THE GENUS PLUMBAGO. 
121 
THE GENUS PLUMBAGO. 
WITH A FIGURE OF P. LARPENTiE. 
Plumbago, the appellative of a group of pretty free-flowering 
plants, appears to have been bestowed in relation to their sup¬ 
posed or real medicinal qualities. Pliny says it is derived from 
'plumbum, a disorder of the eyes, resembling cataract, which some 
species were supposed to cure. The roots of P. europ&a are 
also esteemed as a remedy for the toothache, and for that pur¬ 
pose are chewed; the juice thus expressed stains the teeth a lead- 
colour, and hence another not inapt derivation. The species of 
Leadworts or Plumbago number about a dozen, three of which 
are of European origin, two from the Cape of Good Hope, three 
from South America, and the remainder from India. All are tree- 
growing and copious-flowering plants, the European species being 
herbaceous perennials, and the others assuming a more arborescent 
form. 
P. capensis , obtained from the Cape in 1818, is perhaps the 
best known of the genus, and is esteemed in the greenhouse for 
its lively, pale blue flowers, which, with a little management in 
pruning and the application of stimuli, may be had in continuous 
succession almost throughout the year. Its strong inclination 
to ascend is the only objection to be urged against its culture in 
pots, but this is reducible to a great extent by timely stopping 
the young branches; and sometimes advantage is judiciously 
taken of this character, in order to furnish the walls of the erec¬ 
tion with an evergreen and almost ever-flowering covering, and 
the plant is then treated as a climber. In such a position it is 
only necessary to place it in light, rich earth, and spread the 
branches in the required direction. 
Nor is its culture in pots at all difficult. Cuttings of partially 
matured wood, of four or five joints’ length, root readily when 
placed in sandy peat, and plunged into a gentle bottom-heat. In 
spring and summer they strike root in a fortnight, and should 
then be potted singly into small pots, and nursed for a few weeks 
in the same temperature they were struck in. As fast as the 
roots are found to fill their space, the plants should be shifted 
