CHAP. LXVII. 



COMPO'SPMS. Z/A'CCHAUIS. 



1065 



tings, and will grow in any light sandy soil ; at- 

 taining the height of 2 ft. or 3 ft. in three or four 

 years. It was cultivated by Parkinson in 1640. 



App. i. Half-hardy Species of Stcuhelma. 



StccheWna. L. There are two green-house species, S. arbordscens 

 and S. Chanuepeuce, both considered pretty plants ; the first grow- 

 ing to the height of 6 ft., and the other to that of 2 ft. ; which, being 

 natives of Candia, and thriving quite well in a frame, are doubtless 

 fit for a conservative wall or conservative rockwork, 



Remark. We may observe here that such plants as the different 

 species of Stashellnrt, hardy and half-hardy, are rarely, if ever, to 

 be found in the public nurseries. Their culture is in general confined to the collections of curious 

 individuals; or some of our public botanic gardens. Hence the great value of such gardens, in a 

 scientific point of view ; since, by means of them, many plants are preserved alive in the country, 

 that would otherwise be known to botanists only through books or herbariums ; and which would 

 never be seen by the general observer at all. Botanic gardens, therefore, exist, more or less, in 

 every civilised country, as a part of the national institutions ; and in some countries, as in France 

 they are very properly supported at the expense of the local, or general, government. 



Genus II. 



2?A'CCHAR1S It. Br. The Baccharis, or Ploughman's Spikenard. 

 Lin. St/st. Syngenesia Supt'rflua. 



Identification. Less. Syn. Gen. Compos., p. 204. ; Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 2. vol. 5. p. 25. 



Synonymes. Bacchante, Fr. ; Baccharis, Ger. 



Derivation. From Bacchus, wine; because of the vinous odour of its root. Pliny says the root 

 smells of cinnamon : but, as the ancients sometimes boiled down their wines, and mixed them with 

 spices, these wines may have had an odour similar to that of the root of the baccharis. 



& 1. B. t/alimifo'lia L. The Sea-Purslane-leaved Baccharis, or the 

 Groundsel Tree. 



Identification Lin. Sp., 1204. ; Willd. Sp. PL, 3. p. 1915. ; Schmidt Baum., t. 82. ; Ait. Hort. Kew , 



ed. 2. vol. 5. p. 26. 

 Synonyme. Senecio arborescens Hort. Kew. 

 Engravings. Schmidt Baum., t. 82. : Du Ham. Arb., t. 35. ; and our fig. 833. 



Spec. Char., tyc. Leaves obovate, crenately notched on 

 the terminal portion. {Willd. Sj). PI., iii. p. 1915.) 

 Flowers white, with a tint of purple, and re- 

 sembling those of the groundsel, but larger. A 

 native of North America, on the sea coast, from 

 Maryland to Florida . It has been in cultivation 

 in British gardens since 1G83 ; it grows to the 

 height of 8 ft. or 10 ft., and flowers from Septem- 

 ber to November. It is chiefly remarkable for the 

 glaucous hue of its leaves, in consequence of the 

 whole plant being covered with a whitish powder. 

 Its general appearance accords with that of the genus 

 ^'triplex, and the shrubs of both families are, accord- 

 ingly, well calculated for being grouped together. 

 jBaccharis /mlimifolia will grow in any common soil 

 which is tolerably dry, attaining the height of 6 ft. or 

 8 ft., in 3 or 4 years, and forming a large, loose- 

 headed, robust-looking bush, of from 10 ft. to 12 ft. 

 in height, and 12 ft. or 15 ft. in diameter, in 10 years. 

 It is readily propagated by cuttings. Price of plants, 

 in the London nurseries, 1.?. each. 



* 2. B. angustifo'lia Pursh. The narrow-leaved Baccharis, or Plough- 



man's Spikenard. 

 Identification. Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 523. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves narrow, linear, entire. Panicle compound, many- 

 flowered. Involucre small. (Encyc. of Plants, p. 703.) A subevergreen 



