444 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 23, 1903. 
for the first time, when a plant, was shown at the' meeting of 
the Royal Horticultural Society, on May 6th, by Miss Willmott, 
when an Award of Merit was accorded it. The stems are 10 in. 
to 12 in. high, and finely; pubescent. There are three or four 
leaves to a bulb, which are lanceolate, glaucous, thinly and 
finely pubescent. The cup-shaped flowers are of large size 
and rich vermilion, with a. large elliptic black blotch on the 
base of the segments, the blotch being surrounded by a palei 
yellow or white band. These colours are more or less visible 
on the back of the flower, though less distinct than on the 
inner face, owing to a. shade of green, which gives the back of 
the flower a. silvery-gray appearance. The anthers are violet, 
so that altogether the flower is a very handsome one when 
fully expanded. 
Our illustration was taken from a plant in the rockery a.t 
Kew, but, owing to the unfavourable weather, the flowers were 
not sufficiently expanded to show the beauty of the markings. 
The Kew plants are also noteworthy in the absence of the 
purple lines that are usually present on the leaves. These 
markings are also characteristic of T. Greigi, and may also be 
absent from individual specimens of that species. T. micheli- 
ana seems to have some affinity with Greigi and T 1 . montana, 
between which it is intermediate a.s far as size and shape are 
concerned. 
Pandanus Graminifolius. 
At one time P. utilis was very much used by gardeners for 
table and other decoration. It did not last very long, how¬ 
ever, of a usable and useful size, because it grew rapidly and 
soon got too. large. That does not apply to the plant under 
notice, which is of very dwarf habit, and slow growth. These 
qualities, in some respects, are detrimental to those who. might 
wish to propagate it rapidly, but, as a gardener’s plant, we think 
it should prove very useful by reason of its slow growth and 
the small space it would occupy in a collection of plants. The 
leaves are narrow and grass-like, as the name would imply, and 
are of a dark green. The spines, so troublesome on some 
species of Pandanus, are, in this instance, of small size, and 
not inconvenient to' those who have to handle it. It. is a native 
of Tenasserim. Many substitutes have been used for it, in¬ 
cluding species of Freycinetia, Rhodostachys pitcaimiaefolia, 
and some of the Piteairnias and other Bromeliads; which have 
possibly been substituted on account of the difficulty in getting 
sufficient quantity of the plant under notice 1 to' meet the 
demand. The photograph was taken by Mr. Charles Jones, of 
The Gardens, Ote Hall, Burgess Hill, Sussex. 
Ribes sanguineum. 
The “ Flowering Currant,” as this plant is popularly called, 
is often a common shrub in old gardens, and it is one of the 
handsomest of early-flowering shrubs. The varieties' of it, 
however, are less often seen than they ought to be, several 
of them being superior to. the type in colour. The type is a 
Californian shrub, and grows readily almost everywhere, espe¬ 
cially where the ground is fairly rich. Like most other species 
of Ribes', it can be readily increased by cuttings of young, 
ripened wood, 9 in. to 12 in. long, inserted out of doors in 
winter. If the young plants are not allowed to flower for 
the first two years, they grow faster and make better plants. 
The varieties best worth cultivating are: R. s. albidum, with 
whitish flowers—this should be raised from cuttings frequently, 
as it has an awkward knack of going off when a few years old ; 
R. s. atrorubens, a lovely dark red-flowered form, one of the 
very best; R. s. atrosangineum, veiy free flowering, with deep 
rd flowers; R. sanguineum flore pleno, with double flowers; 
and R. s. glutinosum, with flowers very much like those of the 
type. Shrubs such as these, which may be depended on to 
flower freely every year and give very little trouble, without 
it is a little pruning now and then, well deserve attention, 
especially in those gardens where ga.y shrubberies are required 
in spring and labour is stinted. W. D. 
Clianthus Dampieri. 
Perusing “ Vendeurs” article on this subject, page 391, it 
seemed that SO' useful, decorative and comparatively hardy 
species was deserving of further recognition and more extensive 
cultivation, being essentially an amateur’s plant suitable for 
cool houses. Introduced in 1852 from New South Wales, it 
was for many years treated with but little success—a sort of 
horticultural bugbear—as an annual or biennial. 
In 1868 plants giving universal satisfaction were grown at 
Ivew, being grafted upon Swainsona coronillifolia; but appar¬ 
ently this practice was discontinued. On the Continent ex¬ 
periments to. secure a, proper stock must have been made, for 
we have accounts of Clianthus punice.us, Colutea frutescens, 
and, finally, Colutea arborescens, being used as such. On the 
latter named stock it proved veiy successful, concomitant with 
which it was converted into a perennial. 
Two points worthy of notice in connection with its cultiva¬ 
tion are diy treatment; th^t is; careful watering and the 
keeping of the leaves diy. Being a. desert plant, and having a 
vestiture of hoary hairs—one of Nature's economies for the 
prevention of rapid evaporation—are suggestive of its require¬ 
ments in the matter of moisture. The question of soil, provid¬ 
ing it is porous, is 1 not of vital importance, the root being that 
of Colutea, which will thrive in most soils. 
Why so- many Australian plants fail to give satisfaction on 
their own roots, yet do so when grafted, is' largely due to the 
absence of so-called “soil germs.” Were it possible to secure 
soil along with the plant from its native habitat, such soil 
would naturally contain the special germ necessary to the plant, 
and speedily infect the additional potting material required. 
As an example of benefits accruing from infected soil, an in¬ 
stance may be cited where the cultivation of the “ Telegraph 
Plant ” (Desmodium gyrans) was comparatively a. failure until 
soil from its native habitat, was secured; then its culture 
proved more or less a. simple matter. So far reference has 
only been drawn to. leguminous plants, which, by reason of the 
peculiarities of their root system, are possibly more dependent 
upon the action of bacteria. 
Yet it is well to remember, especially in potting or trans¬ 
planting, that most., probably all, kinds of plants possess each 
its own peculiar germ. For example, it is recorded of a bed 
which for a lengthy period had been occupied by Rhododen¬ 
drons—a genus which has a. symbiotic union with a. hypogeal 
fungus.—refusing to. produce, gra.ss until some fresh soil was 
added. Hence, though each plant, possesses its own geim, 
native plants, when used as stocks for grafts or otherwise, can 
in most of our soils find their own in abundance. 
In connection with the grafting of Clianthus Dampieri, there 
are some questions whose elucidation may give healthy amuse¬ 
ment to The Gardening World readers. After its allied 
species, C. puniceus, Kennedya rubicunda. most resembles it in 
flower, whilst Swainsona. and. others; especially vegetatively, 
are more closely allied than Colutea ; therefore why, as far as 
has been attempted, does C. Dampieri not give better results on 
the apparently more closely allied species; and what are the 
affinities, inherent or otherwise, ’twixt it. and Colutea, which 
account for their success in the congenial bonds of unity? Q. 
Cytisus kewensis. 
As its name implies, this pretty hybrid owes its origin to 
Kew, “ whose name it is worthy to. bear,” being derived from 
C. Ardoini x albus. Its prostrate habit, like unto that of 
its first-named parent, makes it. eminently suited for the rock 
garden, where, overhanging stones, its slender green branches, 
wreathed in a wealth of light sulphur-coloured blossoms, are 
conspicuously attractive. Grafted upon a. strong-growing 
species, it might be effectively utilised along with small Coni- 
ferae to intensify ridge-like promontories in the rockery. 
