LBPTOSPBRMUM 



MYBTLE OBDEB 



EUCALYPTUS 447 



G. scabra. — A splendid Chilian 

 species, with leaves 4-7 ft. across, borne 

 on stout, prickly stalka 3-6 ft. long. 

 Flowers reddish, small, very numerous, in 

 a large, erect, club-shaped spike. A fine 

 plant for sheltered places on the lawn or 

 in grass. I saw a splendid specimen of 



this species in a garden at Clovelly a few 

 years ago, and it must have been about 

 16 or 17 ft. in diameter then and about 

 10 ft. high, although I believe it was shel- 

 tered by a shrubbery on every side except 

 the north. 



Culture dc. as above. 



XLV. MYRTACE^— Myrtle Order 



A large order containing 76 genera and about 1800 species of trees, shrubs, 

 or undershrubs, very few of which unfortunately are hardy in our climate. 

 Leaves simple, entire, or rarely obscurely crenate-serrate, opposite or alternate. 

 Flowers regular or nearly so, hermaphrodite, or polygamously abortive. 

 Calyx lobes 4-5, rarely 6-8 or 3. Petals 4-5, rarely 6, or fewer or none by 

 abortion. Stamens numerous. Ovary inferior, rarely half-superior. 



LEPTOSPERMUM.— A genus con- 

 taining about 25 species of smooth or 

 silky-haired small trees or shrubs, with 

 small alternate rigid leaves. Flowers 

 white, often polygamous, borne in twos or 

 threes at the ends of the shoots, or solitary 

 in the axils of the leaves. Calyx tube 

 more or less broadly bell-shaped with 5 

 herbaceous or membranous segments. 

 Petals 5, spreading. Stamens numerous, 

 free. 



Culture and Propagation. — Lepto- 

 spermums are chiefly met with in botanic 

 gardens, and are then usually grown in 

 cool greenhouses. L. scopariuin, however, 

 described below, flowers profusely at 

 Belvoir Castle, Grantham, the seat of the 

 Duke of Eutland, and Mr. Divers says it 

 was quite uninjured by 12° frost in 

 January. It requires to be planted in a 

 warm corner, and enjoys a soil conaposed 

 of peat loam and sand in about equal pro- 

 portions. Cuttings of the shoots may be 

 rooted during the summer months under 

 a handglass. Seeds, if obtainable, may 

 also be raised in gentle heat in sprmg. 



L. lanigerum. — A beautiful Australian 

 shrub 3-6 ft. high with silky-haired obo- 

 vate leaves about ^ in. long. The beautiful 

 white starry flowers, f in. across, with 

 roundish petals, appear from July to Sep- 

 tember and wreathe the branches for 

 about 6 in. Their general appearance and 

 colour strongly remind one of the flowers 

 of Saxifraga hurseriana (p. 418). 



Culture Sc. as above. This species 

 has been found perfectly hardy in the open 

 air in various parts of the United Kingdom, 

 notably in the north of Ireland and in 

 Lancashire. It is a shrub that is well 



worth growing, and although it was first 

 introduced to cultivation as long ago as 

 1774 it is still practically unknown outside 

 botanic gardens. 



L. scoparium. — A beautiful New Zea- 

 land shrub 4-5 ft. high, with ovate mucro- 

 nate leaves, which when rubbed between 

 the hands give off a pleasant and fragrant 

 odour. It produces masses of reddish-hlac 

 flowers in January and February, about 

 i- j in. across, which are particularly wel- 

 come at .this season of the year out of 

 doors. 



Culture do. as above. 



EUCALYPTUS (Gum Tree). — A 

 genus containing over 100 species of 

 mostly Australian trees, some of which 

 attain a height of over 400 ft. in their 

 native country. They are recognised by 

 their entire leathery often glaucous leaves, 

 which in the young trees are opposite, 

 becoming alternate on the same trees 

 with age, and variable in shape. Pe- 

 duncles axillary or bearing 3-15 flowers 

 in an umbel rarely with only one flower. 

 Calyx-tube pear-shaped or beU-shaped, 

 truncate at the apex, entire or remotely 

 4-toothed. Petals enclosed in a leathery 

 calyptra, or top-shaped capsule opening 

 at the top. Stamens numerous, free. 



Culture and, Propagation. — Only com- 

 paratively few species of Eucalyptus are 

 grown in this country, and these chiefly 

 for sub-tropical gardening during the 

 summer months. B. globulus is the 

 most popular species for this purpose 

 owing to its graceful habit and its beauti- 

 ful glaucous, ovate-lance-shaped, curved 

 leaves, which look beautiful waving in 

 the breeze. 



