By Mr. William Beattie Booth. 



541 



are small and sharp-pointed. The midrib is strong and prominent, particularly 

 on the underside of the leaves, and of a pale green colour. The Petioles are an 

 inch long, round and slender, somewhat curved, giving the leaves a pendent po- 

 sition. Flower-buds oval, tapering towards the point, with roundish pointed 

 dark brown or chocolate-coloured scales densely clothed with pubescence. The 

 flowers are remarkably shewy, and resemble a large Double Anemone, from 

 which circumstance the variety has received its name. They are about 3 or 4 

 inches in diameter, and of a deep red colour. The outer petals expand quite 

 flat, and are five or six, most commonly the former number, surrounding a great 

 many smaller ones, regularly disposed and rising upright in the centre of the 

 flower; each of them are roundish-cordate, from 1 to 1| inch in breadth, and 

 slightly marked with veins a little darker than the colour of the petal. Those 

 in the centre of the flower are of a very peculiar form, being small and fleshy at 

 the base, and broad and thin towards the point, with a very minute white tip ; 

 they are compactly arranged in rows from the circumference to the centre, which 

 is considerably elevated above the large outer petals, and are each incurved to- 

 wards the styles, with their edges turned outwards. The styles are a little higher 

 than any of the petals, and have large greenish stigmas, which are sometimes fer- 

 tilized by a few of the stamens that may not be transformed into petals— but 

 more commonly they are impregnated by cultivators with the pollen of other 

 sorts, and from the seed obtained in this way many beautiful double varieties have 

 been raised. The flowers of this as well as of some of the other kinds drop off 

 whole, and will retain their freshness for a considerable time afterwards, so that if 

 placed upon a bud they appear still to be growing. 



Good figures will be found of it in the Botanical Maga- 

 zine, t. 1654, Curtis' s Monograph, p. 4, and in Loddiges's 

 Botanical Cabinet, t. 537. The Chinese represent it in the 

 same state as it is usually seen in this country, as well as in 

 a single state, with the stamina compactly arranged in the 

 centre of the flower ; but I am not aware of the latter having 

 been observed on any of the plants that have been imported. 

 For those in the garden the Society is indebted to Messrs. 

 Loddiges, of Hackney, Messrs. Chandler, Vauxhall, and 

 W. Cattley, Esq. of Barnet. A plant was also presented 

 by Mr. Samuel Brookes, under the name of Blush Waratah, 

 which on its flowering in 1827, was found not to differ from 

 the present variety. 



