198 THE LADIES' FLOWER-GARDEN 
GENUS XXVII. 
AMMOBIUM, R. Br. THE AMMOBIUM. 
Lin. Syst. SYNGENESIA ^QUALIS- 
Generic Ciiarictkr. — Head homogamous. Receptacle broad, 
conical, furnished with oblong, acuminated, denticulated palese. In- 
volucrum hemispherical. Scales imbricated, coriaceous, ■witli mem- 
branous margins, each terminated by a scarious, convex, spreading 
appendage. Corollas tubular, fivelobed. Anthers bisctaceous at the 
base. Stigmas pilose at the apex. Achenia or fruit somewhat com- 
pressed, tetragonal, 4-tootbcd at the apex ; the two larger teeth drawn 
out into two bnstlca. 
1.— AMMOBIUM ALATUM, R. Br. THE WINGED-STALKED AMMOBIUM. 
Engratings. — Bat. Mag. t. 2459; and our y!^. 9, in Plate 33. I leaves oblong, on long petioles. Cauline leaves running along the 
Sfecific Character. — Plant erect, branched, canescent. Radical | stem. Involucrum white. 
Description, &c. — A kind of everlasting flower, discovered near the shores of the Hunter River in New 
South Wales in 1804, by Dr. Brown, who gave it the name of Ammobium, or sand-flower, because he discovered 
it growing in pure sand. It was not introduced till 1822, and was at first supposed to be a perennial, but it is 
now found to be an annual. Seeds may be had at Charlwood's and most other seed-shops, and they only 
require sowing in the open border in March and April. The plants remain a long time in flower. 
GENUS XXVIII. 
RHODANTHE, Lindl. THE RHODANTHE. 
Lin. Sysl. SYNGENESIA ^QUALIS. 
Generic Character. — Head homogamous. Involucrum turbinated, | coloured. Receptacle naked. Corolla 5-cleft. Achenia bidentate, 
imbricated. Scales membranous, ovate, acute ; outer ones silvery, woolly. Pappus in one series, plumose, 
bractafiform ; middle ones adpresscd ; uppermost ones spreading, rose- I 
1.— RHODANTHE MANGLESII, Lindl. CAPTAIN MANGLES' RHODANTHE. 
Engravings.— Bot. Reg. t. 1703 ; Bot. Mag. t. 3483 ; Swt. Brit. Flow. Card. 2nd Scr. t. 295 ; and am fgs. 1 and 3, in Plate 34. 
Specific Character. — Plant erect, branched, glabrous. Leaves oblong, obtuse, entire, stem-clasping. Heads terminal, solitary. 
Description, &c. — One of the most beautiful plants ever introduced. The beautiful silvery hue of the 
lower scales of the involucrum, the fine rose-colour of those immediately surrounding the disk, which may be 
said to form the ray of the flower, and the golden yellow of the florets of the disk, form a striking combination 
of beauties unequalled perhaps in any other flower. The Rhodanthe is a native of the Swan River colony in 
New South Wales ; whence seeds of it were brought in 1834 by our excellent friend Captain Mangles, who has 
done so much for floriculture in various ways. Had the Captain, however, never introduced anything but the 
Rhodanthe, he would well have merited the gratitude of all lovers of flowers. The derivation of the name of 
Rhodanthe is stated by Sir W. J. Hooker to be from two Greek words, signifying " rose-flower." We think, 
however, that the name has probably a much more poetical origin, and that the flower must have been 
christened after Rhodanthe, a queen of Corinth, who was so beautiful, that her subjects were never weary of 
looking at her. This lady, disliking so much admiration, hjd herself in a temple dedicated to Diana and Apollo j 
and when forced by the cries and repeated acclamations of her subjects, who actually besieged the temple, to 
■present herself to their gaze, she was so modest that she blushed herself to death. The whole story is told 
