392 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 



divided into two or three pairs of leaflets, and a terminal tendril. The 

 flowers are borne solitarily on long stalks, in the axils of the leaves, and 

 consist of a large, persistent, leafy calyx, and a handsome bell-shaped 

 corolla with five lobes. The stamens and style all incline to one side, and 

 are therefore termed declinate. The species are natives of Mexico, 

 Guayaquil, and Caraccas. 



CoB^A PENDULIFLORA (hanging flowered). Leaflets 

 Principal Species, ^y^^^^^^ ^^^ i^ohvB. Flowers large, on drooping stalks, 

 green, the corolla-tube an inch long, the lobes 3 or 4 inches long, wavy 

 and pendulous ; December. A slender climber for the cool stove. Intro- 

 duced from Caraccas, 1868. 



C. SCANDENS (climbing). Stem woody at the base, rapidly attaining 

 a height of 20 or 30 feet. Leaflets elliptic, slightly fringed, three 

 pairs; tendrils branched. Flowers large, 2 to 3 inches across, at first 

 green, then purplish ; corolla-lobes short, broad, and spreading ; May to 

 October. Plate 190. Litroduced from Mexico, 1792. There is a variety 

 with the leaves variegated. 



Cohcms are very suitable for conservatory decoration, 

 rapidly covering a pillar or trellis, the leaves then being 

 persistent. But C. scmidens is very commonly grown out of doors, 

 treated as an annual, and used for covering balconies, arbours, and trellis 

 arches. Its rapid growth and its graceful habit make it valuable for 

 such treatment quite apart from the richness and boldness of its flow^ers. 

 If grown in large pots or tubs outside, it may be taken into the green- 

 house before the frosts come, and the long shoots cut back to ensure a 

 vigorous start early in spring. A rich but open soil is the most suitable 

 for their growth. They are raised from seeds sown in spring in gentle 

 heat ; also from cuttings made of the young shoots in spring, struck in 

 sandy soil on gentle bottom heat. The young branches layered in 

 summer readily root, and may be separated in autumn. 

 Description of Coksa scandens, slightly reduced. Fig. 1 shows the 



Plate 190. early colouring of the corolla, and Fig. 2 is the stigma. 



NEMOPHILAS 



Natural Order HYDROPHYLLACEiE, Genus Nemophila 



Nemophila (Greek, nemos, a grove, and phileo, to love ; in allusion to the 

 natural habitat). A genus of about eight species of hardy annual herbs, 

 with blue, white, or spotted flowers, and pinnately-lobed 



