TABERNiEMONTANA. 



— -Clafs and order, Pentandria Monogynia. Nat. Ord. Con- 

 t*rte, Linn. Apoc'mett, Juff. Brown. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, fmall, in 

 five deep, acute, triangular, fpreading fegments, perma- 

 nent. Cor. of one petal, funnel-(haped ; tube many times 

 longer than the calyx, gradually fwelling upwards, hairy in 

 the throat ; limb about as long as the tlibe, in five deep, 

 lanceolate, varioufly fpreading, oblique fegments. Neftary 

 of five minute glands, furrounding the germen. Stam. Fi- 

 laments five, fmall, infcrtcd into the upper part of the 

 tube ; anthers ereA, arrow-fhaped, converging, within the 

 tube. P'ljl. Germens two, fimple, ovate ; ftyle fohtary, 

 central, thread-fhaped, about as long as the tube ; (ligma 

 oblong, obtufe. Peric. Follicles two, ereft, long, cylindri- 

 cal, pointed, dcftitute of internal pulp. Seeds numerous, 

 pointed, rough, naked, abrupt and oblique at the point. 



Eff. Ch. Corolla funnel-fhaped ; its limb in five deep 

 oblique fegments. Anthers arrow-(haped, within the tube. 

 Follicles two, cylindrical, ereft. Seeds cylindrical, naked. 



1. A. lat'tfolia. Broad4eaved Amfonia. Michaux n. i. 

 Purlh n. I. Ait. n. i. (Tabernjemontana Amfonia; 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 308. Willd. Sp. PI. v. i. 1246. Apocy- 

 num virginiaiium ereftum, alternis afclepiadis foliis, floribus 

 pallida cseruleis, radice crada ; Pluk. Almag. 35. Phyt. 

 t. 115. f. 3.) — Stem fmooth. Leaves ovato-lanceolate ; 

 (lightly hairy beneath. Panicle taller than the lateral 

 branches. Limb of the corolla afcending. — Native of (hady 

 wet woods in Carohna, flowering in May. PurJIj. Culti- 

 vated by Miller in 1759, and hardy in our chmate. The 

 root is flefhy, perennial. Stem herbaceous, eretft, a foot 

 high, round, leafy, nearly or quite fmooth, terminated by 

 a compound fmooth panicle of greyifh-blue fccntlefs^oiyfrj-, 

 and bearing two or three alternate leafy branches, which do 

 not rife above the panicle till the flowers are pall. Corolla 

 very hairy about the mouth ; its tube pale, nearly half an 

 inch long. The leaves are all alternate, on fliort footftalks, 

 entire, pointed, two or three inches in length, and one in 

 breadth ; paler beneath, and minutely hairy about the edges 

 and veins. 



2. K.trijlis. Brownifh-flowered Amfonia — Stem fmooth; 

 its branches overtopping the panicle. Leaves ovate ; flightly 

 hairy beneath. Limb of the corolla reflexed. — Brought 

 from North America, by Mr. Lyon. We received a fpeci- 

 men in flower, in June 1808, from Mr. Vere's garden, at 

 Knightfbridge. This is rather taller than the foregoing, and 

 diftinguiftied by its leafy lateral branches rifing high above 

 the panicle. The Jionuers are fmaller, of a dingy brown 

 hue ; the fegments of their limb ftrongly reflexed, at leafl; 

 in fading. Follicles fmooth, cylindrical. Perhaps Mr. Wal- 

 ter might have this fpecies in view when he attributes tawny 

 flowers {J.ores fulvi) to his j1. cilicUa, our 4th fpecies. 



3. A. faiuifolia. Willow-leaved Amfonia. Pur(h n. 2. 

 — " Stem fmooth. Leaves linear -lanceolate, acute at each 

 end, very fmooth." — Gathered by Mr. Lyon in Carohna 

 and Georgia, flowering in May. Flowers the fame as the 

 firft fpecies, more abundant. Purjh. 



4. A. angujlifolia. Narrow-leaved Amfonia. Michaux 

 n. 2. Purfh n. 3. Ait. n. 2. Venten. Choix. t. 29. 

 (A. ciliata; Walter n. 2. Tabernicmontana anguftifolia ; 

 Willd. Sp. PI. V. I. 1247.) — Stem downy. Leaves linear, 



ereft, fringed In fandy barren ground of Carohna and 



Georgia, flowering in May and June. Floiuers of the fame 

 difpofition and colour as in A. latifotia dinAfalicifolia. PurJIi. 

 This fpecies is faid to have been introduced into the Englifh 

 gardens, in 1774, by the late Mr. James Gordon. Its 

 copious narrow leaves are glaucous beneath, and fmooth, 

 except at the edges, where they are fringed with long foft 



liairs, fach as clotiie iiirjlem. Ventenat fays the upper ones 

 are quite fmoclh, but this is not the cafe in our fpecimen. 

 The teeth of the calyx .ire fomctimcs tipped with a tuft of 

 hairs. Walter fays the flowers are tawny ; others dcfcribc 

 them, as we find tliem, like ihofe of y/. lalifolia, blue, with 

 a pale, or fomewhat tawny, tube. The follicles of all the 

 fpecies, as far as we have feen, are flender, cyhndrical, and 

 fmooth, about two inches long. 



Tabernj.montana, in Gardening, contains plants of 

 the woody, exotic, and hardy perennial kinds, among which 

 the fpecies chiefly cultivated for garden purpofes are, the 

 citron-leaved tabernacmontana (T. citrifolia) ; the laurel- 

 leaved taberna:montana (T. laurifoUa) ; the Virginian tabcr- 

 nxmontana (T. amfonia) ; and the narrow-leaved taberna:- 

 montana (T. anguilifolia). 



Thefe are all plants of the more tender and delicate kind, 

 but more efpecially the two firft forts, which require the 

 conftant aid of artificial heat in this chmate. 



Method of Culture. — All ihefc plants may be increafid by 

 feeds, which muft be procured from the countries where the 

 plants grow naturally, and be fown early in the fpring on a 

 hot-bed ; and when the plants are come up, and fit to re- 

 move, be carefully planted out into fmall pots filled with 

 hght rich earth, and then plunged into a hot -bed of tanners' 

 bark, being careful to fliade them in the heat of the day, 

 until they have taken new root ; after which they fliould 

 have free air admitted to them every day when the weather is 

 warm ; but on cold nights have the glafles of the hot -bed 

 covered with mats every evening, foon after the fun goes off 

 from the bed : they muft. be often refreflied with water, but 

 not in large quantities, efpecially while they are young, as 

 they are full of a milky juice, and are fubjeft to rot with 

 much moifture : they may remain during the fummer feafon 

 in the hot-bed, by fl;irring up the tan to renew xhe heat when 

 it wants it, and a little new tan being added ; but when the 

 nights begin to be cold, the plants ftiould be removed, and 

 plunged into the bark-bed in the ftove, where, during the 

 winter feafon, they mufl be kept in a moderate degree of 

 warmth, and in cold weather have but little water given 

 them : they fliould conftantly remain in the ftove, where, 

 in warm weather, they may have free air admitted to 

 them by opening the glaffes, but in cold weather be 

 kept in a warm ftate. With this management they 

 thrive and produce flowers ; and, as their leaves are always 

 green, make a pleafant diverfity among other tender exotic 

 plants : they may be increafed likewife by cuttings in the 

 fummer feafon, which fliould be cut off' from the old plants, 

 and laid to dry in the ftove five or fix days before they are 

 planted, that the wounded parts may heal over : thefe fliould 

 then be planted in pots filled with frefli hght earth, and be 

 plunged into the hot-bed of tanners' bark, and clofely co- 

 vered with a hand-glafs, fliading them from the fun in the 

 middle of the day in hot weather, rcfrefliing them now and 

 then with a little water : when they have taken root, they 

 may be pknted out into feparate pots, and be treated in the 

 fame manner as thofe railed from feeds are recommended 

 to be. 



It may be noticed, that the third and fourth forts are ca- 

 pable of living in the open air here, provided they arc planted 

 in a warm fituatloo : they love a light foil, rather moift than 

 otherwife ; of courfe, when planted in dry ground, they 

 fliould be frequently watered in dry weather. They arc 

 beft increafed by off"bets from the roots, which fliould be 

 planted out in the autumnal fcafoiv 



Among thefe, the two firft forts afi"ord variety in the ftove, 

 and the latter forts in this as well as the borders in mild 



climates. „„„ 



C 2 TABER- 



