CALCEOLARIA FLEXUOSA. 33 }Y 
CALCEOLARIA FLEXUOSA. 
A'at. Order, Scrophtjlabiaceje. Sui. Order, ASTlEliHimDEyt: ? CalceoLvUiiej:. 
Genekio Chaeacter.— Calceolaria, Linn. Cahjx sub-adhe- 
rent for a very short space, to the base of the ovary, four-partite, 
the lobes valvate in estivation. Corolla sub-perigjmous, with 
scarcely any tube, the limb concave, twc-lobed, lobes entire, 
concave, or slipper-shaped, the upper smaller, in [estivation 
closely covering at the margins the lower, which is usually 
inflated. Stamens two, lateral, inserted near the base of the 
corolla, a third posterior stamen very rarely added, no rudiments 
of those suppressed. Anthers two-locular or dimidiate. Sit/le 
simple, with a minute stigmatic sm-face at the tmthickeaed 
apex. Ocari/ seated on a slender disk, adnate to the calyx. 
Capsule ovate-conical, bursting septicidally, the two-fld valves 
with inflected margins separating from the placentiferous colmnn. 
Seeds several, very often mmierous, striated. (Benth. in D. C. 
Frod. X. 204.) 
C. FLEXUOSA, Sua ard Pavon. — Flexuose SUppenvort. 
Shrubby, villous, branches flexuose, cordate-ovate, acute, cre- 
nato-serrate, rough above, mealy and veined beneath, panicle 
eor>Tnbose ; calj-x villous, with rather acute teeth, corolla of 
one colour, the upper lip shorter than the calj-x, the inferior 
broadly-obovate patent, with the base contiacted for some dis- 
tance, open in the middle. 
Stnoxt^iit.— Ruiz and Pavon. Fl. Peruv. et Cliil, i. 17, t. 26 
f. a.— CoU. Lobb. No. 343. 
BESCKIPTION. — Slu-ubby, lierbaceous, from two to three feet Mgh, erect, witli flexuose, 
tUIous branches. Leaves cordate-ovate, sometimes acute, or rather acummate, coarsely 
orenate-serrate, rough above, whitish, mealy, and veined beneath, shortly stalked. Calyx of 
four broadly ovate, vOlous, spreading, rather acute teeth ; coroUa calceolate-bilabiate, largt, 
yellow, the upper lip shorter than the calyx, the lower contracted below, broadly obovate, 
inflated, patent, open about the middle. Stamens two, very short, inserted near the base of the 
corolla, filaments very short, anther two-celled, the two cells in contact above, and diverging 
widely from each other and from the filament below, opening by marginal slits, deflexed after 
bm-stino- ; ovary conical, on a slender disk, adherent at the base to the calyx ; style Hnear, 
simple, somewhat axcuate ; stigma an oblique sm-face ; capsule ? 
History, &c. — The accompanying figui-e is from a plant raised by Messrs. Veitch & Son, of 
Exeter, fi-om seed sent home by their collector, Mr. W. Lobb, in 1847. It was gathered in the 
moimtains near Andaylis, Peru, at an elevation of 8,000 feet. It has not yet been exhibited, and 
was supposed to be new ; but a dried specimen, sent to Sir W. J. Hooker, was determined by 
him to be the C.flexuosa of Ruiz and Pavon. The flgm-e in the Fl. Peruv. et Chil. gives a very 
unsatisfactory view of the flower; but the leaves and habit appear to me to represent the present 
species. It may be remarked, that, in De Candolle's Prodromus, the sepals are said to be rather 
obtuse, as they are in om- figm-e from a garden specimen ; but in the dried specimens, trans- 
mitted with the seeds from Peru, they are acute, as represented by Ruiz and Pavon. — A. H. 
Culture. — The subject of our illustration must be a very ornamental plant for the summer 
flower-garden, as it produces its showy blossoms in clusters of immense magnitude. It wiU 
probably be a flne plant for large beds, if it possesses the quality of many others of this genus 
— contiiuial blooming. The Calceolarias like a rich light loam, and plenty of support from 
weak maniu-e water diu-ing dry weather. They are propagated by cuttings of the non- 
flowering shoots ; and these should be planted very late in the season — not before the end of 
September — in a close frame, in which they will root very freely ; whilst, if planted eaxHer, it 
is often difficidt to get them to root kindly. The plants must be wintered in a greenhouse, on 
a light shelf, or in a well ventilated pit, secure against frost. They are particularly liable to 
suffer injuiy fi-om attacks of green fly dm-ing winter and spring, unless kept carefuUy clear of 
such intruders. 
It is probable that, for flower-garden purposes, this species, being a strong grower, may 
require some pecuKai- modification of soil to bring out its characteristic featm-e of dense masses 
of flowers, and, at the same time, check exuberance of vegetative growth. A hint may be 
taken fi-om its being foimd, as it is said, growing among the debris of rocks, to give it a very 
porous soil, among which such absorbent materials as broken bricks and sandstone are fi-eely 
intermixed. Such materials, while they naturally check rank gro^vth, are yet favom-able to 
the application of liquid manui-e, if, fi-om the exigencies of the season, the plants should be 
foimd to require such support. 
The name Calceolaria is derived fi-om calceolus, a slipper, in allusion to the form of the 
corollas : hence the plants ai-e called slipper -worts. — M. 
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