POTENTILLA McNABIANA. 
(Mr. McNab's CinquefolL) 
Class. Order, 
ICOSANDRIA, POLYANDRXA. 
Natural Order. 
RQSA'cE.E, 
GARDEN VARIETY. 
It is not possible to represent the vivid hue of the flowers of this variety ; con- 
sequently, an idea of that which constitutes its chief beauty cannot be conveyed by 
our plate, which has been prepared from a drawing taken last summer in the nursery 
of Messrs. H. Low and Co. 
The brilliancy of the blossoms of P. McNabiana is a very striking feature in its 
character, but is not by any means its only merit. The flowers, in addition to their 
brightness, are large, and are borne in great numbers, by well-established plants, on 
numerous strong stems, which do not attain, at the outside, a greater height than 
about two feet six inches ; younger, less strong plants, send up stems that bear 
blossoms when not more than a foot high. The foliage, in the case of both the 
radical and caulescent leaves, is ample and profuse. 
Our subject's origin, and the author of its distinguishing appellative, is given in 
the following extract from a note Mr. Menzies, gardener to H. Edwards, Esq., Hope 
House, Halifax, favoured us with in August: — "I beg to say," Mr. M. observes, 
" that Potentilla McNabiana was raised by me two years ago ; it is a hybrid 
between P. atrosanguinea and P. leucochroa ; and is named by me in compliment to 
my friend Mr. McNab, of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens." 
As do all the members of its numerous family, the present Potentilla flourishes 
in the common soil of the garden, and is increased by division and by seeds ; but 
there is no certainty that plants raised by the latter agency will bear flowers like 
those of their parent. To a border, however circumscribed in extent, devoted to 
a miscellaneous collection of flowers, it is indispensable ; and for rock- work, if allowed 
