OP ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS 75 
quite round seed-pods. The stems are so very small and weak, that they lie on the ground if not supported ; 
and this habit makes the plant very suitable for rock-work. It was discovered in Texas at the same time as 
V. grandiflora, and its seeds were sent home by Drummond with those of that species in 1835. Seeds may be 
procured at Charlwood's. 
GENUS VII. 
STREPTANTHUS, Nutt. THE STREPTANTHUS. 
Lin. Syst. TETRADYNAMIA SILIQUOSA. 
Generic Ciiaracter. — Sepals of the calyx erect, acuminate, coloured, 
saccate at the base. Filaments of the stamens awl-shaped and short. 
Anthers elongated, acuminate. Siliques very long, 4-sidedly com- 
pressed. Seeds in one series, compressed, marginate. Cotyledons 
lying down. Flowers purplish. — (Hook,) 
Description, &c. — A new genus of hardy and very ornamental plants, natives of North America ; the only 
species yet discovered of which are annuals. They are very unlike most other cruciferous plants in their flowers, 
but agree with them in their long siliques or seed-pods. They bear considerable resemblance to the genua 
Morkandia ; but on examination it will be found that the sepals of the calyx are hollow, or what botanists call 
saccate, at the base, and that the petals have very long claws, each of which has a pecuhar twist. This twist is 
alluded to in the name of the genus, which is combined of strepho., to twist or turn, and anthos, a flower. The 
species from which the genus was constituted by Nuttall, in North America, is called Sfreptanthm maculatm, 
and has not yet been introduced into England. 
1.— STREPTANTHUS OBTUSIFOLIUS, Hook. THE BLUNT-LEAVED STREPTANTHUS, OR THE 
ARKANSA CABBAGE. 
Engravings Bot. Mag. 3317 ; and omfig. 3, in Plate 13. 
Specific Character. — Leaves elliptic, very obtuse; deeply two-lobed at the base; stem-clasping. — {Hook.) 
Description, &c. — A showy plant with rose-coloured flowers, having each a very dark red spot at the base. 
The calyx leaves or sepals, which are of the same colour as the petals, are sharply pointed, and swell out below, 
so as to give the flower a very singular shape. The leaves are of a bluish green, and so deeply lobed as to make 
the stem apjjcar to be growing out of the middle of them. The filaments of the stamens are very short, and the 
anthers, which are of a dark purple, are remarkably long and sharp-pointed. The seed-pod is from three inches 
to four inches long, very narrow, and having distinctly four sides ; and the seeds, which are numerous, are flat with 
a distinct margin. Altogether the plant is a very remarkable one. The seeds were sent to Sir W. J. Hooker, 
early in 1833, from the hot springs of the Arkansa territory, under the name of the Arkansa cabbage. The 
plant is quite hardy, and may bo sown in the open border in April or May. Seeds are not common, but may be 
procured at Charlwood's. 
2.— STREPTANTHUS HYACINTHOIDES, Hook. THE HYACINTH-LIKE STREPTANTHUS. 
Engravings.— Bot. Mag. t. 3516; and awv fig. 4, in Plate 13. I linear, with a reflexed limb. Filaments short, one pair united and 
Specific Character. — Loaves oblong, linear, acuminate. Petals | abortive. Flowers pendulous. — {Hook.) 
Description, &c. — This species is still less like a cruciferous plant than the other, as the flowers bear a great 
resemblance to those of a small hyacinth. It is a native of Texas; from which country it was sent by 
Drummond, in 1835, to the Glasgow Botanic Garden. Seeds may be obtained at Charlwood's. 
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