186 



THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 



LONICERA ( ? sp.) AUREO-RETICULATA. 



WITH A 1ST ILLUSTRATION. 



Under the name of Lonicera reticulata the very beautiful-leaved Honey- 

 suckle we now figure found its way to the metropolitan exhibitions, and there, 

 both at the Regent's Park and South Kensington, it was marked by the highest 

 award that could be given to it — a certificate of merit of the first class. The 

 botanical Lonicera reticulata is, however, a Hong Kong plant, with the branches 

 and under-surface of the leaves thickly tomentose ; whilst the present plant is 

 of Japanese origin, and the leaves are all but perfectly smooth. Mr. Stanclish, 

 of the Royal Nurseries, Bagshot, by whom it has been grown, and to whom we 

 are indebted for our figure, refers it to L, brachypoda, the L. flexuosa of Thun- 

 berg ; but, in the absence of more perfect materials, we think it most advisable 

 merely to adopt a name which indicates the golden network of its leaf-surface, 

 which, moreover, while distinguishing it from L. reticulata itself, differs very 

 little from that under which it has already appeared, and which may be retained 

 as that of the variety when the species shall ha^e been accurately determined. 



We learn from Mr. Fortune that the plant was found by him cultivated in 

 the gardens of Yedo. " It is," he observes, " a very beautiful creeper, and is 

 much valued by Japanese gardeners. It produces two kinds of leaves, one 

 single and one like the Oak. A wall covered with the plant has a very pretty 

 appearance, and looks like a large mass of Ancectochilus. In this country it 

 will probably prove as hardy as the other Honeysuckles from Japan." 



The plant is one of the many fine things sent over from Japan by Mr. For- 

 tune, on the occasion of his recent visit. As cultivated and exhibited by 

 Mr. Standish, it forms an elegant slender climbing shrub, whose stems are, 

 when mature, of a deep red colour, and slightly pubescent. The leaves are 

 commonly ovate, but occasionally become cinuately lobed, and in the samples 

 before us are about 2§- inches long, and nearly 2 inches broad; they have 

 somewhat pubescent stalks, and a ciliolate margin, and are smooth on both 

 surfaces, of a bright green colour, with the veins everywhere marked out with 

 golden yellow. Such foliage produced freely on a plant of elegantly climbing 

 habit must be, as it proves, singularly handsome. We learn, moreover, from 

 Mr. Stanclish that the midrib of the leaf becomes quite crimson when naturally 

 grown, which must add very much to its beauty. 



This variegated Honeysuckle is a plant of free habit. The examples which 

 have been exhibited have been grown in heat in order to obtain quick develop- 

 ment, and under these conditions have not acquired the high colouring which 

 belongs to more naturally-grown plants ; but even in this state, in which only 

 we have seen it, the marking is singularly elegant. The plant is believed to be 

 as hardy as L. brachypoda itself ; and, being a free grower, is suitable for almost 

 any purpose to which a slender hardy climbing shrub can be applied. As an 

 ornamental pot-plant for exhibition purposes, it will, we have no doubt, be 

 extremely useful ; while for ornamental trellis-work in cold conservatories it 

 will be no less valuable. Indeed, it may be safely used in any situation, where 

 it can be planted to contrast with other choice climbers of slender growth. 

 Strongly, however, as it may be recommended with our present information 

 respecting it, its full merit must remain unknown until the extent of its growth 

 and the degree of its hardiness have been more exactly ascertained. 



We believe it is intended to send out the young plants at an early date, 

 and we are much mistaken if they do not find their way into general cultivation. 

 It is seldom our good fortune to present two such sterling subjects as 

 Mr. Standish's golden-veined Honeysuckle, and Mr. Veitch's golden-banded 

 Lily in a single issue. M, 



