STREPTOCARPUS—A NEW RACE OF GARDEN PLANTS. 



31 



of a bright brick red, individually very much like those 

 of a pen^stemon. The color is remarkable in being quite 

 different from what is characteristic of the other species, 

 which are all white or bluish purple. It was raised 

 from seed sent to Kew in 1884. 



Hybrids. — The first hybrid streptocarpus was raised 

 about nine years ago by Mr. Green, in the garden of Sir 

 George Macleay, at Pendall Court, in Surrey. Its par" 

 ents were S. Rexii and 5. Saundersii, and it was named 

 after its raiser. Immediately after, several hybrids were 

 obtained at Kew from S. Rexii and S. parviflora, the 

 beauty of which was sufficiently marked to justify fur- 

 ther experiments upon the same lines. The appearance 

 of S. Diinnii, therefore, with its bright, distinct color 

 and many-flowered racemes, at once suggested its utili- 

 zation for this work, and there is no doubt that the 

 beauty and vivid color of the later hybrids are chiefly 

 due to its influence. It was first crossed with S. Rexii, 

 and the progeny is now known as S. Kewensis. The 

 leaves are two or three in number, much less ungainly 

 than those of ^9. Dunnii, and the flowers are borne eight 

 or ten together on erect panicles, upwards of a foot high ; 

 they are two inches in length. The color differs from 

 that of either parent, being of a brilliant mauve purple, 

 with lines of a darker shade running down the throat. 



The success of the second cross, which was obtained 

 from 6'. Dunnii and S. parTiJiora , was even greater. It 

 is named S. Watsoni. The flowers are very much like 

 S. Keiveiisis in shape, but rather smaller. They are 

 chiefly of a rich rosy crimson, the influence of S. parvi- 

 flora being shown in the white and brownish purple lines 

 in the throat. The amount of bloom a single plant will 

 produce in a season is astonishing. During the past 

 autumn I counted, on an average specimen, between 

 sixty and seventy flowers fully expanded at one time, 

 and this was when the flowering season was on the 

 wane. Up to the present neither S. Kewensis or 5, ]Vat- 

 soni have produced seeds, and their propagation must be 

 effected by leaf-cuttings or by crossing the parents again. 

 But, although sterile with their own pollen, they can be 

 fertilized with that of either of their parents. 



In 1887, after the value of these hybrids had become 

 apparent, all sorts of crosses were made. All the spe- 

 cies enumerated above were impressed, with the excep- 

 tion of S. polyanthus, which so far, at least in England, 

 has not been successfully crossed with any other. The 

 result of these experiments is an immense number of 

 varieties, varying from pure white to purple and crim- 

 son. Some of the white ones are streaked with crimson, 

 some blotched with purple, while some of the purple 

 varieties are streaked with white and brown. A few 

 are almost blue, with only the faintest tinge of purple. 

 As an instance of the improvement due to hybridization 

 and cultivation combined, one named S. Rexii, var. iiiiil- 

 tiflortis may be mentioned. Its parents are S. Rexii and 

 S. parviflora, but it differs in no essential particular from 

 the true Rexii, except in having four and six-flowered 

 racemes, the species, neither in a wild state nor in gar- 

 dens, ever having more than two. S. Saiindersii was 



used, with a view to obtaining a race with many-flowered 

 scapes. To a great extent this has been accomplished, 

 and many of its progeny bear flowers of great beauty 

 The plants, however, retain to a great extent the incon- 

 venient habit of this parent. 



With plants that are so pliant in the hands of the hy- 

 bridizer, and where the generations can be made to suc- 

 ceed each other so rapidly, there is an almost unlimited 

 capacity for selection ; and now that sets of the best 

 strains have been distributed among the trade firms, we 

 may confidently look for many delightful kinds. 



The cultivation of streptocarpus is of the easiest kind, 

 although, like all other plants, they repay care and at- 

 tention. At Kew, the finest plants have obtained by 

 planting out in a border in the cactus house. Here 

 there is abundance of light, a free and continuous sup- 

 ply of fresh air, and a warm greenhouse temperature. 

 The soil is a light, sandy loam. This is probably the 



A Hybrid Streptocarpus. 



nearest approach to the conditions they exist under in 

 south Africa. But, with the exception of 6". Dunnii and 

 S. Saiindersii, which require a slightly warmer and drier 

 position in winter, they grow well and flower beautifully 

 in the winter garden, where the temperature in sum- 

 mer is approximately that of out-doors, and in winter 

 ranges between 40° and 50° Fahr. Here they are grown 

 as an edging to beds, both of peat and loam, and thrive 

 equally well in each. Anyone, therefore, with an ordi- 

 nary greenhouse and ordinary material may confidenth 

 venture on the cultivation of streptocarpus. Grown in 

 well-drained pots they make useful stage plants, espec- 

 ially if occasionally fed with manure water. Nearly ai; 

 the kinds commence to flower between May and August, 

 continuing up to October and November, and are ol 

 continuous interest and prospective importance. 



/Ce-m, England. W. J. Bean. 



