56 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



C. rugosa, C. virgata, and C. violacea. The last-mentioned plant is 

 sometimes placed in a distinct genus, as the Corolla is open like that 

 of a small foxglove, and has not the characteristic saccate lower limb 

 which we associate with the genus. C. violacea has a further interest 

 since it is closely allied to C. Sinclairii and other species from New 

 Zealand in which the corolla has a similar shape. 



The first Fuchsia to come to England is said to have been brought 

 over by a sailor at the end of the eighteenth century, and to have 

 been purchased from its owner by Mr. Lee, a nurseryman of Hammer- 

 smith, who noticed it in a cottage window. The South American 

 Fuchsias of interest include Fuchsia macrostemma from Cliile with its 

 many varieties, some of which make such useful hedge plants in the 

 warmer parts of our islands. This species has also played a con- 

 spicuous part in the formation of the many cultivated varieties of 

 J^uchsias, the exact history of whose origin has been lost. F. simplici- 

 cauUs from Peru is perhaps the most beautiful and effective of all the 

 species when in full flower, with its elegant drooping racemes of 

 slender crimson flowers. 



There are other South American species seldom met with in culti- 

 vation, but a reference to Nicholson's Dictionary, the Botanical Maga- 

 zine, and the Kew hand-lists will show that many species have been 

 or may be grown which are worthy of cultivation. F. microphylla and 

 F. fulgens among Mexican species and F. excorticata and F. pro- 

 cumhens from New Zealand also deserve mention. 



One of the earliest introductions fromi South America to our gardens 

 is the common * Nasturtium * of gardeners. Tropaeolum minus is 

 a native of Peru and was introduced in 1596, and the larger climbing 

 species, also from Peru, was brought over in 1686. Both plants are 

 too well known to need any further mention, but the less-known species 

 — T. peregrinum, T. speciosum, T. tuberosum, T. polyphyllum, 

 T. azureum — might, with advantage, be more widely grown. 



Of annuals which brighten our gardens, I need only recall such 

 genera as Schizanthus, Salpiglossis, Alonsoa, and Petunia. Our modem 

 Petunias are all of hybrid origin from two species P. nyctaginae flora and 

 P. violacea, from the La Plata region, but P. violacea, unfortunately, 

 has been lost to cultivation for many years. With fruit and vegetables 

 of South American origin, such as Potatos, Tomatos, and Pineapples, 

 it is hardly my province to deal, but when T mention in conclusion that 

 our modem varieties of the Strawberry are considered to be due to direct 

 modification of the Chilian Strawberry Fragaria chiloensis, which 

 reached Europe about 1712, I feel that you will agree with me that the 

 debt of Horticulture to South America is by r,o means a small one. 



