298 
NOTES ON FLOWERS. 
Acacia celastbifolia, Bentham (celastrus- 
leaved Acacia). — Fabacece§Mimosea3-Acacieae, 
— A handsome robust shrub, five or six feet, 
or more, in height, glabrous in every part. 
The phyllodia are alternate, oblong, elliptical, 
or subovate, acute, with a strong nerve running 
through the centre. The flowers grow in 
racemes, which are longer than the leaves, 
and spring from the base of each of the upper 
phyllodia, so that the blooms form a great 
leafy panicle ; they are palish yellow, with an 
odour resembling that of whitethorn, but more 
delicate. A native of the Swan River colony. 
Introduced in 1845. Flowers in March. 
Culture. — Requires a greenhouse ; loam and 
peat ; propapated by seeds, or by cuttings 
planted in sand under bell glasses. (158) 
Gardenia malleifera, Hooker (clapper- 
bearing Gardenia). — Cinchonacere § Garde- 
nidae. — A noble shrub of from four to six feet 
high, often proliferously branched from the 
axils of the leaves, which are opposite or ter- 
nate, from five to nine inches long, obovate 
lance-shaped, and glabrous. The flowers are 
solitary and terminal, or on a very small branch 
between the upper pair of petioles ; the tube 
of the flower is four inches long, slender, 
(about as thick as a goosequill), with a bell- 
shaped mouth, and five large spreading 
roundish ovate segments ; they are white, or 
creamy white, becoming tawny in age ; the 
flowers have a remarkable clapper -shaped 
stigma, extending beyond the mouth of the 
flower, and resting as it were on its lower 
side. A native of Sierra Leone. Introduced 
in 1843. Flowers in April. Culture. — 
Requires a hot, moist stove ; peat and loam ; 
propagated by cuttings. (159) 
Thibaedia pelcherreua, Wa llich (beauti- 
ful Thibaudia). — Yacciniaceae. — A lofty shrub, 
with long vigorous branches, and large, thick, 
alternate, broadly-lanceolate dark green leaves, 
crowded at the ends of the shoots, and falling 
as the branches are prolonged. The flowers 
grow in the older (not less than two years old) 
wood, one side of which they invest with 
crowded sessile umbels of drooping blossoms, 
these umbels growing from the axils of the 
fallen leaves ; the expanded corolla is be- 
tween cylindrical and bell-shaped, and five 
angled, with five reflexed segments ; they 
are of a pale red, chequered with lines of 
deeper red. A native of Khasiya in the 
north of India. Introduced by Messrs. Lu- 
combe, Pince, and Co. in 1845. Flowers 
throughout the spring and early summer 
months. Culture. — A noble object for a green- 
house conservatory ; peat, loam, and sand ; 
propagated by cuttings. (160) 
Ipomcea pulchella, Roth (handsome Ipo- 
mcea). — Convolvulaceae § Convolvuleae. — A 
handsome climbing plant, with a herbaceous 
angular stem, here and there rough with small 
dots. The leaves are alternate, with long 
petioles, and consist of five elliptic-ovate acu- 
minated leaflets ; from their axils arise the 
petioles, which usually bear one flower, and 
are, as well as the leaf-stalks, spirally curled ; 
the corolla is large, of a dark purple colour, 
with the tube strikingly inflated, so as to be 
bell-shaped as far as the throat. A native of 
Ceylon. Introduced in 1845. Flowers in 
November and December. Also called Con- 
volculus heptaphyllus (Roxburgh)' and C. bellus 
(Sprengel). Culture. — Requires a stove; 
rich loamy soil ; plenty of space for its branches; 
propagated by seeds or cuttings. (161) 
Yanda cristata, Lhidley (crested Yanda). 
— Orchidaceaa § Yandeae - Sarcanthidaa. — A 
handsome epiphyte, with short stems, clothed 
with broadly linear leaves, which are leathery, 
truncate, and irregularly three-toothed at the 
apex; from the axils proceeds an erect raceme, 
of five or six flowers, the sepals and petals 
yellowish green, the lip large, broadly oblong, 
the apex cut into three points or horns, deep 
yellow, and rich velvety on the upper sur- 
faces, marked with blood-purple longitudinal 
streaks and dots. A native of Nepal, growing 
on trees. Introduced in 1840. Flowers in 
the latter end of winter, and throughout the 
spring Culture. — Requires a stove ; does 
well in a basket, among turfy peat ; propa- 
gated by division of the plant. (162) 
Rhododendron arbobeuji, var. Paxtoni 
(Mr. Paxton's tree Rhododendron). — Ericaceae 
§ Rhododendreae. — This is a magnificent va- 
riety of the fflwd. arboreum. It is a fine 
evergreen shrub, bearing at the ends of the 
shoots large clusters of flowers, deep crimson, 
slightly spotted in the throat, of large size, good 
form, and fleshy texture. A native of ele- 
vated situations on the Khoseea Hills of India. 
Introduced in 1840. Flowers in April and 
May. Culture. — Requires a greenhouse; turfy 
peat, propagated by layers, or grafting. (163) 
Collania DELCis, Herbert (sweet Collania). 
— Amaryllidaceae § Alstromerieae. — A slender 
rigid plant, with erect tortuous stems, not 
prehensile, growing a foot or more in height. 
It is nearly related to the Bomareas and Alstrb- 
merias. The leaves are alternate, oblong, 
obtuse at the apex, and narrowed at the base ; 
a few (1 to 4) cylindrical drooping flowers are 
produced from the top of the stems ; they are 
formed of six segments, the three outer ones 
close fitting, and of a reddish purple colour, 
with green tips, the inner three protruding their 
deep green tips just beyond the outer ones ; 
the whole flower is rather more than an inch 
long. A native of Huallay, near Pasco in 
Peru, at from 12,000 to 14,000 feet above the 
sea. Introduced in 1845. Flowers from 
August to October. Culture. — Requires a 
