2i8 Ornamental Shrubs. 



open head. The leaf is thick, ovate, and in early spring 

 inclined to be glossy. The flowers appear in large open 

 panicles and are of a reddish-purple or violet color some- 

 what peculiar to the family. It is also known in the 

 catalogues as S. rothomagensis, though the identity of the 

 two is not conceded by some authorities. However that 

 may be. Garden and Forest, in one of its earliest issues, 

 fixes its place in practical horticulture in pronouncing it 

 " one of the hardiest and handsomest shrubs in cultiva- 

 tion, producing its enormous clusters of flowers in the 

 greatest profusion." 



S. oblata is also of Chinese origin, and is sometimes 

 advertised as a new species in cultivation, but it is not 

 such in any proper sense of the word. And yet, though 

 not new, it is quite rare even in our best gardens. It was 

 discovered by Mr. Fortune in a garden at Shanghai, and 

 through him introduced many years ago to Europe, where 

 it was welcomed as one of the best of its class in cultiva- 

 tion. It is nowhere found growing wild, and so must be 

 considered strictly a garden variety with an unknown 

 parentage. In its general appearance it somewhat resem- 

 bles 6'. vulgaris, having broadly cordate and sharply pointed 

 leaves, which hold on until late autumn, and often assume 

 brilliant shades of color, constituting it at that season one 

 of the most attractive objects in field or garden. The 

 flowers are large and of a purple shade, somewhat differing 

 from that of the common varieties, but not easily described. 

 They appear ten or twelve days earlier than those of most 

 of the species, before or with the expanding foliage, thus 

 serving a good purpose in lengthening the season at the 



