April 11, 1889. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
289 
H ORTICULTURISTS are not usually slow to recognise the 
value of newly introduced plants and their capacity for 
improvement, but in some case3 considerable time elapses before 
'the public become familiar with them, and an example of this is 
afforded by the plants generally known in gardens as Imanto- 
phyllums. Several causes operate to retard the popularity of 
plants possessing unquestioned merit, but the principal of these is 
•difficulty or slowness of increase, which appears to be the chief 
Teason why Imantophyllnms have remained so long in comparative 
•obscurity in this country, though they are now attracting some of 
the attention they deserve. Following the continental cultivators, 
horticulturists in England have, daring the past few years, 
•endeavoured to improve the plants, and numerous seedlings have 
been raised which, by a process of careful selection, have yielded 
varieties of much beauty and showing a great advance upon the 
•original forms. Now that they have attained a position of import¬ 
ance as garden plants it may be interesting to briefly trace their 
history since the first introduction appeared in Europe. 
James Bowie, who had previously journeyed to the Cape of Good 
Hope in an official capacity as a collector of plants, and proved 
•successful in introducing numbers that had not been in cultivation 
before, announced in 1826 his intention of proceeding there again 
■as a private enterprise, soliciting and obtaining the assistance of 
gentlemen desirous of extending their collections of South African 
plants. A few months later he carried out his intention, and 
amongst the most notable of his early discoveries was a plant to 
which a curious history attaches, and which was the origin of the 
two distinct generic titles of Olivia and Imantophyllum. This was 
found, we are told, “ in shaded spots near the Quagga flats, but was 
more common in the Albany tracts near the great Fish River.” 
Living specimens were transmitted safely to England, and first 
-flowered in the Duke of Northumberland’s garden at Sion House 
in 1827, then under the charge of Mr. Forrest, though it is 
probable that specimens were also sent to Kew about the same 
dime. The plants at Sion attracted the attention of the elder 
Hooker and Lindley ; drawings were prepared for both authorities, 
and on October 1st, 1828, the “Botanical Magazine” appeared with 
a coloured plate of the plant bearing the name of “ Imatopbyllum 
Aitoni and the “ Botanical Register ” of the same date also gave 
a coloured illustration of it with the title of “ Olivia nobilis.” It 
is not an unusual occurrence for the same plant to receive distinct 
names from different botanists ; but there is rarely any difficulty in 
deciding which one has the right of priority. In this instance, how- 
over, sufficient can be urged against the title “ Imatophyllum ” to 
justify the adoption of Olivia in preference, the latter name now 
being generally accepted. In the first place the name “Imatc- 
phyllum ” was wrongly spelled, as it should have been “ Imanto- 
.phyllum.” Then the specific name “Aitoni’’was misleading and 
incorrect, for the plant was neither found nor introduced by Aiton ; 
and as it was intended to be in honour of Bowie’s patron (at the 
discoverer’s expressed wish) it should have been “ Aitoniana.” 
There was not, however, the special appropriateness in the title 
that could be claimed for Lindley’s “ Olivia,” which was in honour 
of the Duchess of Northumberland, in whose garden the plant first 
flowered ; moreover, it is shorter and more euphonious. The 
No. 459.—You. XYIII., Third Series. 
authorities are now generally agreed upon the adoption of Olivia, 
and this course is followed by Mr. J. G. Baker in his “ Handbook 
of the Amaryllideae,” published last year, Imantophyllum being 
there only regarded as a sub-genus. 
The plant itself is not well known in gardens generally, and has 
nothing to do with the present race of Olivias or Irnantophyllums 
except as regards one hybrid to be noticed presently. Olivia nobilis is 
seen in most botanic gardens, and occasionally but rarely in private 
collections, though when well grown it is decidedly ornamental and 
well merits its name. The leaves are 1^- inch broad and 1 to 2 feet 
long, the flower stem being 1 foot high, bearing a large umbel 
of somewhat tubular orange coloured flowers, much like a Cyrtan- 
thus, a character which is shared by another species introduced 
nearly thirty years later. This is C. Gardeni, discovered at Natal 
by Major Garden and sent to Kew about 1854 ; it has narrow 
tubular curved flowers, reddish at the base, yellow in the centre, 
and tipped with green. It is even more rarely seen than C. nobilis, 
and like that has not been utilised for hybridising purposes. 
We now come to the most important member of the family 
from a horticultural point of view, and one with which we are 
mainly concerned— i.e., Olivia miniata. This has been described as 
Vallota miniata, its first published title, and as Imantophyllum 
miniatum, both the latter being discarded in favour of the former, 
and it must be remembered that nearly all those subsequently' 
mentioned in these notes have been published as Irnantophyllums. 
C. miniata was obtained by Messrs. Backhouse of York from 
Andrew Steedman of the Cape of Good Hope, who procured it in 
Natal, and forwarded plants to England as “ Imantophyllum sp.” 
It was slowly increased by suckers, and a few of the young plants 
were distributed, the first to flower being one in Messrs. Lee’s 
nursery at Hammersmith, which was exhibited at a meeting of the 
Royal Horticultural Society on February 21st, 1854, when a 
Banksian medal was awarded for it. The typical C. miniata is 
very distinct from C. nobilis in the form of the flowers, which are 
more open, and like the Yallota, though the umbels are much 
larger, and the plant altogether of considerably stronger growth, 
with broad dark green erect or arching leaves, the foliage character 
alone rendering the plant ornamental, the flowers being of a bright 
orange red with a lighter or yellowish centre. IVhen first exhibited 
the plant was much admired, but the stock remained small for 
some years, 'and no attempt seems to have been made in this 
country for a considerable time to raise seedlings. The first official 
record of a distinct variety was C. miniata picta, shown by Mr. IV 
Bull as an Imantophyllum at a meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, June 1st, 1864, and this was probably an introduction 
as in consignments of the species received from South Africa 
variations were noticed from time to time that were considered 
distinct enough to merit names. 
Upon the Continent, especially in Belgium, the first serious 
attention was given to the improvement of Olivias, and by 1873 
substantial progress had been made, a number of handsome speci¬ 
mens and varied forms being shown at the Ghent Exhibition of 
that year. Numberless seedlings were raised, one of the most 
successful raisers being M. Th. Reimers, and the larger nurseries 
soon contained imposing collections of well grown plants that pro¬ 
duced magnificent displays when in flower soon awakening the 
British nurserymen who visit Belgium to the value of Olivias. 
Still, all these varieties were selections from seedlings, and the only 
hybrid that has to be noted was one figured in the “Flore des 
Serres ” in 1877, and said to be a cross between C. miniata and 
C. nobilis. the latter being the pollen parent. This appeared in 
Van Houtte’s nursery, and was named “ cyrtantliiflora ” from its 
resemblance to a Cyrtanthus, and consequently the flowers are 
more like C. nobilis than the other parent, though there is suffi¬ 
cient difference in size and colour to justify the belief that a true 
hybrid was obtained. The experiment has, I believe, been since 
tried in England with similar results, but it does not seem that any 
No. 2115 .—Vot. LXXX., Old Series. 
