156 ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
Interesting 
Plants. 
The south staircase is covered by the wonderfully luxuriant Semele 
androgyna, a climber from the Canary Islands, whose flowers are 
borne on the edges of the leaf-like branches. Suggesting one of the 
lianas, or vegetable cables of the tropical forest, is a species of 
Mucuna from China, a climber stretching in one loop from the gallery 
to the roof. 
It has not been possible to do more than allude briefly to a few of 
the leading groups of plants grown here. But the beds are filled with 
plants, brought from all the warm temperate areas of 
the globe, notable for their beauty of leaf or flower or 
for their economic or scientific interest. Amongst them 
are the camphor tree ; many proteaceous plants such as Banksia, 
Hakea, Grevillea, and Stenocarpus ; the Australian bottle-brushes, 
such as Callistemon and Metrosideros ; the pencil cedar, Junifterus 
bermudiana, whose wood is used in the manufacture of lead pencils ; 
the noble Musa Ensete from Abyssinia, etc. 
In the south wing, or Mexican House, none of the plants is grown 
in pots. The central area is divided into four rectangular beds, and 
a border seven feet wide rims round the sides and ends. 
The need of a house of this character had long been felt 
at Kew. The large tropical plants were already provided 
for in the Palm House, as were also the plants from 
Australasia and similar climates in the Winter Garden. What w'as 
required was a house in which could be grown plants requiring a 
temperature intermediate between those of the two older structures. 
It was decided to devote this house to such plants, especially those of 
economic interest. The term “ Mexican ” by which it is known is, 
however, more indicative of the temperature at wdiich it is kept than 
of its contents, which are far from being exclusively Mexican. 
The most striking pictorial features of the house are two groups 
of succulent or xerophilous plants growung on a kind of rockwork 
at the south end. Among them are some fine specimens 
of Cereus and Agave, most conspicuous of wdiich is a plant 
of Cereus giganteus, 9 feet high and 1 foot or so in diameter 
— a solid, fleshy mass, and the largest single-stemmed cactus in Kew. 
There are also some fine examples of the remarkable cactus-like 
Euphorbias from South Africa. Of the economic plants, the most 
notable are mango, which has borne fruit in this house ; lemon, a 
large-fruited variety w r hich bears freely and forms one of the most 
The 
Mexican 
House. 
Giant 
Cactus. 
