Part 5

The choice collection of the late Lady Amelia Hume, at Wormley-bury, Herts, which before furnished us with the magnificent and unrivalled Pæonia papaveracea, has again produced us this new species of Crotalaria, seeds of which were received by her ladyship, about the year 1807, from the East Indies, under the name of C. pulcherrima, which we have abridged to pulchra, as we can hardly presume to say which species is most beautiful before we have seen the whole genus, which, from the large catalogue of Indian species by Dr. Roxburgh in his unpublished Indian Flora, a copy of which we have seen in the collection of A. B. Lambert, esq. (besides the forty-four species already published by Willdenow) we think is not soon likely to happen.

Crotalaria pulchra is as yet in very few collections in this country, nor have we heard of its blossoming in any other collection. The foreign specimens which we have seen with the Catalogue above mentioned in the same collection have very large spreading bunches of flowers, and there can be no doubt but the plants in this country, when a little stronger, will blossom with equal profusion. The plant is a native of the Mysore country in the East Indies. We received the specimen in the middle of March last.

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PLATE DCII.

GLYCINE COMPTONIANA.

_Comptonian Glycine._

CLASS XVII. ORDER IV.

_DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA._ Two Brotherhoods. Ten Chives.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX bilabiatus. Corollæ carina apice vexillum reflectens.

CUP two-lipped. Keel of the blossom turning back the standard at the end.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

GLYCINE volubilis, foliis ternatis elongato-ovatis utrinque glabris, petiolis partialibus supra pubescentibus, racemis axillaribus multi-floris.

GLYCINE twining; the leaves by threes of a long egg-shape, smooth on both sides; the partial footstalks hairy above; the bunches lateral and many-flowered.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement. 2. The standard. 3. One of the wings. 4. The keel. 5. Chives and pointal. 6. The seed-bud and pointal.

* * * * *

This elegant species is a native of New Holland, and belongs to that division of the genus with many-seeded pods without any partitions. We find in the germen the rudiments of eight kidneyshaped seeds, but the ripe fruit we have not seen. Having found no antecedent description or figure of the plant, we have named it in honour of Lady Northampton, in whose collection at Castle Ashby it flowered last April. But by whom it was introduced we are uncertain.

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PLATE DCIII.

COMMERSONIA DASYPHYLLA.

_Hairy-leaved Commersonia._

CLASS V. ORDER V.

_PENTANDRIA PENTAGYNIA._ Five Chives. Five Pointals.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX monophyllus 5-partitus. Petala 5 linearia basi sublobata, apice inflexa. Nectarium 5-partitum. Filamenta ad basin petalorum, brevissima. Germen subglobosum. Styli erecti. Stigmata capitata. Capsula dura, setosa, 5-locularis, 5-valvis, loculis 2-4-spermis.

EMPALEMENT of one leaf 5-parted. Petals 5, linear, commonly lobed at the base, turned in at the point. Nectary 5-parted. Threads at the base of the petals, very short. Seed-bud nearly round. Styles erect with their summits headed. Capsule hard, bristly, with 5 cells and 5 valves, the cells from 2-to 4-seeded.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

COMMERSONIA foliis elongato-cordatis inæqualiter serratis supra subtusque hirsutis.

COMMERSONIA with long heart-shaped unequally toothed leaves hairy on both sides.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. Empalement, chives and pointals, magnified.

* * * * *

Commersonia dasyphylla is a low branching shrub, a native of New Holland or Van Diemen’s Land, and is remarkable for a powerful odour of cucumbers which it emits when in blossom, and even retains for some time after it is dried. Being a plant which blossoms freely in early spring, and of very easy culture, it well deserves a place in the green-house or conservatory. Only one species of Commersonia has before flowered in England, the C. echinata of our last volume (Plate 519), but which has since been discovered to be a different species from the original C. echinata of Forster; which error we take the present opportunity of correcting, and beg of our readers to erase the name echinata in our 519th plate and description, and substitute platyphylla, with the following specific description:

COMMERSONIA platyphylla, foliis elongato-cordatis dentatis, supra stellato-hispidulis, subtus hirsutis, mollibus.

BROAD-LEAVED Commersonia with toothed leaves of a long heart-shape, a little rough with star-like bristles on the upper side; hairy and soft below.

Another nondescript Commersonia from Van Diemen’s Land is now in our gardens, but has not yet blossomed; and we have seen dried specimens of a fifth species brought from New Holland by the late Governor King, in the collection of A. B. Lambert, esq.

We were favoured with the specimen of C. dasyphylla by Mr. Milne, from Fonthill, last April. The plant is at present in very few collections, and has not, we believe, yet blossomed anywhere else in England.

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PLATE DCIV.

MALPIGHIA POLYSTACHIA.

_Branching Malpighia._

CLASS X. ORDER I. TO III.

_DECANDRIA MONO-DI-TRIGYNIA._ Ten Chives. One to Three Pointals.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX 5-phyllus basi extus poris binis melliferis. Petala 5 subrotunda, unguiculata. Filamenta basi cohærentia. Drupa 1-locularis tripyrena, nucibus monospermis.

CUP 5-leaved with two honey-bearing pores on the outside at the base. Petals five, nearly round with claws. Threads cohering at the base. Berry fleshy of one cell with three large bony seeds.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

MALPIGHIA foliis lanceolato-ovatis integerrimis glabris nitidis, subtus prope basin biglandulosis; racemis axillaribus et terminalibus; pedicellis uniglandulosis; floribus monogynis; stigmate capitato.

MALPIGHIA with lance-ovate, entire smooth shining leaves, with two glands on their underside near the base; bunches both from the sides and tops of the branches; flowerstalks with one gland; style one; stigma headed.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement. 3. The chives spread open. 3. Seed-bud and pointals.

* * * * *

This splendid Malpighia is one of that fine collection of West Indian and American plants (we have before mentioned) made by Lord Seaforth when Governor of Barbadoes, and brought home with him on his return to England. From the catalogue of the collection we learn that the plant is a native of Trinidad, and his Lordship informs us that it was sent to him from that island by Mr. Thompson.

The species ought to be arranged between the M. nitida of Linnæus and M. glandulosa of Cavanilles, from both of which the glands on the leaf and solitary gland on the pedicel easily distinguish it. In the last circumstance, however, it agrees with the M. glandulosa of Jacquin, (see his Icones, tab. 469.) but is totally different both in the flowers and foliage. A. B. Lambert, esq., from whose stove at Boyton we were favoured with the specimen, informs us that it is a shrub of very free growth, throwing out long slender twigs on all sides, and requiring the frequent use of the knife to keep it in due bounds. The bunches of flowers first appeared in November, but did not open until the beginning of April. The leaf-stalks are thinly covered with silky bristles, some of which also appear towards the base of the younger leaves.

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PLATE DCV.

PELIOSANTHES TETA.

_Bengal Peliosanthes, or Teta._

CLASS VI. ORDER I.

_HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Six Chives. One Pointal.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX nullus. Corolla 6-partita, subrotata, laciniis lato-ovatis obtusis. Nectarium corollâ triplò breviore incumbente, ore angustato integro. Stamina sub ore nectarii affixa. Filamenta subnulla. Stylus crassus, brevis, obtusè trigonus, trisulcatus. Stigma sulculus tripartitus in apice styli. Germen inferum, 3-loculare loculis dispermis. Semina (immatura) obovata, erecta, fundo loculamenti affixa. Fructus bacca? subovata, carnosa.

CUP none. Blossom 6-parted, nearly wheel-shaped, the divisions broadly egg-shaped, blunt. Nectary three times shorter than the blossom, leaning inwards, the mouth narrowed and entire. Stamens affixed under the lip of the nectary. Filaments scarcely any. Pointal fleshy, short, bluntly three-sided, with three furrows. Stigma a little three-branched channel on the top of the pointal. Germ below, of three cells which are two-seeded. Seeds (while young) inversely egg-shaped, erect, and affixed to the bottom of the cells. Fruit a berry? nearly oval, fleshy.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. A segment of the flower magnified. 2. Seed-bud and pointal magnified, with the seeds exposed. 3. Seed-bud cut transversely, magnified.

* * * * *

This very curious plant, so distinct from every genus hitherto described, was introduced from the East Indies, at the same time with the Gærtnera figured in our last number, by the late Lady Amelia Hume. The roots are fibrous and perennial, as are also the leaves, which rise from the root upon footstalks embracing one another at the base, and are of a long lance-shape with strong longitudinal nerves, which are transversely interwoven with little branching veins. The flower-stalks are round, rising to from one to two feet in height, with membranaceous bracts scattered at regular distances, and were four in number in the specimen which we have figured. The blossoms grow in a kind of raceme formed of little bunches or tufts of two to four flowers each: the footstalks are of unequal lengths with a joint near the top, and are attended by incurved bracts at the base, the lowermost bract at each tuft being always the largest. The germ is nearly top-shaped, but a little hexangular upwards. Three of the divisions of the blossom are just perceptibly broader than the other three, and both the corolla and nectary are closely pierced with transparent dots hardly visible to the naked eye, but very distinct when magnified.

We have seen a very good coloured drawing of the plant taken in India in the collection of J. Fleming, esq. which represents the fruit (which has not yet ripened in England) as a bluntly oval, fleshy berry, with the seeds in pairs as in the germ. Both this drawing and the plant received from India by Lady Amelia Hume were marked _Teta viridiflora_; Teta being perhaps (if we may hazard a conjecture) the name applied to the plant by the native Indians. However this may be, as it appears to be known in India by that name, we have retained it for the specific designation; applying to the genus, in conformity to the Linnæan canons, (from πελιος, lividus, and ανθς, flos,) the name of Peliosanthes. Our drawing represents the original plant imported from India, with which we were favoured by Sir Abraham Hume, bart. last April, through the kindness of A. B. Lambert, esq. who has also informed us, from Dr. Roxburgh’s MSS. in his possession, that the plant is found growing naturally about Chittagong in the East Indies. We have just seen two other species of the genus in the curious collection of T. Evans, esq. at Stepney, imported by him last Autumn from Prince of Wales’s Island, of which they are natives. One of them has the leaves nearly of a blue colour; and Mr. Evans’s collector informs us, that he found five or six species growing naturally in the island above mentioned, although he had not the good fortune to bring them alive to England.

Linnæus was of opinion, that there were not above ten thousand plants in the world; but above five-and-twenty thousand have already been described, and ten thousand probably yet remain to be added to the number!

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PLATE DCVI.

ZIERIA SMITHII.

_Smithian Zieria._

CLASS IV. ORDER I.

_TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA._ Four Chives. One Pointal.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX quadripartitus. Petala quatuor. Stamina glabra, glandulis insidentia. Stylus simplex. Stigma subquadrilobum. Capsulæ quatuor coalitæ. Semina arillata.

CUP four-parted. Petals four. Chives smooth, sitting on glands. Pointal simple. Summit generally four-lobed. Fruit of four cohering capsules. Seeds covered with an arillus.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. Empalement magnified. 2. Chives and pointal. 3. A chive magnified. 4. The same shown from the outer side. 5. Empalement, seed-bud, and pointal magnified.

* * * * *

The Zieria Smithii is a dwarf warty shrub with opposite branches, and leaves which are composed of three lanceolate leaflets, rough with transparent dots, which probably secrete an oil, as the bruised leaves are very fragrant. A few small scattered hairs are just visible on their upper surface. The panicles of flowers rise from the axils of the leaves, which they often excel in length, and branch in the same opposite manner as the stem, with linear bracts at the divisions. The cups are very short, finely haired and dotted as the leaves. The petals are broad-lanced, pointed, and slightly tinged with purple on the outside. The genus was established by Dr. Smith in the fourth volume of the Linnean Society’s Transactions, and named in memory of his friend Mr. Zier, whom he calls “an indefatigable botanist, but whose labours generally gained celebrity under another name than his own.” Were celebrity only to be gained by real merit, many of the high-sounding names that now swell the trump of fame would, we fear, have far less pretensions than Zier. The Zieria Smithii was communicated last April by A. B. Lambert, esq. from his collection, and we have seen dried specimens of four other species preserved in his Herbarium, all (like the present) natives of New Holland, and agreeing in their shrubby nature, opposite branches, ternate leaves, and axillary bunches of flowers. None of the species have before been published.

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PLATE DCVII.

CLERODENDRUM TOMENTOSUM.

_Downy Clerodendrum._

CLASS XII. ORDER II.

_DIDYNAMIA ANGIOSPERMIA._ Two Chives longer. Seeds covered.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX campanulatus, quinquefidus. Corolla tubo elongato, limbo quinquepartito, æquali. Stamina exserta. Germen quadriloculare, loculis monospermis. Drupa tetrapyrena.

CUP bell-shaped, five-cleft. Tube of the blossom elongated, with the limb equally five-parted. Stamens longer than the tube. Seed-bud four-celled, the cells one-seeded. Fruit a dry berry including four nuts.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

CLERODENDRUM tomentosum, foliis ellipticis acutis integris calycibusque tomentosis; corymbis congestis.--_Brown. Prodromus Floræ Novæ Hollandiæ et Insulæ Van Diemen, vol. 1. p. 510._

DOWNY Clerodendrum with elliptic acute entire leaves downy as well as the cups; corymbs crowded.

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. Empalement. 2. A blossom spread open. 3. Seed-bud and pointal. 4. A ripe fruit.

* * * * *

The Clerodendrum tomentosum is found naturally growing about Port Jackson and some other parts of the eastern and northern coasts of New Holland, according to Mr. Brown’s Prodromus of the Flora of that country, just published. This long expected and interesting work contains descriptions of about two thousand plants, (of which, scarcely a third part have before been published) in the first volume, and the second is now in the press.

Although the Clerodendrum tomentosum has been in England above ten years, no figure of it has before been given in this country. All the plants which we have seen of it form erect shrubs from four to six feet in height. The time of blossoming is March and April. We have been favoured with specimens in blossom from the botanic garden of the Company of Apothecaries at Chelsea, and with the ripe fruit from Sir Abraham Hume’s collection at Wormley-bury, but are uncertain who first introduced it.

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PLATE DCVIII.

CITRUS NOBILIS.

_Mandarin Orange._

CLASS XVIII. ORDER III.

_POLYADELPHIA ICOSANDRIA._ Many Sets of Chives. Threads from the Calyx or Receptacle.

GENERIC CHARACTER.

CALYX 5-dendatus. Corolla 5-petala. Stamina 20 in cylindrum passim connata. Stylus 1. Bacca 9-12-locularis, pulpâ vesiculari.

CUP five-toothed. Petals five. Stamens about twenty, generally united at the base. Shaft 1. Fruit 9-to 12-celled, the pulp variously divided.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

CITRUS petiolis sublinearibus, fructu latescente depresso.

CITRUS with nearly linear leafstalks; the fruit broad depressed.

CITRUS nobilis, inermis, ramis adscendentibus: petiolis strictis, fructu tuberculoso subcompresso.--_Lour. Flor. Cochinchin. 2. p. 569?_

REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.

1. The empalement. 2. Chives and pointal. 3. The chives spread open, a tip magnified. 4. Seed-bud and pointal. 5. A horizontal section of the fruit.

* * * * *

The drawing of this remarkable Orange, which has so long been a desideratum in this country, was taken at Wormley-bury in the beginning of last May. The plant is a native of China, and Mr. Barrow informs us, that he found the fruit very common when on his travels in that country, and in much higher estimation than the common Orange by the Chinese, who call it Mandarin Orange (answering nearly to the English epithet of noble) by way of pre-eminence. The same gentleman also informs us, that he found some fine trees of it in the gardens at the Cape of Good Hope; it is therefore the more singular that it has been so long in reaching this country. From Loureiro’s description of his Citrus nobilis, there can be little doubt of its being intended for the Mandarin Orange; which, he informs us, grows to a moderately sized tree, and particularly notices the superior excellence and the depression of the fruit, whose common size is about five inches across. The plant at Sir Abraham Hume’s is as yet only about five feet in height, and was imported from Canton in 1805.

It is easily distinguished from the common Orange, both by its curious form and internal structure, the pulp adhering so loosely to the rind as to be separable from it by the slightest effort, and leaving in many places a considerable opening between them.

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INDEX

TO THE PLANTS CONTAINED IN VOL. IX.

Plate 553 Lobelia assurgens Assurgent Lobelia H. H. Shrub. July. 554 Volkameria angustifolia Narrow-leaved Volkameria H. H. Shrub. August. 555 Zingiber Cliffordiæ Cliffordian Zingiber H. H. Shrub. September. 556 Pancratium amœnum Broad-leaved Pancratium H. H. Bulb. March. 557 Periploca Africana African Periploca G. H. Shrub. Sum. & autumn. 558 Ferula Persica Persian Ferula Har. Shrub. October. 559 Camellia Japonica, _semi-duplex_ Semi-double-flowered Camellia G. H. Shrub. February. 560 Verea acutiflora Pointed-flowered Verea H. H. Shrub. December. 561 Xeranthemum fragrans Fragrant Xeranthemum G. H. Shrub. August. 562 Cynanchum bicolor Two-coloured Cynanchum H. H. Shrub. August. 563 Mimosa elegans Elegant Mimosa H. H. Shrub. March. 564 Ixia curta Short Ixia G. H. Bulb. April. 565 Ruta linifolia Flax-leaved Ruta Har. Herb. Sep. & October. 566 Callicoma serratifolia Sawed-leaved Callicoma G. H. Shrub. March. 567 Ceratonia siliqua Pod-bearing Ceratonia G. H. Shrub. February. 568 Liparia sphærica Round-headed Liparia G. H. Shrub. August. 569 Ceanothus laniger Woolly Ceanothus G. H. Shrub. April. 570 Justicia nitida Shining-leaved Justicia H. H. Shrub. August. 571 Sida patens Spreading Sida H. H. Ann. September. 572 Protea saligna Willow-leaved Protea G. H. Shrub. August. 573 Magnolia auriculata Ear-leaved Magnolia Har. Shrub. May. 574 Pultenæa obcordata Inversely Heart-leaved Pultenæa G. H. Shrub. March. 575 Martynia diandra Diandrous Martynia H. H. Ann. November. 576 Lithospermum Tinctorium Dyers’ Bugloss Har. Herb. May. 577 Protea virgata Twiggy Protea G. H. Shrub. August. 578 Ægiphila diffusa Spreading Ægiphila H. H. Shrub. August. 579 Cratægus Azarolus The Azarole Har. Tree. May. 580 Mesembyanthemum acinaciforme Scimitar-leaved Mesembryanthemum G. H. Shrub. August. 581 Salix violacea Violet-coloured Willow Har. Tree. April. 582 Protea mellifera albiflora White-flowered Honey-bearing Protea G. H. Shrub. August. 583 Lonicera Japonica Japanese Woodbine G. H. Shrub. July. 584 Phlomis Samia Samian Phlomis Har. Herb. July. 585 Sophora Japonica Japanese Sophora Har. Tree. Autumn. 586 Lilium speciosum Showy Lily Har. Bulb. All Summer. 587 Corchorus Japonicus, _flore pleno_ Japanese Corchorus with double Flowers G. H. Shrub. Spring & summer. 588 Sida hastata Halberd-leaved Sida H. H. Ann. September. 589 Gladiolus angustus, _minor_ Small Narrow-leaved Cornflag G. H. Herb. August. 590 Mespilus odoratissima Sweet-scented Mespilus Har. Tree. September. 591 Mespilus tanacetifolia Tansy-leaved Medlar Har. Tree. September. 592 Mimosa grandiflora Great-flowered Mimosa H. H. Shrub. July & August. 593 Crotalaria tetragona Four-sided Crotalaria G. H. Shrub. November. 594 Plectranthus barbatus Bearded Plectranthus H. H. Ann. November. 595 Panax fruticosum Shrubby Panax H. H. Shrub. January. 596 Laurus Cinnamomum Cinnamon Tree H. H. Tree. February. 597 Tropæolum peregrinum The Little Bird Plant H. H. Ann. November. 598 Bæckia virgata Twiggy Bæckia G. H. Shrub. October. 599 Chamærops humilis Dwarf Fan Palm H. H. Shrub. March. 600 Gærtnera racemosa Racemed Gærtnera H. H. Shrub. March. 601 Crotalaria pulchra Fair Crotalaria G. H. Shrub. March. 602 Glycine Comptoniana Comptonian Glycine G. H. Shrub. April. 603 Commersonia dasyphylla Hairy-leaved Commersonia H. H. Shrub. April. 604 Malpighia polystachia Branching Malpighia H. H. Shrub. April. 605 Peliosanthes Teta Bengal Peliosanthes or Teta H. H. Shrub. May. 606 Zieria Smithii Smithian Zieria G. H. Shrub. May. 607 Clerodendrum tomentosum Downy Clerodendrum G. H. Shrub. March & April. 608 Citrus nobilis Mandarin Orange H. H. Shrub. May.

ERRATA.

Plate 586 for Lilium speciosum, read Lilium tigrinum, a perfectly new species, distinct from the references given in the description.

587 In reference to the plate, instead of pointals, read empalement and pointals.