SPIE^A 



BOSE OBDEB 



SPmaiA 365 



S. palmata. — A strikingly handsome 

 herbaceous perennial 1-2 ft. high, native 

 of Japan, with crimson stems, and 

 palmately 5-7-lobed leaves ; lobes oblong- 

 pointed, sharply serrated. Flowers from 

 Jmie to August, brilliant crimson, in lax-ge 

 corymbose panicles. The variety alba 

 has white flowers and lighter green leaves ; 

 elegans is said to be a hybrid between 

 S. palmata and Astilhe japonica on the 

 one hand, or merely a variety of S. 

 Ulmaria on the other. It has white 

 flowers with red anthers, and pinnatisect 

 leaves. The variety purpurascens has 

 purple -tinted foliage. 



Grown near the edge of ponds or 

 streams, or in moist loamy soil, S. pal- 

 mata makes a noble plant. It may be 

 utilised for the decoration of the green- 

 house and conservatory, as well-established 

 plants of it grown in pots will force into 

 early blossom almost as easily as Spircsa 

 astilboides and Astilbe ja/ponica. 



Culture dc. as above for 8. Aruncus. 



S. pectinata. — A N. American herba- 

 ceous perennial 6-12 in. high, with tufted 

 creeping stems. Leaves 2 or 3 times 

 cleft with linear acute lobes. Flowers in 

 summer, whitish, in woolly racemes. 



Culture dc. as above for S. Aruncus. 



S. Ulmaria {Queen of the Meadows). 

 A pretty native perennial 2-4 ft. high, 

 with furrowed stems, and interruptedly 

 pinnate leaves, white and downy beneath ; 

 lower ones 1-2 ft. long, terminal leaflets 

 1-3 in. long, acutely lobed. Flowers from 

 June to August, white, in much-branched 

 clusters 2-6 in. across. There is a variety 

 called phyllamtha in which the sepals are 

 transformed into whorled, lance-shaped, 

 sharply serrated leaves ; petals and 

 stamens absent, or more or less deformed. 

 There is also a form in which the leaves 

 are beautifully variegated with green, 

 white, and yellow {aureo-variegata), be- 

 sides one Iflore pleno) having double 

 flowers. 



Gultv/re and Propagation. — This 

 species thrives on the edges of streams 

 or ponds or in moist situations in the 

 border or rook garden. It may be in- 

 creased by seeds or division in the same 

 way as 8. Aruncus. 



S. vaccinifolia (8. laxiflora; 8. 

 rhammifoUa). — A somewhat weak-grow- 

 ing Himalayan perennial 1-2 ft. high, 

 with smooth, ovate, crenate leaves on long 



stalks, glaucous beneath. Flowers in 

 July and August, white, in large, loose, 

 shaggy panicles. 



Culture do. as above for 8. Aruncus. 

 This species requires warm sheltered 

 positions. 



S. venusta. — The origin of the true 

 species is unknown. It grows 4-5 ft. 

 high, and has the lower leaves palmately 

 pinnatifid, the upper ones palmatifid with 

 oblong lance-shaped coarsely serrate 

 segments, downy beneath on the ribs. It 

 has rosy flowers in June, and although 

 near 8. lobata is considered to be a 

 distinct species. 



Culture dc. as above for 8. Aruncus. 



S. vestita. — A Himalayan perennial 

 1-2 ft. high, with somewhat hoary pinnati- 

 sect leaves ; terminal leaflet 2-6 in. across, 

 palmately 3-5-lobed and toothed. Flowers 

 in June, white, j in. across, in much- 

 branched oblong cymes. 



Culture dc. as above for 8. Aruncus. 

 This species requires warm sheltered 

 positions. 



Shrubby SpiEiBAS 



The shrubby Spiraeas are increased by 

 cuttings of the young wood inserted in 

 sandy soU, and kept close and shaded 

 until roots begin to form. The lower 

 branches may also be layered in autumn. 

 A large number of shrubby Spiraeas ripen 

 seeds in the British Islands, and such may 

 also be increased by their means. The 

 seed should be sown when ripe in cold 

 frames, and the seedlings pricked out the 

 following spring into light rich soil in a 

 warm, but not too sunny, situation. 



The shrubby Spiraeas are effective in 

 masses on grass or in the shrubbery 

 where they have plenty of room. 



S. alpina. — A Siberian species 4-6 ft. 

 high. Leaves oblong lance-shaped, ses- 

 sile, serrulate, smooth. Flowers in June 

 and July, white in terminal corymbs. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. arguta {8. multiflora alba). — A 

 lovely early-flowering shrub 3-4 ft. high. 

 It is a garden hybrid, one of the parents 

 beingthe beauti&l Japanese 8. Thunbergi, 

 the other a hybrid called multiflora. The 

 plant has a graceful habit, and during May 

 its wiry arching shoots are wreathed with 

 clusters of pure white blossoms, almost 

 before the smooth narrow leaves 1-1^ in. 

 long are fully developed. 



