January 25 , 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
3B1 
ARDENING 
ISCELLANY. 
-- 
Lonchitis pubescens. 
There are only two known species of this genus, of 
which L. pubescens is notable for the bold outline of 
its frouds, these being triangular and two or three 
times divided, with broad segments and rounded 
sinuses between the lobes. The fronds of moderate¬ 
sized plants, such as we generally see in ferneries, are 
about 2 ft. in length, and twice divided, with crenate 
pinnules ; but when vigorously grown they attain a 
length of 4 ft., and become tripinnatifid. A very 
notable character of the species is that both surfaces of 
the fronds and the petioles are thickly clothed with 
long, soft, grey hairs, giving all parts a woolly appear¬ 
ance. It is a native of Mauritius, and consequently 
requires to be grown in a stove or warm fernery ; but, 
with this exception, it requires no other special treat¬ 
ment, and is as easily managed as the ordinary run of 
stove Ferns. 
Nephrodium fragrans. 
In a small or young state this Fern forms a compact 
little tuft resembling Aspleniuni fontanum, but as it 
attains its full size it gets somewhat coarser. Even 
then the fronds hardly ever exceed G ins. or 9 ins. in 
length and 2 ins. in breadth, although often much 
smaller. They are two or three times divided, and 
taper to both ends. The habit is precisely similar to 
that of the common Male Fern, with the exception of 
size. All the fronds spring in a tuft from a short erect 
stem. Being a native of the Caucasus and Arctic 
America, it should be perfectly hardy ; but it is so un¬ 
common in cultivation that it is accorded greenhouse 
treatment. The most remarkable characteristic of this 
Fern, perhaps, is the strong odour of Violets given off 
by the fronds when rubbed in the hand. It may be 
seen in the nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch k Sons, 
Chelsea. It is also grown under the name of Lastrea 
fragrans. 
Woodwardia orientalis. 
For basket work this Fern might be more frequently 
cultivated than it is. 0 wing to the arching or drooping 
habit of the fronds, their natural habit cannot be dis¬ 
played to advantage unless the plants are suspended 
from the roof of a house or grown upon rockwork, so 
that their natural propensity may be displayed. An 
adult plant varies with fronds from 4 ft. to 8 ft., 
according to the method and the vigour with which it 
is grown. For large houses it would be invaluable, 
particularly in the case of large ferneries and large 
cool conservatories, where there is plenty of room to 
display its natural habit. The pinn® are sometimes 
themselves 1 ft. long, bearing pinnules from 2 ins. to 
4 ins. long, and acutely pointed. A great part of the 
upper surface is covered with buds or leafy young 
plants, which give the fronds a beautiful and interesting 
appearance. Being deep green and leathery, the fronds 
are of great duration even in a moderately dry atmo¬ 
sphere, while they will endure alow temperature. The 
species is a native of Japan and neighbouring islands as 
far a3 Formosa, aud although allied to W. radicans, it 
is readily distinguishable by its numerous plantlets on 
the upper surface of the fronds. 
Iris Bornmuelleri. 
The solitary flowers of this species are produced before 
the leaves, and rise about 3 ins. above the soil. The 
limb is so deeply cleft as to appear like three flowers 
diverging in the form of a triangle, and this pheno¬ 
menon is also strengthened by the almost complete 
abortion of the petals, which are reduced to minute 
linear shreds. The falls constitute the most con¬ 
spicuous part of the flower, and are deep yellow, 
spotted with dull brown or black along the disc on 
each side of a central ridge. The stigmas are paler 
yellow, folded over the falls, and deeply bifid with 
ovate acute, toothed segments, and have two longi¬ 
tudinal green stripes near the base. It is a native of 
Armenia, and a new introduction, and may be seen in a 
frame, which is kept open during mild weather, in the 
Iris garden at Kew. 
Pteris serrulata gloriosa. 
The chief distinguishing feature of this variety seems 
to be its bold and yet graceful habit. As it gains 
strength it throws up fronds about 18 ins. high, and 
the crests with which it is furnished increase in size 
until by their weight they cause the fronds to assume 
a drooping habit. Then other and longer fronds with 
numerous crested pinn® are thrown almost straight up 
to the height of 2 ft. or 3 ft. The upper pinn® 
terminate in heavy crests and hang down gracefully. 
The spaces between the pinnae are considerably elon¬ 
gated, and give to the variety its graceful and open 
habit, which seems to be its strongest characteristic, 
coupled with numerous pinnae. It was exhibited by 
Mr. 11. B. May, Dyson’s Lane Nursery, Upper 
Edmonton, at the Drill Hall, Westminster, on the 
14th inst., when an Award of Merit was accorded it. 
Crowea macrantha. 
The species of Crowea in cultivation are neither 
numerous nor often met with. They are members of 
the Rue family, and of shrubby habit, with lanceolate 
-quite entire leaves. They are natives of Australia, and 
delight in a compost of two-parts peat, one of good 
fibrous loam, and a quantity of sand. C. macrantha 
is valuable on account of its flowering in winter. The 
blooms are of a soft violet-purple, or slightly inclined 
to mauve-blue, and are produced singly in the axils of 
the leaves. The plant is of erect habit, and to make it 
bushy the tip of the young plant should be pinched 
out while yet close to the ground ; lateral branches will 
then be produced. The operation should be repeated if 
the object is to obtain large plants. The latter should be 
kept cool and freely ventilated at all times, much in 
the same way as Heaths are treated. It has been 
flowering for some time past in the Royal Exotic 
Nursery, at Chelsea. 
Monochsetum sericeum multiflorum. 
Most or all of the*species of Monoehretum form upright, 
bushy, and twiggy shrubs. There is, therefore, no 
difficulty in raising a batch of plants from cuttings, that 
will present a neat and tidy appearance during winter 
and spring, when the plant flowers. The latter, 
although they make their appearance at intervals from 
the commencement of the year, or even earlier, yet 
they are most abundant during the spring months. 
The leaves are ovate, rather broad compared with those 
of other species occasionally seen, 3—5 nerved, and 
covered with rather coarse silky hairs. The flowers are 
of good size, rich violet-purple ; and a well-flowered 
bushy plant has a fine appearance. Although of garden 
origin, this is not so frequently cultivated in private 
establishments as some of the others. We noted it in 
the nursery of Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea. 
Tillandsia Lindeni. 
The variation in the forms of this species i3 remarkable, 
and the more it is raised from seeds—especially those 
imported, or when fresh batches of the plant itself are 
imported—so it will be found to vary. There is a 
batch of dwarf plants in the nursery of Messrs. J. 
Veitch k Sons, Chelsea, grown under the name of 
T. Lindeni vera. The leaves are narrow, and form 
small rosettes, while the scape is short, bearing widely 
spreading almost horizontal green bracts, from the axils 
of which the large deep blue flowers spring. Some 
describe them as bluish purple ; in any case they are 
very handsome. T. Lindeni itself has a scape 18 ins. 
or 2 ft. high, but its cone of bracts is much narrower 
than in T. L. vera, and more or less tinted with rose or 
pink when in a young state. The large rich blue 
flowers are produced in succession for a great length of 
time. The flowers are grooved, dark green, tinted with 
red at the base, and form a large regularly spreading 
tuft. 
Amorphophallus Eiehleri. 
The spathe of this species is quite a pigmy compared 
with that of its congener, A. titanum ; but it is 
sufficiently large to be of horticultural value notwith¬ 
standing, and it does not appear to emit the offensive 
odour that its near relative does. The spathe of the 
species under notice is obliquely campanulate, undu¬ 
lated along the oblique margin, grey externally, striated 
with purple veins, and brown at the top. The inner 
surface is of a rich reddish brown in the upper part, 
with a white band on the middle, and deep reddish 
brown in the basal rounded cavity. The latter is 
also closely and strongly corrugated, presenting a 
peculiar appearance. The sheath from which the 
spathe emerges is of a silvery grey. The erect spadix 
is about 6 ins. long, stout, fleshy, pale brown, and 
yellow at the base, where the flowers are situated. No 
leaves are present, of course, when flowering. A 
flowering specimen may be seen in one of the stoves at 
Kew. It is a native of West Tropical Africa. 
Isoloma Deppeanum. 
This old-fashioned subject is well known under the 
name of Gesnera elongata, and used to be more exten¬ 
sively grown in private establishments than it is at 
present. Considering how easy it is to propagate by 
cuttings, and how certainly it can be flowered every 
year during winter, one would expect it to be more 
largely grown for decorative purposes than it is. The 
stems are shrubby and generally grow about 2 ft. high ; 
they are furnished with lanceolate, acuminate leaves of 
a deep green above, downy and whitish beneath. The 
tubular scarlet or orange-red flowers are freely produced 
in axillary peduncles, bearing four blooms each. After 
the plant has done flowering, it may be closely pruned 
back, re-started, and grown on for another year. Cut¬ 
tings may also be taken, and grown on to form small 
bushy specimens. 
Psychotria cyanococca. 
Blue berries are by no means plentiful, especially of 
the rich blue presented by Psychotria cyanococca. 
They are about the size of small peas, and produced in 
dense drooping clusters of about thirty or forty in 
each. The leaves are elliptic, strongly nerved and 
deep green. It is a native of Nicaragua, from whence it 
was introduced along with P. chontalensis, which is a 
larger, more hairy and even more ornamental plant, 
but it does not seem to have got disseminated in this 
country to any great extent. It belongs to the same 
family of plants as the Coffee and the Ixora, and 
of course requires a stove temperature. The flowers are 
small, white, and worthless, as they are in most other 
species of the genus, to the number of about 500. P. 
jasminiflora, better known under the name of Eboneria 
jasminiflora, is, however, an exception, with pure white 
flowers resembling those of a Bouvardia ; but like them 
without fragrance. 
-- 
Gardeners’ Improvement Societies. 
Broughty Ferry. 
The third session of this prosperous association was 
opened on the 17th inst., the hon. president, Mr. 
Pi. B. Laird, Fountaintrae, head of the nursery and 
seed firms of Messrs. R. B. Laird & Sons, Edinburgh, 
and AV. P. Laird & Sinclair, Dundee, occupying the 
chair. Mr. Laird, in a genial, happy manner, related 
some of his experiences amongst gardeners during the 
past forty years, in which period great and much- 
needed improvements in their circumstances had taken 
place. The gardeners of the present day were better 
paid, enjoyed more personal comforts, and are in every 
respect better off than the gardeners of his early days. 
They had many advantages that the latter did not 
enjoy, amongst which might be enumerated greater 
facilities for obtaining a knowledge of their profession, 
and better education—and he was glad to see the 
growing interest that is now being taken in such 
societies as theirs. He trusted that young men would 
avail themselves of the benefits to be derived from a 
regular attendance at their meetings, and a careful 
study of the various papers read and discussed, for they 
would find that their future success largely depended 
upon the amount of information they possessed, much 
of which could be gleaned by listening to the inter¬ 
change of ideas which takes place at the meetings. Mr. 
Laird’s address was listened to with much interest, and 
a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to him. 
Mr. W. S. Watt (the president) then read a paper 
entitled “Theories on Plant Distribution.” He said 
that many theories had been advanced regarding the 
distribution of plants, even the “survival of the 
fittest ” doctrine had been applied. Agassiz, the 
celebrated botanist and naturalist, seemed to admit the 
truth of that theory, in a weekly paper published 
many years ago on Lake Superior, where the roadside 
native weeds had retired, and their places had been 
taken by European species. In New Zealand, there 
were some 250 species of naturalised European plants. 
The attempts to naturalise some species had failed in 
several countries. Mr. Watt then went on to trace the 
position of the different genera, and their distribution 
over high and low latitudes, and showed that many 
plants belonging to a common family and genus were 
to be found in the same latitudes, even in valleys 
where the elements varied. He noticed at length the 
numerous circumstances in which plants had been 
found to luxuriate, and minutely described the various 
zones of vegetation in the Himalaya Mountains and 
other high lands of the earth. Marine vegetation in 
caves in Greenland, and plants in Arabian deserts 
were described minutely, as were those of tropical 
