154 HAEDY ORNAMENTAL 



and perfectly hardy in the more favoured portions of 

 Southern England, where it looks healthy and happy out 

 of doors, and blooms freely from year to year. This is the 

 evergreen so-called Azalea that is so commonly cultivated 

 in greenhouses, with long hirsute leaves and large showy 

 flowers. E. indicum amoenum (syn Azalea amcena), as a 

 greenhouse plant is common enough, but except in the 

 South of England and Ireland it is not sufficiently hardy 

 to withstand severe frost. The flowers are, moreover, 

 not very showy, at least when compared with some of 

 the newer forms, being dull magenta, and rather lax of 

 habit. 



E. kbwbnse (1874) is a beautiful hybrid that is valuable 

 for its perfect hardihood and as succeeding in suburban 

 districts. The flowers are pale-flesh colour and freely 

 produced. 



E. ledipolium (syns Azalea ledifolia and A. lUiiflora). — 

 Ledum-leaved Azalea. China, 1819. A perfectly hardy 

 shrub. The flowers are large and white, but somewhat 

 flaunting. It is, however, a desirable species for massing 

 in quantity, beside clumps of the pink and yellow-flowered 

 kinds. Though introduced nearly three-quarters of a 

 century ago, this is by no means a common plant in our 

 gardens. 



E. macrosepaltim. — Japan, 1870. A dwarf, hardy 

 species, with pink, purple-spotted flowers. 



E. maximum. — American Great Laurel. North America, 

 1756. This is a very hardy American species, growing in 

 favoured localities from 10 feet to 15 feet high. Leaves 

 oblong-lanceolate, slightly ferruginous beneath. Flowers 

 rose and white, in dense clusters. There are several 

 handsome varieties that vary to a wide extent in the size 

 and colour of flowers. E. maximum album bears white 

 flowers. 



E. molle (syn Azalea mollis), from Japan (1867), is a 

 dwarf, deciduous species of neat growth, with flame- 



