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ADAMIA VERSICOLOR. 
GESNERA GAEDNERI. (Mr. Gardner's Gesnera.) 
Class, DiDYNAMiA, Order, Angiospermia. Nat. Order, Gesnerace^ (Gesner- worts, Veg. Kingd.^ 
Generic Character, page 194. 
Specffic Character. — Stems erect, herbaceous, rounded, 
quite glabrous, branched. Leaves opposite, very thick and 
fleshy, petiolate, elliptical, acute or sliglitly acuminate at 
both extremities, strongly serrated, obliquely nerved, very 
minutely pubescent when seen under a lens. Petiole 
half an inch or more long, terete, flattened above. Pedun- 
cles axillary, solitary, single-flowered, erect, slender, almost 
as long as the leaf, glabrous. Calyx five-partite; the tube 
short, united with the base only of the ovary, five-angled ; 
segments subulato-lanceolate, spreading, entire, glabrous. 
Corolla tubular, a little curved, slightly widening upwards, 
subpubescent ; limb of five short, obtuse, spreading lobes. 
Stamens four, didynamous, inserted at the base of the 
corolla, and equal in length with the tube, having a small, 
subulate scale, or fifth abortive stamen, between them. 
Germen ovate, hairy, as well as the long style, surrounded 
by a glandular disc, or ring, with five nearly equal obtuse 
erect teeth. Stigma o\it\x&e.— Hooker's Bat. Mag., 4121. 
This plant is a native of the Organ Mountains of Brazil, where, according to Sir William 
Hooker, it was originally discovered growing in rocky places by Mr. Gardner, in 1841. 
Seeds of it were forwarded to Mr. Mackay, of the College Botanic Garden, Dublin, who 
had the honour of first flowering it in 1844. It has, however, since then been introduced 
by other parties, and has found its way into many collections. 
Our drawing was made in September, 1846, in the stove of Sir George Warrenden, 
where it flowered profusely, and formed a very handsome object. Although not equal to 
some other species, yet, taken altogether, it is a very good kind. 
The treatment is the same as for other like habited Gesneras; and it is readily 
increased by cuttings planted in sand, and placed in heat. 
ADAMIA VERSICOLOR. (Various-coloured Adamia.) 
Class, Decandria. Order, Pentagvnia.- Nat. Order, Saxifragace^. (Saxifrages, Veg. Klngd.) 
Generic Character.— Ti^fcg of Calyx adnate to the 
ovarium ; limb with five to seven short teeth, having the 
recesses between the teeth broad and obtuse. Petals five to 
seven, alternating with the teeth of the calyx, surrounding 
the top of the ovarium. Stamens ten to twenty. Styles 
five, ending in rather clavate, somewhat two-lobed stigmas. 
Berry crowned by the limb of the calyx, somewhat five- 
celled, many-seeded. Embryo terete, straight, in a fleshy 
albumen, with the radicle turned towards the hilum.— 
Don's Syst. 
Specific Character.— Plant a dwarf shrub, with smooth 
branches. Leaves opposite, exstipulate, petiolate, oblong 
lanceolate, serrated. Panicle corymbose, terminal, many- 
flowered, in a pyramidal form, nearly a foot in diameter. 
Flowers when in the bud white, but gradually as they 
expand change to purple and violet, and then measure 
nearly an inch in diameter. Petals seven, occasionally six 
in number, forming a seven or six-pointed star. Stamens 
twenty. 
Authorities and Synonymes. — Adamia, Wall. Tent. Jl. 
Nep. De Candolle's Prod.,- Adamia versicolor. Fortune's 
MSS. ; Lindl. in Hort. Soc. Jour., vol. i., p. 298. 
This fine bush is described by Dr. Lindley, in the Journal of the Horticultural Society, as 
a native of China, whence it was introduced, in 1844, to the Horticultural Society, through 
Mr. Fortune, who found it on the island of Hong-Kong, growing in the ravines, about half 
way up the mountains. It has much the appearance of Hydrangea japonica, so far as the 
foliage is concerned. The flowers, however, are quite different. They form a pyramidal 
panicle, nearly a foot in diameter, and, when expanded, are of the most brilliant violet blue ; 
when in bud they are at first white, but gradually change to purple and violet, until their 
full expansion, when they measure nearly an inch in diameter. The petals are seven, or, 
occasionally, six in number, and form a seven or six-pointed star. 
In many respects the species agrees with Adamia cyanea, but its leaves and flowers are 
much larger, and it has twenty stamens, not ten. 
It is easily grown in any good soil, and requires such treatment as is generally given 
to Hydrangeas, and similar plants ; but it will be less hardy than they are, and will conse- 
