The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 09 / Or, Flower-Garden Displayed

The Cotyledon orbiculata is one of our oldest succulents, being introduced as long since as 1690, by Mr. Bentick[C]: it still retains a place in most collections, deservedly indeed, for it has every claim to our notice; its appearance is magnificent, the glaucous colour of its foliage highly pleasing, its flowers large and of long duration; it blows freely, grows rapidly, is easily increased by cuttings, and will succeed in a house or window, with the common treatment of an African Geranium.

When suffered to grow, it will become a shrub of considerable size; but this is not necessary for its flowering, as young and small plants are disposed to throw out blossoms, which is not the case with a plant extremely similar to, and often confounded with it, viz. the Crassula Cotyledon, whose foliage indeed scarcely differs from our plant but in being finely dotted.

It is a native of the Cape, and flowers from June or July to September.

In the Hort. Kew. of Mr. Aiton, four varieties are enumerated, differing chiefly in the form of their foliage.

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Linnæus describes this plant in the Amœnitates Academicæ under the name of Selago tomentosa, by which name he continues to call it in the third edition of the Spec. Pl. in his Mantissa he describes it more minutely, and changes it to the Genus Manulea, first established by him in the said work; he observes, that in this species the corolla is more regular than in the others.

Mr. Aiton regards it as a biennial, its stalk is a foot or a foot and a half high, and woolly, its branches are opposite, not alternate as Linnæus describes them; in this perhaps they may vary; leaves opposite, sessile, obovate, narrowing to the base, toothed on the edge, edge rolled back a little in the young leaves, flowers grow in a long thyrsus, from two to five proceed from one common short peduncle; they are at first lemon-coloured, or greenish yellow, finally deep orange; Linnæus says the whole of the plant except the corolla is woolly, the tube of that even is hairy, the segments are smooth, with their edges rolled back, the upper part of the tube in which the stamina are included is dilated somewhat, as is also the lower part, so that it is narrowest in the middle. The flowers which make their appearance from May to November are usually succeeded by seeds, by which the plant is propagated.

It is a native of the Cape, and, according to Mr. Aiton, was introduced by Mr. Masson, in 1774.

The blossoms have a singular but unpleasant smell, not perceivable at a distance.

The variety of pleasant colours so conspicuous in the flowers, renders this rare plant desirable to such as aim at a general collection.

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Botanists and Gardeners have given to this species of Rubus the name of flowering, not because it is the only one which produces flowers, but from its being regarded for its flowers merely; they indeed are so shewy, and so plentifully produced, that the plant has long been thought to merit a place in most shrubberies; to the various inhabitants of which, both in the largeness and elegant form of its leaves, and the colour of its blossoms, it forms a pleasing contrast.

It is extremely hardy, and easily propagated by suckers; the only care which it requires, is to keep it within proper bounds: young plants of it produce the largest and finest flowers.

It blossoms from June to September, is a native of different and distant parts of North-America, and was cultivated here by Mr. Miller, in 1739.

Cornutus, who first figured and described this plant, gave it the name of odoratus, on account of the fragrance of its foliage; his words are "elegantissimi hujus folia fragrantissima sunt, paremque agrimonio odorato spirant odorem;" the fruit, rarely produced with us, he observes, is like the common Raspberry, but not so pleasant.

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The Antirrhinum triphyllum, so called from the leaves growing by threes on the stalk (a character, by the bye, not very constant) was cultivated by Parkinson, and described by him in his Parad. terr. He appears to have been a stranger to the particoloured variety now so generally cultivated as an ornamental annual in our gardens; in its wild state the flowers of this Antirrhinum are of a yellow hue, with little or no purple in them, such indeed are frequently produced from seeds sown in our gardens.

It is a hardy annual, a native of Spain and Sicily, a plant of ready growth, requiring the common treatment of annuals sown in the Spring, and much disposed indeed to come up spontaneously where it has once grown; in sowing its seeds, care should be taken to preserve the produce of such flowers as have the most purple in them.