362 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 



* I. H. syri'acus L. The Syrian Hibiscus, or Althcea Frutex. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 978. ; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 448. ; Don's Mill., 1. 478. 



Synonymes. Ketmie des Jardins, Fr. ; Syrischer Eibisch, Ger. 



Derivation. It is called Althaea from the resemblance of its flowers to those of the ^lthae a rosea. 



Engravings. Cav. Diss., 3. t 69. f. 1. ; Bot. Mag., t. 83. ; and our fig. 88. 



Spec. Char., Sec. Stem unarmed, arboreous. Leaves ovate, 

 wedge-shaped, 3-lobed, toothed. Pedicels hardly longer 

 than the leaves. Involucel 6 — 7-leaved. (Don's 2fill.,i. 

 p. 478.) A deciduous shrub, a native of Syria and 

 Carniola, where it attains the height of 6 ft., and flowers 

 in August and September. The flowers are large, single 

 or double, purple, white, red, or variegated. It is one 

 of our most ornamental hardy shrubs ; and, having been 

 in cultivation since 1596, the following varieties have 

 proceeded from it : — 



* H. s. 2 fbliis variegdtis, the variegated-leaved Syrian 



Hibiscus, or Althaea Frutex. 



* H. s. 3 fibre variegdto, the variegated-flowered Syrian Hibiscus , or Althaea 



Frutex. 



a H. s. 4 fibre purpureo, the purple-fiowered Syrian Hibiscus, or Althaea 

 Frutex. 



a H. s. 5 fibre purpureo pleno, the purple-double-fiowered Syrian Hibiscus, 

 or Althaea Frutex. 



IE t. 6 fibre rubro, the red-fiowered Syrian Hibiscus, or Althaea Frutex. 



5* H. s. 7 fibre albo, the white-fiowered Syrian Hibiscus, or Althaea Frutex. 



■ H. s. 8 fibre dlbo pletio, the white-double-flowered Syrian Hibiscus, or 

 Althaea Frutex. 

 Description, History, fyc. A deciduous shrub, from 6 ft. to 8 ft. in height, 

 with numerous upright white-barked branches ; their general character being 

 rather fastigiate than spreading. The leaves are variously lobed. The 

 flowers are axillary, large, and bell-shaped. In English gardens, these 

 flowers are produced from the middle of August to the end of September ; 

 and, when the season is dry and warm, they are succeeded by capsules con- 

 taining ripe seeds. It is a native of Syria and Carniola, and was introduced 

 into England previously to 1629 ; being mentioned by Parkinson, in his Para- 

 disus of that date, as a new shrub, somewhat tender, requiring to be kept in 

 a large pot or tub in the house, or in a warm cellar. In the neighbourhood 

 of Paris, it has been known for upwards of two centuries ; and it is found 

 there, as well as about London, to be perfectly hardy. At Berlin and Vienna, 

 in severe winters, it requires protection. In the time of Du Hamel, and of 

 Miller, there were no double-flowered varieties ; but these have since been 

 procured from seeds. Double-flowered varieties are now common both in 

 Europe and America. The only use to which the shrub is applied is as a 

 garden ornament, of which it is one of the most conspicuous ,• and it is the 

 more valuable, because it produces its flowers at a time of the year when 

 few shrubs are in bloom. It forms beautiful garden hedges, more especially 

 when the different sorts are planted in a harmonious order of succession, 

 according to their colours ; and when the plants are not clipped, but care- 

 fully pruned with the knife. In the colder parts of Britain, and in the 

 north of Germany, few ornamental shrubs better deserve being planted 

 against a wall. It will grow in almost any soil not too wet; but, like all 

 the ilfalvaceae, seems to prefer one sandy, deep, and rich rather than 

 poor. An open airy situation, where it will ripen its wood, is essential. 

 The single-flowered varieties are propagated by seed, which come up true 

 to their respective colours ; the double-flowered varieties are propagated 

 by layers, by grafting on the common sorts, and sometimes by cuttings of 

 the ripened wood, planted in sand in autumn, and covered with a hand- 

 glass during the winter. Price, in the London nurseries : seedlings, 5*. a 

 hundred; the different single-flowered varieties, oOs. a hundred ; and the va- 



