8 
sixteen distinct varieties were simultaneously in flower. The Director 
brought from Kew two plants different in name from those already in 
Singapore; on flowering, they proved, however, to differ in name only. The 
Director also purchased a new variety, “Lady Hudson”; this proved to be 
quite distinct, and is apparently the same as the Bougainvillea known as 
“Ecuador Pink” in Trinidad. This is probably its first introduction to Asia; 
it is too early to say how well it will flower locally. Other new Bougain¬ 
villeas were imported from Peradeniya and Calcutta, the latter being a selec¬ 
tion of hybrids raised by Mr. S. Percy-Lancaster in the Gardens of the 
Royal Agri-Horticultural Society of India. It is too early also to say how 
well these new forms will behave locally. 
Broadly speaking, the varieties of B. glabra (all of them more or less 
bright purple) are perpetual-flowering in Singapore. The varieties of 
B. spectabilis (including the brick-red lateritia ) need a good deal of dry 
weather to flower well; they rarely flower freely here, and are green most of 
the time. The third group, consisting of Mrs. Butt, Mrs. McLean and 
Louis Wathen, are seasonal in flowering when planted out (though 
flowering more readily than spectabilis ), but have the great advantage that 
they can easily be made to flower in pots. The new hybrids are mostly 
between varieties of B. spectabilis and B. glabra; they all partake in some 
degree of the seasonal character of the former, but it seems likely that some 
of them will flower well enough to be worth general planting here. What 
is now required is to bring the Mrs. Butt group into the scheme of 
hybridization. We have always thought that Bougainvilleas would not set 
seed in Singapore; but the reason is perhaps only because they are self- 
sterile, and it is quite possible that artificial cross-pollination may yield 
seeds. 
Lantanas .—During the past few years several free-flowering varieties 
of Lantana have been collected from various sources, and have proved 
extremely useful, both in beds and in pots. They grow very easily, flower 
continuously, and are very little trouble except for the attacks of certain 
scale insects. In 1938 a notable addition was made to the collection of 
Lantanas by the introduction from California of a packet of seeds of dwarf 
hybrids, several of which have proved distinctive. We now have a con¬ 
siderable range of colours from white to pink, mauve, yellow, orange and 
scarlet, some of them showing interesting colour changes from young to old 
flowers on the same head. 
New Herbaceous plants .—For two or three years past a yellow 
Composite has been grown in Singapore, introduced from Malacca; through 
the courtesy of the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, it has now been 
identified as Melampodium cbivaricatum, native in Central America. Its 
introduction to Malaya is a mystery, as it does not seem to be in general 
cultivation in any other part of the eastern tropics. Though not strikingly 
beautiful, this Melampodium is very useful and hardy under local condi¬ 
tions. The other new annual which has appeared during the year is a 
strain of Browallia elata of an exceptionally good blue, which is also 
exceptionally free-flowering in Singapore. This also seeds freely here. 
Cassias. Cassis spectabilis, a yellow-flowered tree introduced from 
Buitenzorg in 1935, has grown and flotvered well, and has also borne 
numerous fruits. Though it may prove somewhat lax in habit, it is 
certainly w r orth growing for its large and handsome bunches of flowers. 
Cassia splcndida, introduced from Rio de Janeiro, proves to be the largest- 
flowered of all our shrubby Cassias, and of a good deep yellow. 
