The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 07 / Or, Flower-Garden Displayed

THE

Botanical Magazine;

OR,

Flower-Garden Displayed:

IN WHICH

The most Ornamental Foreign Plants, cultivated in the Open Ground, the Green-House, and the Stove, are accurately represented in their natural Colours.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED,

Their Names, Class, Order, Generic and Specific Characters, according to the celebrated Linnæus; their Places of Growth, and Times of Flowering:

TOGETHER WITH

THE MOST APPROVED METHODS OF CULTURE.

A WORK

Intended for the Use of such Ladies, Gentlemen, and Gardeners, as wish to become scientifically acquainted with the Plants they cultivate.

By WILLIAM CURTIS,

Author of the Flora Londinensis.

VOL. VII.

LONDON:
PRINTED BY STEPHEN COUCHMAN,
For W. CURTIS, N^o 3, St. George's-Crescent, Black-Friars-Road;
And Sold by the principal Booksellers in Great-Britain and Ireland.
MDCCXCIV.

CONTENTS

[217]

Buchnera Viscosa. Clammy Buchnera.

Class and Order.

Didynamia Angiospermia.

Generic Character.

Cal. obsolete 5-dentatus. Corollæ limbus 5-fidus, æqualis: lobis cordatis. Caps. 2-locularis.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

BUCHNERA viscosa foliis lineari-lanceolatis laxe dentatis subglutinosis, floribus pedunculatis, caule fruticoso. L' Herit. Strip. nov. tom. 2. tab. 34. Ait. Kew. V. 2. p. 357.

N^o217.
[View larger image]

Buchnera is a genus of plants established by Linnæus in honour of A. E. Buchner, a German naturalist.

Of this genus, nine species are enumerated in the 14th edition of the Systema Vegetabilium, by Professor Murray.

We learn from Mr. Aiton, that the present species (a native of the Cape) was introduced to the royal garden at Kew in 1774.

It cannot boast much beauty, yet as it occupies but little room, grows readily from cuttings, and flowers during most of the summer: it obtains a place in most greenhouses.

[218]

Disandra Prostrata. Trailing Disandra.

Class and Order.

Heptandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Cal. sub 7-partitus. Cor. rotata, subseptem-partita. Caps. 2-locularis, polysperma.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

DISANDRA prostrata. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. Suppl. Pl. p. 32. 214. Ait. Kew, V. 1. p. 493.

SIBTHORPIA peregrina. Linn. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 880.

N^o218.
[View larger image]

The foliage of this plant greatly resembles that of Ground Ivy, and its branches trail on the ground somewhat in the same manner, extending to the length of several feet; but it is not on the ground that it is best seen, as its flowers are apt to be hid among the leaves: it appears most advantageously when growing in a pot, placed on a pedestal, or in some elevated situation, where its branches may hang carelessly down: thus treated, when fully blown, it becomes a most pleasing object.

Linnæus, the son, in his Suppl. Plant. observes, that the Disandra varies extremely in the number of its stamina, as it does also in the divisions of its calyx, and corolla; in this respect;, indeed, we do not know its equal: fortunately for those systems of Botany, which are formed from the number of certain parts of the fructification, few such inconstants exist.

Professor Murray observes, that seven is the most prevalent number of its stamina, five the most natural.

Linnæus describes it as a native of the East; Mr. Aiton informs us, that it was introduced here about the year 1771, from Madeira.

It flowers during most of the summer months; in the winter it must be kept in the green-house; in the summer it will bear the open air, grows readily from cuttings, should be planted in rich earth, and plentifully watered in dry weather.

[219]

Michauxia Campanuloides. Rough-Leav'd Michauxia.

Class and Order.

Octandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Cal. 16-partitus. Cor. rotata, 8-partita. Nectarium 8-valve, staminiferum. Caps. 8-locularis, polysperma. L' Heritier Monogr.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

MICHAUXIA campanuloides. L' Heritier Monogr.

N^o219.
[View larger image]

The celebrated author of the Hortus Kewensis informs us, that the plant here figured is a native of the Levant, and was introduced to this country in the year 1787, by Mons. L'Heritier, who first gave it the name of Michauxia, and wrote a Monographia, or particular treatise on it.

We have before observed, that when a plant has been named in honour of any particular person, that name must be retained in all countries, however uncouth its pronunciation may be, and there are few of our readers but what will think the present name sufficiently so.

Last summer 1792, in the month of July, we had the pleasure to see a fine plant of this sort, fully blown, in the collection of Messrs. Grimwood and Co. Kensington; though in a small pot, it grew nearly to the height of six feet, was branched almost to the bottom, and loaded with a profusion of blossoms, such as are represented on the plate, and which bore some distant resemblance to those of a passion-flower.

It is a biennial green-house plant, and, of course, only to be raised from seeds, which we are sorry to find have not ripened in this country, though they are said to do so in France.

[220]

Erica Cerinthoides. Honeywort-Flower'd Heath.

Class and Order.

Octandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Cal. 4-phyllus. Cor. 4-fida. Filamenta receptaculo inferta. Antheræ bifidæ. Caps. 4-locularis.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

ERICA cerinthoides antheris muticis inclusis, corollis clavatis grossis, stigmate incluso cruciato, foliis quaternis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 368. Ait. Kew. V. 2. p. 22.

N^o220.
[View larger image]

The Erica cerinthoides is one of the most magnificent and shewy of the genus, grows wild at the Cape, from whence it was introduced to the royal garden at Kew, by Mr. Masson, in 1774; it is the more valuable, as it flowers during most of the year: its blossoms are found to vary from a deep to a very pale red. It is a hardy green-house plant, and usually propagated by cuttings.

To have this beautiful tribe of plants in perfection, they must be kept in pots proportioned to their size, filled with that kind of bog earth in which our British heaths grow spontaneously, finely sifted; to which it may be necessary sometimes to add a third part of the mould of rotten leaves, or choice loam, partaking more of a clayey than a sandy nature: we must be careful not to let them suffer for want of water in dry hot weather, as such an omission, even for one day, may be fatal; and to give them as much air as possible at all times when the weather is mild.

[221]

Ipomœa Coccinea. Scarlet Ipomœa.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Cor. infundibuliformis, Stigma capitato-globosum, Caps. 3-locularis.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

IPOMŒA coccinea foliis cordatis acuminatis basi angulatis, pedunculis multifloris. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 204. Ait. Kew. V. 1. p. 215.

CONVOLVULUS coccineus, folio anguloso, Plum. Amer. 89. t. 103.

QUAMOLCIT americana, folio hederæ, flore coccineo. Comm. rar. 21. t. 21.

N^o221.
[View larger image]

The Ipomœa is very nearly related to the Convolvulus, one principal difference consists in the different form of its stigma, which is globular, like that of the Primrose; whereas in the Convolvulus it is divided into two substances, as is obviously shewn in the Convolvulus arvensis and sepium, but all the plants of these two genera have not this character marked with equal strength.

The present species is a twining plant, will run up a stick to the height of six, eight, or ten feet, and produce an abundance of flowers, of a rich orange colour tending to scarlet, which renders it one of the most 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 Order.

Tetrandria Monogynia.

Generic 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.
[View larger image]

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 Order.

Decandria Pentagynia.

Generic 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.
[View larger image]

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 Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic 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.
[View larger image]

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 Order.

Syngenesia Monogamia.

Generic 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.
[View larger image]

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, from the West-Indies, where it grows spontaneously, as well as at Surinam; and Mr. Aiton has inserted it at the end of the Hort. Kew. assigning to it a new specific description, and a new trivial name: our drawing was made from a plant which flowered in the stove of Messrs. Grimwood and Co. Kensington, to whom it was imparted by Richard Molesworth, Esq. of Peckham, a gentleman liberal in his communications, and anxious to promote the cause of Botany.

This species of Lobelia is a stove plant, having a some-*what shrubby stalk, growing to the height of several feet; its blossoms are very large, of a pale red colour, and its Antheræ, which might be mistaken for the stigma, unusually hairy.

It begins to flower in January and February, and continues to blossom during most of the summer.

Is increased by cuttings.

[226]

Arabis Alpina. Alpine Wall-Cress.

Class and Order.

Tetradynamia Siliquosa.

Generic Character.

Glandulæ nectariferæ 4, singulæ intra calycis foliola, squamæ instar reflexæ.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

ARABIS alpina foliis amplexicaulibus dentatis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 599. Ait. Kew. Vol. 2. p. 399. Mill. Dict. ed. 6. 4to.

DRABA alba siliquosa repens. Bauh. Pin. p. 109.

N^o226.
[View larger image]

An early-blowing plant, if it has no great pretensions to beauty, brings with it a powerful recommendation, more especially if its flowers are not of the more common hue; such are the claims which the present plant has to a place in this work: it is perennial, hardy, herbaceous, of low growth, rarely exceeding a foot in height, producing its white blossoms in April and May: its size renders it a suitable plant for the border of a small garden, or for the covering of rock-work.

It is readily increased by parting its roots in autumn.

Grows spontaneously on the Alps of Switzerland, Austria, and Lapland, and was cultivated (vid. Hort. Kew) in the Botanic Garden at Oxford, in 1658.

[227]

Helianthus Multiflorus. Many-Flowered or Perennial Sun-Flower.

Class and Order.

Syngenesia Polygamia Frustranea.

Generic Character.

Recept. paleaceum, planum. Pappus 2-phyllus. Cal. imbricatus, subsquarrosus.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

HELIANTHUS multiflorus foliis inferioribus cordatis trinervatis superioribus ovatis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 781.

CHRYSANTHEMUM americanum majus perenne, floris folis foliis et floribus. Moris. Hist. 3. p. 23.

N^o227.
[View larger image]

The Helianthus multiflorus, a native of North-America, is a hardy perennial herbaceous plant, arising usually to the height of five or six feet, and producing a great number of large yellow shewy blossoms, which renders it a suitable plant to ornament the shrubbery or garden of large extent; the variety with double flowers is the one most commonly cultivated, and this we find in almost every garden: it flowers from July to September, and is propagated by parting its roots in autumn.

This is a hardy plant, of ready growth, will bear the smoke of London better than many others; if it continues in the same spot for a great number of years, the blossoms are apt to become single.

The single sort, according to Morison, was introduced before 1699 by Lord Lemster. Ait. Kew.

[228]

Bellis Perennis var. Major Flore Pleno. Great Double Daisy.

Class and Order.

Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua.

Generic Character.

Recept. nudum, conicum. Pappus nullus. Cal. hemisphæricus: squamis æqualibus. Sem. subovata.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

BELLIS perennis scapo nudo. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 770.

BELLIS hortensis flore pleno. Bauh. Pin. p. 261.

BELLIS minor hortensis flore pleno. Double Garden Daisy. Park. Parad. p. 322.

N^o228.
[View larger image]

The daisy, a plant common to Europe, in its wild state delights in open situations, which are moderately moist, its root is perennial, and increases greatly; the usual colour of its flowers is white, the florets are sometimes tipt with red, but more frequently red on the under side.

When double, the daisy becomes much more ornamental, and in this state many varieties of it have long been cultivated, very generally in gardens; those principally found in our nurseries are

The large double daisy with florets of a deep red colour on the under side, figured on the plate; the flowers of this sort will sometimes expand nearly to the size of a half-crown piece, and are the most shewy of any that we have seen; the foliage of this sort is also proportionably larger.

The pale red double daisy, more delicate in its appearance, but smaller, varying in its shades of colour.

The pure white double daisy.

The deep red double daisy; in this the petals are usually tubular or quilled.

Besides these, there are

The coxcomb double daisy, both red and white, in which the flowering stem rises up preternaturally flattened, and carries on its summit a long-extended ridge of flowers, frequently of an enormous size; this monstrous production seems to arise from the coalescence of two or more flowering stems: and as it is of accidental origin, so we find that a daisy which has been a coxcomb one year, shall lose that appearance entirely the next, and out of a long edging of daisies growing luxuriantly, new ones shall here and there arise; we cannot therefore depend upon the constancy of this variety.

Another singular variety is the proliferous or hen and chicken daisy, in which a number of flowers standing on short footstalks spring circularly out of the main flower; as this appearance for the most part arises from great luxuriance[A], this sort of daisy is also found occasionally to lose its prolific character: in my garden at Lambeth-Marsh, I once had a daisy growing in an edging among a number of others, which not only became proliferous, or of the hen and chicken kind, but its stalk also, or scapus, became branched, producing six or seven flowering-stems, with flowers at their extremities of the size of the common daisy; thus we find that the most permanent characters of plants are liable to be altered, and even destroyed, by accident, or culture.

Daisies appear to most advantage planted as an edging to a border, not that they are superior, or even equal to box for the great purposes of an edging; but in the spring of the year they enliven the border more, and add much to the general gaiety of the garden: in the formation of these, we shall give our readers some practical instructions, which will enable them to succeed much better than by following the mode commonly practised.

The last week in September, or the first in October, take up your daisy roots, and divide them into single plants; your border being dug, put down your line, and make a shallow trench along it as for the planting of box; in this trench place your plants three inches apart, spreading out their fibres in the trench, and pressing the earth closely round them; in this way they will soon become rooted, and firmly fixed in the ground before the approach of frost; should this business be deferred later, as it frequently is, and the daisies be planted with a dibber in the usual way, in all probability the worms will draw out every plant before spring, especially if the earth has been rendered loose by repeated frosts.

Edgings of this kind require to be replanted in the same way every autumn, as the plants, if they grow well, spread too wide; if the summer prove dry, many of the roots fail, and if they remain undisturbed in the same spot, they will degenerate and become single, notwithstanding Mr. Miller informs us, that he never observed them to do so.

[229]

Primula Acaulis Fl. Pleno Carneo. Double Lilac Primrose.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Involucr. umbellulæ. Corollæ tubus cylindricus ore patulo.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

PRIMULA acaulis foliis rugosis dentatis, subtus hirsutis; scapis unifloris. Jacq. Misc. Austr. p. 158. Curt. Flor. Lond. Fasc. 6.

N^o229.
[View larger image]

The Primrose in its wild single state is frequently introduced into shrubberies and plantations, for the purpose of enlivening them in the spring months; in its double state it has been deemed peculiarly worthy of cultivation by the curious in flowers. Of the double yellow Primrose, which seems to have been the first known, we meet with a figure in the Hort. Eyst. and in the Parad. Terrestr. of Parkinson, since those publications many new and perfectly double varieties have been introduced, as

The double white, rarely met with.

The double deep red or velvet, the blossoms of this will sometimes come single.

The double pink or lilac, here figured, a plant much admired.

The double crimson, a new variety, which, in brilliancy of colour, far surpasses all the others.

The red, commonly called the Scotch Primrose, less ornamental than any of the preceding: besides these, we have observed a variety with blossoms of a dingy yellow inclining to red, not worth cultivating.

These several varieties of Primrose are admirably adapted to the decoration of the shrubbery, plantations, or even the north side of rock-work; they delight to grow in a stiff loam, a moist and somewhat shady situation, so planted they thrive admirably, the double succeeding almost as well as the single; every second or third year their roots should be divided, which may be done either in spring or autumn, they may be cultivated also in pots for the convenience of removing them when in blossom.

[230]

Plumbago Rosea. Rose-Coloured Leadwort.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Corolla infundibuliformis: Stamina squamis basin corollæ claudentibus inserta. Stigma 5-fidum. Sem. 1. oblongum tunicatum.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

PLUMBAGO rosea foliis petiolatis ovatis glabris, subdenticulatis caule geniculis gibbosis. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 199. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 215. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 205.

PLUMBAGO zeylanica, folio splendento ocymastri, flore rubro. Burm. Zeyl. 195.

RADIX vesicatoria. Rumph. Amboin. 5. p. 453. t. 168.

N^o230.
[View larger image]

The Plumbago rosea, one of the most ornamental plants which we keep in our stoves, is a native of India, from whence it was introduced to this country by the late Dr. Fothergill, in the year 1777, posterior to the publication of the last edition of Mr. Miller's Dictionary.

It is a shrubby plant, which frequently grows to the height of four or five feet, and is perpetually putting forth flowering spikes; these continue a long while in blossom, and hence, with proper management, it may be had to flower during most of the year, a very desirable circumstance in a plant of such singular beauty.

The usual mode of increasing it is by cuttings, which strike freely.

Its parts of fructification, whether we regard their colour or structure, are highly deserving of notice.

[231]

Fumaria Solida. Solid-Rooted Fumitory.

Class and Order.

Diadelphia Pentandria.

Generic Character.

Cal. diphyllus. Cor. ringens. Filam. 2 membranacea, singula Antheris 3.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

FUMARIA solida, caule simplici, bracteis brevioribus multifidis, radice solida. Mill. Dict. ed. 6. 4to.

FUMARIA bulbosa, caule simplici, bracteis longitudine florum. Linn. Syst. Vegetab. ed. 14. Murr. p. 636. Sp. Pl. ed. 3. p. 983. Ait. Kew. v. 3. p. 1.

FUMARIA bulbosa radice non cava major. Bauh. Pin. p. 144. Small hollow roote. Park Parad. p. 275. 279. f. 2.

N^o231.
[View larger image]

By the old Botanists this species of Fumaria, whose root is constantly solid, was considered as a distinct species from another similar to it of larger growth, whose root is as constantly hollow, and which will be figured in the next number of this work; Caspar Bauhine in particular, in his Pinax, describes the characters in which they differ: Linnæus nevertheless makes them varieties of each other, uniting them under the name of bulbosa; from this union we have taken the liberty to dissent, choosing rather to follow Miller, who regards them as distinct, and the Botanists preceding him.

The Fumaria solida, a very old inhabitant of our gardens, is a plant of very humble growth, rarely exceeding three or four inches in height, and producing its spike of purple flowers in April, which continue in blossom about a fortnight.

In point of colour the flowers of this plant are not subject to much variation, we possess a variety of it with blossoms of a much brighter colour than those of the common sort, and which, on that account, is much more worthy of cultivation.

As a spring plant, it deserves a place in the garden; in point of ornament, it is applicable to the same purposes as the Primrose, will grow in almost any soil or situation, requires to be taken up in the autumn, and fresh-planted every two or three years; if suffered to remain in the same spot for a great length of time, it becomes smaller, produces few or no flowers, and is so altered in its appearance, as to look like another species.

[232]

Fumaria Cava. Hollow-Rooted Fumitory.

Class and Order.

Diadelphia Hexandria.

Generic Character.

Cal. diphyllus. Cor. ringens. Filamenta 2 membranacea singula Antheris 3.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

FUMARIA cava, caule simplici, bracteis longitudine florum integris, radice cava.

FUMARIA bulbosa radice cava major. Bauh. Pin. p. 143.

RADIX cava major. Park. Parad. p. 275.

N^o232.
[View larger image]

The hollow-rooted Fumitory differs from the solida, already figured, and that constantly, in a variety of particulars; its root is always, as far as we have observed, hollow, appearing sometimes, as Parkinson informs us, "like a shell, every part of which when broken will grow;" frequently acquiring a very great size; the plant itself usually grows to twice the height of the solida, bearing foliage and flowers proportionably large; its bracteæ or floral leaves, which in the solida assume a kind of finger'd appearance from the manner in which they are divided, in this are entire or but slightly indented; it flowers also about three weeks earlier.

Of the Fumaria cava there are three principal varieties in point of colour, viz. the white, the blush-coloured, and the purple, which, though plentiful in our gardens formerly, are now rarely met with; Mr. Chappelow informs me, that he found them all this spring, in an old plantation at Teddington, where they produced the most pleasing effect.

It begins to flower in March and continues in bloom three weeks or a month, rarely produces any seed, so that it is to be propagated only by dividing its roots; it is a hardy herbaceous plant, a native of Germany, and will grow in almost any soil provided it be planted in a shady situation.

[233]

Chironia Baccifera. Berry-Bearing Chironia.

Class and Order.

Pentandria Monogynia.

Generic Character.

Cor. rotata. Pistillum declinatum. Stamina tubo corollæ infidentia. Antheræ demum spirales. Peric. 2-loculare.

Specific Character and Synonyms.

CHIRONIA baccifera frutescens baccifera. Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14. Murr. p. 229. Ait. Kew. v. 1. p. 258.

CENTAURIUM minus arborescens pulpiferum. Comm. rar. 9. t. 9.

CENTAURIUM minus africanum arborescens angustifolium. Old. afr. 26.

N^o233.
[View larger image]

The Chironia baccifera, a native of Africa, is a plant not unfrequent in our greenhouses; its flowers are curious in their structure, of a lively hue, and suceeded by round seed-vessels, which, when ripe, have the appearance of red berries, whence its name of baccata; if we carefully examine these seed-vessels, we shall find that they are not properly berries, for on cutting them transversly, they are found to be hollow and to be divided into two cells (vid. Pl.) in which are contained small black seeds, whose surface is beautifully reticulated with impressed dots; the sides of the seed-vessel are fleshy, and do not appear to divide or split in any regular manner for the discharge of the seed; they must however be regarded rather as capsules than berries: in the genus Hypericum, the seed-vessels are found to vary in a somewhat similar manner; in this part of the fructification there is not, therefore, that deviation which has been supposed, but there is a very great one in the antheræ, which do not ultimately become spiral.

This plant, which grows to the height of a foot and a half or two feet, becomes very bushy, rather too much so in point of ornament, and produces both flowers, and fruit, during most of the summer.