CHAP. XLII. 



/?OSA N CEiE. POTENTI LLA. 



747 



those of Tilia alba; B. cordifolius D. Don appears to be the same species 

 There is a plant in the Horticultural Society's Garden. 



R. acuminatus Smith, B. fietulinus D. Don, is a native of Nepal, with 

 leaves like those of the birch or hornbeam. 



R. reflixas Ker {Bot. Beg., t. 461. ; and" our Jig. 466.), B. moluccanus Ait., 

 but not of Lin., is a straggling shrub, a native of China, from which country 

 it was brought to the Kew Garden in 1817. The leaves are oblong-cordate, 

 3 — 5-lobed, densely clothed with torn en turn beneath, as are the stems and 

 flower buds, and the flowers are white. It appears a very distinct species. 



R. roscefblius Smith {Don's Mill., 2. p. 529. ; Bot. Cab., 1. 158.) is a native 

 of the Mauritius, with pinnate leaves. It is generally kept in the green- 

 house. 



R. r. 2 coronurius Sims {Bot. Mag., t. 1783. ; and our fig. 467.), R. sinensis 

 HorL, B. Commerson/'« Poir., has double while flowers. This beautiful 

 variety is rather tender ; but a plant stood out against the wall in the Horti- 

 cultural Society's Garden for two years. 



or perhaps a variety. 



Genus X. 



POTENTI'LLA L. The Potentilla, or Shbubby Cinquefoil. 

 Lin. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia. 



Identification. Lin. Gen., No. 865. ; Nestl. Pot. Diss., 4to. ; Lehm. Pot. Diss., 4to. ; Dec. Prod., 2. 



p. 571. ; Don's Mill., 2. p. 549. 

 Derivation. From potens, powerful; in allusion to the supposed medicinal qualities of some 



species. 



Description, Sj-c. The ligneous species are low shrubs with pinnatifid leaves, 

 natives of Europe and America, and of easy culture in a dry soil. They are 

 propagated by seeds or cuttings ; and, except the common species, P. fruti- 

 cosa, are not much in cultivation. Of the varieties of P.fruticosa, P.f. tenuiloba 

 Ser. seems the most showy. Those who wish to include as many species 

 as they can in their arboretum, may subjoin to the genus Potentilla the 

 genus Comarum ; C. palustre (P. Comarum Scop.), a well-known British 

 plant, having somewhat ligneous shoots. It grows to the height of li ft. 

 in marsh;, soils ; has very handsome foliage, and flowers of a deep dingy 

 pi 1 '-pie; and may prove useful in particular situations on the margins of 

 ijnds. 



The shrubby Potentilla, or Cinquefoil. 



Don's Mill., 2. p. 560. ; Nestl. Pot. 



& 1. P. FRTJTICO SA L 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 709. ; Dec. Prod., 2. p. 579 



Pot. ; Smith's Eng. Flora, 2. p. 416. 

 Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 88. ; Nestl. Pot, 30. 1. 1. ; and our fig. 468. 



Spec. Char., 8;c. Stem shrubby. 

 Leaves pinnately cut, hairy; the 

 lobes oblong, lanceolate, entire, 

 approximate, of nearly the same 

 colour on both surfaces. Sti- 

 pules lanceolate, membrana- 

 ceous, acute. Inflorescence r 

 rather corymbose. Flowers 

 yellow. Sepals pilose, lanceo- 

 late, acute, broad at the base. 

 Bracteas linear-lanceolate, in- 

 distinctly petioled. Corolla 



Lehm. 



468 



\ 



longer than the calyx. . Receptacle very hairy. {Dec. Prod., ii. p. 579.) A 

 native of England, Germany, the Pyrenees, and other places. Found in 

 different parts in Middleton, Teesdale, in England : and Rock Forest, 

 Clare, in Ireland ; flowering in June. This species is the only one common 

 in British nurseries. 



Varieties, according to Seringe, in Dec. Prod. 



& P.f. 2 dahurica Ser. P. dahurica Nestl. Pot., 31. t. 1. ; Hort. Brit., No. 29143. ; P. fruti- 

 cbsa /3 Lehm. Pot., 32.— Glabrous. Lobes of the leaves 3— 5, pinnately cut. Sepals 



