636 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
June 2, 1888. 
Kennedya nigricans. 
Although this species cannot be compared to K. pros¬ 
trata Marryatse, -which we figured a short time ago, 
and described as a perpetual-flowering plant in a green¬ 
house where the temperature was sufficiently high in 
-winter, yet considerable interest attaches to the flowers 
from their peculiar colour, which may be described as 
an intense violet-purple, and almost black, as the 
specific name implies. The standard is, however, the 
centre of interest, as nearly the whole of its upper and 
inner surface is of a bright yellow, forming a large, 
conspicuous and well-defined blotch, surrounded by 
black. The yellow is also entirely confined to the 
upper surface, and black takes its place on the reverse 
side, showing, as in the case of many other subjects, 
that the two surfaces, with regard to colour, have little 
or no affinity. Crocuses, Orchids, and many other 
subjects often exhibit this phenomenon. 
Pteris serrulata compacta. 
Of all the numerous forms of P. serrulata now in 
cultivation, none are more serviceable or beautiful than 
the subject of this note. It was raised in Mr. H. B. 
May’s Nursery at Upper Edmonton, where it is now 
grown in quantity, and is in season at all periods of 
the year—summer or winter. The Major or Chiswick 
variety is a grand form where there is plenty of room 
to allow of its proper development, but the subject of 
this note is dwarf, beautifully crested and tasselled at 
the apex, and, as the varietal name implies, compact 
in habit. This, together with its hardiness and suit¬ 
ability as a decorative plant for any purpose, are its 
chief recommendations, and good ones they are. As 
a market plant, it probably has few equals amongst 
Perns for the amount of bad usage which it will bear. 
The Nodding Globe Mallow. 
A fine plant of Sphaeralcea nutans, to which the above 
popular name is applied, seems to he continually in 
flower at Pendell Court, Bletchingley, in the Nymphsea 
house, where the moist tropical conditions seem to suit 
it admirably. It was apparently introduced from 
Guatemala in 1852, but is by no means common in this 
country after the lapse of so many years. As in the 
case of many other introductions, it simply manages to 
eke out an existence with us by finding its way 
to a few places such as Pendell Court, which may be 
considered as a real Befugium Botanicum for an endless 
host of things. The flowers are large, scarlet-crimson, 
and in general appearance resemble an Abutilon. The 
leaves are five-lobed and whitish underneath, with 
felted hairs, similar to many others of the Mallow 
family. 
Cassia australis. 
Under this name a species of Cassia is grown at 
Pendell Court, Bletchingley, and which at the present 
time is a picture of beauty. The species evidently 
grows slowly even when planted out in a bed, and a 
plant several years in its present position would now 
measure about 3 ft. to 3£ ft. in height, and forms a 
dense erect hush, amply furnished with evergreen 
leaves that are divided into linear leaflets—the whole 
having a graceful appearance. The flowers are golden 
yellow, most abundant, and borne in axillary racemes 
or umbels, which, although containing hut a few 
blooms each, are very plentifully distributed over the 
plant, rendering it an object at once conspicuous and 
attractive. 
Sagittaria montevidensis alba. 
The typical form of this South American plant has 
large white flowers with a conspicuous brownish 
crimson blotch at the base of each petal, and when 
grown in good form, it is a magnificent plant. Seedlings 
of this plant exhibit considerable variation, especially 
with regard to the colour of the blotch ; and a specimen 
we noticed the other day at Pendell Court was pure 
white. The plant may be grown in pots as a stove or 
greenhouse aquatic, hut there can be no question that 
it develops magnificent proportions when planted out 
in a bed on the edge of a tank in a stove, or where it 
can obtain a plentiful supply of water, such as Sagit- 
tarias like. Under these conditions we have seen the 
leaves with blades measuring 18 ins. or 2 ft. in length, 
and correspondingly broad. Plants of these dimensions, 
as might be expected, send up magnificent racemes of 
bloom. Those who desire a pretty aquatic of smaller 
dimensions, have only to grow the plant in a pot, and 
stand it upon a reversed pot or pile of bricks in a tank, 
when all the parts of the plant will grow only to a 
moderate size, and flower freely enough. 
The Green-winged Orchis. 
Orchis Morio is now beautifully in flower in many of 
the Kentish meadows and downs. "When seen in good 
bold masses the purple or mulberry-coloured flowers 
have a very pretty and conspicuous appearance. In 
colouring, the flowers vary but little, for as well as the 
normal purple I have only detected one really perma¬ 
nent form, and in that the flowers are of a most distinct 
and pleasing light pink colour. It is quite distinct 
and permanent, and well worthy of a place in any 
collection of flowering plants, but particularly where 
those of low growth are in demand. Planted in good 
rich loam to which some calcareous matter is added, 
this pretty Orchid will do well in any garden ; and as 
it is readily procured and easily grown, as well as 
highly ornamental, is worthy of extended notice. Some 
of your amateur readers would do well to go in 
for the culture of this and other of our native 
Orchids, and a ten years’ experience bids me say they 
would not, on the results, be disappointed.— A. D. 
Webster. 
Mountain Centaury. 
On seeing this fine old-fashioned herbaceous plant we 
are greatly tempted to speak of the Mountain Corn¬ 
flower, from the general resemblance of the flower-heads 
to those of C. cyanus, the true Cornflower, an equally 
familiar favourite in gardens. C. montanus is also 
known locally as Bluebottle and Spider-web, the latter 
allusion being taken from the cottony hairs on both 
surfaces of the leaves, especially in the young state. 
For many years we have been accustomed to see only 
the typical blue form, together with a rose-coloured 
variety (C. m. rosea) and a white form (C. m. alba). 
Now, Mr. T. S. "Ware sends us from Tottenham 
a box of seedlings, including all intermediate 
shades, just as we find in C. cyanus. The deeper 
blue-rayed heads have purple disk florets and violet 
anthers, while the rose and red varieties merely exhibit 
two shades of those colours. In some the blue rays 
have faded to a pale mauve, while the disk florets are 
pale rose. The anthers always maintain their deep 
violet tint, even when both disk and ray florets are 
pure white, and the contrast in the latter case is very 
striking. The tubular structure formed by their union 
projects out of the florets, reminding one of the fungus 
called Ergot, which so affects the seed and seed vessels 
of various grasses that they grow out into long, black, 
curved, horn-like processes. The flower-heads of all 
the varieties apparently are fragrant, though not 
powerful. The plant is of the easiest cultivation, being 
readily propagated by division, and flowers freely every 
year in any garden soil. As cut flowers the heads are 
both beautiful and durable. 
Viola, Skylark. 
During the last few weeks, a stock of several hundreds 
of this pretty variety has been a mass of bloom. The 
name is well applied, for as amongst birds the skylark 
is the first to sing, so its floral namesake may claim to 
be one of the first of the Violas to unfold its flowers. 
Its compact habit, freedom, and good-sized white 
blooms prettily edged with blue, recommend it as one 
of the best for early spring bedding. — B. L. 
Amicia zygomeria. 
Owing to the beautiful character of the foliage, we 
have seen this plant grown for various purposes, and it 
looks handsome in either case. The sub-tropical beds 
in some of the London parks are rendered gay by it in 
the height of our summer season ; but under those 
conditions it never flowers, and is only used as a fine- 
foliaged plant. The leaves have two pairs of curiously 
obovate or wedge-shaped leaflets of a beautiful glaucous 
colour. The stems attain a height of 6 ft. or 8 ft., 
when they look grand with their ample and unfamiliar¬ 
looking foliage. Flowers are only produced when the 
stems attain these stately dimensions, which they 
sometimes do when grown against a wall in the open 
air. Owing to the shortness of our season, they do not 
flower very plentifully under these conditions, as the 
soft stems get killed to the ground on the approach of 
winter, and grow up again from the rootstock the 
following spring. Mr. F. Ross, gardener to Sir George 
Macleay, Pendell Court, Bletchingley, grows it planted 
out in the cool conservatory, and from its not getting 
killed down under these conditions it is now flowering 
freely. The flowers are produced from two to six on 
axillary pedicels, are of large size and yellow, with 
small purple wings. 
The Golden-Fruited Ivy. 
Many years ago Loudon described this plant as growing 
in the Horticultural Society’s Gardens (now the Royal 
Horticultural) at Chiswick. After the lapse of many 
years it has again found its way there, and is now 
fruiting freely. Almost every shoot is terminated by a 
heavy bunch of golden yellow berries about the size of 
currants, and tipped by a black line—the scar of the 
fallen flowers which performed their work last autumn. 
The golden-fruited Ivy is, of course, Hedera Helix 
arborescens flava, an arboreal form of the common Ivy, 
with more vigorous growth than the type. The 
leaves are also more wedge-shaped at the base than the 
ordinary tree form. It is hampered by a confusing 
synonymy—one name being H. H. chrysoearpa, in 
reference to the colour of the fruit, and in another case 
it is named H. poetica, or the Poet’s Ivy, as the poet 
spoke of the yellow-berried Ivy. It forms an upright 
bush, and is very effective for the front row of a 
shrubbery, or is even more interesting as an isolated 
bush on the lawn. This form has long been known and 
is a native of the North of India. 
Sutherlandia frutescens. 
"When in fruit one cannot help remarking the strong 
similarity of this plant to a Colutea, and being, in fact, 
closely allied to that genus, is sometimes distributed in 
gardens under the name of C. frutescens. The bladdery 
seed-pods are boat-shaped, green, and measure 2 ins. 
long by 1 in. across. It bears racemes of large, conspic¬ 
uous scarlet flowers, and being a native of the Cape, is 
known as Bladder Senna of the Cape. Strictly speak¬ 
ing, it must be considered a greenhouse plant, but is 
almost hardy, and forms a beautiful dwarf shrub, which 
when wintered in a cold house and planted out in 
spring, flowers beautifully. Instead of the glaring 
mass of scarlet Pelargoniums that usually fill the 
flower-garden in summer, a fine effect would be pro¬ 
duced by planting out this and similar subjects that at 
the present time are almost banished from our gardens. 
Having almost finished flowering, it is now fruiting 
freely in the cool conservatory at Pendell Court, 
Bletchingley. 
-*>X<-- 
The Gardeners' Calendar. 
THE STOVE. 
Shading. —With the material increase of sunlight and 
heat attention must be paid to shading ; but particular 
care should be taken that this is not overdone, as an 
equal amount of harm is caused when by reason of 
too heavy and too long-continued shading the plants 
become drawn and leggy, which happens through 
excessive crowding. Early in the morning and late in 
the afternoon all stove and greenhouse plants, with few 
exceptions, enjoy the sunshine, which adds materially 
to their substance, rendering the stems short jointed 
and evergreen leaves leathery in texture. If roller 
blinds are used they should be of the thinnest material, 
and never used except when actually required. Per¬ 
manent shading should always be avoided in the case 
of stoves and greenhouses, as it is detrimental not only 
to the welfare of the plants, but is unsightly. 
Caladiums and Crotons best assume the varied 
tints and colours by which the different varieties are 
characterised when exposed to a considerable amount of 
sunshine. The former have now obtained considerable 
size, and the cultivator will do well to see that they 
have plenty of room and are fully exposed on all sides 
to the light. No class of plants is more benefited 
by good exposure than Ferns, although this fact is 
altogether overlooked in many establishments. This 
becomes particularly evident when Ferns are used in 
quantity for cutting purposes. Those that are grown 
in a high temperature and much shaded will have thin 
and flabby fronds, soon perishing when cut; whereas 
those that enjoy a considerable amount of exposure in 
properly ventilated houses will be leathery in texture, 
and prove durable when cut. 
Climbers. —These are now growing rapidly, and 
require a considerable amount of attention to keep 
them within due bounds. Thinning out and regu¬ 
lating the shoots should be the order of the day 
rather then what may be termed pruning proper, if 
good results are expected. Allamandas, Dipladenias, 
Passifloras, Clerodendrons, Thunbergias and similar 
things flower freely only when allowed to ramble at full 
length. If not regulated, however, they soon form an 
entangled mass excluding light from the body of the 
