, and may be potted into 

 a light mixture consisting of two-thirds good loam to one- 

 third peat, to which should be added a liberal supply of sand. 

 As the plants become larger a similar mixture should be 

 used for potting them in, but the compost should be coarse and 

 well drained. 



Another fine flowering plant is Dalechampia Roezliana 

 rosea ; it is seldom seen, though easily managed and decidedly 

 ornamental. This Dalechampia is very useful in small plants, 

 as its striking inflorescence shows to good advantage. It is a 

 native of the West Indies and enjoys a warm and moist atmos- 

 phere ; under such conditions its growth is rapid, the most 

 satisfactory plants being those grown from seeds, which 

 germinate quickly when placed in a warm house. The chief 

 beauty of this plant is found in the bracts surrounding the 

 llowers, these being quite large and deep pink in color, while 

 the flowers are yellow and rather insignificant. The leaves 

 are from five to six inches in length and have a peculiar droop- 



ing: habit. 



i 



Dalechampia Roezliana rosea seeds freely, but the seeds 

 should be gathered as soon as they are ripe, for mice have a 

 special liking for them. As regards soil, the Dalechampias 

 are not specially fastidious, almost any light, rich compost 

 being suitable, provided there are the necessary conditions of 

 warmth, moisture and moderate shading ; at the same time 

 proper attention should be given to the drainage of the pots, 

 as these plants will not grow well in sodden soil. 



Posoqueria longiflora is a fine hard-wooded stove plant from 

 Guiana, and well deserves its specific name, for the tubular 

 white flowers are much elongated, and may be described as 

 having the appearance of a large Stephanotis flower with an 

 abnormally long tube. The leaves are somewhat ovate in 

 shape and dark green in color ; the plant grows in bush form, 

 and ultimately becomes a small tree. It makes more progress 

 in a warm-house, but may be grown in a temperature of fifty- 

 five degrees, providing it is not over-watered. Posoqueria 

 longiflora is propagated by cuttings, which should be of firm 



young growth, and placed in a rather close atmosphere until 

 rooted; and as this process is somewhat slow, sonic little care 

 is required to prevent them from damping oil'. When rooted 

 they should be potted in a compost similar to that recom- 

 mended above for Rogieras, in which they will thrive if given 

 reasonable care. 



A pretty little member of the Lobeliacea is found in Sipho- 

 campylos Hwnboldtianus , a plant of South American origin, 

 also known as 5. fulgens. This plant bears bright scarlet 

 tubular flowers about two inches in length, and has dark green 

 leaves of small size, smooth on the upper surface, but more or 

 less pubescent beneath. S. Humboldlianus is of shrubby 

 habit, and needs to be pinched in occasionally to keep it in 

 good shape. It is propagated also by means of cuttings, which 

 may be rooted almost as readily as those of a Verbena, though 

 not in so short a time. No special directions regarding soil for 

 this plant are needed, as good loam is all it requires; and 

 given a temperature of fifty-five degrees, with a little protec- 

 tion from full sunlight, a measure of success is assured. 

 Holmesburg, Pa. W. H. Tap I in. 



Notes on Shrubs. 

 TN view of the fact that it is likely soon to be quite exten- 

 ■*• sively advertised, it may be well to note that the plant 

 which has formerly been referred to in these pages as Symplo- 

 cos paniculatus should properly be called Symplocos crata- 

 goides ; the latter is the name accepted by botanists generally 

 and the one most commonly used. One firm of plant-dealers 

 already have S. cralagoides on their lists, and it is desirable 

 that there should be uniformity with regard to names of plants 

 in the catalogues of nurserymen. In this instance, for 

 example, it would be very misleading and confusing to 

 amateurs to find a plant described in one catalogue as 

 Symplocos cratagoides and in another as S. paniculatus, each 

 probably with descriptions so various as to give an impression 

 that they are different species, when they are in reality iden- 

 tical. All honest dealers will work toward a uniformity of 

 names, and those who employ little used or disqualified names 

 are usually more or less unreliable and are best avoided. 



S. cratagoides occupies a unique place in the shrubbery on 

 account of its bright ultramarine blue fruit, which ripens in 

 September, and its innumerable small white flowers, which 

 are produced in the last days of May or early in June, and have a 

 very light and pleasing appearance, although much hidden by 

 the foliage of the growing shoots. The rough, thick leaves 

 have no very peculiar qualities of an ornamental character ; 

 they are usually clean and free from disfigurement by disease. 

 This plant may attain the size of a large shrub or small tree, 

 and is of rather loose and irregular habit of growth ; indeed, 

 as its specific name indicates, the general appearance of the 

 plant in some respects is much like some of our smaller 

 species of Crataegus or Hawthorn, although the flowers and 

 fruit differ widely. The thin fleshy portion surrounding the 

 seed of the fruit is rather dry and unpleasant to the taste, while 

 the seed is strongly pungent or almost acrid ; but birds, 

 especially robins, seem very fond of it. S. cratagoides shows 

 considerable variability in cultivation in regard to vigor of 

 habit, quality of foliage and coloring and maturing of fruit. 



This tendency to vary is also shown in herbarium specimens 

 from different places where the plant has been found, and it 

 appears to have a wide distribution in northern India, in China 

 and in Japan. Victor Jacquemont, in his celebrated Oriental 

 travels, found the plant at an elevation of from 7,500 to 8,000 

 feet, and in his "Voyage dans 1' hide" (atlas, tab. no) is given 

 the only figure which appears to have been published. It is 

 drawn by the eminent artist Riocreux, and represents a flow- 

 ering branch and analyses of the flowers, the mature fruit 

 being at that time apparently unknown. The description 

 (vol. iv., p. 103) was furnished by Decaisne, who called it 

 Lodhra cratagoides. The name " Lodhra " is said to have been 

 derived from the Indian word " lodh " applied to this and 

 another species (S. racemosa) from which a yellow dye is 

 procured. Lodhra was first used by D. Don to designate a 

 section of the genus ; later it was given a generic place by 

 Decaisne; Bentham and Hooker include it under the old gen- 

 eric name of Symplocos. 



In striking contrast to the bright blue fruit of this Symplocos 

 we have the snow-white berries of Symphoricarpus vulgaris 

 and the bright scarlet color of the native Hollies or Winter- 

 berries. Of the latter, the Smooth Winterberry [Ilex lavigata) 

 is the earliest to ripen fruit, and it begins to turn red about the 

 same time that the first fruit of the Symplocos changes from 

 green to greenish white and then blue. 



It has been stated in botanical descriptions that the berries 

 of / lavigata are larger and less bright than those of the 



