328 
FLORA AND SYLVA 
narrow, green on the upper surface and covered 
•with white felt beneath. The flowers appear 
late in the autumn as beautiful half-pendulous 
clusters of starry white, upon gracefully arch- 
ing shoots. They last so long as to be valu- 
able for cutting, or to be grown in pots for 
the autumn decoration of the cool greenhouse 
and conservatory. In most gardens it is safest 
in this way, for though hardy enough to stand 
a series of mild winters in the open, if planted 
in dry soils and at the foot of a warm wall, a 
sharp winter is fatal to it. It attains a height 
of 5 or 6 feet and should be left to grow freely 
in its own way. This charming little shrub 
appears to have become scarce in British gar- 
dens, though being easily raised from seed 
there should be no difficulty in reintroduc- 
ing it. 
O. semi-dentata. — This is a very beautiful 
species, and a native of Chatham Islands, where 
it grows in boggy ground and bears deep 
rosy-purple flowers which become a much 
deeper purple under cultivation. Some of the 
wild forms bear flowers that are white, just 
tipped with purple at the edge of the florets. 
This kind has not yet been introduced, and 
seed that has been received has not germin- 
ated. It is beautifully figured by Mrs. C. 
Hetley in her " Illustrations of the New 
Zealand Flora," plate 2. 
O. stellulata. — In gardening works this 
shrub is generally held to be synonymous with 
O. Gunniana^ but the latter is quite distinct, 
as may be seen from our description of it. In 
the south-west stellulata flowers early, being 
at its best in May, while its first blossoms 
often expand in April. In other parts of the 
country it flowers about a month later. Its 
leaves are narrow, about an inch long, deep 
green on the upper side and whitish beneath. 
Although this species rarely presents the un- 
broken sheet of white that O. Haastii does, 
its larger and more starry flowers are freely 
produced on the branching shoots and the 
plant, having a graceful habit, makes a charm- 
ing picture, especially in large specimens 6 
feet or more in height. It is fairly hardy even 
into Scotland, if planted against a sheltered 
wall, but even with protection it is liable to 
injury in a cold winter. Being readily in- 
creased however, and quite happy in a cool 
greenhouse, pot-plants should always be held 
in reserve and prove exceedingly useful in 
early spring, when the flowers may be hast- 
ened by a little heat. It is a native of Tas- 
mania and New South Wales. 
O. Traillii. — A New Zealand species com- 
ing near angustifolia and so nearly intermedi- 
ate between it and Colensoix)[\2iX. it has been sug- 
gested as a natural cross between the two. The 
purple and white flowers are like those of 
angustifolia but less brilliant, and the foliage 
like Colensoi but a trifle smaller. It is not yet 
in cultivation in this country. 
O. Traversii. — A rare and interesting tree, 
hardy only in the most favoured parts of 
Britain. It comes from the Chatham Islands, 
of which it is the most valuable tree, reach- 
ing a height of 35 feet, and known as the 
Bastard Sandalwood Tree. It branches freely 
from a stout trunk, bearing oval-shaped leaves 
of about 2 inches, smooth shining green on 
their upper surface, whereas elsewhere the 
plant is everywhere covered with white silky 
down. The flowers come freely enough to- 
wards the end of summer, bursting from the 
tips of the shoots and from the leaf axils, but 
they are small and of an inconspicuous creamy- 
white colour. Plants have flowered in the 
warmest parts of Ireland, but save in such 
favoured places it can only be grown in the 
open air as at Kew, against a sheltered wall, 
with protection in winter. Of strong free 
growth, it is valued in New Zealand as a 
shelter-tree. S. W. FITZHERBERT. 
NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN 
LILIES.* 
Not the least interesting feature of our 
fuller knowledge of Chinese plants lies 
in the number of new Lilies discovered. 
Indeed, it has been proved that Central 
and Western China is really the head- 
quarters of the genus. Of3 8 species and 
varieties of Lily recorded from China, 
no fewer than 26 are from the Central 
and Western Provinces, the majority 
of these being comparatively new, and 
* With coloured plate from a 
