CAMPANULA VIDALII. 
33 
CAMPANULA VILALII. 
HE accompanying figure of this very fine Bell-flower of the Azores, is made 
from a plant which bloomed last August, in the nursery of Messrs. Osborn 
and Son, of Fulham. The species was originally found by Captain Vidal, 
after whom it is named, on an insulated rock on the east coast of Flores one 
of the Azorean group of Islands, and specimens were presented by him to 
H. C. Watson, Esq. Subsequently it has been communicated by T. Hunt, Esq., 
Her Majesty’s Consul at the Azores. Living plants appear to have been first 
obtained by Messrs. Osborn, from seeds sent to England by Mr. Wallace, and 
our figure is made from one of them. Last year, however, our coadjutor, Mr. 
Ayres, obtained seeds from the same source; and a further supply, recently re¬ 
ceived, will place the Campanula Vidalii (first described and named by Watson 
in Hooker’s leones Plantarum, vii., t., 684) within reach of cultivators generally. 
The habit of the plant is sub-shrubby, with thickened branching stems. These grow up 
at first from four to six inches high, and retain foliage only at the top, in a semi-rosette 
fashion. Near the top is produced a series of branches (in our plants raised last spring, from four to 
seven in number), which also grow to the length of four or five inches, and then terminate in a tuft of 
leaves. From the centre of these shoot out the flower stems, which grow about two feet high, and bear, 
towards the end, their nodding, bell-shaped flowers, which are either disposed in a raceme, or in plants 
of greater vigour, in a somewhat paniculate manner below. The leaves are smooth, shining, spathulate- 
oblong, with crenated margins, very thick, between leathery and fleshy in texture; those scattered on 
the flowering stems being smaller, narrower, and less crenated. The flowers are white, and have the 
remarkable contracted form shown in the figure. The plant sketched in the background of the accom¬ 
panying plate is one of the smaller examples selected from the seedlings of last spring. The largest 
plants from the same sowing are about a foot high, each with six or seven branches. The indication 
of paniculate inflorescence is taken from a native specimen. It is a very ornamental plant, and, 
unlike many maritime species, perfectly cultivable. It, however, requires protection from frost.—M. 
Contrary to expectation, this Campanula proves to be of easy cultivation, and a very free-blooming 
and graceful plant; so much so that being quite shrubby in habit, it must become exceedingly useful 
for the flower-garden, and also for the greenhouse stage. In cultivation, the best time to sow it will 
be in February, using a light porous soil, and placing the pot in a temperature of from fifty to sixty 
degrees; water slightly, and the young plants will make their appearance in about a fortnight. When 
of sufficient size prick them off, either singly into small, or five or six into a larger pot, and place 
them in a frame with a little warmth, so that they can be properly nursed until they are thoroughly 
established. Through the summer they may be grown in a cold frame or in the open air, in a shel¬ 
tered corner, supplying them plentifully with water, and shifting them into large pots as they require 
it. By vigorous growth, two or three sets of branches may be produced the first season, and each 
will produce a spike of flowers. 
For growing specimen plants, a very suitable soil may be formed of turfy loam, leaf mould, and 
turfy peat in equal proportions, liberally intermixed with gritty stones and coarse sand. The pots 
must be thoroughly drained, and care must be taken that the plants are plentifully supplied with 
water whenever they require it. 
For the use of the flower-garden, plants grown in three or four-inch pots will be sufficiently large; 
and, in planting out, one plant may be allowed to every square foot of border. Fresh plants will 
require to be raised every season, but whether from seed or by cuttings remains to be proved. The 
plant, however, is strictly a perennial, and hence will not, when raised from seed, flower until the 
second year. For bedding purposes we fancy this is likely to become an excellent plant. There can 
be no question but it will form an exceedingly interesting group.—A. 
