PLATE 19. 
STYRAX OBASSIA. 
Outside botanic gardens and the chemists’ shops, the genus Styrax 
is practically unknown. It contains, nevertheless, about 60 species of 
trees or shrubs having deciduous leaves and more or less drooping clusters 
of white flowers, with golden stamens in the centre. 
Styrax Obassia—the species represented in the coloured plate—is 
a native of the mountains of Japan and Corea. It has been known to 
science for many years, and although importations have been made from 
time to time, it is still far from being well-known even in large 
gardens. The leaves are roundish and rather coarsely toothed, and 
often measure as much as 10 inches across. The stalks are remarkable 
for having a sheath or cup at the base by means of which the buds for 
the following year are protected or covered over, much in the same way 
as those on the Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and the Plane 
Tree (Platanus). 
Other species of Styrax occasionally met with are S. americanum, 
S. californicum, S. grandiflorum, and S. pulverulentum—all natives of the 
United States. To these may be added S. officinale, which yields the Storax 
of commerce and is a native of the Levant ; and S. serrulatum, a beautiful 
tree which grows about 40 feet high in its native state, extending from 
India to Japan. 
All the species will grow fairly well in warm sheltered situations in 
our climate if planted in a somewhat light soil that has been well-manured 
and is naturally inclined to be moist, but not water-logged in character. 
When in blossom, as may be seen from the plate, they are ornamental 
in appearance, and are well worth the attention bestowed upon them. 
The Pink=flowered Forget = Me = Not. —At 
a recent meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society, visitors were much surprised to see 
fine compact bushy specimens of a Forget-me- 
not, which was remarkable for having flowers 
not of the blue colour usually associated with 
this popular plant, but of a delicately soft 
fleshy pink shade. When a certain colour 
becomes associated with a certain plant, one 
has perhaps a prejudice against the appearance 
of a totally distinct colour. This, however, 
can hardly be the case with the pink Forget- 
me-not, shown by Messrs. Sutton & Sons, of 
Reading, under the name of “ Sutton's Gem.” 
Judging from its habit and freedom of blossom, 
this pink-flowered variety ought to become 
popular for spring bedding. 
Another very fine Forget-me-not shown by 
the same firm was Sutton’s Royal Blue. There 
is nothing pink about the flowers of this, the 
blossoms being, as the name indicates, of a 
beautiful bright and yet intense blue colour. 
Arachnanthe annamensis. —This is a new 
species introduced from Annam two or three 
years ago by Messrs. Sander & Sons, St. 
Albans, through their collector, Micholitz. It 
has been flowered successfully this year and 
last year also by Mr. F. W. Moore in the 
Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin. Mr. Moore 
recently sent a spike of flowers to the R.H.S. 
containing half-a-dozen flowers, each about five 
inches across from the top of the upper to the 
tips of the lower sepals. The sepals are 
oblong, narrow, becoming broader towards the 
ends, while the petals are curved—the whole 
flower having the appearance of some large 
spider-like insect. The ground colour is bright 
golden-yellow, over which are large conspicuous 
bars and blotches of deep purple-brown. The 
lip, which is small in comparison to the other 
parts of the flower, is whitish inside with 
crimson streaks on the side lobes, the front lobe 
being deep crimson-brown and drawn out into 
a narrow pointed tail-like body. 
