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PBAGTIGAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS bicinus 



B. sempervirens {Common Box). — ^A 

 beautiful and well-known evergreen shrub 

 or small tree 8-14 ft. high, and a true 

 native of the chalky hills of Kent, Surrey, 

 Bucks, and Gloucester. Leaves 1-1 in. 

 long, oblong blunt or refuse, deep shining 

 green and leathery in texture. Flowers 

 in April and May, inconspicuous. 



There are several varieties of the 

 Common Box, the best known being 

 argentea and aurea, having the leaves 

 variegated with silver and gold respec- 

 tively ; marginata, leaves edged with 

 yellow ; myrtifoUa, a robust form with 

 oblong, rather narrow Myrtle-like leaves ; 

 ohcordata variegata, a Japanese form 

 with obcordate variegated leaves ; Japo- 

 rvica is a variable plant from Japan, but 

 quite hardy ; rosma/rinifolia is a dwarf 

 bush with slender leaves and branches ; 

 suffruticosa the very dwarf dens^ form, 

 usually employed for Box edgings ; and 

 several others with nurserymen's names, 

 supposed to describe the peculiarity of each. 



Owing to its dense habit and deep 

 green masses of foliage, the Common Box 

 has always been a favourite in English 

 gardens. It stands cUppiug well, and for 

 ■this reason was at one time hacked about 

 into all sorts of fantastic shapes, in con- 

 formity with the style known as ' topiary ' 

 gardening. To see it at its best, the 

 Common Box should be grown in ex- 

 posed sunny situations away from trees, 

 and might very well be used to crest small 

 hills or mounds. As a commercial plant 

 the Box is very valuable, on account of 

 its beautiful pale yellow wood which is 

 heavier than that of any other European 

 tree, and is the only European wood that 

 sinks in water. 



Cidture and Propagation. — The Com- 

 mon Box is increased by cuttings, layers, 

 suckers, and division. Cuttings about 

 4-6 in. long are inserted in fine sandy 

 soil in shady places under lights in 

 August and September, and soon develop 

 roots. Layers of the lower branches 

 made in autumn or spring also produce 

 good plants, and suckers may be detached 

 in early autumn and transplanted in fine 

 soil. The variety suffruticosa, so much 

 used as an edging, is usually increased 

 by division. The separated portions 

 should be firmly planted. Cuttings may 

 also be made in the ordinary way. 



DAPHNIPHYLLUM. — A genus 

 containing about 11 species of smooth 



trees or shrubs with alternate stalked, 

 entire, leathery feather-veined leaves. 

 Male and female flowers borne on sepa- 

 rate plants (dioecious) and without petals. 

 Calyx segments in the male flowers 3-8, 

 small. Stamens numerous (5-8) with 

 short free filaments. Ovary rudimentary 

 or none, but in the female flowers almost 

 perfectly 2-ceIled, with distinct thickish, 

 recurved-spreading styles. Fruit an in- 

 dehiscent Olive-like drupe, very often only 

 1-seeded by abortion. 



D. glaucescens (Z). macropodum). — 

 An ornamental Hhododendron-Uke shrub, 

 3-4 ft. high, native of China and Japan. 

 Its young branches are ro^mdish, and 

 shining green, clothed with alternate 

 oblong lance-shaped acute leaves 3-6 in. 

 long, having a purple-red stalk U-^ in. 

 long. The upper surface of the leaves is 

 of a deep shining-green like that of the 

 Cherry Laurel, but the under surface is 

 covered with a beautiful bluish-white 

 bloom. 



Culture and Propagation. — This 

 shrub flourishes in ordinary good and 

 well-drained garden soil, and is more 

 valuable as a decorative plant, on account 

 of its appearance and foliage, than for its 

 flowers. It makes a neat rounded bush, 

 and may be increased by layers in autumn, 

 or by cuttings of the more or less ripened 

 shoots inserted in sandy soil in cold 

 frames in late summer and autumn, and 

 protected until the following spring. 



RICINUS (Castor Oil Plant; 

 Palma Cheisti). — A genus with only one 

 species : — 



R. communis.— An ornamental herb 

 3-5 ft. high or more, having greenish or 

 purplish stems and large handsome pel- 

 tate leaves palmately cut into 7 or 8 

 serrated lobes. Flowers in summer, 

 monoecious and without petals, borne in 

 terminal spikes. Calyx or perianth 3-5- 

 parted. Male flowers (the upper ones) 

 have nmnerous stamens in separated 

 bimdles. Fruit usually a 3-ceIled 3-seeded 

 prickly capsule. 



There are several varieties of Castor Oil 

 plants, the best known being borhoniensis, 

 Duchess of Edinburgh, with dark purple 

 stems and leaves ; Oibsoni, with deep 

 bronzy foliage ; macrophyllus giganteiis, 

 with very large leaves ; major, minor, 

 insignia, africanus, atropurpureus, san- 

 guineus, viridis, zanzibarensis, &o., all 

 more or less distinct and ornamental. 



