694 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDJEN PLANTS scopolia 



in spring or autumn like D. Cornucopia 

 and D. fasiuosa, and is quite as easily 

 cultivated. Grown in beds or borders, 

 the plants require to be at least li-2 ft. 

 apart. Being a perennial the plants 

 may be lifted in autumn and wintered 

 in a greenhouse or conservatory. By 

 growing on slowly with not too much 

 water, thej' will flower early the follow- 

 ing year. The roots being tuberous may 

 also be stored away in a dry cool frost- 

 proof place during the winter like Dahlias, 

 and planted out again in spring. Experi- 

 ence, however, teaches that the finest, 

 most symmetrical and free-flowering 

 plants are those raised fi:om seeds sown 

 early in spring every year. 



D. quercifolia. — A Mexican annual 

 1-2 ft. high, with leaves pinnately lobed 

 and cut like those of the Oak, and hairy 

 on the veins beneath. Flowers from 

 July to September, violet. 



Culture it'c. as above. Eaised from 

 seeds annually in early spring. 



D. sanguinea {Brugmansia san- 

 guinea). — An elegant shrub or small tree, 

 4-8 ft. high in cultivation, with leaves 

 often in pairs, bluntly ovate-oblong, waved 

 and shallowly lobed, densely covered on 

 both sides with soft white hairs, and borne 

 on stout hairy stalks flattened above. 

 Flowers in summer, solitary, funnel- 

 shaped, about 7 in. long, with a thick and 

 fleshy orange-yellow tube greenish towards 

 the base. Calyx large, inflated, 5-angled 

 and ribbed, prominently veined and very 

 downy. 



Of all the shrubby Daturas this is the 

 hardiest and the most likely to stand our 

 British winters if not too severe. It has 

 passed iminjured through 14° of frost at 

 Colwyn Bay, and 18° at Ventnor, in the 

 Isle of Wight, but it has suffered with 

 a few degrees in the shires of Lincoln, 

 Cardigan, Gloucester, and Buckingham. 

 This fact is accounted for by local sur- 

 roundings, the absence of wind shelters, 

 soil &c., but it proves that in parts where 

 the air is naturally mild, even m severe 

 winters, and the position sheltered, 

 D. sanguinea stands a fair chance of 

 proving hardy in ordinary winters. 



Culture and Propagation. — It may be 

 increased by cuttings in spring or autumn 

 as before recommended for the shrubby 

 Daturas, and the soil in which it grows 

 should consist of rich sandy loam and 



leaf-mould with a mulching of rotted cow 

 manure during hot dry summers. 



D. Stramonium (Common Thorn 

 Apple). — An East Indian annual now 

 frequently met with as a casual weed in 

 the British Islands, Europe, Asia, N. 

 Africa, and N. America. It grows about 

 2 ft. high, and has smooth stems and ovate- 

 triangularly toothed leaves, wedge-shaped 

 at the base. Flowers in July and August, 

 pure white in the type. There is a 

 more ornamental variety with purplish- 

 violet stems and violet flowers worthy of 

 cultivation. The egg-shaped fruits are 

 large and prickly. 



The Common Thorn Apple, and espe- 

 cially its violet-coloured variety, is worth 

 growing in rough parts of the garden, and 

 the fact that it is as hardy as a weed 

 should not detract from its beauty as a 

 flowering plant. 



Culture <£c. as above. Seeds if sown 

 in autumn and left to take care of them- 

 selves wiU make fine plants the following 

 year. 



D. suaveolens {Brugmansia su'ive- 

 olens). — A handsome Mexican tree or- 

 shrub, 10-15 ft. high, with elliptic oblong 

 quite entire leaves, smooth above and 

 slightly downy beneath. Flowers iu 

 August, large, white, sweet-scented. 



Culture dc. — This is extensively grown, 

 in greenhouses, but for the outdoor garden 

 may be grown iu the same way as arbor ea, 

 cornigera, Knighti and sanguinea. 



SCOPOLIA. — A genus with only a 

 few species of erect, scarcely branched, 

 perennial herbs, with entire, membranous 

 leaves, and solitary nodding flowers on 

 slender pedicels. Calyx broadly bell- 

 shaped, membranous, truncate, or 

 broadly and shortly 5-lobed. Corolla 

 large, beU-shaped, with a plaited, 5- 

 angled, or very shortly and broadly 5- 

 lobed limb. Stamens 5. Disc thick, 

 cushion-like, 5-furrowed. Ovary conical. 

 Capsule enclosed by the calyx, many- 

 seeded. 



Cultu/re and Propagation. — Scopolias- 

 flourish in rich, light, dry soils in rather 

 shaded situations, and when grown in 

 masses in the border or groups by them- 

 selves are effective. They may be 

 increased by division of the roots in 

 autumn or early spring, and also fr'om 

 seeds sown in spring in gentle heat, or m 

 April in the open border. Cuttings of 

 the nou-flowering shoots may also be 



