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LECHENAULTIA BILOBA. 
But the beautiful flowers of L. biloba present the principal objects for notice. 
They vary in colour, from a light cerulean blue, to a deep lapis-lazuli tint. 
The form of the petals is likewise liable to change, the indentations at their extre- 
mities sometimes being three times as deep as ordinarily. It was originally 
flowered in the collection of Mr. Yeitch, nurseryman, of Exeter, and the small size 
of the plants on which the earliest blossoms were expanded shows that the species 
is far from being a scanty-flowerer. From larger plants which this gentleman sent 
to one of the Horticultural Society’s meetings in Regent Street, in April last, we 
were kindly allowed to have our drawing prepared. It exhibits two kinds, which 
appear to us to be mere varieties of the same species, but which may, possibly, be 
specifically distinct ; the one having lighter green, shorter, and more upright 
leaves and very deep blue flowers, and the other bearing blossoms of a paler tint, 
with a rather more regular corolla. They agree in the extent to which their petals 
are divided at the points, and this is the leading feature of the species. 
This is one of those delicate plants which, like the Burtonia already referred 
to, require some attention in their culture. They are most commonly injured by 
stagnant or superfluous water about their roots, which is caused either through an 
insufficiency of drainage, a soil too destitute of fibre, or being planted in too large 
a pot. Heath-soil should be the principal constituent in the compost employed 
for them, but it must not be deprived of the fibrous roots, or other coarse matters 
it contains, and should merely be broken up by the spade or hand without being 
sifted. The plants ought, moreover, to be kept in small pots, freely exposed to 
light, and watered with the greatest caution. In permitting light to act 
unreservedly on the leaves, however, it is advisable not to leave the pots too much 
exposed in summer. The species, though it does not flower so profusely as 
L. formosa, seems to bloom through most of the summer months. 
The generic name comprises that of M. Lechenault, a French traveller and 
botanist, to whom the genus is dedicated. The specific designation, biloba , refers 
to the division of the petals. 
