Spec. Char., &c. Stem shrubby, downy. Leaves downy, roundish, bluntly angular, 5-lobed, crenated. Pedicels axillary, solitary. (Don's Mill., i. p. 469.) A shrub, growing from 2 ft. to 3 ft. high, on the rocky shores of the south of France and Spain, producing its white flowers, the petals of which have purple claws, from April to June. It was culti vated in England in 1596, and generally treated as a frame plant; but, like the following species, it only requires a wall, and a little protection, during winter. Plants attained the height of 5 ft., trained against a wall with a south-east aspect, without any protection, in the Botanic Garden, Bury St. Edmunds, about the years 1825, 1826. 2. L. TRILOBA L. The three-lobed-leaved Lavater Identification. Lin. Sp., 972.; Dec. Prod., 1. 439.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 46a Engravings. Cav. Diss., 2. t. 31. f. 1.; Bot. Mag., 2226. Spec. Char., &c. Stem shrubby, downy. Leaves downy, rather cordate, and somewhat 3-lobed, round, crenated. Pedicels aggregate. Sepals acuminated. (Don's Mill., i. p. 469.) A tomentose shrub, growing to the height of 4 ft. in the south of Spain, and producing large pale-purple flowers in June and July. It was introduced into England in 1759, and is generally treated as a frame plant; but it will grow, and flower beautifully, trained against a wall, and slightly protected during winter. It is easily propagated by cuttings of the young wood; and it also ripens seeds. 3. L. SUBOVA'TA Dec. The subovate-leaved Lavatera. Identification. Dec. Prod., 1. p. 439.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 469. Spec. Char., &c. Stem suffruticose. Leaves rather downy, ovate, notched, somewhat 3-lobed, with the middle lobe longest. Pedicels 1 or 2, axillary, length of petioles; lobes of calyx acuminated. (Don's Mill., i. p. 469.) A shrub, growing from 2 ft. to 4 ft. high, in fields about Mogadore, on the sea coast of Morocco, producing pale purple flowers in July. It has not yet been introduced into England, but would form a desirable addition to the half-hardy species. 4. L. AFRICA NA Cav. The African Lavatera. Identification. Cav. Diss., 5. p. 282.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 348.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 468. Engraving. Cav. Diss., 5. t. 139. f. 1.; Bot. Mag. t. 2541., as L. hispida Spec. Char., &c. Stem shrubby, rather tomentose from flocky down. Leaves canescent, all bluntly 5-lobed. Pedicels twin, equal in length to the petioles. Involucel 3-parted, tomentose. (Don's Mill., i. p. 468.) A shrub, found in the south of Spain and the north of Africa, where it grows from 4 ft. to 6 ft. high, producing its pale purple flowers in June and July. It was cultivated in England in 1820, or earlier. In the Bury St. Edmunds Botanic Garden there were plants of it, one or more of which attained the height of 8 ft. or 9 ft. in a warm sheltered border. App. I. Other Species of Lavátera likely to prove half-hardy. L. Pseudo-O'bia Poir., with pale purple flowers, introduced in 1817; L. phonicea Vent., with scarlet flowers, introduced from the Canary Islands in 1816, and forming a tree 10 ft. high. ; L. O'lbia L., with reddish purple flowers, a native of Provence, which has been in culture in England, as a frame-plant, since 1570, and attains the height of 6 ft. in its native country; with L. unguiculata and L. hispida Desf. and, perhaps, some other varieties or species, all highly beautiful; might be sub Jected to the same treatment. Indeed, there.are few kinds of plants more ornamental, when trained against a wall, than the different species of Lavátera and Hibiscus : every one knows what a splendid appearance Hibiscus Rosa-sinénsis makes in stoves, when so trained. GENUS II. HIBISCUS L. THE HIBISCUS. Lin. Syst. Monadélphia Polyándria. Identification. Lin. Gen., 846.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 446.; Don's Mill. 1. p. 476. Synonymes. Ketmie, Fr.; Eibisch, Ger. Derivations. The word hibiskos is one of the names given by the Greeks to the mallow. The Hibiscus of Pliny appears to be an umbelliferous plant; while that of Virgil is a plant with pliant branches, which was made into baskets. The word Hibiscus is supposed by some to be derived from ibis, a stork, which is said to feed on some of the species. Ketmie (Fr.) is derived from Kétmia, the name given to the genus by Tournefort. The German, Eibisch, is the German aboriginal word for the mallow. Gen. Char., &c. Calyx encompassed by a many-leaved, rarely by a fewleaved, involucel, or one with its leaves connate Petals not auricled. Stigmas 5; carpels joined into a 5-celled 5-valved capsule, with a dissepiment in the middle of each valve on the inside. Cells many-seeded, rarely 1-seeded. (Don's Mill., adapted.)-The only hardy ligneous species is H. syriacus. 1. H. SYRIACUS L. The Syrian Hibiscus, or Althea Frutex. Identification. Lin. Sp., 978.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 448.; Don's Mill., 1. 478. Spec. Char., &c. Stem unarmed, arboreous. Leaves ovate, H. s. 2 foliis variegatis, the variegated-leaved Syrian H. s. 3 flore variegato, the variegated-flowered Syrian Hibiscus, or Althæa H. s. 4 flore purpureo, the purple-flowered Syrian Hibiscus, or Althæa H. s. 5 flore purpureo pleno, the purple-double-flowered Syrian Hibiscus, H. s. 6 flore rubro, the red-flowered Syrian Hibiscus, or Althea Frutex. Description, History, &c. A deciduous shrub, from 6 ft. to 8 ft. in height, with numerous upright white-barked branches; their general character being rather fastigiate than spreading. The leaves are variously lobed. The flowers are axillary, large, and bell-shaped. In English gardens, these flowers are produced from the middle of August to the end of September; and, when the season is dry and warm, they are succeeded by capsules containing ripe seeds. It is a native of Syria and Carniola, and was introduced into England previously to 1629; being mentioned by Parkinson, in his Paradisus of that date, as a new shrub, somewhat tender, requiring to be kept in a large pot or tub in the house, or in a warm cellar. In the neighbourhood of Paris, it has been known for upwards of two centuries; and it is found there, as well as about London, to be perfectly hardy. At Berlin and Vienna, in severe winters, it requires protection. In the time of Du Hamel, and of Miller, there were no double-flowered varieties; but these have since been procured from seeds. Double-flowered varieties are now common both in Europe and America. The only use to which the shrub is applied is as a garden ornament, of which it is one of the most conspicuous; and it is the more valuable, because it produces its flowers at a time of the year when few shrubs are in bloom. It forms beautiful garden hedges, more especially when the different sorts are planted in a harmonious order of succession, according to their colours; and when the plants are not clipped, but carefully pruned with the knife. In the colder parts of Britain, and in the north of Germany, few ornamental shrubs better deserve being planted against a wall. It will grow in almost any soil not too wet; but, like all the Malvàceæ, seems to prefer one sandy, deep, and rich rather than poor. An open airy situation, where it will ripen its wood, is essential. The single-flowered varieties are propagated by seed, which come up true to their respective colours; the double-flowered varieties are propagated by layers, by grafting on the common sorts, and sometimes by cuttings of the ripened wood, planted in sand in autumn, and covered with a handglass during the winter. Price, in the London nurseries: seedlings, 5s. a hundred; the different single-flowered varieties, 50s. a hundred; and the va riegated-leaved and double-flowered varieties, 1s. 6d. each: seeds are 6s. a pound. At Bollwyller, the price is 1 franc and 50 cents each plant, for the single-flowered varieties, and 2 francs 50 cents for each of the double-flowered varieties. At New York, the single-flowered varieties are 25 cents a plant, the whitedouble-flowered, and the purple-double-flowered, 37 cents a plant; and the other doubleflowered varieties, 50 cents a plant: the seed is 56 cents a quart. App. I. Other ligneous Plants of the order Malvaceae, which will probably be found hardy or half-hardy. Sida pulchella Bonpl., Abutilon pulchellum Bot. Mag., t. 2573., and our fig. 89. An evergreen New Holland shrub, introduced in 1824, producing its clusters of beautiful white blossoms in the gullies about Sandy Bay, and at the foot of Mount Wellington, in the neighbourhood of Hobart Town, in the depth of winter; and, as might have been expected, it is found to stand the open air, in sheltered situations, in England. There is a plant against a wall in the Botanic Garden at Kew, which has stood there since 1822, without any protection whatever. There is a plant of it at Spring Grove, Middlesex, which forms a bush between 3 ft. and 4 ft. high, which has stood several winters without protection, and flowers freely every winter and spring. We have just (February, 1836) sent to ascertain how it has passed the late severe frosts, when the thermometer was at 10°; and learn, with satisfaction, that it has suffered little or no injury. The plant is easily increased by cuttings. There is another species, or, perhaps, a variety of this one, which has stood some winters, in a warm situation, at Redleaf, in Kent, where it flowers in January, February, and March. (See Gard. Mag., xi. p. 208.) CHAP. XVII. OF THE HARDY AND HALF HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER STERCULIA 'CEÆ. THIS order is introduced chiefly for the sake of Sterculia platanifolia L. (Cav. Dis., 5. t. 149., and our fig. 90.) It is a tree, a native of Japan and China, with fine large palmate leaves, smooth on both surfaces, and upright branches without visible buds; that is, with the buds concealed like those of the walnut, or the Gymnocladus. The flowers are small and green, or greenish yellow. The tree was introduced in 1757, and, at first, treated as a green-house plant; but it has since been found to be quite hardy in the neighbourhood of London, more especially when planted against a wall. There is a tree in the Chelsea Botanic Garden 12 ft. high, which has stood out many years with only a little litter thrown round it occasionally, to protect the roots. S. lanceolata Cav. (Bot. Reg., 1256.), from China; S. diversifolia G. Don, from New Holland; S. tomentosa Thunb., from Japan; S. peltàta G. Don, from China; are all handsome deciduous trees, with very handsome foliage, growing to the height of 20 ft.; and are probably all equally hardy with S. platanifolia. Some of them can be purchased, in the nurseries, at from 5s. to 7s. each. CHAP. XVIII. OF THE HARDY LIGNEOUS PLANTS OF THE ORDER TILIA CEÆ. DISTINCTIVE Characteristics. Sepals 4 or 5, with a valvate æstivation, mostly without an involucre. Petals 4 or 5, or rarely not any. Stamens hypogynous, generally numerous, with filaments separate, and anthers 2-celled. Mostly glands between the petals and ovarium. Ovary and fruit single, of 4—10 carpels grown together; cells in the fruit, at least in some, not so many as the carpel. (Lindley, Introd. to N. S.) The species are chiefly trees and shrubs from warm climates. The only genus which is perfectly hardy is Tília. GENUS I. TILIA L. THE LIME TREE. Lin. Syst. Polyándria Monogynia. Identification. Lin. Gen., 660.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 512; Don's Mill., 1. p. 552. Synonymes. Line Tree Gerard; Lind, Anglo-Sax.; Tilleul, Fr.; Linde, Ger. and Dutch; Tiglio, Ital.; Tilo, Span.; Lipa, Russ. Derivation. In London and Wise's Retired Gardener, the name of Tilia is derived from the Greek word ptilon, a feather, from the feathery appearance of the bracteas; but others derive it from the Greek word tilai, light bodies floating in the air like wool or feathers. Gen. Char. Calyx 5-parted. Petals 5. Stamens numerous, free, or somewhat polyadelphous. Ovary globose, villous, 1-styled, 5-celled; cells 2ovuled. Nut coriaceous, 1-celled 1-2-seeded, from abortion (Don's Mill, i. p. 540.)—Timber trees, with mellifluous flowers, and a remarkable bractea attached to the peduncle of each of the cymes of flowers. The species are three, according to some; and more than twice that number, according to others. Our opinion is, that they may be all included under two, T. europæ'a, and T. americàna. † 1. T. EUROPÆ`A L. The European, or common, Lime Tree. Identification. Linn. Sp., 733.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 552.; Smith's Eng. Fl., iii. p. 16. Synonymes. T. intermèdia Dec. Prod., 1. 513.; T. vulgàris Hayne Dend.; T. europa a borealis Wahl Engravings. Eng. Bot., t. 610.; Œd. Fl. Dan., t. 553.; and our plate in Vol. II. Spec. Char. Petals without scales. Leaves cordate, acuminated, serrated, smooth, except a tuft of hair at the origin of the veins beneath, twice the length of the petioles, Cymes many-flowered. Fruit coriaceous, downy. (Don's Mill., i. p. 552.) The extensive distribution and long cultivation of this tree in Europe have given rise to the following races, or varieties, described by De Candolle and others as species; from which high authority it may be considered presumption in us to differ; but we have not done so without due consideration, and after having examined the living plants of different ages, and in different situations, with the greatest care and attention. T. e. 2 microphýlla. The small-leaved European Lime Tree. Description, &c. Petals without scales. Leaves cordate, roundish, acuminated, sharply serrated, smooth above, glaucous, and bearded beneath on the axils of the veins, as well as in hairy blotches. Fruit rather globose, hardly ribbed, very thin, and brittle. Native of Europe, in sub-mountainous woods. In England, frequent in Essex and Sussex. (Don's Mill., i. p. 552.) This variety appears to be the male linden tree of Gerard; the timber of which, he says, is much harder, more knotty, and more yellow, than the timber of the other sort; and not very different from the timber of the elm tree. This sort we conceive to have originated in inferior soils and situations; for example, in the rocky parts of the north of Sweden, and in the nilly districts of the north of Germany. This variety, according to Steven (Nouv. Mém, de la Soc. Imp. des Nat. de Moscou, tome iii.), is found here and there in the woods of Tauria; also in Iberia, and on this side Caucasus. It varies, he says, in a wonderful manner, in the form of the fruit, in the sinus at the base of the leaves, and in the proportion of the disk of the leaves to the petioles, as well as in the number of flowers in a cyme, colouring of the twigs, &c.; whence he agrees with Sprengel in uniting T. triflòra, T. intermèdia, &c., which are usually separated by authors. We doubt much if this, or any other variety, is indigenous in Britain; but it exists in plantations, and is recognised as a distinct variety by practical men, the wood being preferred by pianoforte-makers. Sir James Edward Smith says, "This species being planted along with T. europæ'a, and T. grandifòlia, in avenues or parks, will insure a longer succession of flowers than either of the others alone." This variety is distinguishable, at first sight, from all the others, by the smallness of its leaves, which are only about 2 in. broad, and sometimes scarcely longer than their slender footstalks. The flowers are also much smaller than in any of the other varieties; and they are very fragrant, having a scent like those of the honeysuckle. There appears to be a subvariety of this in the garden of the London Horticultural Society, under the name of T. parvifòlia glaúca. * T. e. 3 platyphylla. The broad-leaved European Lime Tree, Synonymes. T. platyphylla Scop.; T. cordifolia Bess.; T. europæ`a Desf.; T. grandifolia Ehrh. and Smith; broad-leaved downy Lime Tree; Tilleul à grandes Feuilles, or Tilleul de Hollande, Fr. Engravings. Vent. Diss., p. 6. t. 1. f. 2.; Bull. Fr., t. 175.; Gærtn., 2. t. 113.; and our plate in Vol. II. Description. Petals without scales. Leaves cordate, roundish, acuminated, sharply serrated, downy beneath, origin of their veins woolly. Branches hairy. Cymes 3-flowered. Fruit woody, downy, turbinate, with 5 prominent angles. (Don's Mill., i. p. 553.) This tree is of about the same size as T. europæ'a, from which it is readily distinguished by its larger and rougher leaves, and, also, by its rougher bark and hispid branches. T. europæ'a, T. e. microphylla, and T. e. platyphylla, may be seen together, in a young state, in the London Horticultural Society's Garden; and, fullgrown, in the avenue at Syon House: in both places they are readily distinguishable from each other, and are perfectly distinct; not, we think, as species, but as races. According to Sir James Edward Smith, T. platyphylla is the lime tree of the south of Europe, as T. europa'a is of the north; and he is of opinion that they are unquestionably distinct species. Steven (in Nouv. Mém. &c., tome iii. 1834.) says, that, though T. platyphylla is cited in the Flora Taurico-Caucasica, as common in Tauria and Caucasus, he never found it there, or knew of its having been observed in those regions. There is a subvariety of this sort, called T. e. platyphylla minor, with leaves somewhat smaller than those of T. e. platyphylla, but the difference is so trifling that it is not worth while keeping it distinct. T. e. 4 rùbra. The red-twigged European Lime Tree. Synonymes. T. trifidra Puer, in Horn. Cat., 2. p. 493.; T. corinthiaca Bosc; T. corallina |