614 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



August 10^ 1912 



AGAVE ATROVIRENS* 



The stately Agave atrovirens has of Lite 

 created much interest owing to the splen- 

 ilidly developeil speciimen which for a long 

 |M*riod was one of the mo«t noteworthy ob- 

 jects in the eueculent house at Kew, hav- 

 ing reachtHl the flowering stage, and once 



more bronght into proinineiKi* tlu^ legend 

 that certain of tin- a'j;a\-es blooms once in 

 oiH^ Inuidrrd visii - In the Gardeners' 



Magazine for Mav I ot the current year 



tion has previously been made. The plant 

 has sixty leaves, and of these the largest 

 \N as seven feet three inches in length, and 

 bad a breadth of fourteen and a-half inches 

 at the hase, and of nine and a-half inches 

 in the middle. frJeveral of the lower leaves 

 had a thickness of fifteen inches at the 

 base and eleven inches in the middle. Of 

 the year in which thespecimen that has now 

 flowered, and thereiby reached its last stage, 

 was added to the Kew collection there is no 

 record. It i«, however, known that it ivas 

 in the collection in 1873, and that it was 



THE 



we gave an illustration of the plant before 

 the development of the flower spike had 



commenced, tor tfte purpose 



then between four and five feet in diametei 

 or about one-third the diameter that 



a 



noble pro|>ortions of the species wlien in 

 robust state of health, for many years pre- 

 vious to its reaching tiie period of flower 

 development. Concurrently with the illus- 

 tration a brief account was given of the his- 

 tory and characteristics of tbe species, and 

 in presenting an illustration of the speci- 

 men when its notable inflorescence had at- 

 tainetl its full development, there is no 

 occasion to do more than briefly n^fer to one 

 or two points of interest of which no men- 



uitimatoly attained. 



was 



Erigeron speciosus super- 



bum.—Given fine W2ather, this is a charm- 

 ing plant for the herbaceou^j border, but very 

 few are so quickly affected by the rain. It 

 causes the heads of bloom to droop, and the 

 florets to stick together to such an extent 

 that it is termed by a friend of mine the 

 Dorothy Draggletail Plant. Two or three 

 bright days, however, suffice to put matters 

 right.— K. ^ 



THE STUARTIAS. 



The Stuartias form an interesting groi- 

 of shrubs, and the few species in cuiti 



fo'rtuuately 

 cultivate 



tion are of an ornamental character. Vn- 



thtey are not very easy to 

 hence their comparative rarity 

 About half a dozen species have been de- 

 scribed, but it is doufotful whether more 

 than three are grown in this country. They 

 appear to require a warm, moist, and deep, 

 loamy soil, but appreciate a little peat 

 about the roots. Permanent positions 

 should be found for plants whilst they are 

 quite small, for they are very impatient 

 of root disturbance, and suffer 



after transplanting. 



severely 

 Seeds form the best 



means of lincrease, although it is possible 

 to root cuttings. Young plants should be 

 grown in pots until sudh time as they can 

 be placed in permanent positions. 



S. Malachodendron from the Southern 

 United States, forms a shapely bush, from 

 6 to 14ft. high in its native country, 

 though it rarely exceeds the smaller dimen- 

 sions here. The leaves are up to 4in. in 

 length and 2in. or so wide, and the flowers, 

 which are borne singly from axillary buds, 

 are 3^ to 4in. across, white, with sometimes 

 crimson marks on the outsiides of some of 



the petals, and a central mass of purplish 

 or crimson-purple stamens. The flowering 

 period is July and August. In America it 

 inhabits swampy ground, and often occurs 

 in shady places. 



was recorded as having flowered in 

 garden of Mark Catesiby, at Fulham, but 

 neither then nor since has it been common. 



S. pentagyna is another species from the 

 Southern United States, where it is met 

 with in the mountains of Carolina, 

 Georgia, and Tennessee. Its average 

 height appears to be from 8 to lOft., al- 

 though specimens up to 20ft. high have 

 been recorded. The young wood is usually 

 tinged with red, and the same colour may 

 often he noted about the margins of the 

 leaves, 

 to 4iin. 



As Ions: ago as 1742 it 



the 



The leaves are broadly ovate, up 



long 



and 2^in. wide, with ser- 

 As in the former species, 



from axillary 



rated margins, 

 the flowers appear siingly 

 buds. They are white or cream-coloured, 

 often deeply stained with crimson on the 

 outer side, 3 to 3Ain. across, and usually 

 composed of five large petals and one §mali 

 petal, the yellow stamens forming a good- 

 sized tuft in the centre of the flower. A 

 figure of it is given in the '^Botanical 



is a Japanese plant, 

 to attain the dimen- 



Magazine," t. 3,918. 



S. pseudocamellia 

 rt'hich has been &aid 

 sion of a good-sized tree under the most 

 favourable conditions in its natural habi- 

 tat. The largest examples are stated to 

 attain la height of 60ft., with a girth of 

 6ft., on the mountains of Hakona and 

 Nikko. Here, it has only been seen in bush 

 form, although its habit is more sugges- 

 tive of tall growth than that of the other 

 species. The lance-shaped leaves are 2 to 

 Sin. long, with finely-serrated margins. 

 The white flowers are about 2in. across, 

 and they are relieved by a central mass or 

 golden stamens. 



Another Japanese species has been de- 

 scribed in S. monodelpha, but it is d^^^^*' 

 ful whether it is in cultivation. Described 

 as a tall shrub or small tree, herbaruxm 

 specimens show it as having oval leaves iip 



- "and smait 



to 



3^in 



long 



and 



l|<in. 



wide, 



In addi 



white flowers with violet anthers. ^ 

 tion to this there arc two other species, b- 

 grandiflora and S. serrata, neither of which 

 is known in gardens, although the name <)i 

 grandiflora is sometimes given to S. pseudo- 



1 \r 



■IT, 



J - L_l 



T- 



.r . 



