312 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART Hi. 



CHAP. IX. 



OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS SPECIES OF THE ORDER CRUCIA V CE/E. 



Distinctive Characteristics. Thalamiflorous. (H.B.) The order Cruciaceae 

 is readily recognised by the cruciform arrangement of the petals, which are 

 always four, in conjunction with tetradynamous stamens, and the fruit a 

 silique or silicle. Though there are several species, which, technically con- 

 sidered, are ligneous plants, such as Jlyssum saxatile, /beris sempervirens, 

 Cheiranthus Cheiri, and some others ; yet, in a popular point of view, the only 

 shrub included in the order is the Fella Pseudo-Cytisus. 



Genus I. 



7 7 E'LLA L. The Vella. Lin. Syst. Tetradynamia Siliculosa. 



Derivation. The word Fella is Latinised from the word velar, the Celtic name of the cress. 



Gen. Char. Stamens the 4 longer in 2 pairs, the 2 of each pair grown together. 

 Style ovate, flat, tongue-shaped, at the tip of the silicle. Silicle ovate, com- 

 pressed, its valves concave. Partition elliptic. Cotyledons folded, the embryo 

 root disposed in the sinus of the fold. {Dec. Syst.) 



n. 1. Pe'lla Pseitdo-Cy'tisus L. False Cytisus, or shrubby , Cress-Bocket. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 895. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 223. ; Don's Mill., 1. p. 254 



Synonymes. Fella integrifolia Sal. ; Faux-cytise, Fr. ; strauchartige (shrubby) Velle, Ger. 



Engravings- Cav. Ic, 1. 42. ; and our fig. 60. 



Spec. Char. y 8/-c. Petals yellow, with long dark 

 purple claws. Larger stamens perfectly con- 

 nate by pairs. (Don's Mill., i. p. 254.) A 

 low evergreen shrub, seldom exceeding 4 ft. 

 in height, with glaucous green leaves, and 

 bright yellow flowers, which appear in the 

 beginning of April, and continue till the 

 middle of May. It is a native of Spain, on 

 gypsaceous hills about Aranjuez, where it 

 was first observed by Minuart,and, afterwards, 

 by Cavanilles. It was cultivated by Miller in 

 1759, as a greenhouse plant; but is found 

 sufficiently hardy to stand the open air with a 



slight protection. It has stood for several years in the garden of the 

 London Horticultural Society, planted on rockwork, where the dry soil 

 renders protection unnecessary. It has also stood for a number of years 

 in the open garden in the Hammersmith Nursery, and for five years in 

 our garden at Bayswater, where it appears to be as hardy as the common 

 azalea. It is a desirable shrub, on account of the early period at which 

 it flowers ; and also because it is a free flowerer. On a mound of rock- 

 work it would form a most ornamental bush, and might be associated 

 with the dwarf furze and Nitraria Schoberi. It is easily propagated by 

 cuttings of the young wood, planted in sand under a hand-glass. Price, in 

 London, Is. 6d. 



