DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERING SHRUBS. 399 
is commonly a fine pink, varying to a deep red, which is 
rare. Their beauty is much increased by the thread- 
like stamens being much longer than the corolla, 
There are several indigenous species, besides many va- 
rieties to be found in different parts of our country; all 
handsome and worthy the attention of the florist. 
Some of the cultivated varieties are the following; 
A, coccinea, with scarlet flowers; A. rutilans, with deep 
red flowers; A. carnea, with pale-red flowers; A. alba, 
with white flowers; A. partita, with flesh-colored flowers 
parted to the base; A. papilionacea, with red flowers, 
the lower divisions white; A. polyandria, with rose-col- 
ored flowers, with from ten to twenty stamens. 
A. Péntica is a beautiful species from Pontus, with yel- 
low flowers, emitting the most exquisite odor. The juice 
in the bottom of the flower is said to be poisonous, and 
communicates its bad properties to the unwholesome hon- 
ey of that country; the famous honey of Trebizond 
spoken of by Xenophon, in his history of the retreat of 
the ten thousand Greeks, as having produced the effect 
of temporary madness, or rather drunkenness, on all who 
eat of it, without, however, producing any serious 
consequences. All the beautiful varieties now in cultiva- 
tion, have been raised from hybridized seeds of the Pontic 
and American species, 
The Azalea is a well-known plant throughout Belgium, 
and forms one of the most splendid decorations of the 
flower-garden. It is generally considered to be the most 
beautiful genus of the flowering shrubs. The neat form 
and bushy growth, the vast profusion of its flowers, the 
extensive variety and splendor of colors in the flowers, 
their appearance at a season when few other flowers are 
in bloom, and the little trouble which the plant requires 
when grown in a suitable soil and a good situation, all 
combine to cause the plant to be much admired, sought 
