474 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



that have been raised from seed in this country strictly follow the 

 calendar, and that in distinct opposition to British seasons. How do they 

 do this ? It happens, for instance, in the case of Aloe, and Nerinc — to 

 mention a plant that is not a succulent. The time of sowing the seed 

 makes no difference, so far as I have yet discovered. 



Madagascar. 



Didiera. — A marvellous genus of the order Sapindaceae, with right to 

 a position among succulent plants by reason of its stems, " which are 

 something like those of the succulent Euphorbias." They are, however, 

 very distinct, and grow to a height of several yards on dry rocky soil. 



D. mirabilis—oi which a seedling plant is figured in the "Gardeners' 

 Chronicle," February 19, 1898, p. 110— is cultivated at Kew. Flowers 

 have not yet been produced in this country, but they are described as rose- 

 coloured. There is another species, D. madagascariensis, and both are 

 described by Baillon in the " Bulletin of the Natural History Museum," 

 Paris. 



Bryophyllum. — A pretty species introduced by Messrs. Vilmorin, 

 Andrieux et Cie. is B. crenatum. It is of slender habit, with rather small 

 glaucous leaves, and has flowers of a brick-red colour. It is of easy 

 culture, and flowers the same year when grown from leaves. 



Euphorbia. — An interesting species with flat stems is E. xylophylloides, 

 worth growing in any collection. 



E. splendens is the well-known prickly-stemmed species with coral- 

 red flower bracts, useful for cutting, and produced at all times of the year. 



E. Bojeri is similar but not so good. 



Aloe capitata appears to be the one species in cultivation native of 

 Madagascar. 



Mauritius. 



Lomatophyllum. — An interesting genus similar to and closely allied 

 to Aloe, differing in the fruit, which, instead of being capsular, is succulent. 

 There are two species in cultivation : L. borbonicum, the finer plant, and 

 L. macrum, both natives of the Mauritius. 



Tropical Africa. 



Going north of the main stream of the Zambesi, but strictly con- 

 sidering garden plants alone, we find that certain genera like Stapelia, 

 Gastcria, and Haworthia are left behind, and that others like Aloe and 

 Eupliorbia are represented by fewer species. We shall meet with genera 

 that are new to us, however, and in Kalancho'c, for instance, we shall 

 discover species that are finer than any we have seen before. 



Unlocalised Tropical African Species. 



Vttis. — The genus of the common vine is a remarkable one, and from 

 this quarter two remarkable species have been cultivated. One is V. 

 Baiucsii (" Bot. Mag.," t. 5472), and the other V. macropus (" Bot. Mag.," 

 t. 5479). They have very thick fleshy stems, which produce deciduous 

 tranches that fall off after flowering. This certainly is true of the last, 



