ranu'nculus. 



2 



!40 



renanthe'ra. 



heat, they will flower at Christmas. 

 If not planted till December, they 

 will flower about the end of January, 

 and if not planted till January, they 

 will flower in March. In this way, 

 by always having a stock of old roots, 

 and planting some every month in 

 the year, Ranunculuses may be had 

 in flower, ail the year round. It is 

 necessary, however, in the case of all 

 those planted between March and 

 November, to supply the beds abun- 

 dantly with water, so as to keep the 

 soil continually moist; and if they 

 are not shaded during the mid-day 

 sun, they will be very deficient both in 

 size and colour. The common mode of 

 propagating the Ranunculus is by sepa- 

 rating the offsets from the larger roots. 



The common Crowfoots are Bri- 

 tish weeds ; but there are several 

 border flowers belonging to this 

 family which are well deserving of 

 cultivation, and of which the follow- 

 ing are the most remarkable : R. 

 aconitifoiias, the white - flowered 

 Bachelor's Button, an old inhabitant 

 of British gardens, prolific in double 

 white flowers in May and June, and 

 very ornamental ; R. acris fibre 

 pleno, the double-flowered yellow 

 Bachelor's Button, which flowers in 

 June and July, is also a very de- 

 sirable plant ; as are R. repens fibre 

 pleno and R. bulbbsus fibre plena, 

 both producing fine yellow double 

 flowers in May and June. R. ne- 

 morbsus, produces its yellow flowers 

 from May to August ; and R.penn- 

 sylvdnicus is rare and curious. R. 

 illyricus is remarkable for its silky 

 white leaves, and R. monspeliacus 

 for its early flowers, Avhich are pro- 

 duced in April. R. corticscefblius 

 is handsome both for its foliage and 

 flowers ; and R. rutcef alius is a low 

 plant well adapted for pots or rock- 

 work, producing abundance of pretty 

 white flowers from May to July. R. 

 platanifblius is rare in Biitish 

 gardens, being commonly confounded 



with R. aconitifblius, from which it 

 differs in growing to twice the height 

 of that plant ; and in producing its 

 flowers in June and July, while the 

 other flowers iu May. R. plantagi- 

 neus is very handsome, with glaucous 

 lanceolate leaves and white flowers 

 produced in April ; and R. angusti- 

 fblius,R. ample xicaulis, R. parnas- 

 sifblius, and R. gramineits, of which 

 there is a double-flowered variety, are 

 all very handsome and desirable spe- 

 cies. 



Raphio'lepis. — Rosacece. — The 

 Indian Hawthorn. Very elegant 

 shrubs, natives of China, with white 

 flowers, the centre of which is red ; 

 the bark is also reddish ; and there is 

 a reddish tinge in the leaves. The 

 species are only half-hardy in Eng- 

 land, and they are generally kept in 

 the greenhouse, though they will 

 grow in the open air against a conser- 

 vative wall. The soil in Avhich they 

 are grown should be avery sandy loam, 

 or loam mixed with peat ; and they are 

 propagated by cuttings of the ripe wood 

 struck in sand under a bell-glass. 



Reamtj n ria. — Ficoidece. — A very 

 pretty little shrub, with fleshy leaves, 

 and bright purple flowers, very suit- 

 able for rock work. It should be grown 

 in peat and loam, or in heath mould, 

 in rather a dry situation ; as it is very 

 liable to damp off if grown in a moist 

 situation in the shade. It prefers a 

 warm sunny bank, where it flowers 

 abundantly, and is very ornamental. 



Red Cedar. — See Juniperus. 



Renanthe^ra. — Orchidacecs. — 

 The Chinese Air-plant. A very 

 handsome genus of the East Indian 

 Orchideous Epiphytes. It is a true 

 parasite, and never flowers well in a 

 pot. It is a climbing plant ; but it 

 differs from all other climbers in at- 

 taching itself to surrounding objects 

 by its long fleshy roots, which it 

 twines round any post or column 

 within its reach, as other plants do 

 their tendrils. Though the most 



