548 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



Aralia. — Handsome shrubs, with elegant foliage, re- 

 lated to the Ivy. Peat and loam. A. Guilfoylei, pinnate 

 leaves, serrated on the edge, and margined with white. 

 A. reticulata has long narrow leaves, prettily veined. A. 

 elegantissima has palmate leaves, with serrated leaflets. 

 A. Veitchii is of very slender habit, with elegant palmate 



Ataccia cristata. 



foliage ; gracillima is a form with very narrow leaflets, 

 and is an elegant plant. A. Ckabrieri has leaves a foot 

 long, deep-green, with crimson midrib. A. Kerchoveana, 

 a very elegant species with digitate deep-green leaves. A. 

 leptophylla, dark-green, finely-cut, slightly pendent leaves. 

 Cuttings or grafts. 



Araujia. — A genus of climbers, with 

 hairy, ovate leaves and axillary Ste- 

 phanotis-like clusters of creamy-white 

 fragrant flowers. A. grandiflora and 

 A. sericifera are the best. Loam. 

 Cuttings. 



Ardisia crenulata. — Small and erect 

 in habit, bearing quantities of bright- 

 red berries that hang long upon the 

 plant ; the flowers, which are incon- 

 spicuous, are white; alba is a white-ber- 

 ried form. Loam. Seeds and cuttings. 



Aristolochia. — Mostly strong-grow- 

 ing climbers, producing large, very 

 singular-shaped flowers in summer; 

 and requiring a considerable amount 

 of room. Peat or loam. Cuttings. A^ 

 Gigas Sturtevantii has very large 

 flowers, creamy-white and brown. A. 

 ornithocephala has smaller blooms, of a 

 yellow and brown colour. A. Goldie- 

 ana, flowers very large, greenish out 

 side, internally yellow, with chocolate 

 veins. A. elegans, a handsome species, rich maroon-purple 

 internally, marked with white lines. A. ridicula, flowers 

 with ear-like lobes, purplish-brown, with whitish veins. 



Aspidistra lurida.—A few pots of this should be in 

 every stove collection, as it is most useful for general 

 furnishing purposes. 



Ataccia cristata (fig. 668). — Large, ovate, wrinkled 

 leaves, like a gigantic Plantain, with tall, graceful spikes 

 of Cat-head-like flowers coloured brown-purple. Fibrous 

 peat. Division. 



Beaumontia grandiflora (fig. 669). — A vigorous climber, 

 with leathery, ovate, green leaves, and axillary clusters of 

 large trumpet-shaped white flowers, produced in spring; 

 must be kept dry all winter. Loam. Cuttings. 

 Begonia. See p. 411. 



Bertolonia. — Dwarf plants, a few inches in height, the 

 leaves prettily marked with small round coloured 

 spots. B. superbissivia has leaves olive-green, 

 spotted with reddish-pink. B. Van Houttei has 

 leaves veined and spotted with carmine in the 

 most beautiful manner. B. niargaritacea su- 

 perba, B. guttata, and B.punctatissima rosea are 

 distinct and handsome. Cuttings or seeds. 



Bignonia. — Free-growing climbers. Peat. 

 Cuttings. B. regalis, yellow and red, very 

 handsome. B. magnijica, mauve and reddish- 

 purple. B. Chamberlaynii, long racemes of yellow 

 flowers. B. venusta is similar in habit to the last, 

 with orange blooms. B. speciosa, pale-purple, 

 B. purpurea, rose-purple, and B. Cherere, orange- 

 red. 



Billbergia. — Pine-Apple-like plants, with 

 tall spikes of usually bright-coloured flowers and 

 large, conspicuous bracts. There are many spe- 

 cies, of which B. Bakeri, B. Liboniana, B. nutans, 

 B. Porteana, B. pyramidalis, B. speciosa, B. 

 thyrsoidea, B. vittata, and B. zebrina are the best. 

 There are also numerous garden hybrids, B. 

 Breautiana (fig. 670) being one of the best of 

 these; it is a cross between B. vittata and B„ Bakeri; the 

 flowers are white and blue, and the large bracts rich red. 

 Peat. Suckers. 



Bougainvillea. — Strong, free-growing, profuse -flower- 

 ing plants, suitable for draping pillars or to grow as pot 



Fig. 669.— Beaumontia grandiflora. 



specimens, their highly - coloured bracts producing a gor- 

 geous effect. Loam or peat. Cuttings. B. glabra is the 

 freest, colour rosy-mauve. B. Sanderiana is a very free- 

 flowering form, with mauve bracts. B. spectabilis is a 

 stronger grower, with large deep -mauve flower-bracts. 



Brownea.— Tall plants, suitable only for large houses. 

 They have large pinnate leaves and globose head of bright- 

 red flowers. B. coccinea, B. Crawfordii, B. grandiceps, 

 and B. macrophylla are the best. Loam. Cuttings. 



Brunfelsia (Franciscea). — Shrubs with leathery leaves 



