186 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAEDENING. 



the numerous fossil remains of 1}oth plants and 

 .inimals existing in the "Oolite." All these plants 

 fuid animals have, however, disappeared from Europe, 

 although both are to he found in Australia, a coun- 

 try which seems to abound in pre-Adamite types 

 of both animal and vegetable life, but hitherto none 

 have been discovered there as fossils. 



Bowenia, as before remarked, has twice-divided 

 leaves (bipinnate), and this is probably its greatest 

 distinction as a genus ; it was discovered first by the 

 late Mr. AUan Gvmning- 

 ham, a celebrated bota- 

 nist and collector, near 

 the Endeavour Eivei- ; 

 but he e\idently did not 

 grasp the importjince of 

 his discovery, for he 

 assigned to 

 it a place ' 



amongst the 

 Avoided ; 

 and after an 

 interval of 

 about sixty 

 years, it was 

 again found 

 \>y Mr. W. 

 mi, the di- 

 rector of the 

 Brisbane Botimic Gar- 

 dens, who sent the first 

 living plant to this 

 country in 1863. Mr. 

 HiU says that "most of 

 the Australian Cijcadnccm 

 grow in sandy or stony 

 soil, which is not rich, 

 but the Bowenia is 

 found in very shady 

 spots about the bordeis, 



or in dense scrubs, where the atmosphere is more 

 moist, and the soil contains more decomposed veget- 

 able matter, and is consequently of better quality." 



For sou in a cultivated state we have found it 

 thrive well in about equal parts of loam, leaf-mould, 

 and peat, with some sharp sand added; the pots 

 should he well drained. The Bowenia being a 

 native of tropical Australia, it requires the heat 

 of the stove ; it is, like all other plants of this order, 

 somewhat eccentric in its growth, refusing to throw 

 up fresh leaves perhaps for one or two years, and no 

 art of the gardener has been able to push them for- 

 ward into existence for a time. 



li. spectaUlis. — Leaves bipinnate and spreading; 

 leaflets lanceolate-falcate and oblique, three to six 

 inches long, smooth at the edges, and deep green. 



Bresia jiadagascakiensis. 



Since the first introduction of this plant numei-ous 

 others have followed, and some, instead of smooth 

 leaflets, have produced them with spiny teeth ; this 

 form has been named semilata, but the variation is 

 common to the order, and both forms can fi-e- 

 quently be found on the same leaf. Kockingham 

 Bay, Queensland. 



Srexia. — A small family of ornamental-leaved 

 plants, which give the name to the small order 

 Brexiacea. Naturally, 

 these plants form trees 

 of considerable dimen-^ 

 sions, but they are 

 generally destitute of 

 branehes ; in a young 

 state of cultivation they 

 are admir- 

 ably adapted 

 for general 

 decorative 

 purposes, but 

 they are not 

 sufficiently 

 hardy to 

 withstand 

 the vicissi- 

 tudes of this 

 climate in 

 the open aiTj and conse- 

 quently cannot be made 

 available for sub-tropical 

 gardenings. Brexias 

 are pretty easily propa- 

 gated, as even a leal 

 taken off with a bud 

 attached will generally 

 root well, and cuttings 

 taken without shortening 

 the leaves strike very 

 readily in sand under a glass. The plants should be 

 potted in a mixture of loam, peat, and leaf-mould, in 

 about equal parts, with a little sand. They enjoy 

 a liberal supply of water during the whole season. 



B. chrysophylla.—kn elegant slender plant, and 

 the most delicate of the species yet introduced; 

 leaves long and narrow, pendent, pale green above, 

 with a few spines on the edges. Madagascar. 



B. madagascariensis. — Leaves upwai-ds of a foot 

 long, and about two inches broad, pale green in 

 ooloui', and quite destitute of spines. Madagascar. 



B. «p«Hos(7.— Similar to the preceding, but much 

 handsomer ; leaves twelve to eighteen inches long, 

 about two inches broad, and leathery in texture, 

 spiny at the edges, deep green on the upper side, 

 but paler below. Madagascar. 



