AZALEA OVATA. 
519 
pendulous habit. This, added to the pro- 
fusion and rich colouring of their blossoms, 
renders them exceedingly beautiful; and among 
stove plants — for they of course require stove 
culture — they take the very first rank. 
The present species has naturally this epi- 
phytal pendulous character, though in mairy 
cases it may be inconvenient to adopt it 
under artificial cultivation, especially where 
the plants are required to be often moved. 
As it grows, a number of slender branches of 
moderate length are produced, and these are 
furnished with firm fleshy opposite broadly 
ovate leaves, of a deep green colour. On 
these branches, and the numerous side shoots 
that are produced, the corymbs of flowers are 
borne at the end ; the flowers are large, 
tubular, curved, divided at the end into five 
segments, of a rich, deep scarlet colour, marked 
at the mouth of the tube with yellow streaks. 
The plants appear to produce these blossoms 
freely through the whole of the summer. 
The annexed wood-cut scarcely conveys an 
idea of the rich appearance of the plant ; the 
blooms are large, not less than two inches long. 
As already hinted, this species was sent to 
England from Java by Mr. Lobb, and was 
first flowered and publicly exhibited in the 
summer of 1846, by Messrs. Veitch, of Exeter. 
Where it is convenient to attach the plant 
to a large block of wood, such as the stump of 
a tree, it would be desirable to allow it to 
assume its own natural style of growth ; and 
even when grown in pots, for convenience of 
removal, and necessarily more or less sup- 
ported by stakes, as much freedom of growth 
as would be consistent with an orderly appear- 
ance ought to be allowed it. When potted, a 
light turfy soil is most proper for it ; a mix- 
ture of turfy peat with a small proportion of 
turfy loam and some decayed wood, would 
form a very suitable material for its roots ; 
and when grown upon blocks, a portion of 
moss should be kept about those parts where 
the roots are forming, and this moss must be 
frequently damped. Where the latter mode 
of growth is adopted, it is better to begin with 
a plant of moderate size in preference to one 
of considerable size. During the period of 
their active growth, say from March to June, 
they require a hot damp stove, such as is 
usually provided for orchidaceous plants. 
After that time, at least as the blooms become 
nearly ready to open, they may be removed to 
a cooler and drier atmosphere, such as that of a 
warm greenhouse ; the change, however, must 
be brought about gradually, or probably the 
blooms would be sacrificed. After blooming, 
and during the winter, they may be kept in a 
dry cool stove. There is no difficulty in 
propagating it from cuttings planted in the 
ordinary way. 
AZALEA OVATA. 
(Lindley.) 
THE OVATE-LEAVED AZALEA. 
This is one of the plants introduced a year 
or two since to our gardens, from China, by 
Mr. Fortune, the botanical collector of the 
Horticultural Society. It is a shrub perfectly 
hardy, and of great beauty, and as such will 
be regarded as a welcome ornament to our 
shrubberies and " American" borders. It is, 
moreover, very distinct in its appearance from 
any of the Azaleas cultivated in our gardens. 
The leaves of this plant, which are of an 
ovate form, in some cases almost heart-shaped, 
are small, very dark green, and shining. The 
flowers are produced in clusters at the ends of 
the branches, growing singly in the axils of 
the upper leaves ; they are somewhat roundish 
in outline, and resembling in structure those of 
Rhododendron dailricum, and R. cham.ce- 
cistus, that is, without the long funnel-shaped 
base which is conspicuous in the flowers of 
most of this group of plants ; this form will 
be clearly understood from the engraving. 
There are two varieties known, in one of 
which the blossoms are pure white, in the 
other tinged with delicate pink ; both are 
spotted with small dark coloured dots on the 
upper petals. 
In reference to this plant, Mr. Fortune 
observes : — " In the woods this species has an 
arborescent habit, and grows from eight to 
twelve feet in height, but on the exposed hill- 
sides it generally forms a dwarf bush two or 
three feet high. Its flowers are produced in 
the greatest profusion in the months of April 
and May. It was found growing on the sides 
of the green-tea hills in the province of 
Chekiang, and also in some of the islands of 
