APRIL. 
97 
BOUVARDIA ORIANA. 
(Plate 125.) 
The genus Bouvardia, though known to British gardens for near 
a century, has only within these last few years received the atten¬ 
tion it deserves; for although B. splendens, triphylla, and one 
or two others have been favourites with a few, yet in the greater 
number of gardens they have been, and still are, comparatively 
unknown; and it may appear somewhat strange that the beautiful 
B. longiflora, introduced to this country so far back as 1827, 
should until very recently be almost^ unknown. The public are 
indebted to the Messrs. Henderson, of the Wellington Nursery, 
for bringing this lovely plant into notice, and it must be gratifying 
to them to know what a universal favourite it is becoming: and 
as its merits become better known it will doubtless be still more 
esteemed. With most cultivators B. longiflora has been treated 
as a rather hardy stove plant; but the Messrs. Hendersons 
inform us they have no doubt it will thrive better out of doors 
during summer. Last season a weakly plant was transferred from 
a pot to an open border in their nursery, and by the autumn it 
had become a much stronger plant than any they had in pots. 
We have likewise the authority of Mr. Pince, of Exeter, for 
stating, that it grows and blooms very freely in the open 
ground of his nursery, and he is not without the hope that it 
may even stand the winter in a manner similar to the old B. 
triphylla. We may therefore look upon this species as being 
nearly if not quite as hardy as the bright scarlet varieties. 
It may easily be imagined that a genus possessing so many 
valuable properties as are combined in the Bouvardias would 
attract the attention of the hybridist. And a plant from the first 
batch of hybrids that we have heard of being raised in this 
country is figured in our plate in the preceding page, and will give 
an idea of their value as ornamental plants. The entire stock of 
these valuable varieties is in the hands of Messrs. E. G. Hen¬ 
derson & Son, who have published the following particulars 
respecting them. “ Mr. Parsons, of Brighton, obtained these 
hybrids from two of the finest species, viz., B. longiflora and 
leianthe; the former, a pure white, is well known as one of the 
most chaste and elegant of flowers—the latter a brilliant scarlet, 
and one of the best of its class, producing in abundance large 
trusses of flowers when planted in the flower garden, whilst it is 
equally attractive if cultivated as a pot plant, as it blooms con¬ 
tinuously through the autumn and winter months. The seedlings 
possess all the advantages of the last-named variety, are of free 
growth and robust habit, with large and ample foliage, and are of 
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