March 6, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



113 



Among the newer stove plants the most attractive now are 

 the following: Ardisia mainillata, introduced by Kew from 

 Hong Kong three years ago, and now a favorite stove plant 

 here. It is less than a foot in height, similar in habit to A. 

 crenulata, but the leaves are softer, densely papillose, covered 

 with silky hairs, and dark green. The berries are borne on 

 the branches exactly as in A. crenulata, but they are of a bright 

 scarlet color. Plants are easily obtained from seeds, and grow 

 to pretty little specimens in about a year. 



Begonia semperflorctis hybrids: — Monsieur Lemoine has raised 

 and distributed some very useful new winter-flowering Bego- 

 nias, obtained by crossing B. semperflorens and />'. Lynchiana 

 [Roezlii). They grow quickly into bushy plants two feet 

 high, with medium- 

 sized leaves of the 

 glossiest green, and 

 large bunches of red, 

 crimson or pink 

 flowers. These are 

 developed in Janu- 

 ary, and last in beauty 

 for about two 

 months. They are 

 great improvements 

 upon both parents, a 

 statement which 

 does not always apply 

 to hybrids. The ever- 

 green Begonias are 

 at last getting the at- 

 tention which has 

 been so long refused 

 them, and we have 

 already some distinct 

 and beautiful kinds, 

 thanks to Monsieur 

 Lemoine, the Messrs. 

 Veitch and a few 

 others. Even such 

 old hybrids as B. 

 Knowsleyana, B. Wil- 

 totiiensis and B. Lind- 

 leyana are of con- 

 siderable value as 

 autumn and winter- 

 flowering plants. 



Aphelandra chry- 

 sops, a stout -stem- 

 med species with 

 large, silver-banded 

 leaves and handsome 

 terminal spikes of 

 canary - yellow flow- 

 ers ; A. aurantiaca, 

 smaller in stature 

 than the above, but of 

 sturdy habit with 

 shining gray - green 

 leaves and large 

 spikes of scarlet and 

 yellow flowers ; Eran- 

 themum albiflorum , 

 with orbicular leaves 

 and branched spikes 

 of pure white flowers; 

 E. ctnnadartna, a tall, 

 single-stemmed spe- 

 cies, characterized by 

 large, oblong leaves 

 and long, arching, 

 branched racemes 

 of purplish -crimson 

 flowers ; these are all in flower now and will remain in 

 beauty forsome weeks yet. Tropical Acanthads are deserving 

 of a great deal more attention than they get. Most plant- 

 stoves are dull and almost flowerless at this time of year, al- 

 though there are hosts of such plants as those here men- 

 tioned, which are bright and attractive with flowers all through 

 the winter. They are easily grown, requiring only ordinary 

 iittention at all times. Aphelandras are best when grown 

 trom seeds, which they usually ripen freely under cultivation. 



In the conservatory the Himalayan Rhododendrons have be- 

 gun to unfold their magnificent flower lieads. Large speci- 

 mens of /?. arboreum, with the richest crimson blossoms, and of 

 R. Nilagericiim equally handsome, but pale pink in color 



Fie;. 98. — Fendlera rupicola. — See page 112. 



are the first to brighten the house ; and they will be 

 shortly followed by such splendid species as -7?. argenteum, 

 R. Nttttallii, R. Aiicklandia, R. Edgeworthii and many others. 

 I can iinagine a large, lightly-built, low-roofed conservatory, 

 without any staging, but filled with beds of peat soil and 

 planted with these Rhododendrons, Tree Ferns, Liliums — such 

 as L. auratum and L. giganteum. Such a house would re- 

 quire very little fire-heat and much less attention than when 

 the plants are in pots. The charm of it would be largely due 

 to the absence of pots and stages, of which v/e are a great 

 deal too fond where green-houses are concerned. The popu- 

 larity of the great winter-garden at Kew is owing to the ab- 

 sence of pots except on the shelves round the sides; and that 



the plants prefer beds 

 to pots is proved by 

 the magnificent 

 health of such things 

 as Acacias, Polygalas, 

 Bossiaeas, Palms, 

 Tree Ferns and 

 Rhododendrons. No 

 one can form any idea 

 of the beauty of the 

 Habrothamnus until 

 he has seen them as 

 at Kew. The enor- 

 mous bushes, twelve 

 feet high, crowded 

 with long, arching 

 branches which are 

 literally weighed 

 down by the large 

 clusters of flowers 

 they bear, make 

 pot specimens of the 

 same plants look ri- 

 diculous. They have 

 been full of flowers 

 since the beginning 

 of December. Senecio 

 Ghiesbreghtii is still 

 aglow with its mas- 

 sive heads of yellow 

 bloom. Staphylea 

 colchica is attractive 

 with its many ra- 

 cemes of white flow- 

 ers, pure and grace- 

 fid, and suggesting 

 orange blossoms. 

 This plant is grown 

 in thousands by the 

 London market-gar- 

 deners. A pretty 

 plant, uncommon in 

 color and of lasting 

 qualities, is the Blue 

 Marguerite, Agathaa 

 ccelestis. It forms a 

 compact, globose 

 bush a foot high, with 

 darlc- green, spathu- 

 late leaves and long- 

 stalked Marguerite - 

 like flowers one 

 inch across, the ray- 

 florets pale violet, 

 the disc pale yel- 

 low. It is scarcely 

 ever out of flower, 

 and is useful for cut- 

 ting. 



Orchids. — The best of these in flower now are Paphtnia grati- 

 dis, much the handsomest of the genus, its large flowers of the 

 richest dark chestnut-brown, with streaks of white. The 

 plant is small, often smaller than one of its flowers. Unfortu- 

 nately, it does not appear to be easy to establish, as plants 

 rarely flower after thev have been in cultivation two years. 

 Calanthe vestita gigantea has no equal among the Vestita sec- 

 tion of the genus. It is truly gigantic in all its parts. It also 

 blooms much later than the other kinds, and retains its large 

 leaves healthy and green even till after the flowers are over. 

 The spikes are nearly a .yard long, arching, and the flowers 

 are over two inches across, white with a red eye. Oncidium 

 splendidtim is a king among the Oncidiums. It is evidently a 



