1048 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 24, 1904. 
(Paris, 1890). It was found by Abbe Delavay (Missions 
Etrangeres), Yun-nan, in May, 1882, in the forests near Ou 
Tchay(Woo Chav) and in the bushes near Li Kiang, July, 
1884. Franehet remarks that it is conspicuous by its 
spinescent branches in the way of Crataegus pyracantha, and 
further that it is near to Cot. salicifolia, Franch., which seems, 
however, not to be spinescent, at least on the flowering spray. 
“ I received the seed among many others from Abbe Soulie 
(Missions Etrangeres), then at Tsi-Kou, Eastern Thibet, in 
1895. Four plants germinated in 1896. One was given to 
the Jardine Botanique of Montpellier, and is not so good as 
my plant at Les Barres, Loiret. I lost trace of one, probabl y 
given to some botanical garden or amateur. My plants at 
Les Barres made erect shoots for two or three years, then 
took a spreading habit as per the enclosed engraving. They 
are now about four feet high and six feet wide. The first 
flowers appeared, I believe, in 1889. The shrubs had a good 
quantity of seeds in 1900, at the time the Congress de Botan¬ 
ique visited my collections. I find on a note that I dis¬ 
tributed some to some people to make trials of the plant 
(Messrs. Veitch, Chelsea; Max Leichtlin Baden-Baden) in 
1901. 
“ The flowers make for some days a good display, the 
petals being larger and wider than in Crat. pyracantha 
Lelandii. The fruits take their bright colour later on in the 
season, but keep it much better through the winter. In 
1888 or 1889 my young plants suffered a little from the 
frost, but in 1901-1902 were uninjured by 6 deg. Fahr. 
I think the plants ought to receive moderate direction and 
very little pruning.” ' 
In order to represent the whole plant, Mr. Vilmorin kindly 
sent us the block representing the original plant at Les 
Barres, as mentioned in the above communication. • (See 
illustration.) 
One of the oldest and best known species of Cotoneaster in 
gardens is C. microphylla, which has small wedge-shaped 
leaves, densely clothing the numerous branches it makes. 
These have the habit of spreading over the surface of a wall 
to some distance without help, but when attached by means 
of shreds it makes a very beautiful evergreen covering to the 
same, and proves perfectly hardy even where the temperature 
falls considerably below zero. The flowers to the number of 
one or two from each bud are white, and produced during 
May and June. The fruit is more conspicuous than the 
flowers, being round, of a rich red, and containing on^ r one 
stone. It is a native of the Himalayas at high elevations. 
A very distinct variety of this is C. m. "glacialis, better 
known in gardens under the name of C. congesta, and occa¬ 
sionally C. hookeriana. The latter name, however, has been 
applied to various other species. The- leaves of this variety 
are blue-green beneath and the flowers are rose ; the plant 
itself is much dwarfer than the type, more compact, and for 
that reason it is better suited for planting on the rockery to 
cover ledges or large boulders of stone with living greenery. 
For this purpose it is finding its way about in various parts 
of the country. 
C. thymifolia is closely allied to the previous species, but 
the leaves are very much smaller; indeed, the smallest of 
any Cotoneaster coming under our notice. They are longer, 
narrowed to the base, and recall those of a species of Thyme, 
as the name is intended to imply. The flowers are white, 
followed by red globular berries. It is a native of the 
Himalayas, but unfortunately is a little less hardy than 
C. microphylla. Owing to the small size of the leaves, the 
twiggy character of the branches, and dwarf habit it is a 
suitable subject for the rockery. 
C. buxifolia has one to six white flowers in the axils of the 
leaves of small side shoots, followed by bright red fruits 
enclosing two stones. The leaves are obovate or elliptic, 
dark green above and woolly beneath at least in their earlier 
stages, and in size remind one of the common Box; hence the 
name. It is a native of the Himalayas and flowers during 
April and May, while the fruits ripen in September, and are 
very handsome so long as the birds leave them alone. 
C. rotundifolia would come next to buxifolia in general 
course, but seems as yet to be rather a scarce plant, at least 
outside botanic gardens. The flowers to the number of one 
to three in a cluster are white, and appear during May and 
June, being followed by scarlet fruits enclosing two stones. 
The leaves are short, roundly oval and suddenly pointed. 
The plant forms a spreading bush or mass about 2 ft. or 3 ft. 
in height. 
C. horizontalis is of more recent introduction from the 
Himalayas, and has rosy flowers followed by carmine-scarlet 
fruits enclosing three or four stones. The leaves are roundly 
oval with a hard tip, and though offering no special feature 
other than several of those just mentioned, in the autumn 
they assume bright red and rose hues, vieing with the colour 
of the fruits. lor this reason it is one of the finest acquisi¬ 
tions in the genus made during the last decade or two. Not 
only is the plant ornamental owing to the enormous numbers 
oi fruits, but the densely leafy shoots are arranged in flat, 
horizontal, or table-like masses, which give the plant a 
remarkably distinct appearance, making it suitable either 
Coton east£r angusti folia, Franchet. 
for beds on the grass in conspicuous positions by the drive or 
as a rock-work plant pure and simple. 
C. Francheti is one of the recent introductions of Mr. 
\ ilmorin to which we have alluded, and comes from Thibet. 
J he flowers are white tinted with red and appear in June, to 
be followed by pale orange fruits, which ripen in September 
and last almost all the winter. The leaves may be compared 
to those of C. angustifolia, but they are larger, being 
l i in. long and £ in. wide at the broadest part. Undoubtedly 
this is more related to C. angustifolia than any of the others 
above mentioned. 
One of the oldest species, though not the best known in 
various gardens throughout the country, is C. vulgaris, the 
British plant, known only on the Great Orme’s Head, and 
very scarce there. The flowers are white tinted with rose, 
while the shoots and under-side of the roundly oval leaves 
are densely felted with a grey tomentum. The flowers 
appear in May and June, to be followed by bright red, 
globular berries later on. There is also a black fruited 
variety of this species. 
C. Lindleyi is another Himalyan species which has long 
been cultivated in this country under the name of C. Num- 
mularia, owing to a mistake made by Lindley, who thought 
it was the European and Asiatic form so named by Fischer 
