OLEARIA 327 
garden at Belgrove, Queenstown, here illus- 
trated. It has flowered at Kew under glass, 
but is a very slow grower and never quite 
happy in pots. It has also flowered well with 
Canon Ellacombe at Bitton near Bristol. 
0. Lyallii. — A scarce New Zealand species, 
with very dark purple flowers. 
O. lyrata. — A species with dull white flow- 
ers, hardy in the south of Ireland save in the 
severest winters. 
0. macrodonta. — This makes a very attrac- 
Olearia Insignis. 
Engraved for " Flora" from a photograph sent hv Mr. W, E. Gumhletou^ 
Belgrove^ Queenstown. 
tive shrub in the south-west, having in some 
gardens attained a height and diameter of over 
10 feet. This is still far less than its height 
in New Zealand, where it occurs as a low tree 
of 20 feet or more, with a flatly rounded head, 
and a considerable woody trunk. In this dis- 
trict it flowers towards the end of May, and 
somewhat later in colder places, and is then 
covered with flat, much-branched clusters of 
small white flowers with a reddish eye, and 
sweetly scented. The leaves are Holly-like, 
silvery-green above and white on the under 
surface, with a smell of musk when bruised. 
In hardiness this kind is second only to i^^z<3j-r//, 
of rapid growth, and so full of flower that the 
branches are often borne down by the weight. 
In New Zealand it is a favourite hedge-plant. 
O. moschata. — Bears small white flowers of 
no particular beauty, and has leaves half an 
inch long and a quarter of an inch broad, grey- 
green above and white beneath, with a strong 
scentof musk. A tender species in thiscountry, 
but so stout and vigorous in New Zealand as 
to be recommended for shelter-belts. 
O.myrsinoides. — An Australian species long 
known as O. ilicifolia and still sold on the con- 
tinent under that name. It varies a good deal 
in habit but is commonly seen as a weakly 
straggling shrub, with small toothed leaves and 
a thin scattering of greenish-white flowers, 
of little beauty. It is fairly hardy against a 
wall, but is the least desirable of all the 
kinds in cultivation. 
0. nitida. — This is a pretty shrub, 
flowering in May, and bearing bunches 
of small white flowers with a bright 
yellow centre, about half an inch in 
diameter. It is a quick grower and a 
profuse bloomer, a plant in my garden 
this year being so covered with flower 
that scarcely a leaf could be seen. Its 
leaves are 3 inches long and 2 inches 
wide, deep green above and white be- 
neath. In New Zealand it reaches the 
size of a small tree, at elevations of 
4,000 feet, but so far its height in this 
country has not exceeded 4 or 5 feet. 
O. 7iummularifoHa. — This bears soli- 
tary creamy-white flowers in July, and 
has very singular foliage quite unlike 
that of any other species. The thick and 
almost stemless leaves which crowd the shoots 
like scales, are a quarter of an inch long and 
rather less in breadth, green above and white 
or yellowish beneath, where the edges are 
rolled inwards. It grows as a spreading shrub 
or low tree, with stout and clammy branches, 
of a pretty golden colour while young. It is 
hardy in many parts of the country, even into 
the south-west of Scotland, but young plants 
need protection. 
O. operina. — This comes very near to O. 
chatha?nica, but is not so good a plant ; flowers 
white with a yellow disc. 
O. ramidosa. — A very distinct and beauti- 
ful species from the mountains of Tasmania 
and New South Wales, and consequently nearly 
hardy in this country, though from its season 
of flower it cannot be recommended for the 
open air except in the warmest parts. The 
leaves are very small and thickly clustered. 
