454 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



besides a few Sedums, including the pretty S. farinosum and Monanthes 

 polyphylla, a small plant of much interest. The flora of 'the Canaries is 

 exceedingly interesting, and interest is fully maintained in the succulent 

 plants. Here we find numerous species of the shrubby Sempervivums above 

 alluded to. Among the most interesting (fig. 71) are S. canariense ; S. 

 Haioorthii, with roots descending to the ground like those of a Banyan 

 tree ; S. strepsicladum ; and S. urbicum (" Bot. Mag." t. 7893). 



Darwin ("Origin of Species," p. 350) accounts for the shrubbiness of 

 certain plants native on oceanic islands and closely related to herbaceous 

 continental species, by supposing that an herbaceous plant not able to 

 compete with trees would be able to gain an advantage over other 



Fig. 72. — "Mimicry," Ceropegia dichotoma, with a piece of 

 Euphorbia Schimperi on extreme left. 



herbaceous plants where trees have not to be competed with by growing 

 taller than they. 



In the Canaries there is only one Sedum—S. rubens, found also in the 

 South of Europe. Euphorbia canariensis (fig. 80) is quite an imposing 

 species worth growing in any collection of these plants. A Ceropegia, 

 C. dichotoma, with bright-green stems, is well known in Botanic Gardens, 

 and now, through the energy of Mr. Walter Ledger, we have another 

 species, C. fusca ("Bot. Mag." t. 8066), a similar plant with red-brown 

 flowers. It was discovered in I860 in Grand Canary, and lost sight of 

 for many years till Mr. Ledger, by means of information he forwarded, 

 got it rediscovered. Both these species out of flower might be taken for 

 Euphorbias (see fig. 72). The well-known " Ice-plant," Mesembry- 

 anihcmmn crystaJlinum, is here native, but it grows in widely distant 



