[129]

AMARYLLIS VITTATA. SUPERB AMARYLLIS.

_Cla.s.s and Order._

HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Corolla_ hexapetaloidea, irregularis. _Filamenta_ fauci tubi inserta, declinata, inaequalia proportione vel directione, _Linn. fil._

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

AMARYLLIS floribus pedicellatis, corollis cuneiformi-infundibuliformibus, petalorum exteriorum rachibus interiorum margini adnatis, scapo tereti, stigmatibus sulcatis.

_Linn. fil._

AMARYLLIS _vittata._ _L'Herit. Sert. Angl. t. 15._ _Ait. Hort. Kew. p.

418._

[Ill.u.s.tration: No 129]

LINNaeUS, the Son, took much pains in new modelling the generic and specific characters of this genus; as may be seen in the _Hort.

Kew_: Mons. L'HERITIER, when in England a few years since, saw this species, described and named it _Vittata_[1].

Of what country it is a native is not known with certainty, most probably of the Cape, was first introduced into England by Mr.

MALCOLM.

Our figure was drawn from a fine specimen which flowered this spring with Messrs. GRIMWOOD and Co. Kensington.

It usually flowers in April or May, but may be forwarded by artificial heat.

It rarely puts forth offsets from the root, but readily produces seeds, by which it is propagated without difficulty.

When it blossoms in perfection it truly deserves the name of superb, which Mr. AITON has given it, the stem rising to the height of three feet or more, and producing from two to five flowers.

[130]

ALYSSUM UTRICULATUM. BLADDER-PODDED ALYSSUM.

_Cla.s.s and Order._

TETRADYNAMIA SILICULOSA.

_Generic Character._

_Filamenta_ quaedam introrsum denticulo notata. _Silicula_ emarginata.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

ALYSSUM _utriculatum_ caule herbaceo erecto, foliis laevibus lanceolatis integerrimis, filiculis inflatis. _Linn. Syst. Veget. ed. 14.

Murr._

ALYSSOIDES fruticosum, leucoji folio viridi. _Tourn. inst. 218._

[Ill.u.s.tration: No 130]

A native of the Levant, and cultivated by Mr. MILLER in the year 1739.

Is a hardy and beautiful perennial, flowering from April to June, at which time it begins to form its curiously inflated pods.

Like the _Alyssum deltoideum_, it is well adapted to the decorating of walls, or rock-work, and is readily propagated either by seeds or slips.

[131]

CATESBaeA SPINOSA. Th.o.r.n.y CATESBaeA, or LILY-THORN.

_Cla.s.s and Order._

TETRANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

_Generic Character._

_Cor._ 1-petala, infundibuliformis, longissima, supera. Stamina intra faucem. _Bacca_ polysperma.

_Specific Character and Synonyms._

CATESBaeA _spinosa._ _Linn. Syst. Vegetab, ed. 14._ _Murr. p. 152._ _Sp.

Pl. p. 159._ _Ait. Hort. Kew. p. 159._

Frutex spinosus, buxi foliis plurimis simul nascentibus, flore tetrapetaloide pendulo sordide flavo, tubo longissimo, fructu ovali croceo semina parva continente. _Catesb. Carol. 2. p. 100.

t. 100._

[Ill.u.s.tration: No 131]

Of this genus there is only one species described by authors, and which LINNaeUS has named in honour of our countryman MARK CATESBY, Author of the Natural History of Carolina.

"This shrub was discovered by Mr. CATESBY, near Na.s.sau-town, in the Island of Providence, where he saw two of them growing, which were all he ever saw; from these he gathered the seeds and brought them to England.

"It is propagated by seeds, which must be procured from the country where it naturally grows. If the entire fruit are brought over in sand, the seeds will be better preserved; the seeds must be sown in small pots filled with light sandy earth, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed of Tanner's-bark. If the seeds are good, the plants will appear in about six weeks; these plants make little progress for four or five years. If the nights should prove cold the gla.s.ses must be covered with mats every evening. As these plants grow slowly, so they will not require to be removed out of the seed-pots the first year, but in the Autumn the pots should be removed into the stove, and plunged into the tan-bed; in spring the plants should be carefully taken up, and each planted in a separate small pot, filled with light sandy earth, and plunged into a fresh hot-bed of Tanner's-bark. In Summer when the weather is warm, they should have a good share of air admitted to them, but in Autumn must be removed into the stove; where they should constantly remain, and must be treated afterwards in the same manner as other tender exotic plants."