ERANTHEMUU. 101 



Ekanthemum. 



The very extensive order Acanthacem possesses numerous 

 species of great beauty for decorative purposes, many of them 

 flowering during the winter, for which purpose they cannot 

 be too highly recommended. The present genus has some 

 very elegant and free-flowering members, of which we have 

 selected a few of the best, such as will be found very effective 

 in company with other plants. They should be potted in a 

 compost of leaf mould, peat, and loam, in about equal partp, 

 with a little silver sand. To increase these plants, cuttings 

 should be inserted in sand with gentle bottom heat, when 

 they will soon root and form nice young flowering plants. 



E. Andersoni. — This very pretty species has been intro- 

 duced from the Island of Trinidad to our gardens, but is 

 really a native of the East Indies. It is abundantly different 

 from E. asperum, though evidently nearly allied to that 

 species, and produces spikes of bloom from six to ten inches 

 in length, the two upper and lateral lobes of the flower being 

 pure white, and the lower segment very thickly dotted with 

 crimson lake, and broadly margined with white. It continues 

 several weeks in beauty, and is a very beautiful addition to 

 the cultivated species of Acanthacem. 



E. asperum. — A remarkably handsome slender-growing 

 stove shrub, the leaves of which are veined at the margins, 

 upwards of two inches long, somewhat ovate, and dark green 

 in colour. The flowers are freely produced in clusters, the 

 upper lobes of the flower white, spotted with purple, the 

 large lower lobe being a rich deep purple. It is a very 

 desirable winter-flowering kind, from the Solomon Islands, 

 in the South Pacific. 



E. cinnabarinum. — A very handsome species, but rather a 

 tall grower, leaves smooth, deep green, four to six inches long ; 



