VIMINARIA DENUDATA. 
Class. 
DECANDRIA. 
(Leafless Rush-Broom.) 
Natural Order. 
LEGUMINACEiE. 
Order. 
MONOGYNIA. 
Generic Character — Calyx five-toothed, angular. 
Petals of unequal length, papilionaceous. Style capil- 
lary, longer than the ovary, which is two-seeded. 
Stigma simple, acute. Legume valveless, ovate. Seeds 
without a strophiola. 
Specific Character.— Plant a leafless shrub ; leaves 
abortive. Flowers racemose, bright orange; teeth of 
calyx erect, short. 
Synonymes.— Daviesia denudata, Sophora juncea, 
Pultencea juncea. 
This singular but pretty flowering plant has been long an inhabitant of our 
greenhouses, being introduced in the year 1789, but by whom is not exactly known. 
It is a plant of easy culture, and was therefore at one time very common in almost 
every collection in this country : of late years, however, since so many beautiful 
kinds of Leguminaceae have been brought from Australasia, where they abound in 
such great variety of colour and form, this good old plant has been partially 
neglected, and is now far from being so common as its beauty deserves. 
Its naked leafless appearance when not in bloom, is certainly an apparent 
drawback to its beauty ; but when its racemes of flowers are produced all over the 
plant, shooting out a foot or more in length, and completely covered with bright 
orange and red blossoms, a more desirable little greenhouse shrub can scarcely be 
looked upon. It grows freely in a dry, airy situation, potted in sandy heath mould, 
not broken too fine ; the pots, however, must be well drained, as, like the species of 
Dillwynia, this plant is more likely to perish from over moisture at the roots, than 
any other cause ; it is always advisable to put a good handful of potsherds at the bot- 
tom of each pot. If this be properly attended to, the plant may receive a liberal 
supply of water in the season of growth, but in winter it is always the best to give 
no more than will just moisten the soil. 
Cuttings of the half-ripened wood strike root easily, if planted in pots of sand, 
and placed under a glass in a gentle heat ; but they must be watered with caution, 
