764 



PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



IKBSIKE 



of about 80°-85° F. The cuttings are 

 usually dibbled in about 1 in. apart in rich 

 sandy loam and leaf soil, and kept moist 

 and shaded for a few days until the roots 

 begin to develop. As soon as this takes 

 place the shading may be removed, and 

 the amount of air may be gradually 

 increased so as to make the plants sturdy 

 and hardy. As much light as possible 

 should be given once the plants are 

 rooted, as this is the only way to secure 

 a good colour in the leaves. For this 

 reason the cuttings are usually rooted in 

 a hotbed, so that the surface is within a 

 few inches of the glass. The following 

 are some of the chief kinds grown : — 



A. amabilis. — A Brazilian species 

 with elliptic tapering leaves having red 

 veins and a mixture of green, red, orange, 

 and rose over the surface. The variety 

 amcena is a. pretty little plant with 

 smaller spoon-shaped leaves washed with 

 orange, red, and purple, intermixed with 

 green and bronze. The variety tricolor 

 has smooth broadly ovate leaves with 

 dark green edges, a bright rose centre 

 veined with purple, and with an irregular 

 band of orange or yellow between the 

 rose centre and the green margin. 



Culture dc. as above. 



A. paronychioides. — A dense and com- 

 pact-growing species forming tufts 3-4 in. 

 high. It has narrow spoon-shaped leaves 

 of a deep orange-red colour shaded with 

 olive green. There are a few handsome 

 forms, such as magnifica, which has 

 more highly coloured foliage ; major, 

 with bronzy leaves tipped with orange ; 

 and major aurea, the leaves of which 

 have a bright golden-yellow hue. 



Culture Ac, as above. 



A. versicolor. — A compact-growing 

 Brazilian species with ovate leaves of a 

 bright rosy-pink and crimson shaded with 

 bronzy-green. 



Culture Ac. as above. 



GOMPHRENA (Globe Amaranth). 

 A genus of erect or trailing herbs more 

 or less hairy, often with swollen joints. 

 Leaves opposite, sessile or shortly stalked, 

 entire. Flowers hermaphrodite, usually 

 in small roimd heads, very rarely in 

 spikes. Perianth 5-parted, often woolly 

 at the base. 



G. globosa. — A pretty East Indian 

 annual about 18 in. high, with oblong 



downy leaves and solitary round heads 

 of shining violet flowers borne at the end 

 of the shoots in summer. Strictly speak- 

 ing, it is not the flowers proper, but the 

 scales or chaffy bracts surrounding them, 

 which constitute the chief attraction of 

 the plant. There are several varieties, 

 such as alha, aurea, carnea, 'purpurea; 

 but noma, which grows only about 4 or 

 5 in. high, and makes a compact bushy 

 plant with deep red flower-heads, is one 

 of the best. 



Culture and, Propagation. — Although 

 there are about 70 species of Gomphrena 

 known altogether, the above is the most 

 valued for the outdoor garden. It may 

 be grown as a tender annual in the same 

 way as the Celosias. Seeds may be raised 

 in gentle heat in March and April, and 

 when large enough the seedlings are to 

 be pricked off and grown on so as to be 

 ready for planting out at the end of May 

 or beginning of June. They like a hght 

 rich soil and warm sheltered positions, 

 and may be used for edgings, or massing 

 in the flower-border, or in beds by them- 

 selves. 



IRESINE. — A genus of erect or 

 somewhat trailing, smooth, woolly, or 

 downy herbs, with opposite, stalked, 

 entire or serrulate leaves. Flowers small, 

 hermaphrodite or dioecious, borne in 

 panicles or clusters. Perianth 5-parted. 

 Stamens S. 



I. Herbsti (Achyranthes Verschaffelti). 

 A handsome Brazilian plant I-I5 ft. 

 high, with bright crimson stems and 

 leaves, the latter being soruewhat heart- 

 shaped in outline, and deeply notched 

 at the apex. The upper surface is 

 much deeper in colour than the under 

 one. The variety acuminata has sharply 

 tapering leaves, while aureo-reticulata 

 has leaves the same shape as the type, 

 but greenish in colour, banded with 

 golden-yeUow along the main veins, the 

 stems and leaf-stalks being deep crimson- 

 red. 



Culture and Propagation. — The Ire- 

 sines are popular plants for massing in 

 groups and beds, and for edgings in the 

 flower border during the summer months. 

 They are chiefly valued for their orna- 

 mental and deeply coloured foliage, which 

 in favourable seasons becomes particularly 

 fine. The plants like a rich sandy and 

 well-manured loam, and warm sunny 

 situations sheltered from cold winds. 



