i 7 8 



FLORA AND SYLVA. 



peculiarities which, if established, should mark 

 the plant as a distinct species. 



G.hindleyi (Steudel) (Lindley's Rockspray) . 

 — Unknown to me outside the herbarium. 

 According to Loudon, who calls it C. nummu- 

 lar ia, the flowers are white and borne in a few 

 symmetrical umbels ; the berries numerous 

 and black. It is a graceful, low, sub-ever- 

 green tree; native of the mountain regions of 

 Nepaul, where it grows to a height of 10 to 

 i 5 feet. In drawings the flowers are single, 

 with erect petals. Hooker, who calls it C. num- 

 mular ia, describes it as a rough or low-lying 

 bush with woody, stragglingbranches, the leaf 

 circular or ovate, rounded off or short-tipped, 

 with white silky hairs thickly covering the 

 under side; the blossoms numbering two to 

 five in short compact flower heads ; the berries 

 small, erect, oval or round, and black. Native 

 of western Thibet and Kashmir at altitudes of 

 5,000 to 1 1,000 feet. A sub-evergreen plant 

 smaller than C. vulgaris. Some cultivated spe- 

 cimens show rounded leaves nearly an inch in 

 diameter with under sides nearly smooth. 



C. racemiflora (K. Koch). — A low wiry or 

 slender erect shrub with round head shoots, 

 in the young plant covered with white hairs, 

 which, later on become russet colour. Leaves 

 green in summer with shortish stalks, the upper 

 sides dark green, smooth or nearly so, the under 

 sides always covered with white grey down. 

 Leaves of leal-shoots round-elliptic, round- 

 rhombic, or inverted ovate, both ends terminat- 

 ing in slender spines. Blossoms appear at end 

 of May and beginning of June, in number 

 three to twelve, borne on the long last year's 

 twigs in small, leafy, compact, down-covered 

 clusters, which are shorter than their leaves; 

 the ordinary stalk is wanting or very short. 

 Petals white, about as long again as the calix; 

 in form round or round-elliptic, fruit red, 

 round or slightly oval with two stones. Four 

 varieties of this plant are spread through Al- 

 geria, Sicily, the East Caucasus, Persia, the 

 Himalayas and Turkestan. Its varieties are: — 

 [a) Desfontainesi, a shrub nearly 3^ feet high, 

 with leaves of leaf branches a little over 1^ 

 inches long as a rule, and rather less or rather 

 more than 1 inch broad, sometimes, but rare- 

 ly ,as much as i| inches long by rather under 

 I inch broad ; in shape, broad lozenge shape, 



pointed both ends; the leaves of flower twigs 

 smaller and generally wedge-shaped at base, 

 rounded off at tip. Fruit a bright red, one stone. 

 Is frequently seen, with variations, in the Cau- 

 casus and in Soongaria. Amongst all our hardy 

 Rocksprays this is the handsomest ; the bril- 

 liant red fruit continues long on the tree and 

 frequently adorns the last year's branches, {b) 

 Meyeri, a small tree about 6}> feet high with 

 slender erect branches. Leaves of leaf branches 

 rounded lozenge shape or round ovate with 

 short sharp tips; generally somewhat tapering 

 to the leaf stalk ; in length 1 inch, or a little 

 over,and rather less or rather more than 1 inch 

 broad, rarely as much as 1 1 inches long by 1 l 

 inches broad ; the leaves of the flower twigs 

 smaller and generally narrow, or broad oval 

 in shape. Flowers in number four to eight 

 in trusses. Ends of calix slightly haired. The 

 berries are smaller than in the variety last de- 

 scribed, rounded, dark red at maturity, and for 

 the most part containing not more than two 

 stones, (c) Orbicularis, low growing and wiry, 

 with drooped, or sloped almost horizontal car- 

 riage of the main branches. The leaves of leaf- 

 shoots are round or rounded lozenge shape, 

 generally short tipped and rather more than ^ 

 or I inch long by \ to \ inch broad. The leaves 

 of the flower branches are ovate, often blunted 

 or rounded off, or cordiform. Flower trusses 

 of three to six blossoms thickly covered with 

 down. Berries small ovate, bright red, covered 

 with isolated hairs. Received from Metz, under 

 name of C. nevadensis. Presumably a native of 

 the warmer zones, since it perishes or is cut 

 down by our winters, {d) Soongarica (Regel), 

 a form unknown to me, and, perhaps, not in 

 cultivation; Mountains of Soongaria. Accord- 

 ing to Regel, it differs from the other varieties 

 of C. racemiflora in its scattered downy coat- 

 ing and large ovate leaf. He gives it a place 

 between racemiflora and the species next de- 

 scribed. The first three varieties I have found 

 easy to raise from seed. 



C. multiflora (Bunge). — A stately shrub a 

 little over h\ feet high ; the young branches 

 are thinly covered with a light yellowish-grey 

 down, which quickly turns a light russet 

 colour ; the twigs droop. The leaves are dark 

 green and smooth above, the under sides pale 

 green, at first thinly edged with hairs, but later 



