floral ornaments on the shores of Davis"s 

 Straits near the sea-level ; on the other ; 

 hand R. nivale, the most alpine of woody j 

 plants, flourishes at an elevation of 17,000 ; 

 feet. Respecting it and some others Dr. I 

 Hooker reports the following interesting 

 facts :— R. nivale ripens its fruit in two 

 months ; R. anthopogon, at 13,000 to 14,000 

 feet, requires four months ; R. campanula- 

 tum, at 11,000 to 12,000 feet, six months; and 

 R. argenteum, at 8,000 to 9,000 feet, eight 

 months. Some are epiphytes or false pa- 

 rasites, growing attached to the stems of 

 other plants. Such is the R. Brookeanum 

 of Sarawak, whose large fleshy roots are 

 admirably suited to such a habitat. 



As regards properties, some are looked 

 on -with suspicion. It is long since poison- 

 ous qualities were attributed to honey col- 

 lected by bees from flowers of R. ponticmn, 

 and the same is reported of some Indian 

 species. Goats are said to die after eating 

 the leaves of B. cinnabarinum ; and when 

 used as fuel it produces swellings of the 

 face and inflammation of the eyes. Not- 

 withstanding this, a jelly is prepared in 

 India from the boiled-down flowers of R. 

 arboreum. The Siberian R. chrysanthum, 

 of which a figure is given, is narcotic in 

 its properties and is used medicinally. 



The discoveries of Dr. J. D. Hooker have 

 added greatly to our knowledge of the spe- 

 cies, and enriched our collections with 

 several which are highly prized by culti- 

 vators. R. ciliatum may he mentioned as 

 an example; it grows in the rocky valleys 

 of Sikkim, at 9,000 to 10,000 feet elevation, 

 and of all Indian species is probably most 

 easily cultivated; while its moderate size 

 and abundant flowers are further recom- 

 mendations. The process of hybridising 

 has been extensively used between species 

 of this genus— for example, between B. 



Rhododendron chrysanthum. 



ciliatum and R. Edgeworthi, R. formosum 

 and R. Dalhousice ; but we must refer to 

 professedly horticultural treatises for de- 

 tails respecting the results in such cases. 

 The beautiful epiphytal R. Dalhousice, just 

 mentioned, is represented in its natural 

 habitat in Plate 1. [G. D.] 



RHODOLJEXA altivola is the only 



known representative of a genus of Chlce- 

 nacece peculiar to Madagascar It is a 

 climbing shrub, the fruit of which is un- 

 known ; and has oval leaves, axillary pe- 

 duncles and large purple flowers, with 

 three sepals, six petals, an indefinite num- 

 ber of stamens, quadrangular anthers, and 

 a three-celled ovary, containing numerous 

 ovules in each cell. [B. SJ „ 



RHODOLEIA Championi is a beautiful 

 shrub or small tree, a native of the island 



Rhodoleia Championi. 

 of Hong-Kong, forming a genus of Hama- 

 melidacece, allied to Bucklandia, but re- 

 markable for the flower-heads being sur- 

 rounded by several rows of imbricated 

 bracts, whilst the bright pink petals of all 

 the five or six flowers of the head are ar- 

 ranged round the circumference, giving it 

 the appearance of a handsome semidouble 

 Camellia. The evergreen coriaceous leaves, 

 too, are also not unlike those of some Ca- 

 mellias. The plant was introduced a few 

 years since, and has flowered at Trent- 

 ham. A second species of the genus has 

 been found in Java. 



E.HODOMELACE./E. A natural order of 

 rose-spored Algce, belonging to the division 

 in which the spore-threads are tufted. The 

 nucleus is lodged in an external oval or 

 globose conceptacle, which is hollow and 

 has the placenta at the base ; and the spores 

 are confined to the terminal cell of the 

 spore-threads. Rhodomelacece are either 

 jointed, or have a jointed many-tubed axis, 

 and the surface divided into little area?. 

 It contains some of the most beautiful 

 genera, and especially Amansia, while 

 others are dark in colour and inelegant. 

 Several of them contain many species, Poly- 

 sipltofiia numbering two or three hundred. 

 O'ionfhalia dentata, one of our most beau- 

 tiful Algce, does not extend further south 

 than the Isle of Man ; while some genera, 

 as Amansia. are tropical and subtropical, 

 and others have representatives in every 

 part of the globe. Some are attached to 

 peculiar plants. For example, wherever 

 we find Funis nodosus we are sure to find 

 Polysipliordajastigiata. [M. J. B.l 



3 E 



