46 FAMILIAR GAUUEX FLOJVESS. 



divided into pointed lobes, and bearing curious bell-like 

 flowers of a dull orange-colour, and curiously striped. It 

 is singular that a South American tree should obtain an 

 Eastern name, for abutilon is Arabic for mallow, and this 

 plant is of the mallow tribe. It is the striped mallow vine 

 of the Rio Negro and the Organ ^fountains. 



The common and comj)arati\'ely hardy plant introduced 

 from Brazil in 1837 as Ahnt'ilon striutnin has been found 

 to thrive in the open border as a wall-plant in sheltered 

 spots in the south-west of England, but, generally speaking, 

 the cool conservatory is the proper place for it. There it 

 soon clothes the rafters with its elegant leafage, and it has 

 the great merit of producing flowers during about nine 

 months out of twelve. Any good soil will suit it, and in a 

 town greenhouse, where the light is neither abundant nor 

 pure, it will thrive as well as an}' good thing that may be 

 planted. 



The named varieties to which reference has been made 

 have been raised ivom. A. striatum, J. ccjiosinii, J. JJiinrinii, 

 and J. vexUhir'inm chiefly, and they comprise flowers of all 

 colours, save shades of blue, and the prevailing tones are 

 white, }'ellow, and red. Amongst them are varieties with 

 richly variegated leaves, and these are not only of great 

 value as conservatory plants, but are largely employed in 

 what is called " sub-tropical bedding " in grand gardens, 

 the trees being allowed td rise to a height of two to four 

 feet, and being mixed with other plants of like growth to 

 bring out the splendid colours of their leafage. This is all 

 very fine and very wonderful, of course, but we are rustic 

 enough to prefer the half-wild abutilon vine that we 

 courted under to all the great sub-tropical beds of con- 

 trasted leafage that have been planted in both hemisj)heres. 



