552 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



annual species are worth growing in the stove, especially 

 /. Bona-nox, with very large white flowers, open at night; 

 /. rubro-coerulea and /. Quamoclit. 



Ixora. — Gorgeous - flowered evergreen shrubs of com- 

 pact bushy habit. Cuttings. Peat and loam, and require 



Fig. 674.— Jasminium gracillinm 



plenty of heat. /. coccinea has heads of bright-scarlet 

 flowers. The following are garden forms of it: — Dixiana, 

 orange; Fraseri, bright - scarlet ; grandijlora, incarnata, 

 flesh-coloured; lutea, yellow; Pilgrimi, orange -scarlet; 



and Wcstii, compact, with rounded corymbs of bright-red 

 flowers. /. macrothyrsa {Duffii) has heads of crimson 

 flowers nearly a foot across; the shoots of this should not 

 be stopped, as when they grow to a length of 3 to 5 feet 

 they produce enormous flower-heads. /. javanica is <>f 

 more slender habit, with paler green foliage, and bright 

 orange flowers in June and July. /. saZicifolia has narrow 

 lance-shaped leaves and orange-coloured flowers. 



Jacobinia. — Free-growing shrubby Acanthads. Cut- 

 tings in early spring. Loam and leaf-mould. The 

 best sorts are «/. chrysostepJiaiui, yellow; J. coccinea, red; 

 /. magnified, and its varieties carnea and Pohliana. These 

 plants are also known as Justiceas. 



Jacquemontia viclacea. — A low-growing trailing Con- 

 volvulus-like plant, slender in habit, producing freely blue 

 funnel-shaped flowers. Summer. Loam. Cuttings. 



Jasminium. — Some of the tropical species are worth a 

 place in the stove. The best are /. gracillimum (fig. 074). 

 of scandent habit, with compact heads of attractive, white, 

 fragrant flowers; J. Sambac flon-plaio. of straggling habit, 

 its white fragrant flowers produced from the points of the 

 young shoots all the year round. 



K.empferia ( including Cienkowstea ). — Ginger - like 

 plants, variable in foliage, some being prettily variegated. 

 Light soil. Division. K. Kirhii has racemes of flowers 

 resembling Miltonia rc.cillaria. K. Ethel ice has larger 

 flowers than K. Kirl-ii. K. Poscoeana has beautiful 

 bracts and yellow flowers. 



Karatas (Nidularium). — Pine-Apple-like plants, some 

 of which are distinct and handsome in flower. Loam. 

 Suckers. K. fulgens produces from the centre a head of 

 deep-red flowers. A'. Laurentii, flowers blue. K. Legrellce, 

 flowers purple and white, bracts rose-tinted. K.spectabilis, 

 a truly handsome species, leaves tipped with red, flowers 

 bluish and white. 



Lagerstrcemia (fig. 675). — Tall, Privet-like, deciduous 

 shrubs, with large panicles of elegant flowers, produced in 

 July. Should be grown in a sunny position, and kept dry 

 in winter. The shoots should be cut back after flowering. 

 L. indica, the Crepe-Myrtle, has bright-pink flowers; var. 

 alba has white flowers, and var. elegans crimson. Loam. 

 Cuttings. 



Leea. — Pinnate-leaved plants related to Vitis. Several 

 species are grown as pot-shrubs in large plant-houses, for 

 which they are adapted. The best of these are L. coccinea 

 and L. sambucina. One of the prettiest of stove foliage- 

 plants is L. arnabilis, with the habit of a sapling Elder 

 and leaves of a rich purple-brown colour, margined and 

 lined with white. Loam. Cuttings. 



Manettia. — A small genus of slender climbers, with 

 thin shoots and axillary flowers. Light loam. Cuttings. 

 M. cordifolia has thin cordate leaves, and tubular red 

 flowers; M. luteo-rubra {bicolor) has ovate thick leaves, 

 and urn-shaped scarlet and yellow tubular flowers. They 

 grow best on a trellis or small pillar. 



Maranta. — Often confused with Calathea, from which 

 it differs in its zigzag stems and small unattractive 

 flowers. Some of the Calatheas are known in gardens 

 as Marantas. M. arundinacea, the Arrowroot, is typical; 

 the plant known as Phyrynium variegatum being merely 

 a variegated form of it. Other species worth growing 

 for their foliage are M. arnabilis, M. bicolor, and its 



Fig. 675— Lagerstroemia indica. 



varieties Devosiana, Kerchoveana, Maloyana, and Mas- 

 sat} geana, M. mvsaica, and M. Sagoreana. The plant 

 grown as M. major belongs to the genus Ischnosiphon. 

 It has erect, elegant, green leaves, and is very useful for 



