SUCCULENT PLANTS 



473 



Synadenium. — A genus closely allied to Euphorbia, but of no great 

 importance. S. arborescens ("Bot. Mag.," t. 7184) is a shrub 4 feet 

 high, native of Natal. The stems are green, leaves cuneately obovate, 

 3 or 3^ inches long, fleshy ; the flowers are inconspicuous. 



Liliaceae. — In America we found succulent Amaryllids, but in 

 South Africa we find a much larger representation of this allied order. 



Aloe. — A genus of some 150 species or more, often with imposing 

 foliage and sometimes producing flowers distinctly ornamental. The 

 three following species are arborescent: A. Bainesii (A. Zeyheri) ("Bot. 

 Mag.," t. 6848) is said to be the finest of the species. It rarely flowers, 

 but is fine in foliage and grows 40 to 60 feet high. A. plicatilis (" Bot. 

 Mag.," t. 457) is an old inhabitant of our gardens and distinct in its 

 freely branching habit. It flowers freely. A. dichotoma (see "Gard. 

 Chron." 1874, p. 567) is a slow-growing plant, not yet flowered, I believe, 

 in this country. It is known as the "Quiver-tree," and grows 20 to 30 

 feet high with a trunk 3 to 4 feet diameter. A collection might, include : 

 A. Thraskii, the finest in head of foliage ; A. variegata, a small plant, 

 sometimes seen in windows ; A. Grecnii, with pretty green variegation ; 

 A. tricolor, a pretty plant, with pretty flowers ; A. ferox, foliage covered 

 with spines ; A. ciliaris, one of the prettiest in flower, the perianth being 

 brilliant red, a small-habited plant. 



Gasteria. — Quite sufficiently distinct from Aloe, with which it has 

 been united. The plants are stemless, of usually olivaceous, deep-green 

 hue, almost always spotted, and bearing pendulous flowers, usually pretty, 

 of some shade of red and with one side of the perianth swollen out — 

 hence its name. G. verrucosa is one of the most distinct on account of 

 its numerous white warts. Aloe Lynchi is a hybrid between this and 

 Aloe albocincta, combining the characters of both plants. G. Croucheri 

 (" Bot. Mag.," t. 5812) is a fine plant. G. pulchra has distinctly spotted 

 leaves. G. Vroomii is the finest of all the species I have seen. Under 

 this name I found it in the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Garten at Magdeburg, 

 with an inflorescence 8 feet across. 



Haworihia. — The plants are all small and stemless, with the 

 leaves arranged in a rosulate manner, producing slender scapes with 

 small pale- coloured flowers. There is quite an entertaining variety in the 

 form of the leaf, and all the species obtainable could be grown within the 

 area of a square yard. H. margaritifera, H. cymbaeformis, H. rctusa, and 

 H. tessellata are among the species worth growing. 



Apicra. — Very nearly allied to Haivorthia. The plants are slender 

 and never stemless, though never many inches high. The inflorescences 

 and flowers are similar to those of Haworthia. 



Bulbine. — An interesting genus with fleshy leaves and with filaments 

 hairy. Two species are sometimes found in collections, B. latifolia with 

 broad leaves, and B. alooides with narrow leaves. B. annua, also native 

 of South Africa, may be grown as an annual out of doors. 



Before leaving South Africa, allow me to draw attention to a very 

 remarkable circumstance, never yet accounted for. Numerous plants of , 

 this part of the world invariably flower, when artificially cultivated in, 

 Europe, according to their time of flowering in South Africa. If only^ 

 imported plants did this there would be little wonder in it, but plants 



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