134 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 371 



of leaves and two or three whorls of flowers, strong stems 

 having twenty flowers in each whorl ; these are semi- 

 drooping, and have a tube over an inch long, a limb half 

 an inch across, their color being primrose-yellovi'. Plants 

 of these in five-inch pots are very decorative when in 

 flower. At Kew these three Primulas are raised annually 

 from seeds, and grown in frames along with and treated 

 the same as Cyclamen Persicum. P. verticillata is a native 

 of Arabia, although it is called the Abyssinian Primrose in 

 gardens. 



Violet, Princess Beatrice. — This is a new Violet, which 

 was shown last Tuesday from the Queen's garden at Os- 

 borne, Isle of Wight, and received an award of merit. It 

 is the largest-flowered Violet grown here, the flowers being 

 an inch and a half across, the stalks nine inches long, and 

 the leaves three inches in diameter. Its color is rich blue- 

 purple, brighter than the color of Victoria, which was also 

 shown, and its fragrance quite equal to that of any of the 

 big-flowered Violets. Mr. Nobbs, the gardener at Osborne, 

 says that he found this new Violet growing in an uncared- 

 for part of the garden, and that Her Majesty, who is fond 

 of Violets, prefers it to all others, and desired that it should 

 bear the name of Princess Beatrice. I have not seen the 

 new American Violet called California, but those who have 

 say it is very similar to this royal waif. There is an enor- 

 mous trade done in Violets in England in the first four 

 months of the year, as they are universally popular with 

 flower wearers. The large-flowered, bright-colored varie- 

 ties find most fa-vor with ladies. 



Str.-vwberry, Stevens' Wonder. — This is a new variety 

 which obtained a first-class certificate last Tuesday, when 

 Mr. Stevens, a Sussex nurseryman, exhibited plants of it in 

 pots and bearing exceptionally large crops of large, hand- 

 some, well-colored, highly fragrant fruit, which in form 

 may be described as intermediate between Noble and Sir 

 Charles Napier. The leaves are small, dark green, with 

 short stalks, and the fruit-stalks short and firm. Mr. Ste- 

 vens had plants of it in full bearing on February 2 ist, when 

 he sold the fruit to Mr. George Munro, the Covent Garden 

 salesman, at six dollars per pound. I saw a letter from 

 Mr. Munro, in which he stated that this Strawberry was the 

 best for early forcing that he had ever seen, as the fruit 

 was large and of good flavor. The pale color would, per- 

 haps, be against it later in the season. Some plants grown 

 in six-inch pots produced from twenty to thirty fruits, the 

 largest being one and a half ounces in weight. Growers 

 of early strawberries reckon that there is sure to be a large 

 demand for Stevens' Wonder. ^,, „^ , 



London. W. Wa/SOtl. 



New or Little-known Plants. 



Mimulus Clevelandi.* 



THIS species (see figure, page 135), one of the hand- 

 somest of the genus, was found on the south side of 

 Cuyamaca Peak, in southern California, not far from the sig- 

 nal station on its summit. It grows in patches, spreading by 

 underground roots. Among loose rocks the stems attain 

 a height of two feet, but on exposed slopes their length is 

 considerably less. Although growing at a much greater 

 elevation (over 6,000 feet) than Mimulus glutinosus, its 

 stems are woody, though short. It connects that species 

 more closely with the sections QLnoe and Eunanus, which 

 have in most cases the same dehiscence. It is now in cul- 

 tivation in San Diego, and it will be of interest to observe 



* Mimulus Clevelandi, n. s\>. Perennial, suffrutescentat base, 3-6 dm. hio;h, glandu- 

 lar-pubescent throughout ; stems many from tlie base, sparingly branched above ; 

 leaves lanceolate, serrate, 3-7 cm. long, narrowing to the clasping base, in a.ge 

 revolute on the margins; flowers shortly pedicellate ; calyx 2 cm. long, contracted 

 above the ovary, the upper and longer portion curved and spreading, the lanceo- 

 late, somewhat'uncqual teeth Ja the lengtli of the tube ; corolla golden yellow, nearly 

 twice the length ot the caly.x, with gradually dilated throat and widely spreading 

 nearly equal lips ; style stout, minutely and densely glandular ; stigma tubular- 

 peltate : mature capsule 10-12 mm. long, nearly quadrangular, tapering slightly 

 toward the apex, opening to the base by tlie upper suture, the lower separating for 

 only a short distance from the tip, and each valve splitting at the ti|> for nearly the 

 same distance as the lower suture; placentae separate, as in M. glutinosus ; seeds 

 foveolate, apiculate at I>oth ends. 



whether its stems become longer or larger in this milder 



climate. 



The species is named in honor of Mr. Daniel Cleveland, 



whose name is so well known in connection with the flora 



of San Diego County. m c. r^ , 



.San Diego, Cai. I . S. Biandegee. 



[Judging from herbarium specimens, this Mimulus ought 

 to be a good ornamental plant in California or southern 

 Europe. Of coui'se, it would not be hardy here, and it is 

 hardly probable that it would make a good greenhouse 

 plant, but, in dry climates, where it could be watered, it 

 might become a large shrub and flower throughout the 

 year. — Ed.] 



Plant Notes. 



Leucojum vernum. — Although not one of the very earliest 

 spring-blooming bulbs, this Spring Snowflake, as it is fa- 

 miliarly known, in favorable situations follows closely the 

 Snowdrops and Crocuses. It is like a very large Snow- 

 drop ; the white flower, with yellowish green tips to each 

 petal, is graceful and charming. It should be planted in 

 clumps, in well-drained soil, in a sheltered place, and not 

 disturbed after it has once become established. Although 

 long in cultivation, the Spring Snowflake is by no means 

 common in American gardens, probably because it is not 

 so easily handled as most bulbs, and does not thrive except 

 under the conditions noted above. The bulbs are cheap 

 and easily obtained. 



Strobilanthes Dverianus. — This new bedding-plant be- 

 longs to the Acanthus family, and is one among its many 

 plants remarkable for bright-colored foliage. It is nearly 

 related to the better-known Goldfussias and Ruellias, but is 

 of no value as a flowering plant. It is soft-wooded, having 

 the thick nodes that characterize the order ; stout, erect 

 stems and opposite leaves. When kept in vigorous growth 

 the foliage is remarkably beautiful, of a rich iridescent pur- 

 ple, with green veins, and slightly suffused with steel-blue. 

 The plant, however, if left alone soon runs into flower and 

 then becomes ragged and shaggy. The flowers are indi- 

 vidually quite pretty, about an inch long, labiate, almost 

 regular, and pale blue in color. The inflorescence is a 

 loose-bracted spike, rather large, but not pleasing in ap- 

 pearance. The chief value of this new species is, there- 

 fore, as a foliage-plant, and then only for outdoor use. 

 Whether or not it will prove superior to the darker varieties 

 of Coleus as an effective bedding-plant remains to be seen. 

 It will probably form beds of a more striking and charac- 

 teristic appearance, and doubtlessly deserves a good trial. 

 The culture is very easy ; cuttings may be rooted in a 

 brisk bottom-heat in two or three days, and when potted 

 in rich, fibrous soil, and kept warin and moist, they will 

 grow rapidly. Plants can be propagated by cuttings, like 

 Coleus, or by means of single eyes, with a leaf attached. 

 As the leaves are opposite, the stem may be split, and two 

 cuttings made of each node. This method, by which a 

 larger number of plants can be made from limited stock, is 

 very good, but a single eye will not produce a plant as rap- 

 idly as a growing top. 



Begonia Feastii. — A Begonia is occasionally seen in the 

 gardens of the eastern states labeled with this name, 

 although it is sometimes grown under other names, or 

 with no name whatever. In a note about this plant, which 

 he considers the most useful of the winter-flowering kinds, on 

 account of the ease with which it is grown and its neat com- 

 pact habit, Mr. Michael Barker, of Cornell University, says : 

 " I am now well satisfied that it is a hybrid of American 

 origin. I do not remember to have ever seen it in European 

 gardens, and it is not catalogued by any of the European 

 dealers, at least as B. Feastii, and I have never been able 

 to find a figure of it. The only references to it which I 

 know are two slight ones in The Gardeners Monthly for 

 1885. It is there said to be a hybrid, raised by the late 

 John Feast, of Baltimore, Maryland, from the old species, 

 B. hydrocotylffifolia, as one of its parents, but the other 



