LYCIUM. 



172 



lfcope'rsicum. 



Lupine. — See Lupinus. 



Lupi'nus. — Leguminacece — The 

 Lupine. A genus of herbaceous 

 annuals and perennials which fur- 

 nishes some of our most beautiful 

 border flowers : yellow, blue, white, 

 and pink Lupines, are among the 

 oldest border annuals ; L. nanus is 

 a beautiful little annual, with dark 

 blue flowers, a native of California, 

 and requiring the usual treatment of 

 Californian annuals. L. mutdbilis 

 and L. CruiksJidnkii are splendid 

 plants, growing to the height of four 

 or five feet, and branching like minia- 

 ture trees; L. polyphyllus and its 

 varieties are perennials, and they are 

 splendid and vigorous growing plants, 

 with spikes of flowers from one foot 

 to eighteen inches in length; L. 

 Nootkatensis is a handsome dwarf 

 perennial, and L. arbor eus when 

 trained against a wall will attain six 

 feet in height, and in sheltered situa- 

 tions it will grow with equal vigour 

 trained as a bush tied to a stake ; 

 L. latifolius is a perennial from 

 California, with very long spikes of 

 blue flowers. All the species will 

 thrive in common garden soil ; the 

 annuals are propagated by seeds sown 

 in February or March, and the per- 

 ennials by division of the root. 



Ly'chnis. — Silenacece, or Caro- 

 phyllece. — Beautiful flowers nearly 

 allied to the pinks ; some of which, 

 such as the Ragged Robin, Lychnis 

 Floscuculi, grow wild in the hedges 

 in England. They are nearly all 

 hardy, and may be grown in any 

 common garden soil. 



Lycidm. — Solanacece. — Box- 

 thorn. The species are mostly hardy 

 shrubs with long slender shoots, 

 which trail on the ground or ascend 

 among the branches of larger shrubs 

 or trees, according as they may be 

 circumstanced. Lycium barbarum, 

 the Duke of Argyle's Tea Tree, 

 is one of the most vigorous growing 



hardy shrubs, producing when esta- 

 blished a year in good soil shoots ten 

 feet or twelve feet long ; L. euro- 

 pee' urn is almost equally vigorous ; 

 and L. Treivianum, in a warm 

 sheltered situation, will grow to the 

 height of twenty feet. Scarcely any 

 shrub will cover a bower, or naked 

 wall, or trellis fence in so short a 

 time, and the fruit, which is of a 

 coral colour, is ornamental as well as 

 the flowers. The species mentioned 

 have only one disadvantage, which is, 

 that their roots run to a great dis- 

 tance, and throw up numerous suck- 

 ers ; and this peculiarity renders the 

 plants unfit for small gardens, though 

 well adapted for confined court-yards 

 or narrow passages ; the side walls of 

 which are to be covered with verdure. 

 A single plant on a lawn trained with 

 a stem to the height of ten or twelve 

 feet, and then allowed to spread on 

 every side over frame-work in the 

 form of an umbrella, will not only 

 cover this frame-work, but produce 

 shoots which will hang down to 

 the ground on every side, and thus 

 form a complete curtain, which may 

 be drawn aside like that of a window 

 or bed, and will close again of itself 

 on the spectator. These species are 

 easily propagated by cuttings of the 

 roots or shoots in any common soil 

 rather dry than moist. L. afrum 

 is a very beautiful species, with large 

 violet-coloured flowers, but it requires 

 the protection of a wall ; and L. Bo- 

 erhaavicefolium, recently changed to 

 Grabowskia, is remarkable for the 

 singularity of its leaves, which are 

 covered with a mealy whiteness ; it 

 also requires the protection of a wall. 



Lycope'rsicum. — Solanacea. L. 

 esculentum, Dun. {Solanum Lyco- 

 persicum, Ton.) the Tomato or Love- 

 apple, is generally grown for its fruit, 

 which is eaten as a sauce, &c. It 

 is, however, very ornamental when 

 the fruit is ripe, from its large size and 



