SYMPHORICAEPUS 



GUELDEB BOSE OBDEB 



ABELIA 481 



gated leaves ; strictum, an erect-growing 

 kind, of which there is also a variegated 

 form ; virgatum, an Italian variety with 

 oblong lance-shaped leaves, hairy beneath, 

 and on the margins. There are others, 

 such as purpureum, pyramidale, rotundi- 

 foliwm, variabile &c. more or less distinct. 



V. tomentosum. — This is the fertile 

 flowering form of V.plicatum, from which 

 it differs in having more hairy, oblong, 

 serrate, roughish leaves, and only the 

 outer flowers large, showy and sterile, 

 those in the centre being smaller and 

 with stamens and pistil. 



Culture d-c. as above. 



SYMPHORICARPUS {St. Peter's 

 Wort ; Snowherry Tree). — A genus con- 

 taining about 6 species of handsome dwarf 

 deciduous shrubs, with opposite, shortly 

 stalked, ovate, entire or sinuate-toothed 

 leaves. Flowers small in short axUlary 

 racemes or spikes. Calyx tube nearly 

 round, limb irregularly 4-5-toothed. 

 Corolla funnel- or bell-shaped, 4-5-lobed. 

 Stamens 4-5. Drupes berry-like, white 

 or red, ovoid or round, fleshy, 4-stoned. 



Culture and Propagation. — Snow- 

 berries grow well in ordinary garden soil 

 and may be increased by suckers which 

 are freely produced. Seeds may be sown 

 in the open border when ripe in a prepared 

 spot, and the seedlings may be transplanted 

 in mild weather the following spring or 

 autumn. But the plants are hardly worth 

 this trouble. They are scarcely suitable 

 for the flower border or shrubbery but 

 make excellent covert plants. They are 

 very graceful looking, with the green 

 leaves and slender branches swaying 

 gently in the breeze. 



S. occidentalis [Wolf Berry). — A na- 

 tive of N. America, '6-b ft. high. Leaves 

 ovate, entire or sinuate-toothed, or lobed 

 on the young shoots, downy beneath. 

 Flowers in summer, white tinged with 

 rose, bearded within. Closely related is 

 S. Heyeri, a native of Colorado, with 

 rhomboid prominently veined leaves of 

 firm texture, and pretty rose-coloured 

 flowers. 



Culture dc. as above. 



S. racemosus (Common Snow Berry). 

 A N. American shrub 4-5 ft. high, with 

 oval entire leaves, glaucous beneath. 

 Flowers from July to September, rosy, iu 

 loose spikes at the ends of the branches ; 

 corolla bearded inside. Berries white, 



almost as large as a Barcelona Nut, 

 persistent during the winter. There is 

 a variety called paueiflorus with fewer 

 flowers. 



Culture Ac. as above. 



S. vulgaris (Coral Berry ; Indian 

 Currant; Common St. Peter's Wort). — 

 A North American shrub 3-6 ft. high, 

 with blunt elliptic-ovate, glaucous leaves, 

 downy beneath. Flowers from July to 

 September, red and yellow, in small 

 dense clusters in the axils of the leaves ; 

 corolla slightly bearded. In winter one 

 of the chief attractions of this shrub is 

 the white berries, which are borne in 

 great abundance and are very conspicu- 

 ous. There is a pretty variety (foliis 

 variegatls), having the leaves beautifully 

 variegated with green and yellow. This 

 species is now known as 8. orbiculatus. 



Culture Ac, as above. 



ABELIA. — A genus of very orna- 

 mental deciduous or evergreen shrubs 

 with stalked opposite leaves, and terminal 

 or axillary clusters of flowers. Calyx-lobes 

 leafy or linear. Corolla funnel-shaped, 

 5-lobed. Stamens 4, equal ; or 2 long 

 and 2 short. Ovary 3-celled. Fruit a 

 leathery, 1-seeded berry. 



Culture and Propagation. — Abelias 

 are hardy only in the southern parts of 

 England and Ireland, although in more 

 northern parts they may survive hard 

 winters with a little protection against 

 sixnny south walls. They thrive in a 

 mixture of sandy peat and loam, and 

 may be increased by layers ; or by cuttings 

 in sandy soil in summer, under glass, or 

 in a cold frame. 



A. chinensis (A. rupestris). — A 

 deciduous hairy Chinese shrub about 5 ft. 

 high with small oblong leaves. Flowers 

 in autumn, small, pinlc, in pairs at the- 

 tips of the branches, sweet-scented ; 

 sepals leafy, reddish-tinged. The variety 

 grandiflora is a garden seedUng with 

 rosy white flowers. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. floribunda. — A free-flowering, ever- 

 green Mexican species about 3 ft. high, 

 with ovate oblong leaves. Flowers in 

 March, rose-purple, 2 m. long, in drooping 

 axillary clusters. 



Culture dc. as above. This is rather 

 tender in northern parts of the kingdom 

 and is best grown against a south wall 

 in such localities. 



