RED ALERT 
BURNING BUSH 
Never has the common name of a plant 
so aptly described it as "Flame Bush" for 
the Calliandra Tweedii now blazing on 
our drive. The masses of scarlet stamenous 
flowers which completely encloak the shrub 
make it indeed a ‘burning bush." 
Introduced from South America over a 
hundred years ago by John Tweedie as 
Inga pulcherrima (''very beautiful''), also a 
name which does not exaggerate, it has 
since been reclassified and renamed Cal- 
liandra (‘beautiful stamens’) Tweedii. 
In addition to its brilliant beauty, Cal- 
liandra Tweedii has many positive qualities 
to recommend it: recurrent flowering over 
the year; growth in sun or shade (shade 
reduces the number of blossoms, but pro- 
duces an open, very ferny habit); progress 
in any soil; a growth habit which does not 
overwhelm its situation but serves to fill 
out the space allotted. (The specimen on 
our drive has taken some fifteen years to 
attain its eight feet—though of course the 
spread has been controlled by passing 
cars!) 
No black and white photo can do justice 
to the hundreds of silky scarlet blossoms 
surmounting the delicate bipinnate foliage 
of clear light green on the specimen or in 
one and five gallon cans ($1.25 and $4.50), 
so we urge you to see it for yourself, and 
be impressed as we are anew each time 
we see the ‘Flame Bush." 
BO-TREE... 
(Continued from front page) 
religiosa does very well for us in the 
coastal areas of southern California where 
it may be classed as a small to medium 
tree of distinctive appearance. the shiny 
green leaves are medium sized, heart- 
shaped with a long, pointed tail, and they 
are so delicately suspended from the 
branches that the slightest breeze causes 
them to shimmer in the manner of the 
Aspen. In our climate the tree is almost, 
but not quite evergreen. Oddly enough, 
foliage is carried all through the winter, 
but in April or May nearly all the old 
leaves fall quite suddenly as though being 
pushed off the tree by the new leaves 
which burst forth in bright golden green 
as the last of the old leaves fall. One of 
the very few specimens in this area may 
Higleeoaus 
Between 1916 and 1918, when England 
was in the shambles and agony of the first 
world war, 2,047,978 people visited Kew 
Gardens in England. Most of these people 
probably were not attracted by scientific 
interest but by their love of beauty, which 
in those dreadful days, was being des- 
troyed in a shocking manner in various 
countries. Today the number of visitors 
to Kew is increasing yearly, surely a heart- 
ening sign in these days of hectic excite- 
ment and amusements. The influence of 
Kew has of course helped to civilize the 
world and has caused, all over the globe, 
two blades of grass to grow where only 
one grew before. It has together with 
other great botanic gardens conferred an 
imperishable boon on mankind. Kew Gar- 
den's men are found all over the world 
aiding nature and turning the jungle and 
desert into orchards, plantations and farms. 
Some one hundred fifty to two hundred 
thousand people visited the Huntington 
Gardens and Library last year. Considering 
the large population of Los Angeles 
County alone, together with the thousands 
of tourists who come to Los Angeles, this 
seems a sad commentary on the taste of 
our people. | believe that men and women 
must come away after a visit there with 
at least as much spiritual uplift and_ in- 
spiration as they would derive from going 
to the races for instance, and | realize too, 
that any danger of this great institution 
having any injurious effect on race track 
attendance is at present, hardly discern- 
ible. 
The Huntington Botanic Gardens are 
famous in all quarters of the world, and 
whenever | encounter those who have 
never been there, and there are too many 
of them, | am not satisfied till | have in- 
duced them to go. They invaribly come 
back wiser men and women for the ex- 
perience and for the living evidence that 
so much beauty exists right at their door. 
be seen on the south side of Sunset near 
Cliffwood Avenue. 
No large plants of Ficus religiosa are 
available locally, but young plants grow 
quite rapidly and offer an interesting and, 
we think, most welcome alternative to the 
Elm, Pepper, Pittosporum bracket. Yes, we 
have some nice plants in five-gallon con- 
tainers at $6. M.E 
