November 25, 1905. 
THE QARDENHSO WORLD . 
905 
T HTS singularyet exquisite evergreen green¬ 
house plant was introduced from the 
Cape of Good Hope in the year 1803, under the 
name of Witsenia corymbosa. It is of a sym¬ 
metrical, branching, upright habit, but rarely 
attaining a size of more than 3ft. high by as 
much in diameter. 
On account of its slow growing propensities 
well-established plants may be kept in good 
health for many years without repotting. The 
leaves are sword shaped, from among vyhich 
spring numerous corymbs of pale blue dowers, 
produced over a long season in the advanced 
summer and autumn. 
To succeed with this plant it is necessary 
that it should be potted in a compost of good 
fibrous peat, a little loam, if of good quality, 
sand, and a few nodules of charcoal. The ut- 
Aristea CORYMBOSA. 
BEAUTIFUL 
GREENHOUSE PLANT. 
most care should at all times be exercised in 
respect to watering, as few plants are more 
susceptible to injury from the soil becoming 
soddened than the subject of this brief note. 
Propagation may be effected from the small 
branchlets which it produces in quantity. 
These should be taken off any time during the 
autumn and inserted in a compost of fine 
peat and sand, afterwards placing a bell-glass 
over them, and removing to warn greenhouse 
with a temperature of about 50 deg. After 
the cuttings have become callused, subjecting 
them to a gentle bottom heat will greatly 
facilitate the formation of roots. When 
sufficiently rooted the young plants should be 
potted off into small size pots and grown on 
during the summer under the most genial 
atmospheric conditions. At the approach of 
autumn more air may be afforded them, ulti¬ 
mately wintering them in a temperature of 
about 45 deg. A further shift into 3-inch 
pots will be required the following spring, 
and the point of the leading growth should 
be pinched out, the effects of which will in¬ 
duce the shoots which have formed at the base 
to move, and thus the foundation of a good 
well-balanced plant will be secured. 
F. G. T. 
W HEN strange plants are brought before 
our notice, I think it is always interest¬ 
ing to find out the meaning of their names. 
Having referred to the name Exacum, I find it 
is a name used by Pliny, and is derived from 
ex, meaning out, and ago, to drive. One might 
imagine from this name, “ to drive out,” that 
(there would be something repulsive or forbid¬ 
ding about this plant; such, however, is not 
the case, for a flowering plant of any species 
of Exacum would appeal to the lover of flowers 
as being beautiful, and is.therefore attractive 
rather than repulsive. I am afraid I have 
been misled in this translation, for “ to drive 
out ” really alludes to its supposed powers of 
expelling poison. 
There are only a few members of this genus 
in cultivation, the best known being : Exacum 
affine, a sweet-scented biennial ; E. macran- 
thum, a large flowering specie®, also a bien¬ 
nial and requiring stove treatment; E. zey- 
lanicum, of which E. macranthum is now said 
to be a form ; and Forbesii, an illustration of 
which appeared in the R.H.S. Journal for 
September, 1902. 
Now, Exacums are not easy plants to cul¬ 
tivate, and this may account for the fact that 
they are so seldom grown. Forbesii is com- 
EXACU/AS. Wv- 
CULTURAL 
NOTES 
paratively a new plant, being introduced from 
the Island of Socotra. It is an evergreen 
species flowering at mid-winter. Unlike the 
other kinds mentioned, it is a perennial. Its 
height is a little more than a foot, and is 
similar to E. affine in habit. The violet-blue 
flowers are freely produced, but they fail to 
produce seed, so that propagation must be 
carried on vegetatively. Although this is 
such a pretty species, and deservedly received 
an Award of Merit from the R.H.S. in 1902, 
yet it has not met with public favour. Any- 
• on© intending to grow E. Forbesii should 
obtain plants in the autumn, and place them 
in an intermediate house. Too much atten¬ 
tion cannot be paid to the watering, and on 
bright days a light syringe overhead before the 
flowers appear is beneficial. 
Exacurii macranthum has been in cultiva¬ 
tion many years, and to* * some people it is a 
great favourite. It must be given stove treat¬ 
ment, and, since it is a biennial, seed must be 
sown periodically. The flowers are very large 
for the genus, more than 2in. across, the 
colour being blue of a purple shade. In the 
centre of each flower is a cluster of bright 
yellow anthers, and a long, protruding style. 
It is essential to sow the seed in a very 
hot house, even in a close propagating pit. 
In the seedling stage it must be very care¬ 
fully looked after, and will still require to be 
kept in a hot situation. 
E. zeylanicum is from Ceylon ; the flowers 
are more of a violet colour, and a well-grown 
plant would be from lgft. to 2ft. in height. 
The most suitable soil for all Exacums is an 
equal mixture of peat and turfy loam. They 
prefer shade at all periods of growth, also a 
uniform temperature, for few plants are so 
easily checked by a rise or fall in temperature. 
At first sight the Exacum might be mistaken 
for a solanaceous plant, but it really belongs 
to the Natural Order Gentianaceae. A some¬ 
what peculiar phenomenon is to be seen 
in the genus Exacum in its long style, 
for this long and protruding style, which 
projects beyond tire anthers, is curved either 
to the right or to the left, each curve to be 
found on the same plant. 
Herbert Cowley. 
T HE Abutilon is a plant that is very sel¬ 
dom seen now in amateurs’ gax'dens or 
greenhouses, and yet it ought to be seen every¬ 
where quite as much, or even more, than the 
Fuchsia, for it will flower for fifteen months 
at a stretch, and give lovely foliage into the 
bargain. In so many cold greenhouses where 
little else will be green in winter a few plants 
in different colours of Abutilon worrld be a 
most valuable addition. 
Planted out in the border and trained over 
back wall and across the roof is the ideal 
position for one or more plants. Where space 
is available, three plants in white, golden 
yellow, and pinky terra-cotta look beautiful, 
and if the lower part gets bare, which will not 
happen if properly pruned, one of the foliage 
varieties, either golden or silver variegated, 
being much dwarfer, may be planted, and 
will quite hide all ugliness, and give beauti¬ 
fully-mottled foliage for all decorative pur¬ 
poses. 
Pot plants may be grown from tiny cut¬ 
tings put in in succession, and they will 
flower quite young and in small pets, but 
should be well fed when pot-bound to yield 
best results, and well pinched into shape. 
Bedding.—For outdoor work the Abutilon 
has much to recommend it, and plants that 
are growing too big for their positions indoors 
ABUTiLONS. V 
FOR GARDEN AND 
GREENHOUSE. 
may be turned out, and will sooir form huge 
bushes one mass of flowers ; but the best 
effect is to 1 grow some as dwarf standards, 
dotting them thinly over a carpeting of some 
contrasting flower, such as Violas, Lobelias, 
Petunias, or Heliotrope. An ideal effect is 
with white Abutilons, with ground work of 
Ivy-leaved Pelargonium Mine. Crousse, well 
pegged out, and finished off with a thick 
bordering of Ageratum. The golden-foliaged 
variety may be grown similarly over a ground¬ 
work of Plumbago capensis, edged with white 
Violas. 
Forms. —Abutilons may be trained into 
many shapes—standards, pyramids, fans, or 
balloons—and look very graceful grown over- 
low arches. 
Cuttings may be inserted outdoors any time 
from June to August around the parent plants, 
and lifted when the beds are being cleared, 
or they may be put round the sides of a 48- 
sized pots in some shady, spot. ' Under glass 
they can be rooted from early spring until 
late autumn, in similar manner to the 
Fuchsia. The points of young shoots (fairly, 
but not too hard) are, perhaps, best, but 
almost any part will root if taken below a 
joint, or with a heel of older wood. 
Soil .—-Good garden soil will grow them 
quite well enough for bedding or ordinary- 
work, but where special results are desired 
the following is their especially favourite com¬ 
post : Loam, leaf mould, and plenty of grit, 
sand, etc., together with a little sweet cow 
manure. 
Potting —-When plotting allow ample 
drainage and fair-sized pots. The plants 
soon fill the pots with roots, and, unless a 
large specimen is required, ample attention 
must be paid to watering, -both with clear 
and liquid manure, at the roots, and frequent 
overhead syringings will be required during 
summer. About once a week or less (accord¬ 
ing to the warmth of the house and general 
conditions) in winter will suffice. Insect 
pests are not usually troublesome on any well- 
grown plants, but a look-out should be kept 
for aphis (green fly), for which fumigate and 
syringe. For brown scale sponge all leaves 
and stems frequently with soft soap and 
water, and then syringe. Caterpillars are 
very tiresome sometimes when planted out, 
and hand-picking is best resorted to in this 
