54 STOVE PLANTS. 



subjects of a higUy decorative character, nearly all of 

 which have been ruthlessly cast on one side by horticul- 

 turists. It is true but few of them are suitable for 

 bouquets, as the flowers faU quickly after being cut, but 

 numbers of them blossom through the dull winter months, 

 and serve to make the houses cheerful and gay at that 

 season, so that no collection of plants should be without a 

 goodly number of kinds. They are of very easy culture, 

 and many of them may be flowered in quite a small state ; 

 but as we shall have occasion to mention some of the best 

 in their proper order, we will confine our remarks in this 

 place to the genus now under consideration. 



A. longiflora. — This lovely plant is a native of Guayaquil, 

 and is, without doubt, a most valuable addition to our stoves. 

 It is somewhat shrubby in habit, producing from its four- 

 angled stems, bright green leaves, ovate-oblong in shape, 

 and about nine inches in length ; the flowers are produced 

 on the ends of the growths, in a long, drooping, branched 

 panicle, each flower being about two inches long, and of a 

 peculiar bright rich purple colour. The ease with which 

 this plant may be grown, and its ornamental character, 

 should recommend it to every lover of winter and early 

 spring-flowering plants. It should be potted in a mixture 

 composed of equal parts peat and loam, with sufficient silver 

 sand to make the whole feel gritty. A temperature ranging 

 from 60° to 75° in summer, and from 55° to 65° in winter, 

 will be found to suit it admirably. 



Anthukium. 



A rather extensive genus of Orontiace(r, chiefly valuable 

 in our hothouses as foliage plants, the leaves being in many 

 cases of large size, and of a bold and striking character, 

 sometimes simple, and sometimes more or less lobed or 



