RHAMNUS 



BUGKTHOBN OBDER 



CEANOTHUS 305 



R. latifolius. — A shrub about 5 ft. high, 

 native of the Azores. Leaves elliptic, 

 pointed, entire, with 12-15 nerves. 

 Flowers in July, greenish, hermaphrodite ; 

 stigma sUghtly 3-cleft. 



Culture rfe. as above. 



R. libanoticus. — An unarmed shrub 6 

 ft. high, native of Asia Minor, with whitish 

 bark. Leaves shortly stalked, ovate, or 

 oblong blunt, rounded at the base, finely 

 toothed on the edge, becoming bronzy 

 purple in autumn. Flowers in May, 

 yellowish. 



Culture do. as above. Ripens seeds 

 freely. 



R. robustus. — ^A vigorous tree about 20 

 ft. high, with dark green, leathery leaves 

 7-8 in. long, over 3 in. broad, broadly 

 ovate lance-shaped. Flowers in May, 

 green, succeeded by black, globose fi:uits, 

 5 in. in diameter. 



Culture So. as above. 



CEANOTHUS.— A genus of about 30 

 species of evergreen smooth or downy 

 shrubs, with alternate, rarely opposite, 

 stalked, leathery, entire leaves. Stipules 

 minute, caducous. Flowers hermaphro- 

 dite, small, numerous, in terminal cymose 

 clusters or panicles. Calyx-tube turbinate 

 or hemispherical, 5-oleft. Petals 5, in- 

 serted beneath the thickened disc and 

 narrowed into a stalk or claw at the base, 

 the broader apical portion being hooded. 

 Stamens 5, longer than the petals. 

 Fruit a 3-lobed drupe. 



Culture and Propagation. — These 

 ornamental plants thrive in a light, rich, 

 well-drained soU, and do well in almost 

 any position. They are chiefly suitable 

 for walls, where they flower profusely, 

 but some kinds such as 0. amerieamus and 

 C. azureus make beautiful bushes in 

 warm and open situations, sheltered from 

 the north and east winds. The spring or 

 early summer flowering varieties should 

 be pruned after the period of blooming is 

 over, leaving 2 or 3 eyes of the previous 

 year's growth to produce the flowering 

 trusses for the following year. The later 

 flowering kinds may be pruned in a 

 similar way, or early in the year before 

 growth begins. 



They may be readily increased by 

 layers ; or from seeds sown in autumn in 

 a cold frame in sandy soil. Cuttings of 

 the ripened shoots will also root freely in 

 sandy soU under handlights in late summer 

 and autumn. 



C. americanus {New Jersey Tea). — ^A 

 N. American shrub about 4 ft. high, with 

 ovate pointed, serrated leaves 2-3 in. long, 

 downy beneath and distinctly 3-nerved. 

 Flowers from June to September, white, 

 in long axillary clusters near the ends of 

 the shoots. 



Culture do. as above. This species 

 may be grown either on a wall or as a 

 bush according to the mildness or other- 

 wise of the locality. The popular name is 

 probably due to the fact that its leaves 

 were brewed into tea during the civil war 

 by the American soldiers. 



C. azureus (C bicolor; C.cceruleus). — 

 A pretty Mexican shrub 3-5 ft. high, with 

 blunt ovate-oblong, acutely serrated leaves, 

 smooth above, downy beneath. Flowers 

 in April and May, pale blue, borne in long 

 dense racemes. Gloire de Versailles, 

 Arnoldi, Bertirii, Lucie Moser, Theodor 

 Froebel, President Beveil, Virginal, 

 Soeptre d'Azur, Ceres, Carmen &c. are 

 fine varieties raised by crossing C. azureus 

 and C. amerieamus. The hybrids are far 

 superior to their parents and there is a 

 greater range of colouring in their flower 

 trusses, varying from blue to white and 

 pale rose. The flowering period of many 

 of them also extends from June to Sep- 

 tember, some being earher or later than 

 others. 



Culture So. as above. 



C. coUinus. — A North American species 

 about 1 ft. high, with ovate or elliptic, 

 somewhat clammy leaves, and trusses of 

 white flowers in summer. • 



Culture do. as above. Rarely seen. 



C. cuneatus (C. verrucosus). — A Cali- 

 fornian shrub 4 ft. high, with wedge- 

 shaped, obovate or oblong usually entire 

 leaves, which are opposite, instead of 

 alternate, as in most of the species. 

 Flowers in April, pale blue, sometimes 

 white. 



Culture do. as above. 



C. dentatus (O. Lobbianus). — A 

 pretty evergreen 4-6 ft. high, native of 

 California. Leaves clustered, obovate or 

 oblong eUiptic, acute, waved on the edges. 

 Flowers in early summer, blue. 



Culture dc. as above. 



C. divaricatus. — A dense-growing N. 

 American shrub 3-10 ft. high, with spinose 

 straggling branches, and oblong ovate 

 leaves, rounded at the base, blunt ot 

 acute at the apex, and with a very glossy 



