204 



FLORA AND SYLVA, 



development, and when all three stages are 

 shown on the same plant the variety of tint is 

 pleasing. It is offered by the Ranelagh Nursery 

 Company, of Leamington. A third new form 

 is brought out by Messrs. Lemoine, of Nancy, 

 under the name of A. Sieberianus, which claims 

 a hybrid origin between crispus and tenuissimus. 

 Its foliage is graceful and pretty, but so nearly 

 approaches the latter species that it can hardly 

 claim a distinct place amongst greenhouse As- 

 paragus. 



It may be as well to briefly review the older 

 species and varieties of Asparagus, classed 



roughly in groups, based upon 

 forms habit and foliage. Acutifolius, 



which grows wild on the hill- 

 sides in southern France, is a useful plant, its 

 wiry stems and rigid dark green foliage grace- 

 ful in trails, and sometimes reaching 12 feet 

 in length. Apart from its beauty, the young 

 shoots are eagerly sought by the peasants, and 

 sold for the table at good prices, not only on 

 account of their fine flavour, but also because 

 coming in some weeks in advance of the ordi- 

 nary Asparagus. It would be interesting to see 

 what cultivation might do for this plant as a 

 vegetable, but in any case, being hardy in our 

 southern counties, it is well worth growing. 

 The original "Asparagus-fern" [A. plumosus) 

 has given rise to many seedling varieties, all of 

 which have their own peculiar merits; thus 

 albanensis has longer leaves and is less dense in 

 foliage, though dwarf and compact in form ; 

 cristatus is less flat and more fluffy, with clus- 

 ters of foliage at the end of each branchlet ; 

 declinatus is a drooping form, robustus a loose 

 rampant grower, and nanus a dwarf kind effec- 

 tive in pots ; Sanderi with a tall habit and 

 dense tufted masses on the larger fronds ; and 

 tenuissimus with lighter green very slender trails, 

 almost fluffy in its appearance, and the best for 

 shower-bouquets and other dainty uses. A. co- 

 morensis has the general appearance of plumosus, 

 but a more vigorous growth, a deeper green 

 colour, and broader and less rigid leaf-fronds. 

 A.Sprengeri is rapidly taking first place amongst 

 useful Asparagus, and, whether as a basket- 

 plant, a trailer for indoor rockwork, or the 

 edges of stages, or simply for massing with 

 heavier-looking plants, is most valuable. It 

 comes freely from seed, and has given rise to 



several forms : compactus, with a dense leafy 

 habit ; ochroleucus, the distinguishing feature 

 of which is its pale yellow-coloured berries; 

 and variegatus, a poorly variegated form, and 

 by no means an improvement on the type, the 

 white marking being weak and ineffective. 

 A. lucidus, while preserving the general cha- 

 racter of the last-mentioned, is distinguished 

 by its much longer and jbroader leaflets, and 

 its generally looser habit of growth, fitting it 

 as a climber rather than a basket plant: China 

 and Japan. Forming part of the same group, 

 A. sarmentosus is another good cool-house spe- 

 cies, marking the other extreme in its com- 

 pressed bushy habit, and dense, almost tufted, 

 sprays of a very deep green at maturity. This 

 is one of the best for baskets, quite showy when 

 covered with its wealth of fragrant white 

 flowers, frequently followed by crimson fruits. 

 South Africa. Following these plumy and 

 frond-like growers, a third group carries light 

 green foliage in rounded tufts from their 

 branchlets, at once distinct and dainty. A. re- 

 trofractus and laricinus present this larch-like 

 appearance,with vivid green knots of hair-like 

 foliage, and stems woody and much branched, 

 but the latter is by far the more vigorous. The 

 new plant A. myriocladus, is by some considered 

 a variety of the former, but in any case it is 

 sufficiently distinct to stand on its own merits. 

 Another species quite distinct from any of its 

 congeners is A. decumbent, less reliable than the 

 rest, but with a beauty of its own, more especi- 

 ally as a hanging plant or in a Wardian-case. 

 Its slender stems require supporting or to hang 

 freely with plenty of space, and are light, wavy 

 and grey-green in colour. Its flowers are of 

 the same small star-like type with an orange 

 centre, and very sweet, but the fruit is large, 

 passing from light green to light yellow, and 

 produced more freely than most. Somewhat 

 similar in habit and appearance, and adapted 

 for like purposes, is A. scandens, but its foliage 

 is bright green and borne flatly in rows giving 

 it a more frond-like character. It is a vigorous 

 greenhouse perennial, reaching 8 to 12 feet 

 in length, and bearing orange berries, but a 

 shy bloomer. A variety, dejiexus, is somewhat 

 smaller with a distinct habit ; both from the 

 Cape. Yet another perfectly different form is 

 shown by A. virgatus, a strongly rooted, stiff- 



