i6 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



has turned out to be the case. There is a fine tree 

 in the gardens of the late Mr. W. Crawford, at 

 Lakelands, co. Cork, which Mr. Gumbleton tells 

 us (The Garden, Vol. XXIII., p. 492) was then 

 35 feet high. The harsh, dry, north-easterly winds 

 of March, however, often prove too much for the 

 numerous flower-buds. Those who have had an 

 opportunity of consulting the picture of this species 

 in Sir Joseph Hooker's " Illustrations of Himalayan 

 Plants" might be excused if they suspect the artist 

 of some exaggeration both in the size of the flowers 

 and in the colour thereof. Mr. Gammie, who knows 

 the tree in its native haunts, certifies that the figure 

 just mentioned is a faithful representation, and he 

 records the flowers as measuring 10 inches in dia- 

 meter. In a wild state the tree attains a height of 

 150 feet, and the scented flowers vary in colour — 

 from deep rose to crimson. In 1898, a specimen in 

 the nursery of Messrs. R.Veitch and Son, of Exeter, 

 flowered freely, and the colour of its blossoms was 

 a deep rosy pink, shading ofFinto white at the centre. 

 There is also a fine tree at Fota in the gardens of 

 Mr. Smith Barry, and, judging from a photograph 

 of this taken in 1898, it must have presented an 

 extraordinarily beautiful appearance. — Hook.fil. and 

 Thomson, "Flora Indica" i,p. 77 ; Hooker, "Illus- 

 trations of Himalayan Plants," t. 4 and 5 ; " Flora of 

 British India," vol. i., part 1, p. 41 ; "Botanical 

 Magazine," tab. 6793. 



The Yulan {M. conspicud). — An English garden 

 affords no more beautiful a sight than a fine tree of 

 this Magnolia in full bloom. Perhaps the grandest 

 specimen in the neighbourhood of London is one at 

 Syon, which a score years ago measured 25 feet in 

 height, with a spread of branches of 34 feet. Good 

 specimens also exist at Gunnersbury Park, and in 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew. Unfortunately, however, 

 the late frosts sometimes damage the snowy flowers 

 in many places, even in the south of England. 

 Against a wall — and the tree bears cutting well — 

 frost is not so much to be feared. No one could, 

 however, grumble at having to shelter such a beau- 

 tiful tree during the flowering season. For conserva- 

 tory work it is thoroughly fitted, and if grown in 

 tubs or pots in the open air during the summer 

 months and housed during winter a splendid crop of 

 flowers in February or March would be the result. 

 This species has been cultivated by the Chinese and 

 Japanese from time immemorial, but it is not much 

 more than a century since it was first introduced 

 to British gardens, the exact date being 1779. 

 The following interesting note respecting M. con- 

 spicua was published in Garden and Forest. From 

 " Memoires concernant l'Histoire des Sciences des 

 Chinois," written by the early French missionaries 

 at Pekin, it appears that the Yulan was cultivated 

 under the dynasty of Tang in 627, and has since 



been always a favourite in the gardens of the Imperial 

 palaces and of the temples, and that young plants 

 are used for the decoration of the Imperial apart- 

 ments in winter. It is the symbol of candour and 

 of beauty ; and a powder prepared from the green 

 fruit is used to alleviate bronchial affections. — 

 Salisbury, " Paradisus Londinensis," t. 38 (1806) ; 

 Loudon, Arb. et Frut. Brit., i., p. 278. M. Kobus, 

 Sieb. and Zucc, Fam. Nat., No. 350 {not of De Can- 

 dolle). M. Tulan, Desfontaine's " Histoire des Arbres 

 et des Abrisseaux," ii., p. 6 (1809) ; Bonpland," De- 

 scription des Plantes Rares Cultivees a Malmaison," 

 p. 53 ; tab. 20 ; "Botanical Magazine," 39, tab. 1 62 1 ; 

 Loddiges "Botanical Cabinet" 1 187 ; Koch, "Dendro- 

 logie" erst. Theil,p. 37 5. 



M. KobllS. — This is a charming deciduous 

 tree with white flowers. It is frequently confounded 

 with M. obovata, and also with small-flowered forms 

 of M. conspicua. This species in the forests of 

 Hokkaido attains a height of 70 or 80 feet with 

 a trunk nearly 2 feet in diameter, and in the New 

 England States is the hardiest, the most vigorous, 

 and most rapid grower of all the Magnolias, and 

 it gives the same promise in this country. It is 

 apparently as yet uncommon in Britain, but it is 

 certainly deserving of a place in the garden, although 

 in a young state — both here and in the United 

 States — it flowers sparingly. The branches, which 

 when crushed have a distinct odour of camphor, 

 are straight and slender, forming a pyramidal out- 

 line ; it is only when mature that the tree becomes 

 round-headed. In some localities in its native 

 country it affects swampy ground in the neighbour- 

 hood of streams, conditions similar to those which 

 obtain for M. glauca in the United States. The 

 flowers are about the size of those of M. stellata, 

 but not so pure a white. — D. C. Syst. Veget., i., 456 ; 

 Shirasawa, " Icon ograp hie des Essences Fores tieres du 

 Japon," p. 71, t. 39. M.tomentosa, Thunb. in Trans. 

 Linn. Soc, ii., 336 (exclusis foliis, qu<e ad M. hypoleu- 

 cam). M. glauca, var. A., Thunb., " Flora Japonica," 

 236. M. Kobus, Ktempfer," Icones Selects," t. 42. M. 

 Thurberi, Hort. 



M. Lennei. — This is a strong-growing plant, 

 with large blossoms, the outside of the petals being 

 almost black at the base, and deep crimson towards 

 the tips. Many years ago a specimen in the nursery 

 of Mr. Scott, at Merriott, was described in The 

 Garden as being about 1 5 feet in height and as much 

 through, bearing upwards of a thousand flowers. 

 M. Lennei originated as a seedling in Italy, and is 

 supposed to be a natural hybrid between M. obo- 

 vata and M. conspicua. M. Soulangeana nigra, with 

 the origin and history of which I am unacquainted, 

 is a similar large-flowered, deeply-coloured form I 

 have seen in fine flower in the Coombe Wood 

 Nurseries of Messrs. Veitch. — " Flore des Serres" 



