FLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 
213 
Bro v wnea cocci'nea. " Few things can exceed the elegance or the richness of colouring in 
the beautiful flowers of this shrub ; but unfortunately they are rarely produced in our stoves, and 
very quickly drop, scarcely lasting more than twenty-four hours. The specimen described pro- 
duced several fasciculi in short succession, in February 1842, in the Botanical Garden, Edinburgh. 
It is a native of Jamaica, and was introduced to our gardens so long ago as 1793, by Admiral 
Blyth, but has never been recorded as having flowered till now." The leaves are long and pinnate, 
being green on both sides. The flowers are in large hive-shaped clusters, pendulous, and of a 
brilliant vermilion rose-colour, with scales to the flower-buds of a similar hue. Bot. Mag. 396*4. 
Ce'reus speciosi'ssimus, var. Dr. Lindley proposes substituting for the Latin title of this 
plant the term " Shew-Cereus," on account of its being, first, "nearly a translation of the Latin, 
and secondly characteristic of the purpose to which this beautiful species is so generally applied." 
The variety figured has smaller flowers, but in other respects is exactly like the original, having 
the same inimitable blue tint in the blossoms. It was sent up by Mr. Scott, gardener to Charles 
Barclay, Esq., of Bury Hill, near Dorking, as the species called Cereus coccineus. It differs 
essentially from that plant, however, and ranks beneath C. speciosissimus, as a " distinct and 
pretty variety, worth cultivation." Bot. Reg. 49. 
Epide'ndrum lancifo'ljum. Exceedingly like E. cochleaium, from which it can hardly be 
distinguished. " It is, however," says Dr. Lindley, " readily known, by its regularly ovate, sharp- 
pointed lip, which is streaked with deep purple radiating lines upon a pale yellow ground." The 
pseudo-bulb seems somewhat longer and stouter than that of E. cochleatum, and rather more of 
an oblong figure. The leaves also are lance-shaped. In the flowers, the sepals and petals are of 
a dull pale yellow, slightly tinged with green, and they are borne exactly as those of E. cochleatum, 
" It should be kept in a cool stove, along with other plants of like habits, many of which have 
been lately imported from the high land of Mexico and Guatemala." Bot. Reg. 50. 
Gera'nium eria'nthum. "A robust, hardy perennial, of easy culture, growing from one to 
two feet high, in any good garden-soil. It flowers freely during the months of June and July, 
and is easily increased by dividing the old plant when in a state of rest, or by seeds ; the seeds 
should be sown directly they are ripe, and then they will flower the following season. It was 
raised in the garden of the Horticultural Society, from seeds received from the late Mr. Moreton 
Dyer, from North West America." The leaves are palmate, with five to seven deeply laciniated 
lobes, and pubescent. The flowers are large, and of a reddish crimson colour. Bot. Reg. 52. 
Illi'cium religio'sum. Brought over by Dr. Siebold from Japan, where the people regard 
it with great reverence, and " strew wreaths of it and branches over the tombs of their friends, 
and the priests burn the bark as a perfume upon the altars of their deities. A singular use is 
made of the pulverized bark by the public watchmen. Hollow tubes, graduated on the outside^ 
are filled with this substance, which is lighted at one extremity, and burns gradually and uniformly ; 
so that when the fire has reached a certain mark, the watchmen strike the hour upon a bell, and 
thus announce it to the public." The plant is a handsome evergreen shrub, with shining 
elliptical leaves, and great numbers of yellowish green blossoms, which are destitute of fragrance 
It flowered in the greenhouse of the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew in the month of March. 
Bot. Mag. 3965. 
Maxilla v ria acutipe'tala. « Allied, on the one hand, to M. tenuifolia, and, on the other, to 
M. picta, but abundantly distinct from both." The pseudo-bulbs are larger than those of the 
former species, and differently arranged, while the leaves are broadly linear, and exceedingly 
dissimilar. The sepals and petals of the flowers are bright yellow, richly spotted with brownish 
red, and the lip is of the same hue. The extremities of the sepals and petals are particularly 
pointed, whence the name. Two blossoms are sometimes produced on the same stalk, but they 
are mostly single. " It was sent to the Royal Gardens at Kew by Mr. Barclay, their collector, 
in H. M. Surveying ship the Sulphur, from Central America, and I am not aware," adds Sir 
W. J. Hooker, " of its being in any other collection. It flowers in March and April, and the 
very prettily marked blossoms render it a desirable plant in every Orchidaceous stove." Bot. 
Mag. 3966. 
Onci'dium urophy'llum. "This is really a charming species of Oncidium, with quite a 
peculiar habit. Its leaves are shaped like a penknife curved backwards, so at to have the edge 
on the convex side. This is caused by the two sides of the leaf being brought into contact, and 
their growing together, the back of the knife-shaped leaf consisting of their edges. From this 
