June 20, 1003. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
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The Best Flowering Plants at Kew. 
“There are more plants in the garden than ye wot of.” 
Dendrobium clavatum. 
This handsome, free-flowering Orchid is very closely allied 
to Dendrobium fimbriatum oculatum, from which it is dis*- 
tino-uished by its smaller, more fleshy flowers, which possess 
a glossier surface, and by the margin of the lip being dentate 
instead of fimbriated. From near the apex of its tufted, cylin¬ 
drical stems, which are club-shaped (clavate ; hence the specific 
name), fully 2 ft, high, pendulous lax racemes of orange-yellow 
flowers are borne, the lip being bright yellow, and with a basal 
deep maroon, transverse blotch. Native of Assam. 
Ipomoea digitata. 
A handsome stove climber, revelling in a moist, tropical 
temperature, whose beautiful flowers are most effective whilst 
exposed to the bright rays of the sun. The woody, twining 
stem has leaves frequently palmate, sometimes pedate. Umbels 
of two to five flowers are borne on solitary, axillary peduncles. 
The flowers, which are between salver, and funnel-shaped, are 
large, having a five-lobed limb of a pleasing delicate lilac 
colour. Native of the Tropics. 
Platytheca galioides (svn. Tetratheca verticillata). 
A hard-wooded, graceful plant, which ought to find a place 
in every greenhouse collection for the sake of its elegant habit. 
It forms a slender, wiry-branc-hed shrub fully 2 ft. high. Its 
stems are pubescent, whilst its linear leaves, produced in 
whorls, are hairy. The terminal third of its branches bear 
axillary, slightly-nodding flowers, near -J- in. across, of a light 
purple or violet, having a reddish-crimson tinge at the base. 
Native of Australia. 
Dracophyllum gracile. 
This, a worthy companion to the preceding, is nearly re¬ 
lated to the Epacris, which in habit of growth it somewhat 
resembles. It is a slender-stemmed and somewhat straggling 
growing plant, seen to the best advantage trained over a small 
trellis. The branches are closely set with small subulate, dark 
green leaves, and terminate in a compact head of snow-white, 
fragrant flowers, which last for a month or six weeks. Native 
of Australia. 
Lithyrus undulatus. 
Were it only that this is the first of what may be termed 
“ garden flowering Peas,” to unfold its blossoms in the open 
air, it would be a sufficient recommendation in itself ; but, com¬ 
bined with that is the virtue of its producing beautiful flowers, 
which add tone and lustre to arrangements of cut flowers, 
hence ranking it as a desirable adjunct to herbaceous borders. 
A native of the shores of the Dardanelles, it is closely allied 
to the European species, L. latifolius, and the Oriental, L. 
rotundifolius, It forms a glabrous plant about 3 ft, high, witli 
leaves of two leaflets and a terminal trifid cirrhus, and bearing 
erect flower stems, having five to seven rosy purple flowers, each 
fully J in. broad. 
Prunus Padus (svn. Cerasus Padus). 
The common “ Bird Cherry ” forms a round-headed, medium¬ 
sized tree, with dark brown stems and branches, and bright 
green ovate leaves. Few specimen flowering trees are more 
effective, or yield such a wealth of blossom, as everv node of the 
previous season’s wood from the point back to a length of from 
18 in. to 28 in. produces long cylindrical racemes 4 in. to 6 in. 
long containing twenty-five to thirty white flowers. Native of 
Europe and Asia. 
Amelanchier alnifolia (syns. A. canadensis var. alnifolia, 
florida, etc. 
This floriferous tree comes under the same category as the 
preceding, to which it forms a worthy companion. It forms a 
medium-sized tree, having a spreading head, which appears, 
literally speaking, to be clothed with a mantle of snow, so 
copiously are its branches and branchlets covered with short 
dense racemes | in. to 1 in. long, of white flowers. An im¬ 
pression of this floriferousness can be formed when it is noted 
that the branches plus branchlets have nodes about -J in. apart, 
and that from each node on the previous year’s, and on short 
spurs on the older wood, flowers are produced. Native of 
North-west America. 
Rhododendron Broughtoni. 
A garden hybrid of the Eurliodendron section, with a robust 
habit and pleasing appearance. It forms a spreading bush, 
fully 8 ft. high, profusely and flexuously branched, bearing 
oblong leaves 6 in. to 9 in. long, dark on. upper and light green 
on lower surface. The flowers are produced in dense erect 
heads ; the individual flowers being shallow and spreading 3 
in. to 4 in. across, of a deep flesh colour, the posterior dark 
spotted marking covering the basal portion of the upper two 
lobe©, half across. 
Rhododendron Doncaster, 
For massing in beds this dwarf dark crimson flowered 
variety is very effective, and gives a decided tone to the sur- 
VlBURNUM TOMENTOSUM P1.ICATX7XI. Seep. 529.) 
roundings, supplying a wealth of colour, specially desirable 
now that the spring flowers are nearly over. 
Genista hispanica (syn. G. villosa, Spartium hispanicum, etc.) 
This, the “ Spanish Gorse,” is as prolific in flowers as that 
of our native commons, and more kindly to the touch. It is 
an admirable subject for massing in rockeries, headlands, form¬ 
ing dense dwarf bushes, crowned tvith an aureole of flowers 
“Yellow and bright as bullion unalloy’d.” Native of South¬ 
west Europe. 
Tulipa maculata. 
Generally accepted as being a form of gesneriana, it forms 
one of the most effective of late-flowering Tulips by reason of 
its rich, deep scarlet colour and handsome flower. 
