356 



ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



PART III, 



«l 1. Poly'gala Cham^bu'xus L. The Dwarf Box Pol ygala, or Box-leaved 

 Milkwort. (Jacq. Aust., t. 233.; Sims, Bot. Mag., t. 316.; and our Jig. 77.) 



Described as having fruticose, branched, procumbent stems, with oblong- 

 lanceolate mucronated leaves ; the racemes 1 — 2-flowered ; the keel of 

 the flower crested. It forms a little evergreen tuft, the leaves being like 

 those of the dwarf box ; and the yellowish flowers, which are slightly 

 tipped with purple, resembling at a distance those of the order Legumi. 

 nosas. It is a native of mountainous woods in many parts of Europe, 

 particularly in those of Germany and Switzerland. In rocky situations, 

 it seldom exceeds 6 in. in height ; but in heath soil, or in sandy loam 

 enriched with leaf mould, it will grow to the height of a foot and up- 

 wards, flowering freely every year. This plant has been in cultivation 

 in British gardens since 1658. Miller says that the seeds, which are with 

 difficulty obtained from abroad, do not vegetate till they have been a 

 whole year in the ground ; unless they are sown soon after they are ripe, 

 which is in August or September, in which case they will come up the 

 following spring. It is readily propagated, however, by division of the 

 plant, as it throws up suckers in abundance. This plant succeeds very 

 well in most gardens, in a shady situation, and in peat soil kept rather 

 moist Intermixed with Gaulthdria procfimbens, Mitchella repens, 

 Linnae'a borealis, and other dwarf-growing shrubs, Polygala Chama?buxus will form a rich margin 

 to American groups. The price, in the London nurseries, is 50s. a hundred ; it being frequently sold 

 in quantities for forming edgings to beds of peat-earth plants. 



ft 2. The halj-hardy Polygalas are evergreen shrubs, natives of the 

 Cape of Good Hope ; and in Britain they are generally treated as green- 

 house plants, though some of them have stood against a wall, with pro- 

 tection during winter : and so great is their beauty during summer, that, 

 we think, whoever has a conservative wall ought to place some of them 

 against it. Above twenty Cape species have been introduced ; but the 

 most common are, P. oppositifblia L. {Bot. Reg., t. 636.), which is a native 

 of the mountainous part of the Cape, and tolerably hardy ; P. opposi- 

 tifblia major {fig. 78.), called by some P. grandiflbra, which is equally 

 hardy, and is a fine variety ; P. latifblia Ker, P. vayrtifblia, P. gran- 

 diflbra Lodd., P. bracteolata L., P. specibsa Bot Mag., and P. atte- 

 nuata Lodd., all fine plants, with bright purple flowers mixed with 

 white, and some of them with red, and all procurable in the principal 

 London nurseries. Like almost all other Cape shrubs, they grow best 

 in heath soil, or in a mixture of sand and leaf mould ; and, when they 

 are cultivated against a wall in the open ground, great care should be 

 taken not to let their stems be injured by damp in autumn, more espe- 

 cially at the surface of the ground ; or, in technical language, at the 

 collar. There are some trees and shrubs belonging to the order Poly- 

 galaceae in the Himalaya ; which, when introduced, will be worth trying 

 against a conservative wall with the Cape species. 



CHAP. XIII. 



OP THE HARDY AND HALF-HARDY LIGNEOUS SPECIES OF THE ORDER 

 PITTOSPORA'CEiE. 



Distinctive Characteristics. Thalamiflorous. {H. B.) Sepals 5, petals 5 ; both imbricate in activa- 

 tion. Stamens 5, distinct, alternate with the petals. Ovarium of several cells, with the placentae in 

 the axis ; cells or placentae 2 or 5 in number, and many-ovuled. Style 1. Stigmas as many as the pla- 

 centae. Fruit capsular, or berried. Seeds often covered with a glutinous or resinous pulp. {Lindl. 

 In. toN. S.) The species contained in this order are all ligneous ; and are either trees, or bushy or 

 climbing shrubs, with terminal or axillary flowers, usually of a bell-shape, with a spreading border. 

 They are natives of warm climates"; but some species of Pitt6sporum, Billardiera, and Sollya, are 

 half-hardy, and suitable for a conservative wall. 



Genus I. 



BILLARDIE V IL4 Sm. The Billardiera, or Apple-berry. Lin.Si/st. 

 Pentandria Monogynia. 



Derivation. Named in honour of Jean Jacques Julicn La Billardiere, a celebrated French botanist, 

 who visited Syria, and afterwards New Holland in D'Entrecastreux's expedition. He was the 

 author of Novcc Ifollandue Plantarum Specimen, and other works. 



