ADENOCAEPUS LABURNUM AND BROOM ORDER laburnum 327 



L. venustus. — A downy Californian 

 annual 1^2 ft. high. Leaflets 9 11, 

 obovate-lanoe shaped, slightly hairy be- 

 neath. Flowers from July to September, 

 deep purple or violet, with a white lieel. 



Culture do. as above for L. In fens. 

 Seeds to be sown annually. 



ADENOCARPUS. — A genus con- 

 sisting of 8 species of silky, downy, or 

 hairy shrubs, with digitately 3-foliolate 

 leaves and yeUow flowers in terminal 

 racemes. Two upper lobes of calyx free ; 

 3 lower more or less connate. Standard 

 petal roundish ; wings obovate or oblong ; 

 keel much incurved or slightly beaked. 

 Stamens 10, united in one bundle. Pod 

 linear, compressed, with glandular 

 prickles. 



Culture and Propagation. — These 

 plants thrive in a mixture of loam, 

 peat, and sand, and are very useful plants 

 for borders or shrubberies, which are 

 brightened by their elegant yellow flowers. 

 Plants may be increased by seeds, layers, 

 or cuttings, the latter being put under a 

 glass in sandy soil in summer and autumn. 

 The species mentioned below are the 

 hardiest in this country. 



A. decorticans {A. Boissieri). — A 

 beautiful Spanish shrub, somewhat resem- 

 bling the Common Furze in appearance 

 and habit. The branches, however, are 

 quite free from spines, but are densely 

 clothed with leaves cut into 2-3 foliolate 

 linear leaflets. During the early summer 

 months masses of large golden-yellow 

 blossoms are freely borne, and look very 

 effective against the deep green of the 

 foliage. 



Culture dec. as above. It is easily 

 raised from seeds, but as the seedlings do 

 not transplant well, they are best grown 

 on in pots until large enough to transfer 

 to their permanent positions. 



A. hispanicus. — A deciduous Spanish 

 shrub 2-4 ft. high, with hairy branches, 

 and 3-foliolate, clustered leaves. Flowers 

 in Jime, yellow, m crowded racemes. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. intermedius. — A deciduous shrub 

 3-4 ft. high, native of S. Italy and Sicily, 

 with rather shaggy branches. Flowers in 

 May, not crowded on the racemes. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. pElrvifolius. — A deciduous species 

 3-4 ft. high, native of exposed heaths in 



France. Branches smooth. Flowers in 

 May, yellow, not crowded on the racemes 

 Culture dc. as above. 



A. telonensis. — A deciduous native of 

 S. France, 2-4 ft. high. Flowers in June, 

 yellow, not crowded on the racemes. 



Culture dc. as above. 



LABURNUM (Golden Eain ; 

 Golden Chain). — A genus with a few 

 species of ornamental smooth or downy 

 trees or shrubs, with digitately 3-foliolate 

 leaves, inconspicuous stipules, and yellow 

 flowers in terminal racemes. Calyx 

 shortly 5-toothed. Petals free, clawed ; 

 standard petal ovate or round ; wings 

 obovate ; keel incurved, bluntish, shorter 

 than the wings. Stamens 10, united in 

 one bundle. Pod linear, flatly com- 

 pressed. 



Culture and Propagation. — Labur- 

 nums thrive in almost any soil and 

 situation, but they are most effective as 

 groups in open spaces. If near large trees 

 or buildings, they soon become ungainly- 

 looking and one-sided. The plants are 

 easily raised from seeds, but there is great 

 variation among them, some having short 

 loose miserable clusters of flowers. The 

 finest varieties — those with very long 

 crowded clusters of bloom — are the best 

 to grow, and they may be increased by 

 grafting or budding on the commoner 

 varieties. In making new plantations it is 

 better to use young plants, as older ones 

 are dif&cult to transplant and take a long 

 time to recover from the shock to the roots. 

 Fine varieties of Laburnum when in blos- 

 som always attract such great admiration 

 that they are often planted as a result in 

 all sorts of positions — suitable and other- 

 wise — to the exclusion of other choice 

 flowering trees and shrubs. 



L. Adami {Purple Laburnum). — This 

 remarkable tree, 15-20 ft. high, is supposed 

 to be a ' graft ' hybrid between the purple- 

 flowered Cytisuspurpureus and the yellow- 

 flowered Lahurnwm vulgare^ raised by 

 Jean Louis Adam, from whom it takes its 

 name. The flowers are intermediate in 

 character and colour between the two 

 parents, but sometimes yellow, purple, and 

 intermediate flowers are seen on the same 

 plant — the first two producing seeds, the 

 latter sterile. 



Culture dc. as above. 



L. alpinum {Cytisus alpinus). — Scotch 

 Laburnum. — A European tree 15-20 ft. 



