706 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS nemesia 



Flowers scarlet, on terminal, glandular, 

 downy racemes. Calyx 5-parted, with 

 narrow segments. CoroUa inverted by 

 the twisting of the pedicel, spreading, 

 rotate, 2-lipped, almost without a tube, 

 and having 5 lobes. Fertile stamens 4. 



Culture cund Propagation. — ^Alonsoas 

 are easily grown in light, rich soil, either 

 in pots or in the open border. They afe 

 increased by seeds sown in March like 

 tender annuals, and planted out in May ; 

 or by cuttings taken in March, and 

 inserted in sandy soil in a little bottom 

 heat, or in August and rooted in a cold 

 frame. Alonsoas are valuable chiefly for 

 their brilliant and lasting effect in the 

 flower border, and in masses with groups 

 of other plants. Owing to their dense, 

 compact growth they are particularly 

 suitable for groiips and should be planted 

 about 12-18 in. apart to allow for a 

 proper development. 



A. albiflora. — A pretty Mexican spe- 

 cies, 1^—2 ft. high, with long spikes of 

 pure white flowers, with a yeDow centre. 

 Useful for autimm and winter flowering 

 in the greenhouse from autumn-struck 

 cuttings. 



Culture <£c. as above. 



A: incisifolia {SemAmeris v/rUccefoUa): 

 A Chilian species, 1-2 ft. high, virith ovate 

 acute deeply toothed or serrate leaves, 

 and long racemes of scarlet flowers from 

 May to October. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. Jinearis {Henvimeris coccinea). — 

 A shrubby Peruvian species, 1-2 ft. high, 

 with opposite or ternately whorled, linear, 

 entire or faintly toothed leaves, the young 

 ones clustered in the axils of the old ones. 

 Flowers from May to October, deep 

 scarlet, with a dark centre. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. linifolia (A. pmnila). — A Mexican 

 species, 1^-2 ft. high, compact and bushy 

 in growth, with dark green, linear, Flax- 

 like leaves. Flowers from July to Sep- 

 tember or October, brilliant scarlet, pro- 

 duced in great abundance. 



This elegant free-flowering species is 

 effective in the border as an isolated 

 specimen in the midst of dwarfer plants. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. myrtifolia. — A beautiful bushy 

 species, 2-2^ ft. high, native of Mexico, 

 with deep green, glaucous leaves, 1^,-2 in. 

 long, narrow, deeply channelled, and 

 toothed. Flowers from July to October, 



scarlet, but pure white in the variety 

 alba. 



Culture dc. as above. If hfted and 

 carefuUy potted about the middle of Sep- 

 tember, and kept shaded for a few days 

 until the plants have recovered, this 

 species will continue to bloom in a 

 greenhouse or conservatory well into the 

 winter. 



A. Warscewiczi [A. oompacta). — A 

 fine ChUiau plant 1^-2 ft. high, probably 

 only a variety of A. incisifoUa, from which 

 it differs in having a less branched stem, 

 paler green leaves, and larger flowers of a 

 briUiant scarlet or rose-vermiUon, mostly 

 without a deeper shade in the centre, and 

 produced in longer spikes from July to 

 October. The variety called compacta 

 atrococcinea grows only about haJf as 

 high, and has a more erect and compact 

 habit with toothed leaves 2-2J in. long, 

 and long spikes of beautiful coppery-rose, 

 the 5 lobes of the corolla being all well 

 developed. 



Culture dc. as above. 



DIASCIA. — A genus with 20 species 

 of slender annual or perennial herbs, with 

 the lower and nearly all the leaves oppo- 

 site. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla, almost 

 tubeless, spreading or concave, 2-lipped, 

 the upper one 2-cleft, the lower one 3-cleft, 

 the side ones being spurred. Stamens 4. 

 didynamous (2 long, 2 short). 



D. Barbers. — A slender-growing S. 

 African annual with 4-angled stems 1-2 ft. 

 high. Leaves i-f in. long, opposite, shortly 

 stalked or nearly sessile, wedge-shaped 

 cordate, with a few sharp teeth near the 

 base at each side. Flowers in July and 

 August, deep pink, the lower lobe much 

 larger than the others, and in conjimction 

 with the 2 side lolses produced into 

 2 curved purple spurs ^1 in. long behind. 



Culture and Propagation. — This 

 species may be raised from seeds sown in 

 heat in March, the seedlings being trans- 

 planted about the end of May. It is pro- 

 bably the only one in cultivation and may 

 be used in the same way as the Alonsoas 

 in the open border or in pots for green- 

 house decoration. 



NEMESIA. — A genus containing 

 about 20 species of slender -growing annual 

 or perennial herbs, sometimes bushes, 

 with opposite leaves, and variously 

 coloured flowers in racemes at the ends 

 of the branches, or rarely solitary in the 

 leaf axUs. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla tube 



