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GEISSOMKEIA J.ONGIFLOEA. 

GEISSOMERIA LONGIFLORA. 
Nat, Order^ Acanthace^ \ BjUtxERiD.-E. 
Generic Character. — Geissoraeria, Lindley. Calyx five- 
parted, the usually herbaceous lohes imbricated, the posterior 
one broader. Corolla tubidar, gi'adually dilated upwai'ds, lobes 
of the mostlj' bilabiate limb short, erect, the upper two broader 
than the middle and inferior, the lateral rather narrower, the 
lower intermediate one often bearded on the disc. Stamens tour^ 
inserted near the base of the tiihe of the corolla, sub-didjTi.omous, 
equ.alling, rarely surpassing, the corolla ; filaments hairy at the 
base ; anthers unilocular, acute at the apex and base, affixed by 
theii" keeled herbaceous backs, bearded, and connected by soft 
hairs at the apex. Ovary xmguicidate, two-celled, cells ,two- 
ovulate ; Stigma e-^cavated. Fruit oval, scarcely conti'acted at 
the base, fom'-seeded. {Nees ab Esenbeck, ;rt D. C. Prod. xi. 286.) 
G. LONGIFLORA, Lindley. — Long-flowered Geissomeria. Stem 
erect, slightly pubescent upwards, marked with fine internipted 
stria; ; leaves lanceolate, rather attenuated at the .apex, and decur- 
rent at the base into a .short petiole ; uppermost sessile, wav^*, glab- 
rous above, excepting on the mid-nerve, slightly hairy on the under 
sm'facc, especially on the veins ; spikes axillai-y and terminal ; 
bracts ovatc-ciliate, the middle and upper shorter than the calyx, 
the lowest sometimes longer than the calj-x. 
Stnonyjit.— G. longiflora, Lindl. Bot. Reg. t. 1045 ; B. C. 
Frod. xi. 288. — Stenandrum speciosum, N. ab Fsenbeek in Mart, 
h. n. 456. — Yar. jQ. Stei^hanophysum attenuatiun, Mai-t, lu bras. 
jVo. 179. 
^. acuta. N. ab. Usetib. Points of the leaves acute. 
l^ESCRIPTION. — A stove skrub, witli an erect, round stem, downy on the upjDer part. 
^ Leaves opposite, lanceolate, wavy, tapering to a point, and into the short petiole, which is 
wanting in the ujjpcr leaves ; glabrous in the upper face, excepting the hairy midrib, the lower 
face with a few scattered hairs m.ore abundant on the veins, margins obscurely ciliated. Spikes 
axillary and teiininal, leafy at the base, foiu'-ranlced, and closely imbricated. Bracts ovate, pu- 
bescent on the back, ciliated, the lower, elongated, veined, equalling, sometimes surpassing the 
caljrx, the upper shorter than the calyx. Bracteoles ovate, acute, shorter than the calyx. Ca- 
Ij-x of five imbricated unequal sepals ; sepals linear, lanceolate, smooth, cihated, the posterior 
twice as broad as the rest, concave. Corolla scarlet, tubular, velvetj-, with a ciu-ved, somewhat 
inflated tube, wddening upward, the tube smooth internally; limb erect, foiu--toothed, the upjier 
lobe roimded, transverse, ovate, emargiaate, the rest entire, the lateral lai-ger than the lower, 
which is bearded. Stamens fom-, nearly equal, as long as the tube, itiserted near its base ; fila- 
ments filiform, dilated at the base, hairy in the inside, densely ■stUous at the base ; anthers 
linear, two-celled, cohering by their acute haiiy summits. Pollen-grains very large, cylindrical, 
rounded at each end, smooth, three times as long as broad. Ovarium ovate, conical, some- 
what stallicd, cells two-seeded ; style filiform ; stigma fimnel-shaped, mth a hairy line on each 
side. 
HiSTOEY, &c. — A handsome, shrubby Braziban plant ; first raised in this country by T. C. 
Palmer, Esq., in 1826; and figured and described by Dr. Lindley, in the Botanical Register 
for 1827. It appears very vai'iable in respect to the length of the spikes, the degree of acumi- 
nation of the leaves, and in the pubescence, — A. H. 
The generic name is derived from geisson, a tile, and meris, a part; in allusion to the man- 
ner in which the lobes of the calyx overlay each other. 
CuiTUEE. — Geissomeria longiflora may be classed among neglected plants, from which 
position we hope the accompanjdng plate may assist in rescuing it ; for it is of a showj' char- 
acter, and is, moreover, valuable for its property of flowering during the winter. It is a fi'ee- 
growing, soft- wooded, stove-shi-ub : propagating freely by means of cuttings, planted in the usual 
way, and placed in a mild hot-bed, or within the influence of a gentle bottom-heat. To flower 
it well, it should have a rich and very porous soU, such as, equal parts of loam, peat, and dimg, 
all used in a rough lumpy state, with sand intermixed : and large-sized pots must be emploj'ed. 
The plants have a tendencj' to grow up taU and thru ; and do not very readily produce a nimi- 
ber of shoots, even if stopped back ; on which accoimt, flowering sjjecimens shovdd be made up 
of three or foiu- plants set together in a pot. Strong, healthy, young plants raised the preceding 
summer, and well-ostabHshed in small pots, shoidd be selected early in March, or sooner, and 
potted three or foiu- together, into an eight-inch pot. When they begin to stai't into gro^vth, 
top all the shoots, which should not have grown more than six or eight inches high. After they 
have again formed new shoots, shift the plants into twelve-inch pots ; and keep them growing 
on all the summer, in the ordinary stove temperature. They will flower in December and 
January ; and, what is a gi-eat recommendation, they stand for a long time m flower. — M. 
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