The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 07. Curtis William

ornamental annuals cultivated in our gardens, into which it is not as yet generally introduced, though cultivated by Mr. Miller, in 1759.

      Mr. Miller describes it as a native of Carolina, and the Bahama Islands, Mr. Aiton of the West-Indies; it flowers from June to September.

      It is cultivated in the same manner, and with the same ease as other annuals; three seeds may be set in the ground, about four inches asunder, in the form of a triangle; when the seedlings are sufficiently advanced, a tall stick is to be thrust down in the centre betwixt the three plants, for them to twine around: the warmer and more sheltered the situation, and the richer the soil in which they are placed, the taller the plants will grow; by raising them on a hot bed, you may anticipate their natural time of flowering, and be more certain of obtaining good seed.

      [222]

      Struthiola Erecta. Smooth Struthiola

Class and OrderTetrandria MonogyniaGeneric Character

      Cor. nulla. Cal. tubulosus, ore glandulis 8. Bacca exsucca, polysperma. Linn. Mant. p. 4. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 165.

Specific Character and Synonyms

      STRUTHIOLA erecta glabra. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 164. Ait. Kew. V. 1. p. 165.

      PASSERINA dodecandra. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 513. Amæn. Acad. V. 4. p. 271.

      PASSERINA filiformis. Mill. Dict. ed. 6. 4to.

      PASSERINA. Burm. Afric. t. 47. f. 1.

      N^o222.

      The plant here represented appears to have been first described and figured by Burman, in his Pl. Afric. under the name of Passerina: Linnæus introduced it in the 3d edition of his Sp. Pl. by the title of Passerina dodecandra; discovering afterwards that it had in reality only four stamina, and that the other eight substances, mistaken for such, were so many glandular nectaria, he made in his Mantiss. Plant. a new genus of it, by the name of Struthiola, and assigned it the trivial name of erecta; in the abbreviated generic description given of it by Prof. Murray, an alteration is made in this generic character, and what before was considered as Corolla, is here regarded as Calyx; no reason is assigned for this alteration, and we are at a loss to account for the propriety of it.

      Mr. Miller, who cultivated this plant in 1758, describes it in his dictionary, and observes very justly, that though its branches when young are erect, when loaded with blossoms they incline to a horizontal position; hence the term erecta becomes an improper one, and should be changed for one more expressive.

      This species of Struthiola is a very common shrub in our greenhouses, will grow to the height of five or six feet, and, though not so ornamental as some other plants, has the merit of flowering during most of the year, and often in the depth of winter.

      Is readily increased by cuttings.

      [223]

      Lychnis Coronata. Chinese Lychnis

Class and OrderDecandria PentagyniaGeneric Character

      Cal. 1-phyllus, oblongus, lævis. Petala 5, unguiculata: Limbo sub-bifido. Caps. 5-locularis.

Specific Character and Synonyms

      LYCHNIS coronata glabra, floribus axillaribus terminalibusque solitariis, petalis laciniatis. Thunb. Japon. p. 187. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 435. Ait. Kew. V. 1. p. 117.

      LYCHNIS grandiflora floribus axillaribus terminalibusque folitariis, petalis inæqualiter crenatis. Jacq. Collect. V. 1. p. 149. Icon. V. 1.

      JAPONICE sen sjun ra, vulgo Ganpi. Kempf. Amæn. Exot. Fasc. V. p. 873.

      N^o223.

      The rich and elegant blossoms of this Chinese or Japanese beauty, possess a flatness and stiffness, which gives them an artificial air, to which their colour, which is exactly that of common red lead, may perhaps somewhat contribute; they make their appearance towards the close of the summer, and as many (when the plant is in health and vigour) are produced on the same stem, they continue a considerable time in bloom; its root is perennial, and its stem, which rises to the height of about two feet, herbaceous.

      We remember to have seen this plant in the collection of the late Dr. Fothergill at Upton, about the year 1774, by whom it was first introduced to this country: Kæmpfer, the celebrated Dutch traveller, who saw it growing in Japan, gives a very short description of it in his Amænitates exoticæ, and mentions a variety of it with white flowers: Professor Thunberg, who saw it also in its wild state, as well as in the gardens of that country, confines himself to describing the plant more at large: Professor Jacquin, in his Icones, has given an admirable figure of it.

      Persons here differ in their mode of cultivating this species of Lychnis, some treating it as a stove others as a greenhouse and others as a hardy herbaceous plant; the latter mode is to be preferred, provided care be taken to plant it in a sheltered situation, and to guard it against the inclemency of particular seasons; it is propagated by parting its roots, also by slips, and cuttings, but in this business more than ordinary care is required to be successful.

      [224]

      Phylica Ericoides. Heath-Leav'd Phylica

Class and OrderPentandria MonogyniaGeneric Character

      Perianthium 5-partitum, turbinatum. Petala 0. Squamæ 5, stamina munientes. Caps. tricocca, infera.

Specific Character and Synonyms

      PHYLICA ericoides foliis linearibus verticillatis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 235. Ait. Kew. V. 1. p. 268.

      ALATERNOIDES africana ericæ foliis, floribus albicantibus et muscosis. Comm. Hort. 2. p. 1. t. 1.

      N^o224.

      Mr. Miller, who cultivated this plant in 1731, informs us, that it grows wild about Lisbon, where it covers extensive tracts of ground, in the same manner as the heath does in this country; it seldom rises above the height of three feet, and is much disposed to become bushy; its flowers, which are slightly odoriferous, begin to appear in autumn, and continue during the winter and spring; they grow in little heads on the summits of the branches: their whiteness, contrasted with the dark colour of the foliage, forms a pleasing appearance, and entitles this plant, though a common and long-established inhabitant of the greenhouse, to a place with such as may boast more brilliancy of colour.

      Its leaves, which thickly cover the stalks, do not well accord with Linnæus's specific description.

      It is usually propagated by cuttings, which strike readily.

      [225]

      Lobelia Surinamensis. Shrubby Lobelia

Class and OrderSyngenesia MonogamiaGeneric Character

      Cal. 5-fidus. Cor. 1-petala, irregularis. Caps. infera, 2 sive 3-locularis.

Specific Character and Synonyms

      LOBELIA surinamensis caule suffruticoso, foliis oblongis glabris serratis, floribus axillaribus pedunculatis. Ait. Kew. V. 3. p. 498. Sp. Pl. 1320.

      LOBELIA lævigata foliis ellipticis serratis glabris, capsulis grossis globosis, calycibus subulatis, corollis glaberrimis. Linn. Suppl. p. 392.

      N^o225.

      The Lobelia surinamensis, a plant newly introduced here, is minutely described in the Suppl. Pl. of the younger Linnæus, under the name of lævigata, apparently from the smoothness of its flowers: in the year 1786, Mr. Alexander Anderson sent this plant to the Royal Garden at Kew,