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PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS schizandea 



M. obovata. — A very pretty dwarf 

 deciduous shrub about 5 ft. high, native of 

 China and Japan. It has large obovate 

 dark green leaves, and Tulip-like fragrant 

 flowers, with 6 petals, ptirple outside, 

 white within, produced in great abund- 

 ance in April and May. 



The variety Mscolor (or pv/rpurea) 

 has larger and deeper coloured flowers 

 than the type. There are many other 

 garden forms differing very little from 

 each other, the best being Borreri, 

 nngustifoUa, and erubescens. 



Culture dc. as above. 



M. parviflora. — A deciduous Japanese 

 shrub, with roundish-oval, cuspidate 

 leaves, the stalks and -principal veins of 

 which are covered with a reddish down 

 beneath. The almost globular white 

 flowers tinted with rose appear about 

 April and May. 



Culture <tc. as above. 



M. stellata {M. halleana). — A 

 beautiful dwarf-growing deciduous shrub 

 from Japan, with obovate obtuse or 

 elliptic shortly pointed membranous 

 leaves, 2-5 in. long. The white sweet- 

 scented starry flowers with numerous 

 petals appear from March to May and 

 before the leaves develop. 



This is one of the earliest Magnolias 

 to flower, and grown in beds as in Kew 

 Gardens it forms a lovely sight in early 

 spring. It rarely reaches a height of 6 or 

 ■7 feet and has a spreading bushy habit. 



Culture do. as above. 



M. Umbrella {M. frondosa ; M. tripe- 

 tola). — This is the Umbrella Tree of the 

 S. United States, and is a free-growing 

 and somewhat straggling deciduous shrub 

 reaching a height of 35-40 ft. in a wild 

 state. Its smooth lanoe-shaped spreading 

 leaves are 1-2 ft. long, downy underneath 

 when young. In April and May the 

 slightly scented white flowers, 5-8 in. 

 across, with 9-12 petals, are freely pro- 

 duced. 



Cultu/re Sa. as above. 



M. Watsoni. — A beautiful Japanese 

 shrub or low tree, with oblong obovate 

 leaves about 6 in. long, deep green above, 

 paler beneath. The creamy or ivory- 

 white flowers, about 5-6 in. across, are 

 borne at the tips of the yoimg branches 

 in June, and emit a powerful and agree- 

 able fragrance. Ea^h flower consists of 

 7 or 8 concave or incurved obovate petals, 



outside of which is a rosy-pink calyx, and 

 inside which, surrounding the conical pile 

 of carpels, are numerous rows of stamens, 

 havingrich crimson filaments and reddish- 

 brown anthers. 



Culture dc. as above. This species 

 has been confused with M. parviflora, 

 but is quite distinct. 



LIRIODENDRON.— As there is only 

 one species in this genus, it is unnecessary 

 to give a separate generic and specific 

 description in this case. 



L. tuUpifera(rMZip Tree; Whitewood). 

 A very ornamental flowering tree resem- 

 bhng the Plane in appearance, native of 

 the United States, having a stem some- 

 times over 100 ft. high and 3 ft. thick, 

 with a greyish-brown cracked bark and 

 many gnarled and easily broken branches. 

 The leaves are roundish, ovate, and three- 

 lobed, the central lobe being obliquely 

 truncate, and forming one of the chief 

 characteristics of the tree. It is only 

 when mature — between 20 and 30 years 

 of age — that the Tulip Tree produces its 

 beautiful Tulip-like flowers of soft green 

 and yellow at the tips of the branches in 

 May. The flowers consist of 3 reflexed 

 sepals, 6 connivent petals, in two 

 imbricated rows, and two-seeded carpels 

 in an oblong spike. There are a few well- 

 marked varieties of the Tulip Tree now in 

 cultivation, the best known being aureo- 

 maculata, integrifolia, fastigiata, and 

 variegata. 



Culture and Propagation. — The Tulip 

 Tree requires similar soil and treatment 

 to the Magnolias, but is, on the whole, 

 hardier. There are some splendid trees 

 in various parts of the country, and they 

 seem to be quite as happy as the Horse 

 Chestnut. Young trees of various sizes 

 are procurable from nurserymen, but 

 plants may also be raised from seeds 

 sown as soon as ripe in moist sandy 

 loam in warm and sheltered spots out of 

 doors or in cold frames. A rich loamy 

 well-drained soil suits the Tulip Tree 

 best, but any ordinary good garden soil 

 win grow good specimens. 



SCHIZANDRA. — Agenus containing 

 about half-a-dozen species of trailing or 

 climbing shrubs with membranous, peUu- 

 oid dotted, exstipulate leaves. Flowers 

 1-sexed, red, yellow, or whitish, solitary. 

 Sepals and petals 9-12, gradually passing 

 from one to the other. Stamens in the 

 male flowers 5-15, more or less united 



