PLANTS DESCRIBED IN BOTANICAL PERIODICALS. 
369 
acquainted ; it is far more subtile and recondite. 
These are merely, if the term be permitted, the 
tentacula of its operations ; it can sleep for thou- 
sands of years in Egyptian tombs and mummy- 
cases, or remain for ages many hundred fathoms 
deep in the rocky recesses of the globe, or at 
unfathomed depths in seas and lakes. It can run 
the gauntlet of fire in temperatures that would 
scorch or scald ; it can live in the crater of the 
volcano, or in cerements of ice, or a mantle of 
snow ; its identity remains unimpaired through 
lapse of time or change of circumstance. 
These positions, startling though they may 
seem to be, can be substantiated by indubitable 
proof; some curious cases have already been 
glanced at, and a few more may suffice. I took 
nine seeds out of a roasted Apple, and every one 
of them grew; malted Barley has grown, and 
peas and cress, &c., after being roasted and boiled, 
were capable of germination ; while the seeds of 
Elder-berries, after being boiled, grew very well. 
Jessie, in his “ Gleanings,” mentions seeds that 
have grown, brought up from a depth of 360 feet 
in boring for a well; and seeds found in very 
ancient tombs have readily sprung up. Some 
seeds were discovered in an ancient British 
tumulus ; they were sown, Raspberries sprung up, 
and fruit has been collected from the plants. A 
bulb was taken from the withered hand of an 
Egyptian mummy, and it has since grown ; 
various seeds discovered in these mementos of 
mortality have grown. Some grains of the 
Triticum durum, found in the body of a mummy, 
grew with me : as well as seeds of Indian Corn, 
found in one of the graves of the Incas of Peru. 
A plant of Phormium tenax, in the Jardin des 
Plantes, which was apparently reduced to charcoal 
by a conflagration, has risen, like a vegetable 
phoenix, from its ashes. An Elder-tree, near 
Matlock, was cut down, and subsequently re- 
mained under a stack, where it was consumed, 
apparently by fire ; in its after-adventures, it be- 
came a corner-post, when it budded, and is now a 
thriving tree. — Ibid. 
PLANTS FIGURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE LEADING BOTANICAL 
PERIODICALS FOR NOVEMBER. 
Aerides suavissimum. Sweetest-scented Air-plant . 
A native of the Straits of Malacca, whence it was 
introduced by Messrs. Loddiges. In general appear- 
ance it is similar to Ae. odoratum ; in fragrance, more 
balsamic and delicious. The sepals and petals are 
white, with a lilac tip ; and the lip is of a pale nankeen 
colour, with a lilac streak along the centre of the 
middle lobe. — Hort. Jour., 4264. 
Angrjecum Pescatoreanum. M. Pescatore's An- 
groecum. A native of the Island of Bourbon. It was 
introduced to the Horticultural Gardens through M. 
Pescatore, an eminent hanker of Paris, and the pos- 
sessor of the finest collection of orchids in France. 
The flowers are small, and produced in short, dense, 
cylindrical spikes, and are white. — Hort. Jour., vol. iv., 
263. 
Begonia cinnabarina. Cinnabar -flowered Ele- 
phant's Ear. For the particulars of this fine species, 
see Mag. of Card, and Bot., page 225. 
Brachysema aphyllum. Leafless Brachysema. 
This interesting plant is not yet in actual cultivation, 
hut is figured by Sir W. Hooker, from dried specimens, 
aided by a coloured drawing made from the recent plant at 
the Swan River Settlement, in the interior of which co- 
lony it is a native, and whence seeds as well as dried speci- 
mens, have been sent by Mr. Drummond. The flowers are 
at first orange, sprinkled with red, afterwards deep red, 
or blood-coloured. It may he expected to thrive if 
grown in rough peat soil, mixed with a portion of 
sharp sand, the pot being well drained, so as to prevent 
the chance of the soil becoming stagnant, care being 
taken during the hot weather in summer, that it is 
placed in a shady situation. — Bot. Mag., 4481. 
Cleisostoma lanatum. Woolly Cleisostoma. A 
native of the continent of India, introduced by George 
Wailes, Esq., of Newcastle-on-Tyne, with whom it 
flowered in July, 1849. It has distichous, broad, blunt 
leaves, and a dense, branched woody raceme with small 
VOL. I. NO. XII. 3 
flowers, like those of some Bolbophylls, of a pale yellow 
colour with purple stripes. It possesses no beauty. — 
Hort. Jour., iv., 264. 
Clerodendron Bethuneanum. Capt. Bethune’s 
Clerodendron. Whoever had the gratification of 
seeing the superb panicle of flowers of this Cleroden- 
dron in the stove of Messrs. Lucomhe, Pince, and Co., 
of Exeter Nursery, may form some idea of the trea- 
sures yet to he expected from the researches of Mr. 
Lowe, junr., in Borneo. u Four species of this genus, 
Mr. Lowe says , u adorn the hanks of the Sarawak river, 
two of them, which are fragrant, hear white flowers ; 
another is scarlet ; another crimson.” This last is the 
handsomest, and has been named after Captain Be- 
thune, R.N., who brought it, and several other fine 
plants, from Borneo. It requires the stove and similar 
treatment to the other kinds. — Bot. Mag., 4485. 
Cyrtopodium cardiochilum. — This beautiful plant 
exists in gardens as a variety of either C. Andersonii, 
or pu/nctatum , from both of which it is perfectly dis- 
tinct. The flowers are large and yellow like the first, 
and they are slightly speckled with crimson like the 
second ; hut there the resemblance ends. — Hort. J our., 
iv., 266. 
Espeletia argentea. Silvery Espeletia. Seeds of 
this plant were sent in 1845, from the Paramo of Siego, 
New Grenada, by Mr. Purdie,who says it is there called 
“ Frailejon.” The whole plant has a peculiar and 
somewhat terehinthian odour, and yields, like the 
genus Silphium, a copious gum-resin, used in the pre- 
paration of ink, and for other purposes. It is really a 
beautiful and remarkable plant, and a stately one when 
in flower, attaining then the height of 5 or 6 feet. The 
flowers are yellow ; and the plant is nearly hardy, hut 
will require sheltering in a greenhouse or pit, to prevent 
its being injured by wet. — Bot. Mag., 4480. 
Ixora laxiflora. Lax-flowered Ixora. A native 
of Sierra Leone, and recently introduced to our stoves 
B 
